Two Little Words
Two little words that we teach our children are “Thank you.” They’re important words, because they let someone know that something kind or special they have done or said is appreciated. If we do something a good deed for someone, and they don’t say thank you, we might assume that they either didn’t like what we did, or didn’t appreciate it, and that can be hurtful.
One thing I’ve noticed about my Amish friends, is their appreciative attitude. Whenever I, or someone else, does them a kindness, they always remember to say thank you.
As I was reflecting on this, I thought about our relationship to God. How often do we remember to tell Him thank you? In
I Thessalonians 5:18 it says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Psalms 100, verses 4 & 5, reminds us to: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good, his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” God wants His people to be grateful, too.
Is there someone you need to thank today? If it’s God, He’s only a prayer away.
I think that the problem with people today is that we are all so busy. When someone does something nice for us we intend to thank them but then we focus on all the other things going on in our lives and the kind deed is soon forgotten. Also it seems to be a self centered society today. Often we may take the good things others do for us for granted.
Recently my husband and I have been going through some very hurtful and serious things from a neighbor . I can feel that God is intervening and has been answering prayers. I must let go and let God. Thanks for your reminder to thank God because he is only a prayer away.
Blessings
Shirley
Are her books suitable for young teenagers to read?
Yes, all of my adult novels are suitable for teenagers to read.
I am so pleased to hear my own grandchildren and little 3 yr. old and almost 2 yr. old great gr. sons saying “excuse me, and Thank you, and please!” Their mothers have taught them manners. Doing it while they are so young, they go thru life having manners that so many even in the business world don’t have. Every one working in drive-thru, or on phones, or as cashiers, should go thru training to be more mannerly, not just dumping your money in your hand! Thank you Wanda for bringing up this subject! We appreciate you!
Wanda’s books would be wonderful for any teenager to read. In her books you find that you can live with all things that come up if you let God lead the way. They will learn that loving God, trusting in Him, commitment, respect and love and being loved is what most everyone is searching for. What is missing in our busy lives, we need to stop, listen and hear what God is saying to us.. Sorry to prattle on but I love this woman and her writings. You won’t be sorry for buying any of her books.
Wanda,
I completely agree! I think it’s very important in our daily walk with Christ to humble ourselves and be grateful to others for all things. I always try and say thank you to others and family members; especially to my Lord. I’m also raising a teenage daughter to be grateful as well!!
Thank you so much for your Amish books! My mother and I just adore them!
Christa Pearcy
PS Incidentally, we grew up in NW PA amidst Amish country and my mother even worked with them at the lumber company where she was employed. We simply love the Amish!! 🙂
His mercies are new every morning! That is reason enough to be thankful!
I think the answer every day is that I need to thank God. I try to use all of my morning time while I am getting ready for work, driving and walking into work thanking God for every single thing that I can think of and also for the things that I am not aware of but that I know are there. It helps me to center myself and prepare for my day.
What a great reminder to be thankful for all our blessings. So often, I find myself reminding God of my needs while I forget to thank Him for all He’s done. When I start thanking Him, it isn’t long before I realize that my blessings far outnumber my needs.
Every day that I wake up is a good day & I thank the Lord for that. One never knows what the day is going to bring.
I have found that it is hard to be sad when you are counting your blessings and hard to be happy when you are counting your sorrows. Your post is a good reminder. As much as we all like to hear thank you, others including God would like to hear it too.
I begin my prayers with thanks to God because He has been so good to me. He has not always answered my prayers the way I wanted them answered, but I trust in God and know that He will work all things out for my good. I think God for the 43 years I had with my beloved husband before he died. I can be thankful because I know many people never know that kind of love or never have that much time together.
Mary M,
Your comments are to the T for what I had to say. Our lives are so the same. My husband of 56 years also passed away 5 months ago. I was so blessed to have had him all those years. God knows best and I wait for his goodness on one matter now. He will answer my prayers in due time I am sure. I thank him every day for what I have.
Thank you – two simple words with such meaning and yet not often heard but so important. I was a Meals on Wheels Coordinator for several years and each of my drivers knew two things – they were loved and they were appreciated. They never left the building without hearing “Thank You”. I saw about 175 different volunteers a week and that “Thank You” was sincerely meant. I am so thankful for writers like you, for freedom, for salvation, for family and the many many blessings God has showered on me over the years.
