Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thanksgiving Thoughts...


I have been thinking HOW am I going to make sure we think about and show our "Thanks" this year. Last year I tried the tree thingy - you know... I made a tree with branches and provided paper for the kids to cute out leaves and write down things they were grateful for on the leaves and then tape the leaves to the tree. Well, I SHOULD have done that when they were younger! They had to tease me, as always... "Mom, we are not 5!" So, this year I was thinking I would just post up sayings... thoughts on Gratitude. Hopefully, they will take the time to read them. I am going to type them up on card stock and put them up all around the cabin on the walls...


Here are some thoughts I have found so far... please feel free to give me more!!!!!


We should confess His hand in all things. Ingratitude if one of our great sins. (Ensign, May 1977, p. 33) ~Ezra Taft Benson


Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them. (Church News, June 14, 1969, p. 2) ~J. Reuben Clark, Jr.


It is perfectly evident... that to thank the Lord in all things is not merely a courtesy, it is a commandment as binding upon us as any other commandment. (See D&C 59:5-7) (Ensign, Nov. 1982, p. 50) ~Marion G. Romney


Pray in thanksgiving. In many countries, the homes are barren and the cupboards bare - no books, no radios, no pictures, no furniture, no fire - while we are housed adequately, clothed warmly, fed extravagantly. Did we show our thanks by the proper devotion on our knees last night and this morning and tomorrow morning? Ingratitude, thou sinful habit (TSWK, p. 20) ~Spencer W. Kimball


Thankfulness is measured by the number of words; gratitude is measured by the nature of our actions. (CR, Oct 1955, p. 4) ~David O. McKay


There isn't a word in all the English language with more magic in it than the word gratitude. Love makes fertile the soil for things to blossom and to grow, and love begins with gratitude. (Ensign, March 1971, p. 53) ~Geraldine P. Anderson


Think to thank. In these three words are the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness. (Pathways to Perfection, Thomas S. Monson, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co, 1974, p. 254) ~Thomas S. Monson


You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude. (Ensign, Nov. 1989, p. 13) ~Henry B. Eyring


What type of things do you do to help your family remember WHY we celebrate Thanksgiving? I love traditions. I love adding NEW traditions! Please share yours!!!


26 comments:

Sher said...

I LOVE that tree idea! My kids are 5 ( on average), so they might like this!
When my side of the family gets together we like to go around the table and everyone says something they are thankful for, and something good about someone at the table.
My hubby's family doesn't deal well with emotional stuff like that, so we just chow!

Shauna said...

Thanks I l♥ve these~! You must read my mind because I am working on a post like this one now! This is a great time of year!!! ♥ Hugs!

Beth at Aunties said...

Those thoughts were wonderful! Thanks, our little grandchildren will love doing the tree and leaf idea this year. ( I needed somnething:)
We started a tradition about 6 years ago of everyone writing down 10 items they were grateful for and we have a running list we read each year when everyone is at our home. (We take turns every other year with the their in-laws.)
Some have been really tender and some have been hilarious. We have everything from a priesthood blessing and a miracle of return to health, diaper wipes, Thomas the engine, binky, mission experiences, a day off, beautiful Hawaiian sunsets and of course chocolate ect. This has become like a family journal. Our little seven year olds were so precious as they looked forward to baptism the year before last. It's our year again:)
Again thanks for sharing!

Mrs. KIR said...

That was so refreshing and wopnderful! Like my own personal institute class today. I shall now go and thank my kids for being so fantastic!

Jen said...

Perfect thoughts! I think it was Cave Woman who said her mom had a thankful book and whoever came over and visited or in the home had to list things they were grateful for. Sounded something I'd love to do in our home.

Becky said...

I love this time of year!

We always played Scrabble on Thanksgiving. I know this doesn't directly relate to being grateful, but in my mind, Scrabble means family togetherness and love.

Pancake said...

Great quotes!! Maybe you could leave a journal around and have them write things they are thankful for??

HEY.... never mind Ill email it

Bren's Life said...

