As we head into Thanksgiving season, I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude—and how hard it can be to actually feel it. I mean, let’s be honest: between the endless to-do list, the chaos in the world, and the personal struggles we all face, feeling a real heart of gratitude can seem like another chore.
If you consume my content on social media, the blog, or through any other means, you probably know how much I like to talk about slow living. But there’s a connection that roots this idea of slow living and that is gratitude. Gratitude is the heart of the art of slow living.
Gratitude, when woven into the fabric of our daily lives, can transform how we see the world and interact with it, especially when paired with the principles of slow living. These two practices—gratitude and slow living—invite us to pause, reflect, and appreciate the gifts God has given us, even in the midst of chaos.
There’s so much noise in our daily lives—cell phones buzzing, social media notifications popping up, and new technology constantly keeping us on our toes. It’s no wonder we’re all feeling a bit frayed around the edges, right? But I believe there’s something incredibly powerful about slowing down, taking a deep breath, and grounding ourselves in the present moment. This slower approach to life doesn’t mean we get less done. In fact, it can lead to greater productivity, more meaningful connections, and, most importantly, a heart full of gratitude.
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The Heart of Gratitude: Finding Joy in Life’s Moments
When we talk about Christian gratitude, it’s more than just a quick “thank you” when things go our way. It’s about recognizing God’s goodness in every moment—even in the hard times. There’s a beautiful verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that sums this up perfectly:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
It’s not about pretending everything’s perfect; it’s about finding those little moments to be thankful. The art of gratitude is woven into our everyday life. And friend, I know it can feel impossible to give thanks when we’re in the middle of personal struggles or when the news is filled with so much negativity. But here’s the thing—when we slow down and live intentionally, we start to notice the simple joys of life.
Think of your morning coffee—that first sip that just hits the spot. Or stepping outside for a few minutes of fresh air after a long day. These are the little things that, when noticed and appreciated, bring gratitude into the daily routine.
The Concept of Slow Living: A Better Way to Live
Let’s talk about this concept of slow living for a minute. It’s a lifestyle philosophy that invites us to slow down, make intentional choices, and embrace the present. Instead of rushing through life, slow living encourages us to align with the natural rhythms of our own life. It’s a lifestyle philosophy rooted in savoring moments, nurturing meaningful connections, and focusing on the things that really matter—like faith, family, and quality time.
I talk about all the time that the content I make is me preaching to myself. So please don’t think that my content is a reflection of the things I have figured out. It’s actually just the opposite. Most of my content is simply me preaching to myself about the things I struggle with the most.
I’m not naturally someone who lives slowly and I’m not someone who naturally has a heart of gratitude. Just like I need to preach the gospel to myself daily of the grace and redemption of Jesus to my sinful self, I also need to preach these life skills to myself.
How Slow Living and Gratitude Go Hand in Hand
Here’s what I love about pursuing the slow life, even imperfectly is that it creates space for gratitude to bloom. When we’re constantly on the go, it’s easy to miss the beauty around us. But when we adopt a slower pace of life, we start to notice the details—the cup of tea we’re sipping, the sound of our kids laughing, the warmth of the sun through the window. These little moments may seem insignificant, but they’re actually the best way to cultivate gratitude.
Jesus lived a slow life, but also an intentional life. He had busy days and retreated to meet with his Father in heaven. He modeled for us a life of intentional choices of slow living and intentional busyness. He didn’t rush through His ministry, even though He had much to accomplish. Instead, He took time to be with people, to listen, to pray.
I love Luke 5:16 because it reminds me that my Savior withdrew and it was a healthy choice.
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 5:15-16 ESV
And friend, I know that in today’s fast-paced world, this slower lifestyle might feel impossible. But even small changes can have a positive impact. For example, simply taking a few minutes in the morning to sit in silence with God before checking your phone or diving into the day’s tasks is a great way to center your heart and start the day with gratitude.
Slow Living and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Health
I’m sure you’ve noticed that stress levels in our modern world are through the roof. We’re in a constant state of stress with our minds racing from one task to the next. We’re running on fast food and grabbing quick meals between appointments, rather than taking time to enjoy slow food—real, nourishing meals. It’s no wonder our mental health and physical health are struggling.
A few of my favorite nourishing recipes during this time of year: v
Slow living isn’t just about moving at the right speed; it’s about living in a way that honors our bodies, minds, and spirits. More importantly, it means obeying the voice of our Lord and Savior Jesus. This is key. Sometimes God calls us to a season of service. Sometimes God calls us to a season of rest. The spirit of slow living and the art of gratitude can be infused into our lives as we obey God’s leading even no matter if he is calling us to a season of rest or a season where we are serving in a busier way.
There’s a fascinating Gallup article from April of 2024 that looked at sleep and stress. 69% of American women aged 18-44 say that they experience frequent stress in their life. Only 36% of women say they get enough sleep every night. The article also concluded that men get more sleep than women and men are also less stressed than women. Now of course this is all simply data and doesn’t reflect many other factors, but I found the article very fascinating in the correlation between sleep and stress.
Can I just take a moment to encourage myself and in turn encourage you to sleep more and to find soul rest in Jesus?
