On being thankful

Something I've been pondering for awhile is related to the matter of being thankful. The Scriptures are full of reminders about always being thankful. A couple verses in the New Testament have slightly different slants. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
Ephesians 5:20 says it a little differently, " always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

These verses are different in that the first mentions being thankful in every circumstance, and the second talks about giving thanks for everything...there is a difference! I'd like to take things to the greatest degree and learn how to give thanks for everything.

I recently came across an old pamphlet that I received many years ago, while looking through the Bible I got from Tom before we were married. It talks about accepting every situation we encounter with praise and thanksgiving, knowing that God is using everything that happens to "refine our gold and consume our dross". This is making sense to me, and now I'm trying to put into practice, thanking God for everything. Sometimes it's not easy, but it does bring about a sense of peace, believing that everything that crosses my path has a purpose and has first been filtered though God's loving fingers. Therefore it is something that I can thank God for, because He, indeed, is always present within me, teaching me, guiding me, refining me, and working on consuming my dross.