Assignemnt

So this is my last time meeting with my classes before Thanksgiving since we are out of school next week! YEPPIE! So, I decided to write a lesson plan centered around Thanksgiving and tried to incorporate on of our problem-solving themes : PERSPECTIVE. It my opinion, it is a great lesson because it works for ALL ages. I changed the end products per the grade level, but the assignment was the same.

I did this lesson for myself (I will show my answers in a moment), and I thought that some of you might could use this tool to take inventory of your "thanks" this time of year.

Perspective: The way you view the people, places, things, or events in your life.

Activating Activity: Quickly, list the top 10 things you are thankful for...

ME: 1) my husband
2) God's grace
3) my children
4) my job
5) my home
6) my church family
7) forgiveness
8) stuff - car, clothes, gadgets
9) DVR
10) God's Word/Holy Spirit

Discussion: There is NO one on earth who lives a life without pain, sorrow, or some type of negative things in their lives. The above list is filled with things that it is easy to be thankful for. There are other things in our lives that we must deal with pain, sorrow, grief, personal growth, sickness, loneliness and many more! However, the way in which we deal with this problems (problem solving) and to what degree these things affect our lives, depends very much on our perspective of these things.

Activity: MARK OUT YOUR TOP TEN LIST. It is easy to be thankful for those things. Lets see how you do being thankful for things that are not so easy...List the top 5 negative things in YOUR life - right now.

ME: 1) Sin
2) messy house
3) busy schedule
4) paperwork
5) Cancer - all things cancer related

Challenge: We are going to practice changing our perspective. For each negative thing you listed above complete the following sentence...

I am thankful for (the negative thing),because (give a reason.)

ME:

1) I am thankful for SIN because it is a reminder of the fact that I MUST depend on God's grace to make it in life - and death:)

2) I am thankful for a MESSY HOUSE because it reminds me that I have three wonderful mess-makers who God has given me to care for!

3) I am thankful for a BUSY SCHEDULE because it reminds me that I have a life FULL of friends and family who love me and want to spend time with me!

4) I am thankful for PAPERWORK even though it is not by favorite part of my job, it reminds me that I do HAVE a job!

5) I am thankful for CANCER because it reminds me that life is short, and that we should enjoy and be thankful for EVERY moment - even the tough ones!

So here you have it! The Thanksgiving Lesson. Hope you like it!

God Bless