Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Don't Get Stuck in Tradition

Today is the last day of November. Once the calendar page flips to December, it's an all-out sprint to Christmas. Our December calendar has all the normal stuff on it plus all the Christmas stuff. It's filling up fast.

One thing I've yet to get on the calendar is the annual visit to "The Penguin House." There's a house in our town that has more than 100 Christmas-themed penguin blow-ups in the yard. My youngest daughter loves going to this house every year. It is at the top of her list of favorite Christmas traditions.

Yet, there are Christmas traditions that not everyone in my house likes. Nobody but me likes date cookies -- a long time family recipe. A couple of years ago, I quit making them. They're hard to make and they're extra calories I don't need. When I want some, I go see my mom who still makes them. If I have extra time, I might make a batch for me, but I no longer stress about getting the date cookies made.

Christmas traditions are great, but they're not good if they become a chore or a source of contention within your family. Make it a point this year to destress your Christmas season by planning which traditions to take part in.

Tonight is a rare quiet night in our house. No practices so we'll all sit down to dinner together, and the girls will get to bed on time. It will be a great night to do our Christmas planning.

In years past, I've decided what Christmas traditions to put on the calendar, but this year, I'm enlisting the help of the family. The days leading up to Christmas get jam-packed with all the things we try to do because we've always done them. Yet, no one ever stops to ask if we really like doing them.

Letting your family help you plan for the holiday can take a lot of the stress and all of the feelings of not being appreciated out of the mix. You don't necessarily have to have a detailed plan but get a general idea of the things that your family wants to do this season. Then get rid of the things that no one likes but that you always do. Just because you've always done it, doesn't mean you have to continue doing it. If no one likes great-grandma's fruitcake recipe, quit making it. If your kids don't like to go to the annual Christmas tree lighting in your city, don't go.

Sorting out what your family wants to do during the Christmas season not only eliminates some of the grumpiness in your family, it frees up your time. Proverbs 21:5 says "The plans of the diligent lead to profit  as surely as haste leads to poverty." In this case, the profit is time and happiness. With a plan for the holidays, you might find you even have enough time to try something new and different.

Set aside some time with your entire family to make a plan for the holidays. Start with these questions:
  • What's your favorite Christmas tradition?
  • What Christmas tradition do you like the least?
  • Is there anything that we haven't done at Christmas that you would like to do?
  • If you had to pick one thing to do this Christmas, what would it be?
Try to pick one thing that each family member thinks is important to celebrating Christmas. Then, get out your calendar and schedule those things in.

When you have a plan and are doing the things your family really wants to do during the busy Christmas season, you have more time to focus on what's important -- the birth of Christ. So, break out your calendars, settle your families at the kitchen table and start planning. You'll be glad you did.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Don't Forget the Stick

It's my job to get the hockey stick when we go to practice and games. My daughter hauls her bag of gear, and I grab the stick. We've always done it that way, mainly because my daughter doesn't remember how long the stick is and has a tendency to accidentally whack others with it. We've been hauling her gear and stick to practice and games for more than a year and a half, and I've never forgotten the stick. Until last night.

I popped open the back of my station wagon, pulled out her gear and realized we didn't have a stick. A hockey player's stick isn't like a baseball bat. You can't just pick up another one and it will do the same thing. Sticks are cut to be the right height, and the blades are curved differently, depending on if you're a left-handed shot or a right-handed one. Playing with someone else's stick is a lot like trying to borrow someone else's eyeglasses. You can do it, but it may not be the right fit.

Left with no choice, we checked with the guys at the snack bar to see if they had a stick we could borrow. The one they came up with was a little bit short and curved a little bit in the wrong direction. But it was better than no stick at all. My daughter survived practice without her stick but said it wasn't something she wanted to do again.

Because I forgot her stick, my daughter was forced to play with a stick that was less than ideal. Too often, we try to force our kids to play the game of life with the wrong stick. We forget that our kids were created to be who God wants them to be, not who we want them to be.

I'll admit there are times when I try to force my girls into the mold that I would like them to fit. I miss the days when my girls loved to wear skirts and dresses. Now, it's all jeans and T-shirts. Sometimes, I wish I could get my youngest to just take a few minutes to think before she acts and not barrel through life at 110 miles an hour. And there are other days when I wish my oldest would not be quite so cautious. There are days when I'd rather do anything other than sit through another freezing hockey practice or another rainy soccer game.

But God designed our kids to be a part of His perfect plan -- not a part of our "perfect" household. As a parent, it's our job to encourage our kids and to show them how to use their gifts and personalities for Him. It's not our job to create the "perfect" children.

We are to help mold our kids into the image that God has for them, not the image we have in our minds. No matter how different our kids' choices may seem, we must keep in mind that Genesis 1:27 tells us "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Those quirks and differences are all a part of who they are. And who they are is exactly who God made them to be.

