EP. 25: The Practical Benefits of Gratitude

What does the Christmas season mean to you? Do you still get filled with childlike nostalgia? Do you find it easy to think about the birth of our Savior? Or maybe Christmas often feels like a time of difficulty and struggle for you? The layers and emotions associated with the holidays can sometimes be overwhelming for us. Elisa and Eryn pinpoint some of their own lessons from past Christmas celebrations while also highlighting ways in which we can focus on turning this often stressful season into a season all of us can once again enjoy.

Notes and Quotes: 

• “Give thanks in all circumstances. It’s not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances.” 
• “So in that moment, look at that one item and [say], ‘Okay I don’t want this in my life, but I am going to give thanks in it, trusting your character, God, in it.’”
• “When we say that, I think we are a little afraid it sounds like whining to God, but maybe it sounds like honesty to God.”
• Thanksgiving Turkey Fingers: Trace your hand on a piece of paper and write down what you are thankful for on each finger. 
• “Gratitude changes us.”
• “It doesn't diminish the bad, it’s still there; but it puts it into a perspective that helps us in that circumstance to find gratitude.”
• “Comparison is in the holidays. We compare a lot. I compare a lot . . . what that family looks like, what their holiday card looks like.”
• “No one is really living a Hallmark life, we are all living real life.”
• Ideas to get our grateful going: gratitude journal, sticky note reminders, focus on an ornament, correct self-talk, gratitude partner, think about other people.

Links/Books/Resources Mentioned In Show: 

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• God Hears Her website: https://www.godhearsher.org/
• Subscribe on iTunes!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/god-hears-her-podcast/id1511046507?utm_source=applemusic&utm_medium=godhearsher&utm_campaign=podcast
• Order God Sees Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women on Amazon.  https://amzn.to/32lYSgh
• Free eBooklet to Download: Windows on Christmas https://discoveryseries.org/courses/windows-on-christmas/
• Anne Voskamp’s book: One Thousand Gifts https://amzn.to/3lZWtjZ 
• Elisa’s Instagram: elisamorganauthor
• Eryn’s Instagram: eryneddy

Verses Mentioned in Show: 

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV - “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Thessalonians+5%3A18&version=NIV