Dr Paul Allen

The are at least three ways gratitude encourages resilience. And these apply to athletes, entrepreneurs, parents, leaders … anyone.Gratitude keeps us hopeful. Gratitude is a contrast game. We remember something one way, then something else happened to improve it.  Suddenly, we have something to be thankful for. That process teaches us something critical about life. While our circumstances might be bad, they can also be better. And our stories prove it to us again and again. Gratitude keeps us positive, optimistic, and able to keep coming back for more when life throws obstacles in our way. Gratitude reminds us that we have agency . This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s true—and super, super important. It seems counterintuitive because gratitude involves giving thanks for what we couldn’tmanage on our own. But you know what they say about unopened gifts. If we didn’t use our agency to receive and act on what others have done for us, we wouldn’t have benefited. Gratitude expan

English: The Resurrected Jesus and the Two Marys window in St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Attributed to the Quaker City Glass Company of Philadelphia, 1912. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Why do we have to go to church again?” Children ask this question on a semi-regular basis. I have not always had good answers at hand, beyond a biblical command not to neglect meeting together ( Hebrews 10:25), but over time I’ve drawn encouragement from a broader view of Scripture and godly Christian authors. Having faced the challenge to frame those encouragements in ways that kids can understand, and my own heart will accept, allow me to pass on my best three answers: So why should we attend corporate worship? 1. Because Jesus is alive. We are going to church today because Jesus is alive. You may not remember this, but Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. As the news spread, all of his friends spent that whole day telling each other the story and tal

Image via Wikipedia This year I started doing something I’ve never done before.  As I went through and looked at the major themes and ideas, I put a “+” or “-” symbol next to each one, indicating which of those seemed to have had an overall  negative  or  positive  impact on my soul  at the time .  ( Ultimately, there is no real way to judge this since over time we often end up seeing negatives as positives and vice versa…  But it does help me see and understand why there may have been seasons I felt depleted, depressed, or discouraged….or others where I felt energized and strengthened.  Identifying patterns or rhythms is important! ) GRATITUDE  – Through this process, there almost always comes a point where my heart swells with an immense amount of gratitude and thanksgiving for what God has done in my life and in the lives of those I love and lead.  So I take time in the midst of this reflection to offer thanksgiving and gratitude to God. QUESTIONS –  At the very end, I’ll take some

Image via Wikipedia This year I started doing something I’ve never done before.  As I went through and looked at the major themes and ideas, I put a “+” or “-” symbol next to each one, indicating which of those seemed to have had an overall  negative  or  positive  impact on my soul  at the time .  ( Ultimately, there is no real way to judge this since over time we often end up seeing negatives as positives and vice versa…  But it does help me see and understand why there may have been seasons I felt depleted, depressed, or discouraged….or others where I felt energized and strengthened.  Identifying patterns or rhythms is important! ) GRATITUDE  – Through this process, there almost always comes a point where my heart swells with an immense amount of gratitude and thanksgiving for what God has done in my life and in the lives of those I love and lead.  So I take time in the midst of this reflection to offer thanksgiving and gratitude to God. QUESTIONS –  At the very end, I’ll take some