Day 79- A Family Journal First

I was reading Ann Voskamp's blog the other day. I tend to read it almost every day. That farmer's wife can write.  The title of Monday's blog was- When You’re Tired of Kids Complaining: 15 Ways to Happier, Grateful Kids.  With that title, I don't know why the site did not crash with all the parents logging in. Who doesn't want happier and grateful kids?  I mean who says I'd rather have some sad and ungrateful kids so I can have some harder challenges around here? If you are interested, here's the link:http://www.aholyexperience.com/2014/03/when-youre-tired-of-kids-complaining-15-ways-to-happier-grateful-kids/.

It was vintage Ann.  At the end of the blog, she lists 15 very practical things to do around the house to help your family grow in gratefulness.  One was to have a family thanksgiving journal and leave it open around the house. This would be a notebook (probably a woman would pick something nicer) that stays open and family members write down different things they thank God for; preferably pretty often.  So, I got a family thanksgiving journal for my "first" today. You can see below that when we write out our thanksgivings to God, we are happier.

 

Sorry about the sideways look; me and the blog fussed over this but the blog won

 

So, now we have a family thanksgiving journal.  This is one of those cool ideas that I wished I had thought of.  There really is no down side to this. The worst that could happen is that we forget about it and don't do it very well.  Even if we did that, the first day was great. I volunteered to go first and then Joel said quickly that he wanted to go second.  He wrote that he thanked God for his family.  That's priceless.  Hannah Grace thanked God for pizza. I am a bit surprised that she did not write "2 guys pies cheese pizza." I think that is her favorite, but she also likes Pizza Hut, Little Caesar's, and Dominos but it has to be cheese pizza.  She does not want any of my meat lovers though Joel does.

 

Will this cause us to be a happier family?  I don't know. We are pretty happy now. If we truly do faithfully and with heart, I would say probably so. How can thanking God for different things every day make you sadder?  I also think it will be a precious keepsake one day if we keep it up.

 

I'm excited about my "first" today.  This is another one that you are free to try.  After all, it's Ann's idea!

 

Thankful for the abundant life

Barry

 

3 things I thank God for today

1. Our new family thanksgiving journal

2. Friends who let us borrow their car when ours is sick



3. Tim Hawkins' comedy