The benefits of giving thanks!

-




Gratitude is defined most simply as 'the condition of being thankful.  ... gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change peoples' lives.'  But, and here's the self-help angle, 'gratitude (or thankfulness) is an effortful state to create and maintain.  It is not for the intellectually lethargic.'

... preliminary findings suggest that those who regularly practice grateful thinking do reap emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. ... Grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism ... The practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed and bitterness.'  That cultivating gratitude can fight depression is no small deal, as antidepressants have become the most prescribed medication in the nation.  Not only all that, but being grateful can, or might, also protect us from heart attacks, lessen physical pain and comfort other physiological benefits. ~ Robert Emmons, UC Davis psychologist



"Give thanks in all cirucmstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." { 1 Thess. 5:18}

Wana starting penning your thanks?  Give thanks: gratitude journal

Comments

Post a Comment

Hi, thanks for visiting :-)

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Valerie Elliot Shepard (daughter of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot)

-
Image
 FYI: ' Walter & Valerie Shepard  As many of you know, I love Elisabeth Elliot.  It is through Elisabeth Elliot, my mentor, that I came to accept and learned how to accept God's will for my life.  Last year, Valerie, Elisabeth and Jim Elliot's daughter honored me by letting me interview her.  She was vague because she has plans on sharing her family story in some manner in the near future, but knowing how I felt about her mother and how much this interview would mean to so many of you she spoke with me via email.   How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas? We had company often for Thanksgiving, and we always had a " Pilgrim reading " and saying what we each were thankful for around the table. For Christmas we were not often inviting people for dinner because our older children wanted " just family ". We always opened stockings around 7-8 AM, had a Breakfast of baked apples, and either a sweet bread or their favorite "s
Read more

Elisabeth Elliot update {7-01-2012}

-
Image
Many of you have inquired about injuries that Lars Gren and his wife Elisabeth Elliot Gren sustained in their car accident.  As of June 14, 2012: Lars is in Ma., staying with friends since he is not able to drive til Aug. per Valerie.  He fractured a c-2 in his neck and had surgery for a screw to be fused to the bone, and is not getting as well, as quickly as he'd liked. Lars and Valerie had to make the decision to put Elisabeth in a facility because Val could no longer care for her. Elisabeth's stay in the facility will be brief, as Val plans on taking her back to Ma, once she returns from the UK {Val is helping her daughter Elisabeth with her 4th baby}. For those of you who would like to send Elisabeth well wishes, I have her mailing address, just e-mail me and I will give it to you. Many have asked if you could download the picture of E.E & Val.  I'm afraid that you can't.  I really do appreciate you asking before taking the liberty to do so.  You are w
Read more

The wives of the five American missionaries who were speared to death speak {and more pictures of Valerie Elliot Shepard & her family}. Keeping their story alive!

-
Image
I n January 1956 the world was shocked when learning that five American missionaries had been speared to death in the Equardorian jungles by the Auca Indians who were reported, at that time, to be the most savage tribe on earth.  "What seemed to all the world like a tragic ending of the missionaries' dream to reach this isolated tribe was only the first chapter of one of the most breathtaking missionary stories of the twentieth century" In the video below the wives of the five men speak of their husbands. Below are some pictures of Jim & Elisabeth Elliot's daughter Valerie Elliot Shepard and her family.  For any of you who have Elisabeth's book The Savage My Kinsman , she's the little blond haired darling who is all grown up now with not only children of her own, but grandchildren too.  Valerie gave me access to these pictures to share about a year and a half-ago now.  I had them up on one of my blogs, but took them down because folks were dow
Read more