Friday, July 29, 2011

You are the architect of your own life

We had Chinese for dinner tonight, and the fortune in my cookout was "you are the architect of your own life". Made me think about how much Caroline has in front of her, and all of the opportunity she has available to her.

Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of time. Thank you for free will, and for giving us the ability to chart our own courses on this Earth. Tonight I pray for Carolines path. I pray that you leade her to build an exciting life, full of love and joy. I pray that Caroline always has a sense of Your presence in her life, and that Your presence gives her the confidence to build any life she wants to. I pray that she dreams big and follows her dreams. I pray that she gets all out of her life that she looks for. I pray that as she builds her life, she remembers to give to others, to be true to herself and to thank You along the way.

Thank you for our little architect, and please guide her as she dreams of her plans.
Amen.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Peace

Dear God,
Today I ask you to give Caroline one of the fruits of Your spirit; peace. I ask that even at her early age you give her a sense of Your peace. I ask that as she grows she's a peaceful child who is at peace with herself and with her life. Please use this peace to strengthen her relationship with You, and to guide her in the way she lives her life and treats others. God give her peace even when it doesn't seem like a natural response, give her peace when she has to make hard decisions, please bind her heart with Your peace today, and forever.

God thank you for the gifts you make available for us, please guide us all toward the fruits of Your spirit. Thank you for our sweet Caroline, and for hearing my prayers.

Amen.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Reading

Today we met some mommy and baby friends at the library for their baby story time. The man who led the group was really great, and did a wonderful job of engaging Csroline, I was surprised at how much she's capable of paying attention, even at this age. Our experience there today inspires todays prayer.

Dear God,
Thank you for the library and for the people who work there. Thank you for the gift of reading, and the wonderful places reading can take us. Today I ask you to allow reading to come easily to Caroline, and to let it be something she enjoys in her life. Please help us make reading part of our routine with Caroline so that reading becomes part of her everyday life.

Thank you God for the gift of today.
Amen.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Peaches

Tonight i made a peach barbecue sauce to go on grilled tilapia, it was delicious! Caroline sat in her bumbo while I worked, and it made me think of how fun it will be to teach her to cook and bake, and it inspires today's prayer.

Dear God,
Thank you for our sweet Caroline and thank you for all of the wonderful food you've given us on this earth. Thank you for peaches that get ripe and juicy in the hot summer sun, and that made our dinner tonight so yummy. Tonight I pray for Carolines relationship with food. I ask you to give her a taste for lots of different food, for her not to be a picky eater, and for her to have the will to try new things. I also pray that she have my love of working in the kitchen, and that it something we can bond over and share. I pray that she not have any food allergies, and that she's always able to choose food that's healthy for her body.

Thank you Lord for your love, for hearing our prayers, for answering our prayers and for all the gifts you've given us. We have a beautiful world God, full of wonderful food - that's creative genius on your part!

AMEN.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Travel

This week, Caroline will take her first vacation. We are going to Vermont for a family get together, so she'll fly on an airplane, visit New York and Vermont, and also ride on a ferry! I started packing for her, and it made me think about all the places she'll travel in her life.

Dear God,
Thank you for our upcoming trip to Vermont. Please keep us safe as we travel, and keep me calm on my first trip on a plane with a baby. Please let things go well and easily. God, today my prayer is for Carolines travels in her life. I pray she has lots of opportunities to travel in her life, and see many wonderful things in our world. I pray that she has the courage to travel and explore, and an interest in other countries, other people, and other cultures. Through her travels I hope she meets friends she can keep through her life. I hope she learns to appreciate her home and country, and I pray that through travel she sees You, and Your majesty in Your creation. I pray that she appreciates history, and sees herself in perspective of the world, all those who have come before her, and all those who will come after.

God please set an adventurous path for my sweet Caroline, and take her to glorious places far from home. God, though, please root her path in our home, and let her always find her way back.

Amen.
P.S. God, help me not overpack.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

CPR Class

Today we took an infant and child CPR class. I'm glad we took it, because now if something happens I'll know what to do. But it was scary to think about Caroline choking or being unresponsive, and certainly I'd prefer that I never have to use these skills on her. So today I'm praying that we don't ever have to.

