 Our family will enjoy the typical American feast with friends and family next week. But, I have seen a sad trend lately. Our society takes out the thanksgiving part of the holiday and calls it Turkey Day. Not only that, but there seems to be a big deal made of Halloween and Christmas, but Thanksgiving is overlooked. But, God wants people of thanksgiving. So, how do we cultivate a heart of thanksgiving? We teach our children to say thank you to everyone, for anything, in every circumstance. After all, they are children who should show honor and respect and kindness to all they come in contact with. But worse than that is a complaining heart; a selfish heart that only demands no matter what it has already received. We dislike this in our children. Before we reproach children for their entitlement natures, let's look a little closer to home. Do we say, "Please" to God, and forget the "Thank you?" We lay out all our requests and we stop there. That's the end of our prayer. Can you imagine if the only communication you received from your spouse or children was a list of things to do for them? You will never have a close relationship with God if all you do is give Him lists of requests. We must have the "thank you" for it is in our thanks that we acknowledge just Who He Is. It's more than a polite thanks; it is thanksgiving, it's what takes away our anxiety, and it is even worship. Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7 (KJV) The Greek meaning of the word "thanksgiving" here is: From eucharistos; gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship) -- thankfulness, (giving of) thanks(-giving). We must also worship with our "thank you, God!" When we are full of gratitude, we have no room for a spirit of heaviness. We have no room for a complaining, selfish heart. We have shifted the focus from our feelings and our temporal needs to the very God who meets every need. When we begin to add "thank you" with our lists of "please," we recognize the very greatness of our God and humble ourselves before it. We come into a relationship with God rather than merely handing Him a list and hitting the road. We remember that He is gracious and He provides, and He cares greatly for us. Let's worship Him in thanksgiving. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Psalm 77: 9-13 (KJV) ~ Deborah dwuehler@thehomeschoolmagazine.com P.S. We have 15+ FREE goodies including full length E-Books and unit studies for your kids, just for the asking! If you are an existing homeschooler or just researching if it's for your family, you are welcome to it all! We want to give these welcome baskets out to everyone even remotely interested in educating their own children. Please share!
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A division of The Old Schoolhouse� Magazine
Did you know? Every class is INCLUDED for members! No limits!
Did you know . . . you can encourage your young reader with animated books at SchoolhouseTeachers.com? Readers from 4 to 10 will love these completely interactive books!
Watch "The Bee, the Bat, and Bird," for instance, and click on the sky to watch day turn to night, then follow the narrator as she reads the story aloud. Or play "Pexi Has a Question About Waves," and your young reader can learn a small bit about science while she also learns to read!
Control the stories at your reader's pace! There are six more books to choose from and more coming next month.
And SchoolhouseTeachers.com and EZTales.com (animated books producer) are joining up to bring out the writer in your young reader as well! We're sponsoring a storybook writing contest that will run through December 31. Have your child* write a story of 300 words or less, and our Facebook fans and editorial staff will choose a grand prize winner. Our winner's story will be made into an animated storybook to be published on our site and will be awarded a Kindle Fire!
Every approved story gets published, however, winner or not! Just make sure to follow the simple contest rules.
Along with our upper-ages classes, we've got tons more for young learners at SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Visit our SchoolhousePreschool, enjoy a sensory learning class for toddlers, have your elementary students learn from Figures in History cutouts, or make a great lapbook!
Join today your first month is just $3. After that, $12.95 a month gives your entire family access to the complete site. Or save 10 percent by purchasing a yearly membership: just $139.
* Ages 5-10, use only the child's first name, please
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Announcement
Paul and Gena's son Levi, was in a terrible motorcycle accident on November 14, 2013. Your prayers for his healing are greatly appreciated. In addition, the TOS family would like to help gather funds for the Suarez family to help cover the cost of food, gas, and hospital bills for the immediate future and ongoing for quite a while. Will you join us in supporting them during this difficult time? Click here to learn more.
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Advertisement
 Experience the Bible everyone's talking about! Kids will dive deep into scripture with the CEB Deep Blue Kids Bible. This engaging Bible offers full-color illustrations throughout with a wealth of notes, devotionals, Bible trivia, and other interactive elements to capture young minds. Now with two new colorful covers.
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The Familyman
There is no way that Thanksgiving is next week!!! That can only mean that . . . that . . . that Christmas isn't far behind. Aaaauuugggggg!!!!!
OK, take a deep breath. You can do it. BE CALM AND ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS.
Today, we got out the Thanksgiving Jar where we place little slips of paper into with the things we're thankful for written on them. That was easy. The hard part is not to put things off to the last moment. For example, right after Thanksgiving we start our weekly Family Advent Nights. During the time, we make a little craft, read a portion of Scripture, light an advent candle, read a Christmas story, and have a little snack while sipping sparkling grape juice. That takes a little planning, but it is one of my children's favorite Christmas activities.
To a busy homeschool mom that can sound a little overwhelming, but we at Familyman Ministries have put the CALM in Christmas (I've now transitioned seamlessly into a commercial).
As in past years, we're offering FOUR, easy-to-assemble Christmas craft kits (one for each week leading up to Christmas). They're fun, inexpensive, and all you have to do is click and it shows up at your door. By the way, if you have two children you'd order TWO kits.
We have also added a NEW, original, read-aloud story to our six volume set of The Familyman's Treasury of Christmas Stories--The Secret of the Snow Village. It's an enchanting story of a little girl who travels through her grandmother's ceramic snow village in search of the true meaning of Christmas. Plus, don't forget six of our Christmas stories are now available on audio CD, recorded by master storyteller, Jim Hodges.
