Hello Friends!
How are you enjoying 2022? It feels so strange for me to be uttering those numbers as our present. I graduated high school in the year 2000 and it sounded so exciting. Once you put that 22 behind the 20…it just feels odd; BUT I’m grateful to be a part of it!
We have been busy little bees over here at the cottage. The last time we met, I was telling you all about Little Miss Zoe Shanice not sleeping through the night. She still doesn’t, but she is waking less often. Now, we are just waiting for her to decide to walk on her own. She will take a step or two; but that’s it. Zoe is cute and she knows it. The main reason she isn’t walking is because someone is almost always willing to carry her around. She is such a joyful and precious addition to the family. We are SO thankful for our little Zoe.
I mentioned that we have been busy. Last November, we moved into our new home. I have been doing my best to be a good wife and mother and to create a beautiful an comfortable place for our family to dwell in. A little over a year into our new space, and I am beginning to feel like we are home. The interior is not where we want it to be forever; but it is clean and cozy.
The requirements for a house to be considered our "new home" were three/four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a good size yard with at least one climbing tree.
This home met all those requirements and had a couple of other perks. One being a sunroom. The sunroom sold me on this home. I could see the sunroom as our school/music room. We spend a lot of time in the “Play room”. Even my husband uses it from time to time as his study.
In the past year we've ripped up some carpet; taken down some cabinets, painted other cabinets, painted a LOT of walls, replaced some flooring, and painstakingly removed some very stubborn wallpaper. This house was built in the 1960’s and it has many of the markings of that generation…including the paneled walls. At first I HATED the walls. They have since grown on me. We still intend to remove them, but I can see their part in making our house look warm instead of cold.
SO, that was the housekeeping and the “let’s get caught up” bit of this post. Let’s get to the point. Why have I bothered to ask for your time today? I hope to encourage you in the matter of prayer.
Every new year there are some fundamental issues that I like to revisit and check the status of in my life. Prayer is one of those issues for me. I have been particularly challenged about how I pray with and for my children.
Two resources I want to share with you about this are:
1.) Focus on the Family had a dear lady speak on the topic. I haven’t read her book, but the podcast was extremely helpful. You can click on the links below if you’d like to listen to it. One thought that she brought out was to consider the idea of if you could pray only one thing for your children, what would it be? The one thing that came to mind for me was for them to have a teachable spirit. Of course salvation is top priority; but a teachable spirit was the first thing I thought. Another thing that blessed me is the clever way she had her children give a praise report and prayer request. They would each go around the table and say what they were happy about (praise) and what they were hopeful for (prayer request). She used the info they provided to pray for them.
2.) The book “52 Things to pray for your Kids” by Jay Payleitner is what I’ve chosen to be my prompter and reminder in prayer for my children this year.
My plan is to read a chapter each week. Last week’s challenge was to pray with your children when they hear a siren. This has a twofold benefit, in my opinion. First, when our silence is interrupted by loud sirens, we are encouraged to go to God for a moment. Secondly, we are encouraged to think of others. Does your family have any particular prayer habit that you find effective in going to the Lord as a family? Do you have any personal prayer goals? I would love to hear about them! Drop a comment below, or email me at Tinylabeckles@yahoo.com.
I would like to share with you a couple of things that I feel we are doing successfully…as far as I can tell.😉
I was challenged some time ago to not pray that God would be with my children; but to instead pray for them to see His presence and influence in their daily lives. God has already promised never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), but many times we don’t honor Him because we don’t acknowledge His presence and influence in our everyday lives.
Also, we have been in the habit of praying together aloud when we are taking a trip more than 20 minutes or so away. As each child prays, they are encouraged to thank the Lord for something, pray for something/someone that’s on their mind (a certain family in our church, a friend, a missionary, world event,…), and end by praying for the sibling beside or I front of them. I want them to be in the habit of praying for one another. I also enjoy hearing the purity of their prayers.💕
Thank you for sharing your time with me today!
Until next time,
Tinyla
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