while they were sleeping

One of the biggest privileges and responsibilities of being a mom (or a dad or grandparent, for that matter!), I think, is to pray for my children.  What a blessing that we can offer our children to the Lord in prayer!  However, sometimes as the busyness of life gets away from me...I find myself offering quick prayers for our kids that seem like it's just a routine or the same thing all the time.  I know the Lord still hears these prayers and answers them in His way, but I sometimes feel like I need more direction in what to specifically pray.  So recently, I pulled out a book I received at a baby shower when I was pregnant with Miriam.  I had read through it a few times after she was born, but I have found it so helpful in guiding my prayers with all three girls now.  I would like to continue going through it over and over again as they get older.  It is called While They Were Sleeping by Anne Arkins and Gary Harrell.  The book takes you through 12 specific character traits to pray for your child or children.  It uses Scripture followed by a few prayers specific to the character traits.  It leaves blanks for you to put in the names of your kids as you pray.  It also offers ideas to incorporate your kids into learning the character traits at various age levels.  The specific traits are: kindness, humility, teachability, forgiveness, obedience, discernment, purity, responsibility, courage, servanthood and contentment.  I highly recommend this book for new moms or grandparents or if anyone just wants more direction in praying for your children.  It is fantastic.  

book review

This book is so good. I'm not sure that I can give it a proper review since I haven't read the whole thing yet, but the little I have read is wonderful.

My dear friend Heidi gave it to me a few weeks ago as I was sharing with her some of the challenges and anxieties I had been dealing with as of late. As much as I adore being a mom, it sure can be tough sometimes! But God continues to guide me and give me strength and wisdom to make it through each day. But anyway, back to the book... each page is a devotional for each day of the year. The devotionals are brief (usually a paragraph or two) and are just perfect for busy moms. I actually think this book is so good for women in general (I'm sure men can gain a lot from it as well, but it seems like women would really really like it). Each devotional is written as if Jesus is talking to you. They are taken from Scripture (cited at the bottom of each page) and written in a way that make me feel like He is whispering in my ear. It often deals with anxiety and worry that so many of us tend to battle with (this is why I think it's so good for women). So, that is my humble review on this amazing book! I highly recommend it -even though I just started it!