Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Day 4 Avoiding foolishness


I am back! although I have not been able to post for the past few days due to traveling and the hustle and bustle that comes with it- I have not stopped praying for you guys and our sons. 


May our sons be like a poor person who walks in his integrity rather than one who is crooked in
speech and is a fool (Proverbs 19:1)
an excerpt from Brooke-"In their book, Instructing a Child's Heart, Tedd and Margy Tripp have this to say about foolishness: "The Bible's definition of foolishness is concise. 'The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'' (Psalm 14:1). If there is no God, I am autonomous - a law unto myself. There is no consideration in life more profound than, 'What will please me?' Children don't say those words, but such foolish thoughts are the underlying justifications for hundred of impulses every day. It is expressed in all the acts of disobedience, selfishness, willful temper, and compulsive self-love.""(p 112)
The definition of foolishness according to the Bible. I had never thought of it this way before. I wanted to post the text here so that we can meditate on it throughout the day and teach them to our little guys as soon as we can. I love the idea of teaching  that Brooke talks about, "but I believe with all my heart that
teaching both of my sons to think in biblical terms now will help them choose in biblical terms later." 

Psalm 14

"definition of a foolish man"
 1 The fool[a] says in his heart,
   “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
   there is no one who does good.
 2 The LORD looks down from heaven
   on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
   any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
   there is no one who does good,
   not even one.
 4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
   They devour my people as though eating bread;
   they never call on the LORD.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
   for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
   but the LORD is their refuge.

Proverbs 9

Invitations of Wisdom and Folly(differences between wisdom and foolishness)
 1 Wisdom has built her house;
   she has set up[a] its seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
   she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls
   from the highest point of the city,
 4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 5 “Come, eat my food
   and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;
   walk in the way of insight.” 7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
   whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
   rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
   teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
   and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For through wisdom[b] your days will be many,
   and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
   if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
 13 Folly is an unruly woman;
   she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
   on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
   who go straight on their way,
 16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 17 “Stolen water is sweet;
   food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
   that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

Dear Lord, thank you so much for guiding us in your ways! we are so blessed to  have you as our guide in this life that can pull us in so many directions. Today we ask for wisdom in leading our sons to become wise men and not foolish men. Please draw near to us as we draw near to you! amen!
Gracefully Daisy

Friday, June 10, 2011

Day 3 a heart of integrity



sorry for the late post...i hope your day was wonderful

May_our sons_walk before You, as David his father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness,
doing according to all that God has commanded him, and keeping His statutes and His rules
(1 Kings 9:4)


in·teg·ri·ty

   
–noun
1.
adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moralcharacter; honesty.



Integrity seems to have disappeared in our current society. 
may we train up men full of integrity in every area of their life.
the best way we can teach this is by example. 
when i met Josh in college i was drawn by his blue eyes, awesome smile, and charming personality but over all those physical attributes that caught my eye his integrity took the cake. He challenged me to live a life of integrity everyday we worked together. When I realized how he led his life-I knew I wanted to marry him.


May our sons grow up to be honest-affecting the lives of all who come in contact with them. This is why  we take on  this challenge to intercede for them so that the Lord will take a hold of their heart and mold it into a heart of flesh-who purposes to live a life integrity before the Lord and men.




My favorite prayer for today:
Till he dies, may_Sam___never put away his integrity (Job 27:5)

Dear Lord, thank you because you always hear us. We are so sure that we can come to you and ask for the desire of our hearts because you care. We are seeking your face so that we will learn directly from you what is your will for our lives and for the lives of the sons you have entrusted to us. Lord, lead us in your way everlasting that everyday we become more like you and less like this world wants us to be. May we continuously in every area of our lives be an example to our sons of what a life lived in integrity looks like. May our sons set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12)
May they Learn it from us Lord as we have learned it from you. Change our hearts make them ever new so that we can be more and more like you to our sons. Lord, please take hold of their heart and give them a heart of flesh-soft and tender towards you and your way-because your way leads to eternal life. In your name I pray. Amen.  
Gracefully Daisy

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Day 2 Submission to Authority

May__our sons __agree with God, and be at peace; so good will come to them (Job 22:21)

How is your day going? Praying at the beginning of the day is truly refreshing! Sam and I prayed while he was having breakfast and it brought peace to our hearts! 
Words that really stood out to me from the book:


"All of their lives, our sons will find themselves needing to submit to someone. From parents, to teachers, to bosses, to government officials, and even to God Himself, they will always have someone in a position of authority over them"
teaching them about submission to authority in their formative years will only help them to transition into society and the great big world out there...


Even now at 9 months (wow! still in awe of how fast time is passing) we find ourselves saying "no" to little guy- a lot! So today I mad it a point in telling him how wonderful he ate and how good he was when we took a walk- try it with your little guys tell them how much you rejoice over them-especially when they make wise choices-when they submit to your authority~


My favorite prayer of the day:

May__Sam__, who is younger, be subject to the elders. May he clothe himself with humility toward others, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  
(1 Peter 5:5)
today I will pose one of the study questions so that we can meditate on it. please comment about it when you leave a comment on the blog.
Have you ever considered how teaching obedience leads naturally to a deeper understanding of the Gospel? 
 Dear Lord, thank you again for meeting with us today-right where we are. You are always ready to meet us! Lord, once again I pray for strength for our hearts as mothers to help our children understand obedience and submit to authority! Lord, help us to be the true example of how to apply this principle. We have taken on this challenge because you are with us! Lord, pray please drawn near to us and our sons, draw our son's hearts closer and closer to yours! we love you and praise you! in Jesus name. Amen.



Gracefully Daisy

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Day 1 Love = Obedience

=
Obedience
"If you love me, keep my commands." John 14:15

Today is the beginning of an amazing journey. 

