TERRI: I've discovered one simple thing that will delay
your dreams more than anything else. I want to
talk to you about how to identify it, stop it, and do
the opposite, which will accelerate your progress.
(Music)
TERRI: Hey, I'm Terri Savelle Foy and you're
watching Live Your Dreams. I pray that as you invest
in yourself today, you're captivated and you're
catapulted to live your dreams. You know, research was done not
too long ago from the University of California. They launched a
$5.6 million three year project on the topic of gratitude,
specifically, keeping a gratitude journal. Now listen to
what they found out. The research concluded that keeping
a journal of gratitude, just every day writing a few things
that you're grateful for, resulted in better sleep, fewer
symptoms of illness, more happiness, less anxiety and
depression, increased self-esteem, less stress, and
reduced negativity just by journaling your gratitude just a
little bit every day. In fact, business research was done. They
wanted to do a study on how important is appreciation in the
workplace. Well, in this recent study on reasons employees leave
a company, listen to what they found out. 46% said they'd leave
the company because they feel unappreciated. 61% said their
bosses don't place very much importance on them as people.
88% said they do not receive acknowledgement for the work
they do. In other words, appreciation is important.
Acknowledging appreciation is very important. Another survey I
read about management, they were asking 200 companies what
motivates your employees, you know, thinking it's going to be
like raises and bonuses and fringe benefits and things like
that. Out of a list of 10 possible things, appreciation is
the number one motivator. Isn't that amazing? In other words,
people want to be appreciated. They just want to hear the
words, "Thank you. Thank you for what you're doing." Well, I've
discovered so does God. In fact, the Bible says be thankful and
say so. Well, God responds to a grateful heart. Now, here's
something he does not respond to. That's complaining. You
know, I started the broadcast by saying that nothing will delay
your dreams more than this. The answer is complaining. You know,
I heard Joyce Meyer say that that word, complain, actually
means to remain, to stay over night, one definition said.
To complain means you remain where you are. You will see no
progress. You won't benefit. You'll stay where you are year
after year if complaining just becomes a way of life. Well, Jim
Rohn, he said, "Complaining, indulge in this slightly, and
you might as well forget about the future." He said, "Spend
five minutes complaining and you will enter a financial desert."
Then he said this, "Choke on the dust of your own regret." Now,
that's a bit dramatic, but do you remember the Israelites?
Remember how they were circling the same mountain for 40 years
and apparently they were supposed to get around it within
11 days? It was possible to get around that mountain in less
than two weeks and it took them 40 years. Why? Because they
complained. They complained about everything. They
complained about the water, the weather, the food, the
leadership, the distance, the climate. "It's too difficult.
It's too miserable." Finally, God said, "I've had it. Trip
canceled." Jim Rohn said, "Even God himself can only take so
much." But their complaining caused their dream to be delayed
year after year after year. Well, complaining opens the door
for the enemy in our lives. In fact, I was listening to it was
like a success CD or something. This man named David Horsager,
he said he was trying to learn how to be successful. He really
wanted to go the next level in his life. This very successful,
wealthy mentor just began to teach him some things. He told
him, he said, "I want you to make a 30-day commitment to stop
complaining." He said this was 18 years ago. He told me, "Stop
complaining. Don't complain about the weather, about the
traffic, about how tired you are. Don't complain about your
food, how you slept last night, how much you have to do today.
Don't complain about how hungry you are, how slow things are
moving. Don't complain about your body. Don't complain about
your hair." He said, "Not one complaint out of your mouth for
30 days." He said, "It changed my life." Well, now, he's a
bestselling author. In fact, his clients include people like
Wells Fargo, the New York Yankees, people like that.
He said, "Making myself stop complaining changed my life."
Well, same with Joe Vitale. Some of you may have heard of him.
Years ago, he was living in Dallas-Fort Worth and he said he
was at the bottom of the barrel. He said, "I was so broke." He
said he was living in an apartment paying like $79 a
month. He said he's sleeping on a mattress on the floor. He has
a plastic table and chairs. He went to the library and he
borrowed a book about being successful. Well, as he's
sitting here reading this book, it said in there if you want to
be successful, be grateful. He said, "You know, I'm sitting
around." He had a pencil. Remember, he lives in Texas so
this is a regular pencil. He said, "I'm sitting there reading
this book and it says if you want to be successful, be
grateful." He looks around this apartment. He's like, "Be
grateful? What in the world do I have to be grateful for?" Well,
then he kept reading. It said when you're grateful, you will
attract more to be grateful for. When you complain, you will
attract more to complain about. He said, "Well, with this
pencil, I can start writing my dreams and goals." You know,
your chance of success increases by 98% when you put your dreams
and goals in writing. He said, "I've got a pencil. I can write
my goals." Then he said, "With this eraser, I can start erasing
my limiting beliefs." Well, he said that moment shifted his
life. Of course, today, he's a New York Times Bestselling
Author, multimillionaire, and a success coach to hundreds of
thousands of people. Well, I want to give you a 30-day
challenge. I took this on myself. Me and my team up here,
we've done it. People all over the world are doing it now, a
30-day challenge to no complaining. You know, you're
going to realize, "Wow. I didn't know I was complaining so much."
