August 27, 2025 • 41 mins
As hosts, we often find ourselves struggling to stay grateful in the middle of life’s demands, just like many of our listeners. In this episode, we share how simple practices helped us redirect our focus from stress to thankfulness. Heidi tells of a family trip filled with illness and rainy weather, yet gratitude turned it into a treasured memory. Christina opens up about caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s, discovering that thankfulness could lift her anxious thoughts and anchor her in moments of joy.
We also explore creative ways to keep gratitude front and center—like using “gratitude triggers,” visual reminders, or habit stacking to weave thankfulness into daily routines. Beyond personal growth, we reveal how gratitude can transform relationships, even before tough conversations. Biblical examples show us how a steady practice of thanksgiving can lead to a deeper awareness of God’s gifts. We challenge listeners to try just two simple practices over the next week and see how joy naturally follows gratitude.
Learn more about our Revelation Within Community: https://www.revelationwithin.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Revelation Within On the Go.
I'm Heidi Bilesma-Epperson, oneof your hosts and the owner and
lead coach ofRevelationWithinorg.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a
Revelation Within coach andHeidi's partner in all things
Revelation Within, and we are sohappy to invite you to join us
for this episode of RevelationWithin.
(00:35):
On Back to Go, and we have armsup, arms up while we're doing
it Absolutely, absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
We have been having such a good old time in our
community.
We have at rev within dot team.
Yes, during the month of augustit is our tradition to focus in
on one kind of mind renewal,like romans 12, 2 says, in that
we use gratitude all month long.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
All month long.
I love it.
I look forward to it every yearand I'm sad when it's over, but
we continue it going all yearlong, of course.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Of course, but I wanted to share the change that
I experienced, that Iexperienced.
There's one really solid memoryI have of where gratitude made a
humongous difference in themost unlikeliest of situations
and, christina, you be thinkingof one too that you can share
(01:37):
and then we'll launch into somecreative ways of giving
gratitude, because it's not justnecessarily the same old, same
old.
No, we don't have to do thesame old, same old.
Anyway, years ago, I think itwas 2008.
My family of four and I, mykids' dad and my kids and myself
went back East from California.
(02:00):
We flew all the way fromCalifornia to Washington DC or
something.
I don't know where we landed,but we had this marvelous trip
planned for a week back east togo see some of the sights of the
making of our nation, and thatwas something we had hoped to do
previously.
But, yeah, 9-11 had destroyedthat idea, but never mind about
(02:28):
that anyway, anyway, and I wasin the midst of practicing
gratitude quite a bit.
It was when Ann Voskamp's book1000 Gifts was had just come out
and it was all the rage, and soI had gotten on board with that
had a blog where I had 1000gifts and I was keeping track.
(02:50):
So we went on this trip together, the family and I.
Let's watch to see what God isgoing to give us and do with us
and for us, so that we can kindof give thanks to him along the
way for the blessings.
And we'll take pictures andwe'll put them up on the
internet, where I have this blog.
And it was so much fun.
(03:11):
All four of us got in on it.
The kids were probably youngteenagers I can't remember
exactly how old they were then,but anyway, and we did Every day
, we would spend time oh look,this is what God has done for us
today.
And you know, we, or we wouldreview the day or we would look
ahead.
What's he going to do today?
And it's not about gimme God,gimme, gimme, gimme.
(03:34):
It was more about recognizinghim in all of the things that
were going on.
Anyway, I remember one of ourdrives through Williamsburg, we
actually saw this ginormoustortoise-like turtle thing
crossing the road in the pouringrain and we walked out, of
course, to see it.
(03:54):
Nobody else was around, it wasbeautiful lush vegetation and
this tortoise thing, oh mygoodness.
I say thing because I'd neverseen a tortoise that looked like
this one.
I don't know if he was likesome sort of a snapping turtle
or something.
Anyway, um, but it wasfascinating.
It was so fascinating.
And then there were just otherthings, of course, that you know
(04:17):
, like the upgrade on the rentalcar.
That was cool, you know, um,and the kids were.
They.
They were such good sports andthey played along, and even
their dad did too, and it was.
It was great.
But the way I knew it hadchanged.
All of us was on our way backhome from the airport in the
(04:37):
Sacramento area to our.
We were on the highway drivingall the way back to the
foothills where we lived.
We were on the highway drivingall the way back to the
foothills where we lived.
The kids and their dad and Iwere all saying, oh, wow, when
can we go again?
This was so much fun.
I mean, we had been travelingtogether.
Three of us had been sickduring this trip.
There had been all kinds ofrain, but I think it was because
(05:01):
of gratitude, practicinggratitude and celebrating the
way we saw God at work that wewanted to go again.
It wasn't the trip itself, itwas that celebration of gifts,
good gifts from the one who isthe good and perfect giver of
all perfect gifts, so anyway.
(05:21):
so for me, gratitude has areally significant impact on my
life, when I'm practicing it andwhen I'm not, you can tell,
because I'm a grump.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I love that story, heidi.
I've heard it many times and Ilove it.
I love it.
It's such a great example ofpracticing gratitude and what a
difference it can make, such adifference.
Okay, so while you were talking,I was thinking of all these
different things that I couldshare.
So I'm going to go to back intime a little bit, to when my
(05:54):
mom was quite deeply entrenchedwith the Alzheimer's.
It was really consuming her andher memory was very, very short
in the moment, but also she hadgone backwards in time and
wasn't able to remember what wasyou know kind of her situation
and everything.
So I remember that I would goover and she and I had a couple
(06:19):
of days a week together where Ikind of cared for her and gave
my dad a break.
And it was on my off days and Ilooked forward to those days,
but I also planned for them.
I was teaching at the time andI've, you know, taught for years
and years, and so I basicallydid up some lesson plans in my
mind, kind of, and I had thingsprepared in a bag and I had you.
(06:42):
I just knew what we were goingto do, because if I wasn't
prepared, she would very quicklyspiral into negative thoughts
and anxiety, and it was hard.
It was really, really hard, andsome of you out there might be
dealing with caregiving and howdifficult that is, and so to be
ready, it gave me a way to, youknow, just kind of have things
(07:06):
that that would be good.
So I would bring things in mybag that I knew would lift her
up and then I would kind ofmodel for her gratitude, because
in many ways she had forgottenhow to practice gratitude and
she was never one to be veryopen with her faith, she was
(07:28):
very private about it, and sofor me to be able to say things
out loud that I was thanking Godfor it really touched her and
kind of gave her a way tocommunicate with me.
So we did it together and itwas lots of fun.
And as soon as her thoughtswould go in a negative direction
(07:49):
, she had a lot of fears, a lotof anxieties and worries, and
many of them were about thingsthat weren't even real.
As soon as we started talkingabout these things that made her
happy and you know, like, forexample, I had a list of story
starters, things that I knew shestill remembered, for example,
(08:10):
her garden where she grew up.
I would say, let's talk aboutthat garden behind your
apartment building.
What about the rabbit?
Tell me about the rabbit thatyou had, that was your pet, and
about the apple tree that yourbrother planted.
Remember that apple tree.
Were they red apples or greenapples?
Were they yellow?
How did they taste?
(08:31):
Were they tart or sweet?
You know, did you make appleturnovers or apple pies with
your mom, or apple cooking?
And her mind would immediatelygo into a direction that was
gratitude.
