We gathered in the living room of the mountain rental house, nearly 25 of us—parents, adult children, significant others, and fictive kin (friends grafted into the family). My father-in-law, an itinerant children’s evangelist, hauled out his large flannel board. This elicited good-natured groans from all four of his kids, who knew what was coming. Since I was new to the family, I waited expectantly, curious about this unfamiliar tradition.

Up on the board went a large flannel turkey, minus the tail feathers, which were laid on a table. One by one, we selected a tail feather, shared something we were thankful for, and then added the feather to the turkey. I was thankful for our fledgling marriage and this new tradition of Thanksgiving in the San Bernardino mountains, which stretched the holiday into four days of togetherness, endless games of Spades and Phase Ten, and long hikes to walk off all the stuffing and pies.

The flannel-graph turkey might have seemed corny at first, but it turned into a holy moment as we shared large and small blessings, revealing how God had been busy in each life.

The flannel turkey kept on giving throughout the weekend. The blessings we shared became conversation starters, each one a glimmer of a larger story. They served as points of connection, helping to encourage new relationships and cement old ones.

A new take on a family tradition

Those mountain gatherings are a thing of the past, but they planted in our family the seed of communal gratitude. Gratitude is contagious, and something magical happens in the act of being grateful together. It’s different from when I write my list in my gratitude journal and keep it between me and God, though private gratitude serves a purpose too.

Since we don’t have a flannel turkey, the tradition we started when our kids were young was a Thanksgiving tree. They’re teenagers now, and sometimes they roll their eyes in that teenagerly way when, on November 1, I search out a branch in the yard and lug it inside. I settle it in a tall bucket or pot and station the whole thing in the family room where everyone can see it.

Then I set out a small tray of construction paper leaves strung on twine. Anyone who walks by can write something they’re thankful for on a leaf and hang it on the tree. And yes, even my teenagers deign to participate. The tree stays up all month, giving our kids and guests ample opportunity to count their blessings and add them to the tree. These leaves are a record of God at work, though not all of them are deeply spiritual. (Every year, someone in my family thanks God for bacon.)

A place for gratitude together

There are definite advantages to making a habit of communal gratitude. When I hear what others are thankful for, I pay better attention to the everyday blessings in my own life, which helps me embrace contentment. Shared gratitude also serves as tangible evidence that God is real and on the move. I sometimes lose sight of how busy he is when I focus only on my tiny corner of life.

Within the church, we have a ready-made space for communal thanksgiving: the weekly worship service. Every single week, we come together to speak audibly of God’s goodness. It happens in the singing of worship songs, the reading of Scripture, and the prayers and testimonies of God’s people—practices that connect us to the Lord and to each other.

Whether it’s with a flannel turkey, a tree branch, or a worship service, we can gather our community and recount what God has done. The more we speak his goodness aloud, the more we draw attention to the Giver of all good gifts.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17 NIV

Meet Jennifer Kinard

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Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.

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If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.