We enjoyed the story from the Shaws, thanks, and in answer to the Winter's challenge Peter said that being kind to our neighbour (giving her his unwanted tombola prize from the school fair!) made him feel really happy inside because she was so pleased to receive the present from him.
We've been thinking about waiting, and being thankful. The 4 advent calendars in our house are helping us count the days to Christmas, but we've realised that we are really very impatient. In our society we have got used to things being immediate (email rather than letter, text rather than waiting for time to talk on the phone) but God has given us as Christians some great promises as rewards for waiting.
See Isaiah 40: 30-31. In the NIV the word 'hope' is used instead of wait, which is interesting because we are both waiting for Jesus and hoping in him.
Also in Luke 2:21-35 the story of Simeon shows that the reward for his wait was seeing the Messiah. Good things are clearly worth waiting for. If you find any other Bible references to rewards for waiting, please share.
And on thanks, we are trying to be thankful for what we have, rather than seeing what we don't have and asking for more (presents, things etc). So today's challenge is to think of at least 3 things to thank God for, and pray with your family to share your thanks.
And finally, the link below is to remind us that some people in the world will not be celebrating Christmas with a lot of presents, but they need the essentials for life. So a way to show our thanks might be to give something to them. (from as little as £5)
http://www.musthavegifts.org/
The Simpsons
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