About the Author

Jennifer is an artist living in rural Nebraska with her US Army veteran husband. She loves to create and seeks to reflect the beauty of Christ and encourage others in meaningful, beautiful ways. You can find her and see more of her art on Studio JRU.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Jennifer,
    God calls us to be thankful, not because He needs the thanks, but because He knows that it is truly good for us. It is hard to be miserable while giving thanks. Thanksgiving and giving God praise can override whatever state we may happen to be in at the time. Just another example of how God’s heart is truly loving toward us. Thank you for a reminder of God’s goodness and for the free printables…I will use them on my Thanksgiving table 🙂 I will enjoy browsing in your shop!
    Blessings,
    Bev

    • You make such a great point… it is hard to be miserable while giving thanks. That is so true, Bev. It is a life changer. Happy you will be able to use the printables at your Thanksgiving table! Happy Thanksgiving!

  2. Thankfulness comes so hard for me. Leading my children in that path….yeah, needles and camels. I come here and God reinforces what he’s spoken into my heart and for that, thankfulness comes easier! Thank you.

  3. Im thankful to come here and read the stories of God showing up in your lives. Which means I can wait, hes coming to mine soon. I wont have to cry forever. For a glimpse of hope Im thankful.

  4. I love your printable thanksgiving tags. They’re beautiful.

    I’m thankful for challenges that are causing me to grow and stretching me lately! Life would be boring if everything were easy.

  5. Jennifer,
    This is wonderful reflection.I have so much to be thankful for. I try to find something each day to look up and say “thank-you.” It doesn’t have to be extravagant, it could be the simplest thing but to me one is not less important.

    I am thankful for this place of sharing, inspiration, love and support .

    Many thanks,
    Penny

  6. May every day be a day of Thanks-Giving, no matter the circumstance or condition, as God promises this to shall pass…where to you .at ask? Why the past of course! Happy day, glorious happy day to you all. Smile it may be the only Son-Shine someone sees today. Shalom. Gods heart to mine, to yours. 🙂

  7. You’ve pinpointed a measure of our maturity, Jennifer: How thankful are we during the challenge of change? We can begin by expressing gratitude to God for His unending grace and presence that will see us through. Your tags are beautiful reminders — not just for Thanksgiving!

  8. These are beautiful and great reminders of THANKFULNESS. I lave so much to thank GOD for–my family, my friends, my health, my needs HE gives me daily, our freedom to worship , my blessings, and sending JESUS to die on that Old Rugges Cross for my sins. Thank you for sharing this gift of Thanks-giving. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

  9. Jennifer,

    Your art is so inspiring! I love it. I am so grateful to God for showing me Him each and every day. Even through my husbands bout with cancer, God showed us – me, grace. Mostly in the form of my sick husband who weathered his illness so artfully. God’s grace flowed through my husband during that time and God used it to bring me back to him almost daily. It helped me realize how much I needed God for pretty much every breath I take, but also for how much He lavished is love on me.

  10. Life can get you down so easily with daily struggles. I have a thankful journal that I began a few years ago. I wrote out everything big or small that I was thankful for. Then each day I add in what I’m thankful for that day. It puts life into perspective.

    I make Thanksgiving to God a daily routine. My prayers start with thanksgiving for all the good he’s given me. Where would we all be without the love, grace and mercy of our God?

  11. You don’t know how you have blessed me! I have been struggling with injustices to my daughter and grandchildren in shenanigans pulled by my son-in-law and his lawyer in their recent divorce. Deceptions, manipulations, alterations to agreed- upon issues…I’ve been angry.

    But your tags finally got through to me: in everything, in this circumstance, GIVE THANKS. For these very things, for the daily stressors and do-withouts, give thanks, because somehow God, our God of surpassing love, wisdom, and power has promised to work even this together for the good of conforming my daughter and each of her children to the image of their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

    So yes, Lord, I thank You. I release to You the resentment I claimed to be fighting (while I really rehearsed and nursed it), and I praise You for Your grace to me, and pray for Your grace to touch those who turned their backs on You by their deliberate choices. Be Merciful to them, and give them the GIFT of repentance…as You just gave it to ME, the sinner.

    • I am just so happy to hear that, Carol! So happy to hear you won’t have to struggle with all that anger and instead you are give thanks to Him. Only through grace. What a beautiful gift!

  12. hello there!
    i love this post oh so much. I just turned 21 years old before my first fall semester at a real university (i was previously at a college). During my last moments of being 20, i was incredibly happy, i had all things figured out with my feature career and i was (finally) in love with my best friend and my relationship with Jesus was finally growing. I felt this sense of moving forward with my life when i heard the Holy Spirit say “when you turn 21, everything will change. i am doing a really big thing. be ready.” And just like that. Friends where dropping like flys, previous leadership roles where taken, family changed, my first love fell through…i felt so alone. so angry and hurt over why everything was taken from me.
    BUT GOD..was patient with me. He let me work through my flesh and end up at the end of me so i could see all of Him. Now i type this thankful for the real moments, the raw moments, the little moments, the waiting moments, the redeeming moments, and the moments where you know that despite of all your failings..He still calls you lovely.
    So…in conclusion i want to thank (in)courage blog posts that have always guided me towards the Father, the Healer, the Truth, and the Redeemer. Without y’all it would be a much more difficult road to the next chapter.
    With thankfulness,
    Mandy.

    • To come through it all being thankful for those moments… a beautiful thing, Mandy. The road is much easier with Him by our side, isn’t it?! Thank you for sharing with us the grace you have received. Thankful for you.

  13. O thank you very very much. I love it.
    I give thanks to the LORD for a very mixed season where I have been able to learn to be strong in Christ JESUS. Where in the very midst of the storm, in the quiet still still place, I found utter communion with Christ our LORD in complete adoration of who HE is. And survived.
    In this season of mixture, I grew ever stronger in Christ and became victorious in every battle against my fears and worries and hurts and pains. I learnt to rise above the storm and take authority over it and found my calling as a warrior I was called, in a higher calling. I thank the LORD for my best friend who prayed and taught me and helped me through this part of my twelve year season and I pray we will be blessed to learn more from our LORD JESUS who is the Christ and plunge HIS sword into battle ever, as we grow closer to see HIM Face to face, this is the CHRIST, Messiah, before HIS return.