No Matter What

Good morning, Loved Ones!

Our passage for the day:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-20 (The Message)
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Thanking God no matter what happens is not exactly a natural or reasonable response to crises. However, the benefits of a grateful response have been documented.

A grateful attitude is not only helpful during tough times, it’s essential, thinks Robert Emmons, a University of California-Davis professor who specializes in the psychology of gratitude.

“It is precisely under crisis conditions where gratitude achieves its maximal power,” he said.

Emmons found that the most grateful individuals often have experienced the most loss. It’s not that they feel grateful for losing a home or a job, but that they choose to maintain a “fundamentally enduring orientation that says ... underlying goodness exists in the universe and therefore I will be grateful in spite of circumstances,” he said. That orientation forms a psychological immune system.

In his book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Emmons suggests practices to cultivate such a mind-set. One is gratitude journaling — writing down what we are grateful for. The key is to take time to savor those things as “gifts,” and not just dutifully jot them down on a list."

What are the gifts you are savoring today? Here are mine.

Thank you, Lord, that in the middle of crisis people like Laurie, John, Ginny, Pat, Muriel, Donna, Jim, Angela and Daniel continue to work together toward justice and hope for our immigrant families.

Thank you, Lord, that in the middle of crisis people like Greg and Telma arise at 6 am on a Wednesday morning to make coffee, hot chocolate and sandwiches to share with those who are waiting and hoping for work at day labor sites in our community.

Thank you, Lord, that in the middle of crisis the folks in and around the community of Conception, Missouri are coming together to listen to each other and work together.

Thank you, Lord, that in the middle of crisis people are able to smile, hold the door, say
Thank you!" and "You're welcome!" and offer peace and shalom to one another.

Thank you, Lord, that in the middle of crisis we are not, as Pastor Alfonso Tot says, juntos en crisis (together in crisis), but, instead, juntos en Cristo (together in Christ).

There's my Gimme Cinco. What are yours today?

Peace,
Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/