Gratitude is a daily way of life at Mile High Ministries. We practice it aloud. We name blessings small and large. “Thank You,” can be heard at any moment between residents, volunteers, staff, and visitors—every hour. In gatherings, we voice it to God.

As the year draws to a close, we are especially grateful and joyful. Our life together truly is gift.

Among our great gifts is you. You… who read what we share in these emails, with caring and prayer. You who delight in our community and in our work. You who volunteer and give. You who call or write with encouragement (we read each note, and pass them around). You who “like” our social media and give our posts hearts and thumbs up. All these things mean the world.

We wish you great joy in the coming year!

Gratefully,

The Mile High Ministries Team

“Ordinary happiness depends on happenstance. Joy is that extraordinary happiness that is independent of what happens to us. Good luck can make us happy, but it cannot give us lasting joy. The root of joy is gratefulness. We tend to misunderstand the link between joy and gratefulness. We notice that joyful people are grateful and suppose that they are grateful for their joy. But the reverse is true: their joy springs from gratefulness. If one has all the good luck in the world, but takes it for granted, it will not give one joy. Yet even bad luck will give joy to those who manage to be grateful for it. We hold the key to lasting happiness in our own hands. For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness (Paulist Press, 1984)