So, encourage your kids to be themselves. Don't expect them to be like anyone else. God didn't make them to fill the same role as anyone else. Let them play with their own stick, not a borrowed one, and you'll be amazed at where God will take them.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Memory Monday: Caught in the In-Between (Isaiah 49:13)

Whew. The Thanksgiving weekend is over. I don't know about you, but I found it hard to pull myself out of bed this morning. After all the turkey, shopping and family get-togethers, I could use another day off. Plus, the weather has turned cold, and giving up my cozy spot under the blankets is an act of will power.

My house is stuck in the in-between state of half Christmas, half Thanksgiving. I haven't yet taken down all of the fall decorations, but I've put up a few of the Christmas ones. The tree is up, but so is our Thanksgiving wall. I have a gigantic Joy sitting on my mantel, but there's a scarecrow in my kitchen. The Christmas lights are lighting up the night sky, but my girls still have pumpkins on their doors.

This week, I'll slowly switch over the decorations to all Christmas, but I think sometimes we also get stuck in the in-between during this season of the year. While Christmas is a holiday filled with joy and celebration, it's also often a season of mixed emotions.

This is the time of year when we miss most the family members who aren't here. Whether they are in a different part of the country or they have died or may even be deployed in harm's way, Christmas is when their absence hits home the most. We know we should enjoy the season. We should make the holiday special for our kids. But some days it's tough because we really don't feel that way. We simply feel sad, and we miss our loved ones. We're stuck in that place in between joy and sadness.

If your family is experiencing the emptiness left by a death, an illness or a famly member separated by distance, don't just ignore it and act like it doesn't matter. If that person was special to you, then your kids are probably feeling the loss, too. Take some time to acknowledge the feelings and to know that, yes, this Christmas will be different. It will feel different. There may be tears. And that's OK.

Help your kids understand it's OK to feel sad, even though it's Christmas.
  • Talk with your kids about the person you are missing. Don't act like they didn't exist or that everything will be the same. Be honest with your kids about how you are feeling about the situation. It's fine for your kids to see you being sad. It gives them permission to be sad, too.
  • Remember the good stuff. Share the happy memories of holidays past when that special person was around. Remember the time Uncle George dropped the cranberries at dinner. Or the time Grandpa tried to play Wii and threw the remote at the TV. Amidst the sadness, you may find laughter.
  • Remind your kids that God is the great Comforter. He knows what it is to be sad -- after all, His Son died. God's comfort is even a reason for joy. Isaiah 19:13 says "Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones."
So, if your family is caught in the in-between -- that place between joy and sadness -- this Christmas season, acknowledge it. Remember the person you miss. And reach out to God and each other for comfort. This Christmas will feel different, but you can still find joy in the birth of Jesus.

Friday, November 25, 2011

The Gift of Time

As you're reading this, I'm probably shopping. Yep, I'm one of those crazy people who gets up at the crack of dawn and goes shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I love getting a good bargain, but I mostly love spending the day hanging out with my mom and watching all the other crazy people.

I'm hoping to put a dent in the girls' Christmas lists this morning, and probably get a couple things for myself, too. As I pondered my girls' lists this week -- one short and one long -- I wondered what on their lists to get. We have a few surprises in store, so the actually list shopping is going to be limited. Yet, we always try to get that one thing they absolutely think they must have. (Although, this year, my 10-year-old thinks she must have a cell phone. She'll be disappointed on that one.)

But you know what I've discovered over the past 10 years? The one thing my kids truly want more than anything else is me. They want to know they have my undivided attention. They want to spend time with me.

As a parent, don't buy into the myth that you can give your kid "quality" time rather than "quantity" time. Our kids needs us to spend time with them -- lots of it. They need us to put away our phones, our computers and our TVs and focus on them and what they have to say. They need us to listen to them, laugh with them and dry their tears. But we can't do that if we don't make the time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." If you have kids, the time for spending time with them is now. Our kids will only grow up once. If we don't capture this time now, we won't get it back.

This Christmas, I encourage you to give your kids the gift of time. Make each of your children a coupon book offering them your time. You can set up a regular date with each of your kids, or you can offer them the opportunity to choose the time. Coupon ideas include playing a game of their choice with you, making dinner with you or staying up a half hour later to spend time alone with you. Make coupons that fit your child and your family. You can find some coupon templates and more ideas here.

Give your kids the gift of time this Christmas. You don't have to brave the mall for it, and it's what they really want.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

My oldest daughter loves Thanksgiving. She thinks it's one of the best holidays of the year. We don't really do anything special. We eat, we play some games, we watch some football, and we look at the ads to plot our Black Friday shopping trip. But my daughter loves it. She loves the food, the hanging out together, and the fact that she doesn't have to go to school.

I, too, think Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays, and it too often gets lost in the rush from Halloween to Christmas. What other holiday exists where the sole purpose is to get together with family and eat? There are no gifts to buy, no decorations to put up. There's just a time to enjoy each other and reflect on what we have to be thankful for.

