Take a walk around the house or outside and point out things you are thankful for.  Turn it into a prayer of thanks as you say “Thank you God for”  and name each thing.  You can also take pictures of these things and put them in a thank you box that you can decorate together.  Each night you can pull out a picture and thank God for it. You can include in your box pictures of family and friends to be thankful for.  Older children may want to draw pictures or make a thank you notebook.  These activities are for the whole family.  You never get too old to be thankful for the things and people around you.

Click on the link to hear a song you can use to sing your thank you’s as you walk. I apologize for the quality. . . it is from a 32 year old tape . . . but you can still get the tune and the idea.

13-we-are-glad-today

Anyone can smile and sing when things are going great.  The true test of my faith is to smile and sing when I am in the midst of a trial in my life.

It brings a smile to God’s heart when we express  trust in Him even when our circumstances seem contrary to what we have always believed about Him.  It encourages ourselves and others when we declare our love for God and confidence in Him during these times.  The attached song by Matt Redman sums this up.

Help your children grasp early in life the fact that no matter what comes our way, God never lets go of us!!!!

08-you-never-let-go

My mentor, Jo Bevington, sent me a letter recently.  I am sharing it with you so you can hopefully capture her  passion for establishing God’s Word in children, and you can feel the joy she possesses in her life.  Keep in mind that she is 85, never had children of her own,  has been a widow for about 40 years, and had a stroke recently which has left her unable to see very well and unable to walk without a walker.  The only thing she has expressed regret about her situation is that she just had to give up teaching her preschool Sunday School class because her walker was too much of a distraction and safety hazard for the children.

Dear Sheilah,

What joy it has been to talk to you on the telephone!

These are the preschool Bible thoughts I was telling you about.  What joy it is to me to make me a pocket verse everyday and by the end of the day I have memorized it…..So I think what fun it would be for families of preschoolers to make their child a “pocket verse” every day.  Since young children are concrete learners, the words of the Bible might become valuable to them if they carried around a little Bible thought each day.

Today was a fun day for me.  Rebecca, who cleans my house, decided she wanted to learn to play piano.  And it has been great joy for me to teach her.  We just take time out from her work and have a lesson.  I am trying to play again, even though it is very hard to see.  I can only do it a short time each time I try.  But the Lord is Good!  I can still play.

I love you, Sheilah!

Jo

Jo’s joy, in spite of her circumstances, comes from her daily contact with God through His Word.

Listed below are some of the Bible thoughts she mentioned.  If you want to see more,  please contact me.  Deuteronomy says we are to be ready to share God’s Word with our children as we go about our daily routine.  I liked Jo’s idea of putting it on a card and giving the child something tangible to hold on to all day.

God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness he called ‘night’   Genesis 1:5

God made all kinds of trees to grow.  Genesis 2:9

Love your father and mother.  Exodus 20:12

A friend loves at all times.  Proverbs 17:17

Everything God made is beautiful.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

The birds have nests.  Matthew 8:20

Help one another.  Galatians 5:13

He has put a new song in my mouth– Psalm 40:3

Do you have a new song to sing each day? I have to admit that lately I have not had a song in my heart or in my mouth because of negative circumstances in our lives. But singing can bring physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual refreshment to individuals of all ages, even beginning in the womb. The unborn child’s ears at 20 weeks are structurally equivalent to an adult’s ears and the amniotic fluid is an excellent conductor of sound.

God knows what He’s doing when He encourages us numerous times throughout Scripture to sing. He desires our songs of praise to Him, but He also designed music for our good - to promote our wellness, to help us manage stress, to encourage us to express our feelings, to help enhance our memory, and to help us improve communication.

It is easy to sing when all is right in our world, but we should not sing only when things are going well for us. My mentor that I mentioned in a previous post, Jo Bevington, is recuperating from a stroke, is almost blind, and is now unable to work with children, but she always has a new song in her heart and mouth when I talk with her. She recently sent me this scripture: I will be glad and full of joy because of You Most High God. I will sing praise to You.” Psalm 9:2

Scriptures gives us examples of ways God used music in difficult times. In 2 Chronicles 20, God instructed the singers to lead the way as the army marched toward the enemy which lead to their ultimate victory. In 1 Samuel 16:23 David’s harp playing soothed the troubled spirit of the king.

With all this in mind, we should sing often with our children. Don’t worry if you are like me and can’t carry a tune . . . God nor your children will care. It will bless God, your children, and you. God has designed children to give Him the best praise and you as their parent get to have a part in that as you guide them to sing. (Psalm 8:2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.)

Here are a few examples of songs that you can sing to familiar tunes. One mother recently wrote me that she was learning to make up songs each day with her children…what fun! Let’s all keep singing

Blow, Blow, Blow the Wind (Psalm 147:18)

(tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Blow, blow, blow the wind

Gently through the trees

God causes His wind to blow

How I like the breeze

A Helper I Will Be(1 Corinthians 3:9)

(tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

A helper I will be

A helper I will be

I will help my mommy

A helper I will be

Be Ready to Share (1 Timothy 6:18)

(tune of 3 Blind Mice)

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It’s more fun when we share our toys

So let’s share with the girls and the boys

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It is Better to Give Than Receive (Ephesians 4:28, 2Cor. 9:7)

(tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

It is better to give than receive

Give than receive

Give than receive

It is better to give than receive

Giving makes us glad

Brush Your Teeth

(tune of Row, Row Your Boat)

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth

Brush your teeth each day

Then you’ll have a pretty smile

And healthy teeth to stay

If you haven’t heard, Steven Curtis Chapman’s 5 year old daughter was accidentally run over and killed on May 21. Please be in prayer for this family.

Not long ago, after trying to rush through a bath time with his young daughters, he wrote a song called “Cinderella”. You can hear the song by clicking here. Please listen after the song finishes as Steven tells why he wrote the song.

We have just a short moment in time with our children so “make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good.” (Ephesians 5:16)

Jesus set the example for valuing time spent with children: Then Jesus took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. (Mark 10:16) But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

I pray for you lots of time to snuggle and read with your little ones, hours of family playtime, and many opportunities to teach your children.

Building Memories

by Sandra D. Romans

So much to do - I have not time

To listen now, I say,

And hurry back to the chores

That always fills my day.

No time to listen? A small voice

Seemed to whisper in my ear…

Soon your little ones will be gone

And you’ll wish to hold them near.

I left my broom - the chores undone

And found them under the apple tree.

I held them close and listened while

Their love and we built a memory.

I don’t know why God has me teaching at a daycare right now as I have always believed that being a mom is a full-time job. I was blessed by God and my husband to be a stay-at-home mom until the last of my four children started college.

If you are a stay-at-home mom, remember you are never “just” a mom. According to Psalm 113:9 “…God makes you to be a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

Have a Happy Mother’s Day!!

I received this forward recently.

Just A Mom??

A woman, renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk ’s office, was
asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job or are you just a
…?”

“Of course I have a job,” snapped the woman.

“I’m a Mom.”

“We don’t list ‘Mom’ as an occupation,
‘housewife’ covers it,”
Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,

“Official Interrogator” or “Town Registrar.”“What is your occupation?” she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.

The words simply popped out.
“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant

words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest,

“just what you do in your field?”Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,

I heard myself reply,

“I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn’t) In the laboratory and in the field,

(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I’m working for my Masters,

(first the Lord and then the whole family)

and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants —

ages 13, 7, and 3
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,

(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than

“just another Mom.” Motherhood!What a glorious career!
Especially when there’s a title on the door

Does this make grandmothers
“Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human
Relations”

And great grandmothers
“Executive Senior Research Associates?”
I think so!!!

I also think it makes Aunts
“Associate Research Assistants.”