Having A Thankful Heart

Daily Truth: “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”  Psalms 100:4

It’s that time of year again in which we focus on having a thankful heart.  Obviously, it is something that we should be working on all year, but it is a good time to focus on being thankful for many reasons.

1.  We are getting closer to the Christmas season in which often our “wanters” get out of wack!

2.  It helps us to refocus on what is important.

3.  It helps us to realize how blessed we are.

4.  It helps us to see other people’s needs and get the focus off of ourselves.

As mom’s we really need to work on being thankful on a daily basis.  Especially on those days when we feel like we are drowning under the needs of our children!

The Bible commands us to be thankful.  I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Every thing is a BIG word that covers a lot of ground.  You can substitute any situation for the word “every thing” and the command still works.

“In doing 5 loads of laundry give thanks.”

“In changing another dirty diaper give thanks.”

“In hearing some undesirable news give thanks.”

It’s obviously not easy to be thankful in all things and it is something that I have to work on daily!

We also need to teach our children to be thankful and not to focus on themselves.

So, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I have a couple of ideas you can use that would be visible reminders to our children just how much they have to be thankful for.

A Thankfulness Chain

When I taught school, I sometimes did this with my students for answered prayer.  Here is how it works.

1.  Take 8 1/2 x 11 construction paper and cut it into 1 inch strips.  You will need ALOT of construction paper based on the size of your family.

2.  Have the children write, draw, or tell you something they are thankful for and put it on the strip of paper.

3.  Bring the ends of the strip together and staple the ends.

4.  Insert another strip through the first circle and staple the ends together.

5.  Keep repeating this process to make a chain

6.  Hang the chain from the ceiling

You can then use the chain to decorate your Christmas tree.

We have been using the following idea in our family.

Picture Frame

photo (28)

1.  Take a large picture frame.  Nail small nails in the back of the frame.

2.  Use small gauge wire and string the wire between the nails.

photo 2 (6)

3.  Take 4×6 cards and cut them into thirds.  (I used colored ones)

4.  Have your child write, draw, or tell you something they are thankful for and put it on the paper.

5.  Take a clothes pin and hang the cards from the wire.

photo 1 (6)We do the “Thankful” cards each night during family devotions.  I put all the supplies in a jar and after we read the Bible the kids draw what they are thankful for.  Then we go around the table and tell what we are thankful for.  Only rule – no repeats!

My 3rd child drew what he wanted for Christmas on the card the first night.  We had to reteach the activity and then he got it.

There are many more ideas you can use.  These are just two.

As we go into the holiday season let us remember to have a thankful heart for EVERY THING!

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”                  I Chronicles 16:34

Until next week,

Rebekah

 

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