You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world ~ M.W.

"God open my heart to Your call. I thank you to be called to... make the world a better place."

"I think God calls me to be nice to others."

"I see the light of Christ in myself when I forgive others I see it in others, when they forgive me. I am grateful because it feels good when Jesus Christ shines in me."

"God open my heart to Your call. I thank You to be called to be a Christian."

"God, open my heart to your call. I thank You to be called to... be nice to people I don't like."

God open my heart to Your call. I thank You to be called to be a nurse or do something with animals. I don't know if God is calling me to be a nun or not."

"The Christian translation of Namaste is 'I see the light of Christ in you as it is in me.' I see it in myself by being kind to others and polite to adults. Others help me to grow in Christ."

"Unchanging God, I am grateful for the tedious activities in my life. Some routine activities that I am grateful for are, chores and rules because they teach me responsibility and discipline."

"Caring God, help me to be attentive to the needs of those around me. I am grateful for the opportunity to help someone by comforting them."

Abundance can only be found in God!

"I am grateful for my needs being met. I thank God for my health, safety and good decision making."

"Here I am Lord. Thank You for the chance to serve. Some ways that I can serve You are by doing boy scout activities, by giving to charities and by helping out where I am needed."

"Lord, I am grateful for the opportunity to repent. Some ways that I can repent are by letting go of anger and grudges."

"Abundant God, thank You for my treasures. I am thankful for my friends, family, teachers and school."

"Loving God, I am thankful for all those who have touched my life. Those for whom I am grateful are my teachers and my parents."

"Loving God, I am thankful for all those who have touched my life. Those for whom have touched my life are my family, who give me everything that I need, friends and people who help me when I need it."

"I am thankful for my needs being met. I thank God for being able to live!"

"Loving God, I am thankful for all those who have touched my life. Those for whom I am grateful are Pat Sears and J*****."

"I am thankful for my needs being met. I thank God for myself!"

" I am grateful for the opportunity to repent. One way that I can repent other than just saying I'm sorry is I can Pray."

"I am grateful for my needs being met. I thank God for the meals that my parents provide."

"God, teach me kindness. A time when I was grateful for someone's kindness was when my dad coached my basketball team."

"I thank God for my needs being met. I thank God for food to eat."

"Abundant God, thank You for Your treasures. I am thankful for these God given treasures because they give me talents and virtues."

"Abundant God, thank You for Your treasures. I am grateful for these God given treasures because they make me unique."

Back to gratitude!

"I am thankful for this cold winter day because it is from God!"

"I am grateful for being able to go to this great school."

"I am grateful for the time someone listened to me. A time I can think of is when a teacher took the time to help me in a subject and listened to my opinions."

"I am thankful for missionaries because they help us to follow in Jesus' footsteps."

"I am grateful for my life and the life of others. I thank the Lord for the life of all his creations."

"I am grateful for my gifts. My gifts from the Holy Spirit are my moral compass, my conscience and my love for my family!"

"I am grateful for missionaries because they are shining examples of the dedication to God's word."

"I feel blessed because God chose me to come to earth!"

" I am thankful to God for giving me my life and everyone in it."

The Gift of Being Present this Advent Season!

We took a break from our weekly gratitude postings in order to Celebrate the Advent Season. We often get caught up in the materialistic nature of the holiday, focusing only on the must have gifts, the parties and the treats. We lose sight that Advent is not only a period of waiting for Jesus' birth, but also a time for repentance and renewal.

The students had the opportunity offer the gift of presence to their families and to one another. The students made a paper chain and on each chain loop were different tasks to be completed for each day of Advent. Each day, the students were to tear off a loop and complete that required task or substitute it with another similar activity. After completing the activity, the students were asked to reflect on their actions, journal their thoughts, feelings and attitudes toward that activity. If the action involved others, they were asked to write about how it may have impacted the other person or people and/or how they may have felt about it.

I am pleased to share some of their thoughts on the gift of being present...

"Today I had to read a gospel by any of the writers so I chose Luke 2:1-20. Luke's Gospel was about the birth of Jesus. But his was a little different. He talked quickly of how Joseph had to go to Bethlehem and where Mary had the Baby Jesus. It was more about the angels telling the Shepard's to come and worship the baby in the manger. The angels went up to them in the fields and said 'Glory to God in High Heaven, peace on earth to whom his favor rests.' When the Shepard's came to Jesus, they understood what it meant. I really enjoyed this version of the birth of Jesus because it talks more about the Shepard's that were sort of pushed away and not spoken about a lot. This, I think showed that Jesus wanted to welcome all people - meager Shepard's and gallant kings."


