A tree and its fruits

As a mother of two young children, the Lord has placed many scriptures in my heart and mind regarding parenting but two specific ones come to mind in this current season of mothering.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

I also like to remind myself of Luke 6:43-49 about the tree and its fruits and the wise and foolish builders. Within days of bringing each baby home from the hospital, the true reality of my role as their parent hit home...hard. I felt an overwhelming desire to protect them, love them, and do right by them when it comes to instilling the Word in their hearts early on. Mark and I both want to do our best to help Ian and Anna build their life foundation on the Rock. Because with such a solid foundation, we have faith they will always have the Lord in their hearts no matter what the enemy throws in their path.

This school year I started a new tradition with the kids now that Ian understands more about God and prayer. I figured the car was the best place for us to start our day in prayer because there are no distractions. And God so graciously grants us a red light at a particular intersection almost daily so we can safely pause to pray together. So this past week we were running a bit late and the light was green instead of red. As I passed through the intersection Ian calls out from the backseat, "Mama, wait. We didn't do our morning prayer yet." I beamed with joy that he had not only realized where we usually do our prayer but that he had accepted prayer time as part of his daily routine.

Today we had planned to only go to Sunday School hour of church because Ian was a bit stuffed up from allergies and didn't seem to be feeling completely well. As Mark got Anna up from her morning nap, she popped out of bed, grabbed her shoes and happily headed for the car! She knew where we were going. As we entered the church parking lot she began to squeal and kick her legs with delight. And Ian announced proudly that this was "his church". We were so happy to see both kids so excited about church. And, again, that church and time of worship has become part of their weekly routine...a part they look forward to.

So after we picked Ian up from his Sunday School class and began heading for the nursery to get Anna, Ian told us that we were going the wrong way - that he goes to two classes and his second class was the other way. We asked him if he was feeling well enough to go to church hour and he told us that he did. Mark and I just smiled at each other. I checked with the nursery staff to make sure Anna was doing well and we headed to Ian's second classroom. It makes me so overcome with joy to realize that both kids genuinely enjoy attending church - having their own special time for worship with other children, stories, songs, activities, etc.

Ian's first memory verse for Sunday School is a simplified version of Psalm 139:14.
["I praise you because you made me."] He has really impressed me with his memorization of it and understanding of what it means and who we are praising.

Something else cute is that Ian caught on to us ending our prayers with the phrase, "In Jesus' name we pray, Amen." He has added this to the end of his nightly prayers but he says it, "In Jesus we name, Amen." He's too cute.

I can only pray that the kids' thirst for the Word continues to grow as they continue to grow.