Cultivating A Thankful Heart In Your Children

It has been a while again since I have written on the topics that were before me, but I have been working on a prayer ministry for the election. Now that that is over, we need to certainly continue to pray for those elected, but I will be going back to my other concerns related to teaching our children.

I have been doing a series on “Train up a child in the way he should go…” and was discussing some of the qualities we want to be sure to train into our children before they leave our homes. With Thanksgiving upon us, I want to take some time to discuss how to teach children to be thankful.

Now, teaching them to say “Please” and “Thank you” is a noble effort and a good start, but what I am really speaking of is training their hearts to be genuinely thankful. The Bible teaches us that being thankful should accompany our requests when we pray (Philippians 4:6). So how do we train the hearts of our children so that this attitude of thankfulness comes from within?

First of all, assume they will get no teaching on this topic from the culture! Then if they do get a little encouragement along this line, that will be a bonus. Just don’t assume your job is easier because it is taught somewhere else. Our culture, and hence most children, is a very ungrateful place in which to grow up! We have a very self-centered society and that makes our job more difficult and not less difficult. The culture is teaching children that they are owed certain things and if they don’t get them, they should exercise their “rights” in order to rectify the situation.

Secondly, let them see you displaying a thankful heart! Let them hear you thanking the Lord and praising God for the gifts we receive from Him each and every day. Let them hear us praise God for the provisions we enjoy even if it isn’t as we would have planned. Thank Him for the food that was given and eat it even if it isn’t your favorite. Be thankful for the hand-me-downs or sale items even if you might have chosen something else if you had the choice. Thank Him for the illness or the snowy weather that interfered with your outing. Children need to see this characteristic modeled and the most effective people to do that for them are their parents.

One more real practical way to teach your children to be thankful is to not allow them to complain about the things God has provided. Of main concern on this topic is in the area of food. Children should come to the table with a thankful heart for whatever their mother has prepared for them. If they complain and it is not tolerated, this will go a long way in getting that teaching into their hearts and you will have won a major victory in what is a lifetime battle. If you desire to see a very practical approach to this issue, check out the October 1, 2007, entry in my blog where there is a detailed description of how to approach this problem in children.

Teach your children to share with others who are less blessed. Let them be a blessing and learn the joy of giving to someone who has less than they do. Sometimes, (due to government programs and maybe where we live) it is hard to find a family who has less than we do in material items, but there are various organizations and ministries who can help along that line. For instance, there is Samaritans Purse and others who will take your money and buy Bibles or other items to distribute in countries where owning a Bible is a very special privilege. Let your children actually work to earn some money so they can feel the joy of actually giving something for which they have worked! As we come through this wonderful time of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I will be sharing some of the traditions we have started for our grandchildren with the hope of supporting their parents in their efforts to train the hearts of their children in this area.

One of the best ways to evaluate where your children are in this process of learning to be thankful is to watch and see how generous they want to be with their own things. As parents, it is imperative for you to allow them to be generous even if it seems somewhat careless to you. You need to help them give with a joyful heart and help them work through the level of giving that is appropriate for them. But above all, don’t discourage them or belittle their desire. This is a true sign that they are not thinking totally about themselves and have attained a certain level of contentment with their own level of “things”.

There are a lot of other nuances that surface in a discussion of this nature, but suffice it to say that no one is ever perfect at this. It is a growing process and goes on for a lifetime. Let your children know that you are still growing in this area and it is something you can work at together. Let them see that you have this quality of being thankful as one of your goals for your life, and then let them see you working on it even after they leave your home.

Next week, I will take a break from the normal entries and I will pass on some of our favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes.

Some Final Thoughts for November 6

Well, we have prayed and God has spoken! It is great to know that God has planned this outcome for this time and that none of it takes Him by surprise. That gives me great courage and determination to submit to His authority and His plan. I will continue to pray and seek His will for me. I will continue on my mission of impacting our grandchildren for His Kingdom and supporting our children as they seek to raise their children for His glory. I will continue to do whatever I can to fulfill the Great Commission and do the ministries that God has given to women through His Word. None of that has changed and most of all, God has not changed. We have the wonderful hope of Christ’s appearing (Titus 2:13) and nothing can dampen the peace and joy we have because of that!

Thanks to all of you who have prayed and to those who have been so encouraging to me through this time of election. Thanks for sharing articles and forwards concerning others who have been praying around the world. We know that this outcome is part of God’s ultimate plan as so many were praying. Let’s keep praying and see what God is going to do! It is exciting to think of how God will use this and what part we might play in His ultimate plan!

I was reminded just yesterday of an old song which isn’t right out of the
Scripture, but it certainly contains Scriptural principles and I want to share it with you.
It is called: “My Savior” and it is by Dora Greenwell.

My Savior Dora Greenwell (verses 1 & 5)

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned;
I only know at His right hand
Is One Who is my Savior.

Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He Who lives to be My King
Once died to be my Savior.

There is where our hope lies: Jesus Christ is King!

