Thankful on Paper {Week 3}

"As we express our gratitude, 

we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words,

but to live by them."

- John F. Kennedy

It's hard to believe that it's already Week 3 of Thankful on Paper. 

(If you want to catch up, check out Week 1 and Week 2 here.)  

This week, I sent thank you cards to my parents and in-laws.  I've been greatly blessed with parents by birth, step-parents who joined my life, and in-laws who accepted me.  They're such an important part of my life and the lives of my family.  They love their role as grandparents!  And I know I can always call with anything I need.  I'm blessed beyond words.

Thanks Mom, Dennis, 

Dad, Kristine,

Kent, & Laurie! 

My mom and step dad with the grand-kids

My dad and mother & father in-law at Grandparent's Day at Lil' N's school

My step-mom and the girls at a Halloween Party

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

My Thanksgiving "Attitude Check"

Source: Knock Off Decor via Jackie Rutkowski Ellis on Pinterest

The approaching Thanksgiving holiday is always a reminder to me to do an “attitude check.”  Is Thanksgiving merely a date on the November calendar, or is it an attitude of gratitude in my heart?  Because when we’re looking a life through the lens of thanksgiving, then we become more content about everything in our life. 

For example…

~ We can complain about the dishes we need to wash, 

or we can be thankful we had food to eat. 

~ We can be annoyed by the mountain of laundry,

or we can be grateful that our family has clothes to wear.  

~ We can fuss about the toys strewn about on the floor, 

or we can give thanks for the house we live in and the children who fill it with joy. 

Linda Dillows wrote, “Each of us has a choice about how we look at life:  we can focus on the mud, or we can look up and see the stars.  God wants you and me to learn to be content in our circumstances, not when they improve.” 

When gratitude is a part of our daily existence, then Thanksgiving becomes a celebration of all we have; it is not a one-day event, but a year-round expression of our blessings.  

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18