August 31–September 6: "Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord" (Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150)

The book of Psalms moves from raw lament to the loudest praise in all of scripture — and this week's lesson invites your family to make that same journey, one breath and one footstep at a time.

Every Breath You Have, Use It

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Your Game Plan for This Week

Big Idea — Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

There's a line in Every Little Thing That Breathes that hits differently once you sit with it: "I used to keep my gratitude bottled in a jar." That's not a quirky lyric — that's a confession most of us could make. Life gets loud, the hard stuff piles up, and somewhere along the way we stop noticing what God has actually done. The Psalms exist, in part, to fix that. They are memory aids. They rehearse the mercy, the healing, the rescue — out loud, in community, set to music — so that gratitude doesn't quietly evaporate.

The lesson this week draws a straight line from Psalm 103's 'He heals the brokenhearted' to Alma 7:11–13 in the Book of Mormon, where we learn that Jesus Christ took on our pains and afflictions so He would know exactly how to succor us. That's not ancient history. That's a present-tense promise for your family right now — whatever hard thing is sitting on your kitchen table this week. Praise isn't denial of the hard stuff. It's the declaration that the hard stuff doesn't get the last word.

And then there's A Lamp and a Light, which picks up Psalm 119:105 and runs with it — reminding us that God's word doesn't promise a stadium floodlight showing us the next ten years. It promises the very next footstep. That's enough. For families navigating big decisions, teenagers figuring out who they are, or parents who honestly don't know what comes next — that's the word for this week. One step. Lit up. Keep walking.

15-Minute Family Home Evening

Monday night — your launch for the week.

  • Ask this to open. Take 2–3 responses, then move on.
    Opening QuestionHas anyone ever felt so grateful for something that you almost couldn't hold it in — like the feeling was too big for just one person to keep quiet about?
    2 min
  • Read this together:
    Set the StageSomewhere between three and three-and-a-half thousand years ago, poets and prophets in ancient Israel were writing songs about their real feelings — not polished ones. Grief, fear, loneliness, and gratitude so enormous it couldn't stay inside a single person. The book of Psalms is the collected songbook of a covenant people who had wandered through wilderness, faced enemy armies, and survived personal heartbreak — and who kept arriving at the same stubborn conclusion: God was still there, still listening, still worth singing about. Psalm 150, the grand finale of the entire collection, doesn't ease you in gently. It throws the doors open. Praise Him with the trumpet. Praise Him with dancing. Praise Him with loud cymbals. And then the capstone line that has echoed through three thousand years of worship: 'Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.'
    Psalm 150:6Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
    2 min
  • Press play — watch together:

    🎵 Let every little thing that hath breath praise the Lord! Singing out a song that cannot be ignored! From the valleys to the mountains, let the shout go high, Praise Him for His mercy underneath the sky!

    Dive Deeper: Every Little Thing That Breathes
    3 min
  • Read the Big Idea together:
    Big Idea Praise Is What Happens When You Remember
    Human beings forget fast — we forget what it felt like to be desperate, and then we forget who showed up when we were. The Psalms exist as a deliberate, sometimes loud corrective to that tendency, and this song steps straight into that tradition with an honest confession: gratitude can get bottled up, hoarded, kept too quiet for too long. The answer is not guilt — it is praise, thrown open like a window, spoken and sung from exactly where your family is right now, valleys and all. This week is an invitation to make praise a daily practice, not a feeling you wait to have until everything is perfect.
    2 min
  • Ask your family:
    Reflect TogetherIs there something God has done for your family — recently or a long time ago — that maybe hasn't been said out loud in a while? What would it feel like to actually say it together right now?
    3 min
  • Do this activity together:

    Breath & Freeze Praise Party

    Try This: Clear a little space in your living room. One person is the 'Caller' and everyone else spreads out. The Caller shouts a way to praise — 'Sing it!', 'Jump it!', 'Clap it!', 'Spin it!' — and everyone does that action while belting out 'Hallelujah!' or any line from the song. The moment the Caller yells 'FREEZE!' everyone stops like a statue. Last one to freeze becomes the new Caller. Play until everyone has had a turn leading — or until someone collapses from laughing.

    Reflect: When the music stopped and you had to freeze, what did it feel like to hold all that energy in? Now think — what would it feel like to hold your praise in ALL the time and never let it out? Psalm 150 says let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord. What's one way you want to let your praise out this week?

    5 min
  • Close together: Say a family prayer. Then enjoy a special treat as a family.
    2 min

20-Minute Primary / Sunday School

Lead with A Lamp and a Light.