All month, I've been sharing with you all the things for which I'm thankful. Today, as I reflect on those things, I want to finish with telling you I'm thankful for you. When I started this blog, I figured my parents and maybe some of my friends would read it. Here I sit a year and a half later, and more than 400 of you get my thoughts in your email inbox every morning. Some of you hang out with me on the Everyday Truth Facebook page.

I feel blessed that God meets me in my chair at 6 every morning to provide me with something to share with you. Your comments and encouragement make a difference in my day. So, today I'm grateful that God has allowed each of you, whether you live next door or in Nigeria, to touch my life. As Paul said in Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God every time I remember you." Thank you all for being a part of my life.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day of Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I'm Thankful for Prayer

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for prayer.

Communication is important to any relationship. Can you imagine trying to be friends with someone if you never talked to them? How well would that work? It would be really hard to stay friends if you couldn't communicate, wouldn't it?

People used to talk to those who were far away via letter and telegraph. Then Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which let people actually talk to those who were far away. Today, we have the phone, email, texting, video chatting and instant messaging. We can communicate with  anyone in the world instantly.

Instant communication lets us know what is going on in far-away places. We know when an earthquake hits in Turkey or when a government falls in Egypt. Few corners of the earth are left untouched by the ability to communicate.

Did you know that long before the telephone or text messaging, God came up with the first form of instant communication? It's called prayer. You can do it any time, anywhere, and God always hears you. You don't need any special equipment, and you don't need to follow any directions. All you have to do is talk, and God listens.

1 John 5:14 says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." If we are talking to God, He hears us. He doesn't always answer us back right away, and He doesn't always give us exactly what we ask for, but He hears us. And He answers.

God never lets a prayer go unanswered. He has three answers -- yes, no and wait. It's not always easy to hear no, but when God says no to your requests, it's because He has something better in mind for you. And it's never easy to wait, but God's timing is perfect -- way better than ours could ever be. So, if God asks us to wait, be assured that it's for a good reason.

Be thankful today for prayer -- God's instant communication system. God doesn't have to listen to us. He does so because He loves us. Thank Him for that today. Write on your Thanksgiving wall one reason you are thankful for prayer. Then use prayer to spend some time talking to God. He loves to hear from you.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I'm Thankful for Jesus' Sacrifice

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for Jesus' sacrifice.

I bet you've heard the verse John 3:16 before. You might even be able to say it without looking at the Bible. It says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Sound familiar?

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to earth so He could be a sacrifice so we could have eternal life with God. Do you know what a sacrifice is? It's giving up something you want for someone else. Any time you let your sister have the bigger piece of cake, that's a sacrifice. If you do what a friend wants to do instead of what you want to do, that's a sacrifice.

Jesus' sacrifice was bigger than giving up a piece of cake or letting someone else choose the game. Jesus sacrificed His life. He died so we could be closer to God. You see, our sins -- the stuff we do that goes against what God says like lying or being mean to someone -- keep us from being able to be close to God. God is perfect, and He can't be close to sin. Our sin separates us from Him.

In the Old Testament, every time one of the Israelites sinned, they had to offer a sacrifice to God in the form of an animal or some other type of food, like grain. When Jesus came and died on the cross, his sacrifice was for all of us and all of our sins. We no longer have to offer God a sacrifice of an animal to get rid of our sins. Jesus' sacrifice took care of that. When God looks at us now, He sees us as if we're perfect because he sees Jesus' sacrifice. All we have to do is tell God we're sorry and ask Him to help us not to do it again.

Jesus made the biggest sacrifice anyone could make. He gave up His life for someone else -- you and me. Thank God today forloving you enough to send Jesus to be a sacrifice. Write on your Thanksgiving wall that you're thankful the Jesus came to be a sacrifice for you.

Monday, November 21, 2011

I'm Thankful for God's Love

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for God's love.

Sometimes life is tough. Our friends can be mean to us. Our parents don't seem to understand us. Someone we love dies. We get sick or hurt. School is hard.

In those moments it's easy to feel like we're all alone, like no one cares about us. But it's the tough situations that remind us that God loves us.

No matter what we do or how bad our situation seems, God's love is never changing. He loves us not because of what we do or say but because He made us. He sent His Son to die for us because He loves us.

The Bible tells us that God's love is "unfailing." That means it's always there. It always surrounds us -- even when bad stuff happens.

David was a guy who had some bad stuff happen to him. He had to fight a giant when he was a teen-ager. The king tried to kill him -- several times. His son died. His other sons tried to kill him. It seems like tough things were always coming David's way. Yet, it was David who wrote these words: "When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your unfailing love, LORD, supported me." (Psalm 94:18)

When bad things happened to David, he remembered that God loves Him. And God loves us just as much as He loved David. His love will always be there.

So, when you're having a bad day and you feel like you're all alone, remember God loves you. He loves you so much He let Jesus die so you could have a relationship with Him. When the world seems out to get you, when you feel like your foot is slipping, remember God's love is there to support you. No matter what you do, He will always love you.