Just make yourself, catch yourself when you start to
complain about your weight, about how hungry you are, you're
exhausted, you didn't sleep well. Just practice not
complaining. Then, number two, journal your gratitude. For 30
days, take on this challenge. You know, the Bible says, 1
Thessalonians 5:18, it says, "I will give thanks in all
circumstances for this is God's will for me in Christ Jesus."
God finds it very important that we just express our gratitude. I
believe a grateful heart is a magnet for miracles. I believe
it opens a door for God to do so much in your life like you've
never seen before. You know, people like Oprah Winfrey, she
said, you know, if you focus on what you don't have, you will
never ever have enough. She said if you focus on what you do
have, your life will go to the next level or she said you'll
end up having more. Well, you know, she said she did the same
thing. She said, "I stopped complaining and I just started
journaling my gratitude." Just every day, waking up and writing
something quick that she was grateful for. Well, to me,
that's like the Word of God says, "I will enter his gates
with thanksgiving and I'll enter his courts with praise." That's
what you're doing when you just start your morning prayer time
just saying, "Lord, I just want to thank you for what you've
already done. Thank you for being faithful. Thank you that I
woke up this morning. Thank you that I'm healthy. Thank you for
this house. It may not be my dream house, but I'm thankful I
have a house. Thank you, Lord, that I have a job. It may not be
my dream job, but I have a job. It's better than unemployment. I
have a job and I thank you for it." Well, Oprah Winfrey said
she started doing this 16 years ago and she said, "I
believe this is the single most important thing that I have ever
done." Now, Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.7 billion and she said
it's the single most important thing she thinks she's ever
done. Well, success leaves clues, doesn't it? When Oprah
said that, I was like, "Come again? I think I'll try
journaling my gratitude, just getting into that habit." Now,
of course, this isn't a little trick. This isn't a magic key,
but it's just starting that attitude of recognizing what you
have to be grateful for. When you write it down, of course,
you're more aware of every single day just being grateful.
Well, I know in my life I have seen massive things change,
momentum like never before, doors of favor, opportunities,
increase in my life like I've never dreamed of. In fact, Steve
Harvey said gratitude is a powerful process. He said the
only way to move to the next level is you must show gratitude
for where you are. He said if you show gratitude, it gets you
to where you want to be quicker. Well, I could go on and on of
different actors and celebrities who say the same thing, but
God's the one who said be thankful and say so, not just
think it, say so. Well, Ephesians 5:20 says, "Always
giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ." God's telling us be grateful for
everything. In every situation, you have something to be
thankful for. There's scripture after scripture, in fact, I've
put them in this little gratitude journal. So many
scriptures from the Word of God that tell us to give thanks
because a grateful heart is a magnet for miracles. Well, do
you remember the story of Jehoshaphat? Now, in this story,
we see how gratitude, praise, thanksgiving can actually help
you win battles. If you're facing a battle right now, a
financial battle, a legal battle, a health battle, a
weight loss battle, a marital battle, gratitude is the key.
You know, in that story with Jehoshaphat, we see how God will
actually go to work to fight the battles for you when you start
expressing gratitude and praise and thanksgiving. If you
remember that story, 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat's coming
against this army. He's outnumbered. He doesn't know how
in the world he can defeat them. The battle records how he sent
the praisers out ahead of him. He sent all these people ahead
to just start praising, worshiping God, thanking him,
he's so amazing. "Lord, you're so powerful. You're so
faithful." Well, their praise, their gratitude was so confusing
to the enemy that they began to slaughter each other. Well, see,
when you just start saying, "Lord, you know I'm going
through a lot right now. You know I'm going through a battle.
Father, I just want to take a moment and just say thank you.
Thank you, Lord, that you're fighting this battle for me.
