Relentless Gratitude

Uno Okon

Description

Relentless Gratitude carefully weaves together timeless biblical truths with findings from scientific studies on the life-changing power of gratitude.

IT IS YOUR TIME TO BE TRANSFORMED BY THE POWER OF GRATITUDE

Relentless Gratitude carefully weaves together timeless biblical truths with findings from scientific studies on the life-changing power of gratitude.

You cannot go wrong leading a life of gratitude.

In almost every conceivable scenario, it works. With gratitude, you can improve your health and well-being. Gratitude can improve your productivity at work, relationships with people, and most importantly, your relationship with God.

During tough times, gratitude brings hope and makes us resilient in the face of adversity. Gratitude is akin to a moral fertilizer that fuels the growth of positive traits—so much so that it is often referred to as the mother of all virtues.

Relentless Gratitude carefully weaves together timeless biblical truths with findings from evolving scientific studies on the subject gratitude. It delivers a profound perspective on gratitude that promises to transform your life in a lasting way.

The author shares insights on the importance of leading a life of gratitude, especially in times of hardship and uncertainty. Relentless Gratitude unveils the blessedness of a grateful heart and brings to life the following life lessons:

- When all seems lost, gratitude can significantly enrich your life.

- Gratitude can fortify your heart in the face of adversity.

- With gratitude, you can cultivate resilience and thrive in tough times.

- Gratitude can attract great blessings into your life.

For more information about the book, please visit relentlessgratitude.org.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie
• Thanksgiving
• God
• Adversity
• Resilience
• Worship
• Résilience (physique)
• Perspective
• Gratitude
• Action de grâce (Thanksgiving)

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 14 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781664272088
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Relentless GRATITUDE
 
Transform Your Life with Gratitude

Cultivate Resilience

Thrive in Tough Times
 
 
 
UNO OKON
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Gratitude Media and Publishing Inc.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Book Cover Design – Sanmi Aderoju, ACME Designs
Interior Graphic Design (Some images) – Sanmi Aderoju, ACME Designs
Interior Graphic Design (King David’s Relentless Gratitude) – Precious Ayolade
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7209-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7210-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7208-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912667
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 08/29/2022
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
 
Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
 
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
 
Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

DEDICATION
At a time when our world is assailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a perilous armed conflict in Europe, with a burdened heart and deep compassion, I have written this book to bring succor to countless millions who are distressed and faced with adversities.
I therefore dedicate this book:
To everyone going through a season of trials and adversities. May you find inner strength and fortitude as you embrace relentless gratitude.
To the many millions who are increasingly experiencing mental health challenges—depression, languishing, debilitating anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders, to mention a few. May you build resilience as you embrace relentless gratitude.
To my Lord and Savior; the one who inspires and gives wisdom. May you breathe on this work and bring comfort to the millions that shall read this book and embrace the blessed virtue of gratitude.
CONTENTS
PART 1: THE GOLDEN VIRTUE
Chapter 1 :      Gratitude—Why the Struggle?
Chapter 2 :      The Beauty of Gratitude
Chapter 3 :      Gratitude Toward God
Chapter 4 :      Facets of Gratitude Toward God
Chapter 5 :      Gratitude Toward People
PART 2: GRATITUDE AND RESILIENCE
Chapter 6 :      Resilience—A Necessity for Life
Chapter 7 :      A Fresh Look at Adversity
Chapter 8 :      Gratitude in the Face of Adversity
Chapter 9 :      Gratitude As a Resilience Booster
PART 3: KING DAVID: A PORTRAIT OF RELENTLESS GRATITUDE
Chapter 10 :      Chronicles of David’s Adversities
Chapter 11 :      The Secret of David’s Gratitude
Chapter 12 :      David’s Radical Gratitude Dance
Chapter 13 :      Extravagant Worship—The Tabernacle of David
Chapter 14 :      David’s Encounter with Unsolicited Generational Blessings
 
