1994
Sharing Time: I Thank Thee, Dear Father
May 1994

“Sharing Time: I Thank Thee, Dear Father,” Tambuli, May 1994, 10

Sharing Time:

I Thank Thee, Dear Father

By Judy Edwards

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good” (Ps. 136:1).

What are your greatest blessings? What things do you feel most grateful for? Look at this list of blessings named by children all over the world, and see if other boys and girls are thankful for things that make you happy, too!

Raúl, 11, Lima, Peru: His family was sealed in the temple.

Elizabeth, 4, Coulsdon, England: School.

T. R., 6, New Delhi, India: The Book of Mormon.

Merari, 11, Cuernavaca, Mexico: Her parents, food, and clothing.

Brad, 9, Virginia, United States: The Sabbath.

Keiko, 8, Tochigi, Japan: Fruits and flowers.

William, 5, Alabama, United States: Snakes.

Jennifer, 11, Dumfries, Scotland: Her flute.

Leonardo, 8, Bogotá, Colombia: Missionaries who taught his family the gospel.

Lindsay, 9, Tervuren, Belgium: Art and sports.

Seth, 4, Washington, United States: Library books.

Stacy, 9, Plympton, Australia: Horses.

Jonathan, 9, Saint Albans, England: Nature and camping.

Brynn, 9, New Mexico, United States: Rocks and shells.

Kristoffer, 8, Alberta, Canada: Baptism.

Lyssa, 6, Kaiserslautern, Germany: Her CTR ring.

Dan-Michael, 4, Rota, Spain: His best friend, his grandma.

Lea Celeste, 5, Trinidad, Chile: Music and doctors.

Ryan, 7, Utah, United States: Bugs and spiders.

Akihisa, 4, Tochigi, Japan: Food, especially egg rolls.

Eric, 6, La Rippe, Switzerland: Castles and hiking.

Samantha, 8, Missouri, United States: Writing in her journal.

Ethan, 6, Iowa, United States: Joseph Smith.

Tara, 10, Arkansas, United States: Her family and the gospel.

Your name ____________________, Age _____,

Where you live ____________________,

Blessings ____________________.

When we thank Heavenly Father for our blessings, we feel peace.

Sharing Time Ideas

  1. Help children create a “Count Your Blessings” display on a chalkboard or poster, using cutouts of stars in the sky, flowers in a meadow, leaves on a tree, shells on a seashore, etc.

  2. Have each child create a page of blessings for the child’s Book of Peace. (See Sharing Time Idea #3, Tambulilit, February 1994, page 10.)

  3. Invite class members to pantomime blessings they are thankful for, and allow others to guess what is being portrayed.

  4. State a blessing for which you are grateful, then toss a beanbag to a child, who then mentions something he or she is thankful for. The child then tosses the beanbag to another child. Continue until all have had a turn.

  5. Divide into classes and have each child describe a blessing for which she or he is thankful. The other class members should see if they can guess what it is before the child runs out of clues. For example: “I am grateful for something alive. It has a name. It has long hair. It does tricks. It likes to go for walks. I am grateful for my dog, Bowser.”

Instructions:

Some of the blessings named by children on page 10 are hidden in this picture. Find and color: a tent, fourteen flowers, scriptures, a CTR ring, missionaries, a banana, a pear, a lemon, a journal, Joseph Smith, a snake, a baseball, a bat, a grandmother, two shells, a paint brush, a horse, a flute, a spider, and a loaf of bread.

Image
Hidden pictures

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki