Thank God!
How many times a day do we thank God and mean it? When I say mean it, think about how many times a day we just throw around the words thank God. Thank God I did not hit any red lights on the way to work. Thank God it’s not 100 degrees out today. Now I know 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says give thanks in all circumstances, but is meaningless thanks real praise to God?
1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
I guess what I am getting at is encouraging people to be more intentional with giving thanks to God. In my daily morning prayers, I first give thanks to God for another day. I do this with pure gratitude knowing that I do not know the time or day of my last breath. In my walk with Christ I have become more aware of giving intentional thanks to God. I would encourage you to try to catch yourself, the next time the words thank God are on the cusp of your lips, stop and ask yourself are you truly thankful to God?
How intentional are you?
Michael E. Grasso 
Hmmm something I’ve been trying to do is give truly intentional thanks to God even if the circumstance isn’t necessarily a positive one. Example… I have a difficult lesson to teach and I know it’s not going to be enjoyable. I thank God as sincerely as possible. Do you think that’s still a sincere thanks?
God knows your intentions, if you are sincere in giving Him thanks, then I see no issue. The goal is to be more actively connected with Christ. If you are more aware of when you are truly giving thanks, then you are being intentional, and that is great.
I guess the hard part could be becoming truly thankful for ever situation I am in. Luckily I am just happy to be alive and appreciate the absolute BEAUTY around me. It’s that simple sometimes. Thanks again for the thought.