Graceful Thanks

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

With Thanksgiving just over a week away, and the current situations around the world, I find myself contemplating my life and the things I take for granted. What is the number one thing I take for granted?  My Lord and Savior.
I remember to say my morning prayers, my grace before meals, and my evening prayers, but do I think about Him before I kiss my child's scabbed knee?  Do I remember Him when I am crocheting a baby blanket for a friend?  Do I talk to Him before I read a book?

G.K. Chesterton was a very wise man. Shouldn't we all remember to say grace before every action we do? Living life in every way is a praise to God. When we live our life the way Jesus taught us, we are living a prayer, but remembering Him is so important.

Where in my day could I have inserted a grace and been thankful?

• At the store, where I was able to buy food for my family
• While washing my children's faces, because they are safe in our house
• Before giving a violin lesson
• After kissing the kids to bed
• While putting on my shoes
• During an intense game of M&M challenge in music class
• At 5 in the morning when the baby was awake and I knew I wasn't getting back to sleep. (This would be the hardest time for thanks, but I have a safe and *fairly* happy toddler)
• When my husband came home safely

There are so many moments I could stop and say grace and thanks to God but I forget!  It isn't that I completely forget, but we get caught up in the day and living life.

My goal is to have more graceful thanks in my life. Perhaps I can help turn my mindset and let go of some of the anxieties in my life by remembering it is God that has given me this life and to be thankful for it all, even if I feel anxious about parts of it. He is bigger, and for that I am thankful.