Yeah couldn't you of mentioned the tree idea before now!! Like at the beginning of November so I could of done it here.. Just kidding you. That's funny that your boys laughed at you.
Love your thoughts.
I just read Glenn Beck's Christmas sweater book & it was really good. I bet your boys would even like it..

Pedaling said...

those are wonderful.
i love all of them though if i had to pick a favorite id go with Pres. Kimball's and Pres McKays.
thanks

Kaylynn said...

Last year we did a gratitude basket: we wrote down what we were thankful for each day, and then at the end of the week we shared. The tree also be fun!

CoLiE-O said...

i thoroughly enjoy your blog... you always have great thoughts of inspiriation. thank you... in a world like ours, we need to remember how fortunate we are.

chelle said...

Thanks for all the wonderful thoughts. I am going to print them off and read them at dinner on Thursday next.

I love you. You always are uplifting and wonderful.

m

MERRIANNE said...

wow! these are fantastic!!!!!

one thing we do is when we are all sitting together at Thansgiving dinner, each person names something about each person that they love. and it goes around the table like that....

it always ends in happy tears and laughter :)

i love it!!!

Anonymous said...

Last year, I took a plain, blank piece of cream colored muslin and used it for our tablecloth. During/after dinner, I had EVERYONE who was there use a fabric marker to write what they were grateful for, their name and the year. I washed it and folded it and will use it every year and add to it so we can look back and see how blessed we all are.

nikkicrumpet said...

so much wisdom in the leaders of our church. I think gratitude is one of the hardest concepts to teach to our children. The little buggers can be pretty self centered. Love the quotes...thanks for sharing them. The Spencer W. Kimball one really got me.

Kaci said...

Great ideas! I'm still in shock that it's the holidays already! :) We do the go around the table thing too :)

Robin Beck said...

I like your idea but I think you should do the tree and the leaves thing again too! Your kids might be too old but it won't be long and you will be having Grandchildren and getting that tree out again! Might as well keep that tradition going-It's a really cute idea!
Have fun!
Robin~♥

Sit-N-Chat said...

Hi
I come to you by way of my friend's blog, Wilma H.
I have posted a very good recipe for a pumpkin pie crunch you do in a 9x13 pyrex. I saw below that you asked about recipes and this is a good one. My blog is sit-n-chat@blogspot.com.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Elisa said...

I like that Tink called me Cave Woman... yikes?!


I really liked this, and I think that I will now steal it!



You are doing a meet n greet next week and didn't invite me?
humph. {sulks off}}
whatever.
I want to meet you, you silly girl!!

Jan said...

We relish this time of year. That is our tradition. I draw this out. I am such a lover of Fall and crisp air and cozy hunkering down, that we just enjoy it. Then after Thanksgiving, it's all Christmas. We do the whole tell everyone what we are thankful for and watch a movie after dinner or a little football. It is a day of just being together.

kitchenditcher said...

We are going to be in Utah and I think I am going to have everyone write down what they are thankful for and then read them and have everyone guess who wrote it. We have also given everyone a piece of paper and had them write their name at the top. Then we passed the papers around and everyone writes something that they love about that person. I still have mine from years before.

I think relationships with my family and friends are the things that I am most grateful for.

Redhoodoos said...

I needed to read these tonight! Thanks Shaila.

Anonymous said...

Because the boys are so young, we did the gratitude tree. They loved cutting it out and putting their thoughts on the leaves.

Your ideas are great, I love all the quotes!

Anonymous said...

wunerful, wunerful, wunerful.

Jodi said...

Hope you had a great THanksgiving!!!! Love this post!

tiki_lady said...

i love these ideas. we always say what we are thankful for prior to eating. Serving at the soup kitchen and we have a turkey that goes up, kinda like my halloween spider. But, we have to pluck the feathers from the turkey by recognizing things that we are grateful for and acknowledging that person and doing something nice back. If we are thankful for hot water, you do one thing without hot water that you normally would, thankful for electricity we go without lights or tv. etc, it really makes you reflect on how much you need or depend on certain things and makes you grateful!