“When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.”

Elie Wiesel

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18

It's Thanksgiving in the United States this week.

Every year, we head down South to be with my In-laws to remember the goodness of God for the year. So, I am writing this from Gatlinburg, the health capital of Tennessee, eating Funnel Cake and biscuits. I love the South.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite American holiday. 

My first Thanksgiving was spent watching the Dallas Cowboys play football while I ate a cold plate of food in a stranger's apartment in Florida, while the girl I was dating tended to her sick sister. I married that girl, and I’ve been grateful ever since.

Turns out there is power in gratitude.

Researchers tell us….

Gratitude reduces a multitude of toxic emotions, from envy and resentment to frustration and regret. It increases happiness and reduces depression. Gratitude reduces social comparisons, is a major factor in resilience, and can help reduce PTSD symptoms. It lowers blood pressure, helps with sleep, and can boost theimmune system.

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. It is simply turning back to God to thank Him for all He has done.

The root of all idolatry is refusing to be grateful (Rom 1:21). Honestly, it’s a staggering lack of perspective. We live in a world we did not create, function in a body we didn’t make, breathe air we didn’t supply, and are recipients of constant grace. The least we could do is say thanks.

I often reflect on the healing of the ten with leprosy in Luke 17. Ten were healed and ran to check with the priests, but one, realizing he was clean, returned to Jesus to say thanks. It recounts,

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.”

I want to be a man who throws himself down with thanks. I want to raise a loud voice of praise. I want to be the one leper who comes back when the others enjoy their healing. 

My gratitude mentor is the grateful Samaritan.
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As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, rather than getting drawn into a fight over politics, why not zoom out and remember how good God has been? 

Here is a list of 100 questions to ask so you can get started: List of Questions to Generate Gratitude

As I celebrate my 27th Thanksgiving in the US, I am reminded that God is good, and life itself is grace.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Cheers.

Jon. 
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In Today’s Newsletter

• Verses to cultivate gratitude

• Quotes to ponder

• Book recommendations this month

• Music I am grateful for

• Poems to cultivate gratitude

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VERSES TO CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.”
Luke 17:15-16

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
Psalm 136:1

QUOTES TO PONDER

“Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K. Chesterton.

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”
Henri Nouwen

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”
John Milton

BOOKS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS MONTH

You Are Not Alone: A Guide To Following Jesus In A Secular Age by Phil Manginelli

This is probably my favorite, most accessible one-volume book on discipleship and secularism. It is practical, inspiring, and rich.

More…

For two thousand years, Christians have wrestled with significant theological challenges. Why now has deconstruction been a new phenomenon consuming our generation? The history of the church has faced difficult conversations around belief. Why now are we reimagining the historical positions of our faith?

What is happening that has led to a seismic collapse in Western Christianity?

The answer is because we are the first followers of Jesus in a secular age, and hidden in our Christian stories is the presence of another kingdom. Like a ghost in the atmosphere, it has been shaping us, creating the allegiances we didn’t know we were making. Our generation is in crisis because of the lies of secularism, and we must no longer hand them over.

You Are Not Alone is a guide to understanding our cultural moment and rediscovering a faith that can flourish in a new world.

Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age By Rod Dreher

This is a deep and surprisingly supernatural look at restoring wonder in a secular age. It is heady, almost hard to believe, but hopeful. I love Dreher, and this did not disappoint. 

More…

The West has become "disenchanted"--closed to the idea that the universe contains the supernatural, the metaphysical, or the non-material. Christianity is in crisis. People today are leaving the Church because faith has become dry and lifeless. But people aren't leaving faith for atheism. They are still searching for the divine, and it might just be right under their noses.

In Living in Wonder, thought leader, cultural critic, and New York Times bestselling author Rod Dreher shows you how to encounter and embrace wonder in the world. In his trademark mixture of analysis, reporting, and personal story, Dreher brings together history, cultural anthropology, neuroscience, and the ancient Church to show you--no matter your religious affiliation--how to reconnect with the natural world and the Great Tradition of Christianity so you can relate to the world with more depth and connection.

Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Tasha Eurich

This book was incredible. It was packed with insights about self-awareness and perception, and I left realizing how much I have to grow as a leader.

More…

Research shows that self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—is the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. There’s just one problem: most people don’t see themselves quite as clearly as they could.

Fortunately, reveals organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, self-awareness is a surprisingly developable skill. Integrating hundreds of studies with her own research and work in the Fortune 500 world, she shows us what it really takes to better understand ourselves on the inside—and how to get others to tell us the honest truth about how we come across.

MUSIC I AM LOVING

Music For Psychedelic Therapy by Jon Hopkins

This is the best album for deep work I have heard in a while. It's an immersive journey. It's a bit new age but just filter that out. 

Son of Dad by Stephen Wilson Jr

I don’t like country music, but I love this album, though. Wilson calls it Death Cab for Country, and you can tell. I love this at a primal level. The songs are elite and full of passion. 

Miles in France 1963 & 1964 - Miles Davis Quintet: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8

This is musical genius, folks. Miles Davis performing live in Paris. Enough said.

POETRY 

DRIVING TO TOWN LATE TO MAIL A LETTER BY ROBERT BLY
It is a cold and snowy night. 
The main street is deserted. 
The only things moving are swirls of snow. 
As I lift the mailbox door, 
I feel its cold iron. 
There is a privacy I love in this snowy night. 
Driving around, I will waste more time.

AT THE CATHEDRAL’S FOOT BY ADAM ZAGAJEWSKI
In June once, in the evening, returning from a long trip, 
with memories of France’s blooming trees still fresh in our minds, 
its yellow fields, green plane trees sprinting before the car, 
we sat on the curb at the cathedral’s foot and spoke softly about disasters, 
about what lay ahead, the coming fear, 
and someone said this was the best we could do now— 
to talk of darkness in that bright shadow.

MY CUP BY ROBERT FRIEND
They tell me I am going to die. 
Why don’t I seem to care? 
My cup is full. Let it spill.