The Home Builders | Week 9
Donna Gaines teaches from Colossians 3 as we enter Week 9 of "The Home Builders: Embracing the Art of Home" from Bellevue Women.
The Home Builders
Week 9 - Gratitude
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
1. Do All in the Name of the Lord Jesus
A. Word – “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45).
God takes thanksgiving seriously. He severely punished the Israelites for their murmuring and complaining in the wilderness. “Just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you” (Numbers 14:28).
A thankful heart is a heart that trusts the Lord. Lack of faith is revealed in our complaints and longing for more.
B. Deed–Colossians3:10-17 “Put on the new”
2. Give Thanks
Gratitude has many synonyms – thankfulness, appreciation, recognition, indebtedness, blessing, and praise to name a few. It is an attitude or point of view that is chosen. We must choose to give thanks through Him.
A. Choose gratitude and thanksgiving
“Was this the clue to the quest of all most important? Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo – the table of thanksgiving” (One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp, p. 32).
B. Teach gratitude
“It might sound simplistic, but I believe the cure to our kids wanting more starts with teaching them to be thankful for what they already have” (Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Kristin Welch, p. 17).
Wise words we heard along the way that we used in parenting:
You choose your attitude – choose a good one. Your attitude determines your altitude.
Ideas to implement:
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Have your children rephrase murmuring and complaints into gratitude.
- Scriptures to read and memorize: Proverbs 18:21, Proverbs 27:19, Psalm 18:3, Psalm 22:22-23, Psalm 23:1, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 30:4, Psalm 34:1-3, Psalm 37:3-5, Psalm 56:10-11, Psalm 100:3, Psalm 117:1-2, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 139:13-17, Psalm 145:18-19, Philippians 4:8
C. Gratitude and thanksgiving produces joy
Learn to be content. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).
“We live in a culture that is obsessed with not only making our kids happy by giving them everything they want, but also trying to keep them happy. It’s an impossible and exhausting task...But instead of making kids happier, it just makes them want more...I think this requirement of being happy all the time is where entitlement thrives” (Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, p. 62).
“Taking pictures of yourself all the time is a really weird, self-interested thing to do. Especially if you put them on the Internet and expect feed-back. It’s asking people to validate how your face looks, not who you are as a person or anything beyond how well you can put yourself together for an ‘impromptu’ snapshot.”(Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, p. 71).
D. Adjust your focus – Colossians 3:1-4
“Communion with God, what was broken in the Garden, this is wholly restored when I want the God-communion more than I want the World-consumption” (One Thousand Gifts, p. 220).
Additional Resources
Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World: How One Family Learned that Saying No Can Lead to Life’s Biggest Yes, Kristen Welch, Tyndale, 2015
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp, Zondervan, 2010
Daring to Hope: God’s Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful, Katie Davis, Multnomah, 2017