(08:51):
And then I would say, oh, mom,I'm so thankful for that apple
tree and oh, mom, I'm sothankful that you had a rabbit
and God really took care of youas a child, even though you grew
up during wartime.
And she would say, yeah, he did, he really did.
And so it turned those meetingsof ours.
(09:13):
Of course, I had like a littletable with tea set up and we
would.
You know the the atmosphere wasimportant too.
It was like an atmosphere ofgratitude and joy.
Anyway, I just I remember thosetimes with fondness, and my mom
(09:34):
, of course, is in heaven nowand has been for quite a few
years.
But we just went on thisamazing trip, um, our family and
we got to go to that apartmentbuilding and we got to visit
that apple tree and it was sospecial to me and I got to give
all kinds of gratitude to Godfor having that special
experience and with my familytoo, with my kids and everything
(09:56):
.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So super special.
Yeah, that really is.
You know, one of the things Ihave found to be true is that I
can have the best of intentionsto give gratitude, to have
gratitude be kind of a tone andcolor of my life, but I tend to
forget.
Yes, I tend to forget to givegratitude and I want to not
(10:18):
forget.
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, exactly, we kind of needreminders.
Let's talk about that for aminute.
Why do we even need reminders?
Why do we forget?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, life is noisy.
I mean, there's things comingat us every day all the time
emails and texts, and you know,podcasts oh wait, this is a
podcast.
I mean, and then we've got workand we've got the kids, and
we've got the parents and we'vegot all the different things
that are happening, and sogratitude can easily get drowned
(10:48):
out.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
One place in scripture that is really honest
about this is Psalm 103, versetwo.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, andforget not all of his benefits.
Forgetting is normal, honestly.
As humans we forget all thetime, we forget and we end up
going into a more negative place.
(11:11):
That's kind of our normaldefault.
But here's the good newsRemembering can be trained.
We can train ourselves to bepeople of gratitude.
And then it just comes up, itbubbles up when we're in the
middle of different situations,especially the hard ones.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Well, we're going to talk a little bit today about
some creative ways of givinggratitude, ways of remembering
to give gratitude, and so let'sjust start with some of the ones
that come most readily to manyof us.
Probably you know thatgratitude journaling, for
instance, where you just jotdown three things each day,
(11:54):
maybe before you go to bed orfirst thing in the morning.
It's fast, it's simple, it'spowerful, and for me to remember
to do that, I can set a journalout in a prominent place.
Maybe it's a coffee table or akitchen counter, or in a chair
that I know I'll be sitting into remind me to jot down three
(12:15):
things.
It doesn't take very long, noit's so quick so yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
What's another way?
Okay, how about a gratitude jar?
And this is so fun to do with afamily, or with your coworkers,
or with grandkids, or?
Your own kids or nieces ornephews, slips of praise that
you reread on your low days.
So you're going to just writelittle you know, cut out the
(12:41):
papers ahead of time, justlittle slips of paper, or even
you could use sticky notes, andthen you're going to write down
what you're grateful for, andthose are available to you
anytime, especially when youjust really need that
encouragement.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, I also like having whether it's scripture
cards or maybe using stickynotes for that or just things
that I know I've been gratefulfor where I will tape them up at
different places in the houseor in my car or at the office or
wherever you know your eyesmight fall, and then, when your
(13:18):
eyes fall on that particularscripture card or sticky note or
whatever it might be, you cangive thanks right then you know
whether it's out loud or donequietly in your heart.
I think it has a profoundimpact, regardless it does it
does.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
How about the alarms on your phone, the reminders on
your phone, a gentle little buzzthat says what's one gift right
now that you can thank God for?
You know, you can put those inyour reminders.
When you were talking, heidi, Iwas thinking about the shower
and I was thinking we all takeshowers, we all brush our teeth,
(13:55):
things like that.
You could put a sticky note inyour shower, at a place that
doesn't get wet, of course, or,you know, and it could be, let's
just spend that shower timepracticing gratitude.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Definitely.
I know that there are prettywell regarded books out right
now.
One of them talks about habitstacking.
So if you have something thatyou do habitually, like drinking
coffee every morning rightafter you get out of bed or
brushing your teeth or whateverit might be, you can attach to
(14:29):
that another habit, like givinggratitude or writing three
things in your gratitude journal, and that way you will
associate it with somethingyou're already well-practiced in
doing habitually in a good way,and so that can be kind of
helpful and it can help us toforget not all of his benefits.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yes, I like to habit stack with housework.
You know things that we allhave to fold the laundry and put
it away well, or put it back inthe basket we all have.
We all wash our dishes.
You know, there's things thatwe all kind of do that are very
daily, mundane tasks.
(15:10):
I love to practice gratitudeduring those times and then one
of my other very, very favoritesis either taking a drive or a
walk, depending on how I'mfeeling that day.
If I'm able to take a walk, Igo and take a walk and I'm
thankful for maybe the first 10minutes of the walk.
I'm practicing gratitude andpraise at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
And it is so uplifting.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
It just fills me up.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Yeah, it really does.
I think God wired us for that.
Yes, in 1 Thessalonians 5.18,we read give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God'swill for you in Christ Jesus.
I have to say something aboutthis verse really quick, and
that is you know, a lot of timeswe wonder what is God's will
for my life.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Well, here it is.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
It says in 1 Corinthians 5, 18, giving thanks
in all circumstances.
And I also think it's ablessing that it says give
thanks in all circumstances, notfor all circumstances.
I mean there's other placeswhere we might be able to
extrapolate that God wants us tobe grateful for everything.
I'm not so sure.
(16:22):
I think he gets it when westruggle with that.
But in all circumstances.
You know, we don't need to waitfor perfect conditions.
Gratitude can begin right wherewe are, and so so very often,
since gratitude kind of beginswith noticing, we have something
else for you, listener.
(16:43):
We're going to visit a wellwhere noticing changed
everything.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yes, this is a very famous well you know this story.
It's from John, chapter 4,verses 28 and 29.
So just kind of sit back for aminute and relax.
If you're driving, keep youreyes open, if not, maybe you
want to close your eyes and justkind of imagine this story with
us.
Midday heat wavers over thestones.
(17:09):
Midday heat wavers over thestones.
She walks alone, head downwater jar creaking at her hip.
One conversation with Jesus andthe shame that, clung like dust
, is rinsed clean.
She forgets the jar, feetflying.
She rushes back to townbreathless with hope.
(17:31):
Come see a man who told meeverything I ever did is what
she says.
Gratitude turns a private woundinto a public witness.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
And then I love this idea.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, beautiful story , beautiful story and I love
this idea right here.
Gratitude loves to move.
Have you ever thought of that?
Gratitude loves to move fromthe heart to the mouth, to
others, to the neighborhood, towhere you work, to the next room
, to you know, your home withyour family.
(18:09):
Gratitude loves to move.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And it might just be like it was for this woman at
the well that it's come and see,come and meet him, come and
find out what he's done.
Let me tell you what happened.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I'm so excited, I can't keep it in.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Right, exactly Well, there are playful ways of kind
of creating triggers.
How often do we use the wordtrigger to indicate something
positive?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
We are going to do that though.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
We can create positive, playful gratitude
triggers.
So we're going to makeremembering what I have to be
grateful for, or rememberinggiving gratitude, kind of fun.
What about a playlist?
