Thanksgiving Means Gratitude
After many months of silence it is time to talk again. This is a new beginning for which I am very grateful..Speaking of being grateful, I have learned in the last couple of years that gratitude (remember it is Thanksgiving time) is not a religious activity in the old fashioned sense. Gratitude is more like exercise, eating properly, getting enough sleep. That is, it is a health benefit.
When we realize that steady, consistent, grateful thoughts and remembrances are like taking vitamins, or maybe even antibiotics, we then know the idea is a gift of God. Thankfulness is a central Christian theme. But it is not something we do to please a stern and watchful God. No, we please God with thankfulness because God is pleased when we take care of ourselves.
The primary research about gratitude has been done at a State University, not a Christian College or University. Dr. Robert Emmons at California State University -Davis has written a book entitle Thanks . It is based on the research his graduate students have engaged in measuring the effects of grateful activities. To put it briefly the results are basically--the more you are grateful the better you will be in your daily life.
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