Thank God for His love today. Write on your Thanksgiving wall one way you are thankful God shows His love for you. While we can't get a hug from God, He shows His love for us through our families, through Jesus' sacrifice and even through the world He made. Pray and thank God for showing His love to you.

Friday, November 18, 2011

I'm Thankful for the Bible

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for God's Word.

Do you like to read? I do. I'll read just about anything I can get my hands on. I'll even read the back of the cereal box if it's the only thing around.

Books can teach us new things and take us to new places. When we read a book, we can travel around the world, go back in time or blast into space. We can fight pirates, meet a prince in shining armor or solve a mystery. But there's one book that is better than all the rest.

This book tells a true story, and it's written just for you. It tells the story of someone who loves you. It includes giants, wars, kings, lions and even some romance. It is the greatest story ever told.

You can find it all in the Bible. God told different men over thousands of years to write down the story of His love for us. It starts with the world He created for us to live in and ends with an assurance that Jesus will return. In between we see how God showed His love for us in the way He led the Israelites out of slavery, the way He provided for His people through the centuries and the birth and death of Jesus.

But the Bible isn't just an accounting of events. It gives us directions for how to live our lives. It talks about how to be a good friend, how to deal with people who don't like us, what to do when things are tough and even how to treat our parents. That's a lot of stuff to pack into one book.

Psalm 119:105 says "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." That means if we read the Bible, God will show us what He wants us to do. But we have to spend time reading our Bibles for that to happen.

Spend some time today reading your Bible. Thank God that His word has survived through the centuries. Thank Him that His word is true and useful. Write on your Thanksgiving wall today one way that you are thankful the Bible can help you.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

I'm Thankful for Home

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our homes.

Would you like to live in a house that looks like a seashell? How about a house that hangs from a tree branch? What about a house that's completely underground? All of these houses exist. You could also live in a home made entirely of snow and ice or in one made of straw.

No matter what type of house we live in, we can be thankful God has given us a home. You may live in an apartment or a large house. Your family might move every few years to a new house in a new location. But if you have a place to live with the people you love, you have a home.

Home can be one of our favorite places. Like Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz," "There's no place like home." When we leave home for a vacation, it's always nice to come home to the familiar comforts of our own beds, our own toys and our own friends.

God wants our homes to be a place of refuge. Do you know what that word means? A refuge is a place where you can go that you feel safe. Unfortunately, some kids live in homes where they don't feel safe. Maybe there's a lot of fighting in their house. Maybe someone hurts them. Maybe there's just simply not enough food, heat or love to go around.

If you live in a home where you are warm, sheltered and feel safe, if you live in a house where you feel loved, be thankful. The adults you live with are wise. Proverbs 24:3 says "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established." This verse isn't talking about physically building a house. It's talking about being wise in how we deal with other people in our homes. It means we treat others with love, kindness and compassion because that's what makes a home.

If you live in a home where you feel safe and loved, thank God for that today. Pray for those kids who may not have a home -- kids who live in homeless shelters -- as well as for kids who live in homes where they don't feel safe and loved. Write on your Thanksgiving wall something about your home that you are thankful for today.

And, remember, whether your home hangs from a tree, floats on the water or sits in the middle of neighborhood, "There's no place like home."

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I'm Thankful for Imagination

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for imagination.

Let me tell you a story: Once upon a time there was a boy. He went to school, then he came home.

How did you like my story? Would you keep reading if you picked up a book and that's how it started? I sure wouldn't. So, let's give it another try.

Once upon a time there was a very small boy. He left his house one morning to go to school, but on the way to school he got lost. He found himself in a small village where all the residents were purple and wore funny caps on their heads that looked like shoes. Not sure how he ended up in this strange place, the boy asked one of the purple people with a shoe on his head how to get home. "You can't go home. We need your help," the purple person said.

Would you want to keep reading that story? It was much more interesting, wasn't it? The difference between the two stories is the second one took some imagination. I've never met a purple person with a cap that looks like a shoe on his head, but it makes an interesting picture, doesn't it?

God gave us all an imagination. Imagination is the thing that lets authors write interesting stories. Imagination helps inventors create new things. It even lets scientists think up new hypotheses. Without imagination we would never have sent people into space or seen an art masterpiece. Music would be a single tone. Books would be short and boring.

But imagination can be a dangerous thing. If we make up stories instead of telling the truth, that's a poor use of our imagination. If we make up scenarios that scare us or someone else, that's a poor use of imagination. Imagination is only a good thing when we're using it the way God intended it.

Colossians 3:17 says "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." That means no matter what we're doing -- riding a bike, going to school, playing soccer or using our imaginations -- we should do it in a way that pleases God. Don't let your imagination become a source of fear or a way to hurt others. That's not what God intended.

