Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude: A Spirit-Led Perspective

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I'm Angie Robertson and you're listening to the Spirit Led Life podcast, episode 51.

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Today we're diving into a powerful and transformative topic, cultivating a heart of gratitude.

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Gratitude isn't just about saying thank you when things go well.

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It's about seeing life through a Spirit Led lens and recognizing God's goodness in every season.

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In this episode, I'll explore the Biblical foundation of gratitude, share some practical ways to make it a part of your daily life, and discuss how gratitude can heal, strengthen relationships, and shift your mindset.

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I'll also share some personal stories on how God has used gratitude to transform my life.

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Plus, I've got a special Heavenly Position System challenge for you, a journaling prompt designed to help you experience gratitude on a deeper level.

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If you aren't driving or multitasking, grab your journal, open your heart and get ready to be inspired.

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Let's go to the show.

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I am so excited you're here today.

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Whether you're tuning in for the first time or you've been walking this journey with me for a while, I am so grateful you've made space in your day to join me.

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If you're new here, welcome.

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I'll introduce myself again.

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I'm Angie Robertson, a certified life and career coach, author, storyteller and journaling advocate and I'm passionate about helping you hear God's voice, live in alignment with the Holy Spirit, and confidently embrace who God created you to be.

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Through heartfelt stories and spiritual encouragement.

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I'm here to guide you in reflecting, realigning and co creating a life that honors your God given purpose.

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Before we get into today's topic, I want to encourage you to follow, share and leave a comment on this podcast.

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It would mean so much to me if you would take just a few minutes, go into your podcast player and click the follow link if you haven't already.

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You can also share this podcast with a friend who might be interested in this topic and who doesn't want to learn how to live by the Holy Spirit a little bit more.

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One other way you can support this podcast is by leaving a kind review.

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When you like, share and leave a comment.

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It helps others to find this podcast and we are building a community to learn how to live our lives by the Holy Spirit.

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Thank you again for taking the time to share.

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I want to invite you to settle into this moment.

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Like I said in the intro, if you aren't driving, working out or multitasking, maybe go grab your journal, a warm cup of tea or coffee, whatever your beverage of choice is or just simply open your heart to receive what the Holy Spirit might have for you today.

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Gratitude is more than a feeling.

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It's a transformative spiritual discipline.

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It's a mindset and a way of living.

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In this episode, we'll explore how gratitude can draw us closer to God, enrich our relationships, and transform our lives from the inside out.

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So let's begin by grounding ourselves in the Word.

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Gratitude is woven throughout the Bible, from the Psalms to the teachings of Jesus to the letters of Paul.

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Take Psalms 104, for example.

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Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.

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Give thanks to him and bless his name.

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Gratitude is a way to enter God's presence.

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It aligns our hearts with his goodness, reminding us of his faithfulness.

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Then there's 1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

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Now, if you're like me Sometimes gratitude can be hard.

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I mean, like this morning, one of the cats pooped on a rug and let's just say it wasn't solid.

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And I'm not really in a grateful attitude.

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I'm not saying thank you Jesus for this cat poop when I talk about gratitude.

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This doesn't mean we deny our struggles or pretend everything is fine.

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Instead, it invites us to see God's hand even in difficult times, trusting that he works all things together for our good.

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Believe it or not, there was a grateful moment in this experience of this cat pooping on the floor.

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This cat has been constipated for some time, and the fact that she pooped was a blessing because we've spent like $800 on her before dealing with this whole constipation thing.

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So the fact that she was regular and did that is fantastic.

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I just wish she would have went in the litter box.

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But nonetheless, I'm glad she went now.

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When I was creating this episode, I had no idea I was going to use this story as an example.

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Not one of my better examples, but I bet you won't forget and it'll help you remember gratitude.

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Now that we've looked at the biblical foundation of gratitude, let's get practical.

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How can we cultivate a heart of gratitude in our daily lives?

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Here are a few simple techniques I have found helpful.

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The first is journal gratitude.

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, closing out: 2024

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I shared one of the practices I did consistently last year was a gratitude list.

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d I continue that practice in: 2025

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The second technique is starting your day with praise before you even get out of bed, speak out loud.

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Three things that you're grateful for.

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This can set the tone for your day.

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I sometimes do this when I'm awake at 3am because hello menopause and I can't get back to sleep.

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I'll either do this, I'll share some gratitudes, or I'll pray.

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Another thing is Gratitude Walks.

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Take a walk and thank God for everything that you see.

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Nature, your health, or even the people you pass by.

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This is a great way to get out of your head as well.

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If I've had a particular intense day taking a walk and noticing nature and being grateful for the sun shining on my face, the birds chirping, or even like if you follow me on Instagram, I'll post about some of the decorative rocks that people leave at the walking park and I take a picture of them.

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I am so grateful when I find those.

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I love finding those.

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Taking these walks helps me clear my mind and kind of put my soul at peace and ground me.

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And lastly, Speaking gratitude over others.

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Send a text message, write a note, or tell someone how much you appreciate them.

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Gratitude expressed becomes gratitude multiplied.

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I recently received a couple of text messages.

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One was from a young friend who is young enough to be my daughter actually, but we have some of the best conversations when we get together.

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She reached out to say that she missed me and when can we get together and that meant so much to me.

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The other text was my sister in law letting me know that she loves me and gave me an inside joke only that she and I would get.

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And that meant a lot to me as well.

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And I know I'll reach out to people to let them know that I'm thinking of them as well.

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Speaking over people, even praying for people, is another form of gratitude to appreciate those people in your life.

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Gratitude doesn't just transform our hearts, it overflows into our relationships and communities.

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When we express gratitude to others, we strengthen bonds.

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It can heal wounds, build trust, and encourage others in their walk with Christ.

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Just the mere fact that I'm sharing this episode, I hope that it encourages you in your walk with Jesus.

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Proverbs: 16:24

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How often do we take the time to express gratitude to people around us?

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Our family, our friends, co workers, even the stranger who brightened our day.

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I know we talked.

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You've probably heard a lot about the five love languages and one of them is words of affirmation.

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And I know for me I love to hear when I'm appreciated.

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I don't know who wouldn't.

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I mean we tend to focus on the negative so much, especially on social media.

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If we get a negative comment on a post or someone DMs us with something, we can focus on that and totally negate the 25 other positive comments that we got or posts that, you know, comments to our post or DMs that we got.

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Being grateful for those positive comments and really focusing in on those can really help us to not only receive gratitude and experience gratitude, but turn around and give gratitude as well.

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Because once our cup is filled, we can overflow in God's love for that.

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that I want to do more of in: 2025

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I'm especially trying to be more intentional with my husband.

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We've been married 25 years and things that he does routinely I can overlook because he does them all the time.

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I'm being more intentional about thanking him and noticing those things that he does, like scooping the litter box or going to Trader Joe's or cleaning the bathroom or throwing his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper.

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Those are just things that are everyday routines that we tend to take for granted.

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And I want to make sure that he's knows that he's appreciated.

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Research has shown that gratitude has profound effects on our mental and emotional well being.

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But even before modern science confirmed it, God designed gratitude as a path to peace and joy.

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Philippians 4, 67 tells us, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.

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And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.

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In Christ Jesus.

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Gratitude shifts our focus from what's wrong to what's right.

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It reminds us of God's provision and helps us release anxiety.

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Now I know I've talked a lot about Dave's cancer journey.

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It was a pivotal moment in our life and something that will forever be a topic with me.

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It was also a massive growing experience for me.

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Dave and I had to find gratitude during the time otherwise we would have buckled under the stress and the worry and the fear.

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I was grateful for the humor we had and how we could laugh at certain moments.

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And let's be honest, cultivating gratitude isn't always easy.

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Life can be hard, and sometimes we're tempted to focus on what we lack rather than what we have.

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But gratitude is a choice, not just a feeling.

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When we face obstacles like bitterness, disappointment or comparison, we can ask God to renew our minds.

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Romans 12:2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

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Sometimes this looks like reframing our perspective instead of why me?

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Ask what is God teaching me?

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Letting go of Entitlement Gratitude grows when we focus on grace rather than what we think we deserve and leaning into prayer.

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It shouldn't be our last resort.

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It should actually be our first tool and our first weapon.

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Ask God to show us what to be thankful for, even in tough seasons if you've read my book the Beauty and Letting Go, I shared the work I did with my life coach Amy and how she made me do the trading up exercise.

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So reframing can be a form of trading up your thoughts.

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Reframing the questioning from pity to kind of introspection and knowing God has your best interest in his heart helps you to see a whole new viewpoint.

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Now as we wrap up, I want to leave you with this thought.

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Gratitude isn't just something we do, it's who we become as we live spirit led lives.

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Take a moment today to reflect on how gratitude has transformed you and consider how you can bless someone else through your gratitude.

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Now, if this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts or or stories of how gratitude has impacted your life.

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Hopefully it won't be stories of cats pooping on the floor or anything the like, but I would love to hear your stories.

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You can connect with me on social media, ngwrobertson on Instagram, or by replying to the weekly emails that I send out.

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And if you aren't receiving those weekly emails, I want to take this time to invite you to be a part of the Spirit Led Life community by joining our mailing list.

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If you go to spiritledlifepodcast.com, you will see the subscriber form down towards the middle of the page.

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I'd love for you to fill that out and join the list.

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You'll be notified when new episodes release and I share things in those emails that I don't share anywhere else.

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So be sure to sign up@spiritledlifepodcast.com for this week's Heavenly Position System Challenge.

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Take out your journal and take at least 10 minutes to reflect and write about three specific things from the past week for which you are grateful for for each one.

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Consider what moment or blessing happened this week to reveal God's presence in your life?

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What impact did this have on your heart, your relationship, or your perspective?

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What way can you carry this gratitude forward into the coming week?

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Now, as I close, I will leave you with this prayer.

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Lord, thank you for the countless ways you reveal yourself in my life.

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Thank you for the friendships, the beauty of creation, and the lessons you teach me through challenges.

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Open my eyes to see your blessings every day and help me to respond with a heart full of gratitude.

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Amen.

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Thank you for joining me on today's episode.

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This episode was produced, recorded and edited by me, Angie Robertson.

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I look forward to joining you each Thursday for a new episode as we explore together how to have a spirit led life.