When we think about gratitude, we often think about thankfulness, counting our blessings, looking for the good in everything, and acknowledging simple pleasures of life. Research points to the many benefits of gratefulness as well. It makes people happier and more resilient. It strengthens relationships, reduces stress, and improves physical health and well-being.  

It certainly means these things, but on a larger scale, gratitude is a lot more than a reaction to getting what we want. It means being able to not only appreciate the good parts of life, but embracing the not-so-good parts just as much. It means accepting every situation as an opportunity to grow, to improve, or to change in some way. It also means being open to every opportunity that God presents to us no matter how it comes even if it is not exactly what we desire.

This book is less about “looking” for things to be grateful for or “responding” to good situations with gratefulness. Instead, it is about choosing to “be grateful” in every situation we encounter and for everything that comes our way. Just as we choose to go to work, and choose to take the kids to school, and choose to pay the bills whether we like it or not, we can choose to be grateful in the same way.

Of course, we can all joyfully accept the situation when the family is healthy, or when we’ve just been promoted, or when we’ve gotten into our dream school, or when we have the house or car of our dreams. It’s easy to do it then. But what kind of attitude do we choose to have when situations haven’t been turned in our favor, when we get passed over for the promotion, when a family member gets sick? It’s finding the strength to say ‘thank you’ for this situation and to say ‘yes’ to embracing it that helps us to cultivate gratitude where we don’t just say it with our mouths, but we live it in our hearts.

You might be wondering about the subtitle. For almost every day in 2015 (and many years before that), I drank coffee every morning. And every morning, I wrote and collected these thoughts, quotes, Bible verses, and prayers for my podcast (Everyday Thanks) which has turned into this book. Like many people, I have a good, close relationship with coffee and it goes well with gratitude. The podcast/book was a journey for me of choosing to be grateful on the inside for all the experiences in my life, not just saying it, but living it. Every new experience that came up throughout the year is presented in some way on the pages of this book. I can’t say the coffee helped, but it certainly did not hurt.

Thanks and Yes is meant to be a devotional for every day of the year. So grab your cup of coffee (or tea) and be ready to embark on a daily journey of living out thanks.

Available now on Amazon.