Gratitude

I think Veggie Tales had it right when they sang:
"A thankful heart is a happy heart. I'm glad for what I have that's an easy way to start..."

We have thoroughly enjoyed this month leading up to Thanksgiving- a holiday I feel gets short changed. We have found some fun stories, devotions, audio books and hymns to help us in our quest to generate a more deliberate sense of gratitude in our home. The fun thing about having kids is that while they may be the reason why we do these intentional spiritual lessons- we are discovering that-as it turns out- I need these lessons just as much (if not more) than they do! A heart of gratitude and contentment is certainly not something I have on my own! So these measures we've found this past month have just been so neat to see how God is changing my heart into one of more purposeful gratitude. I hope as our family continues to do "hands on" spiritual nurturing that it won't be something we pursue just "for the kids"- Infact- I hope that when we've been married 30 years and our kids are gone that Brad and I will still have our own thanksgiving tree since I'm pretty sure generating and maintaining genuine gratitude is a lifelong pursuit.