  • Ask this to open. Take 2–3 responses, then move on.
    Opening QuestionHas anyone ever been somewhere really dark — a power outage, a camping trip, a long hallway at night — and had just a small flashlight or candle? Did that tiny bit of light feel like enough, or did you wish you could see the whole room at once?
    3 min
  • Read this together:
    Set the StageThe ancient world was loud. Prophets competed with priests of Baal. Kings competed with the voice of God. And somewhere in the middle of all that clamor, a poet sat down in the dark — not a comfortable dark, but the kind that comes from a hard road with no map — and wrote one of the most quietly powerful lines in all of scripture. He wasn't asking for a floodlight. He wasn't demanding a five-year plan. He was holding a small, oil-fed flame that lit maybe three feet of ground in front of him, and he had to decide: is this enough? The world was full of competing voices promising shortcuts. The noise wasn't going away. And the lamp was very, very small.
    Psalm 119:105Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
    2 min
  • Press play — watch together:

    🎵 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet! / A light unto my path when the shadows start to meet! / I'm staying on the trail, I ain't gonna stray, / You're lighting up my footsteps all along the way!

    Dive Deeper: A Lamp and a Light
    3 min
  • Ask this. Give the class a moment to think before taking responses.
    Pivot QuestionWhy do you think the Psalmist chose the image of a lamp — something small and close — instead of a sun or a beacon that lights up everything at once?
    3 min
  • Keep going:
    Follow-UpIf God showed you the entire path all at once — every hard moment, every detour, every outcome — do you think that would actually make it easier to follow Him, or is there something important about only seeing the next step? What do you think faith has to do with that?
    4 min
  • Liken it unto yourself. Hand each student a slip of paper. Give 2 minutes to write, then 2–3 share with the class.
    Liken Unto YourselfWhen you're facing a decision and you can't see how it all turns out, what does it actually look like for you to take the next faithful step — and what has God already given you to light that step?
    5 min
  • Close With ThisGod's word was never designed to hand you the full itinerary. It was designed to give you exactly enough light to take the next faithful step — and that has always been, and will always be, precisely enough.
    2 min
  • Optional Activity — use if you have extra time or a younger class:

    Flashlight Freeze Tag

    Try This: Grab one flashlight (that's your only supply — and yes, it counts as zero prep). One person is the 'Lamp Bearer' and holds the flashlight. Everyone else wanders around the room or yard in the dark or with eyes closed, taking slow steps like they genuinely cannot see where they are going. Whenever the Lamp Bearer shines the light on someone's feet, that person freezes and calls out one word that describes what helps them stay on God's path — 'scriptures,' 'prayer,' 'family,' whatever comes to mind. Keep rotating who holds the lamp. Play until everyone has been the Lamp Bearer at least once.

    Reflect: What was it like trying to move without the light? How is that like trying to make good choices without reading the scriptures or praying? Psalm 119:105 says the word of God is a lamp to our FEET — not a spotlight on the whole road. Why do you think Heavenly Father gives us just enough light for the next step instead of showing us everything at once?

    5 min

Week Schedule

You don't have to do all seven — pick what fits. Monday launches, Sunday caps. Tap any day to expand or collapse.

Monday — FHE
Every Little Thing That Breathes + activity. Launch the week.
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⏰ Open 15-min Family Lesson
Tuesday
Read Psalm 150:6.
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Before you ReadAsk this, then read together.The Psalms were written by people in real pain — sleepless nights, burning bones, tears in their food — and they still ended up as songs of praise. What's the hardest thing your family is carrying right now, and what would it look like to praise God in the middle of it instead of waiting until it's over?
📖  Psalm 150:6 (KJV) — Tehillim: The Book That Refuses to Be Quiet Tap to open+
Thoughtful QuestionAsk this in the car, on a walk, or at the dinner table.Psalm 150 calls on every instrument and every living thing to praise the Lord — it's the loudest possible ending to a book full of suffering. What do you think the ancient editors were trying to say by putting the biggest praise song at the very end?
Wednesday
A Lamp and a Light in the car, a walk, or before bed.
Tap to open+
Before You WatchAsk this, then press play.Has anyone ever been somewhere really dark — a power outage, a camping trip, a long hallway at night — and had just a small flashlight or candle? Did that tiny bit of light feel like enough, or did you wish you could see the whole room at once?
Thoughtful QuestionAsk this in the car, on a walk, or at the dinner table.When you're facing a decision and you can't see how it all turns out, what does it actually look like for you to take the next faithful step — and what has God already given you to light that step?
Dive Deeper: A Lamp and a Light
Thursday
Read Psalm 103:13-14.
Tap to open+
Before you ReadAsk this, then read together.The psalmist's circumstances didn't change between verse 11 and verse 12 of Psalm 102 — but his gaze did. When you're in a hard season, what helps you shift your gaze from the problem to the God who endures forever?
📖  Psalm 103:13-14 (KJV) — The God Who Shows Up When You're Eating Ashes Tap to open+
Thoughtful QuestionAsk this in the car, on a walk, or at the dinner table.Psalm 103:14 says God 'remembereth that we are dust' — He's not surprised by our weakness. Does knowing that God already accounts for your limitations change how you feel about bringing your struggles to Him?
Friday
Read Psalm 118:22.
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Before you ReadAsk this, then read together.The crowd on Palm Sunday was quoting Psalm 118 without fully realizing it — ancient words fitting a moment they'd been written for a thousand years earlier. When have you felt like a scripture was written specifically for something you were going through right now?
📖  Psalm 118:22 (KJV) — The Psalms Knew About Jesus Before Jesus Arrived Tap to open+
Thoughtful QuestionAsk this in the car, on a walk, or at the dinner table.Jesus used Psalm 110 to establish that the Messiah had to be more than a human descendant of David — and the Pharisees had no answer. What does it mean to you that the Old Testament itself testifies of Christ's divine nature, not just His human lineage?
Saturday
Read Psalm 119:105.
Tap to open+
Before you ReadAsk this, then read together.A lamp unto your feet only shows the next step — not the whole road. Is there a decision or direction your family is waiting on right now where you can see the next step but not much further, and what would it mean to trust the lamp and take it?
📖  Psalm 119:105 (KJV) — Psalm 119: The Longest Chapter in the Bible Is About One Thing Tap to open+
Thoughtful QuestionAsk this in the car, on a walk, or at the dinner table.Psalm 119 uses journey words — walk, path, wander, feet — to describe the life of faith. Looking at your own life right now, where do you feel like you're walking confidently, and where do you feel like you might be wandering?
Sunday — Classroom
Use the 20-min plan. Anchor: Every Little Thing That Breathes
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🏫 Open 20-min Classroom Lesson
Sunday Dinner Table QuestionAsk this at Sunday dinner.Is there a piece of gratitude you've been keeping "bottled in a jar" — something God has done for you that you've felt but never said out loud to your family or to Him?