Be thankful today for all the things our imaginations give us. Thank God for interesting books, beautiful art and great inventions. Write down one thing on your Thanksgiving wall that was created by someone's imagination for which you are thankful. Ask God to help you use your imagination to please Him today.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I'm Thankful for Food

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for food.

One of my favorite foods is pizza. I love that you can get it in all sorts of varieties -- pepperoni, green peppers, tomatoes, anchovies, even fish can all top your pizza. You could eat pizza every day for months and never have the same combination twice.

I also like dessert. Yum. Chocolate is my favorite. I can have chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, chocolate fudge, hot chocolate, chocolate mousse and more. Just eating chocolate for dessert, we could probably eat for weeks and never have the same thing twice.

Food comes in an amazing variety of flavors, textures and colors. We can eat salty potato chips, a sweet orange or a bitter lemon. We can try yellow bananas, purple eggplant or red meat. Our tongues are made to enjoy all those flavors, and our eyes are made to delight in all the colors.

God could have given us just one type of food. We could eat the same thing every day. It would fill us up and keep our bodies healthy. But it would be boring. Instead, God chose to give us tongues filled with taste buds that let us enjoy the many flavors of food He created. He gave us healthy foods to fuel our bodies, and He made sweets to give us a treat every now and then.

If you have food on your table three times a day, be thankful. Many people in the world only have enough food for one meal a day -- or less. They don't worry about what type of food they will get. They are simply grateful for any food. It's easy to think those people who don't get three meals a day are far away in places like Africa or India, but there are kids in the United States who don't get enough to eat every day -- and they might even go to your school.

If you're thankful for the huge variety of food from which you can choose, if you have plenty of food in your house, thank God for it. Then take a minute to help someone who might not have enough food. You won't just be helping someone, you'll be making God happy. Proverbs 19:7 tells us "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." When we take care of someone who has less than us, God promises to reward us. How cool is that?

The next time you go to the grocery store, take some of your allowance and buy a couple of cans of food to take to your local food pantry. This food helps people who don't have enough to eat. You can make a difference in another kid's life just by buying some cans of food. Then another child can be thankful for food, too.

On your Thanksgiving wall today, write down the foods for which you're thankful. When you sit down to eat today, be sure to thank God for providing the food you're about to eat and pray for the kids who don't have enough to eat today.

Monday, November 14, 2011

I'm Thankful for Rest

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for rest.

I bet you love it when mom or dad says, "It's bedtime." You probably rush off to put on your pajamas, hop right into bed and exclaim, "I love to go to bed." No? That's not the way it happens in your house? Bedtime isn't something you find exciting?

Most kids I know don't really like to go to bed. I don't know about you, but my kids always find one more thing they absolutely must do before they can go to bed. And don't even think about trying to get them to take a nap!

We don't always like to rest, even when we need it. But our bodies need rest. They need time to rejuvenate from going to school, playing with our friends and participating in sports and activities. God didn't design us to be able to go, go, go all the time.

How do you feel when you stay up too late? You probably yawn a lot and you may start getting a wee bit cranky. Those are our bodies signals that we're tired, and we need rest.

Did you know that God rested? The Bible tells us after God created the world, he took a day off. "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." (Genesis 2:2)

Now, do you think God needs to rest? Of course not. He's God. He never gets tired. So why do you think He took a day off? I think He wanted us to know it's OK to rest. Our bodies need it.

Rest comes in many forms. It's not just sleep. Sometimes we just need to go in our rooms and be by ourselves for a little bit. Sometimes we need to take a nap. And sometimes we need to just sit still for a few minutes.

Think about how good you feel after you've had a good night's sleep. That good feeling comes from being well-rested. So, the next time mom or dad says "It's time for bed," remember that God created us to rest. Your body needs some downtime. Be thankful you have the opportunity to sleep.

Thank God for creating times for our bodies to rest. On your Thanksgiving wall today, write down your favorite way to rest. Maybe you like to sleep. Maybe you like to sit and read a book or watch a movie. Write it down and stick it on the wall. Be thankful God set an example of how to rest.

Friday, November 11, 2011

I'm Thankful for Freedom

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our freedom.

I bet you got up this morning, picked out your own clothes and had a choice of cereals for breakfast. You probably decided whether or not to wear a coat to school. You may have chosen what hairstyle you wanted today. When you got to school, you probably talked to some of the people you have chosen to be friends with. At lunch you probably chose whether to eat all or part of your lunch.

On your way to school, did anyone stop your car and tell you you couldn't go to school? When you got to school did anyone tell you who to talk to or what to say? Probably not.

You had choices this morning because we live in a free country. Many people in the world do not. In some countries only kids whose families have enough money are allowed to go to school. In some places, girls aren't allowed to go to school. In some countries, you don't have a choice about what you want to be when you grow up; you have to do what the government tells you to. And in some parts of the world, it's a crime to talk about God.

