As we celebrate Thanksgiving, many Americans have begun referring to his holiday as Turkey Day.  However, let’s bring back the focus of this holiday: thankfulness.  Thankfulness has three effects.

1. Physical Effect

Thankfulness helps you physically.  Do you ever feel heavy, aching, or not well?  Surprisingly, thankfulness may be the remedy for this.  In this Forbes article, which you can find by clicking here, Amy Morin reports “Grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and they report feeling healthier than other people, according to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences” (Morin, Forbes, 2014).

2. Spiritual Effect

Thankfulness is commanded us in the Bible, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:17).  The Lord Jesus provides us with the example of how to pray with thanksgiving when He stood in front of the tomb of Lazarus right before He raised him from the dead.  The first words he uttered in prayer were, “Father, I thank you for having heard me” (John 11:41).  In addition, in the Early Church, the Communion was called in Greek eucharistia, meaning “thanksgiving.”  This means the Early Church’s mindset around the Communion with the Lord Jesus was thankfulness.  Let us begin our prayers with thanksgiving for what God has given us, and we will see and remember how many of our prayers He has already answered.  This will lead to a greater faith and communion with God.

3. Personal Effect

Thankfulness lets people value and appreciate you.  (In addition, thankfulness reduces stress and releases good hormones to keep you content and calm).  It sends a personal message to those around you that you care about them, value them, and appreciate them.  This positivity in turn comes back to you as the saying goes, “A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.”  People who feel your appreciation will be happy to do more for you. Thankfulness creates a positive environment in which people focus on the good that has been done rather than always focusing on what has not been done.  This leads to a high quality of relationships, work, and products.

Thankfulness does not only affect those around you, but it affects you as well.

How can we become grateful in order to affect those around us and ourselves?  It’s simple.

1. Pray with thanksgiving

2. Thank someone you know

3. Journal about what you are thankful for

4. Think about your blessings and not what you lack; Your blessings in turn will be over-abundantly more than what you lack. This mindset will produce positivity.

What are you thankful for?  How can you show it?  What will you do today?

Happy Thanksgiving!

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