A heart of gratitude

 https://youtu.be/7578oSauX1c  Family Research Council on a grateful heart with Tony Perkins

This morning I found a copy of an article "Thank you, no, thank you" published in The Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2010 by Melinda Beck. She quoted research on gratitude by Jeffrey Froh of Hofstra University. There was a photo of him reading to his 4 year old son a book about gratitude.  So thinking that 13 years plus 4, that little boy would now be 17, and wondered if a grateful dad made a difference.  I looked through the internet and found out he's still at Hofstra, and writing about all the ways gratitude helps us develop as mentally healthy, kind people, and he recently published a book especially for teens using the 10 commandments as his model. 

There's some good news in endurance and recovery!

There's a guy in our church I've known slightly over the years--a fantastic musician and a gourmet chef. What a combination. So we "friended" on Facebook, but a year ago his name was on the church list for prayer. I learned he had a brain tumor--so over the past year I've sent five cards since he didn't seem to be getting better. But today on Facebook he posted this, and I was so happy to see it.

"Well, friends and family, I’m still here! One year ago today, I was admitted to Riverside Methodist Hospital for a “routine” craniotomy in order to remove a tennis ball-sized brain tumor (benign, thankfully). I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid as we had no idea what to expect after it was all over. Was that indicative of my lack of faith in God? Maybe. Or perhaps it was just simply my mortal fear of the unknown and what the future would hold manifesting itself.

The tumor removal surgery went fine, but as an added bonus, I earned three subsequent trips to the ER for bladder issues, sepsis, and blood clots; two by ambulance, (one of which I don’t remember at all), along with a 10-day stint in a rehab hospital. I’m not even going to approach the question of why some people are healed and others are not - I’ll ask God about that later. The point of this is to simply give thanks.

But where to start? There were so many people involved in this journey, all of whom played various roles along the way. First and foremost, I thank God for seeing me through this, even when I doubted Him. I thank God for the tumor (I know, that sounds weird), but it serves as a reminder and affirmation that good can come out of just about anything. I thank God for the multitude of doctors, nurses, and caregivers who attended to me while I was in the hospital. They are truly His angels on Earth facilitating His work. 

I thank God for First Responders (I still have flashbacks when I hear sirens). I thank God that we live in a place where we have access to quality healthcare and clean hospitals. I thank God for all of the additional support people, including Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists, along with visiting nurses, who helped me re-learn everyday things that I took for granted, like walking, writing, and peeing, just to name a few. I thank God for an employer that provides good benefits along with bosses and co-workers who were understanding, accommodating, and genuinely concerned with my wellbeing and recovery. And most of all, I thank God for my wife and daughter, who, because of their diligence and attentiveness, literally kept me from dying on several occasions. 

I thank God for the Body of Believers - everyone who prayed and/or sent positive thoughts and well-wishes (too many to count!) I thank God for everyone who sent cards, provided meals, called, visited, and checked in on Connie and Alissa to see if we needed anything. I thank God for the men who provided us with a Christmas tree and decorations after we lost ours in a storage facility fire. And I thank God for everyone who otherwise contributed care and concern for us. 

“Thank you” just seems so inadequate compared to what you all provided. I am humbled and will be eternally grateful for each and every one of you. If this past year has taught me anything, it’s to take nothing for granted - every day is a gift from God and tomorrow is not guaranteed. If you’ve read this far, I honestly believe that the past year can best be summed up in the following scripture verse: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). 

Amen! God bless all y’all!

St. Ignatius of Loyola -- Pray as you go

https://pray-as-you-go.org/player/2022-07-14

Open any website or book or scripture for the Christian, and you'll find something about poverty, environment, sex discrimination, wealth gap and race.  Since that's also the constant drum beat of the secular media, academic research and pagans, it falls flat--it is so mundane and nagging. Our sins most flagrant yet important to address according to Jesus are those closest, like members of our family or church or workplace. It's the commandment from both the Old and New Testaments--love neighbor as self. That said, there are so many sources to remind us of the horizontal dimensions of the cross. This link is to Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises.  He lived in the 16th century and developed a plan to help focus on the gospel. Others carry on his work. This is just one of the first I came across in an internet search. 

"Pray as you can, not as you can't." Additional links at this site on the left of your screen, some with soothing music and voices. Some with "examen" prayer opportunities for beginning of day, end of day, end of week, 

And if you carry a phone with you (I don't, but tried it after downloading the app), there's a link for walking with meditation. https://pray-as-you-go.org/series/20-walking-with-god   with either male or female voice. About 40 minutes.  I haven't tried this--I'd be so distracted by a squirrel or fairy garden or piece of trash carelessly thrown from a passing car. I used the original meditation noted at the beginning here, rather than the walking one.

