I was driving in the car with Lindsay one November day, when she was in kindergarten. Suddenly, she caught her breath in alarm, as if she had just remembered something.

“What is it?” I asked.

She said, “Mommy! In our kindergarten class, we never… I mean never pray and thank the Lord before we eat! Not even one time!”

I didn’t know whether to be more concerned about my daughter forgetting to thank the Lord for her first three months of school lunches, or the fact that she was just now realizing that daily prayer was missing at her school! I assured her that God wouldn’t mind if she thanked him right now, and then I helped her make a plan to thank the Lord silently during her school day.

Thanksgiving should be a daily part of our routine. When we have ‘no thanks’ in our hearts, we fail to please our Maker. This season, let’s reorient ourselves, and make a plan to regularly “come into his presence with thanksgiving.”