Dear God,
Thank you for Linda teaching us today. Thank you for all the skills we have to help each other when we're in need. Thank you for the friends we've made that were able to take the course with us. God today I ask you that Caroline never needs CPR. I pray that you protect her heart, and protect her from choking. Please keep her safe, and keep her from physical distress. Please give us the ability to protect her from harm, and the wisdom to teach her to keep herself out of trouble. God I also ask that you strengthen us, and give us the power equal to all our tasks in life.

Pease protect our sweet girl.
Amen

Friday, July 15, 2011

The blessing of grandmothers

This week my husbands mom is in town for a visit. We've had a great time together and Caroline has had a lot of good grandma snuggle time. Caroline is blessed to have two sets of grandparents who love her so much. The grandmas, specifically, inspire today's post.

Dear God,
Thank you for Sharon and Donna, or Grandma and Dee Dee, as Caroline knows them. Thank you for their love for Caroline, and for the time that they've been able to spend with her since her birth. Thank you for the gift of grandmothers, for the wisdom they pass down, for the guidance and strength they give our families. Please give Caroline many more years with her grandmothers, so that she can grow into adulthood knowing them, their love, and their lives. Please let her learn from her grandmothers the way I've been able to learn from mine. I pray that Caroline is able to spend vacations at her grandmothers house, and that she forms great memories of those long summer days. I also pray that she knows through her life how proud of her they are, just for being their granddaughter.

God, when its time in her life, I pray that you give Caroline a family of her own, and that she becomes a grandmother. I pray that she has a wonderful relationship with her grandchildren and she passes down all the wisdom and love that she's been given.

Thank you God for our family, and for all of the grandmothers.
Amen.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pain

Today was the first day of Carolines life that I saw her in pain. We had her two month shots, and after five needles in her thighs I definitely saw pain in her eyes. That inspires today's post.

Dear God,
Thank you for the wonderful nurse and doctor who took care of Caroline todsy. Thank you for the vaccinations that she got, and please help them protect her from disease and illness. I pray that you keep Caroline from pain in her life. I know a certain amount of pain is inevitable, but I pray that you keep her from pain when possible. I also pray that you guide us to raise her to keep her from pain and suffering. When she does have pain, please make it fleeting. God strengthen her to deal with whatever comes her way.

Amen.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Teeth

Today was our cats birthday. He had his annual exam today and part of his exam was teeth cleaning. That inspired todays post - for Carolines teeth!

Dear God,
Thank you for our sweet Caroline, and for all of her tiny pieces and parts. Thank you for her teeth, which we have yet to see! I pray that when her teeth come in, they don't hurt her, they come in strong and healthy and without problem. I pray that when her baby teeth come out, she looks forward to the Tooth Fairy, and that her permanent teeth come in easily and well. I pray for her teeth to be straight, strong, bright white, and healthy. I pray that she has good habits with brushing her teeth, and that she doesn't need braces or a retainer. Please give her a healthy beautiful smile!

Thank you Lord.
Amen

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Our Country

Dear God,
Tonight I offer up a prayer for the country where Caroline will grow up. Yesterday, we sent the last space shuttle into space, it was certainly an important day in US history. As I watched the launch, I felt pride in our country, in the people who live here. I pray that our country remains a safe place for Caroline, that we work toward common good, that we hold on to our morals ands values that seem to so easily slip away. I pray that Caroline explores our world and travels to wonderful places, but that she always finds her home familiar, safe, and comfortable. I pray for our leaders, for our businesses, for our people. Please bless us, lead us toward peace, guide us toward mercy and compassion, and make us to be centered on you. Please carve out a space in this world for our sweet girl.

Amen

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

A Prayer for Prayer

Dear God,
Today my prayer for Caroline is also a prayer for myself. I'm praying today for Caroline's prayer life. I ask that you give me the words to begin teaching her how to talk with you, and that you strengthen me in my prayer life, so that she grows up with a good role model for prayer. I pray that she makes a habit of talking with you throughout her life. That she remembers to reach out to you to express gratitude, to ask for requests, to connect with you, and to center herself. I pray that when she's down and having problems, she thinks first to reach for you. Please show me how to teach her to pray, and when she does pray, please hear her small voice, and reassure her of your presence in her life.

Amen.