Oh man, I love November. Ok, to be honest, part of it scares me. Because how did we get here? And how in Heaven’s name is Christmas right around the corner? BUT, I LOVE that November gratitude helps us practice thankfulness: such a perfect lead-up to Christmas.
Thankfulness really is something to be practiced, I think. Lucy and I were texting back and forth yesterday. She was incredulous at church about how some people can just look so easy on the bright side of things. I told her I think that’s a gift for some people, and others have to put in more practice and work to see the good. But either way, practicing gratitude has power to change our lives for the better.
When we do, I believe even our very countenance changes.
7 easy-peasy ways to practice gratitude this November
Because I believe gratitude is something to be practiced, over the years we have tried to incorporate things into our family that help us be more grateful. Specifically in November. We want gratitude to be part of the every day, and November is such a great time to dig in and live it.
A Thankful Tree
Anyone who has been around this blog for any length of time knows I’m such a sucker for our traditional “Thankful Tree.” These days we keep the same “base” every year, but we have had lots of variations of thankful trees through the years. The idea is to add a few new paper thankful leaves each day, but more often than not, we sit around and write up a whole slew of them at once.
Not only is it such a good way to make ourselves be more intentionally aware of all the good things in life, but I think it’s such a great way to add festive holiday decor.
Especially when you have four cute girls in front of it.
How did they grow up so fast??
A Tutorial to Make Your Own Thankful Tree – and how our trees have looked through the years.
Start a “Gratitude Text Chain”
This is a new idea this year, and I love it.
My sister started a group gratitude text for our family. By family, I mean my parents and siblings, but I really want to start one with Dave and our kids too. Because it’s a pretty powerful tool. We get on there whenever we want and just add a few things we’re grateful for. When you add your “thankfuls” you just keep the numbering going. For example, if I am adding new things and the count is at 472, I just start with 473 and keep on going.
The goal is to get to 1,000 things we’re grateful for by Thanksgiving.
Does it worry you to get too many texts? You can do it on GroupMe or WhatsApp instead (like we do) so it’s not filling up texts all the time.
I love it because not only does it help me remember to take time to notice all the things I’m grateful for, it makes me feel more connected to my family.
Only Gratitude in Prayers
I love this idea brought up at church yesterday. My friend said during the month of November she practices only thanking God in her prayers, no asking. I do love to ask God for many things in life, I mean, the admonition to “ask” is written all over in the scriptures. But I’m going to try this for the rest of November inspired by my friend who said it’s been such a powerful practice for her.
Acknowledge and Notice the Little Things
I think there is so much good in taking time to notice things you’re grateful for about the people around you. And let them know.
Every single day.
I love remembering that my sister tries to point out great things she’s noticed her kids doing to others. In front of those kids. She loves how it makes them beam, and how it makes her feel even more grateful.
Another friend at church said she likes to practice thanking God for the people she’s praying with, specifically. When she prays with her husband at night, she makes sure to thank God for at least one little thing she’s noticed her husband has done for her that day. During family prayer, how awesome to practice gratitude for specific things each person in the family does to make the family better.
I think this practice also goes for noticing nature. Boy, this is a big thing my dad passed down. It’s a habit for all of us to notice the little things and express that gratitude loud and clear. The way a leaf is uncurling. The specific light and how it’s glistening on a tree. We love to point out, probably to the point of annoyance sometimes, things like how the snow looks just so sparkly. Or a reflection of something is just so incredibly beautiful.
Isn’t it interesting how letting even small amounts of gratitude into our hearts actually creates more gratitude?
Practice Gratitude Meditation – Be Still
I’m telling you what, being still enough to feel the gratitude is the key. If we’re running around with our thoughts scattered all over creation, it’s pretty difficult to feel gratitude. We have to stop long enough to memorize the moments, and notice all the good.
Some ways to practice gratitude meditation:
- Take five minutes at some point during the day to just sit. This is what I did for my December family challenge last year and boy oh boy, I need to get back on that. Because it’s incredible what five minutes can do!
- Write in a gratitude journal. Taking time to sit and ponder what you’re grateful for is a beautiful way to meditate in my opinion.
Put Your Phone Away – Look Up
We also are much less likely to be filled up with gratitude when we’re looking at social media and comparing ourselves and our activities to what other people are doing. Phones can be actually “gratitude-suckers” in many ways.
I know, this is counterintuitive to the whole gratitude group text dealio I mentioned above. I mean, you have to use your phone for that, of course. And our phones have woven themselves so tightly into our lives that we do need them for lots of things.
BUT, if we can put them away for extended periods of time, how much more gratitude would we feel? Maybe I’ll do an experiment with that this month and come back to let you know.
It sure worked well when it was The gift I gave myself for Mother’s Day one year. Could be a pretty great gift for the month of November as well: putting away my phone.
Pay Tithing or Give to a Charity
I know this may seem out of place here, but I love paying tithing. I love that it’s a reminder to me that everything I have is really God’s. It helps me be more grateful for the things I have in life and reminds me to give back. Giving back manufactures happiness.
It’s all interconnected.
Some Podcasts About Incorporating Gratitude into your Life
As a wrap-up, here are a few podcasts you might want to listen to if you want to cultivate more gratitude this Thanksgiving season.
- Cultivating Gratitude – In the Arena with the Eyre Sisters
- Traditions around Holidays, including Thanksgiving – In the Arena with the Eyre Sisters
Sending so much love on out to this blog community. I am filled up with gratitude for YOU. Each comment, all the support through the years. All the people who have made me think deeper. And examine my life more. I am very, very grateful.
XOXO
Can I ask a question? How are you keeping your relationship strong with Dave now that you are empty nesters? I’m really struggling. I find wet have nothing really to talk about anymore.
This is such a great question, thank you so much for sharing it. Such a good thing to think about! I have a draft of a post about this because it is super important. Everything shifts as empty nesters, so much more than I thought! So far we have kind of been on the run with quite a bit of being out of town so we haven’t gotten into the “normal” yet, so we are still figuring this out. I’ll come back when I have more experience to share, but for now, I have found that I need to be more conscientious with asking good questions, and thankfully Dave is really good at that too. I have found that the more genuinely curious we get with each other the more we learn and the more vulnerable we get. I think this helps so much with connection. I’d love to know more about your situation if you’re willing to share. How much time do you have together in a day? Do you have similar hobbies? If not, do you think you could find some? I’ll be thinking of more ideas to share soon! For now, sending you lots of love as you work to maneuver this new stage.
XOXO
I’m grateful for your blog! You’ve given me so many great ideas over the years and you have inspired me to be a better mom and wife. Thank you!
Aw thank you so much Camile! Sending you lots of love right back, and SO grateful for blog readers and this little village where I’ve learned so much!
xoxo