I love the preacher at the Christ Unity Church who challenged his congregation to go 21 straight days without grumbling, complaining, whining, or griping. To help everyone remember, he gave each person an elastic purple wristband. If you complained, griped, grumbled, or whined you had to switch the wristband to the other wrist and start over. He was not just trying to get them to stop complaining, he wanted them begin to enjoy the blessings of the day and to maintain a healthy, positive spirit. In order to maintain a healthy and positive spirit, he believed that your attitude toward what happens to you today is more crucial that what actually happens to you. Can you go 21 days without complaining? I want to tell you it can change your life. It is not what happens to you over the course of the day; it is what you do with what happens to you that determines the day. It is all about attitude. An attitude of complaining and grumbling will rob your day of joy. It can cause you to miss the fresh blessings that God has for you. Joy and peace and life and laughter are found in rejoicing and giving thanks. Why not replace your grumbles with a counting of your blessings. It will change your perspective of your day. Like the psalmist said, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.”
– Dr. Tim Thompson
We are going to try the rubber band idea for a week just to see how many times we grumble or complain. Should be interesting.