This is so true about ‘Thank You’s”! I just finished watching a video with my 5 year old granddaughter Olivia. It was a Beranstain Bears one about manners. And one of the biggest manners was about saying thank you. Just the feeling of contentment you both received is one of the best. I love hearing Olivia say ‘Kank you” in her own special way. And I must say a HUGE THANK YOU to you Wanda….for your gift of writing and giving all of us contentment in our lives. Thank you for taking us away to Amish country and giving us a vacation from every day!! You are a blessing indeed!!
I Thank the Lord every day and more than once a day for my wonderful Husband and Daughter and Son-Law and my FANTASTIC Grand children He has been very good to me. And I thank Him for wonderful authors like yourself that share your fantastic talent with us, all of your books are Christian based and that it what so many of us need Thank You Wanda for sharing His word with us, you are a Blessing
I would just like to say Thank You Wanda!
Sadly, I agree that parts of our society are becoming increasingly self-centered. I don’t know if people truly feel that entitled, or maybe they just have too much on their minds to take the time to thank someone for a deed as simple as holding a door open for them. It’s certainly true that there are more than enough distractions around today for that to happen! One of the best ways to teach your children to thank others is to let them see you thanking others.
Thank you for your books, Wanda, and to your husband, Richard, for his wonderful photography…both are very soothing to the soul!
With kindest regards,
Lisa H.
I start and end every day with prayer, and throughout the day I talk to God in my mind. I love your books! There are so many things about the Amish that I admire. Mainly their close connection to God and their family and community. Most people,nowadays, don’t even know who their neighbors are.
“Thank you” two small words that mean so much. It takes less than a second to say thank you but people across the country are failing to say. I thank the Lord for every breath I take, every sound I hear, every sight I see, every aroma I smell and even every ache and pain I feel. To be able to do that each and every day means that I’m still alive but that much closer to going heavenbound.
Thank you Wanda for sharing your imagination with all of us.
One of the blessings of being married to my wonderful husband is that we pray together each mealtime that we eat together, thanking God for the specific blessings of that day as well as asking Him to use us in His service and offering intercessory prayer for others. We used to always greet one another each morning with one of us saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made.” The other would respond, “I will rejoice and be glad in it.” In various ways like these, we keep refocusing on Jesus and reminding ourselves to be thankful.
Our two year old grandson is already learning to say thank you. Sometimes he has to be reminded, just like we do. Thankful thoughts come to my mind several times during the day that I whisper up to God. There are so many things we take for granted our sight, hearing, being able to walk around, use our arms and sometimes we only think about them when their taken away, whether temporarily, or permanently.
I thank the Lord every day I wake up to a new day. For all that he has done for me and still doing for me. I have had so many deaths in the family. The hardest one was when my 31 year old daughter hung herself 3 years ago. I pushed God away but after a month went by I started thanking him that she is not in pain anymore. And that I will see her again.
One should always be thankful to the Lord and to others.
When we come to God with sincere praise and thanksgiving, I know he is so
happy and joyful over our love for Him.
Blessings and Much Love
Linda Finn
I am very thankful every morning I wake up and at night when I go to bed and say my prayers for my kids and grandkids, I am also very thankful I made it another day as I have a nerve disease throughout my entire body and for a long time had to be in a wheelchair. I have been able to walk again for a few years and so grateful and the lord knows as I talk to him throughout the day. Also in my foster home we were drilled about manners and how to talk right a little to much but I think it stayed with me with others in the home they rebelled and are having a horrible life.
This is the day that the Lord has made..let us be glad and rejoice in it!
Thankfulness is something that is missing so much in our society today. God’s Word says that in the end times people will be unthankful. I guess we’re there now. But, that means the Lord’s return cannot be far away! Amen!
So thankful God loved us so much to send His Son to shed His blood, die and raise again to make a way for us to have heaven as our eternal home! 🙂
Nice entry! We raised 5 children and I also babysit my grandchildren and for friends during the years. One of the very first words we taught our children and grandchildren were ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’. For us it was important to not only instill those words into their vocabulary but to also let them know it is a sign of good manners for us as well as them. Thanks for sharing as well as listening. Lisa
Thank You Lord for this life you gave me to live for you!!!
We can only pray that our school will put pray and teaching back in our schools
And I believe that will solve a lot of our worlds problems today if we can just teach
Pray and Thanking God everyday for being able to serve!!!!!
