This is a guest post - by my children. Yes by them. No they didn't sit on the computer and write this but I wrote this for them as they gave me their list. Children are funny, when they are young everything revolves around them but as they grow they start to look outside of themselves and see others and their needs. If your prayers are answered, they will eventually put others needs before their own and look outward instead of inward.
I recently found an amazing blog A Holy Experience and the author, Ann Voskamp has written a book "One Thousand Gifts". This prompted me to encourage my children to be thankful for what they have received from God.
So I decided to start a process with the children of making a list of things that they are thankful for - often things that they take for granted. Its been a long walk and required quite a lot of patience (on my part as they get easily distracted) but here it is.
As parents, why not make your own list with your children. Remind them of God's goodness and all that they should be thankful for. You can help God transform their minds and to change they way they look at life and hopefully as you do this with your precious children - you too will be transformed. And don't forget to send us your list so we can grow this list to 1000. This is not just for small children, try it with your teens too.
We are grateful:....
1. ...for friends so that they can play with us and have fun with us
2. ...that we can breath so we can live
3. ...that God created us in his own image and if we weren't we wouldn't look very nice, there would be all these funky people like in Star Wars with 3 eyes and big brain heads, with tails growing out of our heads
4. ... for Nippers
5. ... for our car so we can drive around in it
6. ... and glad we have beds so we don't have to sleep on a rock hard floor or uncomfortable couches, and then we would really get cold
8. ... for cake, yes yummy - can we have cake?
9. ... that we have a cat to take away all the bugs, mouses and Christmas beetles
10. ... for technology like computers and laptops
11. ... for a brain to think otherwise we would be cuckoo, or we would have a lack of wisdom and be wisdumb
12. ...for bikes for fun
13. ...to be able to build ramps so we can ramp with them with the bikes, and that ramps are not in the air
14. ... for rain so that we don't have to water the plants and to fill up the sea, it sucks from the sea and then fills the sea
16. ... that we have a brush and broom and pan so that we don't have to walk in dust
17. ... for shoes so that we don't have to walk on cold hard floors, or sharp things or cut ourselves or slip
18. ... for family to take care of us
19. ... for animals to study and learn about
20. ... that we have teeth to chew our food so we don't choke and die. Now we can chew our food and only choke a little.
21. ... that we have food so we won't starve to death, or won't die of starvation
22. ... we have money to buy things
24. ...that there is water so that we don't die of water starvation or thirst
25. ... for the sea to surf in and to play in, and no thank you for the sharks
26. ...for our sister Ruthie, and be able to play with her - and she's our sister, no one else's
27. ... that we have a new cousin, to increase our cousin level. A long time ago we only had 3 cousins and now we have lots. 4 cousins now.
28. ... that Jesus loves us, and saved us
29. ... that Jesus loved us so much that he died for us
30. ... for brothers and sisters to play with us - though they don't always want to play with us, sometimes they just want to read
31. ... that we can laugh and play and work, though not so grateful about the work
32. ... that we have a mom to teach us
33. ... we have hearts to love each other
34. ... and glad I got breakfast today
35. ... that we get money, or will get money or might get money
37. ... we have cellphones and telephones to talk to each other
38 ... for a table to eat on
39. ... for a heater to keep us warm
40. ... for Bibles to read and learn about God
41. ... we have couch to sit on
42. ...the sun is there to brighten our day
43. ... for feet to walk on otherwise we would have to learn how to walk handstands our whole life
44. ... we can walk on the mountain for hours and hours to see the world
45. ... for computers to learn and to find out things
46. ... we have paint to express our feelings and paint things
47. ... for a mom to cook for us, otherwise she wouldn't be the Masterchef of South Africa
48. ... there are gyms to exercise and get fit
49. ... that we have muscles to run and do competition, swim and save people, run out of water so sharks don't bite us
50. ...to be qualified Nippers and qualified in strength
51. ...for socks otherwise we would get blisters on our ankles from ice skating
52. ... for tools to build things with
53. ... for wood to build ramps with and do woodwork
55. ... that grounding got invented so when my brothers are naughty they get punished
56. ...that Dad's got lots of work
57. ... for cameras to take pictures of us so that we can remember things from the past
58. ...we get to watch movies, not to get bored
59. ... for board games
60. ... that there are milkshakes to drink different things every time
61. ... for chips for Ruthie so she won't scream for chips
62. .... and glad that we have handles so we don't have to kick the door down or get police officers to kick the door down, or friends to kick it down
63. ... for plugs to connect all the electrical things instead of batteries which cost a lot of money
64. ... that we have paper so we don't have to write on our hands
65. ... for pens
66. .... for shops to buy stuff and then we don't have to grow our own things
67. ... we have eyes to see where we are going, then we won't bump into any walls
69. ... we can eat porridge so we can swim five lengths in the pool, like it says on the cereal box
70. ... that we can go to the park, almost every day and every year
71. ... there are different types of wood and polish so that the wood won't rot
72. ... we can celebrate birthdays, when we were born and get presents
73. .... we can play with toys
74. ... for laughter and laughing to express our joy and happiness
75. ... for our roof so we don't get wet when its raining or hailing, though I haven't seen hail in a long time
76. ... for school so we can learn and be smart and that we don't go to school but do it at home
77. ... we have pillows to sit on so that are backs don't turn black purple and red
78. ... we have bones so that we can sit up straight otherwise we would be floppy like a snake or a puddle of skin or octopus - and your eyes would be floppy and wobbly
79. ... for curtains so the sun doesn't hurt our eyes
81. ... we have a TV to watch learning channels, discovery channels, movies and cartoons
82. ... that there is PG, PG10 and PG13 so little children can't watch things that are not good for them
83. ... for pets so we can play with them
84. .... that sugar cane grows for sugar to flavour and sweeten our food, otherwise we would not like the food
85. .... that there are exotic foods to taste, test and smell
86. ... for ties
87. ... that we have shirts
89. .... that we get to go to the library tomorrow
90. .... that there are trees that filter our air and give us fresh oxygen and to climb on
91. ... there is a Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birth and His birthday
92. ... that we are going to China because I dreamt about it
93. ... for Granny and Oupsh
94. ... for our extended family so if something happens we can go to them or visit them, but I think the visit is better
95. ... we have petrol that lasts
96. ... that we can drink out of glasses
97. ... that we have windows to look out so that we can see the lovely view but we don't like cracked windows
98. ... that we have ears to hear
99. ... for the work Dad does to make money
100. ... that there is cement to build houses with bricks.
102. .... for battery chargers so that we don't have to buy new batteries all the time and waste money
103. ...that we don't have to live in war
104. ... for a bath so we don't have to bath in a bucket
105. .... for baths that we can clean otherwise we will be filthy, stinky and dirty
106. .... that there are dustbins so we don't have to litter
107. ... for our facecloths otherwise our face will be a pimple face
108. .... that there is jewellery to decorate ourselves - just not for boys, decoration for a woman like a Christmas tree
109. ... for our Gran to knit our clothes and fix our clothes when they tear
110. ... there are colours to colour in colouring books, otherwise everything would be an ugly black and grey
111. ... that someone invented burglar bars - so when a burglar tries to break in, they can't
113. ... that there are windows instead of cardboard in our house
114. ... we have hair so we don't have bald heads
115. ... we have ears so we can hear each other
116. ... that we have a mouth, so we can speak to each other
117. ... for a toilet so we don't have to go outside
118. ... for our pencils so we don't have to use pens all the time and waste tipex
119. ... that there are livestock to give us milk, cheese and meat
120. ... for ice skating
121 ... that we have roller skates to practise to our ice skating
122. ... for glasses to drink out of
123. ... that there are glasses to see out of
125. ... we can go on nature walks and learn about nature and God
126. ... for fingers to pick up things
127. ... for Lego
128. ... that we have soap
129. ... that we can fly kites
130. ... that we have school books
131. ... for the world
132. ... for packets to carry things around, otherwise we would have to walk backwards and forwards every day
133. ... that we have carpets to sit on
135. ... that we have chairs to sit on so that we don't have to stand while we are eating or sit on boxes
136. ....for boxes to put things in
137. ... that we have extension cables so that when the plug doesn't reach we can use them
138. ... for vacuum cleaners so we don't have to use the broom all the time
139. ... there are animals
140. ...that we get to go to sleep otherwise we will be lazy, wobbly and tired
141. ... for pencil cases
142. ... we have pillows so we can have a comfortable couch
143. ... that there are heaters in our bedroom to warm ourselves up
144. ...for plugs so we don't have to make electricity when someone is someone is vacuuming for 2 hours, which would mean rubbing metal together, to make sparks, which makes fire, which makes electricity
145. .... for sewing machines so we don't have to sew all the time with hands and its much easier
146. ... that we have tables so we can eat on it, do school on it, build on it
147. ... that there is paint so when we don't like the colour, we can paint over it
148. ... for the 5 biomes of the world so animals can live freely in their own environment
149. .... that there are dams for water
150. ... for fruit
151. ... we have skin so that our blood doesn't come pouring out, because we are made up of so much water
152. ... for brooms to sweep up dirt
153. ... that there are light bulbs
154. .... for curtains so we can close them when its too hot or when its night and we don't won't people to see inside.
155. ... God made apples
156. .... we can go to swimming lessons
157. ... that we can visit our Gran
158. ... that there are phones so that we don't have to have a broken telephone and then tell everyone else
159. ... that we can go out in the sea with malibu's and body boards
160. ... for maps so that we know where we are going
161. ... that there are ropes to secure things
162. ... that we can use earplugs so that when we fly our ears don't get blocked
This list is incomplete and would love to be able to add things that your children are grateful for.
Why not send them in and we can grow this list to a 1000?
Why not send them in and we can grow this list to a 1000?
Posts
i love Holy Experience blog too, a good reminder, Thanks Mel..
ReplyDeleteI have a working list for you! we are keeping a "gratitude" calendar through November - each day each member of the family gives me one thing they are thankful for to add to the calendar- they really surprise me with their answers - shows me how much God is working in their hearts! how soon do you need them? we are planning on doing our calendar through Thanksgiving?? I love #68 "Flowers to decorate the world" awesome! and #125 We dig nature walks :)
ReplyDeleteI linked up our adoption story to A Holy Experience- http://bit.ly/OurAdoptionAndGrace nice to meet you - From Florida. . . .
you know what? I figured I could at least send you some of what we have so far. . . - #163 Christian home and family #164 clean water to drink because some don't #165 food & mostly desert - one from each of my kids :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelli, will add these to the list
ReplyDeleteLove your list. Our family is keeping a family gratitude journal. It is amazing some of the things they come up with :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing