Family Prayer Roll

When I was in Hawaii I was very touched by my little nieces and nephews and their prayers. Obviously their parents are teaching them the importance of praying for others. They specifically mentioned their grandpa and aunt's blood clots in every single prayer they said, no matter which kid was saying the prayer. It was humbling and a lesson to me on some things I should be teaching my kids.

For the past few days I have made a point of having each of us take a turn praying in the morning. First Clara, then Josh, and then mom and dad (if he hasn't left for work). We each pray for the things that are important to us for that day. Clara's is usually very short and we try to encourage her to add things, but she always mentions mommy's toe feeling better. Josh typically inserts something about not fighting and being able to play with friends and he mentions my toe, too. My toe is going to be back to normal in a few weeks at this rate. I love it!

I have tried to use these moments to talk about having peace in our house throughout the day and asking Heavenly Father to help us to get the things done that we need to, but to help each other, too. It has made a big difference. HUGE. Saying it out loud makes my kids more aware of what they need to do. Not to say our day is always perfect, but if I can say, "Remember how we all prayed that we won't fight today?", it seems to remind them without me getting mad at them.

I have also written down our own family prayer roll with the specific things that friends and family members need. I hope to mention a few of these in my morning prayers with the kids every day, to teach them that it is important to pray for others in need and not just for ourselves. I've asked a few friends what they want us to pray for, for them. Some friends I have just assumed some things (i.e., Kristin, Sara, Jenny and their babies), but this is a shout out. If there is anything that you want us to specifically pray for, let me know and we will put you on the list. Dave is pretty good at getting prayers answered for people to find jobs these days. :)