Episode #93: A Heart for Gratitude With Sally Clarkson and Kristen Kill

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:18" Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude. -A.A. Milne, WINNIE-THE-POOH

Do your children hold wonder about God? Do they have an imagination that allows them to enter into the mystery of all He has made and all He has done? A Grateful heart is a humble heart, one that does not demand, but receives and then looks for how to give again to others with joy- but it begins by understanding the wonder of being a child of the God of the Universe and experiencing all of the goodness of God's world as a gift. In this episode, Sally and Kristen discuss how to protect and preserve a sense of wonder in our children, how to cultivate daily habits of thanks, and what it looks like to embrace God's will for us to "rejoice always," regardless of circumstance. They share about what it has looked like in their own homes to raise children who are content, how to battle the demands and entitlements of modern culture facing children and parents alike, and how God has used unexpected times of difficulty to build gratefulness into the culture of their families. 

What we talk about:

-Cultivating a habit of wonder and gratefulness in the lives of our children

-What is means practically to rejoice always and in everything give thanks

-The importance of learning to see God's personal provision and work in our lives

-How to battle discontent, boredom, envy and jealousy 

-How to navigate a consumer culture of entitlement in our homes

-How developing a heart of gratitude is becomes a source of courage for our children when they leave home

-The importance of Feasting and special celebrations

-Recognizing Grace in our own lives and serving others from the overflow of what God has given us.

links:

1 Thessalonians 5:18- "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

James 2: 15-16- "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."

Galatians 5:22-23

1 John 1:7a- "Walk in the Light as He[God]Himself is in the Light."

Compassion International