I'll Pray For You.

To my kiddos,

You:
Hop on the bus at 6:40 am
Hop off the bus at 3:30 pm
Eat snack
Watch a little tv
Eat another snack; and another
Do homework
Eat dinner
Bathe (if i'm lucky)
and then.......bedtime.

You guys spend a total of 9 hours a day at school and only 4- 5 hours at home (depending on bedtime) every weekday during the months of August through May.  I know you are still learning math but the time you spend at school is double the amount that you are at home.  The time you have with your teacher is twice the time you have with me.  The time you spend with your classmates is twice the amount you spend with your siblings.  If you add all that together that simply equals me praying for you, your teachers and your classmates.

I can't seem to get you to pay attention to me any longer than about a minute and a half  but I wanted you to know how important prayer is to me and to your daily life.  You mean the WORLD to me and because of that your teachers mean the WORLD to me and for that I pray.

We have done our "Back to School Prayer Chain" all week long and you guys totally didn't "get" it but one day you will.  Because of our commitment to prayer this could be the year Jesus uses you to change someones day and this could be the year your teacher makes a huge impression on you, not only academically but also on your heart.

Back to School Chain idea courtesy of: http://happyhomefairy.com/2013/08/06/back-to-school-countdown-prayer-chain/

We removed 2 chains a night and prayed over whatever or whomever was on their chain.

                   

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask what whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  John 15:7

I am not all that interested in you being the next scholar.....sorry to shock you (insert sarcastic look here). I just really don't care about that.  What I care about is that Jesus uses you to change a life through kindness, sacrificial giving or just by simply opening your mouth to say thank you to your teacher when you know they need to hear it.  I pray that this year isn't about you and it isn't about how you will improve at your hobbies and sports.  I pray that this year you learn that the love that God has for you is huge and because of His love for you, you begin to love Big!

Kids for Christ

Happy Summer ALL!
I hope that the heat or your kids being out of school isn't killing you! :)  To wrap up July, I wanted to share a few stories that absolutely stole my heart - both very personal and dear to me.  Last June, I was able to spend a week in Swaziland, Africa where we visited a care point. The carepoint feeds and takes care of about 300 or more children daily.  It is ran by the GOGOs (grandmothers) and a mission team.  This team includes two couples from my church that reside there permanently and other missionary families.  They have the awesome responsibility of feeding these children spiritually and physically on a daily basis.

On my trip, I was able to love on these kiddos and provide clothing and food.  We also were able to participate in music, bible stories, and games and some of our team provided medical treatment to those in need.  I forever will be changed by what I saw and what I felt.

Living on mission has the potential to impact lives around us.....like two little precious girls named Lola and Pearl (age 7 and 5) who organized a "Carwash for Swaziland".  They, for the past two years, have had a carwash locally in their hometown to raise money for the kids in Africa.  I just love the pictures below showing how children are serving and making a big impact at such a young age.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

The verse above says "but set an example".  What joy must come their parents hearts to know that because of their example their kiddos are following suit.  It also encourages me in my walk and to wonder - what is MY example?  What I teach isn't enough, but my actions must follow.

During VBS this year our church was raising money for missions in Belize and Swaziland.  This story makes my heart happy!  The kids were asked to bring in their loose change/allowance to raise money for the 2 ministries.  During this week I had asked my kids when they wanted to set up a lemonade stand for some "summertime fun".  With great excitement and eagerness my two oldest wanted to do it right away and give all the money they made to VBS that week.  So we did just that.  No time to plan, (no NEED to plan) we just set up a table and prayed.  Prayed together that God would bless a cheerful heart.

You can get this cute sign over at
http://thecraftingchicks.com/2012/07/lemonade-stand-printables.html

I am always amazed at what God can do with a quarter.  He has the abilities to make that sucker's value a whole lot more than twenty five cents.

Although those two events made money it taught our kids as well as us alot more than the "art of making money".  

We learned a lot about God that day and who He is in our daily lives!




I would love to hear your stories and see your pictures of any activities that your families did through "Christmas in July" or this summer in general.  Please share them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Christmas-Angel/110247819027599?ref=hl