Thank you to Kayla Alonso from Baby Devotions for this incredibly helpful post with 4 practical steps toward meaningful bedtime prayer for toddlers! Now I lay me down to sleep,I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. We all know the classic rhyme-like bedtime prayer. But what if I told you, that bedtime prayers with toddlers can be more than just rhymes and games? Bedtimes prayers can be an avenue of connecting with and guiding our children, even toddlers, in their faith journey. Here are 4 ways to engage your toddler in more significant bedtime prayers: 1. Speak life over your child Navigating the terrible 2s can lead to some frustrating moments. Not going to lie, there are some days it feels like we spent half the day in time out. Those days are the worst! … Read More
Prayers
Ready to learn to pray with power?Download my Prayer Templates pack to learn to pray FOR and WITH your kids!Prayer templates pack includes:- Prayer pattern printable journal pages- Prayer pattern examples (shown below)- A scripture prayer template- A teaching guide to pray protective prayers over your children’s internet use (shown below)- a instruction guide to create your own prayer necklaceSample: Get the prayer templates packSample:
Made to pray: a 12 day prayer journey for the whole family
With 12 short but meaningful prayer activities, Made to Pray will guide you and your children to a better understanding of prayer. From prayer patterns to learning to hear the quiet whisper of God, you will finish this activity book with a deeper relationship with the God of the universe!
This is a PDF download, so you can have it on your computer in the few seconds it takes to add it to your cart!
The workbook is useful for adults, kids, and for families to do together. My prayer is that it will bring you deeper into relationship with God!
Topics covered:
Using your words
Day 1. Prayer Pattern
Day 2. The Lord’s Prayer
Day 3. Inviting Christ’s Participation
Day 4. Praying Scripture
Using your spiritual ears
Day 5. Listening to God
Day 6. Praying in the Light
Using your body
Day 7. Upward Posture
Day 8. Kneeling Posture
Day 9. Walking
Day 10. Writing
Day 11. Tactile Prayers
Day 12. Visual Prayer
Yes Mama, you can be a spiritual leader in your home
If you grew up in the evangelical, North American church, we were probably filled with the same teaching about a wife’s place in the home: second place. Our husbands were told to make every final decision, and to be responsible for the spiritual lives of their whole family. If they DIDN’T do that, their masculinity was questioned. Our job as wives was to be meek helpers. If we DIDN’T do that, our femininity was questioned. Can I say something without you totally freaking out? I don’t believe that anymore. And while that thinking was fully embraced in the past because it was culturally enforced, our Western world is changing, and roles are less defined now. If we try too hard to hold onto an old model, we create a new problem: I think that as moms, we have too often let our families slide far away from God because we … Read More
Quick ideas for praying with squirmy kids
My husband and I have 3 boys. Sometimes our house is a little bit crazy. I know, right? You would never have guessed. 😜 When it comes to prayer time, we have STRUGGLED to get them to sit still for just 5 seconds, never mind to pour out their hearts to God. Prayer time has a tendency to look more like insanity than pious praying. We have had to get REAL creative when it comes to praying! If you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe on Youtube or Like my Facebook page so you’ll get notifications when new videos are up! Each one contains short, sweet, hope-filled ideas for spiritually parenting our kids. Did you know that the Bible doesn’t say we have to pray sitting still, with our hands folded and our eyes closed? My favorite prayer hacks One of my favorite ways to pray is to do it while standing up, … Read More
5 simple ways to help your child pray…without making him sit still!
Ugh, it was prayer time AGAIN! My boys were wonderfully attentive all through reading time, even through devotion time. But the minute we asked them to pray, it was chaos. Feet kicked, legs squirmed, eyes darted around the room. Mouths wagged, fingers poked, and torsos wiggled. What had happened to our children? They reminded me of a ladybug crawling up my hand, incessantly moving even if I flipped my hand upside down, like something within them was resisting sitting still for even one.more.second. So why bother? I can just pray a two-sentence prayer and move on with life. And sometimes that’s ok. But if we want our kids to truly connect with God in a meaningful way, we must help them directly communicate with their Creator and Saviour. And that means pushing through the hard, uncomfortable stuff. But what if your kids are like mine – insanely squirmy and not interested in … Read More
A simple way to help kids pray (+ free printables!)
Teaching our children to communicate with God is foundational to helping them develop an actual relationship with him. But prayer is a mystery, isn’t it? As adults, it takes years to learn how to talk to God, and it’s even harder as parents to know how to help kids pray. Have you ever found yourself doing one of these less-than-helpful types of prayer with your kids? You repeat the same prayer ad nauseum. You know the kind – “…if I die before I wake, I pray dear Lord my soul to take.” Nothing to put our children into a sound sleep like talk of death, right? 🙂 You pray a sermon. I’m guilty of this one a lot!! “Dear Lord we know that you want us to obey you in everything and I ask that you would help us (and by “us” I mean “them”) to OBEY tomorrow.” You pray the news. “Dear … Read More
5 Faith-routines parents can develop with their kids
How many times in your life have you heard the phrase “children thrive on routine”? Personally, I’ve lost count. It is true that children need routine in their lives. I can be a very spontaneous and unscheduled person, but I’ve learned to give my kids what they need because I’ve seen what happens when they don’t have it. For our children that thrive on routine, their faith-life should also be rich with tradition and routine. When it becomes habit to have family time or sleep late in lieu of worshiping as a family, does that affect their faith? When we become so rushed that we forget to pick up the devotional or Bible, does that affect their faith? (My 2 year old son has taken to gesturing wildly at the devotional book on the table until I pick it up and read. Schooled by a toddler!) When we replace the … Read More
12 Scriptures For Anxiety And Depression (with printable)
Use these 12 Scriptures for anxiety and depression to grow in Godly courage against your worries and fears. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 NIV That’s quite a graphic image, isn’t it? I’m not a big fan of roaring lions prowling around me and my family, looking for someone to devour. But let’s not forget the rest of this passage… “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:9 NIV The truth is that there are lies and enemies lurking at the edges of our lives, looking for the way in. We often let in those lies by accident, not recognizing them as un-true until we have been devoured by anxiety and depression. The best way to resist and … Read More
5 Life-Changing Tips to Help Kids Sleep
Help kids sleep (and get more yourself) with these 5 life-changing tips. My son’s little face scrunched as he greedily sucked down his meal. The smell of milk breath and sweet baby skin mingled, but I wasn’t focused on the moment. Instead, the rocker moved quicker and quicker, my feet unable to stop pushing. I had just heard that my friend’s baby, born the same week as mine, was sleeping peacefully for 8 hours at a time. Mine still woke up every hour or two, which, while it was a big improvement from his previous longest sleeps of 40 minutes, was a far cry from 8 hours. Why couldn’t I get my baby to sleep when she obviously could? I was the one who had an older child; I felt like I should be better at this. But the mystery remained. All babies seem to sleep a little different. There … Read More
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