Thank You, Lord, For:
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, [And] into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, [and] bless His name.” Psalm 100:4
Several years ago, I took a sturdy spiral bound calendar/planner that had a good amount of space, and on each day I would write five things that I was thankful for about my husband. I then gave it to him as a present that year for Christmas.
It helped me to really appreciate him—to see how much he did for me and our kids, how much he loved me and I loved him. It was great to be able to show him that I really did notice his hard work and provision. I also made sure not to write only about what he did, but also about who he was, the way he made me laugh, how much I enjoyed just hanging out with him, etc.
I’m married to a wonderful man so it wasn’t hard for me to come up with those five daily things (at least not most days!), but I found that the more I thanked God about him, the more thankful I was to God for him. I was looking for good things each day to write about, which helped me to overlook the not-so-good things that might have been happening.
It became a gift to both of us—I was more content, expecting good things, searching them out. And he was very touched that I cared enough to take the time to notice and write down the things I appreciated about him for that whole year.
Not too long ago while going through some things, he found that “Thank You God For…” calendar. After looking through it again, he told me that 1) he was amazed how busy a season that had been, how much he had accomplished in that year, the struggles, and things he might not have been so grateful for at the time, but now made sense and he was very grateful for, and 2) he was still blown away that I had taken the time to write down those daily things that made me so thankful to be married to him.
Right now I am writing another year’s worth of daily things I’m thankful for in my life in general. Next year will be our 25th wedding anniversary. I feel another husband/couple thankful book coming on. Won’t you join me in creating one of your own?
Dear Jesus, help us to always look for the things to be thankful for in our husbands, families, lives, and most importantly in You, Lord. Amen.
I love this idea, thank you for sharing.
So thoughtful! What a commitment….love it.
Hmm idea for our 25th coming up in 1 1/2 years!
I got the idea from a friend many years ago to begin my time with God with what I’m thankful for. I’m a journaler, and so my entries always begin with what I’m thankful for, from small to great. On really hard days, it might be just 2-3 things, like His grace and unfailing love. Other days it might be successful errands, good health, or a beautiful bird on the bird bath. We forget so easily all the wonderful things God has done for us, even when life is hard.