With love and appreciation! Ruth

Prayer Requests - October 30

Well, Ladies, here we are in the final stretch before the election – the main reason for which we came together for prayer at this time! We have prayed and we have prayed and now it is time to go out next Tuesday and exercise one of our fundamental rights as Americans! Go out and vote and celebrate America! Now is the time to stand our ground! Don’t let the things around you cause you to be disheartened. Let’s bow ourselves before God and acknowledge His power and His control in this battle that we face and then let’s thank Him for seeing us through another day. Remember, His promises are sure and He will not allow anything to happen apart from His perfect plan. I have received, as I am sure many of you have, MANY emails and forwards and other communications concerning Christian people who are praying all over this land! God has heard us and He will respond to us with His best plan. Let’s continue to pray and turn the results over to Him! We and our families and our country are all in His hands and there is nothing that will take Him by surprise! REMEMBER: “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!”

1. Pray for the final stage of the campaign phase of this election.

2. Pray that Christians will get out to vote in numbers that we haven’t seen before!

3. Pray that God’s people will vote for the man who will stand most strongly for our Christian values and Scriptural principles.

4. Pray that righteousness will be exalted and that evil will be judged.

5. Pray that we will be thankful and rest in the outcome knowing that God has looked at all the options and decided just which outcome will bring Him most glory.

Correction

Yesterday I was on my way to Holland Hospital to sit with our family while my mother-in-law had a double mastectomy, when it occurred to me that I had made a mistake in the information on my prayer requests. (You know how sometimes something just comes to you and you weren’t even trying to think about it? It is like God was just putting it there so that I could make the correction.) I gave Moses the credit for calling down fire from Heaven to burn up the water-soaked altar. That was actually another one of Elijah’s events. I was connecting Moses with an altar, but it was the wrong one. I was going to make the correction on my next post, but someone has already noticed it, so I am sending it out today. Please forgive me! Thanks! Ruth

Prayer Requests for October 23

Elijah prayed and it did not rain! Elijah also prayed and fire burned up the sacrifice even though it had been doused with buckets of water! Hannah prayed and she received power to conceive! Time after time God answered the prayers of His servants! We serve the same powerful and faithful God Who delights not only in hearing from His children, but He delights in giving them the things that they request! And God is STILL able to do “over and above ALL that we could ask or think”! We have almost two weeks before what many are calling the most crucial election in our nation’s history. We need to ask God for His mercy and His faithful power to manifest itself in these troubled times. We need to put forth even greater effort in these final days before the election. Maybe some of you will plan gatherings in your home for the purpose of praying for this election. I am organizing an “around the clock” prayer vigil for November 3 at our church. Maybe some of you could do something similar. Whatever you can do, God will honor the prayers and the efforts of His people! Let’s pray to the God who said that “if we have the faith the size of a grain of mustard seed we could remove mountains”. We have a mountain before us, but we serve a God Who is good at moving them! Let’s pray and then trust that His will has been accomplished!

1. Pray that God’s people will get involved in prayer and then vote on Biblical issues!

2. Pray that God will show mercy on our country and put in power someone who will stand firm on Biblical issues as much as is possible.

3. Pray for the protection of those who are out campaigning and most especially those running for the top spots.

4. Pray that our citizens will hear what is being said and think about the ramifications for the future of our country.

5. Pray that Truth and righteousness will prevail through this election and beyond!

Prayer Requests for October 16

“…Nor is there any rock like our God.” That is something to hang onto!!! This has been a time when we really need to turn to God and trust what He is doing! I can’t remember a time when it looked so much like the battle is out of control. Therefore, there has never been a time when we need to turn to the Lord and trust His wisdom and His judgments like we do now. Trusting Him gives us the ability to rejoice and be at peace. And we must exhibit those characteristics so as to give hope to others with whom we come in contact. As Christian people, we know the end of the story and in that we can be “more than conquerors”! We are so blessed to be able to come to God with our cares and concerns and KNOW that He hears and answers prayer and that He gives grace through any situation. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!”

1. The final debate will be over by the time you get this, so just pray for the outcome and how the media will “spin” the results.

2. Pray for Christians all across our nation who aren’t engaged. Pray that they will understand their responsibility to vote according to Biblical standards.

3. Pray that righteousness will prevail.

4. Pray that evil deeds will be exposed and that those who do them will be judged.

5. Pray for God’s mercy on our land for the sake of the many who still hold strongly to the Truth and for the sake of our children and grandchildren!

Prayer Requests for October 9

If ever we needed to pray, it is now! Don’t let God say, “I sought for a man to stand in the gap and found none.” Time is getting short, but our God is able! We have less than four weeks, but God doesn’t need four weeks to accomplish His plan! Keep praying and then trust God for His best.

1. Praise for the debates that have taken place since last Thursday.

2. Pray for the last debate, next Wednesday, Oct. 15. Pray that the questions will lend themselves to the exposure of these candidates for who they are. Pray that their world views will become evident as they answer the questions.

3. Pray that justice and righteousness will prevail!

4. Pray that God will work in the hearts of the media and the people in leadership in our country and that some hearts will be turned toward Him!

5. Pray for those whose reputations are being destroyed before our citizens. Pray that God will strengthen them as they walk daily through this election season.