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  THANKFULNESS, NOT LONGING
  by Mary Wilder Tileston
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of cultivating a thankful
attitude in our daily lives, as it shapes our character and brings joy
and positivity.

Topics: "Contentment", "Gratitude"

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DESCRIPTION
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Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the dangers of longing for what we
do not have, emphasizing the importance of being content with the
blessings we already possess. She warns against wasting time by focusing
on desires that lead us away from our own responsibilities and tasks.
Tileston highlights the impact of our attitudes on our character, noting
that gratitude for what we have cultivates a different spirit than
constant longing for more.

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CONTENT
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I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.

--EXODUS 16:12

SAVE our blessings, Master, save

From the blight of thankless eye,

Teach us for all joys to crave

Benediction pure and high,

Own them given, endure them gone,

Shrink from their hardening touch, yet prize them won,

Prize them as rich odors meet

For love to lavish at His sacred feet.

--JOHN KEBLE

NOTHING so hinders us in what we are doing as to be longing after
something else; in so doing, we leave off tilling our own field, to
drive the plough through our neighbor's land, where we must not look to
reap a harvest; and this is mere waste of time. If our thoughts and
hopes are elsewhere, it is im.possible for us to set our faces steadily
towards the work required of us.

--ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

One thing is indisputable: the chronic mood of looking longingly at what
we have not, or thankfully at what we have, realizes two very different
types of character. And we certainly can encourage the one or the other.

--LUCY C. SMITH

Seek to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of
God in your daily life.

--ALEXANDER MACLAREN

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/mary-wilder-tileston/thankfulness-not-longing/
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