Thanks almost seems like the easiest of prayers. It rolls off our tongues.

It is what we say to someone who holds the door for us - even if we never look up from checking our texts on our phones.

It is what we say to the grocery clerk absent-mindedly after we have purchased our groceries that were a bit more than we had budgeted.

It is what we say to Fedex delivery.

We even say thank you when the officer has given us our ticket - at least that’s what I hear - and which I think is the oddest thing.

Remember, when your kids would receive a little gift? - “What do you say?”  You are looking for… thank you…!  We are being intentional about molding gratitude into a child's life.

Remember how sweet your mom could say that? That sweet little question had some very pointed intentions. If there was no response… that sweet thing is over. As a kid you learn really fast this is not really a question. She’s giving you a second chance to do the right thing.

Giving thanks to God is much more than obligatory manners. Thanking God may be as simple as a quick thanks, but it has the potential to be so much more.

Anne Lamott says it this way - “Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. It means that you are willing to stop being such a jerk. When you are aware of all that has been given to you,  in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back.”