- Have you ever heard that question,
what if you woke up tomorrow with only the things
you were grateful for today?
What would you have?
Well, I am so convinced that a grateful heart
is a magnet for miracles.
That's why I have a whole gratitude wall
here at the offices.
But I also believe it's part of the enormous growth
we've had as an organization.
So I wanna take you on a 30-day gratitude experiment
because you are gonna be shocked at what God will do
for a person who simply says, "Thank you."
(upbeat music)
I'm Terri Savelle Foy, your cheerleader of dreams.
You know, everybody wants to know God's will
for their lives.
It's something we've all struggled with
or just wondered what God wants us to do.
Well, would you believe that expressing gratitude,
maybe even keeping a gratitude journal,
is part of God's will for you.
In fact, listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:18, it says:
I will give thanks in all circumstances for this
is God's will for me in Christ Jesus.
So think about it.
This little book is more important
than you can even imagine.
You know, I had heard about gratitude journals,
and one day, I just decided to keep one for 30 days.
I sat down each morning during my prayer time
and I just wrote three to five things
that I was grateful for.
Well, the results were so crazy that I decided to do it
another 30 days and another until expressing gratitude
it just become a way of life.
You know, at the same time,
my life has never been so blessed and experienced
so much increase until gratitude became a part
of my routine.
You know, something happens in the brain
when we get our mind off the negative things around us
and intentionally focus on what we have to be grateful for.
I even heard a story about a professor who asked
the students to prepare for a surprise test.
Well, the students were waiting anxiously for the test
to begin.
And the professor handed out the paper with the text
facing down as always.
And then he asked the students to begin.
To everyone's surprise, there were no questions,
just a black dot somewhere on the bottom of the page.
Well, the professor then said,
"I want you to write about..."
Let me say that over again.
The professor said,
"I want you to write about what you see."
Students were so confused, but they got started on the test.
Well, at the end of the class,
the professor collected the papers and started reading each
one of them out loud in front of all the students.
All of them, without any exception, described the black dot,
trying to explain its position on the paper.
Well, at the end of the class, everyone was silent.
And then finally, the professor explained.
He said, "I'm not gonna grade you on this.
I just want you to think about something."
He said, "Not one of you wrote about the white part
of the paper.
Everyone focused on the tiny black surrounded by whiteness."
And he said, "The same thing happens in our lives.
Our life," he said, "is a special gift of God, from God."
And he said, "We all have reasons to celebrate.
And yet we tend to focus on the dark spots in our life."
Well, the professor continued, you know,
"The dark spots are very small compared to everything
we have in our lives,
but they're the ones that spoil our minds.
So look away from the black spots in your life."
And he said,
"We all have so many things to be grateful for.
Be grateful and enjoy each moment of your life."
It's crazy how our brains naturally see the negative.
Well, we have to train ourselves to focus on the positive,
but once you start doing this,
listen to what scientists have discovered.
They say that just journaling your gratitude,
it results in improving your sleep quality,
it lowers stress, improves your self-esteem,
you're more satisfied in relationships,
it leads to forming healthier habits,
you feel more connected to God, and I'll add this,
it actually leads you to fulfill your dreams.
In fact, and listen to what Neuroscientist
and Gratitude Expert Staci Danford has to say.
- Gratitude is such a popular word these days,
but most people have no idea
the history of gratitude goes back almost 500 BC.
Plato himself said that a grateful mind is a great mind
attracting to itself great things.
The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he."
And science will agree,
there are almost 2 million studies
on the impact of gratitude.
My name is Staci Danford and I'm an educational
neuroscientist who specializes in gratitude
and its impact on the human brain.
The problem is most people think gratitude
is just good manners and saying, "Thank you."
But in order to change the way your brain works,
you've got to feel grateful
and you've got to hold the thoughts of gratitude long enough
to change the chemicals in your brain.
It only takes about 10 seconds.
Here's a little tip.
Use your five senses:
see, hear it, taste it, smell it, and touch it,
and hold the thought for 10 seconds.
