T-H-A-N-K-S

I am thinking and writing about thanking people this week....and have appreciated the kind feedback from a few of you about the posts. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment - it is an encouragement -  and for reading the blog.

Being the creative writer I am (not!) I came up with an acronym to help us do thanking better.... 

Thank God....each morning and night and anytime in between. He is the One to whom we have the most to be thankful for, so don't allow Him to be the One who misses out on well-deserved thanks. He's also the One who can help us pay more attention to 'thanks opportunities' throughout the day, so ask Him for help to do that too.

Have a goal of 5 "thank you"s a day. Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience talks about thanking your husband 4 times a day, so those of us who are married only have to look for 1 other 'thanks' to utter each day...right? I say 'wrong' and reckon 4 'thank-yous' to our husband = 1 out of the 5 (but then I have never been good at maths!) Anyway, get creative with the thanks. It could be face-to-face, or via phone or a text or an email or a card or aerial sign writing or....

Attitude of gratitude - develop one. When we are wide-eyed with wonder at the good stuff in our lives, it makes saying thanks easier.

Notice what people are doing and acknowledge it. We get so busy...so self-focussed...so tired...that we sometimes miss the gifts we are given throughout the day. So make the effort to see the small stuff too. Things like....

• a friend who calls to say hello ('Hey...thanks for the call. Good to hear your voice.') 
• your son taking out the bin ('I appreciate your help honey...thanks.')
• the parcel delivery man ('This is hard work in the heat...thanks!')

Kind words are not easily forgotten but sadly, they are not often used. Be different in this world that says 'Get what you can, your way and too bad about the rest.'

Set the example for others, especially your kids. I am really conscious with this in raising Little j and so I say to him as we leave the grocery shop, "Say good bye to the lady and 'thanks for helping us'." Yesterday I thanked the video shop lady like this too....and she looked at me funny, but I don't care. The library lady liked it! And so did the postman.

Feel free to develop your own acronym....and if you do...let me know what it is...thanks!

What 'Thanks' Says

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, 

and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.  

~G.K. Chesterton

Well said G.K.! I agree whole heartedly.

Here's why....

When we thank others we are saying - (read these slowly:)

• You are appreciated...valued...worthwhile 
• Your contribution to my life is important, meaningful, a gift  
• Your effort is appreciated, and so are your thoughtfulness and kindness, your hard work and creativity 
• Your generosity is a Godsend 
• I have noticed you 
• I value you 
• I love you and your work.

Our thanks can encourage, uplift, settle, rescue, bless and honour others. We have the power of life (and death) with our tongues so how about using thanks genuinely, frequently, widely and graciously? Today.

Ahhhhh....LIFE!!!

The best things in life are the nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Thanks God for breath.....it is the fuel of my physical life. I am blessed to live in a country with clean and fresh air....ask our friends D and E about the lack of that in Vietnam and you'll soon appreciate what we have. I can breathe freely on my own and my body does all it should to turn that oxygen into what I need.

Thanks God for hope and delight....they are the light in my eyes. Love shines there too. And may what lights my eyes, bring a gleam of gratitude to my heart. And a ray of hope to others.

Thanks God for flowers.....for your magnificent creation made just for us. Thank-you for the full moon and for the light refreshing rain. Thank-you for the passionfruit growing on the vine and the frangipani's fragrance. Thanks for my darling little boy's blue eyes. And for the rolling green waves at the beach. Thanks for seahorses and fluffy chickens. And for snowy peaked mountains and crystal clear streams bubbling over smooth stones. Thanks for cascading waterfalls and wispy clouds. I could go on and on and on...but you get the idea I'm sure.

Thanks God for duties at my hand....I have work to do and the ability to do it. Thanks for the work I have to do at home to look after my husband and my son. To care for our home. Thank-you for the opportunity to minister in a school. To spend time with vibrant teenagers and encouraging colleagues and get paid for it! Thanks for a job that offers variety and challenge and allows me to be creative and have fun. And thank-you for the joy of working so closely with people and having opportunity to make a difference in their lives, every day.

Thanks God for walking with me.....for guiding, directing, purposing and planning my path. Thanks for your Word and the advice it offers in living life well. Thank-you for family and friends to walk the path with. Thanks for the Holy Spirit's joy, comfort, strength and counsel to make the walk do-able and more than that, exciting! And thank-you for caring about me so much that you would bother with all of this.

Will you take a moment RIGHT NOW to pause and to say 'thanks' to God? Thank Him for the 'best things in life' and then....comment below, telling me 3 of your 'bests.' Thanks and God bless you!

Friday Friends & Faves #10

Friends....
I made a new Facebook friend this week, thanks to my sister. Hello Kate! (Her name is Katelyn but she prefers Kate:) Here's a few things about Kate before I tell you about the GREAT thing she is doing. She turns 21 in January.  Her Dad is a pastor and her Mum is a midwife and has recently been through a battle with cancer. Kate is currently deferring her uni studies and is a huge sports lover, keen hockey and soccer player. She took up photography as a hobby and stress relief in high school. Her dog Nala just had 9 puppies. (Thanks T for the details:)

Now, the reason Kate makes it onto Friday's Friends & Faves is because she is doing something terrific with her photos.....31 Days of Gratitude. I hope that if you click the link, you'll find and enjoy the photos and comments that she has creatively put together. Thanks Kate for reminding us to walk through life with our eyes wide open to see the blessings God has placed in our life and to be thankful for them...even the rain!


Faves...
I guess Kate's 31 Days of Gratitude is a favourite. But I also wanted to post a couple of links to Christmas ideas that I really like. This is a great time of year for celebrating with friends and families and we can make it even more special with some of these clever, inexpensive ideas.
Question Jar....although we would probably NOT do this cozying up with a hot chocolate on the couch in front of the fireplace.
"May your Christmas be Merry & Sprite"...a little bit of festive fizzy:)
Christmas Decorations recipes...from one of my favourite on-line recipe websites.

Have fun being festive my friends!