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I often tell my kids- we are living in a snow globe, but since it is all we know we think it’s real.

It’s not.

And John is reminding us- and his first readers who had the same problem- that Jesus entered our slow globe, our reality. John saw, touched and heard the human Jesus, who came to make sure we know that there is an eternal reality outside the one we experience with our senses.

This is such a hard thing to keep in mind, so let me say what is true of every prayer. I need these prayers every bit as much as my kids do. One of the advantages of having kids, actually, is that we do for them what we often wouldn’t do for ourselves.

So today, as we pray for our kids, their future spouses, and their current friends, let’s pray for each other also.

So many, many of my friends are making the actual transition we have been planning toward for years- our kids are moving away. Others have kids who are staying home to work or pursue higher education while asserting more independence, and many of us are still tearfully looking at the move in the rear-view mirror. Military, trade school, career or college- it’s time to mark the change.

Will you join together in praying for these emerging adults, whether you are the one going through this or you just love someone who is? And let’s add a tag at the end for mamas and daddies who are learning to live a little more distant from the babies, ok? They might think they are adults, and our minds might agree, but our hearts are not convinced.

Most of us are a part of a family- have you ever had a family business? Something you all work together to accomplish, everyone with a unique role? Even if it’s just a work day with a club, you now what it’s like, right? Common goal, unified purpose, lots of personalities so maybe some arguing as well. If it’s really a family business you have two big priorities- you can’t walk away, and you have to get the job done.

There is a family that reaches back to the beginning of time- close, deeply and mutually dependent, and working toward one purpose. John himself was there when it was all explained, and now nothing would make him happier than for us to be a part. Join him, he invites, in koinonia– fellowship- with Moses, Abraham, Rahab. And of course, God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Family, yes. But also- purpose.

What an exciting invitation! And it comes first-hand from one who saw and heard and touched Jesus himself. One who shepherded the first century church with wisdom and love and was martyred for his faith. John says his joy is complete when we are all together in this family, this fellowship that functions in a practical way on earth.

We can relate when we think of the joy we experience watching our children share a toy, or welcome a new kid. We are beginning to see signs they will be joining the family business, and our hearts want to burst!

Today we begin praying through 1 John, asking God that our children will know the joy of fellowship with all those who have accepted the invitation- across the centuries and across the globe.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. I John 1:1-4

This seems like such a simple prayer here at the end of Luke 2:52, doesn’t it? Seems like to easiest thing in the world- be a good friend, have good friends. But it’s complicated- we’re human after all. We misunderstand, we are emotionally tone deaf, we lack self-awareness. And we can’t predict or control how it will all work out.

Two of the biggest decisions we make for our kids are where we go to church and where we send them to school. We look at leadership and doctrine, worship style and culture. We look at school location, test scores, courses of study available.

But I would argue that one of the most important factors in these decisions is unknowable and unpredictable, because it is the relationships our kids will form. We have no control over who our kids connect with, and no way to predict who will be their strongest influence, whether through friendship, teaching, mentoring, or youth leading.

And I am not the first to mention that there is a time when our kids will not hear us. They need to hear what we are saying, but they will only be able to hear if someone else says it.

And so we pray.

We pray for friendships among peers, and we pray for relationships with role-models and leaders. We pray our kids would be the answer to others’ prayers, and we pray that our kids’ friends would have the support and love they need- and that we as parents and grandparents could be what our kids’ friends need.

A simple prayer- yes. But that is the beauty of prayer- so simple, yet so profound.

Father, guide our kids to have strong and healthy relationships.

Growing in favor with God- can you even imaging what it would be like to hear God say to you, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?

Now think of of us standing before our Father in heaven as our children, one by one, come into his presence.  Does your heart almost burst with joy to imagine God saying to our children, “Well done”?

This is our prayer today.

And let’s add- if we haven’t already- our children’s spouses. I know the grandparents in the group are thinking- aren’t they already in the “my children” category? For those with younger kids, spouses seem like such a distant idea.  Let’s bring them close for a moment and intentionally pray for them as well.

Have you told your kids you are praying for them this way? I would love to hear their response!

Good morning! I am excited to get into our prayer journey with this amazing community of friends!

We are starting out by praying that our kids grow like Jesus, so we have only one verse to pray through- Luke 2:52. We’ll come back to the first quality (wisdom) again and again, but the second is a little different.

“Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man.”

It appears Luke thought is was necessary to tell us Jesus grew physically- to the the right size and state needed.  So let’s take this as an opportunity to pray for our kids’ health.

Your family may have some of the biggies- I am thinking of those with diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis, or depression or anxiety.  For you, I am praying.

Or you may struggle with healthy eating and exercise.  For you, I am praying.

Or you may just be in the “feeding and growing”phase with no major health concerns.  For you, I am praying.

If you are like me, you are almost physically struck with how important it is that our kids learn to take care of their bodies well. Ultimately, they will make their own choices about nutrition, exercise, sleep, and habits of mental health.  Why do we rarely think to pray about this? Let’s change that today.

Do you have any specifics we can pray together for you and your children? Remember, *your* kids may be like mine- kids you love no matter who parents them.

Father, the greatest material gift you have given to each of us is our physical body.  We pray that our children will learn habits of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and spiritual rhythms that will allow them to grow in healthfulness.  #prayersformychildren

 

I have a few great loves my heart returns to over and over, and I would like to invite you along as I join two of them in this blog.

I love my children, and I love reading the bible in order to know God and be transformed into his image.

Years ago, I realized my prayers for my children were often highjacked by daily struggles and worries.  Yes, I want to offer these everyday concerns to God.  But I also want my children to seek God to know him, and to experience his transformative power.  So I started adding prayers inspired by scripture reading, and it has become one of my favorite things to do.

Let me pause here for a minute.  Maybe I’ll tell you more in a future post, but I want to make sure I say this at least once.  That last paragraph- about daily struggles and kids being transformed- I’ve seen some tough things come up since I began this prayer journey.  I’m not talking about sweet Sunday-school issues- I’m talking about our kids dealing with betrayal, failure, sexting, alcohol, cocaine, self-harm, and more. We live in a hard world, and our kids face it every day.  They need a powerful, fierce faith.  Thank God that’s what they get in Jesus.  And I believe we have an awe-inspiring opportunity to   invite our heavenly Father into our daily struggles and also to ask for our kids to grow in godliness as revealed in scripture.

Would you like to join in? Twice I week I will post prayers inspired by scripture I am reading at the time.  I would love to hear your response to the same scripture, your prayers inspired by any scripture, or prayers that you come across written by other people.

Let’s jump in with a few prayers for our children to grow like Jesus based on Luke 2:52.

 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. James 3:17

Father, guide our children so that they would seek your wisdom, and not the false wisdom of this world.  Keep them pure, and grow in them a deep love for peace, gentleness, willingness to yield, mercy, lack of favoritism and sincerity.  I pray their lives would be full of the fruit of good deeds.

 

Good morning friends! Welcome to 2019! I am looking forward to a blog reboot this year after focusing on teaching and momming for a few months. Some of this content will also appear at hunterhillsprayer.org but that blog has lots of contributors so you should check it out

I love new years- new school years, new ministry years, new calendar years.  I thrive in times of beginnings- but then I get busy. So THE New Year that we love to celebrate can be tough. My resolutions haven’t lasted, and I often set my goals and expectations way too high so by mid-January I am back where I started with a big dose of disappointment and discouragement added.

Over the years I realized something had to change, so I started trying some different things. Maybe you need some new ideas, so I would like to share my top three changes.

Replace resolutions with one word. I take my time with this. The two big questions for my word are:

How has God been growing me in the past year?

and

How does it appear He is trying to grow me in the coming year?

I have learned that taking inventory of all my flaws during this time is overwhelming and paralyzing. There are too many areas that need improvement, and they all seem so urgent. How can I ignore ANY of my glaringly obvious failings which are probably scarring everyone I love every day? God, my Father, does not parent this way. I can leave the long term sanctification in His hands and focus on His merciful leading for this year.

As I consider my two big questions, I talk about it with close friends, start considering specific words, and pray A LOT for God’s revelation. Once my word is chosen I write it where I’ll see it then use it as a touchstone for seeking God daily.

And I promise you, I have never been disappointed.

Well, you may say, but it is January and I don’t have a word.  That brings me to another lifegiving change I made.

