Time to revive the blog!  Today has been a whirlwind of a day; actually it's been a whirlwind week. My little loves started school today and the only one that cried was me. I'd call that a success for sure. "T" began 3rd grade and "K" began kindergarten...WHAT? Time for baby #3 - if I can just get the husband on board... ;)

I've been reading a book that is so apropos for this moment in time, it is titled, "Praying Circles Around Your Children" by Mark Batterson. If you've ever read any of his books, you know how impactful they can be and this one is no exception to that. I keep going back to the very first few paragraphs in the book where he mentions the good and the bad about parenting & prayer for our children. The bad news, as we all have experienced, is that we make a lot of mistakes. If you're like me, it's easy to allow those mistakes to consume your mind, to fill you with guilt, to cause you to walk in shame or to promote parenting that never follows through. If you fall into any of those categories, then we have to change our mindset, because as Batterson puts it, the good is that "our worst mistakes double as our greatest opportunities"!

Did that grip your heart like it did mine? If we're wrapped up in the mistake we've made, we miss the greatest opportunity for modeling behaviors we want to see in our children - repentance, sorrow, forgiveness, kindness, humility... Being "human" in front of our kiddos also opens up moments for deep, meaningful connections. It takes choosing to look past the mistake and see that we made a mistake, but we aren't mistakes. That isn't always easy, but making that choice positions us to grow in Christ, as parents & in relationship with our Littles. 

Another huge opportunity for connection is actually praying your prayers for your children, with them. Letting them hear your heart for them and hear how you call their name to our Father, leaves an imprint other life that doesn't quickly fade. Speaking of prayer, I have to share some great news that we received today. My little guy has been begging to play football for years now and we thought the time had finally come; until, the sports physical stopped us. After some testing on his heart, we received the call late this afternoon with great results, and he has been cleared to play! The other beautiful part of this is that although it revealed some ongoing issues, we can now deal with them medically, but also speak directly to God about them. This is amazing news and we are so thankful for the many friends and family that called his name out to our Father!

If you aren't praying daily for and with your children, make it a point to start.  I fully agree with Batterson that "Spiritual disciplines take sheer determination". Determine that you are going to take your prayer life up to a higher place!