How does one live life thankfully? For one thing, we can open our eyes to the bounty of gifts God spreads before us every day. But that doesn't mean we are to ignore reality. A life grounded in gratitude faces misfortune and tragedy with an underlying faith that there is also hope. Gratefulness at this level opens our hearts and assures our souls that God is with us in ways far beyond our imaginings. The surety of God’s goodness and the steadfastness of God’s love foster gratefulness so potent it permeates our very selves, and in so doing transforms who we are.
Here we offer thoughts, practices and prayers for nurturing a grateful heart. We hope that they'll serve as a year-round resource as you explore the meaning of gratitude, and unlock the promise of a thankful life.
Thoughts and suggestions pointing to all God has given us and the joy that comes from a grateful heart
In this, the first of six talks based on her book How Can I see the Light When It Is So Dark? Journey to a Thankful Heart , author Linda Douty challenges us to re-examine what it means to be grateful.
In the second installment, Linda Douty examines belief as a way to point ourselves in the right direction.
Despite our best intentions, the path to a grateful heart can be rugged and discouraging. In her third talk, Linda Douty addresses the many barriers to gratefulness that confront us, both those that originate in our surrounding culture and those patterns of thinking and behavior that begin inside.
In Bridges to Gratitude, Linda Douty explores ways of thinking and behaving that help us cooperate with the divine flow of thanksgiving. “The good news,” she says, “is that there are a multitude of options available.”
Continuing Linda Douty’s exploration of the many ways we can become gratitude, be thankfulness, this summary lists some of the practices that Douty recommends with a quote or two from her talk.
In this final talk, Linda Douty describes some of the ways we change when we walk to the beat of a grateful heart.
Offering thanks for life's blessings
A Prayer of Gratitude for Life
Gracious God, I thank you for the hopefulness that surges through me....
Two Prayers for Expressing Joy
Gracious God, I feel such joy in my heart this day. It is as if the shadows that have kept me in the forgotten places of life have been swept away....
In the second installment, Linda Douty examines belief as a way to point ourselves in the right direction.
In this final talk, Linda Douty describes some of the ways we change when we walk to the beat of a grateful heart.
Gracious God, I feel such joy in my heart this day. It is as if the shadows that have kept me in the forgotten places of life have been swept away....
Continuing Linda Douty’s exploration of the many ways we can become gratitude, be thankfulness, this summary lists some of the practices that Douty recommends with a quote or two from her talk.
In Bridges to Gratitude, Linda Douty explores ways of thinking and behaving that help us cooperate with the divine flow of thanksgiving. “The good news,” she says, “is that there are a multitude of options available.”
All other human efforts to infuse life with meaning and purpose start from the perspective of getting something we don't already have, whereas Christianity starts with the understanding that we have already received all there is to have. What remains is how to say thanks for that incredible gift…
Think of what occurs in your own life when you start feeling unhappy with the way things are.... You begin to feel less and less full, less and less grateful, less and less peaceful, less and less human.
The hidden word inside gratitude is gratus —which simply means pleasing. A Gratitude Glass can remind us of what is pleasing.
The grace of God—in it we live our lives, and if there is nothing we can do to take that away, then there is nothing left for us to do except to be God's grateful people, to offer up an overflowing cup of thanksgiving back to God, a full cup of gratitude spilling out of everything we say and do…
I want to give you a sure-fire formula for how to be utterly miserable at the place at which you find yourself today. And that is to compare yourself to other people. Living in self-absorption is the way to misery. Living in compassion and awareness and generosity to others, that is the secret of joy.
God’s generosity is a model for us—a standard by which to measure our own commitment. The question is: Are we ready and able to live a life characterized by extreme generosity?…
In this, the first of six talks based on her book How Can I see the Light When It Is So Dark? Journey to a Thankful Heart , author Linda Douty challenges us to re-examine what it means to be grateful.
Despite our best intentions, the path to a grateful heart can be rugged and discouraging. In her third talk, Linda Douty addresses the many barriers to gratefulness that confront us, both those that originate in our surrounding culture and those patterns of thinking and behavior that begin inside.
Gracious God, I thank you for the hopefulness that surges through me....
