Everyday Blessings

Posted on by Michele Morin

Just this morning I penned gift number 4,013 into my gratitude journal where, for four years, I have been recording everyday blessings:  candle light before dawn; everyone home for dinner; first apple pie from our very own tree.  Eileen Spinelli has created a rhyming picture book that will set readers onto the path of remembering all the reasons we have to be Thankful.  With Archie Preston’s water-color images of a family playing dress up, enjoying the outdoors, and doing life together, Thankful celebrates, in rhymed couplets, a spirit of gratitude from the perspective of various professions:

“The waitress is thankful for comfortable shoes.
The local reporter, for interesting news.

The gardener’s thankful for every green sprout.
The fireman, for putting the fire out.”

Parents will enjoy introducing their children to the critical truth that every position in life — a desk in the third grade; a spot on the soccer travel team; a chair in the school band — provides a vantage point from which to view the world and to give thanks.
And why not follow up with a family art project in which everyone makes up a short rhyme about thankfulness and then draws a picture to match?  Design a cover incorporating your family’s name, staple them all together, and make a family book of thankfulness to put on display along with Spinelli’s Thankful, a visual reminder of why we celebrate that terrific November holiday.

Maybe it’s not only the children who need this lovely fall-themed story book.  Standing on the small square of floor board that my feet occupy when I work at the kitchen sink, I have a choice to make every day:  I can bemoan the piles of dishes and the streaked pane of window glass before my eyes — or I can lift my heart in gratitude for family meal time, for the vivid autumn scene just outside my kitchen window, for hot running water and plentiful food, all evidence of grace, all reasons to be thankful.

This book was provided by ZonderKidz, a trademark of Zondervan, in exchange for my review.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and six adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

37 thoughts on “Everyday Blessings”

  1. Hi Michele, lovely gifts you penned down. It is surprising how many things we can be grateful for.
    God Bless friend

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  3. Michele what a great plan! Thanks for the book review, I’m ALWAYS looking for good books (might be a bit of an addict).
    Stopping by from Inspire Me Monday

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  5. Michelle, First of all I love Ann Voskamp’s 1000 Gifts and her idea of a thankful journal. What an amazing legacy you are leaving having already recorded four years of thankfulness.

    Thanks for sharing about this book. I definitely want to get it for my granddaughter, but I know I will enjoy it too!

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  6. I like the way you mentioned the very common things in life that we might take for granted as a blessing. I started a blessing journal last year. But I’ve been penning only the very important huge milestones and blessings. This is a wonderful reminder to make note of even the smallest things in life! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Love that you’ve been faithful to keep track every day for four years. 🙂 God’s faithfulness is definitely worthy of thanksgiving. Cute idea for a making a children’s book. The book reviewed looks cute too. Thanks for sharing. Happy to visit you from the Women with Intention linkup today. ((blessings))

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  12. My Big Guy needs to be read this book! I wonder if my local library has it! Over 4000 entries in your blessing book is amazing! rat job keep it up for so long! That must be so fun to go back through and read when you’re feeling down.

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  18. Sometimes a simple child’s book helps to remind us “big kids” what is truly important. Instead of complaining, give thanks. So glad you shared this and I want you to know how THANKFUL for you I am Michele.

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  19. That sounds like a lovely book. Having a grateful heart is such a vital lesson to teach our kids. Hopefully, if we’ve been taught since childhood to be grateful, we will carry that trait with us all our lives.

    Blessings,
    Patti

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I loved this!! My husband and I are keeping up with what we’re thankful for everyday during the month of November, but maybe we should continue on into December and the new year!!

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  22. Thank you for sharing this awesome book at the Loft today. My! Visiting your site has certainly increased my TBR list … and my list of books to buy for my grands.

    I love the little couplets you shared from the book. I MUST get it to see the rest of them!

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  23. That sounds like a fabulous book! I have been trying to model a life of counting blessings for my boys. This year I am having them participate in a 30 days of thankful challenge with me.

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