• Home
  • NextSunday Resources
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Biblical Studies
  • Spirituality / Christian Living
  • Church & Culture
  • Ministry / Leadership
  • Devotion / Inspiration
  • Baptist Studies
  • Contact

Smyth & Helwys Books

Welcome

  • Books
    • All Books
    • Baptist Studies
    • Biblical Books
      • New Testament Books
      • Old Testament Books
    • Church & Culture
    • Church History
    • Ministry / Leadership
      • Christian Education
      • Family Ministry
        • Youth
      • Pastoral Care
        • Grief / Crisis
      • Preaching
      • Worship
    • Spirituality / Christian Living
      • Devotion / Inspiration
    • Theology
    • Women’s Studies
  • New Books
  • Series
    • All the Bible
    • Annual Bible Study
    • Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary
    • Cotton Patch Gospel
    • Help! Series
    • Preaching the Word
    • Reading the New Testament, 1st Series
    • Reading the New Testament, 2nd Series
    • Reading the Old Testament
    • Regent’s Study Guides
    • Sessions Series
  • S&H Bible Commentary
    • SHBC Overview
    • Supplemental Series
    • Available Volumes
    • Volume Bundles
    • Standing Order Plan
    • SHBC Updates
  • Biblical Studies
    • New Testament Studies
    • Old Testament Studies
  • Ministry/Leadership
    • Christian Education
    • Family Ministry
      • Youth
    • Pastoral Care
      • Grief / Crisis
    • Preaching
    • Worship
  • Christian Living
    • Devotion / Inspiration
  • Sale
    • Monthly Sales
Choosing Gratitude
Learning to Love the Life You Have
James A. Autry
Paperback | 144 pages
978-1-57312-614-4
Regular Price: 15.00
This book may ship from a different location. Delivery times are estimated at 7–10 business days. Returns should be addressed to Smyth & Helwys Publishing.
 

eBook

Choosing Gratitude eBook • $8.99

Book Description

In his latest book, Choosing Gratitude: Learning to Love the Life You Have, renowned author James A. Autry reminds us that gratitude is a choice, a spiritual—not social—process. Made evident as behavior, gratitude is not the behavior itself. We may automatically respond, “Thank you” or “Appreciate it” in the daily course of our lives. These are polite, conditioned responses, but they are not gratitude. Instead, gratitude is a way of life, a belief system, that means cultivating a spirit of thankfulness even through the negatives of life. It is remembering there will always be more reasons for gratitude than for despair.

In a society consumed by fears of not having “enough”—money, possessions, security, and so on—Autry suggests that if we cultivate gratitude as a way of being, we may not change the world and its ills, but we can change our response to the world. If we fill our lives with moments of gratitude, we will indeed love the life we have.

About the Author

James A. Autry, a former Fortune 500 executive, is an author, poet, and consultant whose work has had significant influence on leadership thinking. He is the author of ten books, and his writings have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. Featured in Bill Moyers’ PBS series The Power of the Word and in Moyers’ book The Language of Life, Autry has also been noted on National Public Radio via Garrison’s Keillor’s “Writer’s Corner.” He serves on the national advisory board of Poets & Writers, Inc. Autry resides in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife, Sally Pederson, who recently retired as Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, and their twenty-seven-year-old son. He has two grown sons by a previous marriage and is a proud grandfather of two.

Book Reviews

Growing into gratitude comes in discrete pieces: coming to see “calamity” as a deepening experience, as well as recognizing that one already has enough. The culmination of this gem of a book is the longish account of the author’s brother’s learning how to say “thank you” in the face of his inevitable death. Like a slow building formation, James Autry’s wisdom regarding gratitude slowly builds up into insight that repeatedly appears just when needed.

—John Maguire,
President Emeritus
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, California

Jim Autry does it again. In his usual winsome and witty way, Autry reminds us that our posture toward daily life—on both good days and bad—ought to be one of gratitude. With just the right blend of humor and heart, his stories, poems, and reflections all serve to help us develop and nurture our own spirit of gratitude.

—David W. Miller,
Director, Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative
Princeton, New Jersey

Jim Autry is a very wise soul. His inspiring stories, observations and suggestions are helpful in living a life of full of gratitude. This is a very worthwhile read.

—Peter Roy,
co-author of The Book of Hard Choices
and former President of Whole Foods Market

Amidst the pressures life thrusts upon us, the notion of making a choice to express—no, to live—gratitude may seem naive. But it is profound, and in beautiful story form and moving poetry we are led to see how gratitude doesn’t isolate us from the rough-and-tumble of the world, but rather actually helps us engage it more richly. Several of the chapters were so powerful that I found myself in tears, agreeing that each of us indeed has much for which to be grateful.

—David Trickett,
President, Iliff School of Theology
Denver, Colorado

I experience gratitude as a deep feeling of joy and sorrow as one, of being present to the world. Jim’s book captures this experience—it is filled with moments of joy and sorrow, offering us a profound recognition of what life is. I’m so grateful for this book.

—Margaret J. Wheatley,
Author of six books including
Leadership and the New Science and
Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time

Write a Review

Browse Book Categories

  • Afternoon
  • All Books
  • All the Bible
  • Annual Bible Study
  • Baptist Studies
  • Biblical Books
  • Biblical Studies
  • Biography / Autobiography
  • Cecil Sherman Formations Commentary
  • Christian Education
  • Church & Culture
  • Church History
  • Contextualizing the Gospel
  • Cotton Patch Gospel
  • Devotion / Inspiration
  • Discouragement
  • Family Ministry
  • Featured Books
  • Fiction
  • God
  • Grief / Crisis
  • Help! Series
  • Humor
  • Jesus
  • Ministry
  • Ministry / Leadership
  • Monthly Sales
  • New Books
  • New Testament Books
  • New Testament Studies
  • Old Testament Books
  • Old Testament Studies
  • Pastoral Care
  • Peake Road Press
  • Poetry
  • Preaching
  • Preaching the Word
  • Proclaiming the Baptist Vision
  • Reading the New Testament, 1st Series
  • Reading the New Testament, 2nd Series
  • Reading the Old Testament
  • Regent’s Study Guides
  • Sale
  • Self-Help
  • Series
  • Sessions Series
  • Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
  • Spirituality / Christian Living
  • Theology
  • Volume Bundles
  • Women’s Studies
  • Worship
  • Youth

Helpful Links

  • Our History
  • Careers
  • Booksellers
  • Libraries
  • Media
  • Author Marketing Form
  • Exam/Desk Copy Request
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Delivery Policy
  • Return/Refund Policy
  • Contact

Contact Us

Company Address:
6316 Peake Road
Macon, GA 31210-3960

Phone:
478-757-0564
800-747-3016

Fax:
478-757-1305

Hours of Operation:
Monday–Thursday 8:00–5:30 EST
Friday 8:00–1:00 EST
Saturday–Sunday Closed

Find Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Smyth & Helwys Books

Copyright © 2023