Many of us have never lived in a place where we don't have freedom. We take it for granted. And we shouldn't. Men and women throughout history have died protecting our right to be free. Those soldiers don't know most of the people they are protecting. They serve so we can live in freedom. John 15:13 says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Soldiers do that every day. They put their lives on the line in dangerous places so we can live in freedom.

Don't take your freedom for granted. Be thankful for it. Today is Veteran's Day. It's the day we honor the men and women who have served in the military. We take a moment to be grateful for the sacrifices they have made to keep our country free.

Take a minute today to seek out a veteran, someone who was once in the military. Tell them how thankful you are that they chose to protect our country. Make them a card or bake them some cookies.

Pray and thank God for the sacrifices others have made so you can live in a free country. Write on your Thanksgiving wall one thing that you are thankful you can do because you live in a place where freedom is a right.

Be grateful for freedom because it isn't free. It costs brave men and women their lives.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

I'm Thankful for My Church

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for the church.

Do you have a church you attend? I bet your church meets in a building. Some churches have beautiful buildings with stained glass windows and artwork on the walls. Other churches may not have a building of their own. They may meet in someone's home or in a school. Two churches may even share the same building.

Where your church meets isn't important because a church is not a building. A church is the people that meet in the building. When the Bible talks about the church, it's not talking about a pretty building with a steeple. It's talking about the people who meet together. When the Bible was written, the church didn't have a building, and many times the people had to meet together in secret because there were lots of people who didn't like Christ-followers and wanted to hurt them.

No matter where our church meets or how many people are part of our church, we should be thankful for the church. If you have a pastor who preaches the Bible, Sunday School or youth group leaders who care about you and other kids who are also trying to follow Jesus, you should be thankful.

We can be thankful if we live in a country where meeting with others in the church is something we can do without being afraid of going to jail. In many places in the world, it's a crime to be a Christ-follower and to meet together with other Christ-followers. In some countries it's illegal to even own a Bible. When Christ-followers in those countries choose to meet together, they are risking their freedom and sometimes their lives -- just to go to church.

The Bible tells us the church is a group of people who "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." (Acts 2:42-27)

As part of the church, we should be learning about God, telling others about Him and taking care of each other. That's what a church is all about. The next time you go to church, look around at the people. Think about how each person is taking part in the jobs of the church. Thank someone -- your pastor, your Sunday School teacher or even the person cleaning up a spill on the floor -- for whatever job they are doing.

On your Thanksgiving wall today, write down one thing that you are thankful for about your church. It can be the fun children's activities, the great people, your pastor or something else. Thank God for the one thing you like best about your church. And as you head to church on Sunday, remember the church is not a building. It's the people.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I'm Thankful for Teachers

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for God's creation.

I love to learn new things. Just last night, I learned how to make a new recipe for dinner. I didn't have a person teach me. I learned it by following the directions in my cookbook. I could read the directions because a long time ago someone taught me to read. I could follow the directions because when I was a kid my mom taught me how to cook.

God gave us brains that can absorb and remember information. Our minds let us learn new things, but without someone to teach us how to do things, we would be lost.

There are lots of teachers in our lives. Can you think of a few? You have teachers at school and at church. But did you know your coach, the person who teaches you to play piano and your dance instructor are all teachers, too? Your parents and even your brothers and sisters can be teachers, too. Anyone who takes the time to teach you something is a teacher.

God made us all with special gifts and talents, and He wants us to use those gifts and talents to share with others. Jesus was the ultimate teacher. Matthew 11:1 tells us "After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee." Jesus spent much of his time teaching other people about what God wanted them to do.

Think of the people in your life who have taught you about Jesus. Those are important teachers in your life. There's no more important thing for us to learn than to learn what God wants us to do. And God wants us to be teachers, too. He wants us to teach other people about Jesus.

Be thankful today for the people in your life who are teachers. Be especially thankful for those people who have taught you about Jesus. Thank God for all the teachers he has put in your life. Write the names of those people on your Thanksgiving wall. Be sure to tell some of those teachers thank you in person, as well.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I'm Thankful for the World God Made

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for God's creation.

Have you ever seen a platypus? It's a funny looking creature, with a beak like a duck and a tail like a beaver. It can swim and live on land. I don't know about you, but if I had been making up animals, I probably wouldn't have come up with the platypus. But God did.

God also created the elephant and the fly, the blue whale and the hummingbird. God made the ostrich, a bird that can't fly, and the flying squirrel, a squirrel that can. I have a pretty good imagination, but I doubt I could have come up with the wide variety of animals that God did.

Not only did God put an amazing assortment of animals on the earth, He created the flowers, the trees, the grass, the desert, the ocean and the rivers. He made parts of the earth warm all the time and parts of the earth so cold all the time that it's impossible for people to live there.

God spent six days making the world and everything in it. And when He was done, He declared that it was good. Psalm 146:6 says "He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever." God made everything in the world, from the smallest grain of sand to the largest elephant.

