This holiday season as you get ready to gather around thanksgiving dinner with your family members it is a wonderful time to reflect on the good times and little things that you can be thankful for.
Harvard Medical School has found that, “…gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
Every single person in the world has something or someone that they are thankful for. The Thanksgiving holiday is a great time to make a gratitude list and reflect on the good things in your life.
Reasons To Be Thankful
- Your parents
- Good health
- Best Friend
- A great Bible study
- Favorite books
- Freezer meals
- Instant pot
- Coffee
- Cozy blankets
- Family traditions
Silly Things To Be Thankful For
- Indoor plumbing
- Inside jokes
- Spellcheck
- Fuzzy socks
- Bubble wrap
- Nutella
- Blanket forts
- The snooze button
- Netflix marathons
- Clean water
Important Things To Be Thankful For
- Siblings
- Curbside everything
- Hot chocolate
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Baby giggles
- Baby stretches with the arched back
- Handwritten note
- Family vacations
- Good friends
Appreciate The Small Things
- Family movie night
- Music
- Fall leaves changing colors
- Grandparents
- Hugs
- Weather app on your phone
- Big mugs
- Fresh flowers
- Long drives
- Thank you notes
Gratitude Is A Beautiful Thing
The past few years have been difficult for everyone. We have all been pushed to our limits again and again. With everything that has been going on it can be easy to see the negative everywhere you turn. But that is no way to live. Instead, we should aim to seek positivity when we can. Let us give thanks in all circ*mstances.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circ*mstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Gratitude also has a direct impact on our brains. A study showed that brain activity is different when we are grateful. Not only is the brain activity different but gratitude has a lasting impact on the brain.
Robert Emmons is a leading scientific expert on gratitude. He has been quoted in one essay as saying, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”
List Of Things To Be Grateful For
- Neighbors
- Scenic parks
- Date night
- Laughing until you cry
- A really comfy bed
- Your old worn sweatpants
- The crisp air that comes when the weather changes
- Comfort food
- Group texts
- A hot shower
Wonderful Things To Be Grateful For
- Songs that transport you back in time
- A roof over your head
- Pets
- The first taste of your favorite food
- Friends that love you for who you are
- Dancing in the kitchen
- Teachers that made a difference in your life
- A good book that you can’t put down
- Long weekends
- Holiday breaks
Amazing Things Even In Difficult Times
- Sunny days
- Snow days
- Education
- Church bells
- The perfect hymn when you needed it the most
- Friends that pray for you
- Deep conversations
- Honesty
- Changing seasons
- Beautiful parks
- Your sense of humor
Simple Things To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving
- Good neighbors
- Learning something new
- Unconditional love
- Campfires
- Rainbows
- Forgiveness
- Checking things off your to-do list
- Nap time
- Clean sheets on your bed
- Random acts of kindness
- Your personality
- Your family heritage
Unique Things To Be Thankful For
- Giving gifts
- Clean water
- Weekends with no plans
- Weekends with exciting plans
- Chapstick
- Photos that capture memories
- A comfy chair
- The smell of old books
- Fresh baked cookies
- Peanut butter
What The Bible Says About Being Thankful?
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:11
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” 1 Timothy 4:4-5
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” Psalm 4:7
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” 1 Chronicles 16:23-26
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 13:15
Thankful Lists
- Warm showers
- Fresh air
- Ice cream
- Perfect playlist
- Cell Phones
- Being out of high school
- Quality Time
- Extended Family
- New Opportunities
- Big piles of leaves
List Of Things To Be Thankful For
- Pumpkin spice lattes
- Hot sauce
- New memories
- Lip balm
- First responders
- Your favorite show
- Social media
- Alone time
- Overcoming hard times
- An empty movie theater
Season Of Thanks
- Close friends
- Pumpkin pie
- Pumpkin everything
- Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
- A good laugh
- Hard work
- A surprise visit
- Modern conveniences
- Your bank account
- Becoming a better person
More Things To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving
I love poetry. I love how it rolls over your tongue and slides gracefully out of your mouth. The rhythms and cadence are one of my favorite things.
I’d love to share a few poems with you that really evoke the spirit of Thanksgiving for me.
Thanksgiving Poems
Gratitude by Mary Oliver
What did you notice?
The dew-snail;
the low-flying sparrow;
the bat, on the wind, in the dark;
big-chested geese, in the V of sleekest performance;
the soft toad, patient in the hot sand;
the sweet-hungry ants;
the uproar of mice in the empty house;
the tin music of the cricket’s body;
the blouse of the goldenrod.
What did you hear?
The thrush greeting the morning;
the little bluebirds in their hot box;
the salty talk of the wren,
then the deep cup of the hour of silence.
When did you admire?
The oaks, letting down their dark and hairy fruit;
the carrot, rising in its elongated waist;
the onion, sheet after sheet, curved inward to the pale green wand;
at the end of summer the brassy dust, the almost liquid beauty of the flowers;
then the ferns, scrawned black by the frost.
What astonished you?
The swallows making their dip and turn over the water.
What would you like to see again?
My dog: her energy and exuberance, her willingness,
her language beyond all nimbleness of tongue,
her recklessness, her loyalty, her sweetness,
her strong legs, her curled black lip, her snap.
What was most tender?
Queen Anne’s lace, with its parsnip root;
the everlasting in its bonnets of wool;
the kinks and turns of the tupelo’s body;
the tall, blank banks of sand;
the clam, clamped down.
What was most wonderful?
The sea, and its wide shoulders;
the sea and its triangles;
the sea lying back on its long athlete’s spine.
What did you think was happening?
The green beast of the hummingbird;
the eye of the pond;
the wet face of the lily;
the bright, puckered knee of the broken oak;
the red tulip of the fox’s mouth;
the up-swing, the down-pour, the frayed sleeve of the first snow—
so the gods shake us from our sleep.
A Prayer Of Thanksgiving For Creation By George Appleton
O God, I thank thee
for all the creatures thou hast made,
so perfect in their kind—
great animals like the elephant and the rhinoceros,
humorous animals like the camel and the monkey,
friendly ones like the dog and the cat,
working ones like the horse and the ox,
timid ones like the squirrel and the rabbit,
majestic ones like the lion and the tiger,
for birds with their songs.
O Lord give us such love for thy creation,
and all thy creatures see in man
their priest and friend,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
To My Dear Loving Husband By Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor aught but love from thee, give recompence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.
Then while we live, in love lets so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
Free Thanksgiving Resources
75 BEST GRATITUDE THANKSGIVING QUOTES FOR KIDS
120 THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ON THANKSGIVING
110 THANKSGIVING WOULD YOU RATHER QUESTIONS FOR KIDS
50 THANKSGIVING BIBLE VERSES FOR KIDS
