Do you love Monday mornings like I do? I love the fresh start–mostly because I usually (99.9% of the time) feel like I need the fresh start.
This Monday morning, I’m asking for your prayers for patience with the kids and a reminder of the significance of this vocation. I need to stop yelling. I need to go across the room, get down on the kids’ level, and make eye contact when I’m making requests. I need to enlist them to help more–both because they like to help and because they need to learn these skills as they go. I need to remain patient as they learn their new skills. I need to remember that they are acting appropriate for their age. When they are not acting appropriate for their age, I need to discipline effectively. I need to intervene ASAP and be consistent. I need to help them work through their emotions. I need to take deep breaths before I discipline or swoop in when they’re needing an intervention. I need to have more “time-ins” of quality time than “time-outs.” I need to remember that they are my vocation and not an obstacle to accomplishing it.
In trying to do all of this, I appreciate your prayers, but I need one more favor: Can you please let me pray for you? Can you please share your intentions with me? In my last post, I wrote about how I’m keeping a journal full of intentions. When I’m tempted to do all of the things I’m trying to avoid (yelling, nagging, going it alone with the chores, etc.), I want to have a list of prayer intentions to turn to. As I go about my day, knowing that I have a mission to unite whatever little things I’m struggling with to the cross for the sake of your prayer intentions will give me the drive and motivation to:
- be a better mama
- put suffering (big and small) to work for good
Can we start this week off right together? Can I pray for you, and can you please (please, please, please???) pray for me?
Please pray for my marriage and for my wishes to one day be able to stay home with my little boy. I will be praying for you also, as I need help in the mothering department daily too 🙂
Thank you for such an inspiring post! I've been struggling with a similar issue trying to be patient with my 3 year old who's unfortunately picked up my bad example of yelling :/ I hope to adopt your approach of offering up prayer intentions in the midst of life's daily parenting struggles. Please pray for my patience, too and also for a family member who is hoping to adopt.