3 Gratitude Practices

What does your Thanksgiving tradition look like? If you’re like a lot of people, you might gather together with friends and family, share an amazing homecooked meal, and end the evening regretting that second serving of pie. (Third serving, let’s be honest.) Maybe you’re like others whose holidays look a bit more like the holidays episode of “The Bear,” making it a day you’d rather just skip over.

I would also bet that at some point, regardless of your feelings about the day, you end up thinking about what you’re thankful for. Whether it be through communal sharing around the table or a quiet moment alone, Thanksgiving invites us to intentionally remember the goodness and blessings of God.

But it would also be wise for us to use this day to reassess the role gratitude takes in our everyday lives. The Bible is clear: thankfulness and gratitude are hallmarks of the Christian life and something to be practiced regularly. One example is 1 Thessalonians 5, where Paul includes gratitude as an essential feature of actively living out God’s will for us as Christians, naming it alongside being peaceful and patient with others, striving for the good of everyone, and praying continually. This is not a once-a-year practice Paul is encouraging, but rather a daily—even moment-by-moment—rhythm of life in Christ.

Recent research affirms this emphasis Scripture places on gratitude. Our own research here at the De Pree Center highlights the connection between gratitude and joy. Michaela O’Donnell names many of the benefits of gratitude in her video “Want to Flourish? Practice Gratitude“, which includes better sleep, a decrease in anxiety, and an increase in patience. Gratitude has also been shown to improve mental health and reduce the risk of heart disease and depression.

If you recognize the desire and need to implement gratitude in your own life, we are here to help. Below you’ll find three gratitude practices explained by Mark Roberts. Each is designed to help you experiment with the benefits of gratitude and develop a new, life-long rhythm of thankfulness.

• Practice 1: “A Gratitude Experiment: Counting Blessings”
• Practice 2: “A Second Gratitude Experiment: The Gratitude Visit”
• Practice 3: “One More Gratitude Exercise: A Year of Blessings”