Two of my favorite words are disgruntled and gruntled. Both sound kind of grouchy and grumpy. Disgruntled is a familiar word. It means “displeased, discontented, unhappy, and annoyed.” I know how to do disgruntled. It’s the opposite of grateful. But what about the word gruntled? I’m not sure I have ever heard it used in a sentence. It’s not a pretty word and who knew that it was even a real one? As a joke I went to the dictionary. Gruntled was there! It is the opposite of disgruntled. It means “happy, contented, and satisfied.” Even though it sounds grumpy, its meaning exudes gratitude.
Gruntled and disgruntled prayers go hand-in-hand. I can be both grateful to and grumpy with a God in whom we trust. Listing my grievances one time and my thanksgivings another is an effort to have an honest and intimate relationship. God can handle whatever I bring to prayer. Some days I just want to dump all of my complaints, whining, grumpiness, and misery on God. Giving myself permission to be grumpy and whiny with God makes my prayers feel more authentic. It probably also helps me to complain less to other people.
But just for today, I will focus on Thanksgiving and my thanksgivings. I am grateful for a God who accepts both my gruntled and disgruntled prayers, who accepts my gratitude and my grousing.
Celebrate this Thanksgiving with a visual gratitude list.
Below are a pumpkin-like template and five turkey templates for a pre- or post-dinner Thanksgiving activity for adults and kids.
Click HERE for the “pumpkin-like” template above.
In the center of the turkey or pumpkin, write your name for God: “Holy One, Generous God, Creator, Sustainer, Beloved One, or….” In the spaces within the turkey, in the shapes on the side, or anywhere on the page, write or draw your “gratitude list.” Add color and more doodles— lines, dots, or squiggles. The list does not have to include large, sweeping things like “family, country, home, teachers, planet, Jesus…”–though it can. Don’t just write the things others want you to say or those things you think you should be grateful for. Go for the little, ordinary things, the ones that give you delight, ease, or a moment of curiosity–“gravy, mashed potatoes, a tiny acorn on the ground, colored pencils, a Zoom meeting with friends, a lizard, the rain, Pickleball, a text with a friend, a bite of pumpkin cheesecake,.…” Part of the purpose of a gratitude list is to learn to “think in gratitude” in the same way we learn to “think in French or Spanish” when we study a foreign language. Noticing simple, specific things helps me to cultivate chronic thankfulness rather than just gratitude for the general or the extraordinary. I want to learn to be “abounding in thanksgiving” or “overflowing with thankfulness” as the writer of Colossians 2:7 proclaims.
Below are the turkey templates. Choose the turkey you want to use. Click on the link below the drawing. (Left, Middle, Right) Download the template and then print. Feel free to make multiple copies. You can also trace around your hand and create your own turkey template.
To read an explanation of the origins of “disgruntled” and “gruntled” go to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gruntled
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