O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. I Chronicles 16:34

Our houses overflowed with gifts in celebration of the Greatest Gift, but the Lord loads us up with gifts, blessings, benefits, every day. I once heard a pitcher say no matter the outcome of the game, the sun would come up in the morning, his mama loved him, and God loved him. He was able to give thanks even in a losing situation. He wasn’t thankful for his bad pitches, but he found at least three other constants in his life for which he could be thankful. 

Each day is a gift. We can teach our children to be thankful by encouraging them and ourselves to count those gifts every day. Depending on the age of your children, they might draw a picture, or create a sticky note for the fridge, or keep a journal. Each day when the family is together, whether supper or family devotions allow each person to share one thing that they were most thankful for that day. It may be red scribbles the child describes as a red bird in the snow. It could be a sticky note that says, “I love Grandpa.” It may be a paragraph in a journal that describes the learning process of working on a car with Dad and the skinned and bleeding knuckles that go with the job or a photo of a completed quilt or dress, but not mention all the times seams had to be ripped out and started over and oh, the needle pricks.

As we enter into this new year, may we enter with grateful hearts and eyes wide open to see all the reasons to give God praise – daily.