Thanksgiving week offers us the perfect opportunity to pause and focus on gratitude. God encourages and challenges us to be thankful. In fact, there are over 150 verses in scripture that call His followers into thanksgiving. And, it's no wonder! Our Heavenly Father created us and knows the multitude of benefits available to His daughters when we open our hearts in such a way. Check out these holistic benefits of having a purposeful grateful heart.
Spirit: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp walks you through a process of recognizing God's gifts all around you as God draws you into His goodness. Highly recommend!
Mind and Body: Check out these articles:
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain
Thanksgiving Gratitude
So often we pour ourselves into planning, cleaning, traveling, cooking, and eating, that we miss the valuable opportunities right in front of us. We want to set you up for success and help you have a more meaningful Thanksgiving. We've created a free Thanksgiving gift for you to help your friends and family dig a little deeper and get creative with their gratitude. Print out a stack and ask everyone to take time to fill one out. Here are a few ideas on how you can use this gift:
Collect them and create a binder that you can add to each year and enjoy looking back at previous responses from loved ones.
Give everyone an envelope and ask them to place their completed paper inside, seal it, and self-address the envelope. Collect the stack and drop them in the mail in about six months. You'll be giving a gift by reminding your loved ones what they're thankful for.
Go around the table and ask everyone to share at least one response to each category. Be prepared to further the conversation with open-ended questions such as: "Why is that so special to you?"
Encourage people to put one silly response and two meaningful responses in each category.
Be sure to circle back and let us know how it goes. We'd love to hear!
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