We’re trying a little exercise at our house. If we begin to complain about something, we have to quickly name five things we are thankful for. I’m no proponent of parenting techniques that work for all kids at all times, so that’s not my intent here, but I think our little game says something about the reality of our hearts (I’ve written about this more at length before here).
I see unthankfulness (and other negative thought processes) like a big, bulky train. Once you get it moving in one direction on the tracks, it takes an powerful force to first stop the train, and then get it moving in the opposite direction. Can you picture it?
Thankfulness is that force equal to the task of stopping complaining and getting it to back up. Once you get your train moving in the thankful direction, you pick up speed and begin to see things in a different light.
All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15
I thought this verse paints a great picture that I thought would be fun to illustrate. I’m sharing this free printable coloring page (perfect for Thanksgiving, right?) today that you can download HERE (usage below*).
Today, if your train gets moving in a grumpy direction, as mine often does, try a little exercise in intentional thanksgiving . . . and enjoy your continual feast!
A note on plans for the blog & Etsy shop . . .
If you’ve noticed, I’ve been sharing a printable coloring page each week. Why, you ask? Well, I love to draw and I love to share things with you that I wish I had for my own kiddos. I plan to collect the art I create each week and bundle them into Scripture card sets (with coloring pages too) that you can download in my Etsy shop. I might even create some cute little printable prints you can use around your house like the one below. These sets are really great for encouraging people in your life. I think they’d make great stocking stuffers too!
I’ve just added this “Identity” set to the shop. It might just be my favorite set yet with all the fun colors. It comes with eight full-color printable Scripture cards and black and white coloring pages, plus a free cute 8×10 print. You can check them out here!
*I’m so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! All artwork and photos are ã Marydean Draws. Please share freely by posting a link back to this blog post. Please don’t repost the actual file. If you share this, you’re awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!
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