Welcome to the Femina Podcast. This is Nancy Wilson. Thanks for joining me today.

The topic today is grumbling. What an uplifting topic you might be thinking, but I hope

you will in the end find it helpful. Grumbling doesn't have to be audible to have a bad

effect on us. We can be grumbling silently to ourselves all day long about many things

and the end result will be grumpiness, unhappiness, and discontent. I know I've said it before,

but here it is again. Don't listen to yourself, but talk to yourself. That means taking

dominion of your thoughts, guiding and directing them rather than just letting them have free

reign. Grumbling is murmuring and murmuring is muttering and muttering is complaining and

all with an unhappy, morose tone. For example, when you wake up in the morning, what are

your first thoughts? Is it something like, oh, no, I don't want to get up. It's too early.

I'm still tired. Life is so hard. The weather is not to my liking. Why do I have to do the laundry?

Or is it good morning, Lord? Thank you for a good night's sleep. How wonderful to wake up in a

warm bed. What good things do you have for me to do today for you, Lord? Now, you may think you

have no control over those first thoughts in the morning, but you do. And if you don't think

you can do it, then start praying for grateful, cheerful thoughts in the morning instead of

groans and complaints. First thing, because these thoughts will set the tone for your day.

Then as you move into your routine, are you having cheerful, grateful conversation in your thoughts?

Or are you grumbling in your mind about having to fix breakfast or how you wanted to sleep a

little longer or how no one appreciates your sacrifice? It's funny, really, when we recount

these things out loud. I mean, really? Did I really think those things so silly, so dumb, so embarrassing?

Grumbling starts in our thoughts and makes its way out into our words. And when we hear ourselves

grumbling, we pity ourselves. And that can color our entire day. Maybe you share your discontented

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