Joy In The Journey Radio
  • Home
  • Radio 4 LDS Singles
    • Recent Shows >
      • 21 Apr 21
      • 14 Apr 21
    • Archive 2021
    • Archive 2020
    • Archive 2019
    • Archive 2018
  • LDS Singles Blog
  • Members
    • Members-only
  • World of TED
    • TED 13 Mar 21
    • TED 6 Mar 21
    • TED 27 Feb 21
    • TED 20 Feb 21
    • TED 13 Feb 21
    • TED 6 Feb 21
    • TED 30 Jan 21
    • TED 23 Jan 21
    • TED 16 Jan 21
    • TED 9 Jan 21
    • TED 2 Jan 21
  • Firesides
  • Books
  • FAQ
  • Volunteer
  • Home-centered Church
  • Donate
  • Contact

continue the conversation

Let gratitude heal you

11/25/2020

0 Comments

 
. . . when you follow the Prophet, God’s blessings will always follow you.
Thanksgiving has always been a day for reflecting on my blessings and relishing in my gratitude for those blessings.  But this year I’m more grateful than ever for a living prophet of God.  President Nelson’s recent message to the world on the healing power of gratitude took my relish to a whole new level.  With all the chaos in the world today, I felt an immense measure of peace in hearing God’s living Prophet speak of goodness and gratitude.

Does gratitude quell the pains of sorrow, anger, and loss?  No, it does not, and President Nelson acknowledged that truth.  But he also acknowledged another truth: The healing we seek from our pain cannot come to us without gratitude.  That’s because gratitude changes us into a state that allows healing to begin.  Without that change of state brought by gratitude, we’re simply not able to accept the healing we need.
In his message to the world, President Nelson taught “Counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems.”  To help us integrate that teaching into our lives, President Nelson suggested two specific actions:
  1. Turn social media into your own gratitude journal for 7 days.
  2. Say a prayer of gratitude.
These suggestions may appear to have little efficacy, but when you follow the Prophet, God’s blessings will always follow you.  So follow the Prophet, and let gratitude heal you.

The social media gratitude journal

Picture
Social media has never resonated much with me.  I recognize its benefits, like keeping up with family and friends as well as increased communication that otherwise would be difficult if not downright impossible.  I’ve just never felt the need to integrate everything about my life with social media.  I resonate much more with connections in the real world.

Yet I don’t feel that way about President Nelson’s invitation to use social media as a gratitude journal.  Contrary to my usual response, President Nelson’s invitation resonates greatly with me.  From the moment I first heard his 7-day challenge, I felt a desire to embrace it.  And that desire felt completely natural.

I of course have no idea what will result from my participation in that challenge.  Maybe something big will happen.  Or maybe not much of anything will appear to happen at all.  But that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that good men and women stand up and push goodness into the world to fight back against the emboldened evil that President Nelson declared in the last General Conference abounds.  That goodness begins with gratitude.

Prayers of gratitude

Picture
From my own experience, the best way to begin to embrace gratitude is through prayer.  I’ve spoken before about my habit of devoting my morning prayers to gratitude, and that one simple change in my daily routine has greatly transformed my life for the better.

About two years ago I adopted a habit of including in my morning prayers only expressions of thanks.  I intentionally do not ask for anything; I simply give thanks for what I’ve received.  Over time, those prayers have grown to include thanks for blessings not yet received.  At first, it was difficult; my mind wasn’t trained to think in strict terms of thanksgiving.  But repeated attempts brought that training, and the effect has been life-changing.

Hearing others express gratitude in prayer can open us to a new level of gratitude.  I was greatly touched by hearing the Prophet pray and express gratitude for the many blessings we all enjoy everywhere every day.  The wonders of nature, the glorious workings of the human body, and the beauty of art, literature, and music all bring joy in life.  Focusing on expressions of gratitude invites us to open ourselves more to that joy.

The next step

Picture
The Prophet has spoken, and now the next step for all of us is to follow the Prophet.  Take his challenge to express gratitude in social media every day for seven days, and then see whether you feel happier.  And begin to express more gratitude in your prayers to God.

