CCOG Newsletter

For our church, this month is all about practicing gratitude. Notice that I said "practicing". Sometimes we have to practice a thing before it begins to feel normal for us. Your initial reaction to waking in the morning may not naturally be to give thanks to God. It may be that your natural response is to hit the snooze button and turn over. If you have multiple delays getting out of the house, you may not immediately say a "thank you" to the Lord. Mondays can be especially difficult to muster any gratitude! But we can practice changing our mindsets. We can be grateful for a warm bed and a warm house in which to wake up. Even waking up is a blessing, since many did not get that chance. We can thank the Lord for protecting us, understanding that delays may be God's way of keeping us from an accident. We can show gratitude for having a steady job, the chance to go to school, reliable transportation, and so many other blessings. When we retrain our brains to respond with gratitude rather than irritation, we greatly increase our capacity for joy.

In case you missed it, here is the next step in the gratitude challenge:

Phase 1: We began in September taking 5 minutes of solitude each day. We meditated on joy-filled memories and Bible verses about joy

Once you can consistently sustain a solid five-minute state of gratitude, you are ready to start the Thirty-Day Joy Exercise.

Phase 2: The Thirty-day Joy Exercise 1. Spend five minutes of gratitude three times a day. Do it the first thing in the morning, at midday, and the last thing you do at night before going to bed. Do this for thirty days. Consistency is key.

2. Sometime during the thirty days, your brain will respond to this repeated exposure to gratitude. It will reset your default emotional state to joy. You will likely start to feel different when you wake up, and you will notice when you slip out of joy as you live your life. Not feeling joy will feel abnormal to you. You will want to return to joy as soon as possible.

Phase 3: Joy Maintenance Maintain joy levels by spending five minutes each day in gratitude.

You were created with intention and thoughtfulness by a loving maker. God took his time crafting your personality, quirks, and preferences. He knows everything about you because he is the one who carefully knit you together. He sees you clearly, and he loves you without restriction. He is delighted by you simply because you are his. He relishes his creation!

Though everyone is different, we are all equally loved by our Maker. Instead of letting comparison steal your confidence, focus on what God says about you. His opinion is what matters most. As you spend time getting to know him and filling your mind with truth, you will learn to love what he loves. This includes seeing yourself through his eyes. If you have a negative opinion of yourself, don’t mistake it for humility. Instead, learn to look at yourself with awe and wonder. God created you!

God’s fingerprints are everywhere, yet you are his greatest masterpiece. There is nothing in creation that God delights in more than you! You are the apple of his eye and the object of his greatest affection. To him, you are more beautiful than the most dynamic sunrise or the most incredible display of stars. No matter what your opinion of yourself is, his love for you is greater than you can understand. He is not disappointed by you, and he does not regret creating you. You are not broken beyond repair, and you are not an exception to the truth. God’s love for you is extravagant. Not only does he love you, but he has created you with a unique and particular purpose. If you ask him to share his thoughts about you, he will not hesitate. Thank God today for making you just the way you are, for he does not make a single mistake!