Ignatius on gratitude

Is there a distinctly Ignatian understanding of gratitude?

In the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola, gratitude is not just beneficial to us, it is the only logical response to the grace of God.

There is a logic of gratitude that grows through the Exercises, a dynamic of grace building upon grace. Ignatius does not begin the Exercises with his great call to trait gratitude, the Contemplation to Attain Love – he ends with it. First, we need to see clearly and in true perspective. We begin by seeing ourselves in the context of creation, of the Fall, and of the decision by the Trinity to enter into our ensnared world and set it free. We then walk with Jesus step by step, through birth, life, agony, death and resurrection. The daily drip-feeding of state gratitude with the Examen culminates in the trait gratitude of the Contemplation to Attain Love. So gratitude is the fruit of all that we have experienced. We do not create it; it is brought to birth through our encounter with Jesus. We also do not force it. Ignatius urges us throughout the Exercises to be honest about our desires and our responses. He notes that we do not always desire the best, and that sometimes we need to pray for the desire for the desire. Tell the truth, and then pray for the grace you need: this is the process. Gratitude is perspective. When I see myself contextualised in the whole of salvation history, my response will be ‘the cry of wonder’. There is a natural welling-up of gratitude and love, which is intended to last, to make us people of gratitude at a deeper level.

For all Christians, there is a distinctive quality to their gratitude: belief in God as the giver. In a secular worldview, gratitude may be a response to a series of gifts from random ‘others’. For Christians, our lens is our ongoing relationship with God, the architect of salvation. Our root gratitude is to the One who has given, who gives now, and who can be utterly trusted to keep on giving. As Michael Ivens SJ explains, ‘Gratitude for the past… leads to trust for the future.’[14] Ignatius structures the Contemplation to Attain Love to reflect this past, present and future engagement with grace in my life and in the whole world, coming personally and intentionally from God.

There is broad agreement that gratitude is good for you, and that it’s linked to happiness. But where the science of gratitude seeks to understand gratitude, Ignatius wants us to orient ourselves through it. Where positive psychology notes that ‘gratitude has good outcomes’, for Ignatius it is much stronger than that: more like, ‘if you see God’s world and your life as they really are, gratitude will well up in you’. All agree that ‘if you want to be happy, be grateful’, but for Ignatius it’s fundamental: gratitude is the only disposition that makes sense.

https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/how-be-grateful#_edn22

Ignatius and Gratitude • Loyola Spirituality Center

The doodle notebook

 I bought a 2021 calendar with full pages for each day, and thought it would make a nice "gratitude" notebook.  However, the notebook I was using (purchased by my daughter in 2009 for my birthday) was about to run out in early November.  Yesterday I saw at Marc's a smallish notebook on a shelf where it didn't belong, so I asked about the price.  $.99.  Just my price.  So I bought it, thinking I could finish out the year with it--no great loss if I didn't use the whole thing.  When I opened it today, to start using it tomorrow, I found that it has doodles every third page.  So I'll waste fewer pages than I thought, since I don't think I'll be doodling. I'll use it November 1 - December 31, and then start the 2021 notebook. 

  

With the lockdown for the pandemic, somedays it is difficult to write down three things I'm grateful for that happened the day before. However, October 30, was an easy one.  Our friends the Cranes invited us and Bruce and Marty (we used to be in a couples group with all of them) for dinner at their home, which is on a small lake created by a railroad company back in the 19th century.  It's called Hidden Lake, I think because we certainly never knew it was there until we met the Cranes about 15 years ago. At one time it was on the outskirts of Columbus, and a fishing club owned it.  A few people built small fishing shacks for summer use.  Over the years, beautiful homes replaced the little fishing "resort." The lots are long and narrow, and you can hardly see the homes or the lake from the main road. 

 Before dinner Rod made fresh onion rings in a cooker in their marvelous garage.  It may be the cleanest garage I'd ever seen--and Bob keeps a very clean garage.  In the garage was the Chris Craft wooden boat Rod has restored.  The night was chilly so the doors were open, and we all ate hot, fresh onion rings as our pre-dinner treat.  Off their family room they have a 3 season room, all windows, that overlooks the little lake, and we could hear the trains going by.  Judi served sliced steak on a salad bed of lettuce, onions and grilled peppers. For dessert she served warm apple pie with a crumb topping and cinnamon ice cream. 