Maybe, if you have Spotify orPandora or iTunes, whatever it
is, have a playlist of songsthat cause your heart to just
(19:03):
explode with joy and gratitude.
There's so many awesome songsout right now that Christian
artists have been writing andit's almost like God is on a
theme with many of them forgratitude, and that is really
cool.
So create a gratitude playlistand play it and let your feet
dance and maybe your heart givepraise and thanks out loud.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Oh, I love, love, love that idea and that's a
great way to bring movement intowhich is just so good for our
bodies.
Okay, here's another idea.
How about your lock screen onyour phone?
How about have it be a picturethat shouts gift every time you
unlock it?
I actually have my family on mylock screen right now.
(19:47):
Or maybe you want it to be areminder to give thanks.
You could have, you know, animage on there that says give
thanks right now.
What are you thankful for inthis moment?
It can take about two secondsto do this, but how often do we
pick up our phones during theday?
About 25,000 times.
(20:08):
This is a great idea toremember.
It's time to give thanks.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Mm-hmm, this is a great idea to remember it's time
to give thanks.
We can also kind of associate,you know, cause a trigger of
gratitude and thanksgiving bymaybe lighting a certain scented
candle or diffusing anessential oil, a certain scent
that can remind us to givegratitude.
We can kind of associate it forourselves.
(20:35):
When I smell this scent itmeans I'm in a place where I'm
giving gratitude, and that canbe kind of fun too.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, I love that too , or maybe a lotion that smells
really good that you're puttingon your hands.
I live in a very, very dryclimate, and so everyone I know
carries little bits of lotion intheir purse and they're always
putting it on their hands.
That would be a great positivetrigger.
Okay, here's another one Sneakystickies.
(21:06):
So sticky notes that you put inplaces where you're going to
see them, no matter what.
Notes that you put in placeswhere you're going to see them,
no matter what.
Maybe it's your dashboard,maybe it's a note on a mirror,
maybe it's at work, you know, onyour computer or whatever.
A mug that you love, that'syour favorite, you're going to
use for that coffee.
Put a sticky note and they canbe reminders.
(21:28):
For what am I grateful for?
Or you could even write, writeon there yeah, what are you
thankful for in that moment?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Awesome, you know, and some of us are a little more
shy about this stuff thanothers, and so if, rather than
having the actual phrase givethanks or remember to give God
thanks for this or whatever, youdon't even need to put words on
the sticky, you can just havethe sticky remind you without
(21:57):
having any words on it at all.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
So that's just it.
Sticky notes these days in allkinds of shapes, and you know
you could get a little heart soyou could do whatever you want,
just as a reminder for you, andit could be very private or for
you, and it could be veryprivate.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah, another kind of a fun gratitude trigger might
be having a bracelet or a ringthat is, um, reminds you to give
thanks.
I did this once with a braceletthat had like a tassel that
kind of got in the way.
It sounds silly, but every timeit bothered me.
Instead of being bothered, Iwould give gratitude for
something, and so you could dothat.
(22:38):
You could have a gratitudebracelet or a ring or some other
piece of jewelry or something,and whenever you notice it, name
one blessing out loud.
It's kind of fun, yeah, I lovethat idea.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Here's another one that's really fun in a group,
maybe with your friends orfamily, coworkers a blessing
bell.
So you grab the bell and youchime it and you have to say one
thank you before you pass it tothe next person at the table.
I love that idea.
I would say we have to goaround five times.
(23:14):
It'd be so much fun to do this.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Another great trigger can be when you go through a
door from your home, maybe outinto the world for the day, or
whatever you do with your life,or back in through the door.
Door, you can have thedoorframe be your cue.
So to practice this, you mighteven put your hand on the door
and say thank you, lord, for asI enter, as I leave, I'm giving
(23:40):
gratitude for whatever it mightbe, and that way the doorframe
is actually your trigger.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I love that.
And then I've mentioned thisone already, the gratitude walk.
But maybe you want to use yoursenses.
You know what do I see, whatcan I feel and touch?
Or maybe what am I feelingemotionally, what do I smell,
what do I hear as you're walking?
I love doing that in ourneighborhood.
(24:06):
There's so many beautifulthings to be thankful for.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Well, speaking of senses, let's kind of go back in
time again and step into a coolnight where gratitude first
smelled like hay.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Oh, okay, wonderful.
This is the Shepherds at theNativity, luke 2.20.
So just kind of relax andlisten and enjoy the story.
Cold air, warm animals, a quietsky, and then it tears open
with music.
(24:43):
Hearts are hammering, feet run.
They kneel by a feeding troughcradling a king.
Before sunrise they're back inthe hills, laughing, telling,
singing.
They still smell like sheep,but now they sound like joy.
(25:03):
The shepherds returnedglorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heardand seen.
Gratitude actually makes theordinary work a parade.
I love it, isn't that so true?
So?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
so true.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
So from Colossians 3.16,.
Let the message of Christ dwellamong you, richly singing to
God with gratitude in yourhearts.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
I love that verse.
Well, I love the word of God forso many reasons, not the least
of which is whether it'sshepherds, who were the lowliest
of low in the society at thetime, or to throne rooms.
You've got gratitude singing inevery part of the world,
everywhere.
And so for this one, thislittle glimpse of somebody
(25:54):
giving gratitude, we're inIsaiah 38, 19 and 20.
Picture this a king.
He has turned his face to thewall and tears are spotting the
stone.
The death sentence has justlifted.
Fifteen more years land in hislap like sunlight.
(26:16):
Strings are tuned and a melodyrises right out of King
Hezekiah's mouth the living, theliving.
They praise you, the Lord willsave me and we will sing.
Gratitude can echo past ourlifetimes when we tell it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Well, yes, let's get into a few reminders that are
faith rooted and see if one ofthese kind of floats your boat.
Okay, so open every prayer withthree thank yous.
That's so easy.
We just start with the wordThank you.
Do three thank yous before youtalk to the lord about anything
(26:57):
else.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I love that or how about highlighting every
thanksgiving verse you find thismonth, whether you're like in
your devotional time orcommunity bible study, or bible
study, fellowship or preceptstudy, whatever it be, just
highlight any verse that remindsyou to give thanks or praise or
(27:18):
thanksgiving or gratitude.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, sounds like fun to me it does.
And then how about this one?
Pick a song, an anthem, a hymn,whatever it is on gratitude and
sing it every day.
There is something that happensto my heart when I sing.
It is, I mean, really it justchanges me.
It softens my heart toward theLord.
(27:41):
Especially when I'm fearful,when I'm upset, when I'm sad,
when I'm stressed, singing outloud to the Lord changes me.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
It really does to the Lord changes me it really does.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
It does when God sets someone free.
Gratitude often walks home withthem.
Oh, okay.
So our next story is the manfreed from a legion, and this is
in Mark 5, yesterday chainsclanging in a graveyard, eyes
wild Today, calm, clothed,clear-eyed, by the shoreline he
(28:24):
begs to follow, but Jesus sendshim home instead.
Tell how much the Lord has donefor you, and he does, and towns
that once avoided him now echowith his story.
Gratitude Think about this fora minute.
Gratitude is the first word onthe lips of the newly free,
(28:48):
isn't that so true?
We get so excited and we can'thold it in.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
True, we get so excited and we can't hold it in.
