by Jay Kelly
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-I Thessalonians 5:18
Tomorrow, Oct. 1, is the beginning of a month-long journey into greater appreciation of all that God has provided for each of us. The bible is clear that gratitude is to be practiced in all circumstances. Giving thanks takes practice and we will get better at it over time. Gratitude, especially in a challenging situation, is a true indicator of spiritual maturity and a rarely travelled road to joy and fulfillment.
Today is Day 1 and we are going to provide a gratitude exercise prior to each day of the coming month.
October 1: Homework,
Tell someone close to you what they mean to you; Be specific and elaborate on at least three specific things you see in them that have made a difference in your life. The proverb, "familiarity breeds contempt." was credited to St. Augustine. We all know how true it is that those we see every day are least appreciated in a tangible way.
We also understand that we are meeting two needs when we tell those closest to us what we love about them...
"The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated"
-William James (1842-1910) pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, trained as a medical doctor.
They need to hear how much we've benefitted by having a relationship with them. We grow through our gratitude and they grow through realization of appreciation. They hear, "I do matter in this world!"
We hear, "I am loved deeply every day by those I often overlook."
On the eve of each October day we will post a theme of gratitude for you to contemplate in the morning before you begin your day. The staff is praying that our themes will have a profound impact on your life as you go forward from your quiet time each day.
With love and gratitude for your faithfulness,
Jay Kelly and The Staff of the Seattle Church of Christ
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10 comments:
Thanks Jay - looking forward to a great month!
Thanks for doing this. I need it! Our BT has been sharing 3 things we are grateful for with each other every day by email for this past week. It really does change my perspective every day to have so much gratitude and positive thoughts flooding my email inbox.
What a great idea! Jay, you are such a visionary leader! I'll certainly be following along, and love all in Seattle so much.
Ryan Flynn
Thanks for helpiing us to remeber what and who we are grateful for! There's so many of them and I have been taking them for granted! It's so helpful to have a spiritual focus for the day that is managable! My life have been filled with distractions ever since I went back to school. Thanks again!
Thanks Jay! I was visiting the city from the East side when you talked about the month of gratitude. I was so happy that I did! I started right away Monday. Giving thanks by morning and journaling my thanks by evening. I already feel and notice a difference in my relationship with God, my attitude, my fitness, and I can't tell you how thankful I am to be in a ministry as strong, and powerful as this! Thanks so much for such a profound lesson and challenge. I keep referring everyone to go listen to last weeks service :) your awesome! I can't wait to see how far this takes my relationship with God and my brother's n sister's!
Thanks, Jay! I have homework to do. I look forward to the next 30 days.
Jay, here are three things I love about you:
-Your humor, which reminds me not to take myself too seriously;
-Your love of art, which helps me appreciate that I once was a musician and that I shouldn't forget the joy that brings;
-Your amazing openness, which has taught me that God loves me just as I am
love
SG
Jay & Staff,
I want to thank you for the effort and insight that I have received from you over the last couple of years when you put fingers to keyboards. I think that I would find it personally challenging to find something new to say about gratefulness 31 days in a row. Especially on a blog :)
I'm looking forward to meeting this challenge of the heart and the growth that it inspires.
Chris, Taigen and I focused on this today and it was amazing! The coolest part was seeing how much even our young children pick up about what we appreciate about each other and how open they can be about how it affects them. We are going to do this as a family every day and appreciate you, Jay, and the staff for putting the work into this for us all to benefit from!
Thank you Jay for giving us all a piece of your heart. The depth of your love for God is an amazing gift. I love your sacrifice. I love your family. I love your positive attitude.
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