This Week's Fireside Moment

The full story behind the songs — in one sitting.

This week's Fireside Moment walks through Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord with full scripture cross-references and lyric-by-lyric breakdowns for each song.

Fireside Moment
Or Go Song-by-Song Every Little Thing That Breathes Every Little Thing That Breathes A Lamp and a Light A Lamp and a Light

Watch & Listen

Every Little Thing That Breathes

Somewhere in the ancient world, a poet sat down after a very hard season and wrote the last line of the last psalm: Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Not "let the people who feel good today" or "let the ones who have it figured out." Every thing. Every breath. Every single soul.

The book of Psalms — called Tehillim in Hebrew, meaning "praises" — is one of the most emotionally honest books in all of scripture. It contains laments so raw they're almost uncomfortable to read (Psalm 102 opens with someone who feels like smoke, like a withered plant, like a lonely bird on a rooftop). And then, without apology, it pivots to some of the most jubilant worship ever written. Psalm 150 is the grand finale: praise Him with trumpets, with harps, with timbrels, with dancing, with everything you have, in every place you stand. The ancient Israelites weren't shy about this. Praise was loud. Praise was physical. Praise was the whole-body response of people who had genuinely reckoned with what God had done.

Every Little Thing That Breathes lives right in that tradition. It opens with someone who used to keep their gratitude quietly bottled up — and then had a reckoning. They looked at the galaxies. They felt the healing. They remembered the grace. And suddenly quiet wasn't an option anymore. The song moves through Psalm 150's instrument roll call, swings through Psalm 147's image of God healing the brokenhearted and counting the stars by name, and lands on the Bridge's simplest possible invitation: if you have breath today, open your mouth.

The Lord's instruction in Doctrine and Covenants 59:7 — to thank Him in all things — isn't a footnote to that invitation. It's the covenant version of it. Psalm 150 says praise with everything you have. D&C 59 says thank Him in everything you face. Together they describe the same posture: not worship reserved for the good days, but gratitude that holds its shape even when the season is hard.

For your family this week, that's the whole lesson. Praise isn't a feeling you wait for. It's a decision you make — and then the feeling follows.

Want the full story? Read the complete Fireside Moment or explore the Lyric-Scripture Blueprint in our Joy Tier Deep Dive.

Lyric–Scripture Blueprint (Preview)

Did you know these lyrics come straight from the scriptures?
Explore the full Lyric–Scripture Blueprints and deeper activities in the Joy Tier.

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Lyric Highlight Scripture Bridge Why It Matters
"(Instrumental / Title statement implied: Every Little Thing That Breathes)" Psalm 150:6
"Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."

Psalm 148:1
"Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights."

Mosiah 2:20
"I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice... yet ye would be unprofitable servants."		 The Breath That Belongs to God: Before a single lyric is sung, the title itself is a direct quotation of Psalm 150:6 — the final, climactic verse of the entire Psalter. In Hebrew poetic tradition, the book of Psalms ends not with a quiet amen but with a universal summons: every breathing creature is conscripted into praise. Psalm 148 extends that call from earth to the heavens. King Benjamin's words in Mosiah remind us that even our most extravagant praise falls short of what God deserves — which makes the act of praising all the more urgent, not less.

