Teach them to be grateful....

This morning at the end of my quiet time with Jesus, I pulled out my "Praying for our Children" calendar that I refer to often. For today the calender suggested that I pray that my children live lives that overflow with thankfulness, always giving thanks to God. I use this calendar a lot and every time, Day 30 touches my heart. After writing this blog for 5 years, I have come to see how amazing gratitude truly is. It can change any situation! That's probably why God tell us to give thanks in all circumstances in Thessalonians 5:18. He knew that gratitude would be a blessing to us! 

So as I prayed that my children would have hearts full of gratitude, I was reminded of the importance of making sure my kids see that I am grateful. They learn best by seeing their family and friends exhibit behaviors. I mean, honestly, you can tell them something a thousand times and they never "get it" but they can see a friend do something a handful of times and they suddenly act just like them! You know I'm right! So, our kids need to see us being thankful instead of complaining. They need to see happy instead of irritated. They need to see us finding the joy in situations instead of pointing out every negative little thing. Our babies need to have Mommies and Daddies that are overflowing with gratitude so that they will act just like us!

After thinking about all of that, I decided to take a few moments and really think about my children. I asked myself, "What about Evan, Tyson, and Dylan am I thankful for, in this moment?" I just wanted to start my day with a grateful heart because once the kids are up, I often get quickly overwhelmed or impatient. It was so sweet for me to just to sit and ponder all the things I love about them. Once they were up and the day had truly started, I found myself just watching them, feeling my heart overflow with gratitude for who these little guys really are...the people they are becoming. 

As I looked at Tyson eating his bagel this morning, I noticed a little tuff of hair beside his ear. I nearly burst with love for him as I realized, he is growing so fast! I know most babies have a whole lot of hair by age 1 but my babies are bald! So seeing his hair growing really made me reflect on how much he has changed over the past few months. I am so grateful for this little guy. As I carried him around Family Video tonight, just noticing the weight of him, I couldn't help but say "Thank you Jesus" for this sweet, healthy, happy baby who is growing into the boy You designed him to be." 

Evan has gotten really into pirates lately. He even says, "me" instead of "my" because he's bascially a pirate now. HA! Earlier today he said, "I love me little brother, he is so sweet!" He even says things with a "pirate-y" accent these days! He's hilarious. This morning he was playing with his pirate ships and pirate figurines and I just listened. He has a huge imagination. I loved watching him play and listening to him talk like the different pirates and create different scenarios. Listening to him is precious.  Tonight, the boys wanted to know what a scar was so I showed them some of the scars I have from my surgeries. Evan's little eyes filled with compassion for me. He asked to rub my back and wanted to help me feel better. He has the biggest heart. He always protects me and takes care of me. I am so grateful for this little gentlemen. He brings me so much joy and causes me to feel loved each and every day. 

Today as we did our school work, Dylan wanted me to take a picture of the 100 he earned on his Math test to send to his Daddy at work. Of course, I did. As I was looking at that picture and sending it to Bryan, I couldn't get past how grown up my first born looks! I mean, look at that picture! Who is that? He should be a toddler still, shouldn't he? He also asked if he could He could ask Santa for a computer for Christmas. Then he debated with himself about whether a computer counted as a toy. He was really going back and forth with himself. So, I said, "you could always ask mommy and daddy for a computer." He responded by saying, "Computers cost a lot of money and I wouldn't want you to spend that much of your money on me. We might need that money for food or clothes." WHAT? How precious is that? My heart overflowed with thankfulness as I listened to him. He is a wonderful young man. My God has blessed me so much!

Today I am grateful for gratitude. I want my kids to be full of gratitude because it is an amazing gift from God. It really can change your attitude or your perspective. Taking a few moments to really think about all the blessings we have and the things we love about the people in our lives, can turn an ordinary day into something truly special. I am also thankful that I can model thankfulness for my children and I can pray that God will fill them with thankfulness. Isn't that amazing??! When we don't have the ability to teach something to our children, we can pray and ask God to do it, and HE WILL! He desires for them to be grateful as well! He wants us to teach them to be thankful so that they are grateful in all circumstances. He wants their lives to overflow with thankfulness!