At the conclusion of the workshop, you will be able to answer the important question, “What is required of me to bring the greatest return and achieve the greatest reward in life?” The Blueprint process insightful, liberating and highly effective.

Many years ago, I worked for a national foodservice company as the Director of Operations responsible for a two state region. As part of my duties, I regularly visited the restaurants in my territory. Part of my territory included remote rural farm areas, so I gained quite an education in farming. One of the most powerful lessons I learned from farming actually applied to marriage – you reap what you sow!

An ancient proverb reads, “Every thought is a seed. If you plant Crab apples don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.” While this proverb relates to many areas of life, no human relationship demonstrates the truth of this proverb more than marriage. And there is no seed more important to plant in your marriage than the seed of thankfulness.

Norman Vincent Peale said, “The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.” This, of course, is true. Thankfulness does tend to reproduce in kind. An attitude of gratitude revitalizes the entire mental process by activating all other attitudes, thus stimulating creativity.

The opposite is also true. The less you practice thankfulness, the less you have to be thankful for. That is because thanklessness also produces in kind. If you are ungrateful, it will darken your entire mental process, as it opens up a path of discontentment in your life.

Romans 1:21 says that thanklessness “darkens our heart as it plants seeds of discontent.” Once you start down the path of discontentment, discouragement is waiting for you just around the corner. In this state of mind, it doesn’t matter what your spouse does, whether it is good or bad, you will not be satisfied. You will focus only on his or her faults. You will notice every unmet expectation. You will be obsessed with every personal flaw.

The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” If you stay in a dark relationship very long, you will become desperate to get out of your marriage. It may not be that your marriage is bad. Rather, you have corrupted your marriage with bad seed, and the seeds of thanklessness have come to harvest.

“Don’t be anxious about anything in your life – tell God your needs with a spirit of gratitude. And instead of fragmentation, you will experience the unity of your being through Jesus Christ. Here are some guidelines for your thought life: think reality – worthwhile thoughts, honest thoughts, clear thoughts, loving thoughts, praiseworthy thoughts, whatever has integrity and deserves admiration – these should dominate your thinking.” Philippians 4:6-8 Ben Campbell Johnson

Do you want to truly improve your life? Then cultivate an outlook of thankfulness. Cultivating thankfulness starts by turning your attention away from yourself and focusing on God. Ask Him to open your eyes to the many blessings that are in your life. Focus your thoughts on what you have, instead of what you do not have. No matter what you may be struggling with, God has a solution. If you will turn to Him, and focus your attention on what is good, it will plant seeds of thankfulness in your heart. Before you know it, the good seeds you have planted will come to harvest, and you will see so many new things that are good because you have reaped what you sowed.