For Families: Before the song even begins, ask your kids — what does it mean that everything with breath is invited to praise? That includes you, right now, exactly as you are.
"From the rising of the sun to the setting of the same, / There is power, there is healing in the Savior's name." Psalm 113:3
"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised."

Acts 4:12
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Mosiah 3:17
"And moreover, I say unto you, that there is none other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

Doctrine and Covenants 18:23
"Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved."		 The Name Above All Names: The opening lyric is a near-direct echo of Psalm 113:3, anchoring the song immediately in the Psalter's own language. But the lyric adds something the psalm does not say explicitly — that the name being praised is a name of power and healing. Acts 4:12, Mosiah 3:17, and Doctrine and Covenants 18 form a three-testament chain confirming that the name of Jesus Christ is not merely a title but an operative covenant reality. From sunrise to sunset, that name does not change.

For Families: Talk about what it means that healing is in His name — not just physical healing, but the healing of hearts, relationships, and mistakes.
"I used to keep my gratitude bottled in a jar, / Forgetting who created every galaxy and star. / But when I look at what He's done, how He set me free, / I can't keep quiet 'bout the grace He gave to me!" Psalm 103:2
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

Psalm 19:1
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

Moses 1:33
"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten."

2 Nephi 9:49
"My soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard."		 Gratitude Uncorked: Psalm 103:2 is the direct source of this lyric's confession — the psalmist's own warning to his soul: do not forget. The image of gratitude bottled in a jar captures exactly what the psalm is pushing against: a muted, privatized thankfulness that never becomes praise. Psalm 19 and Moses 1:33 expand the frame — the Creator who made galaxies is the same God who set this singer free. That juxtaposition is the engine of praise. Second Nephi 9:49 gives us Nephi's model: a soul that cannot stop pondering what God has done.

For Families: Ask whether your family's gratitude tends to stay bottled up — said only in prayers, never shouted in daily life. What would it look like to uncork it?
Every Little Thing That Breathes
A full-lunged, full-body celebration of the God who counts every star and still knows your name — because some grace is just too big to keep quiet.
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A Lamp and a Light

There's a reason Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible. It's not because the writer had a lot of extra time. It's because staying close to God in a noisy, disorienting world takes daily, deliberate effort — and the Psalmist knew it. Over and over, he returns to the same aching question: how do I keep walking the right direction when everything around me is pulling me off course? His answer, tucked into verse 105, is one of the most quietly powerful lines in all of scripture: 'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.'

Notice what he didn't say. He didn't say a floodlight. He didn't say a satellite map. He said a lamp — the kind that throws just enough light to see the next stone on the path. Ancient lamps were small, oil-fed, and humble. They didn't illuminate the whole road. They illuminated the next step. That was the promise. That was enough.

A Lamp and a Light grabs that image and runs with it straight into the present moment. The song opens in a world drowning in megaphones — everyone selling a shortcut, everyone shouting a direction — and makes the case that God's word doesn't need to be the loudest voice in the room to be the truest one. The lyrics weave Psalm 119:105 together with Psalm 139's breathtaking portrait of a God who knows every thought, every sitting down, every rising up, and still holds out a lantern for a soul He intends to keep. The pre-chorus lands the theological punch cleanly: it's not about seeing ten miles ahead. It's about the very next footstep.

For families walking the covenant path together, this song is a weekly reminder that faith isn't a single dramatic moment — it's a thousand small, lit steps in the right direction.

Want the full story? Read the complete Fireside Moment or explore the Lyric-Scripture Blueprint in our Joy Tier Deep Dive.
A Lamp and a Light
When the world is all megaphones and shortcuts, one small lamp and one faithful step is still enough.
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Miss last week?

Every lesson stands on its own — but together, they tell one continuous story.

August 24–30: “I Will Declare What He Hath Done for My Soul” (Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86)
The psalmists wrote from the pit, from the mire, from the middle of the night — and then they declared what God did anyway. This week your family explores what it really means to say ‘I will declare what He hath done for my soul.’
Shout For Joy MusicBob LeBaron

Don’t Stop the Music

The Joy Tier starts right here. Go deeper into this week’s scripture story and explore the meaning behind the songs.

Inside Joy you’ll find:

  • A weekly Fireside Moment overview of the Come, Follow Me lesson
  • Expanded Set the Stage teaching guides for every song
  • Choose Your Adventure family activities and simple weekly habits
  • Lyric–Scripture Blueprints, printable coloring pages, and lyric sheets
  • Cinematic reflection videos designed for quiet viewing and discussion

Access Joy below to turn this week’s song into a weeklong experience of scripture, music, and family conversation.


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