You'll change your brain and you'll change your life.
- It's amazing when you get a different perspective
about your life.
You know, the things that you always took for granted
but suddenly you're so grateful for it,
it touches the heart of God.
Like the first time I went on a mission trip
to Tanzania, I had never been on a trip like that before.
See, my mission field is France, Paris, France, (laughs)
but we drove a couple hours out on these dirt roads
to an orphanage that we support.
And when we got out,
these precious little kids came running up to our bus,
so happy, smiling from ear to ear.
Well, we handed them backpacks and school supplies
and little toys like from McDonald's Happy Meals.
They acted like it was Christmas Day
and they had just hit the jackpot.
Over just like a little toy car or stuffed animal.
Well, they had never seen anything like it.
They'd never even see red hair.
They'd never seen freckles.
They were just staring at my arms.
And they thought my daughter Cassidy had jewelry
on her teeth, her braces, it was so cute.
But I remember having to go to the room restroom
out of this orphanage, and they pointed to a hole
in the ground.
I was so confused, like, "That's where we go potty?"
It was quite an experience.
But I remember getting back to our hotel
and I got in the shower and the water turned ice cold.
And I remember wanting to complain,
but shifting perspective from being upset about no hot water
to picturing those precious little kids and thinking,
at least I get to take a shower, I get to have a good meal,
I get to lay in a comfortable bed.
I mean, it was surrounded by mosquito net.
Now, I was a little creeped out by the lizard,
but still so grateful.
But those little kids have never stepped into a bathtub.
They don't have nice, warm beds.
Well, when I got home from that trip,
I was so grateful for paved roads.
I remember walking into a Walgreen's and being like,
"Thank you, Jesus."
I was genuinely grateful for everything,
especially FasTaco burritos and toilets. (laughs)
But would you ever even think to write
in your gratitude journal that you're grateful
for your toilet?
Well, if you've been where I've been, you would, right?
When I started really my gratitude for 30 days,
breakthrough after breakthrough began to happen,
and I would just start each morning
just thanking and focusing on the good in my life
and then write it down.
Like I can remember day one, you know,
writing things, like I'm so grateful that God restored
my marriage,
I'm grateful for the invitations to speak at conferences,
I'm so grateful that God puts me on people's hearts
to invite, like I never take that for granted,
I'm grateful for the partners who support our outreaches,
we couldn't do it without them.
Well, I just started listing everything I'm grateful for.
Day two, you know,
I'm grateful that I have a weekend home with my family.
I'm grateful for the new shoes I got.
I'm grateful for the amazing team members that God
has brought to work with me.
Every day, just looking around and just magnifying the good.
I'm grateful for the perfect weather.
You know, it starts out like that.
Well, by day 30, listen to some of the breakthroughs I had
on my first 30-day gratitude experience.
For example, a seven-year dream that I had
to speak at a certain conference came to pass.
A three-year dream to get a book translated,
my book on vision boards, to get it translated in French,
it came to pass during those 30 days.
My daughter, Cassidy, after five months of believing,
received a modeling contract
and began pursuing her career in modeling.
Our ministry received more donations ever
in that single month.
And these are just a few things.
I was at Joel Osteen's church at Lakewood
and I was asked to close out his service
on Sirius XM with millions of viewers watching.
That's the favor of God, right?
Well, the same is true.
The more grateful you are,
the more you have to be grateful for.
So I put together some powerful gratitude affirmations
for you this week as a free download.
And it's so important that you get this ingrained in you,
and it starts to shift your perspective.
Just start your morning out reading these affirmations
and then sit down and write what comes to you.
You know, we've had entire families and marriages experience
healing and restoration in their home
by just shifting the whole atmosphere
with their words of gratitude.
Now, all you need to do is click the link in the description
to get your list of gratitude affirmations and start today.
And I'm telling you,
watch what God will do for a grateful heart.
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And I wanna say thank you so much, and don't forget,
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And remember, I'm cheering you on to live your dreams.