The verse that keeps coming to mind is Jeremiah 33:3. I know that as we take this journey together the Lord will show us unimaginable things about who we are in him and about who we are as mothers! 

Today's Instructions:
Remember that we are  committed  to praying the ten prayers in the obedience chapter today. There are four ways you can accomplish this:

1. Get up early to bathe your sons in prayer first thing in the morning.
2. Pray the prayers one at a time throughout the day
3. Make the prayers a part of your family devotion time, praying the prayers out loud over your sons.
4. Spend some time in concentrated prayer late at night, around bedtime.

Note this is another idea that Brooke: Moms whose boys have already left the home (or grandmothers whose grandsons don't live in their home) can consider writing a note to send once a day with the prayers they have prayed for their sons.What an encouragement to receive a note a day from mom (or grandma) with specific prayers!


now that we are done with a little bit of housekeeping let's focus on praying for our sons to learn and embrace obedience. 
LOVE = OBEDIENCE
. As we read through Brooke's introduction to the first chapter she shares her "life changing words"
“Ladies, if your man cannot submit to Jesus, he cannot lead you. A man must be willing to be led before he can truly lead.”
She shares how she heard this at a conference and realized that teaching obedience to our sons is setting them for success in life! I love the truth that she shares of how teaching obedience leads us to teach our sons about the Gospel message! What a wonderful way to show our sons that Jesus' plan for salvation is for them from an early age so that when they begin to see their faults and sin begins to entice them they will know how to obey the Lord who saves them!

Each day I will share with you my favorite of the 10 prayers and share a prayer at that end of the post!
May ___Sam__ walk after the LORD His God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey His voice. May he serve Him and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 13:4).
I pray this prayer for my little guy  today because if he walks after Lord he will grow to love his commandments and he will delight in them as King David did and this obedience will lead to a prosperous and long life!

David's life is such and inspiration to me because it is his Love for the Lord and for his Law that leads him to obey. His life is the story of redemption that we all live because even through his faults and shortcomings he is know at the man according to God's heart. I know that as mother's we want our son's to be known as men according to God's heart!

Even Jesus taught this principle to the disciples. We must teach them to Love the Lord so that the principle of obedience becomes second nature to them because they love therefore they will obey.

Dear Lord, 
how blessed I am by you to be able to share my heart with these beautiful moms. I love how their hearts pour into their sons hearts. I ask you today for strength and perseverance as we commit to praying for ours sons today. We ask that you will give our sons the wisdom to understand the importance of obedience regardless of their age. Lord, I ask that you will give us the vision and ability to teach our sons this vital principal. We come to you for wisdom because you have promised to give it to us and we seek your face now while you can be found so that we can learn directly from you and your word. Please reign in our son's hearts and show us the condition of our hearts as we pray for them. Lord, lead us in the path of obedience and if there is an area in our heart where we are lacking-show us and we will obey you because we love you! In Jesus name, amen.

 Gracefully Daisy
 i found this great song enjoy! great song to begin teaching our kids!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

He sees you...

I have never reposted from another blog before but since it is the eve of our 21 days of prayer I wanted to share this encouragement shared by Brooke the author of the book we are going to be using as guide.


{Originally posted at the M.O.B. Society, I like to post this article the day before the start of the 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge. Perhaps you need to settle this issue in your heart once and for all. There’s no time like today.}
This parenting of the male species is hard.

Whether you have an adventurous boy, a scholarly boy, a rambunctious boy, or a bookworm boy. A little boy, married boy, big boy or somewhere in between boy. Sinner boy, saved boy, sanctified boy.
It’s still hard.
I’ve watched your words, you boy mamas, and I confess: I’ve been totally overwhelmed with what God is doing through this community. I’ve rested my head many nights speechless that God would allow me to kneel with you and pray for His hand in our boys’ lives.
Several times I’ve asked God, “what are You doing?” And other times I’ve read about a mom’s deep burden for her son and all I could utter was, “O God.”
He hears our groanings.
The coupled pain and hope that keeps a mama on her knees wears a carpet thin.
But He hears you.
And God is for you.
You are the apple of His eye. His beloved. His thoughts toward you are many and His plans for you are good. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
When your son takes his first steps and you realize for the first time that your baby is growing up…God is for you.
When you give it your all and his heart doesn’t change…God is for you.
When you wake up and he’s five and you realize there are already so many moments you’ve missed and will never get back…God is for you.
When you realize the home life you desperately wanted to provide for him isn’t going to happen…God is for you.
When you realize how your own sinful choices have affected him…God is for you.
When you’re defeated and ready to quit…God is for you.
When you see the desires of his heart and realize that they’re not always good…God is for you.
When your son gets hurt or that thing you always wanted to protect him from happens…God is for you.
When his heart doesn’t belong to just you anymore…God is for you.

When he makes choices that hurt you, no, devastate you…God is for you.
When the threads of your carpet are worn bare from the praying, begging, hoping in God to complete the work He started…God is for you.
And His heart for you is good.
As we prepare to join our hearts in prayer for 21 days tomorrow, perhaps the one thing we should settle is this:
God is for us. And His heart for us is good.

********
Are you a boy mom?
The 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge is starting tomorrow! Join me on a 21 day journey into praying for the hearts of our sons. Are you up for the challenge? Buy your book, sign up with a group leader and start praying passionately and purposefully for your sons!
 

Gracefully Daisy

Monday, June 6, 2011

gifts of thanksgiving -#38-#44

what a wonderful week! so many things to be grateful for
God is good!
design found at lovely design


Gracefully Daisy

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Kiss the Groom-" the Kissing tree"



such a sweet finding I discovered here 
searching for inspiration for a sweet friends bridal shower
try it i know you'll love it...

Gracefully Daisy