Cultivating Thankfulness

At the beginning of 2015 I felt a need to work on a thankful spirit in my family.

Kids are so prone to entitlement in our times- and they fuss and complain and have a lack of thankfulness that is rather shocking at times.

I looked into my own heart and realized how much it hurts me when I ship an international gift- and never even hear a word that the receiver got the package I sent. I realized that not receiving thanks is painful to the giver and harmful to the one receiving.

I make a plan to endeavor to cultivate thankfulness in my life and in my home this year- because there is no other better way to teach our children then by example.

These are the ideas I had at the beginning of the year and that I am trying to practice.

• Write thank you notes - I have been trying to write hand-written ones- like we used to do growing up because that is so rare in our times-and hand-written notes are so special. If the gift was something given to my child who can't yet write then I have them draw pictures on the card as an expression of thanks (if they will cooperate)
• Be sure to thank those who assist me/us: clerks, doctors,strangers,etc. 
• Share those items we no longer need- rather than selling them- and when the kids have too much. 
• Make gifts- don't buy so much- use the talents I/we have and be thankful we have them. 
• Act Respectfully- Our kids will not respect their teachers if they hear us belittle them to our spouses. 
• Acts of Kindness- Say thanks to someone who always serves you and never gets appreciated (postal carriers, those who work in the places we always go and know their faces but not their names) by gifting them something baked or a gift card. 

How are you cultivating thankfulness in your family? I'd love to get more ideas! 

Playing the Piano

With my children tucked in their beds I sat down to let my fingers fly across the keys of our piano. I breathed a sign of relief at finally having an uninterrupted 30 minutes to just play, and cringed realizing how very out of practice I am.

Yet joy filled my heart with thankfulness for the truth that my fingers do remember this keyboard and that these notes once learned so long ago shall never be forgotten.

Music:  soft, caressing, stress-relieving, loud, fun, and every other emotion known to man can so well be aired and relieved through this gift God allows us to enjoy.

How thankful I am for the 16 years of private piano lessons my parents paid for. Imagine the investment my parents paid for all those lessons. Wow! Thank you Mom and Dad.

And even though with my little ones around me I don't often get to play now since they like to join me and my 18 mos. old wants to bang on it and then I quickly grow frustrated and close it up. Yet I am so thankful knowing that I CAN play the piano and when again I do have time to sit down and play that it will come back to me.

Living numerous places growing up I had a LOT of different piano teachers and a lot of different methods taught me.

I remember being praised for having perfect pitch when I was no more than 6 or 7.  I remember having to memorize 10 short pieces for a jury and forgetting EVERY one of them in the stress of the moment. (Since then I could never perform by memory successfully). I remember the big Dalmatian of my teacher's that used to lay on my feet or the peddles during lessons.

I was a lazy student as a kid, but am thankful my parents made me stick to it. Because I did learn, even if I didn't practice much, which changed later when I got older and even more in college.

How I loved accompanying my sister while she sang and I played. How I loved played Christmas carols and hymns at the nursing home. How I loved having this knowledge and this gift to relieve my stress as I poured out my pain over a broken heart into those understanding keys.

Playing an instrument is something that speaks to ones soul, and something with which we can bring glory and praise to our LORD.

How I hope that my children will learn to love music and enjoy it and value it in the future as I have.

Say thanks to your parents today if they paid for years of lessons for you too!