In a culture of self-help and therapy-talk, it is easy to make our feelings the measure of how well our lives are going, and even of how close we are to God. We can begin to assume that the right feelings must come before the right actions: that we must feel grateful before we can sincerely give thanks. Yet, in most cases, the action precedes the feeling and helps to cultivate it. We can and should choose to acknowledge God’s goodness even when we feel burdened or discouraged. Thanking Him can be an act of faith before it becomes an experience of joy. We have a great deal more control of our feelings than we are told – we can choose what to think about, and what we repeatedly choose to dwell upon can shape our emotional lives.