A Call to Action
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author
A Special Gift
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1—It is Good to Give Thanks
Figure 2.2—Gratitude Cycle
Table 2.1—Gratitude Cycle Explained
Figure 4.1—Facets of Gratitude Toward God
Figure 5.1—Gratitude and Downstream Relationship Boosters
Figure 5.2—Important Relationships to Water with Gratitude
Figure 9.1—Overlay of Perspective on Adversity (Resilient Thinking)
Figure 9.2—Overlay of Perspective on Adversity (Non-resilient Thinking)
Figure 9.3—How Gratitude Fuels Resilience
Figure 11.1—Perspective and Gratitude
LIST OF TABLES
Table 9.1—Causal Analysis of Adversity
Table 9.2—Duration Analysis of Adversity
Table 9.3—Outcome Analysis of Adversity
Table 9.4—How Resilient People Think
Table 9.5—The Boosting Effect of Gratitude
Table 10.1—The Context of some of David’s Psalms
INTRODUCTION
T hank you for choosing to read this book. You are special, and this book was thoughtfully written with you in mind. It has been a tough time for the entire world. We are surrounded by uncertainty and anxiety as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and as a war breaks out in eastern Europe. Our heart aches as we witness the continued loss of lives and share in the grief of others. Although I do not know when these adversities and resulting pains will end, I do know a positive emotion, an empowering outlook on life, and a golden virtue (all three in one) that will do you great good. Yes! Even in the face of adversity, pain and grief. It is called gratitude ! It is my joy to share with you the power of gratitude, its numerous benefits, and its ability to build resilience in you for tough times.
WHY RELENTLESS GRATITUDE
It is the ninth of December, and I, like many others, eagerly look forward to closing the curtains on the year 2020. It has been a tumultuous year with unique challenges that spared nobody. By this time, about 1.6 million lives have already been lost globally to the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Though the global pandemic with its attendant results of economic recession, lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mental health crises was the dominant challenge of 2020, several other bewildering events made the year even more difficult and confusing for many people. This year witnessed widespread civil unrest such as the BLM protests triggered by the horrific death of George Floyd in the United States and the #EndSARs protests in Nigeria, to mention a few. On the weather front, we had a doozy of an Atlantic hurricane season, unprecedented destruction from the Australian bushfires and the unrelenting wildfires in California, a deadly typhoon, and volcano eruption in the Philippines. We also witnessed the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which brought pain to many Canadian families—some residing in my immediate community
 
It is within the challenging context described above that I was saddled with the responsibility of bringing a message of hope to a local church congregation where I worship. Within my broader community, I observed many hearts aching as the year came to a close. With economic losses and other forms of hardship, some folks contended with sorrow and bitterness of heart, while other people appeared overwhelmed with a sense of emptiness and unfulfilling emotions. It seemed the year had dealt badly with them. How do I encourage an audience going through such a difficult time? I wondered as my heart was, in a very tangible way, overwhelmed with compassion for the people in my community. What would help the audience build resilience in the face of this ongoing pandemic? What would inspire the people to hope for a better future? I mused. It is at this moment that I began to deeply recall how gratitude had given me fortitude and resilience to pull through a very difficult season of my life. As my curious mind sought to understand and articulate the connection between gratitude and resilience, I was led to conduct an in-depth character study of an ancient king of Israel—David. I found King David to be a very resilient soul, one who courageously confronted several agonizing adversities and emerged unbroken from the long and dark tunnel of his adversities. He went on to become one of the greatest kings in human history. To my amazement, I found the secret of King David’s resilience to be his rare heart of gratitude: he was a man whose heart overflowed with gratitude. I found in King David a perfect embodiment of a special form of gratitude I term Relentless Gratitude .
UNDERSTANDING GRATITUDE
For a decade now, I have devoted my life to the daily practice of gratitude toward God and then letting that gratitude overflow to people