Thankfulness Linked to Positive Changes in Brain & Body

I ran across a fascinating article online today which was recently broadcast on ABC's “Good Morning America”.  Health Reporter, Mikaela Conley shares how being Thankful will not only effect our attitude; it also has a very positive effect on our physical being. 

 "Do you feel grateful? Write it down. Think about it. Talk about it. 'Tis the season of thanking, and not only will you spread those positive vibrations to those around you, your health will benefit, too.

For those who tend to be more Grinch-ish than grateful, there's some hard evidence that might make you want to turn that frown upside down. A positive outlook and feelings of thankfulness can have a direct and beneficial effect on the brain and body.

"If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system," said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of the division of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center.

While the act of being thankful is not a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis and treatment, Doraiswamy said it's certainly a strategy that can be used to enhance wellness.

Studies have shown measurable effects on multiple body and brain systems, said Doraiswamy. Those include mood neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine), reproductive hormones (testosterone), social bonding hormones (oxytocin), cognitive and pleasure related neurotransmitters (dopamine), inflammatory and immune systems (cytokines), stress hormones (cortisol), cardiac and EEG rhythms, blood pressure, and blood sugar." -Mikaela Conley

Perhaps this explains why those who are focused on all the blessings of life, who view everything as a gift from God and live in an attitude of gratitude, they are often more healthy, happy, and blessed.  Ungratefulness will eat away at you and destroy, not only your relationships, but also your life; physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  God has given us so many innumerable blessings, we have all of our life time to enjoy them and thank Him for them.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."  ~ Melody Beattie.

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thes. 5:18 

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God: it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.” –Psalm 100

 

Count Your Blessings...

This week I just want to list some of the things that I am grateful for and I hope that since it is so near Thanksgiving many of you will also have things on your mind which you are thankful for and would like to share as well!

This week I was blessed by…

1.       God’s protection after all the tornadoes and earthquakes in Oklahoma

2.       Encouraging and productive conversations

3.       Being able to find gifts for dear friends and having just enough money for postage.

4.       Mother’s delicious homemade pecan muffins

5.       People who love me for who I am and make a point to encourage and bless me.

6.       God’s protection over my sister in the Lord, Hannah during a car accident.

7.       My sweet brother, Ben who blessed me by having lunch with me.

8.       For a letter from my friend in Germany

9.       Having lunch and encouraging fellowship with my dear friend, Marianne.

10.   The Lord’s blessing upon my work.

11.   Friends who take the time to read what I write & give their honest opinion in a positive way.

12.   For a phone call from my friend, Alisha & for the amazing things God is doing in her life.

13.   The lovely 79° degree temperatures in the midst of a very cold week.

14.   Bursting fall colors which seem more beautiful than all the years before.

15.   Taking a walk on our property with my siblings like old times.

16.   Singing with my dad and leading worship at our church.

17.   Egg-drop soup, sushi, & a game of Scrabble with my sister, Sara on a cold rainy day.

18.   Sunflowers which remind me to turn my eyes upon Jesus!

19.   The Lord’s blessing in helping me write a new song.

20.   Visiting with my amazing sister, Amy over the phone & being so blessed by her.  

So tell me, how have you been blessed this week?  It encourages my heart just to hear how blessed you have been so please share! 

His Beloved

I can’t believe it’s been three whole weeks since my last post! I have been out of town and away from internet connection but even though that has kept me from blogging it has not kept me from journaling the things I’m grateful for.  I have finally reached 400 in my thankfulness journal and I am beaming as I reflect over the 400 blessings the Lord has bestowed on me and awaiting anxiously the next new blessings which I can begin to record in my journal.  Who knew what a blessing it could be to record blessings?? haha

As I sit reflecting over the past three weeks, of all the lessons on Thankfulness I have learned recently, there is one that really stands out at the moment;  learning to be content and thankful for who and why God made. 

A new and dear friend in my life recently shared with me a vision God had given her which she felt to pass on to me.  As she sat in a state of prayer one day, the Lord showed her a grayscale vision of a field of Sunflowers. Suddenly the still frame seemed to be flooded with color, similar to the scene with Dorothy entering the Land of Oz.  As the sun began to rise in the east, each delicate sunflower popped its droopy head up briskly and faced the sun, following it from sunrise to sunset.  God spoke to my friend’s heart and told her how she was like a sunflower who, instead of turning her beautiful face up to behold the sun, was turning to look at all the other sunflowers around her, comparing herself and thinking that if she were more like them then perhpas she would be more special, useful, or honoring in God's eyes.  But the Lord spoke gentely to her heart and reminded her to stop comparing herself with those around her. He loved her just the way He had made her and she was perfect in His eyes. She needed to take her eyes off of herself and look up and follow God from sunrise to sunset.  It is when our eyes are focused completely on the Lord that we will finally be content.

This inspired my heart because so often I feel unworthy, insignificant, and not as special, gifted, or as useful to God as the other flowers, or people, around me.  Sometimes I feel like if I only had that person’s strength and joy, and maybe the vocal strength & singing abilities of that person, maybe then I could be more useful or glorifying to God.  But God shakes His head and says; “My child, I love you just as you are. I made you just the way I want you to be and there is nothing you can do to make me love you more or less. When you keep your eyes on me, only then can I use you to bring me glory. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  It’s not about performance so stop trying to find your identity and worth in what you do and be content and satisfied in the fact that YOU, my precious child, are my beloved.” 

What a joy it is to be called His beloved. I am so grateful that the Lord loves me in spite of all my faults, failings, mistakes and weaknesses and that in His eyes I am perfect because He’s looking at my heart.  He made me for His pleasure and He delights in me when I turn my eyes upon Him and trust completely in His strength and not my own. 

I am thankful that I am a child of God and that His salvation and love is not something I can achieve or maintain by my works ; “For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” –Eph. 2: 8-10

So now, beloved, what are you thankful for this week?