Thank you, Lord, that I've been in this health battle for a
while with my weight. Lord, I thank you you've given me a fast
metabolism. I thank you, Lord, you're changing things in my
favor." You are going to confuse the enemy. You know, in that
story with Jehoshaphat, he did three things. He said, "Lord, I
don't know what to do. Number two, even if I did, I don't have
the strength to do it. Number three, my eyes are on you." The
Bible actually says, "The battle is the Lord's. The victory is
yours." He won the battle. I want to challenge you today,
whatever battle you're facing right now, get this ingrained in
you. When you complain, you just open the door for the enemy to
come into your life. When you stop all those complaints and
you just lift your hands and you just start praising God,
thanking him for what he's already done, for what he's
about to do in your life, you have just opened the door for
God to work in your life. Keep that in mind. Complain means you
remain, you stay overnight. Praise means you make progress.
I'm challenging you right now to make this a part of your life.
Now, when we come back, I want to share some powerful things
with you that will convince you to stop complaining
and start expressing gratitude. I'll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles,
and you can unlock the chains of bondage from your life and
experience great blessings when you develop a life of gratitude
and praise. That's why Terri is offering you her special
gratitude package today. In the power of gratitude, you'll
discover how power is released that can break barriers and
bring breakthroughs when you develop and express a grateful
heart to God. You'll also get the companion resource, "My
Gratitude Journal." This convenient journal will become a
treasured part of your daily routine as you take account of
God's goodness in your life. Don't delay. Get this special
package offer today and step into the blessings God has
for you. Call or go online to request your copy of
"The Power of Gratitude" along with "My Gratitude
Journal." Call toll-free, 800-795-5597, or visit us
online at terri.com. Discover how the power of
gratitude can dramatically change your life today.
TERRI: We're talking about the power of gratitude and how a
grateful heart is a magnet for miracles. You know, that could
be the one little thing missing in your life is you haven't
really just stopped complaining and recognize what you have to
be grateful for. I truly believe that it will open doors in your
life like never before, doors of favor, opportunity, increase,
promotion. It gives God an open door to start moving in your
life. You know, when we first came out here to Rockwall,
Texas, it was in September of 2014. I left a position at my
dad's ministry, came out here, started from scratch, following
the plan of God for my life. You know, that was a big step of
faith. Well, that first day here, we're in our offices,
we're believing God for everything, computers, paper,
pens, energy drinks. We're believing for everything. Well,
we had our first little team meeting on day one. We're
sitting at this little table. I don't know why, the Lord just
put this on my heart. I've never seen anybody else do it. I never
learned it in a success book. I just passed out these little
Post-its to everybody at the table. I said, "I want you to
just write down a few things that you're grateful for. It can
be big. It can be small, just something you're grateful for."
Well, they went around the table writing some things down. Then,
one by one, I said, "Let's just share them out loud." They began
sharing them. Well, let me just tell you, you can't help but get
encouraged in an atmosphere like that, just that simple procedure
because some team members, you know, remembered things that
others forgot. Others recognized little things that they didn't
even think of. I told them, "You know, share as big or as small
as you want. Nothing is insignificant." Well, we had so
much to be grateful for. People started sharing things like, you
know, "All the new people we met last week in Boston," or, you
know, "Our YouTube subscribers have doubled in a just short
time," or the new book release or, you know, "That we get to
work in a faith-filled environment." I remember one
person saying, "The 14-year-old little girl who stopped cutting
herself after hearing our messages. Thank you, Jesus." We
just went around the table, one by one, just sharing what we're
grateful for. Well, do you know that was, you know, that was in
2014 and we haven't stopped. We do it every single week. You
know, the Bible says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his
courts with praise." I believe that's what you're doing when
you just start your prayer time just saying, "Lord, I just want
you to know how grateful I am. Thank you so much that I had the
day off yesterday. Thank you, Lord, that it's beautiful
outside. Thank you that I'm healthy. Thank you for the car I
drive." You know, can you imagine if your child entered
your presence just saying, "Mom, I just want you to know how
grateful I am for everything. I don't take it for granted, this
house we live in, the clothes you buy me. I just want you to
know I am so grateful." Well, if your children did that, wouldn't
you just be like, "What else do you want? I just want to
overwhelm you with blessings." Well, that's how God feels too.
Well, do you know, since that day, we started doing this on
day one, we've never stopped. Do you know we have never seen so
much growth, favor, opportunities increase in such a
short time. In fact, my parents came out here to just tour the
offices and just celebrate what God had done. My dad said to me,
he's looking around at the offices. In fact, we have this
big, giant gratitude wall where we put all of our little
Post-its all over this wall. You know, everybody on my team had a
gratitude journal. Every week, we're journaling our gratitude.
