Friday, August 31, 2012

Smile

Dear God,
Yesterday the most wonderful thing happened. I was sitting on the floor in my kitchen, playing with Caroline when she looked at me. I looked back at her, and smiled. Then - SHE SMILED BACK. She saw me smiling at her and returned it. It was wonderful! I see her smile a lot, all day long, at lots of things. But this specific sequence hasn't happened yet and it was so heart warming. It made me feel like she knows how happy she makes me, and maybe in return I make her happy too. God thank you for the bond between mom and daughter, and thank you for the moment we had yesterday. Please give me lots of time on this earth to make her smile more Lord.

Amen.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Silliness

Dear God,
There are a couple things Caroline is doing right now that qualify as just plain silly. When you ask her to whisper, she does something that sounds like she's gargling at the same time she says 'woodchuck'. It's a ridiculous whisper but it's hilarious, and she does it every time I ask her. These kinds of things are reliable laughter - and it's so funny that she's already got a little sense of humor. God please leave Caroline with this silly side - all through her life. There's such a pressure to grow up and perform in our culture, and I pray that we're able to raise her in an environment where theres still room for silly, simple fun.

Amen.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Thank You

Dear God,
One of the things that Caroline says the most is Thank You. What a sweet thing it is to hear those two tiny words come out of her mouth. There's a special way she says it too -- even if you didn't know what she said, the tone of her voice sounds grateful. I'm proud of her for saying Thank You, and proud of her for learning gratitude at an early age. God please give Caroline the awareness and humility to be eternally grateful to you. For her life, for her gifts, for the many blessings you have prepared for her. Amen.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Great Things

Dear God,
This week we lost Neil Armstrong, a man who made a significant and very public impact on our Earth. His passing has made me think of how each person who lives starts as a baby, and at one point, Neil Armstrong was just a baby, like Caroline. At one point, no one but you knew what was in store for Neil. God I know you have great plans for Caroline, you've laid out a life of experiences and achievement for her. I pray today that you include GREAT things for her - great challenges, great successes, great joy, great peace, great sense of community. Not all of us are made to be public figures like Neil, but through you, we're all capable of accomplishing greatness.

Thank you Lord for my sweet girl.
Amen.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Roots like Redwoods

Dear God,
Today I heard a story about how Redwood Trees get their strength. It's not through an incredibly deep root system, it's through an incredibly connected root system. The story went that a Redwood never grows alone, it always grows in a group of Redwoods, and that they get their enormous strength through tangling their roots with one another, until the entire group shares a complexly connected root system. The analogy to life holds - we get our strength not through standing alone, but by standing in communities who tie their roots to ours. Its from our family and friends that we find our strength. Today God, my prayer is that you give Caroline roots like a Redwood - that no matter how old she is, how long she's lived somewhere, how 'deeply' connected she is in a place, her strength comes from the people she surrounds herself with. God please make those people quality people who want good things for themselves and for Caroline.

Thank you God for our church, for your blessings in our lives, and for our sweet Caroline.
Amen.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Taking her foot off first

Dear God,
You send messages to our lives in your perfect timing, and I'm so grateful you do that. This week, I heard this message "No one ever stole second base without taking their foot off first". That's a simple idea, and certainly one we've said and heard in other ways many times - but it's such an easy way of looking at the relationship between risk and success. God today my prayer is that through her life, you give Caroline the courage to take her foot off first, and the courage and confidence to steal second.

God thank you for Caroline, for your timing, for the messages you put in our lives.
Amen.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Carseat

Dear God,
Caroline's struggled with her carseat for almost her entire life. Today again, she tried to unbuckle herself while I was driving. God this makes me nervous, and it makes for a very stressful ride. Please God make Caroline happier in her seat, and a more peaceful rider. Please give me patience and direction for dealing with her behavior in the car.

Amen.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Appendix

Dear God,
Today we had a dear friend have an appendectomy. I don't think I've ever prayed specifically for Caroline's appendix. Today, I will. God please make Caroline's appendix healthy, and don't let it cause problems for her in her life. Please help us teach her how to take good care of her whole body.

Amen.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Service

Dear God,
I just had a meeting with a friend from my volunteer group who is an amazing women. You've created her to be a MOTHER. She's an amazing mother to 3 children, and has been a foster mother to more than 12! Thank you for people like her, thank you for the strength you give her. God please give Caroline the heart of service that you've obviously given to my friend. Please make her willing and able to see when people need help and to reach out to them. God thank you for our girl, and for the community of people in which we're raising her.

Amen.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Acceptance

Dear God,
You've made Caroline such a friendly little girl! She's so willing to talk to just about everyone we encounter, and she'll let any of our friends pick her up and hold her. Thank you for giving her such an accepting nature. Please let that nature grow as she does, and extend into adulthood. Please make her into a woman who accepts others without judgement.

Amen.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Lifetime Friends

Dear God,
Thank you for the friends you've blessed us with. Thank you for friendships that have lasted over so many life stages. Today we had the gift of spending lunch with two friends who have been around a long time! Dear God, today I pray that Caroline develop deep, lasting friendships with good people, and that those friendships stick with her through good times and bad. Thank you for the people you've given us - who we see as a gift.

Amen.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Optimism

Dear God,
Today my prayer for Caroline is that you give her the gift of being optimistic. Please let her be a person who confidence in the future and confidence in her ability to be successful. God give her an attitude that's contagious to the people around her, and one that brings her happiness. Please also let her grow into a person who's able to see the good around her, who is able to say that she's blessed by her circumstances.

Thank you God for today, for our sweet girl and for the gift of prayer.
Amen.