It Pays to be Grateful

So grateful!! Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to pause and reflect on God’s goodness. The thought that has been on my mind the last few days is how easy it is to make giving thanks about us instead of God. It’s tempting to focus on the gifts instead of the Giver.

Mankind’s nature is self-centeredness, but our new nature as followers of Jesus is gratitude, and specifically gratitude toward God. If we spend just a few minutes in reflection, we can think of hundreds of blessings, even thousands. I hope you’ve spent some time over the last few days thinking of those blessings and giving thanks to God for His goodness.  It’s amazing how true gratitude gives us yet additional blessings. 

Dr. Robert Emmons is a researcher in the science of gratitude. Did you ever know a science regarding gratitude existed? Evidently. Dr. Emmons wrote, “Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change people’s lives.”^[1] Ellen Rogin and Lisa Kueng report that grateful people make more money.^[2] Crazy, right?

Two psychologists from Indiana University sought to discover the results of gratitude on mental health. They studied over 300 adults, mostly college students, who were beginning counseling for mental health issues. The psychologists put the counselees into three groups. The first group was asked to write one letter of gratitude to someone every week in addition to counseling. The second group was asked to write about their negative experiences and how they felt about it while they were going through counseling. The third did nothing but meet with a counselor.

Are you surprised to learn that those writing letters reported “significantly better mental health”?^[3] We are told all throughout the Bible to give thanks. It should be part of our DNA as new creatures in Christ. Colossians 3:17 says we should give thanks in whatever we do or say. Whatever!

The official day of Thanksgiving ended at midnight last night, but as followers of Jesus, thanksgiving should be a 365-day experience. It’s not a holiday; it’s a lifestyle.

On another note…

I send out email newsletters from time to time with updates about my life and writing, links to valuable resources,and drawings for free stuff! Unfortunately, the company I used to help me with this newsletter went out of business. I didn’t see the notice before losing ALL of the email addresses of my subscribers. Terrible. You may have been a subscriber in the past or would like to be. I offer a free book on how to study the book of Psalms to everyone who signs up. Would you like to be on my new list (even if you already have my book, How to Get the Most out of Reading Psalms)? I’ll be putting together another gift for all my subscribers in the near future, but in the meantime, you can sign up (and get a free book if you haven’t already downloaded it) by following this link.

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^[1] https://b-present.org/2023/11/16/embracing-gratitude-how-to-cultivate-a-thankful-heart-and-stronger-relationships/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABe8vNg57omc0SZU83XGXKkWdbtiI&gclid=CjwKCAiA6aW6BhBqEiwA6KzDc3sVxEHs7oPSRAhYpzSx87oi0nJQmJNslR3mfAHRWymW7nwdN3MljBoCaW4QAvD_BwE

^[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/gratitude-makes-you-rich-2015-2#:~:text=People%20who%20are%20grateful%20may%20end%20up%20making%20more%20money.&text=%22Gratitude%20has%20also%20been%20shown,%2Desteem%20have%20higher%20incomes.%22&text=Whether%20or%20not%20a%20higher,you%20happier%2C%20that’s%20another%20story.

^[3] https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain