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November 30, 2015

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 30:
Express gratitude to the friend, relative, or neighbor of your choosing.

[NOTE: There’s a HUGE announcement at the bottom of this post!]

Gratitude should not be a passive attitude; it should be a perpetual activity. As you complete your thirty days of intentionally expressing gratitude to others, my sincere hope and prayer is that on every day of the year, you will continue this pattern of demonstrating and expressing gratitude. The final verse for this thirty-day emphasis is 1 Thessalonians 5:18. I found it interesting to look in a few commentaries and see that the words “give thanks” came from the Greek word eucharisteo: “to be grateful, i.e., (actively) to express gratitude (toward).” Yes, we must always be grateful, but when we allow that gratitude to penetrate the moments of our daily lives, we will find that we also want to express that gratitude to those for whom we are thankful!

Take time to e-mail, call, purchase a gift for, or send a card to the friend, relative, or neighbor you chose to thank today.

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NASB).

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AMAZON DISCOUNT CODE TODAY, 11/30/15: Save 30% when you use the code: HOLIDAY30

I am thrilled to announce the release today of a little book that takes these thirty days of gratitude and allows you to apply them any day of the year:

Petals of Gratitude: A Guide to Intentionally Expressing Gratitude for Thirty Days

Be sure to pick up an extra copy, because it will also make a great gift for those on your gift list! (Click on the book cover photo to learn more!)
By Petals from the Basket | November 30, 2015 | Family, Friends, Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

November 29, 2015

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 29:
Express gratitude to a child who works hard or is consistently respectful.

When I was about four years old, I sang my first solo in church: “Little Baby in a Manger.” More than fifty years later, I still remember one of the ladies in our church coming up to me after the Christmas program and saying, “Thank you for  letting us hear your pretty voice tonight.” The reason I remembered it even after all these years was because she didn’t simply tell me that she thought I had a pretty voice; she thanked me. And it encouraged me to keep singing—not just for my own benefit but also as a way to impact others. (Though I’m not sure I could honestly say that her words were directly related to my decision, I was later a music major in college—with a concentration in voice.) A simple gift of gratitude to a child is, indeed, “the gift that keeps on giving!”

Take time to send a card to a child who works hard or is consistently respectful.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3, ESV).

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It’s never too late to intentionally begin 30 Days of Gratitude.
To download a free 30 Days of Gratitude Chart, click on the “Day 29″ photo above!
Click here to receive Brenda’s encouraging, faith-based posts directly in your Inbox.
By Petals from the Basket | November 29, 2015 | Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

November 28, 2015

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 28:
Express gratitude to a relative.

“In the family, life is brought not only to our doorstep, but into our kitchens, bedrooms, and dens. In the family, life is happening all around us, and it begs to be questioned, evaluated, interpreted, and discussed. There is no more consistent, pregnant, dynamic forum for instruction about life than the family, because that is exactly what God designed the family to be, a learning community.” —Paul David Tripp

Take time to e-mail, call, send a card to, or a purchase a gift for the relative you chose to thank today.

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:16–17, NIV).

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It’s never too late to intentionally begin 30 Days of Gratitude.
To download a free 30 Days of Gratitude Chart, click on the “Day 28″ photo above!
Click here to receive Brenda’s encouraging, faith-based posts directly in your Inbox.
By Petals from the Basket | November 28, 2015 | Family, Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

November 27, 2015

30 Days of Gratitude – Day 27:
Express gratitude to a friend you have known for more than ten years.

“A friend is one of the nicest things you can have and one of the best things you can be.” —Douglas Pagels

Take time to e-mail, send a card to, or purchase a gift for the friend you have known for more than ten years and have chosen to thank today.

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:11–12, NIV).

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It’s never too late to intentionally begin 30 Days of Gratitude.
To download a free 30 Days of Gratitude Chart, click on the “Day 27″ photo above!
Click here to receive Brenda’s encouraging, faith-based posts directly in your Inbox.
By Petals from the Basket | November 27, 2015 | Friends, Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |