Getting to gratitude isn’t always easy, especially when life feels overwhelming, the holidays disrupt our routines, or thankfulness simply doesn’t come naturally.
What if gratitude isn’t something we force but something we make room for?
Getting to Gratitude in Real Life
In this solo episode of Living the Grace Life, Jennifer Sakata explores how to move toward gratitude—even when real life looks more like gummy potatoes and a turkey that’s running behind schedule than a picture-perfect holiday.
Gratitude doesn’t erase hard circumstances or require us to pretend everything is okay. Instead, it can reshape how we see and move through the reality we’re living. And thanks to the brain’s neuroplasticity, intentionally cultivating gratitude can influence the way we think and experience life.
The Getting to Gratitude Conversation
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- How gratitude impacts the brain and our experience of difficult circumstances.
- Four practical on-ramps for getting to gratitude when thankfulness feels out of reach.
- Why gratitude isn’t another performance, spiritual obligation, or thing to get right.
- How to embrace gratitude as a journey rather than a destination.
The Benefits of Getting to Gratitude
You don’t have to manufacture gratitude to experience its benefits. Sometimes the way forward begins with appreciation, making time, allowing vulnerability, and choosing to live differently.
Whether you’re navigating a difficult season or preparing for the holiday hustle, there’s grace for the journey. Let’s make room for gratitude—one small step at a time.
💬 Getting to Gratitude Quotes:
“Gratitude doesn’t alter some hard reality, but it shapes the way you move through it.“
“Gratitude grows when you give it real estate on your calendar.”
“The more time you offer to gratitude, the more it displaces ingratitude.”
Scripture Mentioned:
Philippians 4:8– Think on things that nurture gratitude.
Resources Mentioned:
🌿 Jennifer Sakata’s weekly newsletter, with a digital download of Make Room for the Quieter Voices of Christmas
🌿 The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
🌿 Jennifer Dukes Lee’s The Every Morning Journal Experience sign-up
🎶 Jennifer’s Go-to grace Song, Abide by Aaron Williams
Related Episodes:
Ep. 87 I Don’t Have to Hold It All Together with Nichole Suvar
Ep. 92 Awaken Delight: God is Delicious with Stephanie Rousselle
Ep. 90 The Art of Vinemaking with Bette Dickinson
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👉🏼Living the Grace Life is the place where real grace meets real life. Host Jennifer Sakata helps us bridge the gap between grace as a theological idea and lived practice in everyday moments of faith, encouraging listeners to experience forgiveness, freedom, and trust that they then extend to others.