That’s the title of a book I read several years ago. It’s actually a fairly short book, but with other things stealing my time, it took me a while to finish it.
…a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.
Here’s one of Jones’ tidbits:
“Here for you, young man, is a law of the universe—one of many, to be sure, but one that is especially applicable to your life at present. Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases.”
Jones explains:
“When you focus on the things you need, you’ll find those needs increasing. If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don’t have, you will soon be concentrating on other things that you had forgotten you don’t have—and feel worse! If you set your mind on loss, you are more likely to lose…But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.”
One way Jones causes us to think about interpersonal relationships is to explain the “four major dialects that we use to convey and feel loved.” Here are the four:
- Spoken words of approval
- Favors and deeds
- Personal contact
- Quality time
I’ll just pass those along without comment other than that we all feel loved in different ways. If we limit the way we convey love to only the way we most feel loved, we’ll fail much of the time.
This book is very biblical, but it’s not based on scripture; it’s based on experience. It’s a book that would be at home on any Christian’s bookshelf, but don’t let it spend too much time there; read it first, share it, and if you’re lucky enough to get it back, read it again. Then put it on your bookshelf!
The Noticer, © 2009 by Andy Andrews. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.
Video of the author’s interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts
