I have many favorite verses and this is one of them. I strive to have this wonderful spirit of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I say strive because it is not always easy. Life offers us a lot of challenges. There are times when it feels nearly impossible to find the good and give thanks. Life can be hard and uncomfortable. It feels impossible in those moments because we are not in control and we do not understand.

His peace passes our understanding. Through faith, we can put our trust in Him and know in everything, there is something praiseworthy. Everything. We can trust Him and thank Him for the experience because we know He is in control and He knows what is best for us.

Only through Him, can we find that contentment.

Autumn can be the beginning of a busy season. And a busy season may bring with it stress and worry and the whole, ‘things aren’t going as planned’ feeling. I think that makes autumn a perfect time to get my thinking and focus on the right track. It is the perfect time to put a little reminder out into our home for the season.

I want and need this reminder. A reminder that I have a choice. I can choose to rejoice and pray and give thanks always. I can choose to rejoice and pray and give thanks without ceasing. I can choose to rejoice and pray and give thanks in everything.

I am making a choice to enjoy life, to live life, to be filled with joy. That is Him in us. That is how He wants us to live.

This give thanks tutorial can be a simple way to bring this wonderful verse into your home.

I started with a collection of pumpkins from yard sales. They were a variety of colors, so I decided to paint them all the same. I used an off white spray paint and then aged them a bit. If you have pretty pumpkins already, you can skip this painting part and just use your already pretty pumpkins!

Outside, I sprayed all the pumpkins with a few light coats of primer. Light coats will dry much easier and won’t leave you with big paint drips. A primer helps you use less of the paint color you pick, but you don’t have to prime first.

Next, I painted the pumpkins from top to bottom with an off white color. If you like how the stems already look, you can put painters tape over them so they won’t be sprayed with the paint.

I painted the stems with green. Then I used brown craft paint to make the pumpkin look a little aged and more real. This is the fun part. At first, it will look like you are doing something wrong and that it is going to look terrible. Don’t worry, it won’t! Water your brown paint down with just a bit of water. Work in sections and paint in the cracks of the pumpkin.

Then take a paper towel and rub it off. You will see that the deep cracks will keep more of the brown paint. It highlights all those little lines and bumps and spots that make the pumpkin look like it actually grew outside!

Next I took some tan and brown craft paint and lightly painted over the stem. I wanted to still be able to see some of the green underneath, but covered enough so it doesn’t look bright green.

Now that the pumpkins are done, or you have your already pretty pumpkins ready, we will add the verse onto some tags. I found my tags in the office supplies, you can also find them with scrapbooking supplies. I have a simple tutorial here, if you want to see how I aged my tags.

I collected my typography stamps and placed the words on each tag to make sure they would fit.

I used black acrylic paint to stamp the letters onto the tags. You can also use ink. You can also write the words yourself with a pen or marker.

I used pieces of twine to hang my tags off the pumpkins. You could also use ribbon or raffia.

You can set the pumpkins up in an autumn display or line them up on a table, a shelf, or a mantle.

A reminder of the choice He wants us to make. Choosing in everything to give thanks!

What is one thing you are choosing to give thanks for today?

By Jennifer, StudioJRU

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