"I stared into the night sky and tried to calm my boiling thoughts. I slowly but surely, slipped into a calm state of mind and I said a little prayer of thanks to God. I thank Him for my friends, family and the good times this Christmas!"

"Today I made a God's eye for our Christmas tree. As I hung it up I realized that our small little tree looked extraordinarily beautiful this year!"

"When I prayed for the world's hungry today, I also prayed for peace. I hope that one day we will have peace and that no one will be hungry."

"I am grateful for God's love because it helps us get through life and make the right choices."

"I am thankful for my principal because she is a good leader."

"I am grateful for God's love because without it, I am nothing."

"I am grateful for God's love because with God's love, I can love others."

"I am grateful for parents because even though they seem exasperating, they are the greatest people in the world. No one that I know is better than my family, especially my mom and dad."

"I am thankful for our principal, Mrs. Rose, because we would be a disaster without her."

"I am grateful for God's love because without it, we wouldn't have a second chance if we did something wrong."

"I am thankful for Mrs. Rose because she cares most about our school."

"I feel blessed because I have a good Life!"

"I feel blessed because I get to go home to my loving family today!"

"I am grateful for God's love because without it, the world would be full of anger and hatred."

"I am thankful for our principal because without her, the school would fall apart."

"I feel blessed because God chose me to come to earth!"

"I am thankful for my principal because she is nice and she is always so helpful, kind and just plain loving in a good way. I am so thankful for her."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because God made everyday for a special reason, so really, I am thankful for everyday."

"I am thankful for my conscience because if I am about to do something wrong, it gives me a second chance to think about what I am about to do."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because my schedule is not busy so I can relax."

"I am thankful for the gift of life because I can see all beautiful things."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because it gives me the opportunity to learn in school."

"I am thankful for the gift of life because I can follow the way to God."

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is the tree of life." Proverbs 13:12 "I am grateful for the freedom to make hope a reality because I can have a voice too."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because it is another day God gave us to explore his creation and live our lives the way Jesus would want us to."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because I was born on a Wednesday!"

"I thank God for the gift of life because living is a privilege and I am so thankful for it."

"I am thankful for Wednesday because it is another day of life that God has given us to experience joy, love, and greatness. So we can shine and do great things for our community..."

"I am grateful for democracy because we have a choice."

"I am grateful for the freedom to make hope a reality because sometimes hope is what keeps you going."

"I thank God for the gift of life because it is a miracle."

"I am thankful for the gift of life because it allows me to live and know God."

I am grateful for for the freedom to make hope a reality because it helps us to achieve goals and become a better person."

Weeks of Oct. 12th and 20th

"I thank God for every good thing in life and some of the bad things, because you learn from your mistakes."

"I thank God for Christopher Columbus, otherwise there would be no 'three days off' this weekend."

"I am thankful for those who are different than me because they make the world unique and special. Their differences explain you, to yourself."

"I am thankful for those who are different than me because we can share different perspectives on different things."

"I thank God for outdoor life."

"I am thankful for those who are different than me because they help me to understand myself better."

"Lord, in October I am thankful for the changing leaves because they look beautiful, give landscapers a job, and give a canvas to artists."

"Today I thank God for everything because I am breathing, I have friends that love me, and my family because I love them and they love me."

"Today I thank God for being safe from the war and all the terror in the world."

"I am thankful for the cold air because when you are taking a walk and the warm sun beats on you, it feels nice."

"Thank you God for the cooler weather because the mosquito's are gone."

"I am thankful for vegetables that nourish us."

"Today I thank God for the ability to learn."

"There are nine fruits of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I am grateful for the gift of love, because if everyone loved each other there would be no war and no one would ever be left out or not spoken to."

"I am thankful for the cold air because it cools me down and it smells closer to winter."

"I am grateful for the gift of patience and people being patient with me, because sometimes you need a second chance."

"I am grateful for the gift of peace. We should all treat each other the way we would want to be treated."

" I am thankful for those who are different from me because being friends with them just brings out the best in me. Opposites attract. People who are different from me show me how many different personalities are in the world."

"I am grateful for the gift of joy. Because of it, I can pick myself up no matter what I go through. I am always internally happy because I know that God loves me."