Raising thankful kids starts with me

The other day, I caught myself complaining over a product I received in the mail that wasn't satisfactory. I let the disappointment frustrate me for the afternoon.

Meanwhile four little bodies were watching me. It really wasn’t a big deal because I could return what I bought, but that was a hassle. Who has time for that? When you’re so accustomed to two-day shipping, anything longer feels like an eternity. And I wanted to wear those new winter boots now.

That night, my daughters sat down at our kitchen table to color some trees they printed out on the computer.

“Mom, in the trees we are going to write out what we’re thankful for,” my oldest daughter Bekah said. We’d done this activity the last few years around Thanksgiving.

And there was my reminder again.

Thankfulness.

I nodded my head as I stared into her big sparkly green eyes, and I felt conviction. I was mad my boots didn’t fit and hurt my feet when I walked in them.

Mama hadn’t been so thankful. She then wrote these words on her tree:

Dad & Mom

Dog

Home

God

School

Friends

Her thankfulness had everything to do with people, relationships and precious fur ball creatures that bring delight.

Thankfulness.

It begins in the heart. It’s a choice we can make every day in how we choose to live and teach our children.

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