Thankful

It’s that time of the year again… HOLIDAY SEASON!!! So before I start all my cooking, eating, and celebrating I wanted to reach out to my readers. A couple of years ago my family started a tradition- after we prayed over the food we all had to verbally express what we were thankful for that year. We all have things we are thankful for, but how often do we express it? This time of the year shouldn’t be the only time we reflect on what we are truly thankful for in our lives. Think about.... every day someone dies… so every morning when you wake up to see another day… you should be thankful and verbally express it ( it only takes a quick second). Also, verbally expressing gratitude for the people in our lives should be another priority. Whether it’s every day… every other day… it should become a routine because all know that life is short and we shouldn’t take the ones we love for granted.

I have a long list of things I’m thankful for and some are the most obvious- my health, my family, my friends, etc… But then there are the ones that aren’t- my strength, my knowledge, my wisdom, my understanding, etc. 2011 has been a tough year but every day I continued to wake up and make a difference so I’m most thankful for that. So this Thanksgiving, if you are with family I challenge you to have everyone say something that they are thankful for before the celebrating begins. Because at the end of it all some people won’t wake up and have the opportunity and if you are given a chance take advantage of it.

Also, saying “thank you” is an important priority. It’s amazing the weight that these two words carry. Just think… if you do a favor for someone and they don’t say thank you how the absence of the words can really upset you. However, if they express their appreciation by saying it you will be more willing to do a favor for them in the future. (SN: I’m not perfect though, sometimes I get caught up in someone doing something for me... I forget to say it myself.)

Being “thankful” and saying “thank you” are one in the same, but I had someone tell me it isn’t. Am I confused? Does one carry more importance than the other? I need more opinions on this one… Critiques anyone?