{"id":691,"date":"2014-11-27T17:21:10","date_gmt":"2014-11-27T23:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=691"},"modified":"2019-05-17T14:47:22","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T19:47:22","slug":"blessings-of-giving-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2014\/11\/27\/blessings-of-giving-thanks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blessings of Giving Thanks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-693\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title-1024x791.jpg\" alt=\"blessings of giving thanks title\" width=\"625\" height=\"482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title-624x482.jpg 624w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/blessings-of-giving-thanks-title.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a>by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What one habit has most transformed your life?\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>For me the answer would be \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<em>the practice of thanks-giving<\/em><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong>. \u00a0Here are a few of the<strong> blessings of <a title=\"A Note in Your Lunchbox: giving thanks in all things\" href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2014\/09\/21\/lunchbox-note-giving-thanks\/\">giving thanks<\/a><\/strong> that I have experienced:<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Attitude<\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0I see even a little blessing in life as a <strong>bonus, not a right,<\/strong>\u00a0when I appreciate that <strong>my life\u2014and everything in it\u2014is a gift from God.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Contentment<\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong> I am free to\u00a0enjoy each day<\/strong>&#8211;even if things are difficult&#8211;when I give thanks that <strong>God is working all things to good<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Trust.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 It is easier to <strong>trust God&#8217;s direction<\/strong>, especially when the future seems uncertain, as I give thanks for <strong>God\u2019s love and goodness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Fearless following<\/strong><\/span>. I can <strong>boldly follow God&#8217;s lead<\/strong>&#8211;the best i know it&#8211;as I give thanks for <strong>God\u2019s commitment to safely guide me.<\/strong>\u00a0I know that He will make any mid-course corrections if I misunderstand or just wander away for awhile.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Self-concept.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0I am <strong>at peace with who I am<\/strong> when I give thanks for <strong>my life&#8211;the unique blend of attributes that makes me \u201cme\u201d. \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0It\u00a0settles me. \u00a0I have nothing to prove. I am valuable, and valued by the most amazing being in the universe, the person that made me.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Encouragement.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 I am en-couraged\u2014<strong>given courage to be myself<\/strong>, when I appreciate <strong>my <a title=\"identity\" href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/identity.html\">identity and value.<\/a> \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<em>And I can then en-courage others.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Hope<\/strong>. <span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0I have<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">hope<\/span> to see beyond a hardship when I am giving thanks <strong>in the middle of it. \u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>I can also more readily see benefits of those challenging situations.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Perspective.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span> Giving thanks for <strong>eternity<\/strong> reframes my perspective, and reminds me \u00a0<strong>what is really important.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Focus.<\/strong><\/span> Giving thanks for <strong>others<\/strong> takes my <strong>focus off myself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Tolerance<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 When I give thanks for the <strong>unique gifts of others<\/strong>, I more inclined to <strong>celebrate differences, instead of being annoyed by them.<\/strong> <strong>\u00a0<\/strong>I can appreciate that each person&#8217;s individuality makes life rich, just like one spice combined with another creates a wonderful flavor.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Freedom.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Giving thanks for <strong>Christ\u2019s sacrifice<\/strong> allows me to <strong>leave the past behind<\/strong>, and to quit beating myself for being &#8220;imperfect.&#8221; \u00a0<strong>God completes me.<\/strong> In Him I am perfect.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Calling<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 There is nothing like the <strong>deep soul-satisfying joy <\/strong>of God working through me to love another person in my own unique way. \u00a0Giving thanks to God for calling me <strong>to be loved, and then to love<\/strong>&#8211;Him, myself, and those I encounter&#8211;brings me joy.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Presence of God.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Giving thanks in all things<strong> brings me into the very presence of God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The practice of giving thanks in all things has changed&#8211;and continues to change&#8211;my life.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How has giving thanks blessed you? \u00a0We&#8217;d love to hear from you!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Lydia Floren What one habit has most transformed your life?\u00a0\u00a0For me the answer would be \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0the practice of thanks-giving.. \u00a0Here are a few of the blessings of giving thanks that I have experienced: Attitude.\u00a0I see even a little blessing in life as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,467,15],"tags":[74,99,8,10,29,24,53],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-calling","category-finding-direction","category-habits","tag-belonging-to-god","tag-following-god","tag-hope-and-encouragement","tag-joy","tag-love","tag-thankfulness","tag-trust-in-god"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Blessings of Giving Thanks - Belovedlove<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The blessings of giving thanks are life-transforming. 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