Choosing Gratitude Day 25

Day 25

Deuteronomy 8:1–10

Historians have differing perspectives 

in relation to the first Thanksgiving 

celebrations in America, but we know 

some details are true. We know the 

Pilgrims’ journey from Holland to 

England to the New World was 

frightfully difficult, with sickness and 

storms on the arduous, weeks-long 

voyage. We know once they arrived, 

the task of carving dwellings out of the 

forest quick enough to hold back the 

advancing effects of winter was a losing 

race against time. Nearly half of those 

who made the trip didn’t survive the 

stay.

And yet with sheer survival the order of 

each day, and with fears for their 

families an all-consuming worry, their 

writings and recorded history are filled 

with demonstrations and attitudes of 

thanksgiving.

Each Sunday—in lean times as well as 

relatively plentiful—they gathered for 

prayer, meditation, the singing of 

hymns, and a sermon. It was their 

regular practice to stop and give 

thanks to God at the outset of each 

week.


Use your prayer time today to think 

back over the history of God’s 

faithfulness in your life, your family, 

and your church. Make a list of 

desperate situations or seasons when 

you have witnessed His providential 

protection and provision.

Ha! This would have been a good one on Thanksgiving. ;) 

Hmmm...I'd have to say my family is in the middle of a desperate situation/season. :) But God has been faithful though this hard time. Here are some ways:

-God has eventually provided the funds for things we NEED. Giving my husband or I a little work here and there.
-He has provided us a place to live (even if it is my parent's finished garage. ;) ).
-There is something wrong with the van (actually at least 3 things), but he has kept it running.
-Plus family is going to help pay to get it fixed as a Christmas gift to me!
-God always provided the gas for the van that was NEEDED.
-He kept Josiah and I safe and alive through my difficult pregnancy and his premature birth.
-Plus He provided loving care for both girls while I was in the hospital.

What are some ways God has provided and protected you? I would LOVE to hear, it would be such an encouragement!

For His Glory,

Choosing Gratitude Day 24

Day 24

Ruth 2:1–13

Ruth was a woman with a humble heart

—a trait that’s a companion virtue of 

gratitude. She didn’t claim her rights. 

She didn’t insist that Boaz provide her 

a living by letting her glean in his 

fields. And because she relinquished 

her demands for certain expectations, 

she was able to be genuinely thankful 

when she actually did receive the 

blessing of his generosity.

Too many of us live with a chip on our 

shoulder, as if the world owes us 

something. “You ought to do this for 

me. You ought to serve me. You ought 

to meet my needs.” But the humble 

heart—the grateful heart—says, “I 

don’t deserve this, and it’s an amazing 

act of grace that you should minister to 

my needs.”

Ruth just went out to serve with a 

humble, thankful heart. And as a 

result, God made sure her needs were 

met. He’ll do the same for you.

Who do you know who consistently 

exhibits a grateful spirit? What is it 

about them that makes them so 

remarkable? What can you learn from 

their example?

A particular story came to mind as I was reading this. I wont get into details but this woman was upset at something that happened, she clearly had a "chip on her shoulder" and felt she was owed certain things. I'm not condemning her, I have always just felt she seemed so angry and bitter over the situation.

I don't want to be like that! I want to be GRATEFUL and SHINE the JOY of GOD. 

Two women came to mind that seem to exhibit a grateful spirit in particular. They seem "gentle" and joyful (though I know they have their own struggles) all the time.

Do you know anyone like this? If so what have you learned by their example?

For His Glory,

Choosing Gratitude Day 23

Day 23

1 Timothy 6:6–10

All of us, in some way, possess some 

sense of entitlement toward God. So 

often our expectation or demand for 

“more” towers over the plenty we 

already possess. That’s because we 

forget that God doesn’t owe us 

anything. We are debtors. We are the 

ones who owe. We think we deserve 

more (or different or better) than we 

have, and therefore we forget or 

minimize the blessings God has already 

given and continues to give.

Not content with food, clothing, and a 

roof over our heads, we whine if we 

don’t have a certain kind of house, a 

certain kind of car, a certain kind of 

job, a certain kind of marriage, and 

certain kinds of friends living in a 

certain kind of neighborhood and 

income bracket. It’s time we let 

gratitude be our ticket to freedom.

What kinds of “wants” are you defining 

as “needs”? Ask God to show you any 

ways you may have become blinded to 

His grace. Highlight them. Confess 

them. And trade them in on the bounty 

God promises to the grateful.


I know what I WANT for a home...but am just so thankful that we have a safe place to live and have been together as a family.


I know how I WANT to eat and feed my family...but am just thankful that we have not gone hungry, that God has provided us FOOD. *smile*



I do struggle with what I WANT for a marriage...though that is not always wrong! Wanting to change every. little. thing. about my husband and marriage and being discontent is wrong. 

Where my marriage is at is also NOT God honoring though! There is nothing wrong with WANTING and WORKING on myself and my marriage (following scripture, seeking the Lord, and through HIS strength), while praying for my husband at the same time. *smile* Does that make sense??


What "wants" are you defining as "needs"?



For His Glory,

Choosing Gratitude Day 22

Day 22

Proverbs 30:7–9

You may have heard some preachers 

and teachers leave the impression that 

God intends for every Christian to be 

materially rich. Others go too far the 

other way, proudly wearing poverty 

like a cloak of self-righteous sainthood. 


Today’s proverb puts a proper 

perspective on the whole thing. The 

Word is teaching us to focus more on 

being grateful for where we are—not 

only because to do otherwise would be 

sinful and proud, but also because we 

don’t know what the Lord may be 

saving us from by not giving us 

everything we might want.

