The Blessing Jar has been a tradition in my family for several years. My oldest brother Brian and my mom found ceramic jars that said “Blessings” on them back during Christmas of 1996 while traveling to see my great-grandmother. My brother insisted that we buy one for all of our extended family and many special friends. Little did we know, that would be the last Christmas we would be able to spend with my oldest brother…
You may be familiar with the old hymn Count Your Blessings…“Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings see what God hath done!” That is the exact purpose of The Blessing Jar…to be reminded of the ways that God has worked in our lives over the previous year.
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*This really is just one jar, I just had to take two pictures to show the entire word “blessings”.
Here’s how it works: Whenever you recognize a “blessing” in your life throughout the year, just write it on a piece of paper, fold it up, and stick it in The Blessing Jar. On New Years Eve, dump out all the blessings from the entire year and go through it together as a family. It will be a great reminder of God’s faithfulness…in times of joy AND in times of difficulty!
(And if you’re scrambling on New Years Eve to write all the blessings down that you forgot to write during the year like we often do…that’s okay too).
We already have a Blessing Jar, but I thought it would be fun to “remake” one (perhaps for a gift next year). Here are the instructions for making a Blessing Jar:
1. Grab a clean jar with a lid (I used an old spaghetti sauce jar).
2. Download and print the sheet music to Count Your Blessings here (left-hand side…click on “View PDF Sheet Music”). Tape it on your jar.
3. Add a label using scrapbook paper and stickers (I would suggest using smaller stickers…mine were quite large and, as you can see, you can’t get view the whole word “blessings” without turning the jar).
4. Add a ribbon (or you could even make one of these adorable felt roses).
5. Start adding blessings!
I hope this will be a tradition your family treasures as much as mine does!
Thank you for sharing this great idea! In November we did a Thankful Tree where we wrote blessings onto handprint leaves and then added it to our paper tree that my son painted. Then, in December we had a special advent devotion that included hanging an ornament onto our advent tree. Now that the holidays are over, I felt like we needed a new tradition to start for the new year that would help to keep us focused on the many blessings God continues to shower upon us. This is the exact type of idea I was searching for!
consider it added! thanks so much for sharing! always fun and helpful to read your entries! can't wait to make our jar!
I love this idea. It is always good to be reminded of our blessings each day! Thanks for sharing. I am a new follower and LOVE your blog!
such a great idea!!
I love this! I definitely will be making one not only for myself but for a few other people in my life that I know will really appreciate it! Thank you for the wonderful idea!
This is such a beautiful idea and one that I intend to begin using immediately. I know what craft I will be doing with my daughter on Friday for Family Fun Night! Thanks so much!
I LOVE IT!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING :) We will be making a bunch of these for gifts & one for ourselves for sure!!!! Excellent idea!! Thank you so much again!! So sorry for the loss of your brother. Many Blessings to you & your family.
I'm making one today. Thank you so much…what a great way to keep our eyes focused on God's blessings and on good things…
Jenae, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
PS You have little blog award here:
http://leptir-mojpribor.blogspot.com/2010/12/award-your-blog-is-fabulous.html
Love this concept! I write down my daily blessings in a gratitude journal daily. It's such a great way to remember everything we have to be thankful for, even on the tough days. I actually gave something similar to my son's preschool teachers for their Christmas gift, though not in jar form.
Happy New Year! I love gratitude activities – and a blessing jar is a wonderful way to start the New Year! Thanks for the reminder of how important it is to remember our blessings and for the great ideas for making a blessing jar. I featured your post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2010/12/30/starting-and-nurturing-new-years-traditions/
We have done a blessings jar for several years now. We start it over each Thanksgiving after reading the previous years blessings. I use a cookie jar but love the idea of decorating a jar with the words of the hymn.
Love this idea! I can’t imagine how a jar wouldn’t be overflowing by year’s end if we really stop to consider every blessing we’re given.
Thank you for the inspiration to be grateful ! God bless u n keep you !
Thanks for sharing, I am going to make blessing jars for my family!
Love this idea! I’m printing it off now. We were just talking about ways to teach our kids to be more grateful, and this is a good start.
There is also the Christmas Jar. Where you put your change in throughout the year and then find out someone who cannot afford christmas dinner or gifts and go and place the money on their doorstep Christmas Eve and run so they don’t see you. We do this
I have done “Blessings Jar” for 2 different people; one was terminally ill; and home ill; and I gathered memories, favorite Bible verses, and what that person meant to family and friends, then wrote each one on small sheet of paper and instructed her to read one a day to add sunshine to her day; She told me most days she couldn’t stop reading them and would go through a lot of them; also made one for my Mom since she is 87 in a wheelchair and has to be alone while I am at work; the people from her church, old friends, family; lots of comments and since she doesn’t do fb could ask for comments there; I used old gallon pickle jars and covered them with material and embroidered “Ruth’s Blessing Jar” Took lots of time, but was not only a blessing for her but also for me!!!