God could have made everything the same color and the same size. Imagine how boring that would be. He could have given us just one kind of food to eat. Every animal and flower could have looked the same. But He didn't. He filled the world with color and variety so we could enjoy His creation.

When you're outside today, take some time to look around. Notice the things God has made. See the beautiful array of colors and listen for the different sounds in the world. Find one thing in the world God made that makes you smile. Thank God for the amazing variety found in His creation.

Write down one thing you saw today in God's creation that made you thankful. Add it to your Thanksgiving wall. Pray and thank God for making such a beautiful world.

Monday, November 7, 2011

I'm Thankful I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our families.

Have you ever thought about how your body works? Hold up your hand and look at it. Bend your fingers, then straighten them out again. Make your hand into a fist. Pick something up.

For our hands to work properly, every bone, muscle, ligament and joint has to work together. There are 27 bones in each hand. That's a lot of bones. Our whole body only contains 206 bones, which means about one-quarter of our bones are in our hands.

Do you ever think about making those bones move when you want to do something? When you picked something up, did you have to tell your hand what to do? You didn't, did you? You just thought about picking something up and your hand did it. All those bones, muscles, ligaments and joints worked together to do the task without you having to think about each one. Isn't that amazing?

We don't usually notice how well our bodies work until they don't work. We don't think about breathing until we have a cold, and it's hard to breathe. We don't think about walking unless we break our foot, and it's difficult to walk. We don't think about seeing until we get something in our eye, and we can't see.

God made our bodies to work without us having to take time or energy to make them work. Psalm 139:14 says "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." David (the guy who wrote this Psalm) thanked God for making him. He realized that his body was an incredible thing. He says he is "fearfully and wonderfully made." And, you know what? You are, too.

God made you. He made your body so it is able to do all the things you need it to do. Even if your body has limitations, God gave you the tools to compensate for the limits. Did you know blind people usually can hear really well and smell really well? Those two senses help make up for the loss of sight. People who can't walk, usually have very strong arms so they can manuever a wheelchair or crutches. God created our bodies so they can make up in one area what they lack in another.

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul tells us that we are God's "masterpiece." That means we are the best thing He could ever make. Take a few minutes today and thank God for making you His masterpiece. Add the things you're thankful your body can do to your Thanksgiving wall. Pray and thank God that you are "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Friday, November 4, 2011

I'm Thankful God Provides

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our families.

It rained here the other day. It was our first cold rain of the season. As the raindrops splattered outside, I turned on the heat, curled up in my chair with a blanket and stayed warm and cozy. When I had to go outside later that day, I put on a warm coat, got in my car and turned on the heat. Even though I had to go out, I stayed mostly warm and dry.

While money purchased my house, my car, my coat and even my blanket, it's God who provided those things. He made each of us so we have the talents and the ambition to earn money so we can buy a house and the other things we need.

Sometimes God provides for our needs all by Himself. When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them everything they needed to live. When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, He made food appear on the grass every morning! When Peter was in prison, God provided a way for him to escape.

God cares about our needs, no matter what they are, and He provides the things we need to meet those needs. He provides you with a home, parents, food, school, clothes and friends. He may not always give us what we want -- we might get green beans for dinner instead of pizza -- but He always provides for the things we need.

God tells us we don't have to worry about our needs because He will take care of them. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-26).

God takes care of the birds and the other animals. He provides them with the food they eat. He gives them shelter in their nests. You are much more important to God than a bird, so God is going to provide the things you need as well. The next time you see a bird, remember that God loves you much more than He loves that bird. He provides for the bird, and He will provide for you, too.

Look around the room you are in and make a list of all the things you see in the room that God has provided for you. Remember, while your mom or dad may have bought many of the things in the room, God provided the way for them to make the money that bought the items.

On your Thanksgiving wall today, add some of the things you are thankful God provides for you and your family. Pray together and thank God for providing you with the things you need.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I'm Thankful for Friends

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our families.

Do you have a best friend? Someone that you like to hang out with? Someone that you want to talk to when something exciting happens?

My daughter has a best friend that she's known since she was born. They love to hang out together. If my daughter is bored or has something exciting to share, she wants to immediately see her friend. They go to the movies together, sit together at lunch and have sleepovers. They never seem to run out of things to talk about. They've even shared birthday parties.

Friends are one of God's gifts to us. He gives us friends so we don't have to go through life alone. God knows that sometimes life gets tough. He gives us friends to encourage us and cheer us up during the tough times.

Think about your friends and what you like to do with them. Share your favorite thing to do with your friends. Now, think about how much fun that thing would be to do by yourself. Generally, the things we do with our friends aren't as much fun when we do them by ourselves. It's hard to play a board game or jump rope by yourself. A game of basketball isn't a game unless there's more than one person.

Friends can also help us out. They can make a job seem easier and go by quicker. If your mom or dad told you to go rake all the leaves in your yard, it would seem like a big job. However, if you found a couple of friends to help, it wouldn't take any time at all to finish.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

If we have good friends, then they will be there to help us up when we fall down. They will help us complete a task. They can help us stand up to a bully. We can do all those things alone, but the job is easier with a friend.

