Works For Me Wednesday: Prayer

 

My name is Jenni and I'm a pray-a-holic.  

Remember, Darryl Hannah's character, Annelle in Steel Magnolia's...bad girl gone good?  Mercy, that girl would drop to her knees at the drop of a hat swear word.  Okay, bad comparison, I'm not that kooky or that disciplined.  

I am, however, a rather long winded pray-er (yes, I coined the term). Every night we pray as a family.  Typically it's devotions and then each person takes a turn sharing their favorite part of the day and then prays.  Carlisle order is Bella, Caleb, Mommy, and then Daddy...not birth order (YES I'm older than the hubs, hold the snickers), hierarchy rules our roost.  By the time we get to Daddy, he gives a LOUD AMEN for Mommy cuz I've covered the nation and then some in prayer.  I come by it honestly...I'm a lover!  

I am also a copycat...not to be confused with a thief, cuz I'm gonna share links for you to be a copy cat too!  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know my Hubby and I come from BIG families.  Hence, me praying for years at a time each night.  So, to help with that and cover all who we love I borrowed a couple of ideas.

Hubby Prayer Calendar

Kiddos Prayer Calendar

These two calendars are on my fridge...you know a place you frequent throughout the day. *SIGH*  I found these beauties at Inspired To Action.  Kat is my IRL (in real life) friend and not only is she amazing, so is her blog and her wisdom!  I actually spotted them on our mutual IRL friend Kim's fridge and borrowed the background idea from her.  She was able to take the Hubby and Kiddo Prayer Calendars and personalize them with her hubby and kiddos names on each day.  I am not that computer savvy and as many can attest, if I don't run with an idea it more than likely doesn't happen!  So if you are interested in this idea, print each one on (I suggest) card stock. You can either trim as I did and center on a piece of standard scrapbook  paper or you can leave as is and center on a large piece of scrapbook paper (hold in place with tape).  Then laminate and affix a couple of magnets on the back. Viola, pretty and functional!

Small Plug...If you haven't linked from the icon on my page to get Kat's ebook, Maximize Your Mornings, you are seriously missing out.  Go get it!

This bad boy, is all me!  Very sad, but it does the trick.  You know when you tell some one about your life and they tell you they are going to be praying for you.  Well, I mean it.  I have a terrible memory...the kind that if it's not written down you might as well forget it!  To beat the lack of memory I started using the dry erase board I kept on my fridge. I have wrote, erased and rewrote SO MANY desires of friends and families hearts on that board.  Whole generations have been poured over in prayer because of that board.  I in no way want to imply that has anything to do with me.  There is a connection that happens when you pray for one another.  Relationships have been made through seasons of prayer.  

One such prayer request is for a friend from high school, Julia, that just so happens to be my husband's ex girlfriend.  I know to others that seems unusual, but I cannot explain the deep love I share for these two people who earnestly desire to be parents.  Please pray for the miracle of a baby for this sweet couple!

This is another borrowed idea from Julie at Joy's Hope, only it was a guest post from Kristin.  I LOVED this idea the moment I laid eyes on it....isn't it pretty!  I encourage you go take a look at the link as I did a watered down option using mostly what I had on hand.  The only thing I purchased was the tin in the dollar bins at Target.  Then the kids and I just cut and tied the ribbon to the pail handle.  When we finished the pail part we wrote down all our families names (one depressor per family, no matter the # of family members), close friends, and organizations/ministries close to our heart. I then split the list and had the kids use markers to write each name on tongue depressors.  The running joke is that God apparently wants to move in our hearts (or theirs...both maybe) for my sister-in-law's family, as they get 'picked' ALL the time!  The idea for us is to cover everyone in our family throughout the course of the week without having a prayer vigil everyday (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that).

We also used this idea for chores...same idea just comply a list of chores that are age appropriate for your children.  Since ours are close in age, they are equally responsible and capable.  When we use this method (sometimes Mommy just doles chores out) I have them pick three each for the day.  This eliminates complaining or the inevitable 'picking' of the more desirable chores and everyone gets their fair share of scrubbing toilets.  Yes, you read that right...my 8 & 10 year old's scrub toilets!

Another shameless plug...if you like to SAVE MONEY, check out my sister-in-law, Missy's blog!

This last one I borrowed from one of Kristen's post @ We Are That Family.  This is actually part of the curriculum we chose this year, but not for the 4th grade curriculum.  I have a slight book addiction, so this was a perfect excuse reason to purchase it!  I haven't quite put this one into motion, but I think I'll copycat that part too and start by using it at the dinner table, as well.

I hope you are able to find some prayer ideas to borrow for your family too.  There is nothing like praying with your kiddos and then experiencing the fruition of those prayers coming to pass!

I'm linking up to We Are That Family for Works For Me Wednesday!