The Power of Gratitude: Transforming Your Marriage This Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Iconic Media
Good afternoon, Icons,
It is our week of saying thanks and we say thank you to all of you.
This is our only newsletter for Thanksgiving. We know you are getting ready for the holiday.
We pray that you enjoy time with friends and family being in a spirit of gratitude.
Times are tough and we appreciate all of you reading here with us today.
What’s your favorite dish? Let’s take about it in the comments!
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heck out some happy winners for the month of November thanks to you!
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The Power of Gratitude: Transforming Your Marriage This Thanksgiving
One of the reasons I loved my job in the military was because I was a military cook, feeding people is my passion. It is a way to connect us all to our basic human need, for food.
One year for Thanksgiving, I was told to be a part of the culinary work in our dining facility to feed soldiers that thanksgiving holiday. Every year we would do these bold and beautiful displays to thank the troops for their year of service and give those who couldn’t go home, somewhere to eat.
Although I’ve had thanksgiving overseas, this particular one stuck in my mind because I wasn’t volunteering my services. I literally had my hand down.
But my leadership knew that they would benefit from my help, and I would love the experience. Not only were they right, but I also had a blast creating amazing dishes to service others.
And they gave me an award afterwards because of it. (I also got to serve the Bible cake we made to family that came to visit me the next day).
It was this gratitude that meant a lot. Serving this country and serving people takes a lot of work and setting aside a time for gratitude is a great way to show people you care about them, even if you were forced into it with a bit of nudging.
This time of year, we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a time to express love, appreciation and thanks for all we have been through.
And 2023 is a crazy year.
Importantly, we must be grateful for those who are in our lives and what they have done, especially our other halves.
Psalm 100:4
King James Version
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Gratitude and Your Marriage
Gratitude is a very important glue that keeps the bond of marriage tight. According to For Your Marriage.com, it is even proven in a recent study of long-term couples.
Gratitude is a vital attitude in marriage, a positive indicator that a husband and wife find their relationship satisfying, according to a new study of couples married an average of some 20 years.
The study found that when one spouse inwardly feels grateful for the good things about the other or about their relationship, it is likely that the other spouse experiences a sense of marital satisfaction too. “Specifically, individuals who reported feeling higher levels of gratitude had spouses who were happier with their marriage,” the study says.
In other words, my inward sense of gratitude is a sign of my own marital satisfaction, and it is “relevant” to my wife’s marital happiness. (Source)
It isn’t just good that we do things for our spouses but that we appreciate what they do for us and for our families. The dictionary defines gratitude as more than just thanks. It is being ready to return kindness and to readiness to show appreciation.
We must not only demand certain things out of our marital union but let our significant others know that those things are met or in most times, exceeded beyond our dreams.
They didn’t have to marry us. They didn’t have to have kids with us. They didn’t have to live their lives with us and work with us, but they did.
Making in privately and publicly known that this matters, boosts the love we have and the happiness we feel.
When we look for ways that our spouses show up and that we can appreciate them, we are more likely to see their worth and value. We will understand just how blessed and lucky we are.
How Do we show Gratitude?
Tell You Spouse Using Specific Language
Offer to Help them When Needed
Give them their favorite treat, entertainment, or fun time
Leave them notes
Give them alone time without responsibilities or the kids around
Ask them what they need from you
More reasons to show gratitude include:
Being thankful in marriage is packed with research-backed benefits!
I know… this sounds like the beginning of a cheesy infomercial. But unlike many infomercials, this little factoid really is backed by science.
Studies show that expressing gratitude for your spouse strengthens your marriage.1
Being thankful is associated with increased long-term happiness in marriage.2
Being thankful can have a healing effect when there are rifts in the relationship.3
Thankfulness can help a person reframe negative experiences in a more positive light, giving a more hopeful outlook on their marriage.4
And get this: Showing and receiving gratitude is associated with more satisfying sex in marriage.5,6
Thank goodness for being thankful!
But it’s important to understand that gratitude in marriage is a lot like a muscle: You need to exercise it. You need to strengthen and flex your thankfulness to enjoy the full benefit. 5 Keys to Being Thankful in Marriage - First Things First
Having the spirit of thanksgiving in your heart and expressing with your spouse makes the marriage that more enjoyable and long lasting. Your legacy will be better for it and your kids will model these behaviors in future relationships of their own.
Icons Show their Gratitude for Their Spouse
You guys showed up for your loved ones!
Over on the X app, I asked Icons what they were thankful for in their marriage. This is their holiday message to their loved ones.
Follow this link to join in the conversation, Thanksgiving Gratitude on X
You were numerous and you showed up publicly in a sincere manner.
As explained above, gratitude goes a long way.
We at Iconic Media give our thanks. We couldn’t be more thankful for you reading our content, donating to our fundraisers or spreading our message.
From us here to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the Holiday and please watch out for our next newsletter email.
As you enjoy your family, give your thanks and eat delicious food, remember to be Iconic.
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