Teaching kids to Pray

So, When I first started dating Josh...hey, actually, how bout this. Many months before I started dating Josh and I was dating someone else (who definately wasn't worth dating), I had offered to babysit Josh's boys while he went to this game/people who make/like games meeting thing with my bf. (I know, weird huh?) (even weirder, Josh secretly was upset that I was dating that guy--how sweet!) (oh, and I hadn't any clue that Josh liked me more than friends)....Alright, ENOUGH with parenthesis, So when I babysat, of course the boys tested EVERY SINGLE limit...and when I left, I never wanted to babysit again. But somehow, God took away that feeling as Josh and I became closer and went on mini dates with the kids.

The cool thing:
So every night before bedtime, Josh let the boys pick out a book for daddy to read and then Josh would pray for them. The boys were crazy! bouncing around, talking, wrestling, you name it--even while Josh was reading the story that they picked out. No attention span. Prayer time was worse. Josh was trying to teach them how to pray and that it's easy talking to God. BUT they were SO rowdy! <--was that spelled right? hmmm...

well, here we are, almost 5 months since we've been married, and God has answered our prayers! The boys have learned how to control their impulses a lot more. They're quiet when we read, and can even sit through a full chapter of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series! Quite a difference in that they couldn't last through a Dr. Seuss book unless daddy filled the story with MANY crazy voices for the characters.

It's important that people understand that God isn't condemning them 24/7...that He wants you to talk to Him. He wants us to expect things from Him...and He asks us to approach Him boldly and without being afriad. God is kind, forgiving...and just wants us to talk and to share with Him...because whether you invite Him to share your life with you or not, He's stll watching every moment...His tears fall when you are hurt and scared, He rejoices when you're joyfull....I guess we're trying to instill in our children that God is your friend. Get used to telling Him thakyou for the things you have, whether great or small....They need to know that when they're scared or angry, that they can tell God and ask Him for help.

Justin's prayers: Lord, please bless our family, keep us safe. Help me to have more confidence in You. Thank you for my brother, mommy, and daddy.

Shane's prayers: Bless us to have a good day tomorrow, help us to be kind to eachother and love others. PLease heal mommy's pain (I'm in a lot of pain most days) help us to not have fear and help us to have more trust in You.

So awesome!