Even if we possess much less than 

others have, if our hearts are full of 

gratitude, neither money nor the lack 

of it can shake our contented 

dependence on God.

Ask the Lord to show you if there is any 

root of discontentment or “love of 

money” in your heart. Ask Him to 

provide just what He knows you need—

enough to keep you from being 

tempted to sin to get your needs met, 

but not so much that you no longer 

need to rely on Him as your Provider. 

Take some time to thank Him for His 

practical, material provision in your life.

Again what a timely post. With Black Friday/Small Business Sat., and now Cyber Monday upon us...this is a great reminder!

It's also a great reminder for me personally with money being incredibly tight and my husband still not having a job, I can struggle with contentment.

Honestly I LOVE finding a bargain, so I've struggled with discontentment during all these fabulous deals (on things we could use/need), but really can't afford it. 

I'm thankful that we have a safe place to live and some area to call "our own" during this time. I'm thankful that He faithfully provides food, heat, gas for the car, and that the cars still runs (it's making a funny noise). 

What about you are you struggling with discontentment or "love of money"? What practical things/provisions are you thankful for?


For His Glory,

Choosing Gratitude Day 21

Day 21

Proverbs 21:2–9

When you read the above passage, you 

could probably guess which verse I 

wanted to highlight: “It is better to live 

in a corner of the housetop than in a 

house shared with a quarrelsome wife” 

(v. 9). And, yes, I am serious about 

the dangers posed by tongues that are 

contentious, combative, and 

discontented.

But while heeding this as a warning, 

let’s also turn it into a positive. If one 

of the blessings of gratitude is that it 

makes us generally happier people, it 

follows that gratitude makes those who 

live with us happier too.

The restorative power of a grateful 

heart and tongue is more potent than 

we can imagine, as is the destructive 

potential of being bitter and difficult to 

live with. “Gracious words are like a 

honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and 

health to the body” (Proverbs 16:24). 

Let’s make sure our words have that 

kind of effect.

Ask God to guard your heart—and your 

tongue—today. Anytime you hear 

yourself saying words that are 

contentious, complaining, or critical, 

rather than gracious, gentle, and godly 

… stop. Ask Him to forgive you. And 

seek forgiveness from those to whom—

or in whose presence—you spoke.



I don't know about you, but this came at a timely convicting moment. *smile*

My husband had just said to me earlier (in a sweet way), why I always (lately) have annoyed/angry tone with him. 

I wanted to say, 

"because I AM angry with you! There's an internal struggle going on and it can come out in my tone, without meaning too. You are leaving for over a month, during Christmas, taking our 3 year old against my wishes...and you don't seem to care!!" 

But I didn't say it. I really don't know that it would have been helpful, so I didn't say anything.

But even if I am angry/hurt doesn't mean I can let my tongue "rule" in an angry manner! Is that glorifying to God? Is that how God tells me to behave? No!

Is it okay to speak to our children in any manner/tone that we want...even if we are angry/annoyed/tired? No! 

Why? Because there are MANY verses telling us not to. We are to guard our heart and tongue.

I ultimately cannot control how others behave/think and they are accountable to God in the end for their actions. But the same is true for me (and you)...we are accountable for ourselves. Do you really want to stand before God and say, "Well my kids made me so mad or my husband's actions where so hurtful and thoughtless...so that why I responded that way." No, of course not! It's not acceptable to God.

Let's take time to : 

Ask God to guard your heart—and your 
tongue—today. Anytime you hear 
yourself saying words that are 
contentious, complaining, or critical, 
rather than gracious, gentle, and godly 
… stop. Ask Him to forgive you. And 
seek forgiveness from those to whom—
or in whose presence—you spoke.

For His Glory,

Choosing Gratitude Day 20

Day 20

1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Timothy 1:3–5; 3:14–15

Godly character in every area of our 

lives will show up within the four walls 

of our homes. We can’t say we love 

God if we don’t manifest His love to our 

family members or if we allow 

bitterness to fester in our hearts 

toward them. For the most part, we 

don’t get to choose our family 

members, as we do our “friends.” Yet 

we are called to love and care for those 

in our families, in spite of their 

personalities, their idiosyncrasies, or 

their character flaws. And that’s not 

always easy!

Today, focus on expressing gratitude 

for and to your family members. Make 

a list of each member of your 

immediate family. Next to each name, 

write one quality about their life for 

which you are particularly grateful.

Take time to thank God for each 

member of the family He has given 

you. Then pick one or two individuals 

from your list to whom you can express 

gratitude today, in person, by phone, 

or with a note or email. (Note: You 

may want to express gratitude to a 

family member who has been 

especially difficult to love.)

So true and such a great reminder!! Especially with having to live with my parents at this time, I know I need this reminder! *Smile*

Thank you Lord for reminding me to be grateful for my family and help me to express my gratitude, EVEN if that is incredibly difficult!


Is there anyone in particular that you have a hard time "loving"? How can you express gratitude towards them? I know for me it can depend on the person. :)

For His Glory,

Black Friday Deals

What are your plans for Black Friday? I'm thankful we don't have much planned, since I have a huge headache. 

Do you shop for deals today? If so do you go out?

We aren't doing much this year but, I am looking at a few needed things online.

I wanted to share with you that I am having a Black Friday Sale over at my Etsy shop, Natural Kiss. 

Save 30% on ANY order, with code: BLFRI30

www.etsy.com/shop/naturalkiss

Lilla Rose is also have a huge BLOWOUT sale! Plus if you are a new customer and order 3 flexi clips through me, I will send you a ticket to redeem 1 FREE item ($16 value).

www.lillarose.biz/christen

You can also "like" me on facebook for more updates and info.



What deals did you score this year?


For His Glory,