People don’t practice gratitude like they used to. Did your mom have you write thank you notes after birthday parties, graduation, etc? It used to be kind of a big deal. It was polite to acknowledge a gift and to thank the giver. Things are far less formal now, and manners sometimes seem optional. As foster parents, we try to teach the importance of using manners. Its awkward for kids at first, and its surprising the number of them that don’t even know how to politely make their needs known.
January is national Thank You month. As a cardmaker, I am excited to celebrate this! I hope you will join me in creating and sharing thank you cards every week this month. Let’s be intentional about expressing gratitude to others.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, it is NEVER just a card. When we create and send a card to someone, we are sharing a bit of ourselves. And if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you are sharing a little of him too, because he lives in and through you.
Practice Gratitude
So this is my first thank you card of 2020…
I love this new stamp set, My Meadow. It is the same sort of watercolor style stamps that are found in the Water Front and Snow Front sets. I enjoy “building” the scene with the variety of stamps found in these sets. This stamp set was so much fun to work with.
Here’s some additional inspiration to help you practice gratitude this month…
- “Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” – Albert Schweitzer
- What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” – Brene Brown
- “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” ― G.K. Chesterton
- “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward
- “The root of joy is gratefulness.” David
- “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
So join me in this exercise of extending thanks to others in January. Get busy with those thank you cards and put a smile on someone’s face today! Let’s begin 2020 with a commitment to practice gratitude.