Happy Thanksgiving, my dear readers!
In honor of this joyful holiday centered on gratitude I’ve collected some favorite quotes on the subject. Perhaps you’ll find one or two to your liking also.
Why is gratitude an important?
If gratitude is due from children to their earthly parent, how much more is the gratitude of the great family of men due to our Father in heaven?—Hosea Baliou
A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord—Billy Graham.
The best way to take off the tendency to complain is to put on thankfulness. Each day we must actively choose to see what God has provided—Melissa B. Krueger, The Envy of Eve, 134.
What happens as a result of gratitude?
It’s not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy—Anonymous.
We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction—Harry Ironside.
The truly thankful person is a truly peaceful person—Lysa TerKeurst, Embraced, 256.
How do we cultivate gratitude?
The key to thankfulness is not to view God through the lens of our circumstances, but to view our circumstances through the lens of God’s love and sovereign purpose—Anne Graham Lotz.
Thank people who bless you in even the smallest ways. It will complete your enjoyment of the blessing, and it will increase your capacity to thank God—Alexander Whyte.
Habits of a grateful person: Notice, Pause, Choose. Notice something for which to be thankful no matter your circumstance. Pause to acknowledge this something as a reminder of God’s presence. Choose to focus on God’s presence until His powerful peace is unleashed—Lysa TerKeurst, Embraced, 256-257.
What might a life of gratitude look like?
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink—G. K. Chesterton.
That sounds like a marvelous way to live, doesn’t it?
Photo credits: http://www.quotefancy.com; http://www.picryl.com.
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Indeed, it does, Nancy! Thanks for sharing these great quotes. I have a feeling I’ll be sharing them with family today. 😉
Oh good! I’m delighted you found these quotes worthy of sharing, Annie!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Debi Sue. We did enjoy a lovely day with family and friends. I trust you did too!
We had a great day, with traditional Swedish food.
I love it–blending your Swedish heritage into your Thanksgiving celebration!
Amen!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Nancy. Love the quotes you shared.
Glad you liked the quotes, Manu. We did enjoy a glorious day with family and friends. Am I remembering correctly that you live in Australia? If so, I know you have no Thanksgiving Day. What would be the closest equivalent?
You are right Nancy, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving here. But our church pastor and his wife hail from your end of the world. Although they have called Australia home for about 20 yrs, they have brought this celebration to our church. The women of the church had a Thanksgiving dinner where we had some good food, reflected on things we are grateful for with God being very much in the centre of it all.
Sounds wonderfully uplifting!
Max Lucado’ quote is very inspiring and thought-provoking. I would have my health, food to eat, and a family that is safe! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Nancy. 🙂
That’s an eye-opener of a quote, isn’t it? Sounds like your cup is gratitude is full, Nancy! / We did enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving, reveling in family and friends over a gourmet feast prepared by the stellar cooks among them. I hope you enjoyed the same!
Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I am grateful for you!!
And I am grateful for you, Jean! You’ve been a faithful reader almost from the beginning, always providing sweet encouragement. / SO enjoying your new book, Sacred Surroundings. Am finding myself highlighting a number of meaningful quotes and concepts to return to for further consideration!
ahhh your kind and encouraging words made my day. Thank you!!
You are so welcome!
The Billy Graham quote is my favorite (and maybe I should read more of his writings). “A spirit of thankfulness… a heart attuned to the Lord”. That resonates with me.
I’m glad you found a favorite, Dave. Graham provided a litmus test for our spirits, didn’t he. Gratitude to God in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18) DOES indicate trust. It stands to reason, the more gratitude we express, the stronger our faith grows.
I love the “notice, pause and choose.” We used to sing a chorus in our church that basically said “It’s my choice to rejoice.”
I don’t think I’ve heard that chorus–I’ll have to look it up! Just that one line you’ve shared offers a worthwhile reminder. Thank you, Barb!
Praying you had a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving.
Thank you, RobbyeFaye. We did! I pray you enjoyed the same.
You are welcome!
Ours was great, just wish more of my kids could make it home.
Agreed! We were missing one also, along with her delightful husband and another of our grandchildren. Just a few weeks, though, and everyone will be here right after Christmas! Will you see more of you children then?
How nice to have most of the family there. I bet you are really excited for Christmas!
Unfortunately no. Hopefully we will all get together in February, though.
Ah–something wonderful to look forward to after the excitement of the Christmas season is over!
Yes, and I am definitely looking forward to it!!
Blessings~
I hope your Thanksgiving effervesced and brimmed right over into this new day we’ve been given. I can’t help wondering today if Chesterton’s richly curious, fruitful life stemmed partially from his habit of gratefulness . . .
Yes, we did enjoy a Thanksgiving Day brimming with love and laughter that continues today as we enjoy the last bit of time with our younger son and his wife. They return home later today, but thankfully will be back right after Christmas. I hope you also have enjoyed family and/or friends this long weekend of grateful celebration. / You raise an interesting premise, Laurie: We probably ARE more productive when we live with a grateful spirit!
Gratitude has an amazing way of shifting our perspective, doesn’t it? Glad you were surrounded with ‘what and who’ matters.
Thank you, RH. You are so right: Gratitude does have the power to lift our spirits!
Beautiful post!!! Wishing you Thanksgiving blessings to last the whole year through. This was a wonderful meditation and I am grateful for it…thank you!
Thank you, Linda. I appreciate your insightful words. Thanks-giving does provide the blessing of enhanced joy every time we turn our minds to gratitude–no matter the time of year!
This quote by Anne Graham Lotz means so much to me, especially today: “The key to thankfulness is not to view God through the lens of our circumstances, but to view our circumstances through the lens of God’s love and sovereign purpose”. The past two weeks have been very challenging for my family and I fear I am guilty of viewing God through my circumstances, instead trusting that my circumstances are being handled lovingly for His greater purpose. I see through a glass darkly, but someday all will be crystal clear. Thank you, Nancy.
I’m so sorry your family-challenges continue, Cheri. I’ve been praying for a timely resolution. May you sense God’s presence, power, wisdom, and comfort while you navigate through the difficulties.
woah … that’s some powerful question up top, Nancy. a whole lot of food for thought and challenge to live life continually with a grateful spirit. thank you for that reminder. it’s far too easy to relapse and head in the other direction. thanks
Lucado’s question does bring us up short, doesn’t it!
All thoughts worth meditating on, and really the only road to peace in the daily course of life really is gratitude.
Even secular research is discovering numerous benefits from the habit of gratitude. Peace of mind and heart is certainly one of them–when the gratitude is directed to God.
Praise God! 🧡🙏
Thank you for visiting my blog, friend, to lead me to yours. I always enjoy a good gratitude quote!
Happy Advent to you, and have a great day!
And thank you Stacey for coming here to visit ME! I’m a quote collector of all topics. I even have one about quote collecting! “Most collectors collect tangibles. As a quote collector, I collect wisdom, life, invisible beauty, soul alive in ink”–Terry Guillemets. / Happy Advent to you also!!
That’s a good one!