If Jesus were to say to youtoday, go home and tell what the
Lord has done, I wonder whatone sentence would you share?
Yeah, that's such a goodquestion.
(29:17):
Yeah, habits carry us whenfeelings fade, so it's always
good to have ways of buildinggratitude in as a habit.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
So we've got more tips for you, yeah.
So how about this one, the oneone, one rule, one thanks in the
morning, one at midday, one atnight, and you can easily pair
these with your meals.
If that's something you like todo, start every meal with
Thanksgiving and you've got allthree there, or maybe more if
you'd like to eat many meals.
(29:40):
So here's another idea.
Thank you because sointentionally adding a reason,
this actually deepens the neuralimprint in your brain.
It takes it so much deeper.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
So thank you because here's another way of
celebrating things to begrateful for.
Create a gratitude photo albumon your phone or maybe in real
life, yes, Do people still dothat?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I guess they do do people still do that?
Yes, I don't know.
I guess they do snap a pictureof one little blessing or gift
per day and then on fridays youcan review the ones that you
have taken that week.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
That sounds like fun it does, okay, this one is so
much fun.
A weekly gratitude letter oneparagraph emailed or handwritten
.
Now, this could be a letter tothe Lord, this could be a letter
to a person, this could be aletter to one of your kids or
grandkids or your neighbor.
One paragraph emailed orhandwritten.
(30:47):
I love this idea so powerful.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Here's another one Commute cue.
So whether it's a red lightwhen you're out and about in
your car, or maybe it's a hornhonking yeah, or maybe it's a
traffic jam, these can betriggers reminding you to give
thanks.
And specifically, you mightwant to attach the trigger to
(31:13):
this like prompt name one giftI'm driving toward.
That's kind of fun.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, that's fun too.
I love that.
How about this one A mealtimeblessing hack?
So, before you eat, thank Godfor all the unseen hands that
brought the food to you at thetable the farmers, the drivers,
the cashiers, the people thathelped make the food in the
(31:40):
kitchen.
You know, that's just really afun one that I think would be
new to most of us.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah, okay.
So how about, before hardconversations that you know are
coming, you can do what we calla conflict reset?
Jot three things down that youappreciate about the person that
you're going to be in adifficult conversation with.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Ooh, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah, it really is.
It can help soften the tone, itcan tender your heart to them
and remind you oh yeah, theyaren't just about conflict with
me.
There are other nice things Iwant to remember about them.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Yeah, that's a really good one.
How about this one?
The Sabbath sweep and I keepthinking of a broom, because we
do a lot of sweeping in ourhouse because we have hardwood
floors, but it doesn't have tomean that.
So how about this Five minutesto list the week's graces?
Pray, psalm 92, verse one andtwo.
(32:39):
It is good to give thanks tothe Lord, to declare your
steadfast love in the morningand your faithfulness by night.
I love that idea.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Every good and perfect gift is from above, says
James 1.17.
And I love, that gratitude canname the giver behind the gifts
he receives.
Our worship and praise that way.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, and just when you practice gratitude with
somebody, especially about that,somebody just watch them light
up, watch their eyes start totwinkle or even tear up.
I mean, this is powerful stuff.
It goes so much deeper thanjust the mind.
It goes right down into ourhearts.
(33:23):
So let's peek into two quietercorners of scripture, where
thankfulness blossoms.
What story do we have next,heidi?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
We have two little stories.
One is about Anna theprophetess and another one
coming up the widow's offering.
Anna the prophetess is a storyfound in Luke, chapter two,
verse 36 to 38.
And just imagine this, if youwill the temple halls are cool
and dim and an old woman withbright eyes moves through the
(33:58):
shadows like a prayer on feet.
She has spent decades fastingand waiting, waiting for her
Messiah, and then she sees him.
She gave thanks to God andspoke about the child to all.
I love that.
Her gratitude is steady.
It's seasoned and contagious.
(34:21):
Some things take a lifetime toripe.
She had given her life towaiting and praying and fasting
for the Messiah who, of course,came as Jesus while she was
still alive.
Can you imagine?
I love?
Speaker 2 (34:37):
it.
I love it.
Yeah, long obedience flowersinto loud Thanksgiving.
Have you seen that in yourself?
Have you seen that in somebodyelse?
Long obedience flowers intoloud Thanksgiving, and it's
beautiful.
Okay, so now we have thewidow's offering from Luke 21,
(34:58):
verses 1 through 4.
The courtyard hums with coinsclinking into metal mouths.
A widow shuffles forwardfingers closing around two thin
copper pieces.
She drops them in barely awhisper, against the din.
Jesus hears it anyway.
(35:20):
He hears everything this poorwidow has put in more than all
the others is what he says.
Gratitude doesn't always soundlike a symbol.
Sometimes it's a quiet.
Yes, that God calls more.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually
offer to God a sacrifice ofpraise, the fruit of lips that
openly profess his name.
Hebrews 13, 15.
We've got a little bit more foryou, yeah a little bit more In
the relational category of youknow, kind of relating to others
(36:00):
with gratitude.
Notice that thankfulness kindof multiplies when we share it.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yes, it really, really does.
So we've talked about this alittle bit, but how about
sending a short thank you textor a voice memo today?
Think of a person that wouldreally be blessed by that.
It could take you 10 seconds,15 seconds it can be so quick,
and it might just be exactlywhat that person needs.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
How about a starting, a household gratitude board?
I I kind of pictured this as aI haven't ever done it before,
so I'm going to give this one atry.
I think where you have abulletin board up on the wall,
perhaps maybe it would be in ahighly trafficked area of the
house, maybe in the kitchen orby the entry or exit, and
(36:49):
everyone can add a littlesomething every day.
It might be a written note, itmight be a little photograph, it
might be something you'veclipped out, or maybe it's a
memento of some sort, like ifyou went to a concert the night
before, you could put yourlittle ticket stub there.
It just sounds so much fun,almost like a community
scrapboard that's forcelebrating good gifts that God
(37:10):
has given us.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
I love that.
I love that idea too.
I actually saw this idea in arestaurant bathroom and what
they had done.
They had little clothes linesthat they had put up on the wall
in the bathroom with littleclothespins, little tiny ones.
And then they had these piecesof paper and it said what are
(37:32):
you thankful for?
And there were hundreds of them, hundreds of them, and people
had written all these differentthings.
It was so much fun to read whatpeople were thankful for.
It was really neat.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Well, how about let's kind of land this, this ship,
here with a simple plan for thecoming week?
Y'all have heard all theseideas.
There's all kinds of ideas forkind of reminding ourselves that
we want to practice gratitudeand different ways of practicing
gratitude.
(38:07):
So what if you were to pick twodifferent practices and it can
be from our lists or it can befrom your own but two practices
you're going to try for the nextseven days, and I would suggest
writing them down as soon asyou can and then place one of
these as a reminder where you'regoing to run into it.
(38:28):
It might be the mirror, the car, the phone, whatever it might
be and then next week look back,notice which one of these two
practices carried you thefarthest or seemed to have the
biggest, bestest impact, and youcan either try the same ones
for another week or rotate themout.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
So let's go ahead and close with Psalm 126.3.
The Lord has done great thingsfor us and we are filled with
joy when we make room to noticethe great things.
Joy follows us like a shadow inbright sun.
Amen, amen, lord.
(39:12):
Teach our hearts to remember,our lips to praise, our hands to
bless, fill us with the HolySpirit.
That gratitude would be ourdefault posture in the small
things, in the hard things, inthe ordinary things, but
especially in the hard things.
Thank you, lord, amen, amen.
(39:34):
Thanks for joining us.
We are so glad that you've beenwith us today and we hope that
you might join us for our nextepisode of Revelation Within.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
On the go.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
See you next time.
Bye-bye.
Welcome to Revelation Within On the Go.
I'm Heidi Bilesma-Epperson, oneof your hosts and the owner and
lead coach ofRevelationWithinorg.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a
Revelation Within coach andHeidi's partner in all things
Revelation Within, and we are sohappy to invite you to join us
for this episode of RevelationWithin.
(00:35):
On Back to Go, and we have armsup, arms up while we're doing
it Absolutely, absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
We have been having such a good old time in our
community.
We have at rev within dot team.
Yes, during the month of augustit is our tradition to focus in
on one kind of mind renewal,like romans 12, 2 says, in that
we use gratitude all month long.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
All month long.
I love it.
I look forward to it every yearand I'm sad when it's over, but
we continue it going all yearlong, of course.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Of course, but I wanted to share the change that
I experienced, that Iexperienced.
There's one really solid memoryI have of where gratitude made a
humongous difference in themost unlikeliest of situations
and, christina, you be thinkingof one too that you can share
(01:37):
and then we'll launch into somecreative ways of giving
gratitude, because it's not justnecessarily the same old, same
old.
No, we don't have to do thesame old, same old.
Anyway, years ago, I think itwas 2008.
My family of four and I, mykids' dad and my kids and myself
went back East from California.
(02:00):
We flew all the way fromCalifornia to Washington DC or
something.
I don't know where we landed,but we had this marvelous trip
planned for a week back east togo see some of the sights of the
making of our nation, and thatwas something we had hoped to do
previously.
But, yeah, 9-11 had destroyedthat idea, but never mind about
(02:28):
that anyway, anyway, and I wasin the midst of practicing
gratitude quite a bit.
It was when Ann Voskamp's book1000 Gifts was had just come out
and it was all the rage, and soI had gotten on board with that
had a blog where I had 1000gifts and I was keeping track.
(02:50):
So we went on this trip together, the family and I.
Let's watch to see what God isgoing to give us and do with us
and for us, so that we can kindof give thanks to him along the
way for the blessings.
And we'll take pictures andwe'll put them up on the
internet, where I have this blog.
And it was so much fun.
(03:11):
All four of us got in on it.
The kids were probably youngteenagers I can't remember
exactly how old they were then,but anyway, and we did Every day
, we would spend time oh look,this is what God has done for us
today.
And you know, we, or we wouldreview the day or we would look
ahead.
What's he going to do today?
And it's not about gimme God,gimme, gimme, gimme.
(03:34):
It was more about recognizinghim in all of the things that
were going on.
Anyway, I remember one of ourdrives through Williamsburg, we
actually saw this ginormoustortoise-like turtle thing
crossing the road in the pouringrain and we walked out, of
course, to see it.
(03:54):
Nobody else was around, it wasbeautiful lush vegetation and
this tortoise thing, oh mygoodness.
I say thing because I'd neverseen a tortoise that looked like
this one.
I don't know if he was likesome sort of a snapping turtle
or something.
Anyway, um, but it wasfascinating.
It was so fascinating.
And then there were just otherthings, of course, that you know
(04:17):
, like the upgrade on the rentalcar.
That was cool, you know, um,and the kids were.
They.
They were such good sports andthey played along, and even
their dad did too, and it was.
It was great.
But the way I knew it hadchanged.
All of us was on our way backhome from the airport in the
(04:37):
Sacramento area to our.
We were on the highway drivingall the way back to the
foothills where we lived.
We were on the highway drivingall the way back to the
foothills where we lived.
The kids and their dad and Iwere all saying, oh, wow, when
can we go again?
This was so much fun.
I mean, we had been travelingtogether.
Three of us had been sickduring this trip.
There had been all kinds ofrain, but I think it was because
(05:01):
of gratitude, practicinggratitude and celebrating the
way we saw God at work that wewanted to go again.
It wasn't the trip itself, itwas that celebration of gifts,
good gifts from the one who isthe good and perfect giver of
all perfect gifts, so anyway.
(05:21):
so for me, gratitude has areally significant impact on my
life, when I'm practicing it andwhen I'm not, you can tell,
because I'm a grump.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I love that story, heidi.
I've heard it many times and Ilove it.
I love it.
It's such a great example ofpracticing gratitude and what a
difference it can make, such adifference.
Okay, so while you were talking,I was thinking of all these
different things that I couldshare.
So I'm going to go to back intime a little bit, to when my
(05:54):
mom was quite deeply entrenchedwith the Alzheimer's.
It was really consuming her andher memory was very, very short
in the moment, but also she hadgone backwards in time and
wasn't able to remember what wasyou know kind of her situation
and everything.
So I remember that I would goover and she and I had a couple
(06:19):
of days a week together where Ikind of cared for her and gave
my dad a break.
And it was on my off days and Ilooked forward to those days,
but I also planned for them.
I was teaching at the time andI've, you know, taught for years
and years, and so I basicallydid up some lesson plans in my
mind, kind of, and I had thingsprepared in a bag and I had you.
(06:42):
I just knew what we were goingto do, because if I wasn't
prepared, she would very quicklyspiral into negative thoughts
and anxiety, and it was hard.
It was really, really hard, andsome of you out there might be
dealing with caregiving and howdifficult that is, and so to be
ready, it gave me a way to, youknow, just kind of have things
(07:06):
that that would be good.
So I would bring things in mybag that I knew would lift her
up and then I would kind ofmodel for her gratitude, because
in many ways she had forgottenhow to practice gratitude and
she was never one to be veryopen with her faith, she was
(07:28):
very private about it, and sofor me to be able to say things
out loud that I was thanking Godfor it really touched her and
kind of gave her a way tocommunicate with me.
So we did it together and itwas lots of fun.
And as soon as her thoughtswould go in a negative direction
(07:49):
, she had a lot of fears, a lotof anxieties and worries, and
many of them were about thingsthat weren't even real.
As soon as we started talkingabout these things that made her
happy and you know, like, forexample, I had a list of story
starters, things that I knew shestill remembered, for example,
(08:10):
her garden where she grew up.
I would say, let's talk aboutthat garden behind your
apartment building.
What about the rabbit?
Tell me about the rabbit thatyou had, that was your pet, and
about the apple tree that yourbrother planted.
Remember that apple tree.
Were they red apples or greenapples?
Were they yellow?
How did they taste?
(08:31):
Were they tart or sweet?
You know, did you make appleturnovers or apple pies with
your mom, or apple cooking?
And her mind would immediatelygo into a direction that was
gratitude.
(08:51):
And then I would say, oh, mom,I'm so thankful for that apple
tree and oh, mom, I'm sothankful that you had a rabbit
and God really took care of youas a child, even though you grew
up during wartime.
And she would say, yeah, he did, he really did.
And so it turned those meetingsof ours.
(09:13):
Of course, I had like a littletable with tea set up and we
would.
You know the the atmosphere wasimportant too.
It was like an atmosphere ofgratitude and joy.