When we were Primary children, many of us sang, “Follow the Prophet. He knows the way!”  I know that President Nelson is the Prophet for us today, and in his recent message to the world, he has shown us the way.  That way is gratitude.

Let us each claim the blessings of peace and healing that God wants to bestow upon us.  When you let gratitude heal you, you can feel peace in a chaotic world.  You can salve the wounds of hate.  You can find victory in defeat and abundance in loss.  Best of all, you can feel more of the love God has for you as His child.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

You can listen to the monologue for this episode of Joy In The Journey Radio for free by using the player here.  Feel free to continue the conversation by leaving a comment. Learn how you can listen to  all of this episode of Joy in the Journey Radio by going to the show page for this episode!
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Howdy! I'm Lance, host of Joy in the Journey Radio. I've been blogging about LDS singles life since 2012, and since 2018 I've been producing a weekly Internet radio show to help LDS singles have  more joy in their journey and bring all Latter-day Saints together. Let's engage a conversation that will increase the faith of LDS singles and bring singles and marrieds together in a true unity of the faith.

    Donate

    Joy in the Journey Radio offers many free resources to help LDS singles everywhere, but it certainly isn't free!  Help Joy in the Journey Radio in its mission to improve the lives of LDS singles by donating today.

    Posts by Month

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Agency
    Assumptions
    Atonement
    Attitude
    Attraction
    Autopilot
    Balance
    Becky Craven
    Believe
    Best Life
    Change The Culture
    Changing LDS Singles Culture
    Christ
    Christmas
    Confidence
    Conscious Choices
    Dale G Renlund
    Dallin H Oaks
    Dating
    David A Bednar
    Depression
    Dieter F Uchtdorf
    Discipleship
    Donald L Hallstrom
    Faith
    Family
    Family History
    Fear
    Filters
    Finances
    Focus Determines Reality
    Full Life: Body
    Full Life: Heart
    Full Life: Mind
    Full Life: Spirit
    Future
    Gary E Stevenson
    General Conference
    Gerrit W Gong
    Goals
    Gordon B Hinckley
    Gratitude
    Habits
    Happiness
    Hope
    Jack Gerard
    Jeffrey R Holland
    John A McCune
    John C Pingree Jr
    Journey
    Joy
    Leaders
    Legacy
    Life Of Meaning
    Live In The Moment
    Marriage
    Marrieds
    Michelle Craig
    Miracles
    Neil Andersen
    Opportunity
    Own Your Life
    Partner With The Lord
    Peace
    Personal Ministry
    Perspective
    Philosophy
    Proclamation On The Family
    Quentin L Cook
    Real
    Reformat And Reboot
    Relationships
    Ronald Rasband
    Russell M Nelson
    Sacrament
    Self Talk
    Self-talk
    Service
    Stories
    Support
    Surrender To Love
    Taylor G Godoy
    Temple
    Thinking
    Thomas S Monson
    Trials
    Unity
    Valentine's Day
    Vision
    Walk By Faith
    Yoon Hwan Choi
    Zion

    RSS Feed

Offerings

Home
Radio 4 LDS Singles
LDS Singles Blog
Books
Speaking
Recipes
Home-centered Church

Production

About
Staff

Support

FAQ
Volunteer
Donate
Contact
Joy in the Journey Radio is a production
of Aspire Mountain Media LLC.
© 2014-2021 Aspire Mountain Media LLC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • Home
  • Radio 4 LDS Singles
    • Recent Shows >
      • 21 Apr 21
      • 14 Apr 21
    • Archive 2021
    • Archive 2020
    • Archive 2019
    • Archive 2018
  • LDS Singles Blog
  • Members
    • Members-only
  • World of TED
    • TED 13 Mar 21
    • TED 6 Mar 21
    • TED 27 Feb 21
    • TED 20 Feb 21
    • TED 13 Feb 21
    • TED 6 Feb 21
    • TED 30 Jan 21
    • TED 23 Jan 21
    • TED 16 Jan 21
    • TED 9 Jan 21
    • TED 2 Jan 21
  • Firesides
  • Books
  • FAQ
  • Volunteer
  • Home-centered Church
  • Donate
  • Contact