Enter Each Day with a Thankful Heart

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This is the month we throw around the words we see on every Hobby Lobby sign or front porch, “Grateful, Thankful, Blessed.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about seasonal decor with crocheted pumpkins covering every inch of my house. But when I truly think about it, I am convicted to grasp, and understand and mean the depth in the words I say. 

Don’t let this season go by without taking the time to honor what it is meant for. Here are a few ways that I chose to be more intentional about my Thanksgiving and Thankfulness this season.

Reflect. Thanksgiving started out as a holiday of the Pilgrims celebrating where they established their new homes compared to where they came from. So when I stop to think about the things I am thankful for, I always think of my favorite quote, “I remember the days I prayed for the things I have now.” I think about all the changes that I have experienced over the years, the people, things and memories that I have been blessed with. Things that I couldn’t have imagined for myself just a couple of years before. 

Count your blessings. You’ve heard this a million times. But when you think about it. How can you start to count everything you are grateful for and still find a reason to complain? My mom taught me a rule growing up, for every one thing you complain about, you have to name 5 things you are grateful for. That really puts the magnitude of what we have in perspective.

Throw it around like confetti. Have you ever just had a conversation with someone who completely changed your mood, either for better or worse? The attitude that we bring to everyone we come in contact with, matters. Everyone has a story, most of us don’t even know half of what the person next to us is going through. Your thankfulness will turn into happiness and change your outlook on your day, your week and your life. So share your thankfulness, be the light in the conversation, lift their spirits by being overwhelmingly positive and kind. They need it, you need it, we all need it. 

Community. We all have our own community. The people we do life with daily. When we list the things we are thankful for, the majority of those “things” are our family and our friends, our coworkers, our church. The people we have in our life are far more valuable than the tangible items that we have. Take the time to celebrate your community by serving them a little more, whether that be through volunteering, doing something to help make their day/life easier, hosting a friendsgiving or whatever else you can think of, do it. You will never regret taking the time to bless someone you love and make your community better and stronger. If you are thankful for them, tell them, show them. Always.

Maybe this is all common sense to you. Maybe you are reading this thinking DUHH. But even if you know these practices, I hope your main take away from this is to be intentional with being Thankful and not keeping it to yourself. Let your thankfulness change the world around you.