{my graphics are free goodies for you}
My friend and fellow writer Ann Voskamp took a dare to write down one thousand gifts in her life. That list pulled her out of a season of depression and awakened her in new ways to God’s presence.
She says, “All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering is a remembrance of him. For in him all things were created, are sustained, have their being.”
And gratitude is like kryptonite for perfectionism.
Perfectionism says, “It’s not enough.”
Gratitude says, “It’s more than enough.”
Perfectionism says, “I’m lacking.”
Gratitude says, “I’m living in abundance.”
Perfectionism says, “God is holding out on me.”
Gratitude says, “God is good and gracious.”
Perfectionism says, “I must try harder and go farther.”
Gratitude says, “I will be fully present in this moment.”
It turns out giving thanks not only connects us to God, it increases our day-to-day happiness as well. Researchers did an experiment with three groups. The first wrote down five things they were grateful for each week. The second group wrote down five challenges they faced. And the third simply wrote down five random events. Those who recorded five blessings increased their happiness by 25 percent over their baseline level. That’s a significant amount!
Let’s practice defeating perfectionism as well as building our holiness and happiness together: What’s one thing you’re grateful for today? {If you’re reading this by email, come on over to www.holleygerth.com so you can share your answer.}
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Sunshine + You’re Loved No Matter What = a fun summer read. Picture courtesy of Abi!
Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Giveaway and Optional Writing Prompt: For the next few weeks, the Wednesday posts are going to be about getting free from the pressure to be perfect. I’ll have an optional writing prompt for you about that topic. If you write about it, link up and include my new book You’re Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect in your post somewhere, you’ll be entered to win a God’s Heart for You necklace {U.S. residents only}. Thanks to DaySpring for providing the necklaces! Congratulations to Bev Rihtarchik for winning last week! If you don’t have a blog, you can share today’s post on Facebook, leave a comment here saying you did and answer the prompt in your comment.
The prompt for today was: Do you have a hard time asking for or accepting help?
Next Wednesday’s prompt is: Where does perfectionism sneak in and how can you replace it with gratitude?
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
{Click to tweet that you’re joining me here today!}