Today some children are not taught to say thank you . Seems that the first things my generation was taught was please, thank you and sorry. In school we had a prayer every morning. Our schools need to get back to doing this.
Thank You should be used by everyone! It is a sign of respect.
I try to give thanks to God every day! I am so thankful to be able to get up and go to work, while so many are not as blessed. I am thankful that I am still able to read and enjoy such wonderful books as yours, Wanda!
I run the Book Nook at our church. Every child that comes in may have a free book. Most of them say “THANK YOU” . However if a reminder is needed. I smile and say,” What did you forget to say?” Most then say Thank You and I reply,”I knew you wouldn’t forget”. And, you are WELCOME.
I have noticed that people don’t thank one another like they used to. Even eye contact when you pass someone in the store and say, “excuse me” is ignored. And…thank you notes also seem to be a thing of the past not that we are into so many varieties of electronic gadgets. Sad.
I always taught my children that a smile and a “thank you” go a long way. They are adults now and I’m always happy to see them still doing what ‘Mom’ taught them!
I have so many folks on my prayer list that I find I sometimes have to add a P.S. to my prayer to remember to thank God for what blessings He has bestowed upon us.
I agree with you Wanda, those two words should be in our everyday language, and a thank you to God should be at the top of the list and also through out the day.
You books are nice to read. I get into as what you writing about is something from past. I live in Amish county. So you make seem like is such an interesting area. Thank you all your good books and I am still enjoy reading them. Would to see you come to Loudonville, Ohio sometime and meet you at our library. God bless you and your family. Look forward your new book.
Most of us don’t say thank you often enough, even though we intend to. I’ve found it best to say thanks immediately rather than wait. I know I tend to forget all too easily.
Hi! Wanda.
I agree with also.
I work in a Daycare and We teach them to say thank-U. It hard to believe some parents don’t teach them to say thank-U. It is truly sad. And I agree with Joyce. Because how often do We forget to thank Our Heavenly Father for the things He gives Us and Helps Us With.
we should always thank our heavenly father for all the things he gives us, especially for his son so we can be saved
In this busy world we live in, it is sometimes too easy to overlook the need to say thank you. When I occasionally forget to say thank you, I certainly don’t mean to be rude, but I just get overwhelmed with the many things that are going on around me. Perhaps because the Amish lead a simpler life than we do, they do not have so many distractions competing for their attention. They can focus on what is truly important, like showing gratitude to others for their kindness.
Simple words that most people grew up on was just something that was expected to be said, but now in today’s society people do not have the respect for themselves, so how can they possibly say thank you, please, excuse me, or sorry and expect to receive it back. You know the old saying give and do not expect it back, that is what society is now a days.
But thank you and please have a new meaning to me; see I work in a personal care setting with the mentally challenge and not once is there a day that goes by that you will not hear them say thank you and please, they even use excuse me on a regular bases. So one day I asked one of them why they say those words and the reply was ” it that what we are suppose to do”, that made me stop and really think, that is not how we are taught today……. So I want to say ” thank you” for letting me know just how important simple words are meant to be…
Thank you! I needed that reminder today!
A Thank You is more than just good manners. It shows love & respect. A timely reminder thank you.
Saying thank you is just good manners and one that is not being taught to children today as well as other important social skills. A thank-you note is a foreign concept. As you stated, thanking God should be at the top of our list. Just thanking Him for each day! Thanks for the reminder and hoping to see you soon in PA….Linda
Wanda, the words ‘Thank You’ could be heard echoing through our house as my two sons were growing up. Even now, my husband and I thank each other for little kind favors that we do for each other and most recently, taking care of each other as we had our turn to have medically necessary surgeries. Our younger son, Sean, age 24, thanks me for making dinner or do small favors for him and has his girlfriend ‘trained’ to do the same. Since we are practicing Jews and attend services on a regular basis, we thank G-d for giving us our life each morning when we wake. Our family can appreciate that G-d plays an integral part of sealing our names in the ‘Book of Life’ as we do this during our Jewish New Year in Sept each year. We are so thankful that I am still alive as I have survived four different cancers and a bone marrow/stem cell transplant since 1992.
What is such a blessing is hearing the older grandchildren teaching their younger
siblings and cousins on the subject of giving thanks. They learned their lessons
well and are already passing them along! I thank God every day for these won-
derful children!
