I decided to revise this post after I listened to a great friend of ours speak about gratitude. Gratitude and thankfulness are so powerful, but yet we let it slip away on so many occasions. The art of showing gratitude can slowly diminish in our lives, because of circumstances. Circumstances, whether good or bad come into our lives and can rob us of our gratitude or take away our time. Preventing us from thanking God for the things in our life and walking in gratitude. I don’t just want to have thankfulness, I want to walk in gratitude! Don’t you?
4 Ways to Make Your Holiday a Season of Gratitude
Getting Started
1) Make it a habit: Keeping a gratitude journal to help you feel happier, over the long-term, has to be part of an habitual routine. It takes 21 days to break a bad habit, but it also takes 21 days to make a good habit BECOME a habit. Make it a routine and stick with it!
2) Acknowledge the negative too: Embrace the fact that life isn’t always perfect. It is okay to write about the negative. It’s okay if you can’t find gratitude that day, trying to find gratitude in a negative situation can bring frustration and that is not what this journal is about. Write about the negative so later as a family you can look back and see what God brought you out of. That will bring gratitude instantly, the gratitude of God’s faithfulness!
3) Practice gratitude for the right things: Instead of showing gratitude for material things for the sake of ownership, focus on what those items afford you. A warm home makes your kids feel safe, allowing them to enjoy their childhoods without worry of where they’ll sleep at night. A working car allows you to visit loved ones, volunteer at a homeless center or take a road trip. Think of what money allows you to be and do, not just have.
4) For an added BONUS: If you have little kids, there are great books out there to read to your kids during this Thanksgiving season. One book we always go to is I’m Thankful Each Day! My kids love it and it comes as a board book too! (As you can see, ours is very worn and tethered, but it works and still does the trick!) Okay, one other book we like, The Thankful Book, is awesome too! (Can you tell we love books?)
Make a Gratitude Journal
Materials:
- Journal
- Printable to paste in the front of your Family Gratitude Journal!
- Family members that are willing to share their time and thoughts on gratitude
This holiday season make it a holiday full of gratitude!
Happy journaling!
I would love to hear how all of you are doing and how you share as a family together! Take pics and post them on your social media accounts. Tag me in your pics so I can see! My Facebook, My Instagram, My Pinterest
Until next time….
~xoxo
Mandi
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