After dinner we gathered in the family room with a fire in the fireplace. Truly a lovely evening with a lot to be thankful for.  Good friends, good food, good home.  And I didn't have to do any of the preparation! Yes, a lovely evening with much gratitude even during the horrible year, 2020.

Thankful. Gratitude. Grateful.

Be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16.

May we give thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Ephesians 5:30

Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Before all men, honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising him. Tobit 12:6

The word of God for the people of God.

On Thanksgiving and suffering

I was on my way to reading something else in 2 Corinthians, but stopped at Paul's "thanksgiving" which follows his greeting, "grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." We hear that greeting so often, we sometimes don't even notice it. Christian pastors often begin their sermons with that.

I was writing in my gratitude journal; the words grace and gratitude are derived from the Latin gratis/gratus/gratia which means thankful. Eucharist derives from the Greek εὐχαριστία (eucharistia), meaning "thanksgiving," and root for "charity" is right in the middle.

Interestingly, in Paul's "thanksgiving" which I often skip to get on to the juicy stuff of resolving conflicts, and raising money, he uses the Jewish blessing "God of all encouragement" (consolation, paraklesis) ten times! And when does he encourage us? In every affliction. He mentions suffering or affliction seven times in this word of thanksgiving.

"Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement."

Although I never got to the verses I had planned to read, today I'm thankful for God's encouragement in a time of suffering.

https://www.wordsense.eu/grace/

I shared the above thought about thanksgiving and gratitude on my Facebook page, which allows others to respond immediately, not like a blog which has to be approved first.  A young Lutheran pastor from Texas, Phil Daniels, who a few years ago was a seminary student serving at our church, responded.  I don’t know when I friended him on FB, or how he happened to notice my little essay.

Philip Daniels: That is very insightful. I have noticed, as I have been working on sermons, how often I overlook those introductions in order to go onto the more meaty stuff ... and I'm a pastor! That has been something God has been teaching me both in my personal study and public proclamation: don't overlook those introductions. And I do love the word "Paraklesis" which has overtones of the word often used to describe the Holy Spirit. In the Septuagint we see Isaiah most famously use it in Isaiah 40:1: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. The Hebrew in that sense is "Nacham." As far as I can understand, the word is tied to both breath and resuscitation. In Arabic, the word means "to breath pantingly." While, this misses the mark, it does give us a little insight as words of comfort are often felt like gasps of living breath to those worn out by fatigue in the world. Yet the earliest parts of the Bible seem to use it in the comforting after a death (i.e. Genesis 24:67b, "So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.")

Nacham therefore is best understood as a revivification after the loss of someone or some ideal dear. And, oddly, one wonders if one has to experience this death in order to have this new breath breathed into one.

This is probably overanalyzing Paul in this context. On the other hand, I am also sure Paul would not be averse to such thinking. These are people who can offer comfort because a new breath has been put inside them. A Comforter has been called beside them. They can now breathe new life into the lives of those around them since they have been "comforted" indeed we could say they have experienced "nacham." If we forget that we have been revived, that we too have looked upon the cross and the body placed in the tomb; we can also declare that Someone has revived us and bids us to GO! and share the good news that we have.

In any case, keep reading and don't be afraid of the New Life found each New Day in the easy glanced-over parts of this Book of Life.

Gratitude

I keep a "Gratitude Journal." I saw the outline (6 items) in an article several years ago, and I've revised it a bit to suit my needs. The main part is writing down 3 things from the previous 24 hours for which you are grateful. Most days, our life is so pleasant and delightful, I have to think hard, and occasionally had to resort to "beautiful weather for a walk along the lake," or "modern technology."

Since our son Phil's diagnosis of brain cancer two weeks ago, finding things to be grateful for has been no problem--some days I can record 15 and bust right past three. From Ron Brown calling the squad, to Pastor Margo's faithful visits, to borrowed walker, to visits from loyal friends, some going back to his childhood, it has been a snap. And as you've noticed, I write a lot (always have). It's not a method I'd recommend for writer's block, but I think I'm not the only one who takes life for granted until we're shocked back to reality.

 

Phil (left) one week after surgery with friend Craig

Yes, it’s true.

Focus word for 2018

Although I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year, I did choose a focus word--GRATITUDE.

