"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord" - Psalm 127:3

Obviously I pray for Charlie, as do all Moms and Dads who trust in God for their salvation...but to be honest, sometimes my prayers aren't very focused, and often-times they don't go much beyond, "Lord, thank you sooo much!"

Recently though, at Corrisa's baby shower, our friend Jessica gave out the following list of daily prayers as the shower favor, and I have to say it's the very best shower favor I have ever received! 

These short, daily, Bible-based prayers help me to ask for all of the qualities that will help Charlie grow into the man God wants him to be, so I had to share...

Daily Prayers for our Children

1 - SALVATION - "Lord, 'let salvation spring up' within my children, that they 'may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.'" (Isaiah 45:8, II Timothy 2:10)

2 - GROWTH IN GRACE - "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'" (II Peter 3:18)

3 - LOVE - "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them." (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22)

4 - HONESTY & INTEGRITY - "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection." (Psalm 25:21)

5 - SELF-CONTROL - "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do." (I Thessalonians 5:6)

6 - A LOVE FOR GOD'S WORD - "May my children grow to find Your Word more 'precious than gold, than much pure gold; and sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb'" (Psalm 19:10)

7 - JUSTICE - "God, help my children to love justice as You do and to 'act justly' in all they do." (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8)

8 - MERCY - "May my children always 'be merciful, just as their Father is merciful.'" (Luke 6:36, Micah 6:8)

9 - RESPECT - "Father, grant that my children may 'show proper respect to everyone,' as Your Word commands." (I Peter 2:17)

10 - STRONG BIBLICAL SELF-WORTH - "Help my children develop a strong self-worth that is rooted in the realization that they are 'God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.'" (Ephesians 2:10)

11 - FAITHFULNESS - "'Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],' but bind these twin virtues around their necks and 'write them on the tablet of [their] heart[s].'" (Proverbs 3:3)

12 - COURAGE - "May my children always 'be strong and courageous' in their character and in their actions." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

13 - PURITY - "'Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,' and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions." (Psalm 51:10)

14 - KINDNESS - "Lord, may my children 'always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.'" (I Thessalonians 5:15)

15 - GENEROSITY - "Grant that my children may 'be generous and willing to share[and so]lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.'" (I Timothy 6:18-19)

16 - PEACE, PEACABILITY - "Father, let my children 'make every effort to do what leads to peace.'" (Romans 14:19)

17 - JOY - "May my children be filled 'with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.'" (I Thessalonians 1:6)

18 - PERSEVERANCE - "Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for [them].'" (Hebrews 12:1)

19 - HUMILITY - "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to 'show true humility toward all.'" (Titus 3:2)

20 - COMPASSION - "Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion." (Colossians 3:12)

21 - RESPONSIBILITY - "Grant that my children may learn responsibility, 'for each one should carry his own load.'" (Galatians 6:5)

22 - CONTENTMENT - "Father, teach my children 'the secret of being content in any and every situation...through Him who gives [them] strength.'" (Philippians 4;12-13)

23 - FAITH - "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them." (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40)

24 - A SERVANT HEART - "God, please help my children develop servants' hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, 'as to the Lord, and not to men.'" (Ephesians 6:7)

25 - HOPE - "'May the God of hope' grant that my children 'may overflow with hope [and hopefulness] by the power of the Holy Spirit.'" (Romans 15:13)

26 - A STRONG WORK ETHIC - "Teach my children, Lord, the value of work and to work hard at everything they do, 'as working for the Lord, not for men.'" (Colossians 3:23)

27 - A PASSION FOR GOD - "Lord, please instill in my children a soul that 'follows hard after You,' a heart that clings passionately to You." (Psalm 63:8)

28 - SELF-DISCIPLINE - "Father I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire 'a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.'" (Proverbs 1:3)

29 - PRAYERFULNESS - "Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to 'pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.'" (Ephesians 6:18)

30 - A Grateful Heart - "Help my children to live lives that are always 'overflowing with thankfulness,' 'always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.'" (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20)

31 - A HEART FOR MISSIONS - "Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see Your 'glory [declared] among the nations,' Your 'marvelous deeds among all peoples.'" (Psalm 96:3)

"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord"  - Psalm 127:3

A Chocolate Moose for Dinner...

It's no secret that I love to read...some (for instance my husband) have even been known to suggest that I am a nerd, and I'm afraid I can't dispute it, so this story should come as no surprise.

Saturday morning Charlie and I made our regular trip to the library -- just in time to not incur fines -- in pursuit of a book about "chocolate".  Each visit he picks a topic, and we try to find at least one related book -- usually it's trucks or dogs or boys, fairly easy stuff, but this week he picked chocolate (a bit of Halloween influence, perhaps?).

Anyway, after selecting his other five books and having no luck finding anything about chocolate or candy (after all, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is still a bit advanced...at least until he's three...), I broke down and used the library computer system.  Now, I am a fairly computer literate person, but I just hate learning new software -- especially when I don't find it user-friendly and I'm responsible for the two year old running around pulling books off shelves, so I just went for the first non-cookbook I found.

A Chocolate Moose for Dinner sounded like a "Children's" book, but was in fact in the "Youth" section (who knew that even existed?!), so we actually had to use the call number and everything.  Our struggle was worth it though, because Charlie loved the cover -- and isn't that really the most important part?

So, after suffering our first library wound (paper cut with blood and everything), we headed out for a birthday party.  As we drove down Trolley Road I found myself amazed that Jason would rather spend his morning fishing in frigid 30 degree temperatures than corralling a 2 year old at the library -- clearly we are a well-balanced couple.

Anyway, a few hours later Charlie and I sat down to read A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, and as we paged through I found it extremely familiar...and then we turned to the undertoe page and it hit me -- I had checked this very same book out of the Johnson County Public Library some 30 years ago, for the very same reason -- it was about "chocolate"!  And not only that, the illustration of human toes sticking up in the surf still pops into my head whenever I hear someone mention an undertoe at the beach!

I really can't explain why this was so exciting for me...maybe because Charlie's and my minds think alike, maybe because he will have some of the same picture images in his head as I have in mine, maybe just because it made me feel young... I don't know, but it was quite the nerdy delight!