crafting with grandma - Give Thanks Board! AND it is National Gratitude Month!

November is National Gratitude Month and Daysoftheyear.com says, "Being grateful can boost your mood and make you feel more connected to others. When you focus on the good things in your life, you start to notice even more positives around you. National Gratitude Month encourages people to be thankful for the positive aspects of life, shift their attention from the negatives, and appreciate the good things around them. Studies show that grateful people tend to experience less stress, better sleep, and even fewer aches and pains. Expressing gratitude can foster a supportive environment, whether in personal relationships or workplaces​​."

So, how do we celebrate National Gratitude Month and what are the benefits for being a grateful person? Consider the following ideas . . .

• Grab a funky notebook and start jotting down three things you appreciate every day. It can be anything from your cozy slippers to a delicious slice of pie.
• Handwrite thank-you notes to friends, family, or colleagues. Imagine the surprise when they find a heartfelt note in their mailbox!
• Find an empty jar and decorate it with stickers and ribbons. Every day, write down something you’re thankful for on a slip of paper and drop it in. At the end of the month, read all the slips and relive the joy.
• Gratitude can help you feel better about your circumstances, which can lead to feeling better about yourself.
• Expressing gratitude to our friends can improve our friendships.
• Showing our gratitude not only helps others feel more positively, it also makes us think more positively.
• A study on gratitude visits showed that participants experienced a 35% reduction in depressive symptoms for several weeks, while those practicing gratitude journaling reported a similar reduction in depressive symptoms for as long as the journaling continued (Seligman et al., 2005).
• Patients with hypertension who “count their blessings” at least once a week experienced a significant decrease in blood pressure, resulting in better overall health.
• If you’re having trouble sleeping or just waking up feeling fatigued, try a quick gratitude journaling exercise before bed – it could make the difference between groggy and great in the morning!

You will find more ideas at this link and more benefits at this link.

Okay - I absolutely LOVE this craft idea to help us be thankful and show our gratitude! For far too many people, Thanksgiving has become the day where we eat a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie and then get ready to go shopping for Christmas! We don't really think about being thankful . . . we just think about the food and the shopping . . . and in some cases - the football. But Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity for us to pause and notice all the ways - big and small - which God has blessed us and to be intentional about being thankful! So, when I was browsing on Pinterest and saw the idea for a "Give Thanks Board", I had to share it with you!

Just follow the link and you'll find complete directions for making your own "Give Thanks Board" . . . I especially appreciate how they include options to make this board easy and affordable!  

This is a great idea for a craft which can help you stop, remember and give thanks! I love the idea of using the, "I'm thankful for" card for two years so you can see what you were thankful for the year before! I think I'll add a pouch to the back so cards can be saved each year . . . what a wonderful way to keep a "history" of your family, the way God has worked in your lives, and how you have been thankful!