Prayer

Keeping Thanks in Thanksgiving: Express Thanks to Others

God deserves all our praise and thanksgiving, but He also wants us to have a grateful spirit toward others. God says in Matthew 25:40 that when we do something for others, it is like doing it for Him.

Everyone needs to feel appreciated. Tell others how thankful you are for them, what they do, their attitude, their smile, their words, etc.

Make thank you notes for people in your life that you don’t normally think of thanking, such as the mailman, doctor, teacher, grandparent, the men who pick up the trash, your waiter, the paint mixer at Lowe’s, the UPS delivery man, your children, your spouse.

Be specific and creative.  Lead the whole family to participate in making cards or expressing thanks in some way.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”- William Arthur Ward.

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Thanksgiving ideas – Excerpt from Here A Little, There A Little

Here a Little, There a Little is a compilation of  Bible activities I created years ago to use with my preschool children.  It was designed to spend a week memorizing the verse and reinforcing it through 5 Bible lessons and 5 activities.  I hope you find this helpful.

Memory Verse:   In everything give thanks.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Character Quality – Contentment

Bible Thoughts: (Read  and then tell  in your own words)

Hebrews 1:15 God wants us to give Him thanks more than anything.  He would rather us tell Him “thank you” than to give Him money.  He would rather us tell Him “thank you” than give Him presents.  God likes to hear “thank you”.

Psalm 119:1 David thanked God for everything God did.  He thanked him for the good things.  He even thanked God for the bad things that happened.  David thanked God even when he was hurt because it helped him to learn God’s Word.  The bad things that happen to us can help us learn more about God when we go through the hurtful things. God wants us to thank Him when good things happen and not so good things happen.

John 6:1-13 One day Jesus was teaching a lot of people and they were all hungry.  Jesus took what food was given to him by a little boy and thanked God for the food.  God made enough food from that to feed all the people.  Jesus gave thanks for His food and so should we.

Luke 17:19 One day 10 sick men came to see Jesus.  They asked Jesus to help make them well.  He told them how to be healed.  When they obeyed him, they were healed.  All 10 were healed but only 1 came back to thank Jesus.

Psalm 139:14 David thanked God for making him.  He said, “I will thank God for making me wonderfully”  David thanked God for making all of his body – eyes, nose, mouth,  ears, hands, feet, stomach, etc.  Thank God for making all of you.

Prayer: Dear God, Help us focus on the things we do have and not on the things we don’t have.

Activities for baby:
Thank God for someone special; show picture of them.
Pull pictures of things out of ‘thank you box’.
Show familiar objects while you say “thank you, God for…”
Sing “In Everything Give Thanks”.
Play with hands, feet, etc while you say “thank you, God for…”

Activities for older preschoolers:
Thank God for someone special and make a card for them.
Look for pictures of things to be thankful for and put in a ‘thank you box’.
Paste picture of foods (favorite and not so favorite) on a paper plate and write the Bible verse on it.
Make paper cut outs of the 10 sick men and act out the story.
Play ball together and thank God for each part of the body as you use them.

Songs: “In Everything Give Thanks” (be creative and put the verse to a simple tune)

Books:

The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes

He Remembered to Say Thank You (Arch Books)

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God is With You Wherever You Go

The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

 

We all need to be aware that ‘God is with us wherever we go.’  This is called ‘practicing the presence’.  If you would like to learn more about this for yourself, I suggest reading Practice the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.  In it he says, “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.”

Begin to practice the presence of the Lord daily in your life, if you don’t already, and then lead your little ones to grasp the concept that God is always with them.  Here are some simple suggestions to get started:

Go outside in the morning and talk about how God will always be with us just as the sun will always come up every morning.  Thank God that He is always with us.  Paint a picture of the sun.

Make a night time picture with moon and stars and thank God for being with us in the dark.

Make a Bible verse reminder to hang on the fridge by pasting pictures of the different places your family may go.  Write the verse out and repeat it often. (see picture above)

In everything you do be sure to include the thought of the presence of God – as playing say, “God, I’m glad you are here with us.”  As going to the grocery store say, “God, thank you that you are with us and will help us as we shop.”

Find pictures of children in other lands to color and talk about God is with them just as he is with us here  – Look at a globe or a map and share Joshua 1:9.

Sing the Bible verse to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”:

‘God, you’re with us wherever we go,
wherever we go, wherever we go.
God, you’re with us wherever we go;
God, you’re always near.’

Sing about where you are going or what you are doing – ex. God, you’re with us as we ride in our car, when we hurt ourselves, when we play at home, as walk in the park, when we are feeling sad, when we are feeling glad, when we visit a friend, etc.

Lay this foundation early and practicing the presence will be firmly established in your children’s lives.  What a relationship they will have with the Lord!!

 

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What to do when your child’s performance leaves much to be desired

When your child’s behavior is less than what you have hoped for, do you pull out another ‘how to’ book,  or phone a friend for advice,  or take a poll on facebook, or spend hours googling the problem?  No, this is the time to pray!!!

Anytime you have a concern in your child’s development, no matter what age and no matter how big or small the problem, your first response should be prayer.  Ask the One who made the child and knows and loves the child better than you, how to deal with him or her. 

Parents work in the lives of their children through prayer.  It keeps us in tune with God and gives Him the freedom to work in our children’s lives.  This is not to say you never seek advice, but first, always talk to God about the situation and even pray with your children concerning the problem.

And also, when you get exasperated by something your child is doing,  remember God gives us time to grow and mature, let’s do the same for our children. 🙂

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Pray, Pray, Pray for Your Children

Sylvia Gunter from The Father’s Business has compiled a list of scripture-based prayers to pray for children. She says, “These scripture-based prayers are dedicated to the most important responsibility and privilege of a parent or grandparent or teacher of all ages.”  Do you have your own list of scriptures that you pray for your children?  If not, please use Sylvia’s Praying for Children as a starting point for your prayers.

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