Today is Thanksgiving. Duh, right? I know. All week long, I have been reading a virtual smorgasbord of Thanksgiving related posts in between the time I have spent learning Scrivener and putting the finishing touches on Greater Desires as it enters into a pre-release phase. Thought I would share five of them with you in case you missed them. Hope you enjoy, and . . . oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving! 5 Tactics to Train Thankful Kids KC Proctor at Dad Life Rules waxes poetic on the Rip Van Winkle story to help learn us some simple ways to teach and encourage our children to carry a discipline of thankfulness. How to Live a Life of Thankfulness Skip Prichard uses key observations about gratitude as viewed in others to explain how that trait and success have a specific order where one typically precedes the other. One properly aligned, it can produce a groundswell of attention and resources. Are We TRULY Thankful? Unseen Blessings that Can Change Our Lives Kristen Lamb details many things she is thankful for and why she is thankful for them. She also reminds her readers that a shift in focus to the things we don’t have may leave us thankful we didn't hit a wall. (You’ll have to read it to understand that latter part). Giving Thanks When Life Gets Hard Jennifer Slattery of JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com drops in on Crosswalk.com to share some perspective on thankfulness for the success and joys of others when your life seems like it is in or heading toward very dark spaces. “God’s blessings abound, even in our darkest nights… When we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Christ, our hearts become centered in his love and peace.” 5 Tips to Survive (& Thrive) amidst Thanksgiving Chaos Kelly Balerie asks a question that may be on the minds of many today: “Why does it feel that we have to endure Thanksgiving rather than enjoy it?” This may be in the midst of stressful time compression or family members who like to get together and push buttons. She offers some great, biblical perspective on how we can personally survive and shift from a frame of “enduring” to one of “thriving” amid the holiday frenzy.

A couple verses on thankfulness for you too...

May they help guide your prayers and day today.

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. ~Psalm 116:17

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18