With Thanksgiving only days away and Christmas just around the corner, there could not be a better time to get intentional about GRATITUDE in our homes. This year may be more challenging than ever; it seems complaining has become a common conversation starter even among strangers, let alone those we are close to. Yet, there is no doubt we ALL have much to be thankful for, even on our hardest day.
I am so grateful (hehe, see that?) that my friend — writer, speaker, and HOME COACH Krista Gilbert could join us for a super practical and encouraging chat about cultivating gratitude in our homes. For Thanksgiving, and well beyond.
Krista and I cover practical ideas for Thanksgiving day, and then go on to talk about how we can nurture gratitude in our homes throughout the Christmas season and into the new year. I especially love the practical ideas we get to at the end, so be sure to listen all the way. I, personally, wrapped up this chat with a bunch of notes and a lot of ideas for things I want to incorporate into our family’s plans in this season!
NOTES FROM OUR TALK:
Krista’s Website: Kristagilbert.com
Krista’s Book: Reclaiming Home (so good!!)
Krista’s Podcast: The Open Door Sisterhood
Krista’s (Free) Advent Story Downloadable Family Advent study!
Episode 69: Intentional Parenting in the Teenage Years
A few favorite Advent Devotionals:
A Better Than Anything Christmas, by Barbara Reach
Unwrapping the Names of Jesus, by Asheritah Ciuciu
He is: An Advent Study on the Attribute of God, by Becky Kiser
The Greatest Gift, by Ann Voskamp
Because of Bethlehem: Love is Born, Hope is Here, by Max Lucado
(also by Lucado: In the Manger: 25 Inspirational Selections)
A few practical ways to show gratitude in this season:
Leave a note or small gift for…
- Service people (garbage/recycle workers)
- Restaurant workers
- Healthcare providers
- Cleaning Staff
- Anyone else who has blessed you
-Get each family member a journal and sit down together weekly to compile lists of gratitude…
-Write an unexpected note to someone who has impacted your life.
-Visit someone with a gift or card and tell them (even if from a distance!) how much you appreciate them! (This is a favorite of mine!)
– Use notecards for Thanksgiving place settings and have people go around and write down what they appreciate about each other on the cards.
– Create a Thankful Tree or Poster and have all family members fill in what they are especially thankful for this year.
– Speak words of gratitude in front of your kids…to God and to others.
– Thank others generously (avoid ‘scarcity mentality’ and appreciate others with an abundant heart!)
**Leave your own ideas in comments at the end of this post!!
You can find the Boy Mom Podcast on all of the podcast platforms…here are just a few of them:
Or you can listen right here! 🙂
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More about Krista…
Krista Gilbert is a home coach, speaker and author of Reclaiming Home: A Family’s Guide for Life, Love, and Legacy, co-author of Focus on the Family’s Give Them Wings, and the co-host of The Open Door Sisterhood Podcast. Krista is a celebrator of home, connector of people, and a lover of life stories. She coaches, speaks and writes about how to live and love well, designing a life around core values, priorities, and faith. You can find her at kristagilbert.com or theopendoorsisterhood.com
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My book, BOY MOM, was released in August of 2019 (Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers) and is full of practical advice and helpful resources for raising boys. It’s a great study for small groups!
Order it here: Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You
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LOVE listening to this podcast! In the podcast, Krista had mentioned that she had an advent devotional and that it would be available with links in the show notes. I’m looking and am not finding it…..let me know if I missed it somewhere! Thank you for the life-giving encouragement this podcast gives.
Hi Kristin! Thank you so much. And oh my goodness– I’m so glad you mentioned that. I actually had the wrong link at first but when I went back to add it I must not have hit “save.” OOOPS! I just added it back, but here’s the quick link: https://kristagilbert.ck.page/bb80ecf8f6 I just printed it out for my family too — it is just beautiful!!