Author Archives: Tom Wise

WITHIN REACH

I love the Andy Griffith show, so forgive me for this example.

Otis, the town drunk would come in the courthouse on the weekend and lock himself up for public intoxication. He would sleep off his hangover, and he would let himself out of the prison cell the next day. It all worked very smooth, Otis was safe from hurting himself or someone else. The sheriff didn’t have to go out of his way to pursue the guilty man. And Barney got to have someone in a cell, which he seemed to like. All three were grateful in their own way.

Here comes the difficult idea. Continue reading →

ORGANIC GRATITUDE

Gratitude is a pure and honest mindset.

Unlike the common idiom on the subject of confidence, “fake it till you make it”, being grateful is not something you should fake. In sports and other arenas, faking confidence may fool an opponent or a teammate. Faking confidence may very well lead to real confidence if you start to excel at a sport. But faking gratitude does no good for you, for your relationship with others, or for your relationship with God.

The term “organic” has increased in use in recent years. We look for food labeled organic, we talk about organic relationships, many want a more organic lifestyle. For our purposes, when I say organic, I just mean natural. When I say Organic Gratitude, I intend to convey a mindset that naturally occurs. You don’t need to fake it, conjure it up, or stress out trying to work your way to being grateful. Continue reading →

CONTAGIOUS GRATITUDE

We all have people in our life who are more like a thermostat than a thermometer.

In other words, these people generally influence others rather than being influenced by others.

This can be positive or negative. If you work with someone who is always complaining, you may find yourself complaining when there isn’t really that much to complain about. You may have a friend who always worries about the future, you may notice that those around this person start to worry about their futures as well. On the other hand, I work with a man who comes to work every morning singing and whistling, always greeting everyone he walks past. I watch the people he encounters and they suddenly seem to have a better attitude. Continue reading →

RESULTS OF GRATITUDE

I hesitate to start this series by giving some of the benefits of gratitude. In part because we should be grateful regardless of any outcomes that may come our way.

But the results of gratitude in a life are so wonderful that I decided it’s a great way to introduce the idea.

Physically, spiritually, socially, vocationally, and emotionally gratitude changes us. It transforms us into better people. I recently read an article about a man who was tasked with looking into gratitude. This man was not religious or even a believer in a higher power. But he ended up overwhelmed with the benefits of living a grateful life. Continue reading →

31 POWERFUL PRAYERS: DAY 31 | THE SINNER’S PRAYER

31 Powerful PrayersHave you ever watched a preacher on TV, and he closes the broadcast with a prayer that you are invited to pray with him?

That prayer usually says something similar to a prayer you may have heard a local Pastor or Sunday school teacher offer. It’s usually referred to as The Sinner’s Prayer. Continue reading →