Tips for staying thankful

This past week, we celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States. On this one day, we gathered with family, ate a meal, and took a few minutes to express our thanks. Then, we moved on with talking, eating, watching football, napping . . . and eating again.The weeks before people started on Facebook with posting something they are thankful for, and they posted a different item they were thankful for each day. If you watched it kind of slowed down as we approached Thanksgiving day and as the year goes on they probably won't post another thankful post until November 1st 2014. How do we fight this, how do we combat this, well like anything else we need to have a plan. We have so much for which to be grateful. I fear, though, that we too often limit our expressions of thanksgiving to only this day. Because the Apostle Paul tells us to “give thanks in every circumstance” (1 Thess 5:18), we need to practice thanksgiving. Here are some practical ways to build thanksgiving into your leadership role. 1.Handwrite thank you notes. We all text and call and facebook or tweet. But maybe you should hand write a letter to someone you want to thank. When you get a text that says thank you it is meaningful, but when you realize someone took the time to hand write a thank you it is more meaningful I promise. 2.Make a weekly thank you call. Somebody in your life deserves a “thank you” from you. Again, a text message might be the more common expression of thanks today, but God gives us voices to communicate. Each week or atleast each month, find somebody for whom a phone call of thanksgiving will mean much. Use the phone, and have a conversation. 3.Surprise someone you love with another “Thanksgiving Day.” Everybody expects to celebrate Thanksgiving in November, but few people will be ready for an undeclared day of thanksgiving. Choose another day during the year (and NOT your anniversary or your spouse’s birthday), and show your gratitude the love and support of your loved ones. 4.Write a thank you letter to your loved ones and family. I don’t care how awkward it may feel, how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may seem there is no one on the face of this earth that doesn’t want a thank you letter from someone they love. Even though you see them every day, or eat dinner with them regularly or ride to school with them every morning, a thank you letter will be much more powerful. 5.Spend one day a week in thanksgiving prayer. Choose one day, and pray only thanksgiving. Every time you pray that day only thank God for things in your life, family, His love for you, His son dying on a cross, his forgiveness, food, shelter, clothes a job whatever it is only thank Him that day. No requests, no praying for anything but thanks. It will eventually change your prayer life. Everytime I pray I would say 80% of the time I spend in prayer I am thanking God for things and it all started with praying only thanks one day a week. 6.Send a thank you card to people who have positively influenced your life. Each month(or week it’s your call) pick someone out who has influenced your life in a positive way and write them a thank you card. Send them a card and wait for their response, it may lead to bigger and better things. If nothing else it will help you to remain grateful. 7.Get involved in a ministry to needy people. Christians often help the needy during the holidays, but the needs continue throughout the year. Who is going to provide families with birthday gifts, with clothing through out the year? Unfortunately we only think about it at the holidays. 8.Start a thank you journal. I am not typically a journaler, but this type of journaling does not take much time. Keep a small journal handy, and simply write down things each day you are thankful for, and I bet it will give you names for your thank you cards and letters. All of this is fine and nice but if you do it with the right intentions and pray about who would be the recipient of your thanks God will end up using you. Your thank you notes will reach someone right when they are about to hit rock bottom, your letters will reach a heart that is hurting inside and your heart will be changed when you see the results. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!