Photo of Being thankful.

The holiday season can be chaotic for so many reasons. On top of the normal holidays, my family celebrates an anniversary and 3 birthdays! Sometimes it’s hard to stop and remember what the season is all about. There are so many reasonable distractions at our fingertips, but when we look up and see the world around us, we see how much we truly are thankful for!

I tell my kids all the time that being thankful is different from saying ‘thank you’. It’s a state of the heart.

We had a special Thanksgiving 14 years ago when we welcomed our first child, Conner. He was born at 1:37 in the morning, and by 5:00 that evening, I had 18 family members in my hospital room! We were overjoyed with this new person the Lord had so graciously given us. I remember looking around the room with such gratitude and love in my heart.

Isn’t it funny how we can associate those two feelings together? All we have is from God and when we recognize that, our hearts are filled with His love and our gratitude!

I pray, as you enter this holiday season, that the Lord will give you moments to stop and look around to see all He has done.

Happy Birthday, Conner!