Use January to figure out the coming year.I do love the whole New Year energy and spirit of renewal, so I harvest all of that to power my prayers and optimism.  But come on, friends. Whoever decided that December is the right time for self-reflection and goal setting? Can we all raise our hands and say that December is the most exhausting and potentially disappointing time of the year? Then we are bombarded with all the “Year-in-Review”s and “Top Nine”s and “Best of “ lists giving us a false sense of what is important and, worse yet, possible.

Don’t do it.  Take your time.

Think about the foyer to your home.  A guest comes to your door. You open the door, invite them in, and chat for a few minutes before inviting them further. You decide if you should bring them to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, or get out the leftover soup and offer them a bowl, or lead them to the living room to just get comfortable.

Consider January the foyer to your year.  Welcome it, take some time to see what has been working in your schedule and what hasn’t.  Then try a few things out. If you feel rushed and stressed every morning, get up a little earlier.  If that is too difficult, maybe it is your evening routines that need to change. Your God-time has disappeared; do you need to find a different way to spend time with God? Or try a new time of day? If you want to choose a word for the year, use the month of January to do so.  If you like having resolutions or goals, use January to set them, try them out, and refine them.

And that brings me to the last change I want to share with you.

Do not be afraid to try and fail and try again. Give yourself the grace you give your friends, children, students- anyone in your life except yourself. One missed day of God-time does not mean you hate Jesus.  Being late when you mean to be punctual, eating out when you meant to cook, having a cookie when you gave up sugar- you would forgive these things in someone else, so forgive them in yourself.  And if it happens over and over, prayerfully ask yourself what you need to succeed. Is it the right goal? Do you need support from a friend? Is there a book/podcast/website that can help?

We have a beautiful, flawed, forgiven and forgiving group of women In our community. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I would love to hear how you handle the pressures of a new year, or any way we can help you in this season.

Friends, I love you and I am praying for you as you begin the new year.

Inspired by Paul in Ephesians 1

I never stop thanking God for you—every time I pray, I think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

A new challenge begins, and I am thrilled!

I get to teach science this year at my kids’s school. What a privilege!

As I prepare for teacher in-service I am overwhelmed with all the feelings, so I offer this simple prayer.  #aprayerforteachers #prayersformychildren #sixtyfivemorechildrentoprayfor

We were at camp last week, and I think it is a perfect microcosm of life.  You start the week full of anticipation, so excited to see everyone you missed since last summer, nothing but joy and optimism.  Everything goes well the first day- worship is inspiring, friends are encouraging, activities are awesome.  But then we get bug bites.  And drop our snacks.  And remember why that other camper is soooooo annoying.

Does that sound like life to you?

In his final words to his friends before facing the cross, Jesus says over and over- love each other.  Because the thing about God-in-flesh is that he knows about bug bites and being hot and sweaty and the annoying friends. So he knows that loving each other gets hard.   He knows we will need the Helper, the Comforter to be with us because in our love for each other he has a final prayer reaching to those of us living today.

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-21‬ ‭

This, my friends, must sink deep into our hearts with conviction.  Of all the things Jesus could have prayed on our behalf, he prayed that we would be one.  This plan, launched before the beginning of time, is about to be revealed through Jesus’ agony and isolation, and he asks that we be one.

We cannot ignore this, and we cannot trivialize it.

This whole time he has been talking about loving each other and following his example in obedience.  How easy is that? Why do we make it so hard? Because of itchy bug bites and annoying friends? Because of differences of interpretation and disagreements in priority?

Well, actually, I have not found it to be so easy in practice.  The concept is simple, though, so let’s not forget it.  My phrase for myself and my kids, when I am struggling with real-world unity, is “find the ‘and’.” How can we be unified in a way that honors our individuality, our convictions, our bible-honoring beliefs? How can we have conversations embued with love and truth, moving forward in unity? Where do I have to see my stubbornness as the barrier to love? Where is my love failing as my pride prevails?

Father, these words of Christ are so deeply precious as he specifically has us on his mind so close to the time of the cross.  Father, I pray that these children I love, whom you love so profoundly, would be one.  Oh God, we need forgiveness for the times we adults have not modeled this well- please reveal to me my sin.  Give us wisdom and discernment so that we can find the “and” of unity, becoming one as you are one so that the world may know that we are sent by a Father who loves. #prayersformychildren