Gratitude

Hi there! Thanks for joining me this first week of 2022, I am so grateful you are here and going on this journey with me! Be sure to check out last week’s blog posts to learn more about the goals I have for this year as well as homelessness in America. Without further ado let's jump into it!

January is when many make new year's resolutions they hope to keep for the next 365 days. Many people give up their resolutions very quickly and forget about them way before the next month. According to the New York Post, Americans, on average, stop their new year’s resolutions after 32 days. This is kind of mind boggling that we can’t stick with something for more than a month, but it takes practice and discipline. So with that said, it does take time to build habits, especially healthy ones. This year I launched the 2022 gratitude challenge in an attempt to recognize what I am grateful for each day. Today is currently day 2 of the 7 day challenge and I am loving it so far. Taking the time to think about different things I am grateful for has been a game changer in just 2 days - imagine what perspective you could have just after this week, a month, 2 months or even a year? There are so many possibilities and I encourage you, whenever you are reading this, to go back and try the gratitude challenge for yourself. It doesn’t have to be January first to start something, let alone be grateful (check out our website to get the free pdf!). Beginning each day with gratitude has been peaceful as well as humbling!

Where many people send “thank you” cards for gifts, thank our soldiers for their service, or simply thank someone for holding the door, gratitude is a big piece of our world. According to dictionary.com, gratitude means the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful. Taking a moment each day to feel grateful for what you have, I think, is very important. Whether you have a lot or little in this world, may gratitude be a constant feeling we express. It is interesting to see that gratitude even influences our brains chemically. According to positive psychology, dopamine is released when we express gratitude or commit an action that results in someone else’s benefit. We get that ‘feel good’ effect from doing good for those around us. Even though we benefit from a donation or a good deed, it is what enables us to continue feeling gratitude for what we have and giving back to the community that has always supported us. So taking that moment each day to notice what you are grateful for could in fact have a bigger impact than we might initially think.

God is a god of giving. For He has gifted us with the great gift of eternal salvation through Christ. May we express our gratitude for this great gift on a daily basis as His gift is always there. God also gives us different gifts such as forgiveness, peace, joy, and love among other things and this is far greater than any physical thing in our world. So whether or not you have a lot of physical things on this earth, like a house, car or large income, you will always have the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. That my friends is something that money can never buy so may we all express gratitude for Him!

Gratitude is a constant thing that we have to remember. A lot of the time we take what we have for granted and taking the time to recall what we are grateful for is so valuable. I hope you were able to join me and others for the 2022 gratitude challenge this year! I also hope and pray that this blog post has encouraged you in some way shape or form. If it has, be sure to share it with a friend or check out the podcast that goes along with it! I am so grateful for you and that you chose to read this blog today. May you have a great day and rest in gratitude knowing you have the greatest gift of all!!