Monday 6/01/09

David killed Goliath with a slingshot and a stone. Teach my children that they don’t need an army to defeat their giants… they just need praise. As they learn to praise You in the trenches my children will learn that You live in that kind of atmosphere and a channel is created through which You…

Keep my children from jumping to false conclusions. When they see each other seemingly displeasing You, let them take the time to ask for each other’s explanation. Most likely, all is well, as the Israelites discovered of their brethren in the matter of the Lord’s alter near the Jordan. Joshua 22

Please make Your presence know to my children so they may know and experience Your joy. Don’t let them depend on our world for happiness for if they do their only joy will come from reaction to circumstances … but You can plaster a smile on their faces that will puzzle even the deepest cynic…

Let my children be grateful. Teach them the ‘reinforcement principle’… they get more of what they acknowledge… so that they begin to routinely thank the ones they love for even the smallest favor. They already practice common courtesy when they are in public, thanking coaches, the lunch lady, the checkout clerks… let them bring that…

Let me know my children’s weakness, but show them their strengths; feel their fears but fortify their faith; see their anxieties but free their spirit; recognize their disabilities but emphasize their possibilities. Proverbs 27:17 & William Alan Ward

Let me experience much joy and comfort from my children’s love, specifically their love for others. This kindness so often refreshes the hearts of God’s people. They worship You in serving others and behave as true disciples of Christ. Philemon 1:7