I woke up really needing coffee this morning- the real thing, not decaf (remember I am growing a sweet baby so my caffeine is limited these days agh). So I go to my Keurig, start brewing a cup and it’s not working right. I remembered my husband messing with it last night so I called him with urgency to see what he might have done. He hadn’t done anything that would cause it not to work but I got a little angry at the situation because I wanted my coffee!
After trying to get it to work several more times and face timing my husband to show him what he had done was wrong it, I placed my coffee cup a little too roughly in the kitchen sink and it broke. Ugh.
It was time to get my daughter to school, so trying not to be “mean Mommy” while scurrying the kids out the door, I remembered what we had started yesterday– our Thankful Tree*. I realized how completely UNthankful I was being from the very start of my day. I paused (briefly) and tried to be thankful, but was still irritated, tired and wanting my coffee.
We got in the car and on my dashboard was our verse for the week. I had written it out last night, placed one in front of each child, one on my husband’s dashboard and one on mine (oh, isn’t God’s timing perfect!).
“Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
I stopped, for real this time, and asked for forgiveness for my spoiled, ungrateful behavior and gave thanks for my awesome husband and my coffee pot and other things that I am so grateful for (like how that verse was sitting in my car waiting on me). We turned on Chris Tomlin’s His Love Endures Forever and my spirits began to truly be grateful.
I began my day with an ungrateful, irritated heart (all because of a silly coffee pot) and God gently reminded me through His Word and our Thankful Tree to give thanks because He is good. We have so much to be thankful for and I want my heart and life to overflow with gratefulness. I want this for my children, also. They are growing up in a beautiful world but one that is full of instant gratification, excessiveness and overconsumption. I want to fight with prayer, God’s Word and lead by example for my children’s hearts to be filled with the love of Christ and overflowing thankfulness for all things and in all things.
Oh, thank you, Lord. May we never stop thanking you and may our hearts always beat gratefulness. Show us where we are not being appreciative and help us model thankfulness to our children. Help us to teach them true gratitude and love. In Jesus name, amen.
*We started our Thankful Tree last year and loved it so we couldn’t wait to do it again this year. We each have our own color of leaf (we bought colored paper and printed these off then had fun cutting them out). Everyday we each write something we are thankful for on our leaves. We tape it to the wall and in the end it forms a beautiful tree of thanks. It’s so neat to hear what the kids are thankful for!
This year, we have a verse for each week, too.
- Week 1: Psalm 107:1 “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.”
- Week 2: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
- Week 3: Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.”
- Week 4: Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God.”
Last year’s Thankful Tree
Happy November, friends, and may we cultivate such gratefulness in our hearts and homes this month that it lasts the whole year through!!
Sarah, what a great word to start the day with!! Thanks for your sweet heart and transparency. I can relate at every level, I am going to have coffee now!❤️