Choosing Gratitude: Week 1

Hello, friend! Are you ready to begin your journey toward greater joy? Join us for our Summer 2023 Book Club-Style Bible Study. We're reading "Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. This book challenges and equips us to live a life of gratitude.

What is gratitude? Gratitude is a choice. It is a decision to focus on the good things in our lives, even when things are difficult. When we choose gratitude, we are choosing to be happy and content. Why is gratitude important?

Gratitude has many benefits, including:

• Increased happiness and well-being
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved physical health
• Stronger relationships
• Increased creativity and productivity

Grab your book here and let's get started!

"When we take simple blessings for granted as if they were owed to us, or conversely, when we start to think that our house, our car, our wardrobe, or our general station in life is beneath what we deserve, ingratitude finds all the oxygen it needs to thrive.

One of the unseemly side-effects of all the effort and energy our society has invested in building our individual and collective self-esteem is that our culture is now rife with this super-high level of deservedness." —Nancy DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude

So how do we cultivate a life of gratitude? There are many ways to cultivate gratitude, here are a few:

• Keep a gratitude journal.
• Write thank-you notes to people who have blessed you.
• Spend time each day reflecting on the good things in your life.
• Express your gratitude to God in prayer.

Join us for this study! Each weekly post will be posted on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 here on the blog, June 6 - August 1. Feel free to discuss the book and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. Let's make cultivating gratitude a priority in our lives this summer!

​The Power of Gratitude

Are you a whiner or a worshipper? Are you truly grateful, or do you have a complaining spirit? The complainer groans, “My socks don’t even match.” But the grateful person smiles and says, “My socks may not match, but my feet are warm.”

​What are some things for which you have chosen to be grateful?

I’m thankful for the crickets. I have ringing in my ears that I have been told is a condition called tinnitus, and it is pretty bad. When it first started, I thought I was hearing crickets. I love relaxing around a campfire after dark with the crickets chirping in the background. I’ve chosen to be thankful for the “crickets,” because it makes the ringing bearable.

This is not about having a positive attitude. Having a grateful heart is different than simply having a positive attitude. True gratitude comes from a heart full of praise and thankfulness that is ultimately directed to God. And the result is joy.

Gratitude does not just affect the one who is grateful, but it makes a difference in the many lives that one touches. It is like a breath of fresh air to hear someone respond with gratitude instead of complaining. It is attractive. When we are grateful it displays God’s goodness and glory and beauty. We are showcasing the Gospel. This is Christian gratitude. The gratitude that gives glory to God for all things and in all things.

The Bible and Webster’s dictionary give us two separate definitions for gratitude. Webster says that being grateful is being thankful for a personal benefit. The focus is on the self. True gratitude that we read about in the Bible is very different. It can be defined by looking at the Greek words used for gratefulness.

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians. 3:16

The Greek word used here for thankfulness is “Charis” (Hahrees). It is translated in different ways throughout scripture. We get our word “charity” from the word “Charis.” Many times, we will see this Greek word translated “Grace.” Sometimes it's translated “favor.” Charis is used 157 times in the Bible.

The very next verse, Colossians 3:17, says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

This Greek word for thanks is, “eucharisteo.” It means to acknowledge God’s good grace or to be thankful. This word and its forms of it are used 72 times in scripture. Do you see how closely connected grace, gratitude, and thankfulness are?

So, what is the biblical meaning of gratitude? Gratitude is extending favor to someone. Giving grace and kindness as a response to someone. Gratitude is reflected in how I live. My goal as a Christ-follower is to live a gratitudinal life that will be seen by all and bring glory to my God.

This is very different from how we grew up seeing gratitude. What are our first perceptions of it as a child? When we were children, the words, “Thank you,” were a duty. They were something we said to someone when we were pleased with what they had done for us or given to us. Our gratitude was self-focused.

So, this new biblical definition of sorts is much different than what we grew up with. “Charis” and “eucharisteo” are God-focused and others-focused. This kind of thankful heart compels us to do something. To praise. To give.

We are commanded to give thanks. In fact, gratitude is one of the highest virtues that we can obtain.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble." Psalm 107:1-2

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess. 5:18

 "...be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:18-20

Notice that 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks IN all circumstances, and Ephesians 5:20 tells us to give thanks always FOR everything. I can understand the first, but the second? Is that even possible? How can we give thanks FOR all things?

Psalm 107 gives us the answer to that question.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1

What He is doing in my life is for good, and it is because He loves me. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that I can demonstrate a life of biblical gratitude that will in turn infuse my life with joy and resilience amidst my daily struggles.

Gratitude is vital.

“Try…to sustain persevering faith - without gratitude - and your faith will eventually forget the whole point of its faithfulness, hardening into a practice of religion that’s hollow and ineffective. Try to be a person who exudes Christian love - without gratitude - and over time your love will crash hard on the sharp rocks of disappointment and disillusionment. Try to be a person who sacrificially gives of yourself - without the offering being accompanied by gratitude - and you’ll find every ounce of joy drained dry by a martyr complex.” —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

It's time to do a self-check: Are you just going through the motions? Practicing religion? Not even considering the object of your faith? The person of your faith?

Then you are not living a life of gratefulness but of duty. Have you been disappointed by people to the point of crashing and turning away from them?Then you have forgotten the love that has been shown to you. What about your giving? Do you feel like a martyr? Do you no longer give with a grateful heart? If so, It is most likely because you have forgotten what has been given to you. 
​
Virtues like faith, love, giving, or any other Christian virtue—all are ineffective without gratitude.

​"Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.” —John Henry Jowett

Gratitude is vital. Choose Gratitude!

How have you seen the power of gratitude play out in your life?

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Christian Gratitude Journal for Women

This ​Christian Gratitude Journal for Women is produced by Pretty Simple Press. It's a 52-week inspirational guide to a life with more prayer and less stress.

This Gratitude Journal is designed to help us cultivate an attitude of gratitude. It's a self-exploration journal that encourages us to focus on being thankful for what we have. We'll focus on the big things in life, as well as the simple joys. Each well-designed and deeply-inspirational weekly spread contains space for us to journal. We'll journal three things we are thankful for. We will also discover thoughtful weekly Scripture.

If we begin each day by writing down three things we are thankful for we're on our way to a lifetime of gratitude. Whether it's a family member, a dear friend, or the ability to read a good book. We will begin each day on the right path.

Grab this journal and begin a daily habit of focusing on the blessings! 

Grab your Christian Gratitude Journal for Women here

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