The books I’m going to share with you today have radically changed my perspective. I would venture to say that a few of these are books everyone should read!
Contentment, peace, joy, happiness and gratitude all go together. We must fight for this joy that God wants for us, this abundant life.
{descriptions taken from Amazon}
5 Amazing Books for Cultivating Gratitude
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss (wonderful book with 30 day devotional in the back of the book!)
Gratitude is a choice. If we fail to chose it, by default we choose ingratitude. And once allowed into the heart, ingratitude does not come by itself, but with other seedy companions that only succeed in stealing joy.
Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty (a wonderful book for choosing to praise and adore God even when life is hard)
{Read my thoughts on Every Bitter Thing is Sweet here}
Sara Hagerty found Him when life stopped working for her. She found Him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a newlywed bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found Him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found Him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch.
In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty weaves fabric from the narrative of her life into the mosaic of a Creator who mends broken stories. Here you will see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, you see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (one of my all time favorite books ever)
Just like you, Ann Voskamp hungers to live her one life well. Forget the bucket lists that have us escaping our everyday lives for exotic experiences. ‘How,’ Ann wondered, ‘do we find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long–and sometimes even dark? How is God even here?’ In One Thousand Gifts, Ann invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God’s gifts. It’s only in this expressing of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we’ve always wanted…a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. We come to feel and know the impossible right down in our bones: we are wildly loved–by God. Let Ann’s beautiful, heart-aching stories of the everyday give you a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of being present to God that makes you deeply happy, and a way of living that is finally fully alive. Come live the best dare of all!
The Happiness Dare by Jennifer Dukes Lee (We did an entire online book club on this book, it was just so good!)
{Read my thoughts on The Happiness Dare here}
Would you like to be happier?
No matter who you are or how you feel, chances are you would answer yes. And Jennifer Dukes Lee was no different. For years, she wrestled with a constant nagging sense that she wasn’t as happy as she could be. At the same time, she felt guilty for wanting something so “shallow.” After all, doesn’t God only care that we find joy in our circumstances? Or is it possible that God really does want us to be happy?
40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life {The 4:8 Principle} by Tommy Newberry
This is a new book to me, but I’m reading portions of it with my kids each morning. It is SO good. It is based on Philippians 4:8 and is full of practical suggestions!
No more waiting and hoping―Experience 4:8 thinking right now!
Drawing on the core message of the New York Times bestselling The 4:8 Principle, 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life is a fun and highly practical action plan providing readers with time-tested strategies and exercises for experiencing joy by design―God’s design. Fans of The 4:8 Principle will love the fresh format and timeless reinforcements offered in 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life, while new readers will be introduced to the life-changing power of The 4:8 Principle for the first time! All readers will benefit from the uniquely packaged inspiration and encouragement delivered in bite-size chunks for easy consumption and in a “sticky” style custom-made for easy retention and long-lasting joy.
Bonus Book
This book came recommended to me, but I admit I have not had time to dig in yet…so, have any of you read this book??
Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer by David Steindl-Rast
A monk reflects on the many aspects of the spiritual life with the basic attitude of gratefulness.
“A true delight.” —Henri J. M. Nouwen
What books have you read that have inspired gratitude in your life? 
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If you’d like to discuss this series, encourage others and receive encouragement along the journey, come to our closed group of encouragement and join us! You will need to request to join, I will click on your profile and as long as you look like a real person {grin} I will accept your request to join us!
I have the devotional, One Thousand Gifts – Reflections on finding everyday graces, by Ann Voskamp. It is wonderful.
Also, I read several years ago a book by Carole Lewis, A Thankful Heart, that I thought was wonderful. She had a wonderful story to tell and waking up with thankfulness and going to bed with thankfulness….through good things and bad, we can always find ways of being
thankful.