This is the third in a series of posts on “Spiritual Spots” the series starts here.  The last post was on Reading God’s Word.  Today’s post will cover prayer and prayer journaling.

Prayer is our way of communicating with God.  If you’re a Christian and have a “relationship” with God it is essential in order to grow that relationship to pray.  Prayer is our life line to God.  As my children learned in Vacation Bible School this summer you can pray anytime, anywhere and about anything.  Prayer is a privilege and something that we should WANT to do.

In our busy lives it is important that we set aside time daily to pray or talk to God.  Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated.  I know as a teenager that I spent the first few moments before school while still sitting in my vehicle to pray.  Usually, I would turn up my favorite praise and worship CD and spend that time in prayer and praise to God.  Prayer after all should involve not just listing our requests to God but also spending time praising him.

Using a prayer journal can also be a great way to spend time in prayer and will help you to “focus” that time that you have no matter how small.  You can list your prayer concerns, the ways that you can praise God and even intercede for others.  Writing in a prayer journal can help you to also look back in the future and see how God has answered your prayers.

If you need more help with prayer and prayer journaling why not download our guide My Heart to His. It is F. REE.

If you are the mother of little girls and boys like I am instead of teenagers, you may be wondering how manners should come into play in your home.  Well, my theory is teach them when they are young and they will remember it when they are old.  Manners are just like anything else in our lives they take practice to truly make a routine and daily part of your child’s life.

Some of the things that I personally start young with my children are manners such as “yes ma’am and no ma’am” or “yes sir and no sir”.  I also encourage them to say “please” and “thank you” even if it is just to each other, but especially to adults.  I also encourage them to hold doors open for other people and not push or rush in line.

Other things I believe are important are saying the blessing at meal times and making prayers a part of our daily routine, this may not seem like it relates to manners, but it is something we do as a “Christian” family.

Finally, I encourage my children to keep private matters private and not talk loudly or speak when adults are talking.  These are just a few of the things I believe we can do to “begin” our children with manners even when they are young.

Photo Credit: AD-Passion

This weekend I spoke to a group of 1st – 6th grade girls.  The topic was what they can learn from Queen Esther.  Queen Esther was a very brave young woman.  One of the girls there was to me, very brave.  She asked me question after question about the story, about myself, about whatever came to her mind I assume.

The good thing to me about her asking questions was that it showed me that she was listening.  She was taking in what I was saying and she was processing it.  I believe that asking questions is a good thing.  This brought me to think about, “Do you allow your daughter to ask questions?”  We as parents want our children to come to us with problems, with issues, with fears, but are we open and willing for them to ask questions.

Honestly, this speaks to me, because my oldest, a boy, is a question asker.  I kept thinking that it was his age, he’s six, but I shouldn’t want it to stop there.  I should want him to ask questions as he gets older, because I want to know he’s listening, I want to know he is thinking things through, I want to know that he values what I have to say.

Think about this. . . what do you want your daughter to ask you questions about.  Feel free to share in the comments below:

photo credit: adamci

I have heard it said many times, “Values are better caught than taught”.  Are there values or morals that you are hoping to teach your children? Do you attempt to “teach” these values or do you live them?  Are they a part of who you are and with your daily life do you show that you have that value or moral belief?

I believe that our morals and values or beliefs are shown in our actions.  If you are truly showing what you believe in then you will be “living” what you believe.  As a result your children will witness those beliefs and will begin to take them as their own, thus “catching” them.  That is why you must LIVE it.  If you don’t believe in becoming drunk with wine and are trying to teach your children to abstain from drinking alcohol then you must not do it yourself.  If you are attempting to teach your children to honor God and not devalue him by taking his name in vain then do not do it yourself.  It is that simple.

The same can be true for things that you want your children to put in high regard.  If you want them to read their Bible daily then model that action for them.  Children can learn both negative and positive actions from their parents.  Don’t you want what you are teaching them by example to be only what is “good”?

So, think about what your children are catching and if it is what you are wanting them to get or not.  Maybe you need to change your own actions or attitudes to make sure they are “worth catching”.

Girls,  How many times has your momma said this, “Because I said so.” When my momma said it, she backed it with a promise.  She meant business.  I knew  my mom meant business, but she also modeled obedience for me.  She expected me to obey, but she also obeyed God.  She modeled this for me.

She made time for me.  She made his teachings a part of our daily life.  God’s commandments in my home were rules to live by, not just because my mom said so, but because God said so.  God says the same thing.  He expects us to do things because He says so.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Ephesians 6:1-3

You see, God tells us to do something and He backs it up with a promise. And you know what?  God keeps His promises. How many times have you promised someone something and NOT kept your promise?  Or maybe someone promised you something and they didn’t keep their promise.  But with God, He ALWAYS keeps His promises.

He tells us to obey our parents, and our parents must obey God.  He also gives them a command, it is found in Deuteronomy 6

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them  when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-9

We as parents are to teach our children to love God,  as a result of this love our children will learn to honor and obey God,  this will cause them to learn to be obedient.  Honor comes through obedience.

When we learn to obey and honor our parents we are being obedient to God and we will therefore receive His promises.

Parents will often make promises to us as well.  As parents we must follow through with our promises in order to help our children to learn obedience.  My parents were ones to keep their promises whether it was a promise of punishment if I disobeyed or a promise of something I wanted or was wishing for.

I had to first learn to be obedient.  Even when my momma said, “Because I said so.”

There are many commandments that we are given as children of God. The Bible lays these out for us in the Ten Commandments and other Scriptures. Some are easy to follow, while others we struggle with.  Honoring our father and mother is one that during our teen years we often struggle to keep.  The simple commandment,

“Honor your father and your mother,” Exodus 20:12 (NIV),

becomes so complex as get to this age.  For some strange reason as we hit around the age of thirteen our parents become dumber and we become smarter.
This was my personal experience.  I can remember thinking that they were so wrong, while I was so right.  Many an argument was fought because of this.  Whether it be a disagreement over whether I could go somewhere with my friends, how messy my room was, or how I chose to wear my hair, I thought they were wrong and I was right.

Sure, my friends often had crazy ideas my parents were right about not letting me participate in, my room did often resembled a pig sty, and my hair  needed washing more than once per week, but I sure did not think so in my naive little thirteen year old brain.

So, as moms and dads, how do we get our children, especially those of the teenage variety to clue into the fact that we are “smart”?  The truth is, as a former teen myself, I believe it is a phase we all have to go through.  Quite honestly as time went by, my parents got smarter and smarter.  I began to clue in to the fact that some of the things they were telling me really were for my own good and slowly I came back onto their side of many an issue.

By the age of eighteen I had come to realize that I needed them, they had good advice, and I could count on them more than my friends.  So, do not loose hope, your child will come around again.  So, be patient, and wait for them to realize the error of their ways, receive their newfound belief in you with love, and be grateful for their new found belief in what you have to say.

The Bible’s words are true that if you,

“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Let that verse be the hope that you cling to as you continue to train your child, no matter how dumb they attempt to make you feel, because Mom and Dad, your honor will soon be restored to its rightful  place.