Nothing sparks gratitude in my heart like a free gift. Well, maybe not just any free gift. Lots of things are given away because people don’t want them — take a look at your local Goodwill drop-off station. Then there are those gifts that seem free but you know they have a hidden price — […]
Lessons in Thankfulness: Teachers
When you are a kid, your teacher makes a world of difference in your life. I have some vivid memories of the horror that was first grade. I was a bright kid, but I had a teacher whom I can’t help but remember as a not-so-green version of the witch from the Wizard of Oz. […]
One Key Step toward a Life of Gratitude
In 1656, English Puritan John Beadle published a book on keeping a journal as a spiritual discipline: The Journal or Diary of a Thankful Christian. To his knowledge and mine, his book was the first on the topic. Ever since, I suppose, Christians have fallen into two camps: Those who like to write in journals and those […]
So Give Thanks! (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 43)
In this week when my country celebrates a day of thanksgiving, my mind, of course, turns to the Heidelberg Catechism. (Okay, maybe yours doesn’t. But you probably haven’t been blogging about it all year.) There are lots of ways Christians can summarize the Christian life. This 450 year old introduction to biblical teaching tells me […]
The Attitude of Platitude?
The problem with Christmas when I was a child was the “Thank You” notes. Mom was clear: people who gave me gifts had to be thanked. Mom was also firm: there would be a session at the kitchen table, however long it took, and I would write notes to them all. Writing those thank you […]