Have you ever had one of those mornings where everything seems to go wrong? Maybe you spilled milk on your favorite shirt, lost your homework, or your favorite toy broke. When bad stuff happens, it is super easy to get grumpy and start complaining to everyone around you!
When we only focus on what goes wrong or what we don’t have, grumpiness takes over our whole day. But God has a much better way for us to live! He wants us to kick out the bad attitudes and fill our hearts with gratitude instead. Being thankful isn’t just something we do once a year at Thanksgiving—it’s a choice we can make every single day because God is so good to us.
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
So, how can we be thankful when things aren’t going our way? You can try a simple mental life hack: whenever you catch yourself complaining about something, stop and name two things you are grateful for! If you’re annoyed about doing chores, you can thank God for a house to live in and a family that loves you. Shifting your focus off yourself and onto God’s goodness changes your entire heart.
You can also show thankfulness by saying “thank you” to your parents, teachers, and friends when they help you out, or by singing out loud to God when you’re at church. Thankfulness is like a superpower that turns grumpy days into joyful ones. Let’s make it our mission this week to show Jesus’ love by ditching the complaints and having a thankful heart everywhere we go!
Talk About It
- If you had to pick your absolute favorite meal in the whole world to eat on Thanksgiving, what would it be?
- What is our main Bible verse for today, and where can you find it in the Bible?
- Parents, when you were kids, what was something silly or small that would easily put you in a grumpy mood?
- When you are super frustrated with a sibling or classmate, why is it hard to be thankful, and how can Jesus help you change your attitude?
- What is one practical way your family can pause every day this week to share three things you are thankful to God for?