In Everything Give Thanks

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  I Thessalonians 5:16

Here is our tribe, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Richter, tutor and former PBS kindergarten teacher, teaches the children the importance of saying "Thank you."

Crafts,

crafts,

and more crafts.

Tomahawks!

Games,

games,

and more games!

Hayride!

Brave warriors

and Indian princesses getting ready for the feast.

Worshiping,

praying, 

feasting!

Who's that peeking from the teepee?

Doing What We Can

Building a Can Castle at the Canned Goods Olympics

Stack those cans!

Long jumpers

Teamwork

Running the race set before us

Hurdles to overcome

We can do it!

Another relay

Move the Stack relay

Passing the cans

Under and over

We're all winners!

Ready for the bus ride

Bringing our cans to the Food Bank

Delivering the cans

Learning about the Food Bank

Listening attentively 

Touring the warehouse

All those boxes of food!

Watching as volunteers sort cans to be distributed to the needy

"What if there was no food in your house and your parents didn't have any money to buy food?" I asked.

"Well, my mom doesn't need money because she uses a debit card."

"Why can't they just go to Mooyah's or Five Guys and get a hamburger?"

I doubt that any of the students in my class have ever experienced poverty. And as I sit here writing this post, eating a snack and planning what I'll fix for supper, I realize that I've never had to wonder if I'd be able to afford to put food on my table.  But judging from the numerous pallets of boxes we saw stacked at the Food Bank, it's evident that there are many children in the Baton Rouge area who would go hungry were it not for the assistance of others.

I hope the students enjoyed the games in our Canned Goods Olympics.  But more than that, I hope they will grow to have compassion for those less fortunate and will experience the joy of giving.

"Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy."  Psalm 82:3

"He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,
And He will pay back what he has given."  Proverbs 19:17

Veterans Day

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." (Abraham Lincoln)

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect." (Eleanor Roosevelt)

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." (Ronald Reagan)

My pastor posted these quotes on Facebook; these are wise words, well worth passing along.  It's never too early to teach our children the importance of preserving the liberties we enjoy in this country.  America is certainly not perfect; as a nation we have many faults. But we also have freedoms that are denied to some people in other parts of the world. 

It's not too early to teach our children to appreciate the men and women of the armed services who risk their lives to keep us free. As the saying goes, "Freedom isn't free."