How are you feeling today? {Think of 3 words or phrases}
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- __________________________
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Do any of your feelings involve gratitude or thankfulness?
It might seem a little strange to think about ways that you and I are grateful today, especially with our lives experiencing lots of changes (new school year, COVID still around, moving from our sanctuary at church, the normal chaos of a weekday). However, the Bible talks about giving thanks and having a grateful heart many times, at least 100 times in the New Testament alone!!
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2nd Corinthians 9:11
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
Here’s WHY we should be grateful:
- The Bible instructs us to be grateful (see some of the above verses); specifically, Jesus talks about showing gratitude in a powerful way in this story:
- Luke 17:11-19 – Parable of the 10 healed lepers; “Where not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine [who did not come back to thank Jesus]? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner [only one to return was a Samaritan]? Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” – Jesus
- He says the man’s FAITH has made him well; therefore, we can see that expressing gratitude is part of the healing process for all of us! Note that Jesus refers to the Samaritan in this story and there are ties to the Good Samaritan story that He also shared.
- We can refer to the above chart from PositivePsychology.com for themes of why we should practice being grateful. So many benefits!
Here’s HOW we can show gratitude:
- Check out this list of 13 ways to show gratitude, from journaling to a gratitude amble (walk/roll): https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/
- One particularly powerful way to show gratitude on this list is #11 – Send a Gratitude letter/email or a go on a Gratitude Visit.
- We only have this one very precious life here on Earth to express our love–so take advantage of your time! When you and I can directly thank a person for the care and love they have shown to us, there is NOTHING better than this! Not only will you heal (remember Jesus’ parable from earlier?), you will also offer a healing blessing to someone else. Moments when others think of us should be cherished, and there is no better way to honor the person and God by telling them directly. (Note: This is obvious, but we humans tend to forget to actually follow through with this very important event. Write a note, send an email, stop by someone’s home, and express your gratitude. All will be well in this holy space.)
Today, I am grateful for you, a reader. I am grateful that you have taken the time to read through this blog post, and my prayer is you’ve found something helpful in here for your life. Time is so precious, and I am thankful to be able to spend a few of your minutes here in this space. Thank you.
TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE FOR OCT 3 FAULKNER’S RANCH PUMPKIN PATCH! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. $5 EACH.–SEE LAUREL or TERRY FOR TICKETS.
- Families, meet at Faulkner’s Ranch main entrance at 1:50 pm so we can go in together. Thanks!
NEW SUNDAY SCHEDULE starting Sept 26:
- BFGs at 9:00 am
- Worship at 10:15 am
Holmeswood Family Ministry 