Anyway, I just I remember thosetimes with fondness, and my mom
(09:34):
, of course, is in heaven nowand has been for quite a few
years.
But we just went on thisamazing trip, um, our family and
we got to go to that apartmentbuilding and we got to visit
that apple tree and it was sospecial to me and I got to give
all kinds of gratitude to Godfor having that special
experience and with my familytoo, with my kids and everything
(09:56):
.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So super special.
Yeah, that really is.
You know, one of the things Ihave found to be true is that I
can have the best of intentionsto give gratitude, to have
gratitude be kind of a tone andcolor of my life, but I tend to
forget.
Yes, I tend to forget to givegratitude and I want to not
(10:18):
forget.
Yeah, me too.
Yeah, exactly, we kind of needreminders.
Let's talk about that for aminute.
Why do we even need reminders?
Why do we forget?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Well, life is noisy.
I mean, there's things comingat us every day all the time
emails and texts, and you know,podcasts oh wait, this is a
podcast.
I mean, and then we've got workand we've got the kids, and
we've got the parents and we'vegot all the different things
that are happening, and sogratitude can easily get drowned
(10:48):
out.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
One place in scripture that is really honest
about this is Psalm 103, versetwo.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, andforget not all of his benefits.
Forgetting is normal, honestly.
As humans we forget all thetime, we forget and we end up
going into a more negative place.
(11:11):
That's kind of our normaldefault.
But here's the good newsRemembering can be trained.
We can train ourselves to bepeople of gratitude.
And then it just comes up, itbubbles up when we're in the
middle of different situations,especially the hard ones.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Well, we're going to talk a little bit today about
some creative ways of givinggratitude, ways of remembering
to give gratitude, and so let'sjust start with some of the ones
that come most readily to manyof us.
Probably you know thatgratitude journaling, for
instance, where you just jotdown three things each day,
(11:54):
maybe before you go to bed orfirst thing in the morning.
It's fast, it's simple, it'spowerful, and for me to remember
to do that, I can set a journalout in a prominent place.
Maybe it's a coffee table or akitchen counter, or in a chair
that I know I'll be sitting into remind me to jot down three
(12:15):
things.
It doesn't take very long, noit's so quick so yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
What's another way?
Okay, how about a gratitude jar?
And this is so fun to do with afamily, or with your coworkers,
or with grandkids, or?
Your own kids or nieces ornephews, slips of praise that
you reread on your low days.
So you're going to just writelittle you know, cut out the
(12:41):
papers ahead of time, justlittle slips of paper, or even
you could use sticky notes, andthen you're going to write down
what you're grateful for, andthose are available to you
anytime, especially when youjust really need that
encouragement.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, I also like having whether it's scripture
cards or maybe using stickynotes for that or just things
that I know I've been gratefulfor where I will tape them up at
different places in the houseor in my car or at the office or
wherever you know your eyesmight fall, and then, when your
(13:18):
eyes fall on that particularscripture card or sticky note or
whatever it might be, you cangive thanks right then you know
whether it's out loud or donequietly in your heart.
I think it has a profoundimpact, regardless it does it
does.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
How about the alarms on your phone, the reminders on
your phone, a gentle little buzzthat says what's one gift right
now that you can thank God for?
You know, you can put those inyour reminders.
When you were talking, heidi, Iwas thinking about the shower
and I was thinking we all takeshowers, we all brush our teeth,
(13:55):
things like that.
You could put a sticky note inyour shower, at a place that
doesn't get wet, of course, or,you know, and it could be, let's
just spend that shower timepracticing gratitude.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Definitely.
I know that there are prettywell regarded books out right
now.
One of them talks about habitstacking.
So if you have something thatyou do habitually, like drinking
coffee every morning rightafter you get out of bed or
brushing your teeth or whateverit might be, you can attach to
(14:29):
that another habit, like givinggratitude or writing three
things in your gratitude journal, and that way you will
associate it with somethingyou're already well-practiced in
doing habitually in a good way,and so that can be kind of
helpful and it can help us toforget not all of his benefits.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yes, I like to habit stack with housework.
You know things that we allhave to fold the laundry and put
it away well, or put it back inthe basket we all have.
We all wash our dishes.
You know, there's things thatwe all kind of do that are very
daily, mundane tasks.
(15:10):
I love to practice gratitudeduring those times and then one
of my other very, very favoritesis either taking a drive or a
walk, depending on how I'mfeeling that day.
If I'm able to take a walk, Igo and take a walk and I'm
thankful for maybe the first 10minutes of the walk.
I'm practicing gratitude andpraise at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
And it is so uplifting.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
It just fills me up.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Yeah, it really does.
I think God wired us for that.
Yes, in 1 Thessalonians 5.18,we read give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God'swill for you in Christ Jesus.
I have to say something aboutthis verse really quick, and
that is you know, a lot of timeswe wonder what is God's will
for my life.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Well, here it is.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
It says in 1 Corinthians 5, 18, giving thanks
in all circumstances.
And I also think it's ablessing that it says give
thanks in all circumstances, notfor all circumstances.
I mean there's other placeswhere we might be able to
extrapolate that God wants us tobe grateful for everything.
I'm not so sure.
(16:22):
I think he gets it when westruggle with that.
But in all circumstances.
You know, we don't need to waitfor perfect conditions.
Gratitude can begin right wherewe are, and so so very often,
since gratitude kind of beginswith noticing, we have something
else for you, listener.
(16:43):
We're going to visit a wellwhere noticing changed
everything.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yes, this is a very famous well you know this story.
It's from John, chapter 4,verses 28 and 29.
So just kind of sit back for aminute and relax.
If you're driving, keep youreyes open, if not, maybe you
want to close your eyes and justkind of imagine this story with
us.
Midday heat wavers over thestones.
(17:09):
Midday heat wavers over thestones.
She walks alone, head downwater jar creaking at her hip.
One conversation with Jesus andthe shame that, clung like dust
, is rinsed clean.
She forgets the jar, feetflying.
She rushes back to townbreathless with hope.
(17:31):
Come see a man who told meeverything I ever did is what
she says.
Gratitude turns a private woundinto a public witness.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
And then I love this idea.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, beautiful story , beautiful story and I love
this idea right here.
Gratitude loves to move.
Have you ever thought of that?
Gratitude loves to move fromthe heart to the mouth, to
others, to the neighborhood, towhere you work, to the next room
, to you know, your home withyour family.
(18:09):
Gratitude loves to move.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And it might just be like it was for this woman at
the well that it's come and see,come and meet him, come and
find out what he's done.
Let me tell you what happened.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I'm so excited, I can't keep it in.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Right, exactly Well, there are playful ways of kind
of creating triggers.
How often do we use the wordtrigger to indicate something
positive?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
We are going to do that though.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
We can create positive, playful gratitude
triggers.
So we're going to makeremembering what I have to be
grateful for, or rememberinggiving gratitude, kind of fun.
What about a playlist?
Maybe, if you have Spotify orPandora or iTunes, whatever it
is, have a playlist of songsthat cause your heart to just
(19:03):
explode with joy and gratitude.
There's so many awesome songsout right now that Christian
artists have been writing andit's almost like God is on a
theme with many of them forgratitude, and that is really
cool.
So create a gratitude playlistand play it and let your feet
dance and maybe your heart givepraise and thanks out loud.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Oh, I love, love, love that idea and that's a
great way to bring movement intowhich is just so good for our
bodies.
