She outlined her talk by asking several questions:
HOW do I get to that place of a deep, "every day" kind of gratitude in my life?
- By INTENTIONALLY praying and asking for eyes to see the gifts
- Treasure hunt hourly
- Start a gratitude journal
WHY do I need to do these things?
By recognizing our gifts, we learn that God is GOOD and we can trust Him. This leads to joy in our lives.
WHAT about the unwelcome hard gifts?
- "All is grace"... I can choose to receive or refuse, and I need to trust God to lead me through to His provision.
- We need to surrender to God in each circumstance and let Him show us how challenging things can become blessings in our lives.
WHERE to next?
Pass it on... because "a gift is always a gift," regift, serve, give it away.
"I am blessed! I can bless! So this is happiness!"
We need to set an example for our children by modeling a grateful attitude and giving them opportunities to share their gratitude for blessings in their lives. Here are some ideas that our speaker shared with us:
- Go on gratitude walks...collect items that you see as gifts, point out beauty and value of each thing.
- Read books that teach them to observe and appreciate the gifts of nature, noticing their surroundings.
- Treasure hunt with them to find the good in things.
- Have them help make gifts to give to others.
- Help them learn how to receive gifts graciously, thankfully...write thank you notes.
- Make "gift" jars, treasure jars.
- Have a "gift basket"--collect gifts from the week and share them on Friday around the supper table.
- Share stories of the goodness of God in your home. Invite other Jesus followers into your home to share their faith stories with your children, recounting the goodness of God.
- Teach children the name of the birds, trees, plants so they learn to notice the difference in each one.
- Play games where they have to notice things...observe a tray of items, then remove it and try to recall each item.
We put together a craft to help us remember to take note of things we are grateful for in our everyday lives. Here are some example of how our members are using their crafts!
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Cheesy Hashbrowns with Ham:
2-3 cups hashbrowns
2 cups leftover ham
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix hashbrowns and ham. Put into greased 9x13 pan.
Melt butter with the onion. Add salt, pepper, cream of chicken soup & sour cream. Pour over hashbrowns & ham.
Bake 1 hour or until hashbrowns are tender.
Top with cheddar cheese. Bake until melted.
Enjoy!!!
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Announcements:
- If you are interested in purchasing a MOPS shirt, please bring $20 this Tuesday. When ordering, please keep in mind that the shirts run small.
- We are still in need of more childcare workers! If you know someone who enjoys working with children, please recommend them to the steering team.
- We will be helping assemble a directory of home/family businesses for our group members. If you or your spouse have a business that you would like included in a directory, please listen for an announcement at the meeting for further information.
- Thank you to those of you who purchased and/or sold coupons for our Antiquities fundraiser and especially those who volunteered to work shifts during the photo sessions! Our biggest THANK YOU needs to go to Chrisie Harinen, who spent countless hours arranging the fundraiser, collecting coupons and money, calling people to schedule their sessions, and ultimately working many of the unfilled volunteer shifts herself. There are many costs associated with running our group, and fundraisers help pay for things like child care during our meetings, speaker fees, craft supplies, beverages and other supplies at meetings, and much more. We can't provide everything necessary for our group to function without your help!
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Looking forward to our next meeting on November 17th:
We will be hosting a speaker, Kim Regensburger, who will share her personal journey with Christ. We will also have time to do a fun "ice breaker" type activity at your tables!
The STRONG and POWERFUL tables are on for breakfast and the PASSIONATE table is in charge of bring snacks for MOPPETS.
We can't wait to see you this Tuesday!
