I just love this quote! As you know Autumn (don’t call it fall!) is my favorite season of the year. I love the bountiful harvest, the colors changing, the gathering of family together, the spicy smells, etc. But this quote got me thinking. What if we, like nature, also made this time of year a time of sowing, of scattering abroad, of serving and giving?

Giving and gratitude go hand in hand. Each builds the other, leads to the other, circling upward into a wonderful whirlwind of lifting. It is not by accident that the lifting draws us closer to God.

My friend, Misty, wisely pointed out that celebrating the holidays at this time of year can easily be described as that of Mischief, Gluttony and Idolatry but with careful tweaking and refocusing we can change those celebrations to holy days of Reformation, Gratitude and Rebirth. Isn’t that beautiful?

This November I will be doing a special series on my blog called Grateful Hearts, Giving Hands. Our own family is on a journey to develop more gratitude in our daily lives as well as trying to be more willing to share with and serve others. I know I am not the only mother out there searching for ways to teach my children these traits. For example, my post for Thanks and Giving Trees has received over 5,000 hits just the past couple of weeks alone. Most of those were referred by Pinterest and the lovely Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience (in this post).

Mothers are ever searching and learning and teaching. It is partly through our examples that our children will learn to have grateful hearts and giving hands. Will you join me in my own journey?

There will be posts, many written by guest bloggers, about:
– teaching children to be more grateful and/or giving
– teaching youth to be more grateful and/or giving
– developing a grateful heart personally
– developing a giving heart personally
– service ideas to do as families (big and little)
– simple acts of service one can do each day
– activities or lessons about gratitude or service
-and personal stories of experiences that happened in their own lives that caused them to be more grateful and more giving.

It is my hope that as we focus on having Grateful Hearts and Giving Hands this November, they will extend past this autumn season becoming part of us. It really will take a lifetime of daily choices – choosing to be grateful every day, choosing to give every day. We can start making those choices today.

Help spread the word?

Do you have something to contribute? Experiences or ideas or thoughts perhaps? If you do I would love to have you write a guest post too! You do not need to have a blog, just a willingness to share. I believe it is through sharing and discussing all of our ideas that we are all uplifted and edified. If you would like to write one please contact me at chocolateonmycranium@live.com

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