It's not always easy being thankful.
Today I listened to two great podcasts from one of my favorite preachers/communicators. Ben Stuart leads "Breakaway"- a small college Bible study at Texas A & M that reaches SEVERAL thousand students every Tuesday night. You know how they do everything big in Texas, right?
Anyway, he did two sermons in November about living in Community from 1 Thessalonians. His last message focused on being "thankful".
He shared some remarkable statistics just about the health benefits of being a thankful person. One study of 100 students at the University of Miami ...1/3 were told to make a list of 5 things each week they were thankful for, 1/3 made a list of 5 annoying things (complaining), and 1/3 just listed "happenings". At the end of 10 weeks the students who counted their blessings had better grades and a better outlook on life.
The US Air Force Survival Training Program trains people to remember 2 numbers. 98.6- Core Temperature is very important. And 3. They say you will die if you don't get air within 3 minutes. You can last 3 days with out water and 3 weeks without food. You'll only last 3 months with love and attention. But the most important 3 was 3 seconds. You can't go 3 seconds without a positive outlook. You're as good as dead without it. Not an "unrealistic" outlook...but a positive- thankful- grateful- outlook.
So...a lot of friends do a 365 Album on Facebook or on their blog. A picture a day. Sometimes with commentary, sometimes not.
I'm doing one called Rejoice 365. I'm going to try and post a picture and some brief commentary everyday about something I'm thankful for that day. I need to. I need to count my blessings because despite whatever "hell" I sometimes feel like I've been through God is still on His throne and He's never ceased to be good to me even though, outside of His grace and mercy, I don't deserve it.
I might post some of them to my blog...maybe a weekly re-cap. We'll see.
By the way... check out Ben Stuart...you can download sermons from the website or on Itunes (http://breakawayministries.org/home).
1 comment:
Awesome... what a wonderful idea. I did a little "thank-you" book for my husband one year, from Valentine's Day to Valentine's Day, and listed one thing each day that I was thankful for about him. It was the most amazing experience. It warmed my heart toward him more than I can express to be consciously thinking on the good, and I hope that when he has days he's feeling down or less than, that he can pull his little book out and be reminded how thankful I am for him.
P.S. Speaking of... thank you for being a brother who always, always encourages and uplifts me... I love you.
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