21.7.08

warm fuzzy prayers...

this past Saturday, while Paul worked all day, i spent some time browsing at Family Christian Bookstore, which is one of my favorite places to go and look around, even if i don’t buy anything...it’s a very peaceful place to go, and of course, there are hundreds of books (which i am a little obsessed with)!

as i wandered through the aisles, i came across the baby section...i have been in this section before, but not since i was married...

oh my...all of the sweet, precious, Christian baby things there were...blankets and toys and crosses with Scripture all over them...if you’ve ever been to my home, you know that just about everything decorative i have is somehow related to the Lord, and of course, i want to do my baby’s room the same way...i want he or she to be surrounded by the Word of God constantly, so that they grow up knowing it by heart, and have a visual of God’s love and promises to them...in fact, i plan to decorate with froggies, and the theme will be F.R.O.G. = Fully Rely On God :) walking through the aisles gave me such warm fuzzy daydreams, of love and laughter and little feet pitter-pattering on the floor

ever since i became a Christian, 6 years or so ago, i’ve been praying hard for my future little ones, though i didn’t even know if God’s plan included a marriage and children...however, i still felt that my prayers would not be in vain, even if was never to have or adopt my own children

then, many years later, God brought Paul along, and there was an utter joy inside that i had never felt before, after i knew that i would marry him, when the thought “oh...i will actually get to be a mommy one day” came

Paul and i have talked many times about future children...we really feel that no matter if we cannot have our own, God wants us to adopt...but when he comes home from Iraq, we are going to think about having one if God so blesses us in that way...i will be done with school, and we will be able to get settled in a home...i am so thankful for a husband who loves children the way i do, and wants to raise them the same as well...i know that will make a huge difference, and it’s only by the grace of God that we agree on so much

so, during our prayer times together, we have begun to pray fervently for our children...for their lives, and for how we will raise them...here is what we pray:

- that we will remember the children God gives us are not our own...ultimately, they do not belong to us...they are God’s creation and belong to Him...we believe that He will give them to us “on loan” for a little while, and our job is to “train them up in the way they should go, so that when they are old, they will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6)”...we pray God will help us to do this

- that if our children are going to have any chance of making it in this world, we have to do our best, through our words and actions, to show them that Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth, and Life...to show them who He is and His love...we believe that if our children are given the guidance they absolutely need through God’s Word, they will choose Him and love Him as well from an early age...we pray God will help us to do this

- that we will nurture our children in an environment that is full of God’s peace, love, joy, prayer and His Word...we pray that our home would be a place of refuge and comfort for our children when life gets hard, that they could come there to feel safe and secure, and that the Holy Spirit would be present at all times...we pray that God would help us to do this

- that our children would trust us and know that we love them unconditionally...that they don't have to be perfect for us...that there is nothing they can do to make us stop loving them, and that if they need anything, if they are hurt or scared, or if they have made a mistake or a wrong decision, that they will come to us first, knowing that we will do our best to help and support them in any way we can...we pray that God will help us to do this

- that we would build the right God-given values in our children...that they would be full of self-confidence, but be humble and kind to all, never thinking themselves above anyone...that they would have integrity, honesty, and great virtue...that they would be an example to others, and not fall in to peer pressure and what the world tells them to do, or how to act, or even how to look...we pray that God will help us to do this

- that our children would love God more than they love the world...that they will desire to serve Him the rest of their lives, and not want worldly success or popularity...that they would not be controlled by the prince of darkness, but by the Prince of Peace...that they would not long for money or material things, but that we would teach them to be satisfied in Christ...we pray that God will help us to do this

even though i get the warm fuzzy's when walking into a baby section at the bookstore, the real warm fuzzy feelings come when Paul and i pray these prayers for our precious little ones

if you have children, or you pray for God to give them to you one day, what brings the warm fuzzy feelings to you?

1 comment:

DANNY said...

hello I am daniel, I am mexican. are you christian? because my parents me too.
and i like hilsong too. idont speak englis.