Click on the picture for this FREE Bible verse printable.

Thanksgiving is such a warm holiday in the middle of some possibly not-so-warm weather.  As a child I absolutely loved Thanksgiving; the table full of amazing food (aka stuffing and pumpkin pie…extra whip cream please 😉 ), the togetherness of family, giving hearts…and we can’t leave out the amazing next day leftovers (stack them all on a sandwich? anyone else? no?)

It’s also a time of year where I can’t help but realize our abundance and in turn some other’s lack. Lack of food, lack of warm clothes, lack of shelter, lack of family and close friends.  What do we do with that? What are we called to do? As brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to do quite a bit actually. In James 2:15-16:

“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”

I don’t know about you, but this can feel overwhelming and completely paralyzing for me… after all, I realize that I can’t possibly help every person poorly clothed or lacking in daily food. I do know one place to start though, and that is ME and my heart. I can start by recognizing the blessings in my own life and being thankful for them.

I recognize that what I am focused on can be in turn what my children end up focusing on.  It has been on my heart lately more than ever to help my daughter focus on kindness and thankfulness.  We’ve started writing down what we are thankful for every day and putting it where we can see it.

I created this family blessings printable that you can use for your family or in your classroom (There’s a printable that just says “Give Thanks”).  You can write each person’s name at the top and then every day write something new (The easiest way to do this would be to laminate it, stick it in a page protector sheet or in a picture frame with glass over it. Then use a dry-erase marker or visa-versa and reuse it daily.

Click on the above picture for the FREE Family Blessings Download.

Click on the picture to head to the craftivity.

I also created this hands-on craftivity that helps children focus on thankfulness.

I also want my kids and I to focus on others and their needs.  No matter how big the need is we can all do something. 🙂  This year we focused on filling a bag for a family in need for Thanksgiving.

I would also like to be prepared when driving around town and seeing someone in need with a bag of food or supplies. I found this neat link for some great ideas:

Click on the above picture to head to “CoolProgeny” for this homeless care package idea.

My hope is that we can instill thankfulness and a giving heart in this generation of young people. I know that it needs to start somewhere, it needs to start with Me.

Do you have any thankfulness ideas to share? I would love to hear them in the comments below.