We have so much to be thankful for! Look around you. Touch what is in front of you. Take a deep breath and smell the world around you. Everything you see, touch, hear, smell, the food you put to your mouth is a gift. Even that breath you took to breathe the scents around you is a gift of life from the Creator who loves you.
That’s just in the physical realm. Think of the spiritual blessings God has given you – new life, the hope of heaven, His constant Presence, His authority to rule the earth, His gifts of mercy and forgiveness.
Visualize the children you teach. Name them one by one. They are blessings too. God has given them to you to teach, to share the good news of Jesus’ love, to encourage them to be the best they can be and embolden them to be holy different from the world around them.
Need a thanksgiving activity to do with the children you reach? Play the alphabet game with them. Our family still loves to play this game whenever we are traveling. Someone names a category, such as “things we’ll see on our vacation” and each person in turn must name something that begins with a succeeding letter of the alphabet. On our last vacation to Pennsylvania, I would say “Appalachians” and my husband would say “battlefields.”
Start your kids out with the general category: “Things I am thankful for.” Then, you can choose more specific categories such as “Food I’m thankful for,” “People I’m thankful for,” even “Food I wish I was more thankful for.” For older kids, ask them to name spiritual blessings for which they are thankful.” Incorporate some of the ideas into a special prayer time. Have the children choose some of the ideas mentioned and make a place mat for Thanksgiving, drawing pictures or writing the words of the things for which they are most thankful.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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