Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Not once a year, but every day, we need to count the blessings God has sent us.
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What You Need

• A blank sheet of paper and something to write with for each person
• A timer

What to do – Game

1. On your signal to begin, everyone should write down everything they are thankful for that can be described in two words or less.
2. Set a timer, for two minutes (or less) and tell them to begin.
3. When the timer goes off each youth must count how many items they have.
4. The person with the most items should read their list and if anyone else has those items on their list also, then everyone who has the items must cross them off the list. Only unique items remain.
5. The next person continues in the same way, calling out the items that remain on his/ her list. If the item is unique it remains. If someone else has the same item, then all who have it cross the item off their lists.
6. Continue until everyone has gone, then each person must count up the unique items he or she has on the list.
7. Award a prize for the person with the highest number of unique answers.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Make it Spiritual

* What was the most surprising thing that someone was thankful for?
* How did creating your list affect you?
* Did you have more or less items than you thought you would have?
* How did it make you feel when you discovered that others felt blessed for the same things as you?
* Of all the things on your list, which is most significant for you? Why?

Make it Personal

CREATE A BLESSINGS JAR

1. Give each youth a blessings jar. While a small jar is nice, any container with a lid will work. Place a label on it “Blessings Jar.” And maybe tie a ribbon on it. You can just as easily decorate a Pringles can or another container. Or even better, have materials for the youth to decorate their own jar.
2. Give each youth 30-40 small slips of paper. You can also buy a small notepad.
3. Encourage the youth to start today and for each day from now until the end of the year, at the beginning of each day, to write something down they are thankful for, or that was a blessing for them on the previous day. Place it in the jar each day. Then at the end of the year, encourage them to open the jar and recall the blessings of God for the last few weeks of the year.

SCRIPTURES

Ephesians 5:19-21
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Colossians 3:17
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Creative Holiday Ideas

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