Creative Ways to Thank Others During Your Family Gratitude Month

Creative Ways to Thank Others - Parenting Like HannahSo, you have decided to join the family gratitude month challenge. The first couple of days were easy enough, but now it’s starting to seem more like a chore. Introducing a little fun into the challenge can help your family show their thankfulness for the entire thirty days of November.

As always, Pinterest is your friend. Don’t feel like you have to get caught up in that Elf On The Shelf type competitive madness though, for your family month of gratitude. If you and your kids are having fun writing notes or making cookies for the entire month – go for it.

If you want some new ideas though, here are a few I have used or seen over the years (my apologies to the original creative people – I have no idea of the original source of any of these):

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Fun Ways to Have a Family Month of Gratitude

You've Been Thanked! - Parenting Like HannahAs I write this, Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. On that day, families and friends around the country will gather and spend a few minutes thanking God for His blessings. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but what would happen if your family chose to make this month – or any month – an entire month of gratitude?

The idea for the month of gratitude is to spend some time each day finding creative ways to thank anyone and everyone who has touched your life in a positive way. Some days, you may chose to do things together as a family. Other days, each person may do something individually.

At the end of every day, spend time discussing what you did, why that person needed to be thanked and how they reacted. Then spend some time thanking God for His blessings, including the people you thanked that day.

So who are some people your family may choose to thank?

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Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart

Discipline That Connects With Your Child's Heart - Parenting Like HannahAs a Christian parenting blogger, I am offered quite a few parenting books to review. It’s important to me to make sure you are using books to guide you that will actually help your parenting and not make a muddled disaster out of your best intentions.

Which is why I am really torn about the new book, Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart by Jim and Lynne Jackson. The authors are obviously trying to counter what they see as parents who never really listen to their kids and correct in anger and for childish mistakes, not just rebellion. They also introduce godly principles and commands into the parenting mix. Obviously, I am a huge fan of all of those principles.

The problem I have with the book is really two-fold. First, the overall tone of the book is a bit touchy-feely for my tastes. I prefer a more straight-forward style. There is nothing wrong with writing or preferring a less direct style. Unfortunately though, that style always makes me want to immediately reject things that are shared – even when I am a strong proponent of those very things – because of the way they are written. It just feels a little too etherial. If you enjoy that style, you will appreciate this book, because it is a rather unique way to write a parenting book.

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Worshipping With Your Children In Service

Worshipping With Your Kids In Service- Parenting Like HannahIn Kids and Worship, I shared with you the important reasons I prefer children to worship with their families and not in a separate children’s worship service. Often this service is little more than entertainment- with children learning they should always have fun during worship and that worship is about how they feel, not about worshipping God. Your children are missing so many things vital for their spiritual growth and health when they are separated from you – even for just part of the service.

You may have experienced a few frazzled worship services with your children and decided it is best for everyone if they are removed from the auditorium as quickly as possible. With a few tips in your pocket and a couple of extra loving Christian hands, your family can reap the benefits of family worship with very little pain and suffering!

These are some of the things that made having our daughter in worship not only possible, but something we all valued – even those sitting near us! Every child is different, but some combination of these tips should work with almost any child.

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Kids and Worship

Worshipping With Kids - Parenting Like HannahIf your congregation is like most churches, they offer some sort of children’s worship. It can last the entire duration of the worship service or happen just during the sermon. Some congregations only have children’s worship for preschool children, while others offer it through late elementary or even the teen years.

I have long been an advocate of children remaining in the worship service. There are tons of benefits from our children remaining in the adult worship. In my opinion, those benefits are far more important than the distractions children may cause if allowed to stay.

You may be thinking you won’t “get anything out of worship” if your kids are sitting with you. Yet ultimately, worship is not really about us. Having your kids with you in worship may be challenging at first.  If you stick with it though, your kids may just get the following benefits:

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