It’s early, thus the title. It is my morning to sleep in but
this week it happens to be one of my peers birthday and he had to get up early.
Growing up birthdays were a big deal in my home and we had a lot of them! Every
time it was some ones birthday we would all be up early and joined together in
the living room even before we had breakfast. We would hide the gifts we had
for the person and they would have to seek to find them. I didn't realize until
yesterday how big of a deal we made birthdays and how that spilled over into
how I view birthdays, they are a big deal!
So why am I up this early, to make
him a birthday cup of coffee! A huge happy birthday to you man if you’re
reading this, it’s a big deal ;)
It was also a good enough reason to get me out of bed and
make use of my morning and watch the sun rise. I love mornings but it is
difficult to convince myself of that most days. I love the quietness of the
apartment, the sky changing colors and the sound of little traffic {for the
small amount of time that there is little traffic}.
Mornings are also a good time to think and to pray. I have continually
been convicted that I don’t pray for my kids enough and I know I don’t. I can’t
imagine being a parent and desire to pray for them every day for my kids; it is
a difficult task and for all of your parents out there who do I have great
respect for you!
Pray makes a huge difference and I can see it time and time
again. Around 3 o’clock every day my team meets in the office to sit and pray
or to do a small devo before the kids come. This is because my supervisors
strongly believe and have seen that when we come before the Almighty who has
authority over all things and has been here long before us the day goes a lot
smoother, when we make Him the center by lifting up the day to Him, the day is
then focused around God and His agenda not our own. This has taught me a lot and
I have seen the difference it makes, not just because we pray but how we pray
but were our hearts are at makes a huge difference.
Yesterday was an outstanding day with my kids. I saw things
in them and about them that I had not seen in them before. One girl who comes
never stays, her mom uses our program more as a day care and always picks her
daughter up 15-30 minutes into program resulting in her missing well everything
really. Yesterday was different, her mom came to pick her up and the walked out
only this time they stopped in the hallway. A few minutes they were back and she
explained to me that her daughter wanted to stay and she would come back. Her
daughter has wanted to stay since she started coming in Sept I don’t know what
changed, whether she finally stood up and told her mom or what but she stayed
and had a great time!
Another one of my girls who really dislikes me the majority
of the time respond so well to me yesterday, normally filled with frustration
and anger piled up from a lot of things was surprisingly very mellow and very
open to just talking together. This young lady as well as one of her close
friends normally really struggled to buckle down and do their homework. It
tends to be battle every day to get them focused and started on something when
they are trying to avoid me and talk about boys. Shockingly yesterday they let
me sit with them without argument and we read over their science questions
discussing the answers as a group without too much of a battle.
To finish the day I got to spend quality time with my amazing
young men. They typically play basketball every day and all day which makes
talking with them difficult. Yesterday they joined my in the kitchen to learn
how to make bruschetta and we had a great time working together, talking about
life, past interns, and man did we ever do a good job. That was some of the
best tasting bruschetta I had mostly due to the fact that I was super proud of how
well they did and their faces and comments while eating it.
These things are my rays of sun shine, just like a sun rise
they break through after a period of darkness and shine who much brighter then
you remember.
Before I end this post I want to share a few prayer requests
for a few of my kids in the hope that you will take a few minutes and pray for
them and over them. Lifting them up to our Father and Creator in the heavenly
realms who cares for them more then you or I ever could.
~For one of my girls
- To understand her value and worth
- Pray against peer pressure
- That she would dream and dream big without fear
~For another girl
- To have confidence in the right things
- That she would look to God to find love
- That she would learn to value her one opinion and thoughts
- That she would not be influenced by just feelings but her knowledge
~For one of my young men
- That he would trust me and let me love him
- That he would learn to respect and value others
- That above all he would listen to God’s voice
~For another young man
- Wisdom and patience for his education and growth in his math studies
- That he would have a joy that is from you and one that calms his soul
- Pray against the desires for worldly temptations
~And the last one for another young
man
- That he would learn how to lead well the ones who are younger them him
- For patience with others
- And for wisdom, conviction and clarity were his views on God are incorrect or slightly confused
Thank you for faithfully reading
and in so doing joining with me in my ministry. Please pray for these kids that
above all they would come to have a real personal faith and love for our Lord,
pray that He would continue the good work in them until it is complete!
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