Welcome to Day 4!!
I’m not sure where this moment finds you, but take a breath, and pat yourself on the back for making it back!
Today, we are covering such an important part of our kid’s life 1) their close circle of friends 2) who they date and eventually marry.
We will watch our kids make lots of life choices, but these two areas impact them in mighty ways. The only thing that matters more is what they choose to do with God, and we, of course, covered that earlier in the week.
Regardless of your child’s age, it is never too early or too late to begin to pray over their close friendships, and who they date and eventually marry. Even if your child is already married, continuing to cover that relationship in prayer is so important.
I always encourage my kids to love everyone, and I pray God they are encouragers and bright lights for each person in their path, but those who make that close circle of friends group, that’s a different story. When your child is struggling with something regardless if they are 9, 19, 29, or 49, their close friends are often on the short list of who they go to for counsel. Will that friend fuel their fire or try to offer words of truth and love? Will the friend give them worldly advice or godly advice? When they are hurting, will they encourage worldly solutions to numb the pain or God as their source for hope and strength. The answer to those questions can be the difference in how our kids decide to move forward and navigate whatever they are facing.
Yes, I’m that mom that sits down with my kids’ girlfriends or boyfriends before I let them truly begin spending any significant time together. I remember sitting down with my daughter’s first boyfriend, and I told him that I had been praying for him a long time (I’m sure that wasn’t intimidating) LOL! No, truly I shared with him that before I had ever even heard his name or knew what he looked like, I was praying over him. We know from our own life experience, that who our children date will help set the tone for them in so many ways, and we want that to be a positive in their life. Even though those first dates likely won’t turn out to be their future spouse, they will impact them. Any time it comes to mind, pray for the future/current spouses of your children. Not only will they impact our children, but they will impact any grandchildren we may be blessed to have.
When it comes to friends and boyfriends/girlfriends, I must tell you, I have been known to pray for God to move a few of them out of my kid’s lives. You can ask my oldest daughter about the “taco bell guy,” and she will straight up tell you, I asked God night and day to move that lad on. It’s a running a joke for us now. When we see something happening in our children’s lives, and we know it is not good or of God, it is for sure within us mommas to pray God just scoots those people right out of our children’s paths.
I will say it again, there is not any part of our walk as a mom that our God does not want to be involved!
So, let’s go to Him now and pray and cover this very important area in their lives.
There are many scriptures for this area of our children’s lives, and for today I have picked, Psalm 32:8 “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” It’s a good one, isn’t it.
Now, imagine as you say it out loud or write it down, the Lion and the Lamb guiding your child. When He needs to be gentle, guiding our kids away from an individual in a way their hearts can take, or if He is more of that Lion protecting them so decidedly from harm. He is there, and that is beautiful!
Example Prayer:
I’m not sure where this moment finds you, but take a breath, and pat yourself on the back for making it back!
Today, we are covering such an important part of our kid’s life 1) their close circle of friends 2) who they date and eventually marry.
We will watch our kids make lots of life choices, but these two areas impact them in mighty ways. The only thing that matters more is what they choose to do with God, and we, of course, covered that earlier in the week.
Regardless of your child’s age, it is never too early or too late to begin to pray over their close friendships, and who they date and eventually marry. Even if your child is already married, continuing to cover that relationship in prayer is so important.
I always encourage my kids to love everyone, and I pray God they are encouragers and bright lights for each person in their path, but those who make that close circle of friends group, that’s a different story. When your child is struggling with something regardless if they are 9, 19, 29, or 49, their close friends are often on the short list of who they go to for counsel. Will that friend fuel their fire or try to offer words of truth and love? Will the friend give them worldly advice or godly advice? When they are hurting, will they encourage worldly solutions to numb the pain or God as their source for hope and strength. The answer to those questions can be the difference in how our kids decide to move forward and navigate whatever they are facing.
Yes, I’m that mom that sits down with my kids’ girlfriends or boyfriends before I let them truly begin spending any significant time together. I remember sitting down with my daughter’s first boyfriend, and I told him that I had been praying for him a long time (I’m sure that wasn’t intimidating) LOL! No, truly I shared with him that before I had ever even heard his name or knew what he looked like, I was praying over him. We know from our own life experience, that who our children date will help set the tone for them in so many ways, and we want that to be a positive in their life. Even though those first dates likely won’t turn out to be their future spouse, they will impact them. Any time it comes to mind, pray for the future/current spouses of your children. Not only will they impact our children, but they will impact any grandchildren we may be blessed to have.
When it comes to friends and boyfriends/girlfriends, I must tell you, I have been known to pray for God to move a few of them out of my kid’s lives. You can ask my oldest daughter about the “taco bell guy,” and she will straight up tell you, I asked God night and day to move that lad on. It’s a running a joke for us now. When we see something happening in our children’s lives, and we know it is not good or of God, it is for sure within us mommas to pray God just scoots those people right out of our children’s paths.
I will say it again, there is not any part of our walk as a mom that our God does not want to be involved!
So, let’s go to Him now and pray and cover this very important area in their lives.
There are many scriptures for this area of our children’s lives, and for today I have picked, Psalm 32:8 “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” It’s a good one, isn’t it.
Now, imagine as you say it out loud or write it down, the Lion and the Lamb guiding your child. When He needs to be gentle, guiding our kids away from an individual in a way their hearts can take, or if He is more of that Lion protecting them so decidedly from harm. He is there, and that is beautiful!
Example Prayer:
“Father, God, You promise that You will guide Emery along the best pathway for her life, that You will advise her and watch over her. God, please guide her heart and give her a close Christian friend who she can bond with and do life with, who will sharpen her as iron sharpens iron. I pray you guide her path regarding every boy she might ever date, and the man whose hand she places hers in forever. May He be a man rooted in You, who will love her like You love Your church, who will raise our grandchildren to be rooted in You and look to You to guide their path. Protect Emery Lord on both of these fronts and give her wisdom.”