10 ways to say thanks

We often need to say thank you.  I sometimes worry that I sound insincere in my thanks and so I am often thinking of other ways to say it.  

Without further adieu: 10 ways to say Thanks

1. Say it out loud: thanks, thank you, I would really appreciate it, that makes such a difference, I love it when you do that, that was really helpful, you can do that anytime you like.
2. Chocolate often says it better than words.  But a personalised “thankyou” type chocolate says it even better.  I have a teacher friend who is dairy and wheat free.  She worked her butt off co-ordinating our year level testing and our boss decided to thank her by putting soy free chocolate in her pigeon hole.  If someone put soy chocolate in my pigeon hole, I would think it was a cruel joke… but my friend was overjoyed!
3. Furthering the chocolate theme there are some great ways to say “thanks” with a bit of word play and chocolate brand names.  Pinterest has a million of them! Well, maybe not a million.  
4. Hugs!!! Need I say more?
5. Gift voucher for a massage or facial.  Obviously this one is for a bigger thank you. 
6. A quick note or card.  This one seems obvious and almost too simple.  But people are often “not thanked” and even a short note can mean the most.  Remember to be specific: tell the recipient what they did that you are thankful for.  Also, use synonyms for Thank you… there are lots of them!
7. Give a picture of a purchase or result. If people donated money, send them a photo of the items their money was used to purchase.  If they gave their time towards a project give them a photo of the results of that project.  My mum used to cover books for the school library.  She would have loved a picture of students reading the books that she covered. 
8. A bookmark that says it for you.  If the person you are thanking is not a reader, than get them something related to their interest.  My Dad was thanked for helping a band at a neighbouring church and they purchased a DVD set of a famous band on tour.  He loved it. 
9. If someone has made something for you because they have a talent with the type of craft (e.g. knitting, sewing, paper craft) give them some supplies (e.g. wool, paper, scissors, cotton, shape cutter, craft glue).  I hope you get the idea.
10. A random act of kindness.  Make a cup of tea for them.  If you are thanking a teacher colleague: do their playground duty for them one day.  Pick up work mail.  Buy them lunch and just deliver it to their office/ classroom.  Again, a teacher suggestion: check the library or resource room and pick up any messages, laminating or other resources for them.  Cut up their laminating or offer to do their photocopying.  We are all busy and we appreciate it when others take the time to help us out.  It means a lot when a “thank you” comes in the form of someone taking the time to take something off our ‘to do’ list. 

Last week I shared about the importance of focusing on the good things in our lives.  Focusing our prayers on praise helps us to realise that the yucky is not quite as bad as we thought.  For Aussie teachers who are almost half way into term 3 it is getting harder to see the positive.  We are sometimes blinded by the busy and the bustle and the politics and we can feel alone.  But it really helps to ask for help and be thankful for the response.  It also helps to offer help. 

It has been a tough week.  It has been a physically painful week for me.  But, I am still thankful.  I still want to praise God for his rich blessings.  I know that I am not alone.  I know that His mercies are new every morning and so are my praises. 

Thanks!

J M