We are #Raising Grateful Kids

Part of raising grateful kids is to make them aware that there are people in the world who have a lot less than them. Because if we are going to compare ourselves to people who have more than us we have to also compare ourselves to people who have less than us.

When I pre-ordered Kristen Welch's book Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, I also received a Global Family Kit. There are several different Global Family Kits focusing on different people groups. Ours focuses on refugees.

Last week I became aware of the refugee crisis in Fallujah by listening to this interview with the founder of Preemptive Love Coalition. I have been following the Preemptive Love Coalition blog and read a book by Jeremy Courtney. They are the only known group providing supplies to refugees in Iraq. That night during supper I was telling Jeremy and the family what I had learned and how it affected my heart. Josiah was listening intently and Aliza was asking questions. It wasn't long until Josiah announced that he wanted to give all of his dollars to help feed the refugees. He ran to get his money and dumped it on the table. Aliza exclaimed, "But Josiah, what about that game you are saving money for?" Josiah answered, "I don't care about the game. I can save up for it again." Anna thought we should buy Arby's and deliver it ourselves to the people in the desert. It was amazing to watch the children process and "get it."

After that I decided it was time to pull out the Global Family Kit and learn more. You know these family activities never turn out as a Mom hopes. I had one kid throwing a fit because they didn't want to have family time. A couple others interested and a little guy into everything.

The kit includes a ball made by the people group, some maps and cards with information, questions and activities using the ball. The ball is tagged with the signature of the person who made it. Our ball came from Houston, TX made by a woman from Burma.

The kids thought it was pretty fun to learn to play hackey sack. We defined "refugee", "homeless" and "persecution". The discussion centered around what it might feel like to have to leave your home and what the challenges would be to not have a home.

I love the idea of these activities and I hope that I make it a priority this summer.