Oh my! You know the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it?" I think we need a new one, "Be careful what you write, you may relive it!" For last week, Word-Filled Wednesday's encouraging Bible verses, I wrote about NOT grumbling or complaining, but instead praising and thanking God for ALL things. The very next day, one of my grandkids hollered out, "Uh oh, grandma, you just stepped in dog poop!" I have to confess, I was NOT a happy camper and was about to make some very irritated and complaining comment about it when God immediately brought that whole article, complete with the Bible verses, to my mind! Talk about convicting!

It took me a minute, but my grandchild's sweet little face helped remind me that it's doubly important to set the right example for these precious little grandchlldren I am blessed to be surrounded with. So I told him, AND ME, I am NOT going to grumble and complain. I AM going to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in EVERYTHING, INCLUDING DOG POOP, give thanks. I repeated this several times and eventually got to the point where it wasn't quite as hard as the first time. He, of course, thought it was quite humorous. And I am praying that someday this will be a lesson that will come back to bless him which will, in turn, bless me, whether I know about it then or not.

Of course, as soon as I sat down, I thought, "I have to share this. So what encouraging Bible verses would go with this lesson AND with being thankful for the month of November and Thanksgiving." God showed me three from Paul:

You yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you.

2 Thessalonians 3:7

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all !

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15 

Three inspiring Bible verses with good lessons for me as I cleaned that dog poop off my tennis shoes. Three inspirational Bible verses with good lessons to share during Bible memory verses activities for grandparents and grand children. Three inspirational Bible verses that I hope and pray will be a blessing and encouragement to your Sandwich Generation family as well. And for more Word-Filled Wednesday encouragement from the Word of God…

Kaye

Thanksgiving Table Crafts for Grandkids

On TV, a perfect and beautiful table setting is the finishing touch to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.  In this grandma’s house, though, that gets trumped by something I think is even better – grandkid creations. Last year we made Fall Wreaths using grandkids' handprints, handprint family trees, and handprint turkeys. This year, how about some  more "Happy Thanksgiving" decor ideas, like:

• Fall Foliage Placemats – Enjoy the great outdoors with the grandkids, collecting colorful fall leaves from your own yard to make a lovely, natural placemat.  If all your leaves are already gone (the weather has been a bit wild and wooly in many parts), you can use artificial leaves you’ve picked up from the craft store.  Cut two rectangles out of contact paper a bit bigger than the size you need. Have your grandkids arrange the leaves neatly on the first piece. If your grandkids are older, they might like to give the placemat a border by gluing strips of construction paper about an inch wide along the edges.  Help them carefully place the second piece on top, pealing part of the paper backing off a little at a time, and press in place. When they are all done, trim the placemats to the size you need.
• Pilgrims and Indians Placemats – Have your grandkids draw or find a pattern for simple silhouettes of Pilgrims and Indians that they can trace and cut. Kids coloring pages are a good resource for those. Place one of each on either side of a sheet of brown or orange construction paper.  They can have fun decorating them, or leave them as simple silhouettes.  Craft feathers could be added for cute details around the edges.
• Placeholders or Placecards – I love to use placeholders or placecards at the dinner table. These help to eliminate the arguments of who sits where at dinner and are particularly useful if uncle George and aunt Stella insist on armwrestling in the middle of dinner each year. With place cards, you can make sure they are well separated. Your grandkids can take a piece of card stock or heavy paper, about four inches square, and fold them in half.  Have them print each person’s name on both sides or help them if they aren’t old enough to write. If you have an older grandchild who has learned how to do calligraphy, that can add a nice touch. Here's another easy way if one or more of the grandkids enjoys using the computer. Have them use a decorative font to type each name along with a verse or prayer, then print those out and glue them on the card. If your grandkids are quite young, you might like to prepare ahead of time by printing out some cute Thanksgiving clip art for them to cut and paste onto the place cards while you write the names. While you and your grandkids are having fun with all this, you could also make some extras. A set of Thanksgiving placecards or placemats would be a very sweet Thanksgiving gift for aging parents, friends, and neighbors.

Taking the time with your grandkids to create these special Thanksgiving place cards and placemats for your table, as well as a special Thanksgiving gift or two, will make your home, and others, even more attractive, adding color, fun, and great memories to the festivities that will be enjoyed by everyone. Be sure to sign up for the SandwichINK free email so you don’t miss any fun holiday ideas for Sandwich Generation senior home care givers and grandparents!