2. If I want to be a patient parent and embrace the unexpected, I need to physically prepare myself. It is much more of a challenge to view this mess (... as well as the rest of the table... floor... bath tub... and everything else the camera didn't catch!) as a blessing in disguise when I am overly tired, hungry, stressed, etc. Keeping myself in balance makes for a more pleasant experience for everyone!
3. Keep coffee and cookies at the ready for those really big, time-consuming, or expensive experiments ;).
Making Prayer Cards: A Tool to Help Us Be "Faithful in Prayer"
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV
We find this verse under the heading of "Love in Action". What better way to show our love for our family and those around us than to pray for their needs on a consistent basis? But, let's be honest, even with the best of intentions, it is hard to keep track of everyone that we'd like to pray for, let alone find time for dedicated prayer. In my experience, deliberate steps must be taken in order to make this happen.
When I first set out to pray consistently, I tried to include people in our mealtime or bedtime prayers, but ended up praying for the same people repeatedly or forgetting altogether. A friend mentioned that her family has names of everyone they desired to pray for written on Popsicle sticks. They flipped the stick over after praying for that person and started over once everyone had been prayed for.
I really liked the idea of having all of the names in one place, but, as a homeschooling mom, I am always looking for ways to combine concepts and integrate them into our days. I decided to get decorative card stock and cut it into shapes since my toddler is/was working on learning his shapes. I then printed off pictures of people to pray for and made a label for each to promote face/name recognition. You can take it one step further and choose pictures that have the children with each person. This helps to jog a child's memory and is a good story starter. We live overseas so strengthening bonds with family members is especially important to me.
After attaching the pictures to the cut out shapes, I put them into a decorative vase and set it on our table. Our son loves to pick out a shape at meals, often remembering when I've forgotten. As of right now my husband or I pray for each person, but occasionally he will try. I intend for our family members to take turns praying as our kids get older.
After praying, I write the date that we prayed on the back of the card. I will put each card in that person's Christmas card so that they can see that they truly were prayed for, even knowing the exact day. After Christmas I will create new cards and start the process again.
Materials:
- card stock (Use primary colors if you would also like to teach colors to young children.)
- pictures of people to pray for (Can choose pictures that show each person with your children.)
- each person's name to place under their picture
- double sided tape or glue
- wide mouth vase, jar, basket or other container
- scrap-booking scissors
- pen to leave in the jar if you desire to write the date that you pray on each card
A few notes:
- Before beginning, compile a list of the people that you would like to pray for. Cross off names as you make their card.
- Examples of people to pray for include: family, close friends, deployed service members and their families, children you may sponsor through programs like Compassion International, kids' friends, future spouses of your children (Obviously no picture here, but what a great opportunity to teach your children that marriage is important to God and not to be taken lightly.), community leaders, sick community members, and so on.
- If you print pictures on computer paper, I would use double sided tape to connect them to the card stock or use photo paper when printing. When I used Elmer's glue on regular paper, the color ran and the card stock curled. I would recommend using true photos.
- I used decorative scissors to cut around the pictures to add some contrast. Depending on the age of your child, this could be an exercise in cutting and gluing.
- My child liked to pull the same cards because of the shape. I would recommend either rotating in an orderly manner or clipping together those that have been prayed for.
- This is a great multi-tasking activity. Use conversation and questions to teach colors, shapes, names of family members, finding letters, and so on. ("Find a purple circle." "What letter does Micah start with?".... You get the idea :). )
I hope you enjoy creating these cards, sharing stories, and spending time in prayer with your children!
How do you encourage your children to pray? Have any cute prayers to share?
Sarah
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