21 Days to Building a Faith Filled Family - Audio DevotionalSample

Practicing Gratitude and Celebration in Your Family

Hi friend. Welcome to Day 7 of our journey. We’ve been doing some of the foundational work to clarify identity and purpose within your family. I’m proud of you for continuing your journey and doing the hard work for yourself and your family. Today, we will be talking about the importance of gratitude and celebration in building a strong family.

As always, let me pray for us before we get started.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of gratitude and celebration. Help us to embrace these practices within our family, creating an atmosphere of love and joy. May our hearts overflow with thankfulness for your goodness and the blessings of family. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

I encourage you to fully commit to the next 15 minutes. Let Jesus guide you through our time together. Find a comfortable spot and remove any and all distractions. If you’re listening to the audio, let my voice lead you today.

I love 1 Chronicles 16:34, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." I like to think of this as a reminder of how good God is. Honestly, we can’t recognize His goodness enough or think too highly of God.

Gratitude is an essential practice for fostering positive emotions, strengthening relationships, and improving mental health. When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our families, we are more likely to focus on the good things in our lives, and we can appreciate the people around us more fully.

Everything we have originally comes from the Lord. So many of us have great lives, filled with so many blessings and gifts, yet the appetite of our heart is never fulfilled. We are never truly satisfied with what we have.

I think most of us have an easy time answering the question, ‘What’s wrong?’, but a more difficult time answering ‘What’s right?’. Having gratitude takes effort and intentionality.

Gratitude is a powerful force that can transform your family's atmosphere. It's the act of recognizing and appreciating the goodness and blessings that surround you. Gratitude strengthens relationships, uplifts spirits, and fosters an environment where love and joy flourish. Gratitude is the war that we will begin to subdue that endless appetite of selfishness inside of us.

This applies to things, but think of how you could apply gratitude to people. Do your family members feel appreciated and cherished? Do you feel appreciated and cherished?

Do you currently have an atmosphere of gratitude and appreciation in your home? If so, how did it develop? If not, how would you describe it?

[PAUSE FOR REFLECTION]

Celebrations provide a way for families to come together and mark significant milestones or accomplishments. It’s a time to reflect on our achievements, acknowledge the hard work and effort that went into them, and a way to foster gratitude.

By practicing gratitude and celebrating the moments that matter, you're creating a positive and joyful family culture. These practices nurture a deep sense of love and unity, making your family a place where everyone feels valued and cherished.

Consider the countless blessings in your family's life. Think about the moments, big and small, that have filled your hearts with joy and gratitude. Have you celebrated those well? Does each member of your family feel celebrated? Is that normal for your family?

Take a moment to reflect on your family's culture of thankfulness. Is there anything God would want you to change? Ask Him to show you what gratitude and celebration could do for your family relationships.

[PAUSE FOR REFLECTION]

The Bible is filled with examples of thankfulness. In the Old Testament, the Israelites celebrated the Passover to remember their liberation from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). King David expressed his gratitude to God in many of his psalms, including Psalm 100:4, which says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!"

In the New Testament, Jesus himself modeled gratitude by giving thanks before performing miracles, such as when he fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:19) and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-43). The apostle Paul also emphasized the importance of gratitude in his letters, encouraging believers to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Spend time in prayer, thanking God for the blessings in your life and asking Him to help you cultivate a spirit of gratitude and celebration in your family.

Remember, gratitude is not only about being thankful for what you have but also about acknowledging the people in your life. Take time to express your gratitude to God for your family members. It would be an amazing thing to let them know how much you appreciate them and the role they play in your life.

Let’s close in prayer.

Lord, thank you for all that you have done in our lives. Thank you that you never leave us or forsake us. Thank you, Lord, that you teach us about gratitude and help us to see that all things come from you. Help us to be thankful for what we have, to celebrate the great parts of our lives, and to be thankful for the people that are in our lives. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

I’ll leave you now to spend some time with the Lord. I pray you may enter His gates today with great thanksgiving and praise for all the things He has done in your life.

Take all the time you need.

I’ll see you tomorrow.