I practice gratitude daily and have found that when I am thankful for what I have, I become content.

Stephen Post, PH.D., a professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, created a research group who discovered the following:

Gratitude Defends – Just 15 minutes a day focusing on the things you are grateful for will significantly increase your body’s natural antibodies.

Gratitude Sharpens – Naturally grateful people are more focused and are mentally and measurably less vulnerable to clinical depression.

Gratitude Calms – A grateful state of mind induces a physiological state called resonance that’s associated with healthier blood pressure and heart rate.

Gratitude Strengthens – Caring for others is draining. Grateful caregivers are healthier and more capable than less grateful ones.

Gratitude Heals – Recipients of donated organs who have the most grateful attitudes heal faster.

Our global society is a constantly changing society. When we are in an economic recession, we often see signs of change in thought and heart as more people struggle with job loss and economic hardship. We do not take things nearly so much for granted and often see many people reaching out to help others less fortunate. I recognize this as humans evolving as a whole society looking for ways to help each other, rather than looking for ways to get ahead of them. How do you express your gratitude to colleagues and your employer? I would enjoy hearing from you as to how you give thanks, are a role model for others and how being grateful has influenced your life.

I encourage you to thank God for all of your blessings, for all of the things that have been right in your life and for all of the difficulties that have been learning experiences resulting in the growth and the creation of who you are today.

Enjoy being a role model by demonstrating an attitude of gratitude.

Taking a leap of faith is to take a risk. You may not be able to see clearly how everything you are currently experiencing is fitting into the puzzle of your life. We are all here for a purpose and we need to make our desires and dreams known to God and have faith that steps will be revealed to us to take as we need to take them.

All God asks of us is to summon the courage to take those steps, without second guessing ourselves and follow through with conviction and integrity, developing a “never give up” attitude. He will always be by our side coaching us along the way.

If you were to reflect on what is going on in your life, are there baby steps that you could be taking to move you forward right now? Are you afraid to take the next step? We need to share our fears with others, because only then can we identify where that fear is coming from and learn what action to take to replace the fear with faith.

What leap of faith do you need to take? I want to hear your stories because I always learn something from others experiences. I will share stories with you about how I needed to take a leap of faith many times in my life and what happened when I braved facing the consequences. Together, we will grow in faith and trust. Let us share our stories….

For this 2nd in a 3-part seminar series, Spiritual lessons will be shared that were learned first-hand through a “miracle”. You will learn how to make a battle plan to cope with life’s challenges, hold your hope tightly, take a leap of faith and focus on the positive. We will be discussing, sharing and moving forward with a positive personal plan. Offered this Sunday, March 14th, 1:30-3:30 pm….$25.00 (plus $10. for Companion Guidebook).
Location: Breakthrough Centre, 183 Queen St. West, Brampton, ON
Call: 905-874-1321 or register at the door. See you there.
Blessings, Karen

I would be happy to meet you as I sign my new book “Ask and You Shall Receive – Spiritual Strategies for Success in Work & Life”. Bring your coffee and come for a chat.

Book signing is 1pm-3pm at Chapters, Kitchener
135 Gateway Park Dr.
Kitchener, Ontario N2P 2J9

I start each day with a prayer of gratitude and ask God to walk with me that day. It is a wonderful feeling to know that God enjoys seeing us use the divine expressions and infinite creativity he graciously bestowed on us to use on our journey here on earth.

Today, you may want to try letting go of all fear, doubt and worry. Keep reminding yourself that you represent love, joy and abundance always. Enjoy using your God-given talents to help others and to make a difference in the world. Adopt a faithful focus.

One of the meditations I use to help maintain my faithful focus is:

A WINNER’S CREED

“If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not; you don’t

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a person’s faith;

It’s all in the state of mind.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster hand;

They go to the one who trusts in God

And always thinks, ‘I can’.”

Author Unknown

How do you use your God-given gifts to help others maintain their faithful focus? What words of encouragement have you given people to help them to strengthen their faith in themselves and others?

Let Go and Let God and learn to adopt the attitude of:

FORGIVE…FORGET…FORGE ON

Otherwise, you could be adopting an EGO way of life – Edging God Out.

What faithful focus do you want to live by?