I talk with many dads who want to raise kids who are not entitled and selfish. In our me-first me-post me-most culture, it’s so easy for kids (and adults!) to think the world revolves around them. One antidote to this is a simple thank you note. Especially during the holiday season, our kids have more opportunities to thank people. My wife is amazing at this. We have one of those advent boxes (a giant snowman with little drawers for each day of Dec), and in some of the drawers she’ll put small symbols that mean, today, we’re gonna bless someone. Recently, she had our boys do that by writing thank you notes to the people who watched them while we spent a couple days outta town. Simple, but powerful and practical. This helps them develop a heart of gratitude and a sense of others-centricity. Psalm 50:14 says, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving…”. Let’s make Christmas the most thankful season of the year for our families!

Why valuable family time is so important: Studies focused on family time have shown that kids gain improved mental health, perform better academically, have higher self-confidence, reduced stress, and even longer life expectancy (which the Bible stated first, Ephesians 6:2-3).

Developing kids requires loads of patience: An important part of having patience is realizing we’re not in total control of developing our kids. God is. When we trust God and make disciples, the long and trying journey of raising children will be less pressure-packed. We eventually realize that our kids are just as much of a spiritual work-in-progress as we are!

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

“Gratitude is not a limited resource, nor is it costly. It is abundant as air. We breathe it in but forget to exhale.” – Marshall Goldsmith

Express gratitude. Who do you need to write a Thank You Note to this week? And, sure, if all you have time for is a quick text or email, do it. But, even better, get a real note. Remember that thing called paper? And, those clever devices called stamps? Maybe it was the boss who let you leave early to catch your kid’s Christmas recital. Or, perhaps it was your wife, who again did unsung and unnoticed things in your family. Whoever it was, don’t just be grateful, express it. Encourage your kids to follow your lead!

Kent Evans
Author of The Manhood Journey, co-founder of Manhood Journey and Father On Purpose.

P.S. Was this Mountain Monday helpful? Tell me if you love it, hate it, or if there’s something you’d like in the next one.

Forward this to a dad you know who needs some encouragement.