When I wake up at 3:30 in the morning, I’m not always thankful.  Can I get a witness???  Anyone else?  I mean maybe you have songs of praise and thanksgiving on your lips the minute your alarm goes off in the morning… God bless you.  That’s not me.

So gratitude may not be my first thought in the morning, but I know that I’m SUPPOSED to be grateful, Psalm 100:4-5 says, “…give thanks to Him and praise his name, for the Lord is good and His love endures forever…”   So I have to override my natural inclinations and force myself to spend a few minutes thanking God for who He is, for His grace towards me, for giving me my wife, my kids… my job.

And eventually… my heart shifts to gratitude.  It doesn’t always happen instantly (my cohost, Haleigh Marie can tell you that sometimes it happens AFTER I’ve made it to the radio station), but it does shift eventually.

And that shift doesn’t only affect us spiritually and emotionally, by aligning our thoughts with God’s, but it also affects us physically!  Did you know that?

A study of gratitude showed that in 3 groups of young people, those who were asked to list their top 5 grievances to start their day, those who weren’t asked to make a list, and those who were asked to make a list of things they were most grateful for each morning… there were some pretty remarkable differences in the 3 groups.

In all markers of emotional AND PHYSICAL health, the grateful group were much better off.  Being grateful made a positive  difference in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy.  Also lowered stress levels, lower blood pressure, etc.

I’m Kevin from the Wake-up Morning Show, and I’m grateful that you’re a part of my House family.  What are you grateful for…???