The Gratitude Tree!

As you can probably tell by reading this blog, I think gratitude is pretty important. Since starting this blog 3 years ago, I have learned to look for God's blessings through out the day. Even on the worst day, I have found that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for even though it isn't always easy to find. I want to teach my boys to be thankful for all they have. I truly believe that learning to be thankful can help you to get through any situation in life. I want my boys to see all that God has blessed them with and loudly say "Thank you!"

Today I taught my two older boys a lesson on Gratitude. I wanted to make sure they really new what that big word meant. They began telling me things they are happy about and things that they're glad they have. Then we talked about people and circumstances that we're happy about. We ended up discussing that every good gift has come from above (James 1:17).  The boys realized that our family has sooooo many things to be grateful for. So, we started writing those things down on little leaves. Dylan wrote his own and Evan drew his and then told me what to write. I was really impressed by what they came up with. It really warmed my heart to watch them ponder all the good gifts God has given them.

After writing on all their leaves, we made a little Gratitude Tree to leave up in our Homeschool room. It is so cute!!! But, it's also useful. Any time my boys start to complain, I'm going to send them to the Gratitude Tree! (There will be times that I might need to look at the Gratitude Tree too! Ha!) I'm hoping that having this little tree will help us to remember how much we have to be grateful for, even on the days when we feel like complaining and whining. God has done so much! We need things like this to remind us of all of our blessings!

Today I am thankful for the chance to teach my boys about Gratitude. Even more-so, I'm grateful that they truly seemed to understand the concept and came up with so many things that they are thankful for! The Bible tells us that we should give thanks in everything for that is the will of God (Thessalonians 5:18). I think God's reason for wanting us to give thanks in all situations is because it can be life changing! Realizing all that God has done for us and has given us, helps us to see how loving and faithful He is. Gratitude is so good for the soul! Thank you Father, for the gift of gratitude!