Last year I attended a moms small group during the mornings and the leader gave us these beautiful journals to take notes in of the study we were doing. She also encouraged us to write prayers for our children, what we might be struggling with as moms and scripture to pray over them. I had been thinking about doing this so I was soooo excited to come home and get started. Frist I used our Christmas card from the year before (2011) and glued it in the front of the book. Picture help to have a visual of who you are praying for and then I always have a current family photo on hand to show people :P
The very first page of the book I wrote out the scripture that God has spoken over me and my children. Psalms 127:3-5. This is a verse I say daily especially during those hard days when the kids seem to be anything but a blessing :P
During our times of meeting we had some really great teaching. One that I wrote out was 10 character traits for parents. 1. Affirming 2. Patient 3. Celebratory 4. Visionary 5. Prayerful 6. Authentic 7. Connected 8. Attentive 9. Comforting 10. Insightful
After writing them down I attached one of my favorite pictures of me with the kids. The greatest thing about the mom journal is that I carry it with me everywhere I go. That way when I am waiting for appointments I can open it up, write something in it or pray something that I have written down...like these parenting traits; asking God to help me be this kind of mama.
Some pages are filled with specific things to pray for the kids well other pages have parenting quotes, encouraging stories, photos of me with the kids, teachings or advice I have received from another mama. Another list I have written out is the Character Qualities that we study in school (homeschool that is). We choose 2 a month to study and try to be like!
This year my book is still going strong so I took our Christmas card and glued it onto the page to show my new year! This year our small group decided to read the book One Thousand Gifts. It has been such a blessing to read this book so the next half of my book has been dedicated to writing down my blessings every day. So far 2 months in I am about 150 gifts. I think if I keep it up I will hit One thousand by the end of the year or summer :P
Durning the days while I am home the book sits open on the counter so I can record blessings as they happen. Here are a few from my list:
4. Jaelyn cuddled into me snoring away
8. Perfectly falling snow and no place to go
9. Godly friends to spend late night laughs and sliders with
10. Elderly married couple hands in the air worshipping Jesus together
19. Giant boxes and creative minds
20. Easy clean up of parchment paper
41. Strong arms wrapped around my waist as I cook supper
50. Abrahams jolly smile that lights up any room
65. Pink clouds
87. Oatmeal on a cold winter morning
100. Walking into a house filled with the aroma of fresh baked cookies.
Thanks for sharing Katie :)
ReplyDeletewhat a neat idea of having something written down that is not in the "internet" a keep sake for your family, to re-read and learn and grow.
ReplyDeleteLove this Katie
This is amazing! I am SO going to do this! How amazing will this be when your kids are old enough to read it! What a beautiful piece of you many, many years down the road when you're gone! I love this!
ReplyDeletemyquiverfullfamily.blogspot.com
I can't wait to start my own...what a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete