“Thank You, God, that we got to have waffles for breakfast. Thank You that we played Uno today. Thank You that we went to Pop and Tutu’s for dinner. Thank You for my jammies and my stuffed monkey and my pillow and…”
I stifled an impatient sigh as my five-year old prayed back through her day, giving thanks for both big and little blessings. Her prayer must have delighted God’s heart, but for this weary mom, it prolonged what I had hoped would be a quick goodnight.
By bedtime prayers each evening, I am done. Ready to tuck everyone in, hoping they don’t boomerang too many times for another sip of water or help with a scary shadow or one more trip to the potty. My to-do list is usually still running and I long for some down time before heading to bed and starting all over again tomorrow.
Sometimes it takes a kindergartener to give perspective on life’s truly important details…
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Everything.
In every situation, every single day, we’re surrounded by expressions of our Father’s loving heart. It’s easy to get distracted by my next responsibility and miss the beauty of the moment. I tend to focus on what I want or need from God, while forgetting to notice the many things He’s already given me. And sometimes, life is just really hard. Gratitude is the last thing on my mind.
Yet God calls us to give thanks – He knows it does our hearts good. It turns our focus heavenward and deepens our love for the One who loved us first.
As we embark on this holiday season, let’s determine to cultivate thankfulness – not just for one day in the middle of two hectic months, but every day. Here are a couple of ways to practice gratitude together as a family:
Play the Alphabet Thankfulness Game
Sometimes while driving between lessons or errands, we play the Alphabet Thankfulness Game. Starting with A, we call out things we’re thankful God has given to us: apples, bunnies, cars, Daddy, etc. It’s a fun way to remind ourselves of God’s abundant goodness.
Record your blessings
Set out a journal or a basket with index cards and pens. Encourage family members to write down things for which they are thankful any time a blessing comes to mind. Our family uses a special “Blessing Box” – it’s currently sitting on my grandmothers’ hutch. In addition to dropping in cards describing out blessings, we also include prayer requests (and we try to remember to record how God answers).
In every season, Our Father delights in being good to His children. Every good thing comes from Him. Let’s ask Him to help us recognize His blessings and lead our children in cultivating a lifestyle of gratitude.
“I’m writing a note to God,” my preschooler announces proudly.
She thoughtfully scribbles her message on a 3×5 card, then opens the hinged lid of our ”Blessing Box” and adds her note to the jumbled mess of index cards. It looks disorderly, even confusing, but to me it’s a beautiful mess.
Each of those mismatched cards is a record of something important to us – a three-year old’s note to God, a list of things we’re thankful for, a prayer request and its subsequent answer.
I wish I could say we are systematic in adding cards to our blessing box. I wish I could tell you how often we take it out and read its contents. But, alas, this busy mama is far less organized and consistent than I like to admit.
Despite my unfulfilled great intentions, however, there it sits on my grandmother’s hutch in our bustling dining room—a constant reminder to count our many blessings, an ever-present invitation to recall the faithfulness of God.
We add to it at random. We open it up and read on occasion.
Like the other night when my oldest daughter put the box on the table before dinner. She gave each of us a blank card and instructed us write something for which we are thankful. Then she passed around the box for us to drop in our card and pick out another to read aloud.
Or the other morning when the kids and I all had bad attitudes and needed to reflect on God’s good gifts—our family and friends, an air-conditioned home, clothes and shoes, food and clean water, and the fact that Jesus loves children (my three-year-old’s contribution). Our focus shifted as we remembered the good things we’ve been given.
Or that season a while back when money was tight and work was slow. I recorded a very specific prayer request for provision and was thrilled to record God’s answer the very next day.
Many a memory is preserved in our treasured blessing box.
Do you have a place to record things for which you’re thankful? In case you’d like to create your own blessing box, here’s how we did it:
Choose a box – I picked one that fit our décor, because I planned for it to have a permanent home in a prominent location. I love the hinged lid because it’s easy for little hands to open (and can’t get lost!)
Stock up on pens and index or thankfulness cards. — We keep these in a nearby drawer so they’re always handy when we have something to record.
Get everyone involved — Our family knows that anyone can add to or read from our blessing box at any time.
This has been a great tool for us in cultivating gratitude and making memories as a family.
How do you count your blessings? I’d love to hear — please leave a comment below!
Saturday is our family’s favorite day of the week.
From Sunday through Friday, we’re busy with school, work, church, sports, music, playdates, and the general busyness which accompanies family life.
But on Saturday, we take a breath.
We eat waffles for breakfast and the kids listen to radio adventures on a local Christian station. Most Saturdays, very little gets done until at least lunchtime. Sometimes the whole day is “unproductive” (as far as my to-do list is concerned).
But in reality, a lot happens on Saturday.
Not easily measured, the benefits of the day are experienced on the soul level. Our kids travel to faraway lands on imaginary explorations. My husband and I have time to just talk. I catch up on snuggles with my littlest and she often joins me in spending time with God.
