Give Thanks This Fall!

Dan Norton of Back to the Bible states- "Parenting is a thankless job. You spend your entire life taking care of your kids—washing their clothes, making meals, carpooling them from activity to activity. And do they ever thank you? Probably not? Wouldn't it be nice if your child came back and said, "Thanks, Mom and Dad."
But then you begin to realize that maybe we sometimes do the same thing—not to our earthly parent, but to our Heavenly Father. He's done so much for us, but how often do we express thanks?
We will being our Fall 2010 Sunday School program for our elementary age students with an 8 week unit on the prophets. It started September 5th when we learned about Jonah.
How often are we like the prophet Jonah, the guy in the belly of the great fish? Jonah says, in the belly of the great fish, "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me…For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,…all Your billows and Your waves passed over me…The waters surrounded [encompassed] me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head…
"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:2 9).
Perhaps your family would like to begin each school day with some time in God’s word and in prayer. If you want to be intimate in thanking God, use your prayers as a forum for your thanksgiving. There is not a more appropriate place to be thankful than when you are talking with God.”
Dan Norton says-“Prayer is not just about our wants. It's about thanking God for His blessings. We never actually leave God's presence, physically that is. Remember, the psalmist struggled with that in Psalm 139—"Where can I go from your presence?" he asked God. The answer, of course, is nowhere—but we can leave God's intimate presence. And when we pray, or when we thank God, we want to do it in His presence. “

This Fall….As a family, carve out time in the morning or evening to study God’s word and pray together. Remember that God Loves to hear our praise and thankful prayers!