How to Harvest a Grateful Life

It’s that time of year. We know how the season is supposed to go down. Besides pumpkin pie and turkey, we are encouraged to cultivate attitudes of gratitude. And there’s no better way to accomplish it than when we harvest a grateful life.

Such as these areas:

Count your blessings.

Be thankful.

Express your gratefulness.

Show your generosity.

And maybe we do and are these things during Thanksgiving. Perhaps some of us manage to pull it off most of November or even the entire year. 

But when we look at this list, do we think of our lives, our family, and more importantly, our God? 

When we express gratitude for what the Lord has given us and for the great things He has done, we realize we are blessed beyond measure. We harvest a grateful life. Share on X

Yet, how do we harvest a grateful life in all the areas of our lives, for the people in our lives, and for the God who gives us life? 

Even further, are gratitude, generosity, and thanksgiving possible January through December?

So let’s use the list in the introduction and unpack each one.

(1.) Count Your Blessings: Harvest a Grateful Life

Everyone brace yourselves. This is going to blow our minds! The Lord provides:

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Taste and See: Recipe for a Thankful Heart

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8a (ESV)

What are your favorite recipes? Have you ever told your kids, grandkids, or even picky adults, how they need to taste and see if they like a particular food?

I sure have. And it always follows with this, “How do you know whether you like it until you taste and see?”

But I plead guilty, too. Because I’m a texture person and sometimes it looks like the texture of a particular food is outside my comfort zone. 🙂

Whether it’s our favorite foods or trying something new, recipes assist in the desired result. And our hopes that everyone will Taste and see it is good.

Every Thanksgiving, I follow a special recipe to make my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie. Yum! It’s my favorite dessert of all time!  She passed away a few months shy of 100. So it brings up so many special memories of her when I make it.

Taste and See Recipe

Recipes always call for measurements—a cup of this or a tablespoon of that. Likewise, we often make other measures in life. 

A real thankful heart never comes easy, much less during difficult years experienced in the world or our own personal world.

Because last Thanksgiving, our granddaughter, who was 6 at the time, had major inner ear surgery. By early spring, she had the same procedure again to correct issues not healing correctly.

While we were thankful doctors discovered the growth, discouragement crept in. Especially since she will never hear out of that ear again without hearing aid.

Hard circumstances affect our thankfulness, if we let them. Yes, we choose. Just as we choose to follow a recipe, we make a choice to keep our heart thankful toward God. Because HE. Is. Good.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart.

So let’s look at a recipe for a T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L heart.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart. Share on X

Thankful Heart Recipe

T – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

The first bite of lemon pie always reminds me of its goodness. Similarly, God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.   

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3 Spiritual Truths God Showed Me in the Mountains

God has a way of showing me spiritual truths when I least expect it. And what better way than on a getaway to the mountains.

I’m a girl from the mountains. Did you know that about me? I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia. My hometown, Big Stone Gap, sits in a valley and borders several nearby states. 

So it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away from my current home in Tennessee. And my current residence is not far from the Great Smoky Mountains. 

While we visit and film in the Smokies often for our YouTube Channel, I just returned from an annual girls trip to a cabin there.

The three of us have been friends since high school; me, another Karen, and Teresa. This made our 15th year. For four glorious days we talk, visit area shops, eateries, attractions, and watch Hallmark movies—yes, with popcorn in hand. This year we colored.

We not only catch up with each other, but we also rest and catch our breath from the ups and downs of life.

Here are 3 spiritual truths the Lord showed me.

(1.)  Talk with God Every Day: Spiritual Truths

Every year, we look forward to our talks with each other. Being in person sure beats Messenger and texting. Because seeing facial expressions and hearing voice inflection adds so much to words. There’s just something grand about conversations in person.

We share about our current lives, hopes, families, and pets. Also, as Jesus-girls, we can’t help but talk about the Lord, His faithfulness, Bible studies, and scripture. 

Likewise, God desires we talk with Him in praise and prayers, lamenting, calling out to Him, and telling Him about our day.

But remember talking with God is 2-way communication. We listen for His voice as we pray and dwell in His presence.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)

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