Well, my dad said to me, he said, "Sis, you know that what's
happening out at this ministry, it's not normal. This is the
goodness of God. This is the favor of God." In fact, he said,
"You know, I've served on boards of ministries for 20 years
who've never seen this kind of favor and opportunities." Well,
then of course, my parents saw the gratitude wall and my mom
was just saying the other day, "I believe that is the key,
because you've maintained a grateful heart. You're not
taking things for granted. You're not just, you know, when
something good happens, you're not just like, 'That was
awesome.'" Do you know, our first response every time is,
"Thank you, Jesus." Well, a grateful heart is a magnet for
miracles. If you want to stop the progress in your life,
complain. I'm serious. Nothing will delay your dreams more than
complaining out of your mouth. In fact, not too long ago, it
was coming to the end of the year and I was just starting to
get tired, you know, from just a lot of traveling and a lack of
time off, a lack of sleep, things like that. Little by
little, I was starting to complain. I know better than to
do this, but you just start to little by little say things
like, "I am so tired," or, "Oh, man. I wish I could just have a
day off to just rest," things like that. Well, finally, I got
ahold of myself and I said, "No complaining." I took that
challenge with myself. I said, "For 30 days, I am going to do
my best to guard my mouth and not let complaints come out of
my mouth." That means over everything. When you look in the
mirror and you're grossed out over maybe your body or your
hair or you start to see some lines and stuff, no complaining.
No complaining about how you slept. No complaining because a
flight's delayed and you're sitting in the airport for
hours. No complaining. I said, "I'm going to make myself
journal my gratitude for 30 days, just every morning going
into my little prayer time with the Lord, grab a pen and my
journal, and just write a few things down that I'm grateful
for." Well, I shared on a previous broadcast how the first
30 days I ever did that, some of the most amazing things began to
happen in my life. I'm talking about dreams that I had for
seven years came to pass in that 30-day time period. Another
dream I had for three years to get a certain book translated in
French, it happened during that 30 days. I mean, major things
were happening. One was that our ministry received more donations
ever to help our outreaches with safe houses and girls homes. We
received more donations ever in that single month. I mean, I
could go on and on. I just don't have time to tell you
everything. Well, when you start seeing God do amazing things
like that, my lightening fast mind says, "I think I'll do
another 30 days." I kept this up. The next time I did this,
things like I received invitations to speak in
Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Barcelona, on and on. I saved $5,000 on my
daughter's dentist appointment. I received a nice book royalty
check. Our revenue at the ministry, up to that month in
the year, surpassed the entire revenue the previous year, 12
months. In fact, that month, we presented our broadcast to a
network, thinking we're going to get one time slot. They gave us
eight time slots. I mean, it goes on and on and on. One thing
after another. In fact, the ministry, we saw things like
it took us six years to get a million views on YouTube. Now
there's a million views every six weeks. It was just like
major acceleration. Well, I believe, like I said, a grateful
heart just opens the door for God to do so much in your life,
but when we complain, it opens a door for the enemy. This is my
challenge, is for you to do this same thing. Take that challenge
with us. Number one, go 30 days with no complaining. Number two,
just start being grateful. You know, throughout the Bible, the
Lord says be thankful and say so. Ephesians 5:20 says, "Always
giving thanks to God the Father for everything." Zig Ziglar made
this quote. He said, "Of all the attitudes we can acquire, surely
the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the
most life changing." I agree with that. You know, I never
knew that just that simple act of just being so grateful gives
God so much room to work in our lives. Well, I've discovered
that expressing gratitude actually gives you strength. You
know, a lot of times, you might feel just like you've lost the
willpower to go after your dreams. It might even be a dream
to lose weight, a dream to get out of debt. Sometimes, you can
get excited about that dream. You get motivated. Maybe you
watch broadcasts like this and you start to get that zeal.
Then, when you get home and you really have to start adding
discipline and commitment to it, you just feel weak. You've just
lost the zeal. Well, do you know that gratitude actually
strengthens you? In fact, there's a scripture that says
that Abraham grew strong as he gave praise and worship to God.
Isn't that amazing? Well, there's also a scripture in
Psalm that says, "God inhabits the praises of his people."