 Yesterday at the pregnancy center I folded and put away baby clothes--the 0-3 months size. So tiny. And of course, I'm grateful for everyone who helps women in difficult pregnancies, but as I handled tiny little hand made items, I was grateful especially for all the ladies (or maybe some men?) who maybe sit alone or watch TV and knit or crochet these tiny welcome gifts. And all the church ladies who lovingly pack the layettes and leave little Bible verses and notes. May God bless their memories of their own babies or their nieces and nephews or grandchildren.

Practicing to be happy

You can practice being happy--it's a choice.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/shawn-achor-s-6-exercises-for-happiness-1.3040937

"1. Gratitude Exercises. Write down three things you're grateful for that occurred over the last 24 hours.
They don't have to be profound. It could be a really good cup of coffee or the warmth of a sunny day.

2. The Doubler. Take one positive experience from the past 24 hours and spend two minutes writing down every detail about that experience. As you remember it, your brain labels it as meaningful and deepens the imprint.

3. The Fun Fifteen. Do 15 minutes of a fun cardio activity, like gardening or walking the dog, every day. The effects of daily cardio can be as effective as taking an antidepressant.

4. Meditation. Every day take two minutes to stop whatever you're doing and concentrate on breathing. Even a short mindful break can result in a calmer, happier you.

5. Conscious act of kindness. At the start of every day, send a short email or text praising someone you know. Our brains become addicted to feeling good by making others feel good.

6.Deepen Social Connections. Spend time with family and friends. Our social connections are one of the best predictors for success and health, and even life expectancy."

Early morning gratitude

Gratitude. Thank you, Lord--turned on the beautiful Christmas lights. Thank you, Lord--first cup of coffee with a little dark chocolate in it. Thank you, Lord--walking with no pain. Thank you, Lord--first Christmas card--from long time friends. Thank you, Lord--long chat with my brother and he sounds great.  And so much, sometimes I forget. . .

The best advice you'll get on gratitude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxmORnnP3WI

Dennis Prager's Prager U. videos are the best.

Grateful people can change the world.

Thankful for what

It’s a little beyond Thanksgiving, the holiday, but I watched Dr. Jeremiah on a Christian TV channel and liked the subject—thankfulness.  Thought it would be good to have it on file. http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/turning-point/video-player/thankful-for-what-435307.html   The sermon begins at about 19:50—or you can watch and listen to the music (contemporary) and then sermon.  Take away.  Thankfulness is not a feeling, it’s an action.  The feeling will come after the action.

Paul is the “thankfulness” writer of the Bible, and most of those letters were written from prison.

So what does work? The common cold

With three events cancelled this week, we're still slogging through my husband's annual holiday cold, or so it seems. My colds usually last three weeks, his two weeks. "Americans spent about $3.6 billion on over-the-counter cold, cough and throat remedies in 2009 . . . In addition, cold and flu sufferers will spend millions of dollars on prescription antibiotics that have no effect on viral infections." according to a NYT health/money article. And I know that, but was out there helping the profit margin at CVS and Wal-Mart refreshing our supply of dated OTC cold "remedies," none of which seem to work. This time I bought real Claritin because I couldn't find the generic Loratadine that I like, and I bought a different unbrand antihistamine because the one we like wasn't around anywhere. We also used the old faithfuls of more bed rest, chicken broth, and a whole lot of football (which is the only plus for holiday colds). For the first time my husband put Vicks on the soles of his feet instead of his neck--that remedy is going around the internet! The article continues:

"So, what does work? While few, if any, medicines can shorten the duration of a cold, some can help reduce the onerous symptoms of upper respiratory infections. Nasal sprays shrink swollen blood vessels and relieve stuffy noses, though the relief is temporary and you should not use spray for more than three days.

Acetaminophen and ibuprofen can reduce fevers and body aches. Rinsing your nasal passages with a saline solution or breathing steam can help loosen mucous and increase nasal secretions, which can help to prevent a secondary sinus infection. Humidifiers and hot showers also help. Drinking warm liquids like tea has been shown to reduce a variety of cold and flu symptoms.

And don’t forget chicken soup. The age-old remedy, as you’ve no doubt heard, actually does help to reduce the symptoms of the common cold."

So far, I haven't caught his cold, but I'll touch a door handle or table top at the coffee shop that a germy 2 year old's parent recently used and I'll then be down for the count. If that's the worst health problem I experience at my age, I'll be grateful for the cold. (My New Year's resolution is "practice gratitude and appreciation.")

HT Tara Parker Pope of NYT