His Name

 

thankfulnessartwork

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever.
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
(Psalm 100, NIV 1984 ~ emphasis mine.)

 

Thanksgiving is, by definition, a time to give thanks.  When we give thanks, there has to be an object of our thanks. We can say that we are thankful for our loving family, food on our table each day, machines to assist in shortening the process of washing our laundry, clean water to drink, nature to enjoy, etc., but do we ever pause to ponder and reflect upon the One who has graciously provided all things?

Who is it that we praise and give thanks to?

After leaving a Celebrate the Truth workshop recently, the question of WHO is the object of our praise stuck with me. This Thanksgiving, I desire to intentionally focus mine and our children’s hearts and gratitude of thanks upon the One True God.  Who is He?  What is He like?  How can we know Him?  God reveals His character, who He is, through His name/titles. I’ve had the book God’s Names by Sally Michael from Children Desiring God for a year now, but had not read it with the kids.  I pulled it off the shelf, began to skim through it, and realized it would be a perfect starting point for our Thanksgiving study.  After including additional Scripture references, scouring our worship music for songs related to His name (Oh, how good that was for my soul!), and creating colorful fall leaves with His names/titles, I think we are ready to center our praise and thanksgiving on our Great God through meditation on His Word, prayer, and song!

God'sNames Book

thankful verse

 

 

 

 

leaf sample

 

 

 leafsample2

The ‘Thank Him Tree’ list and printables were created to be used in conjunction with Sally Michael’s God’s Names, a Bible, a natural and simply made ‘Thanksgiving Tree,’ and an optional praise song list. Print out the verse card and the leaves, laminate (if you desire), and cut. Then, as you read and study the names and character traits of God, attach the corresponding leaf to your tree and thank God for who He is and what He has done

New Bible Memory Charts

Psalm 69 5b ScreenshotThe church we are currently attending implements Gopher Buddies from Word of Life.  I decided to create tune charts that our three year old will be learning this year for this Bible club.  These verses are…

Acts 2:47b
Jeremiah 29:11a
John 15:15b
John 15:17
Mark 16:15b
Psalm 69:5b

In addition, I created several new Bible Verse Charts to help my Kindergarten daughter learn and retain the verses for her Bible Club.  They are…

1 John 4 14 ScreenshotActs 16:31
Colossians 1:3
1 Corinthians 15:3
1 Corinthians 15:4
Genesis 1:31
James 2:10
1 John 4:14
John 3:14
John 3:15
John 3:16
John 14:6
John 17:17
John 20:31
Joshua 24:24
1 Peter 1:25
Psalm 118:1
Psalm 147:5

All of these new FREE verse resources are in ESV and are listed in alphabetical order on the Bible Memorization page at Hubbard’s Cupboard.

May you enjoy assisting your little ones in learning God’s Word!

20 Days of Thanks – 1st Day

Today is day 1 of our family’s 20 Days of Thanks!

20 Days of Thanks Button

 

The kids all seemed to choose to say thank you to God for different family members!

DSC_3381 DSC_3365 DSC_3394 DSC_3398  DSC_3402
We won’t be posting our thanks everyday, but I think we are off to a great start!  The kids got busy right away writing and drawing their thanks.  They especially enjoyed being able to take photos with the camera (which they don’t typically get to do). =)

Why not ask your children to share what they are thankful for!

Praise the LORD.  How good it is to sing praises to our God. 
How pleasant and fitting to praise him!
Psalm 147:1

Go ahead and print your own FREE 20 Days of Thanks booklet from Hubbard’s Cupboard or print one from This Reading Mama which has kids think of things they are thankful for related to each letter of the alphabet.  Both are simple ways to intentionally build hearts of thankfulness!

20 Days of Thanks

Ann Voskamp, in her book 1000 Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, states…

God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.

Leading up to Thanksgiving this year, I desire for our children to get a small taste of the 1,000 gifts challenge by drawing, writing, and maybe even taking some photos of things they are thankful for in their own lives.

20 Days of Thanks Button

I created a booklet for our kids to record their words and drawings of gratitude – simply called ‘20 Days of Thanks’.  Each day has a short verse of Scripture to meditate on, a space for drawing, and a space for writing.  Due to the various ages and fine motor abilities of our children, I made several versions – unlined for our toddler, single lined for our PreK child, regular dotted lines for our first grader, and some smaller lines for our third and fifth grader who will be using cursive.

Here’s a quick peek…

20 Days of Thanks cover   20 Days of Thanks sheets

and a link!

‘20 Days of Thanks’ booklets – FREE to print for your own family!

Also, come see how we used these printables on the first day of our 20 Days of Thanks.

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.  (Psalm 103:2)

Character Traits for Kids

As part of the Joyful Heart Character preschool curriculum at Hubbard’s Cupboard, 27 character traits are explored with children.  This is done through singing a character trait song, memorizing a corresponding Bible verse, reading aloud related Scripture verses, studying a character or story from the Bible that models the trait, reading associated fictional stories, and  completing a craft or activity linked to the character trait being studied.

The following character traits are emphasized in the Joyful Heart Character Curriculum…
Orderly, Attentive, Teachable, Obedient, Respectful, Honest, Forgiving, Peacemaker, Courageous, Discerning, Content, Servant Hearted, Thankful, Self Control, Loving, Humble, Prayerful, Modest, Joyful, Generous, Responsible, Compassionate, Kind, Patient, Diligent, Faithful, Full of Faith

 

We have had the Character Trait Tune Charts available since the creation of the curriculum…Character Trait Tune Charts

but now you can also choose to print ones like this!

Character Trait Definitions and Verses

 Joyful Heart Character: Character Trait Definition and Verse Charts

 
If you are looking for a single sided chart that contains just the character trait definition and the related Bible verse, the above charts are for you!  The Character Trait Definition and Verse Charts focus on the same character traits as the song charts and use the same picture cues.  (Although these were originally designed to be used with the Joyful Heart Character preschool curriculum, elementary aged children can benefit from these, too.) 

As Christians, we desire to exhibit traits that reflect Christ.  We can train and instruct our children in these traits, but without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they will be powerless.   As we teach the character traits, we need to pray that God will help our children understand that they are sinful and in need of a Savior, that He would stir in our children a desire to live for the glory of God, that they would accept Jesus as their own Savior, and invite the working of the Holy Spirit.  Children need God, not just good morals and character traits to follow!  We can use Bible stories to point them to God.  The stories in the Bible, the characters, the events – –  ALL point to God.  So, in addition to studying the character traits exhibited by the people of the Bible, we also need to make sure to take time to think about and discuss what the stories reveal about the character of our Lord.  Children will learn that He is all knowing, all powerful, faithful, loving, gracious, attentive, eternal, and much more!   It is a good reminder for us as well =)

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