And last but certainly not least, we have our best selling Christmas game To Bethlehem and the ultimate Christmas gift for dads the 2014 You 'da Dad Page-a-Day Calendar.
Wow, we practically take care of Christmas for you. But you've got to order now to make sure you get it in time for your first Advent night. Also, help us spread the word by joining in our Christmas Share Contest. You can earn FREE stuff PLUS a discount on your next order. Click here for details.
Be real and carry on,
Todd
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Advertisement
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AnnouncementNow you can be a TOS affiliate and earn some extra cash!
Would you like to earn 20% commission on TOS items that family and friends purchase through an affiliate website? It's easy, check out this page for more information. Once you are signed up, you simply share your unique affiliate link with family and friends. If anyone purchases anything from the TOS website using your affiliate link, you receive a 20% commission. There are even buttons available to help you promote your affiliate link on your website or blog.
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Raising Real Men
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays! It's one of the least commercialized and least mangled holidays of our culture. Even the name points people toward the God who gives good gifts.
It's fascinating talking about Thanksgiving with our children. The Pilgrims were real people a lot like us--principled Christians who were very concerned about the upbringing of their children. They left England because they were being persecuted for their faith, then left the Netherlands, where they had religious freedom, because they were losing their children's hearts to the culture. They were willing to suffer hardship to worship God and disciple their families as conscience and the BIble led them.
We love to read excerpts from their journals to our children and help them understand the sacrifices our forefathers made to settle this land. The first year of the settlement, nearly half the community died of sickness and starvation. The first Thanksgiving feast was a celebration of God's blessings and His ending a time of great suffering. How they must have rejoiced to see God's provision come in!
We also love preparing our hearts to be thankful. We sing Thanksgiving songs, talk about what we have to be grateful about, and sometimes even do a Thanksgiving tree or other physical reminder of God's gifts. Thanksgiving reminds even the calloused to remember the God who made us and takes care of us.
This gives you a tremendous opportunity to be a testimony to your extended family! By introducing Christ-centered traditions and focusing on the meaning of the holiday, you can witness to your family in a very low key, winsome way. H Hosting the celebration at your house allows you to set the tone in a way you just can't at someone else's house.
You're probably thinking that cooking for Thanksgiving is a tremendous lot of work, but it is so worth it when you realize the opportunity you have to glorify the Lord in it! That hard work may be the factor that makes older relatives willing to pass on the baton, too.
Be sure to ask other family members to help, though, not just to lessen your own burden, but to make everyone feels appreciated and to allow them to contribute as well. "Aunt Beth, could you make the seven layer salad? No one does it like you do!"
We've found that as we've introduced some new/old traditions to our feast, our extended family has actually welcomed and enjoyed them. We'll never forget a dear relative filming our son reciting "Five Kernels of Corn" so that he could show his friends back in China!
What a great opportunity to help everyone remember what the celebration is all about!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hal & Melanie
For practical help in preparing your children for Thanksgiving, and putting on a Christ-centered (and wonderfully delicious!) Thanksgiving celebration, get our downloadable book, We Gather Together: Sanity and Celebration at Thanksgiving, for only $5! Click here!
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AnnouncementTOS Freebie
Get a free When I Grow Up, I Want to Be . . . an Artist E-Book.
Children of all ages and stages enjoy some level of art. Whether improving the sensory awareness of children with special needs, enhancing a history study, working on a science fair project, or providing a calming time of quiet in the midst of a busy day of play art is found throughout learning. You can get your FREE When I Grow Up, I Want to Be . . . an Artist E-Book Here.
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Announcement
Here's some "food for thought" as
you prepare your holiday meals
with your children.
 in the latest issue of
The Old Schoolhouse� Magazine.
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Announcement
Creation Revolution
"Have you ever watched a leafhopper or planthopper bug jump? They jump so fast and so far for such a small insect. For years, scientists were baffled as to how they were able to jump the way they do. Even more baffling was the way that both hind legs moved in perfect unison, called synchrony."
Read more from the article
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Contest Corner
For the month of November, 2013
NameMeaning Gifts from CrossTimber�
www.Meaning.Name
Cross Timber� is a company that offers Name Meaning Gifts, or gifts that answer "Do You Know What Your Name Means?" Products include name plaques, bookmarks, coffee mugs, name cards, Scripture plaques, keepsake boxes, and custom awards, with inspirational Scripture and the meaning of the name represented on the items. The items are completely customizable, with selected Scripture by request and 200+ designs to choose from. With a dozen years of experience designing personalized gifts, the owners research names and provide meanings according to the various origins, whether Greek, Latin, etc. Contact is fairly immediate when you use the chat box on the website and is almost as fast when emailing the staff. We received the 5 x 7-inch Name Plaque and bookmark for this review; the plaque was framed and personalized with our choices.
CrossTimber � is definitely a company of choices. First, you decide whether you want to use the first name only or the first and middle. Then you decide on a background design; the 400+ options are broken into categories to aid in your decision process. (To read the rest of the review , click here.)
WIN a name meaning coffee mug!
BONUS: free name bookmarks for your entire family!
Choose your own design for even the most unique name. Names are carefully researched from a Biblical perspective, with a supporting Bible verse.
TO ENTER: Email Heather with your name, mailing address, phone number for contact purposes, with the subject line, "CrossTimber" for a chance to win* a name meaning mug and name bookmarks for your whole family!
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in the latest issue of
The Old Schoolhouse�
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East Texas
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Have you been blessed by
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The November/December
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