Be thankful for your friends today. Add some leaves or sticky notes to your Thanksgiving wall with the names of your friends on them. And be sure to tell your friends how thankful you are for them. A great way to do that is to write them a note and tell them how grateful you are for their friendship. Make it a point to thank at least one of your friends for their friendship today.

Pray together and thank God for your friends. Thank Him for all the ways that friends make life more fun.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I'm Thankful for Family

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done wiht the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for our families.

God gave each of us a family. That family may look different from home to home, but he gave each of us people who love and care for us. People who protect us. People who are always looking out for us.

You may have a mom and a dad and a bunch of brothers and sisters. Or you may live in a home where you're the only child. Some of you may only live with one of your parents, and some kids even live with their grandparents.

No matter what your family looks like, remember that God gave you the members of your family. He knew we need parents to guide us and siblings to hang out with. He knew that sometimes tough things would happen during the day, and we would need a place to come home to where we would be loved and comforted.

Have you ever had something bad happen to you when you were away from home? Maybe another kid was mean to you or something embarrassing happened to you. Maybe all you wanted to do was go home because you knew your family would understand. You knew they would make you feel better.

Have you ever had a problem that you didn't know how to solve? God gave us families to help us through our problems. He gave us parents to offer us wisdom and to teach us the right thing to do. He gave us brothers and sisters who can listen to us and help us come up with solutions.

God even gave Jesus a family because He knew Jesus would need a welcoming place to grow up. Jesus had a mom and dad and brothers and sisters. He grew up in a loving family. His parents loved Him and guided Him. And His mother, Mary, treasured every moment with Him.

The Bible tells us we each have a role to play in our family. Moms and dads are supposed to teach and guide their children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 is talking to parents. It says: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." A parent's job is to teach their kids about God.

Kids have a special role to play in the family, too. Exodus 20:12 says "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." That means kids need to respect and obey their parents.

God created the family as a place where we can be loved and learn about Him. I'm thankful for my family, and I hope you are, too.

Write the reasons you're thankful for your family on your Thanksgiving wall. Pray together and thank God for each other.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Take Time for Thanksgiving

It's Nov. 1, the unofficial start of the holiday season. Some radio stations start playing Christmas music today. Stores will begin inundating us with Christmas sales flyers. We'll begin making plans for spending Christmas with friends and family. Our calendars will quickly begin to fill up.

And somewhere in all this hustle and bustle, we'll fly through Thanksgiving and straight into Christmas. Thanksgiving tends to be the forgotten holiday. It's the holiday we skim through to get to Christmas. There's no big hype about Thanksgiving. It's become a day where we get together with family, eat Turkey, watch some football and read the ads for the big sales on Black Friday.

But Thanksgiving is important, and it offers an opportunity to focus our families' attention on all that we have to be grateful for. We can choose to use the month of November to create grateful hearts in our families.

Like we did last year, Everyday Truth is going to offer a daily family devotional that will focus your families' hearts on being thankful. Starting tomorrow, we're going to focus on one thing we can be thankful for each day. It is my prayer that by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you'll have a family that really celebrated giving thanks.

Today, I want to give you the tools to get ready for this year's series of devotionals. A thankful heart is an attitude that comes when we look around and instead of seeing the problems and bad things in the world, we find ways to give thanks for all that we have. Being thankful creates joy in our hearts and can completely change our outlook on the world.

God has given us so much, and He loves to hear our praise and thanksgiving. Too often, we simply accept His blessings and forget to be thankful. Instead our attitude should be like David in 1 Chronicles 29:13, "Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."

Spend some time today thinking about all the things for which you are thankful. Write them down on a piece of paper. Add to the list as the day goes on. Pray and thank God for each of those things as you write them down. It is only when our own hearts are full of thanksgiving that we can show our children how a thankful heart contributes to a joyful home.

Take a minute to create a "Thanksgiving wall" in your house. In years past, we've made a Thanksgiving tree out of grocery sacks. Simply cut out a trunk and some branches out of brown paper or brown grocery sacks. Use colorful construction paper to cut out leaves for your tree. Each day, your family will write down what they are thankful for on the leaves, and you'll attach them to the tree. Younger kids love the tree.

A simpler version of the "Thanksgiving wall" and one that appeals to kids of all ages is to grab a pad of sticky notes. Whenever you do your devotional for the day, hand out a sticky note to each family member and have them write what they are thankful for on the sticky note. Then stick the sticky note to the wall.

We'll use the "Thanksgiving wall" every day until Thanksgiving. By the end of the month, you should have a wall covered with things to be thankful for.

Don't miss Thanksgiving this year. Take the time to offer up praise and thanksgiving to God. Focus your family's attention on the things God has given you. Make this a month of praise and thanksgiving before you rush into the Christmas season.