On occasion, life redirects our Saturday routine. A swim meet or birthday party may call us away from home. Some Saturdays are as full as the rest of the week. But in general, we protect the day like any other appointment on our calendar.
Because Saturdays keep us going and refill us for the week ahead.
In our busy culture where productivity is king, our bodies and souls cry out for rest. We aren’t designed to toil endlessly day after day. Rest is a gift from God, often stolen from us by the tyranny of the urgent. Yet our Creator invites us to be still and breathe and savor the things which feed our souls and enrich our lives.
Here are some thoughts on making room for rest:
Put it on the calendar
Routines vary from family to family and from one life season to another. An entire day may be impossible to block off in your week. Brainstorm as a family some ways you can carve out times of refreshment and togetherness. Whatever you decide upon, make sure to schedule it on your family calendar.
Be creative
I have a friend whose family does pizza and a movie at home every Friday night. At the end of a long week, it’s a great way to unwind and enjoy being together.
If your family likes to play games, you could declare one night of the week or month as “family game night.”
Reading aloud is also a great way to relax together. Our current favorite is The Green Ember series.
Look for family outing opportunities. We recently loaded everyone in the minivan and drove for an hour without telling the kids where we were going. Anticipation mounted as we neared the zoo for an after-hours members’ night. We had a blast watching animals that aren’t normally active during the day as we savored unhurried moments together.
Too quickly these days are becoming memories. Let’s make time for rest as we enjoy the people entrusted to us by the Giver of all good things.
“Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain” Ps 127:1.
Yesterday, this verse “came alive” to me. I had gone to run an errand when a neighbor came by to borrow a yard tool. While he and hubby chatted for a few brief minutes, our littlest one let herself out the back door, somehow unlatched the backyard gate and began walking down the stairs toward the street. Hubby “happened to” see her before she reached the bottom of the stairs. How grateful we were that he found her before she got to the street!
Then last night, around 11:30, little lady woke me up with her crying (an almost predictable nightly occurrence). After comforting her and putting her back to bed, “something” made me go into the big kids’ room to check on them. Apparently they had wanted a dimmer nightlight than the one they had. So they took a (plugged-in, turned-on!) clip lamp down and laid it on the floor. They then covered it up with a blanket. By the time I found it, the lamp was very hot and I could smell the plastic warning label melting. I quickly unplugged it and took it from the room, then knelt by my bed and thanked God for His protection over my kids.
In one day, all three of our kids inadvertantly got themselves into dangerous situations “behind our back.” In one day, our lives could have been forever changed. As I lay in bed with racing thoughts full of “what-if’s,” God reminded me of the above verse. We can do everything in our power to protect our children. We cover outlets. We turn pot handles to the back. We wear seatbelts and sit in booster seats. We screen the movies our kids watch. We have parental controls on our computers. We only leave them in the care of those we trust. And the list goes on. We try, as every loving parent does, to protect our babies in every possible way.
But ultimately, at the end of the day, God is their ultimate Protector. All our protecting would be in vain if not for God. But when God is watching over them, they are protected even from dangers we parents cannot see. Because He sees everything. He is omniscient (all-knowing). He is omnipresent (everywhere). And He is omnipotent (all-powerful). Does this mean that nothing harmful or painful will ever happen to them? No. But it does mean that they are never out of His care. He can use even evil or hurtful things for their benefit – ultimately to draw them to Himself, which is His ultimate act of mercy and protection.
This is so comforting to me. I’m grateful that it’s not all up to us! Because we make mistakes. We miss things and don’t always see the dangers lurking in the shadows. But God does. He gives us wisdom in parenting, but He also makes up for our mistakes (or just our plain humanity).
One more thought came to mind as I pondered the events of the day. My heart was so grateful for God’s goodness in preventing harm. His love and kindness were so obvious. But in the midnight stillness, He whispered to my heart that His character is unchanged by my circumstances. He was loving and good to alert us to danger and protect our kids…yes! But if the unthinkable had happened (as it has to so many precious parents), He wouldn’t cease to be loving and good. Bad things, horrible things, happen in this fallen world. God does not always prevent harm. This is illustrated in Hebrews 11 where we see that some Christians, by faith, escaped the edge of the sword, while others died by the sword (v. 33-38). Sometimes we are delivered from evil unharmed. Sometimes unthinkable pain crashes into our lives. But always, God is with us (Heb 13:5, Is 41:10). He never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). What He has revealed to you about Himself in the good times…He’s still all those things. What His Word says about Him…He’s still that God, despite what circumstances or emotions scream to your soul.
So may these two thoughts encourage your heart today – God is our ultimate Protector, and He is sure and unchangeable, throughout the shifting sands of time. May you rest in Him today.
“I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety” Ps 4:8.
We eat waffles for breakfast and the kids listen to radio adventures on a local Christian station. Most Saturdays, very little gets done until at least lunchtime. Sometimes the whole day is “unproductive” (as far as my to-do list is concerned).