Today is the first day of my 31 Days of Thanksgiving series and I’m so excited to introduce you to some of my favorite people. I’m so grateful for their willingness to participate. To kick off the series below is a post from Holley Gerth and I pray it will encourage your soul like it has mine.
My friend and fellow writer Ann Voskamp took a dare to write down one thousand gifts in her life. That list pulled her out of a season of depression and awakened her in new ways to God’s presence.
She says, “All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering is a remembrance of him. For in him all things were created, are sustained, have their being.”
And gratitude is like kryptonite for perfectionism.
Perfectionism says, “It’s not enough.”
Gratitude says, “It’s more than enough.”
Perfectionism says, “I’m lacking.”
Gratitude says, “I’m living in abundance.”
Perfectionism says, “God is holding out on me.”
Gratitude says, “God is good and gracious.”
Perfectionism says, “I must try harder and go farther.”
Gratitude says, “I will be fully present in this moment.”
It turns out giving thanks not only connects us to God, it increases our day-to-day happiness as well. Researchers did an experiment with three groups. The first wrote down five things they were grateful for each week. The second group wrote down five challenges they faced. And the third simply wrote down five random events. Those who recorded five blessings increased their happiness by 25 percent over their baseline level. That’s a significant amount!
Let’s practice defeating perfectionism as well as building our holiness and happiness together: What’s one thing you’re grateful for today?
About The Author:
Holley Gerth is a bestselling author who loves encouraging the hearts of women through books like You’re Already Amazing and her latest release, Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely. She’s also wife to Mark, Mama to Lovelle and Grandma to Ellie {God gave her a wild, unexpected, beautiful family story!}. Holley would love to connect with at holleygerth.com or fiercehearted.com.
To read other posts from this series visit here.
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