categories: relationships
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My Favorite “Thank Yous!”
I’ll share a few things others have done for my family to say “thank you”:
- Each year, someone anonymously sends my kids one big Easter basket. They sign it from “the people of LifeChurch.tv.” My kids think the whole church is sending them an Easter basket.
- One family sends me a birthday card every year with a gift card to Sonic. The fact that they remember every year means the world to me.
- When someone honors Amy, it blesses me deeply. Someone from one of our network churches sent Amy a gift basket with soaps, candles, and other girly things. Amy was so touched. I was eternally grateful.
- I received an email from a guy in China who found Christ watching our online messages. He called me a distant mentor.
- One church member had his kids send me a note telling how Jesus had changed their dad. I cried like a baby reading that one.
- I have one note from a friend that meant so much to me that I keep it hidden in a drawer. On hard days, I pull out his note, read it, regroup, and get back to doing what God called me to do.
I honestly feel like I owe so many a debt of gratitude. I don’t feel worthy of all the expressions of love… but a well-timed “thank you” from someone can lift me for days.
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Craig~ Thank You For Your Leadership!
Ditto Scott. I am eternally grateful for you and your leadership.
BTW, what does an Easter basket for the Groeschel family cost? Five, maybe six thousand dollars?
i don’t know, but that basket has to be HUGE!!!
Scott and Josh, Thank you to both of you!
Jon, The basket is HUGE! I can fit a couple of kids in it!
What are some things others have done that made you feel valued?
I have a few letters that my wife wrote to me - they have helped to clear my vision many times.
I received a message from a youth I worked with in Nashville:
I feel like I need/owe you a thank you. Thank you for being around and being a mentor. I recognize that not every young person is or has been blessed with someone like you in their life. At the risk of sounding too sapy I will stop here but I feel like you should know how important you were to my faith formation.
whoa!
my third grade teacher still sends me a birthday card every year…she’s always the first card i get…i was in the third grade back in 1986…she also sends me cards of encouragement from time to time!
C,
What I like about the church I currently pastor is the personal touch they give. My former church took up an offering at Christmas and handed it to us on Cmas Eve. That was nice. But the current church doesn’t do that. Instead, we receive gift cards to various restaurants from different people. Last Christmas we received over $120 to Texas Roadhouse (our favorite)that allowed us to enjoy it but also to share it with our children when we went to visit. Several ladies also have given my wife a gift card on her birthday. Now that is what turns my crank!
I totally with the one about your wife. My wife helps me immensely around the church; when I hear someone bragging on her I cannot help but smile.
Brandon
Two years ago my wife took all of the cards and notes of thanks from people and put them in a little scrap book for me. She’s so thoughtful! I keep this book in my office and pull it out when I’m struggling. It always encourages me!
When I was a teacher, I kept a folder in my file drawer of notes, stories, and pictures from students. Now I have a folder in my Outlook where I collect emails from parents, cast members, and kids. There are some days when I need those thank-yous to remember my calling.
My mother-in-law has been a church secretary for over 20 years. Recently, she sent their young volunteer youth pastor and his wife to a bed and breakfast. I thought that was so thoughtful because typically only senior pastors get that kind of perk or gift. It made me begin to think of other church staff that I could honor that get overlooked.
Before you started this series I dropped a public note to my garbage men - they may not ever see it, but I wanted to let other families know what went on in our house on garbage day…check out http://www.dadbloggers.com/weblog/comments/a_grand_celebration/ if you have time.
Or just remember to thank your public servants
I love when people bless my family. To me those are the best Thanks I could get. I once had a person in the church just before Christmas give me two $100 gift cards to Toys-R-Us so that we could really bless our kids. I also had a family buy my wife a day at a spa as a Thanks to something I did for them. Those kind of things bless my socks off!
Thanks for these 4 posts on thankfulness…they blessed me! A great reminder! I love this quote from Andy Stanley, “Unexpressed gratitude communicates ingratitude” -
Craig,
Thank you for your leadership and your passion. I am inspired each week to make the changes necessary in my life to be a devoted follower of Christ!! Even though Warrior was directed mainly towards the men, I received each and every word. Thank you!!!
Today I received a call from my LifeKIDS director, who told me that the balance my daughter’s camp tuition was zero because someone had anonymously made the donation specifically for her!! I am deeply blessed and forever grateful for their thoughtfulness. I can never thank them enough for them blessing my daughter!! God is Good!!
I was sitting at the 1:00 experience and a lady came up to me and gave me a card, it said “thank you for praying for me. I finally found a job after 10 months of searching.” This individual was going through so much pain over the last year, divorce and now a single mom. Yet she took time to thank me. I was having a tough day and that card brought so much joy to me. God is Good!
C,
I know this is sort of off today’s subject but I just have to share this! I received an email from someone in Arizona who has read my comments on lifechurch and as a result, my blog. He wrote me to thank me! Man, talk about being stunned! And emotional! And blown away! The power of a well-placed thank you cannot be overdone. Thank you Craig for encouraging these posts. Have a blessed weekend. Oh, btw: he gathers with about 2-4 others to listen to lifechurch on line. Cool huh?
billgrandi.com
okay - i have been think about doing this all week….thank you Craig for your church, thank you for doing what God has put on your heart. thank you for the God,Love, Sex series to show me how far away from purity i was living my life- thank you for the Baggage series for showing me how good God truly is - thank you SO MUCH for using my secret in your message about addiction(still smoke free 1 1/2 later) and thank you for the sermon on the sinful woman in the girls gone godly series (this one is my fav!!) - these are 4 “milestone” sermons that Jesus used to CHANGED MY LIFE - so thank you for being such a teacher of God’s word.
Craig,
Thanks from Las Vegas! We did 30 days to live and we saw so many people come to Christ. Last week one of those guys told me that he quit drinking (he was an alcoholic) and has lost 35 pounds! his entire life has turned around. People that have never been in a Christian Church in their lives are being saved!!! Keep up the great work.
Terry, I am pumped to hear 30 Days to Live helped so many meet Christ. Praise God!
Misti, I am so thankful for God’s work in your life! Thanks for sharing part of your story!
Bill, Cool story… thanks for telling it!
Rodney, Powerful!
Rebecca, I am so thrilled to hear someone covered the balance of your kid’s camp! That is awesome!
Steve, You’re welcome!
About twice a year me and some of my closest friends all get together, sit in a circle and pass around a sheet of paper with our name on the top. Each person anonymously (but not always to anonymously) leaves their “real” thoughts about each you on that sheet.
Something the comments aren’t as nice as other, but they’re always extremely meaningful. The thank you’s I’ve been given on that sheet are so special to me.
I have each sheet from every time I’ve done it kept with my important things and similarly I pull it out on hard days it always helps me persevere.
THANK YOU! … for reminding me that gratitude isn’t something simply to be expressed but something that requires reflection … often. It blesses the heart.
when my little boys of 15 and 19 say ‘thanks dad’ and want absolutely nothing it still melts my heart -
So true - those are gifts from God. Thank YOU for your ministry.
I’ll just echo them all, because I sure mean it - Thank you Pastor Craig - you’re awesome! Thanks for letting yourself be used by God despite the early barriers!
God Bless ‘_^
Craig and Bobby,
What is are your thoughts and opinions on the Emerging Church? Just curious.
Life Kids And I Love Chris Keene and the Leaders