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Finding Gratitude Amidst Personal Struggles
It’s one thing to be grateful when life is going well, but it’s a whole different story when we’re in the middle of tough times. Personal struggles—whether it’s health issues, financial stress, or relational difficulties—can make gratitude feel impossible. But here’s the thing: gratitude isn’t about pretending everything’s okay; it’s about trusting that God is with us in the midst of the struggle.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
Psalm 34:18 ESV
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
In these moments, gratitude becomes a lifeline. It shifts our focus from what’s wrong to what’s right, from what we don’t have to what we do have. And the first step to cultivating gratitude during tough times is to simply slow down. When we rush through life, we miss the small changes and tiny moments where God is working. But when we embrace a slower approach, we can start to see His hand in the little blessings—like the support of a friend, the beauty of creation, or the simple joys of life.
Practical Ways to Embrace the Art of Slow Living and Gratitude
Usually, this is the part where I would list practical ways to embrace the art of slow living and gratitude in our everyday lives, but I think at this point we probably all know practical ways to slow down we hear about it all the time. Read your Bible regularly, pray, establish a morning routine, be mindful of online consumption, spend time with loved ones, get outside, etc.
Instead, I want to spend some time looking inward and thinking through the reasons I have for a heart of gratitude this year. Sure, we’ve had the two most difficult years of our marriage with job lay-offs and other personal struggles that I don’t need to get into, but I’m going to wager that those reading this have your own list of personal struggles.
I think we need to spend more time reflecting on our blessings and less time reflecting on our difficulties. I’ve created a printable sheet to help us list out at least four blessings we have to be grateful for as we ponder this art of slow living.
Homesteading:
We’ve had such a fun year with homesteading. No, we’re not farmers and we’re certainly not Joel Salatin, Melissa K Norris, or the Homesteading family. We’re just doing our best on our 40 acres. We miraculously were able to purchase four pigs this fall and even the person we bought the pigs from laughed at us as we showed up with our three-week-old in tow.
Were we able to sell two of them and we’ll keep two for our own freezers. This is going to be such a blessing and we’re so grateful. We have more work to do on figuring out how to pasture graze them which is our real end goal, but we’ve progressed with developing a more fine-tuned system and honestly, that’s what is important to me.
The gardens saw a lot of hard work this year. We continue to have soil issues, but we haven’t given up and still got a decent harvest of potatoes and onions plus a great crop of broccoli and cherries this year. Everything else was so-so, but again we are progressing and that’s what really is important in this homesteading game.
Family:
We welcomed Waylin John this year who came in a 8 pounds 4 ounces, which was our smallest baby. Wyatt was our largest at an entire two pounds bigger at 10 pounds 4 ounces. I was so grateful for a faster labor and delivery and after leaving our home at around 12:30 pm we pulled into the driveway with little Waylin at around 7:45 pm that night. When you’re in the depths of labor and delivery there isn’t anything easy about it, but in hindsight, I am ever so grateful for what was a relatively fast labor and delivery, plus a healthy baby boy.
Speaking of which we’re expecting again and baby Waylin and baby #5 will be almost exactly 12 months apart. We’ll have 5 children and 3 of them will be 2 and under! It will be an adventure around here!
Meanwhile our other ‘W’s’ are happy and healthy, and really that’s a blessing that can’t be ignored.
Homeschooling:
I don’t know if you can tell by all the printable resources I have on my blogs and how often I incorporate homeschooling into my YouTube videos, but I love homeschooling. It brings me such great joy and satisfaction. Having said that, it’s not all that simple to do in the midst of a job, personal business, and homesteading. I feel burnt out more times than I care to admit.
Regardless, I am exceedingly grateful that we’ve figured out how to weave homeschooling into our lives and still have me working for an income. It’s not something I take lightly as I get messages on YouTube and Instagram of moms wishing with all their might that they could figure out how to homeschool their children and work at the same time. I’m grateful for a job that I can do efficiently and is flexible enough to educate my children.
I’m also abundantly grateful for the personal catering we can do with homeschooling. After a lot of careful observation and informal testing, I realized my 1st grader was not ready for 1st grade math and in a few areas, he was still not understanding some basic preschool concepts. Math was also ruining his confidence in all areas of school and after one painful day of math I closed the math books and told him that he was so smart, but it was time to take a few steps backward and stop with the program we were doing. My decision was immediately confirmed when he burst into relieved tears.
Meanwhile, he is excelling at literature and I truthfully have zero idea how many audiobooks he’s listened to so far this year. It confirms in my heart the benefits of being able to teach the child and not the curriculum.
Embracing a Life of Gratitude
I could prattle on about more grateful moments in our lives, but I think those three rank right at the top right now. I really do encourage you to grab the ‘thankful sheet’ that I have above and write out your own gratitude list. Or leave me a comment, I’d love to hear what’s at the top of your list.
At the end of the day, living a life of gratitude isn’t about having it all together or eliminating stress from your life. It’s about choosing, every day, to slow down and notice God’s goodness right where you are. It’s about taking a deep breath, embracing the present moment, and thanking God for the happy moments and to be honest, the challenging ones too because those are often the times of the sweetest sanctification.
The art of slow living reminds us that life doesn’t have to be rushed. We don’t need to have much money or be free of life’s challenges to live a happy life. We just need to make intentional choices to embrace the principles of slow living, trust God, and root it all in a heart of gratitude.
So, friend, as Thanksgiving approaches, let’s take a moment to slow down, breathe, and thank God for the beauty in our lives.
More Thanksgiving Resources:
FREE Printable Coloring Thanksgiving Placemats
The Free Thanksgiving Planner Printable
10 Christian Thanksgiving Crafts for Toddlers
A Gratitude Tree Printable
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