Guest post from Tracey of Our New Adventure
My husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary last month. One of the reasons we have a good marriage is because we choose to stay optimistic. Every night before we go to sleep, we name three good things. It’s wonderful way to end the day.
We started this early in our marriage and the habit has helped us through many difficult days, especially after our son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2010.
Some days are hard and we’re often exhausted, but we always take the time to count our blessings. We’re teaching our son to do the same!
Here are some tips to help your children develop an attitude of gratitude:
1. Name Three Things
At bedtime, have your children think about what happened that day. What are they thankful for?
2. Be Specific
Instead of just saying Dad, I’ll ask my son what about Dad? Maybe it was “bike riding with Dad” or “Dad is funny.”
3. Put it in Writing
Several years ago, we got our son a Thankful Notebook. He keeps it on his nightstand as a reminder to count his blessings. Our habit is to name good things right before bedtime prayers.
4. Play the Gratitude Game
At least once a week, we make a game of it. I’ll say a random date and he’ll look back in his notebook to see what fun things happened on that day.
We love to look back and be reminded of our joyful life!
Tracy is a Christian wife and television meteorologist turned stay-at-home mom, turned Doctor Mom. That last turn happened when her son, Matthew, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The goal of her blog, Our New Adventure, is to give practical, uplifting encouragement to other moms who have kids with Diabetes.
Oh I love this post!! Our pastor just preached on Sunday about the fact that a complaining Christian is an oxymoron!! I am going to stop complaining and start focussing on my many blessings.
This reminds me of something my husband and I did for one another one Christmas. We bought his and hers journals and for the month of December we would journal something to the other (I would write in his journal every day and he would write in mine). We would journal memories we had together, or visions for the future, or just notes of appreciation or love letters. We did it because we didn’t want to buy just anything for the sake of buying something for Christmas for each other – and it turned into such an invaluable gift because it caused us to be so grateful and appreciative of one another on a daily basis! (Some days I didn’t want to journal because maybe we had a tough morning…but it helped soften me as I made myself write something nice about him.) Even if you could never get your husband to do this – I would suggest you as a wife do this as a gift to your husband…….and ultimately a gift to yourself because it will enlarge your heart 🙂
I love this idea and definitely want to try to implement it. What a great way to cultivate gratitude in your family!
What a great idea!
A few years ago, I was helping my mom clean out some stuff. One of the things we came across was a little journal where we had written down fun things we did when us kids were much, much, MUCH younger! We had a great time reading & laughing as we read some of the entries. It wasn’t specifically a gratitude journal, but if you have kids keeping a journal, you might save them for when they are all grown up.
This is a great thing. I also take pictures of simple things and blog about them. A picture is worth a thousand words. Then you can make a blog book of your simple but great life. Even if no one reads it IT’S for you!
Love these ideas!
Thanks for sharing!
Lea
Love these tips! Thanks!
My son (5) probably has ADD, which can frequently lend itself to “hyperfocusing” on negative things. I’ve tried many different things to help him choose gratitude, but I think I hit on something that really worked (for him) yesterday. He was VERY grumpy as we were starting school yesterday (we’re a “little” behind), so I told him to go outside and walk around the house slowly, taking deep breaths, until he could list five things he was thankful for (I think I actually said “that make you happy,” but I see those as practically the same thing – we are thankful for the things that make us happy). He still looked a little grumpy when he came in, but immediately perked up when we started talking about his five things. Then I wrote the date and the words on a piece of paper and he copied them, giving him an opportunity to practice his writing too, and a written reminder of what makes him happy. We didn’t have any more grumpiness the rest of the day! I think we’ll start off every school day with an entry into our gratitude journal!
Now to try to get my husband to get past the idea that he “can’t” change his focus to good things when he’s gotten into a funk.
Amen! Thank you so much for the reminders in this post! I have a journal I started for our baby this pregnancy and I think I’m going to use it as a gratitude journal too that I will use as he grows up– and then he can add to it too someday! 🙂
Oh my goodness….. as recently as yesterday, my children and I talked about the importance of having an attitude of gratitude. This is so timely and such a confirmation.
Admittedly, it’s not always easy….. but it beats being burdened down w/ discontentment. 🙂 I also think that it increases our faith in God, because it’s like we’re acknowledging that He is providing exactly what we need, extactly when we need it, etc. I think that being grateful only makes more room for the abundant blessings that he has stored up for us.
You are such a witness and a blessing in that you still maintain this attitude, despite your son’s condition.
Thanks for this post. May God continue to bless your family!
I really liked this post Tracy. You are right it is always important to think about what you are happy and thankful for. I think it helps put things into perspective a little better.
I love this. It’s easy to get bogged down by our daily challenges. I often take for granted the blessings I have been given. This is a great way to break the cycle of negative thinking. Thanks for the idea.
I just love this post! Thank you.. I started journaling as a young child and not knowing that’s what I was doing. I don’t know how I got started but I am so happy I did.. As a young woman I found it artistic, and when I got married I found it an amazing way to talk to God and get everything out. I just read the other post about gratitude in the morning. I have started my giving thanks list a couple days ago and now here is another great idea! Love this! Thank you.. This is a great way to get my children on the right path and started being thankful. Have a beautiful day Money Saving Mom!
My Pastor just finished a several week Bible study on Wednesday nights on gratitude. I love this post…. and I’m going to make sure I show him the post too!!!