being intentional in 2010

its that time of year again...

time to put away the christmas decorations and take all those precious christmas cards and stick them in a big fat envelope to put in a box to look at again next time we move. (which, unfortunately, is way too often for us. but that's another story...)

my kids have really gotten into the whole idea of praying for the family whose christmas card we received each day in december. so it got me to thinking about how we can continue that focus.

while reading through christmas letters and such and looking at the loved ones on our little wall o' cards i have really been thinking. there is such an assortment of things going on in the lives of these smiling faces.

pending adoptions, loss of loved ones, expectant births, major upcoming surgeries, job changes, life changes, etc...

and, to top it all off, i've really enjoyed looking at these pictures all month. it seems a shame to box them up and mostly forget about them.

so, i saw this idea, and wanted to turn our christmas cards into a prayer book for the kids. we can flip the page each week or so and display the book in a prominent place in our house. (not to mention i'd have a minibook of pictures to keep forever and ever and ever.)

then i sorta simplified the idea in my head, because lets get real. no scrapbook is going to be completed any time soon by yours truly, and lets get on with the praying already.

so i'm going to make magnets. i have some magnet sheets. i'm going to cut out the picture on those cards (or the name on those cards without pictures), glue it to the magnet, and we'll draw a family or 2 out of the basket each week. stick them on that awesome magnet board my husband made which is prominently displayed right in the kitchen. and then we get to see all the amazing ways God works in the lives of our family and friends. and my children get to understand the importance of prayer.

its time to be intentional. because i do believe that God wants to do big things in all of our lives. and all we have to do is ask. so please feel free to join in the praying fun. ("you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it." james 4:2)

and to steal a prayer from my 5-year-old nephew, "Dear God, please help us to understand you better and let us get to see some miracles."

so, how about a 2010 full of miracles?

"training up children in the way they should go, to know and follow God, is the most responsible job in the universe. teaching them to pray is one of the most important parts of that training process. the faithful prayers of these little ones can actually change the universe - and their world." - vonette bright