How To #LIGHTtheWORLD With Gratitude (Free Printable)

When my oldest daughter walked in the door on Monday afternoon, I asked her how her book report went at school. She immediately threw her hands over her mouth and exclaimed, “Oh no! I forgot my book report on the bus!”

Now, normally this wouldn’t be a big deal. But for this book report, she was required to bring 5 props that represented something about the book. She had borrowed a magnifying glass from her sister and a toy locker from our neighbor. She had promised to return these borrowed items as soon as possible, and we were both a little worried that her bag of props wouldn’t be there the next morning.

So I grabbed my keys and we ran to the van in hopes of catching the bus at its next stop. But we were too late and saw our bus just as it was pulling away. I know that sometimes the bus pulls off to side of the road at the bottom of our hill (I have no idea why, but I have seen it happen several times), so we kept following the bus but with no luck. We followed and followed it. I flashed my lights. We hoped for a red light. Nothing. The bus kept moving forward.

After several minutes of following the bus, I told my daughter that we had to go home. I had to finish getting dinner ready and we had no idea when the bus would stop. She understood and we hoped and prayed that the book report would be there the next morning. And thankfully it was.

Later I told my daughters that sometimes we are like that bus. We just keep moving forward when the Lord is asking us to stop and notice what is going on around us. Of course, our bus driver was doing his job well. His job is to look forward and drive safely.

But sometimes we forget to acknowledge all the goodness in our lives because we are focused on the forward movement. I have been guilty so, so, so many times of moving on to the next event, project, or task without properly thanking all those around me who have helped or buoyed me up.

So for one of our #LIGHTtheWORLD activities, we decided to write thank you notes to people who are always there for us, constantly helping us and making our lives better.

My daughters wrote to their teachers and the bus driver. (We really do love our bus driver!)

We thought it would be fun to also write to family members. It is so easy to take those we love for granted. Writing them a little note is a great way to make their day and show our love.

I love that kids can write thank you notes, even when they can’t spell! My four-year-old daughter had so much fun writing her note to her preschool teacher and who wouldn’t love a note like this?!

These free Christmas cards are such a lovely and cheerful way to express love and appreciation to all those people who make our lives better. It is guaranteed to make someone’s day and #LIGHTtheWORLD.

When you download these cards, you will find that there are two cards on a 8.5×11 piece of card stock or paper. You will just cut and fold! It’s super easy and quick.

In case you don’t have an envelope handy, I have attached an envelope template. Just print, fold, a bit of glue, and viola! You’re a rock star! (You can see full instructions on how to assemble the envelope in this post.)