November 26, 2014

Counting Gifts, Being Thankful, Giving Thanks... in a Blessing Box!


Counting Gifts... Being Thankful... 
Giving Thanks...

It's nothing new and even a few years ago, when I first read Ann Voskamps' lovely words written out in one thousand gifts, writing down the ways God blesses us on a daily basis was not a new practice.  

Still, it was a somewhat forgotten one.  I kept a list running in my mind, but there is just something different
something deeper, maybe - about writing them down

And then I remembered this:

A little poem I wrote years ago to go along with Boxes we would deliver around Thanksgiving.

As a family, Counting Gifts is part of our Thankgiving Tradition, yes... but it is so much more than that! We've been marking them down and reading them back for years! 

Long ago, when our Only was a Little... maybe 3 or 4, we stumbled upon this little gem of a book, by Debby Boone:

It is Counting Blessings by Debby Boone and we read through that thing, as is what one does, 2,438 times or so... in a row... because, of course! Right? 




















But here's the thing...
It was doing a work in each of us
as we grabbed on to the truth written out.

With every reading, we were counting,
and it was changing us
from the inside out.

We considered ourselves a pretty thankful family anyway, but we soon put this book to action and would think of all kinds of ways to count our blessings!  This book is so much more than a Thanksgiving book... it is a Blessing Book that works all year round. It will help you to teach your children (and remind yourself) to look for blessings, for when we look for them - oh how we find them!





I know, right? Can you even?

In fact, it inspired us to make a Blessing Box (as mentioned in the book) and we have, for years, used random pieces of paper or fancy placecards from around the table, and we'd write down what we counted as blessings.  Often, we would then pull them out and try to guess who wrote what over Christmas dinner.

There was also a time (or two) that we would pull out the book and the box and put it to use during a difficult season at school or with friends.

To be honest as our Little grew up, the book became more Decoration than devoured, but as I was pulling out all of our Autumn boxes this book once again caught my attention.  I have been having so much fun paging through this book and reminiscing... and re-reading through our Blessing Box, with gifts counted and scratched out from years gone by!

So, I wanted to share it with you here, just days before Thanksgiving. It's a simple project that may be fun to do with the Littles or the Grands and it will help to bring a bit of Counting Gifts into your Thanksgiving holiday! Any Box will do... let the kids decorate it and then cut a 'slot' in the top... use namecards or notepaper to write down what ya'll are thankful for. 

Make it as fancy or basic as you like...
Then gather in, & count your blessings together!



So, who's in? Who is up for a little Hugging on God?

I pray you all have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday, filled with family and friends... old times reminisced and new memories made... and may you take a moment or two, and know that God loves you. No matter what... He loves you. Can I encourage you to love Him back?


P.S.  I'm linking up with these lovely writers:

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory


Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

*SOME AFFILIATE LINKS INCLUDED.  ABIDING LOVE, ABOUNDING GRACE IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR SITES TO EARN ADVERTISING FEES BY ADVERTISING AND LINKING TO AMAZON.COM.



What about you? What Tradition does your family participate in over Thanksgiving that blesses you and draws you closer? 

I'd love to hear!

10 comments :

  1. This is such a great idea! Thank you! I'm very good about counting and writing my blessings, but I didn't think to get the family involved like you have. Thanks for the encouragement to do just that.

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    1. Heather... oh yes, my friend - invite them right on in! You will love it! Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. I like the way you ended, "can I encourage you to love Him back?" So glad I said yes to that invitation many years ago. xoxo

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    1. Amen Susan! You and me both, friend! You and me both! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. What a great idea. Totally random, but while folding laundry today my three year old picked up my bra and declared, "Mommy, I found your booby box!" Your post about a blessing box just made me think of our funny box incident this morning. Happy Thanksgiving!

    http://queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.wordpress.com

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    1. Amanda... first off - that is funny! Secondly - thanks so much for stopping by! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  4. What a great idea, and I need to go find this book for my niece and nephews. Thanks for sharing it. Happy Thanksgiving!

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    1. It's such a great book Tobi! I highly recommend it! Happy Thanksgiving, friend!

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  5. You are blessed, indeed, to have so many cards, notes and letters to remember the blessings you've received in your past and how they've grown and challenged and changed each of you.

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    Replies
    1. I made myself wait until tomorrow to read through them all!!! It was not easy! Happy Thanksgiving, friend!

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I always love to hear your thoughts! Remember to: Speak Life - Be Love - Shine On!
~Karrilee~

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