Okay, here's another idea.
How about your lock screen onyour phone?
How about have it be a picturethat shouts gift every time you
unlock it?
I actually have my family on mylock screen right now.
(19:47):
Or maybe you want it to be areminder to give thanks.
You could have, you know, animage on there that says give
thanks right now.
What are you thankful for inthis moment?
It can take about two secondsto do this, but how often do we
pick up our phones during theday?
About 25,000 times.
(20:08):
This is a great idea toremember.
It's time to give thanks.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Mm-hmm, this is a great idea to remember it's time
to give thanks.
We can also kind of associate,you know, cause a trigger of
gratitude and thanksgiving bymaybe lighting a certain scented
candle or diffusing anessential oil, a certain scent
that can remind us to givegratitude.
We can kind of associate it forourselves.
(20:35):
When I smell this scent itmeans I'm in a place where I'm
giving gratitude, and that canbe kind of fun too.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, I love that too , or maybe a lotion that smells
really good that you're puttingon your hands.
I live in a very, very dryclimate, and so everyone I know
carries little bits of lotion intheir purse and they're always
putting it on their hands.
That would be a great positivetrigger.
Okay, here's another one Sneakystickies.
(21:06):
So sticky notes that you put inplaces where you're going to
see them, no matter what.
Notes that you put in placeswhere you're going to see them,
no matter what.
Maybe it's your dashboard,maybe it's a note on a mirror,
maybe it's at work, you know, onyour computer or whatever.
A mug that you love, that'syour favorite, you're going to
use for that coffee.
Put a sticky note and they canbe reminders.
(21:28):
For what am I grateful for?
Or you could even write, writeon there yeah, what are you
thankful for in that moment?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Awesome, you know, and some of us are a little more
shy about this stuff thanothers, and so if, rather than
having the actual phrase givethanks or remember to give God
thanks for this or whatever, youdon't even need to put words on
the sticky, you can just havethe sticky remind you without
(21:57):
having any words on it at all.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
So that's just it.
Sticky notes these days in allkinds of shapes, and you know
you could get a little heart soyou could do whatever you want,
just as a reminder for you, andit could be very private or for
you, and it could be veryprivate.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah, another kind of a fun gratitude trigger might
be having a bracelet or a ringthat is, um, reminds you to give
thanks.
I did this once with a braceletthat had like a tassel that
kind of got in the way.
It sounds silly, but every timeit bothered me.
Instead of being bothered, Iwould give gratitude for
something, and so you could dothat.
(22:38):
You could have a gratitudebracelet or a ring or some other
piece of jewelry or something,and whenever you notice it, name
one blessing out loud.
It's kind of fun, yeah, I lovethat idea.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Here's another one that's really fun in a group,
maybe with your friends orfamily, coworkers a blessing
bell.
So you grab the bell and youchime it and you have to say one
thank you before you pass it tothe next person at the table.
I love that idea.
I would say we have to goaround five times.
(23:14):
It'd be so much fun to do this.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Another great trigger can be when you go through a
door from your home, maybe outinto the world for the day, or
whatever you do with your life,or back in through the door.
Door, you can have thedoorframe be your cue.
So to practice this, you mighteven put your hand on the door
and say thank you, lord, for asI enter, as I leave, I'm giving
(23:40):
gratitude for whatever it mightbe, and that way the doorframe
is actually your trigger.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
I love that.
And then I've mentioned thisone already, the gratitude walk.
But maybe you want to use yoursenses.
You know what do I see, whatcan I feel and touch?
Or maybe what am I feelingemotionally, what do I smell,
what do I hear as you're walking?
I love doing that in ourneighborhood.
(24:06):
There's so many beautifulthings to be thankful for.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Well, speaking of senses, let's kind of go back in
time again and step into a coolnight where gratitude first
smelled like hay.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Oh, okay, wonderful.
This is the Shepherds at theNativity, luke 2.20.
So just kind of relax andlisten and enjoy the story.
Cold air, warm animals, a quietsky, and then it tears open
with music.
(24:43):
Hearts are hammering, feet run.
They kneel by a feeding troughcradling a king.
Before sunrise they're back inthe hills, laughing, telling,
singing.
They still smell like sheep,but now they sound like joy.
(25:03):
The shepherds returnedglorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heardand seen.
Gratitude actually makes theordinary work a parade.
I love it, isn't that so true?
So?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
so true.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
So from Colossians 3.16,.
Let the message of Christ dwellamong you, richly singing to
God with gratitude in yourhearts.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
I love that verse.
Well, I love the word of God forso many reasons, not the least
of which is whether it'sshepherds, who were the lowliest
of low in the society at thetime, or to throne rooms.
You've got gratitude singing inevery part of the world,
everywhere.
And so for this one, thislittle glimpse of somebody
(25:54):
giving gratitude, we're inIsaiah 38, 19 and 20.
Picture this a king.
He has turned his face to thewall and tears are spotting the
stone.
The death sentence has justlifted.
Fifteen more years land in hislap like sunlight.
(26:16):
Strings are tuned and a melodyrises right out of King
Hezekiah's mouth the living, theliving.
They praise you, the Lord willsave me and we will sing.
Gratitude can echo past ourlifetimes when we tell it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Well, yes, let's get into a few reminders that are
faith rooted and see if one ofthese kind of floats your boat.
Okay, so open every prayer withthree thank yous.
That's so easy.
We just start with the wordThank you.
Do three thank yous before youtalk to the lord about anything
(26:57):
else.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
I love that or how about highlighting every
thanksgiving verse you find thismonth, whether you're like in
your devotional time orcommunity bible study, or bible
study, fellowship or preceptstudy, whatever it be, just
highlight any verse that remindsyou to give thanks or praise or
(27:18):
thanksgiving or gratitude.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, sounds like fun to me it does.
And then how about this one?
Pick a song, an anthem, a hymn,whatever it is on gratitude and
sing it every day.
There is something that happensto my heart when I sing.
It is, I mean, really it justchanges me.
It softens my heart toward theLord.
(27:41):
Especially when I'm fearful,when I'm upset, when I'm sad,
when I'm stressed, singing outloud to the Lord changes me.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
It really does to the Lord changes me it really does.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
It does when God sets someone free.
Gratitude often walks home withthem.
Oh, okay.
So our next story is the manfreed from a legion, and this is
in Mark 5, yesterday chainsclanging in a graveyard, eyes
wild Today, calm, clothed,clear-eyed, by the shoreline he
(28:24):
begs to follow, but Jesus sendshim home instead.
Tell how much the Lord has donefor you, and he does, and towns
that once avoided him now echowith his story.
Gratitude Think about this fora minute.
Gratitude is the first word onthe lips of the newly free,
(28:48):
isn't that so true?
We get so excited and we can'thold it in.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
True, we get so excited and we can't hold it in.
If Jesus were to say to youtoday, go home and tell what the
Lord has done, I wonder whatone sentence would you share?
Yeah, that's such a goodquestion.
(29:17):
Yeah, habits carry us whenfeelings fade, so it's always
good to have ways of buildinggratitude in as a habit.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
So we've got more tips for you, yeah.
So how about this one, the oneone, one rule, one thanks in the
morning, one at midday, one atnight, and you can easily pair
these with your meals.