Well, that word inhabits just means he lives in, he dwells in,
and he abides in the praises of his people. When you go into
your prayer time and you just start saying, "Lord, I just want
to say thank you. I just praise you, Father, for never leaving
me nor forsaking me. Thank you for giving me strength to do
what I could never do on my own. Father, thank you for healing my
marriage. Thank you for healing my body." Well, when you just
start praising God, you've just welcomed his presence. He abides
in the praises of his people. Well, there's another scripture
that says in his presence, there's fullness of joy. When
you praise God, you bring his presence and his presence brings
joy. Well, then another scripture says the joy of the
Lord gives you strength. To me, it's like this mathematical
equation. You praise God, it brings his presence. His
presence brings joy. Joy gives you strength. Strength for what?
To do everything God's put in your heart to do, to pursue the
dreams that he's put in your heart. That's what it's going to
take. Well, you know, I remember years ago when I was going
through such a hard time in my life, I heard a minister say
this. They said, "Don't look at everything you've lost. Look at
what you've got left and start praising God for it." I remember
thinking, "What do I have left? What do I have to praise God
for?" But they began to explain that when you praise God, you
open the door for him to move in your life. I was so miserable at
that time. Everything was falling apart. I remember going
down in my kitchen at like 11:00 at night. My marriage is falling
apart. I'm falling apart. I made myself offer that sacrifice of
praise. I just starting praising God and thanking him for
everything I had. "Thank you for my house. Thank you that I have
a job. Lord, I thank you for that little girl asleep in her
bed. I prayed for that baby and you gave me the desires of my
heart." Every time I would just start offering praise and
thanksgiving to God, the heaviness would lift, the
depression would lift, the misery would leave, and peace
would come into my heart. I'm telling you this gives God an
opportunity to heal you, to restore you, to strengthen you,
to open doors like never before. Let me just say this real quick.
As you start this habit with me of journaling your gratitude,
stop complaining, do you know the highest expression of your
faith is when you start thanking God ahead of time for what he's
about to do in your life? For example, I remember a couple
years ago at my birthday party, I was sitting there opening
presents, you know, and my parents gave me a gift card to
go shopping. My sister gave me this beautiful Paris box with
all these goodies in it. Then, my husband, I open up his
present and it's a piece of paper that says, "You've got an
iPad coming." Well, I was like, "Rodney, thank you." I hugged
him. Well, really, this is not an iPad. This is just on paper
it's coming. What would you think if I had said, "I'll save
the thanks when I see it. Thanks for nothing." He'd probably say,
"You bratty little wife. Give me the iPad back." No, I thanked
him because I trust him. I trust his Word. If he said it, I know
he's going to do it. Well, God's the same way. You can trust him.
God's the one who said in Philippians, "Do not fret or
have any anxiety about anything. But in every circumstance and in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your request known to God." That means when you present your
dreams, your goals, your faith projects to God, when you start
thanking him ahead of time, that's going to get the ear of
God. You've just expressed the highest expression of faith is
through praise and thanksgiving. You can trust him so go ahead
and thank him for it. Well, I want you to get this series, The
Power of Gratitude and the Gratitude Journal. As soon as it
arrives, I want you to take that 30-day challenge and say, "I'm
going to do this. I'm going guard my mouth. I'm going to
make myself not complain. I'm going to start journaling my
gratitude." Listen to this message over and over and over
and let it just get on the inside of you to where it just
becomes a way of life, where you just start thanking the Lord for
what he's done and for what he's about to do. Your praise, your
thanksgiving, your gratitude, that is the highest expression
of your faith in God. The thing is, you can trust him. He said,
"Present your request with thanksgiving." Take the
challenge with me and then update me. I want to hear what
God is doing because we've gotten some of the most amazing
testimonies of people seeing doors open up in their life
because of a grateful heart. Stop looking at the
years you've lost. Look at the years you've got left.
ANNOUNCER: A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles,
and you can unlock the chains of bondage from your life and
experience great blessings when you develop a life of gratitude
and praise. That's why Terri is offering you her special
gratitude package today. In the power of gratitude, you'll
discover how power is released that can break barriers and
bring breakthroughs when you develop and express a grateful
heart to God. You'll also get the companion resource, "My
Gratitude Journal." This convenient journal will become a
treasured part of your daily routine as you take account of
God's goodness in your life. Don't delay. Get this special
package offer today and step into the blessings God has
for you. Call or go online to request your copy of
"The Power of Gratitude" along with "My Gratitude
Journal." Call toll-free, 800-795-5597, or visit us
online at terri.com. Discover how the power of
gratitude can dramatically change your life today.
(Music)
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