Our family was introduced to the Harris brothers about the time the first edition of this book came out several years ago. Our then young teen daughter loved reading the book and realizing she wasn’t the only kid on the planet who made God, serving others and sharing their faith priorities in their lives.
Do Hard Things (New 5th Anniversary Edition) by Alex and Brett Harris is a must read for all tweens and teens. It does a great job at banishing the myth that the teen years should only be about playing and avoiding responsibility as the way to have fun and enjoy life. Instead, they make a strong case that actually living a life doing the hard things is where real joy and fulfillment are to be found for young people.
In 
It happened to me again this weekend. In fact, it has happened many times over the years in churches all over the country. As I struggle to take load after huge load of awkward bundles into a church building, I walk past the same people over and over and over.
Gratitude gets a lot of attention in November and December. Between Thanksgiving which for many is a time of giving thanks and the quickly approaching Christmas which can bring out greed in the sweetest child, many parents struggle how to raise children who are truly grateful all year.
I’m declaring November the “Month of Gratitude”. Granted I don’t think I actually have the power to make it official, but I encourage you and your family to join me. The Bible is full of verses like this one in Psalms “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1) I’m sure you have taught your kids to thank God when they pray, but have you ever encouraged your children to fully embrace the idea of a grateful heart?