If that's something you like todo, start every meal with
Thanksgiving and you've got allthree there, or maybe more if
you'd like to eat many meals.
(29:40):
So here's another idea.
Thank you because sointentionally adding a reason,
this actually deepens the neuralimprint in your brain.
It takes it so much deeper.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
So thank you because here's another way of
celebrating things to begrateful for.
Create a gratitude photo albumon your phone or maybe in real
life, yes, Do people still dothat?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I guess they do do people still do that?
Yes, I don't know.
I guess they do snap a pictureof one little blessing or gift
per day and then on fridays youcan review the ones that you
have taken that week.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
That sounds like fun it does, okay, this one is so
much fun.
A weekly gratitude letter oneparagraph emailed or handwritten
.
Now, this could be a letter tothe Lord, this could be a letter
to a person, this could be aletter to one of your kids or
grandkids or your neighbor.
One paragraph emailed orhandwritten.
(30:47):
I love this idea so powerful.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Here's another one Commute cue.
So whether it's a red lightwhen you're out and about in
your car, or maybe it's a hornhonking yeah, or maybe it's a
traffic jam, these can betriggers reminding you to give
thanks.
And specifically, you mightwant to attach the trigger to
(31:13):
this like prompt name one giftI'm driving toward.
That's kind of fun.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, that's fun too.
I love that.
How about this one A mealtimeblessing hack?
So, before you eat, thank Godfor all the unseen hands that
brought the food to you at thetable the farmers, the drivers,
the cashiers, the people thathelped make the food in the
(31:40):
kitchen.
You know, that's just really afun one that I think would be
new to most of us.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Yeah, okay.
So how about, before hardconversations that you know are
coming, you can do what we calla conflict reset?
Jot three things down that youappreciate about the person that
you're going to be in adifficult conversation with.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Ooh, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Yeah, it really is.
It can help soften the tone, itcan tender your heart to them
and remind you oh yeah, theyaren't just about conflict with
me.
There are other nice things Iwant to remember about them.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Yeah, that's a really good one.
How about this one?
The Sabbath sweep and I keepthinking of a broom, because we
do a lot of sweeping in ourhouse because we have hardwood
floors, but it doesn't have tomean that.
So how about this Five minutesto list the week's graces?
Pray, psalm 92, verse one andtwo.
(32:39):
It is good to give thanks tothe Lord, to declare your
steadfast love in the morningand your faithfulness by night.
I love that idea.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Every good and perfect gift is from above, says
James 1.17.
And I love, that gratitude canname the giver behind the gifts
he receives.
Our worship and praise that way.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Well, and just when you practice gratitude with
somebody, especially about that,somebody just watch them light
up, watch their eyes start totwinkle or even tear up.
I mean, this is powerful stuff.
It goes so much deeper thanjust the mind.
It goes right down into ourhearts.
(33:23):
So let's peek into two quietercorners of scripture, where
thankfulness blossoms.
What story do we have next,heidi?
Speaker 1 (33:34):
We have two little stories.
One is about Anna theprophetess and another one
coming up the widow's offering.
Anna the prophetess is a storyfound in Luke, chapter two,
verse 36 to 38.
And just imagine this, if youwill the temple halls are cool
and dim and an old woman withbright eyes moves through the
(33:58):
shadows like a prayer on feet.
She has spent decades fastingand waiting, waiting for her
Messiah, and then she sees him.
She gave thanks to God andspoke about the child to all.
I love that.
Her gratitude is steady.
It's seasoned and contagious.
(34:21):
Some things take a lifetime toripe.
She had given her life towaiting and praying and fasting
for the Messiah who, of course,came as Jesus while she was
still alive.
Can you imagine?
I love?
Speaker 2 (34:37):
it.
I love it.
Yeah, long obedience flowersinto loud Thanksgiving.
Have you seen that in yourself?
Have you seen that in somebodyelse?
Long obedience flowers intoloud Thanksgiving, and it's
beautiful.
Okay, so now we have thewidow's offering from Luke 21,
(34:58):
verses 1 through 4.
The courtyard hums with coinsclinking into metal mouths.
A widow shuffles forwardfingers closing around two thin
copper pieces.
She drops them in barely awhisper, against the din.
Jesus hears it anyway.
(35:20):
He hears everything this poorwidow has put in more than all
the others is what he says.
Gratitude doesn't always soundlike a symbol.
Sometimes it's a quiet.
Yes, that God calls more.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually
offer to God a sacrifice ofpraise, the fruit of lips that
openly profess his name.
Hebrews 13, 15.
We've got a little bit more foryou, yeah a little bit more In
the relational category of youknow, kind of relating to others
(36:00):
with gratitude.
Notice that thankfulness kindof multiplies when we share it.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Yes, it really, really does.
So we've talked about this alittle bit, but how about
sending a short thank you textor a voice memo today?
Think of a person that wouldreally be blessed by that.
It could take you 10 seconds,15 seconds it can be so quick,
and it might just be exactlywhat that person needs.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
How about a starting, a household gratitude board?
I I kind of pictured this as aI haven't ever done it before,
so I'm going to give this one atry.
I think where you have abulletin board up on the wall,
perhaps maybe it would be in ahighly trafficked area of the
house, maybe in the kitchen orby the entry or exit, and
(36:49):
everyone can add a littlesomething every day.
It might be a written note, itmight be a little photograph, it
might be something you'veclipped out, or maybe it's a
memento of some sort, like ifyou went to a concert the night
before, you could put yourlittle ticket stub there.
It just sounds so much fun,almost like a community
scrapboard that's forcelebrating good gifts that God
(37:10):
has given us.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
I love that.
I love that idea too.
I actually saw this idea in arestaurant bathroom and what
they had done.
They had little clothes linesthat they had put up on the wall
in the bathroom with littleclothespins, little tiny ones.
And then they had these piecesof paper and it said what are
(37:32):
you thankful for?
And there were hundreds of them, hundreds of them, and people
had written all these differentthings.
It was so much fun to read whatpeople were thankful for.
It was really neat.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Well, how about let's kind of land this, this ship,
here with a simple plan for thecoming week?
Y'all have heard all theseideas.
There's all kinds of ideas forkind of reminding ourselves that
we want to practice gratitudeand different ways of practicing
gratitude.
(38:07):
So what if you were to pick twodifferent practices and it can
be from our lists or it can befrom your own but two practices
you're going to try for the nextseven days, and I would suggest
writing them down as soon asyou can and then place one of
these as a reminder where you'regoing to run into it.
(38:28):
It might be the mirror, the car, the phone, whatever it might
be and then next week look back,notice which one of these two
practices carried you thefarthest or seemed to have the
biggest, bestest impact, and youcan either try the same ones
for another week or rotate themout.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
So let's go ahead and close with Psalm 126.3.
The Lord has done great thingsfor us and we are filled with
joy when we make room to noticethe great things.
Joy follows us like a shadow inbright sun.
Amen, amen, lord.
(39:12):
Teach our hearts to remember,our lips to praise, our hands to
bless, fill us with the HolySpirit.
That gratitude would be ourdefault posture in the small
things, in the hard things, inthe ordinary things, but
especially in the hard things.
Thank you, lord, amen, amen.
(39:34):
Thanks for joining us.
We are so glad that you've beenwith us today and we hope that
you might join us for our nextepisode of Revelation Within.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
On the go.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
See you next time.
Bye-bye.
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