Hey friends it’s me, Kirsten again :). Recently on the LDS.ORG website, there was a talk by President Henry B. Eyring where he talked about “The Choice to Be Grateful.” There’s never been a better time than to talk about being grateful for the blessings we have. On and off throughout my life, I have kept a gratitude journal (that I have recently started again). It’s a journal that stays by my bedside and each night or every couple nights, I write the date, then write 5-10 things in it that I am thankful for. It’s so much fun, and always amazes me when I look back at what I wrote in times past. In that journal you can find anything from, “I’m thankful for Jesus” to “I’m thankful that my Dad called me today and cheered me up.” Feeling entitled and ungrateful is a slippery slope for me, and it really helps me focus more on all the great things in my life rather than the hurts and heartache, because we all have them.
At the end of the article, John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat gave a “Gratitude Challenge”, which I totally love considering the fact that I am a memory hoarder and I often would like so much to put time in a bottle.
They said, “Let’s not just talk about counting our blessings—let’s do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for.” They even broke it down into 10 different categories of 10. I couldn’t help but design it cute on a page because heaven forbid, I would print out a black and white sheet of questions…;). They also said this, “When we make a list like this, we discover that a list of 100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the things God has given us.”
WAYS TO USE THIS: For our family we printed one on each side of a white piece of card stock and stuck them in little sheet protectors in a small binder. We printed one set of questions for each child as well as for Dave and I. Each Family Home Evening night for the next little bit, we are going to write down one thing in each category. Last night when we did this, they said the cutest things like…..ME: “Bennett, what is your favorite modern invention (had to explain to the 5 year-old what that meant)?” Bennett: “Grandpa TuTu’s inventions.” My Grandpa that passed away before he was born had several patents and was an inventor you could say. I have told them many stories about Grandpa so this was darling to hear him say and write down to remember always. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say next week. I can’t wait to tuck these away when they are completed and I know we will have fun in the process.
DOWNLOAD First Page: HERE
DOWNLOAD Second Page: HERE
Please feel free to share this with your friends and family! I hope this enriches your home and family in some way! ENJOY!
xo,
Kirsten
danielle says
Printing it – thank you!
katie s says
Absolutely love this! Such a great talk and it’s even better now with your cute printable 🙂
Vanessa says
So cute, I love it! thank you for taking the time to making this challenge even more fun, I love the Crafting chicks!
Leanne says
Hi Kirsten! Thanks for this printable. I pinned it. I think it would be great to go with a lesson for Activity Days or Young Women too.
Brooke says
LOVE IT. LOVE IT!
Happy Mom says
Thanks for the printable! I love Elder Eyring’s talk. Other than General Conference, my favorite resource about the why’s and results of gratitude is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It’s a beautiful read!
Shanae says
Hey! I just found this site this morning…thanks to Pinterest! Thanks for your post on gratitude. I’ve been trying to focus on gratitude these past few days. What a great “Gratitude Challenge! Your cute printables will make this challenge much easier and more fun! :). Also, I recently started a blog http://intentionallycommitted.blogspot.com/ (It’s nothing major, and it’s definitely a work in progress) and I linked this post, and a couple others from this site, near the end of this post: http://intentionallycommitted.blogspot.com/2012/01/few-things-im-thankful-for.html.
Sparrow says
Ten *physical* abilities. Nice sly way to be unkind to the disabled, there.
Sara says
Sparrow: Seriously? I know plenty of people with disabilities who would not take issue with a request for 10 physical abilities, and could name ten as well. Just because one can’t walk doesn’t mean that one can’t see and just because someone may be deaf doesn’t mean that they can’t run every morning. I believe that a vast majority of people could come up with ten physical abilities – those that are disabled included. Sometimes you need to stop and THINK about all that you’re able to do – regardless of your abilities or disabilities… and I’m speaking of “typical” people mostly here… I believe we all tend to take for granted the things that we CAN do and all too often focus on the things we CAN’T do. Also, I think people spend too much time looking for things to complain about … especially when one can hide behind the anonymity that the internet provides.
Kirsten WRIGHT says
I wrote this post. I love the disabled so much. With that being said, I believe that whether you can see it or not, we all are tested in this life in some form or another. Some may be deaf, some may have a mental illness, some may have children that pass away, some may not be able to walk, some may have cancer, the list goes on and on. I also don’t think life is always fare and definitely not comparable between two human beings. There’s one thing I believe is that we get the trials that will perfect us in this life to be more like Christ. I’m as guilty as the next guy, that I complain sometimes about the trials I have in my life that test me…when in all reality those are probably the things I need the most. At the same time, I’m sorry that you are having a hard time.
Courtney says
What an awesome idea!!!
Vicki says
ok these are adorable and such a great idea. thank you!!! xoxo
Elizabeth says
Wow, what a wonderful printable. I Love it! I was also thinking what a great way to start of a month or year and see how it changes. Thank you for shaing another wonderful printable with us.
Shana says
Love this idea! Thank you for sharing it! I hope it’s okay if I link your page to my blog this month in lue of Thanksgiving!
Whitney says
I googled searched gratitude activity sheets and found your page. LOVE THESE!!! Thank you for creating them and sharing them for free! We will be filling this out as a family over Thanksgiving dinner, thanks!
Tiffany says
Thank you! The design is great, and the whole concept is very inspiring.