I often thank God for all his blessings and miracles. I learned that without God life seemed less meaningful, but with God all things are possible and life has more meaning and hope! I also thank God for you and your wonderful story telling talent. Your ability to use your characters in your books to lift up others and be an encouragement.
When I read your books I become attached to the characters in the story. When I read Daughter’s of Lancaster County series, I hated to have it end. It’s like I knew this family and wanted to keep reading about them, like I had to say goodbye.
You have a gift of drawing your readers in. Just like I was invited in for tea and to sit and take in the families activities.
Thank you again, and I look forward to reading more of your wonderful books.
God Bless,
Kimberlee
Wanda,
You have put it so well. We are created to be thankful for everything in our lives. The true gift is to be able to recognize all our many blessings as gifts and not as mere entitlements.
Cultivating the attitude of gratitude does bring joy into our lives.
Blessings and peace to you all.
Hi Wanda, I raised my daughter as a single mother, during her childhood years till she was 14,
and I tell you, that teaching her to say Thank You was one of the most important sayings.
I now see that she has passed it down to her son. It has made him quiet the gentleman,and he is now almost 16. I am still saying Thank You to God daily for everything.
Hello Wanda. Very good subject. So many young people don’t take the time to say thank you to someone. They have to be taught. But, it is nice to hear them say these words. And, I have one grandson who when he was just a kid always got up when an adult came in the room and gave them his chair. He was the only one out of several. But some had been told but had to be made to get up. I loved that boy for that. He was always polite and still is in his late 20’s. We were raised this way too. Would love to have some more of your books. GOD bless you, Maxie
Hi Wanda i have just finished reading The Bishop’s Daughter i all ready read a few books about AMISH and they are very interesting people ,to be honest i heard about them but never new about there way of life to me they are very religious and the way they love GOD AND FOLLOW THE BIBLE is very interesting.
Wanda thank you for your nice books and i would like to read more but i do not know where to get them from because those that i read i got them some time ago from a library ship that came to MALTA.
THANK YOU AND REGARDS JANE CASHA FROM MALTA
Hope you let me know from where i can get your books.
Psalm 100 is one of my f as well as we love to sing it as a chorus!!avorites. My children all memorized it at an early age
Kindness reaches across all boundaries. And manners help people get along better especially the ones that don’t require prompting. Kids learn by observation and modeling good behavior means there’s a good chance that you’ll hear whatever you’ve said (or done) in their future conversations. As a mother to five, I found that finding something good went a long ways to opening the kids ears to hearing what you had to say. I call it the sandwich effect by sandwiching the lesson between something they wanted to hear.
A little over one week ago, I said my final goodbyes to a friends and sister-in-Christ. She had battled colon cancer for 4 1/2 years and about 2 years ago, she gave her heart to Christ and joined our church. I started sending her a card and from that time forward, she received a note or card from me every week. Really very little on my part but she told me more than once how much she looked forward to the mail. I am so glad I could brighten her weeks and I miss not having her in my life.
Yes Wanda we do need to thank God each day and I do at least once, but sometimes forget to thank Him more that once a day, because He is always there, a welcome Friend to me.
Like your writing style….make so interesting it is difficult to find a stopping place. Hope I am a May 2015 winner.
thanking god for our blessings !
I just bought my first book of yours and absolutely loved it, the book was called Lydia’so Charm. I have bought several books about the Amish , like you I love there lifestyle and there simole life and most of all how they help each other, in our society you really don’t see that much, looking forward to reading more of your books
Wanda, I enjoyed the latest book you wrote called The Decision. It brought me back to when I was my grandmother caregiver. And all the decision I had to make. I was the only granddaughter out of 12 that made this decision. And I would not change a thing. Because would not have been take care of my grandmother that my life would not ended up with so much goodness. After my grandmother died I went into a depression and felt like there was no hope. Until one day a friend ask me to start writing to this man she know that like me was battle with depression. It like to have some to write to talk with. We ended up meeting in WV, seen where it was love at first letter or seeing each other. With in 10 days after being there we decide to got married. We have been 10 years now and know that it was God plan for that decision I made. Love your books and wish I could win or get one of your books and signed. I am handicap so that will probably never happen because it is hard for me to get around. Love and God Bless: Angela Ayers 603 N. Market St. Loudonville, Ohio 44842.