Month: July 2025

Almighty Creator, what a wonder to have a surprise third baby in the midst of building a house that required an extra bedroom “change order” while in progress. Not to mention the added stress of moving to a different town coinciding with this baby’s due date. Although I missed the actual moving day since she was born 13 days late, I gratefully moved into a new home that had been furnished and organized by her father (my husband), and all this directly from the hospital! God, You are indeed a Faithful Provider!

I am reminded to keep asking You, Lord, to give her deeper trust in You as You unfold her story, especially as she will be having her own surprise third baby in the winter! I ask that you, Lord, protect mother and child with the daily command of Your angels and rally of Your network of helpers in her city. As You watch over her household, I pray that You will meet her daily so that she can breathe in Your Word and breathe out the joy of walking closely with You.

Father, thank You for planting the gift of song in this daughter‘s life, whether it be worship music, Broadway show tunes, or other genres. Lord, I pray Psalm 5:11 over her, “… let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy and spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your Name may exalt in You.” May her “lips … shout for joy when [she] sings praises to You, [her] soul also which You have redeemed.” (Psalm 71:23)

The tapestry of this daughter’s life has always been thought-provoking, occasionally perplexing. I pray, Lord, that her tough individuality never departs from reflecting Your radiant glory; that the dances she taps are never out of step with Your will; that the songs she sings capture Your faithfulness; and that her strong-willed self-determination is never at odds with her fundamental dependence on You as her Savior and Lord. For sure, the uniqueness of this daughter whispers to me the distinctiveness of You, God.

As a definite “own the beach” kind of girl, sometimes misunderstood, sometimes heavily emotional, and sometimes wise beyond her years, grant her deep discernment and foresight for the road ahead. Enable her to be fruitful beyond the ceaseless demands of little ones, the intense professional life of her husband, the scattered locations of her family members, and the challenge of navigating long distance relationships. Lord, You have called her to this season, and I pray that you will give her every physical and spiritual blessing she needs to fulfill Your call.

As a lover of books, podcasts, scripts, and shows, I pray this daughter would love your Word best of all. This reality I pray for her, Psalm 19:7-10 “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” Like latte art, I ask that her life continue swirling as a basic rosetta in the midst of the mundane, but as a beautiful swan in the turbulent places of adulting. 

Although this season is a hard one, I pray that eternal rewards will be visibly sprinkled along her journey. When the next season resumes, maybe with the articulation of poetry or the teaching of elementary children, I pray the tapestry of this daughter’s life will be an expression of God’s beauty and grace. “Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.”

May “Great is Thy Faithfulness” continue to be her song. Amen.

Father God, this second child (now grown up) was an answer to a specific prayer for a son, for his father to know the joy of having a son, and for a mother’s hope similar to Hannah’s – to give this son to God for “him to dwell in the presence of the Lord forever” – like Samuel (I Samuel 1:20-22). God’s answer for me came in less than 4 hours of labor under a January full moon, and a subsequent road to four decades of life, saturated with complexity, hurdles and doubt; but also, miracles, faith, and abounding grace!

Lord, as the truths of Colossians and Romans 9 took root in his life, I watched You take this beloved rebel and call him to be a “son of the living God” (Romans 9:26). What a mercy! What a “potter-and-clay” living example of Your faithfulness as well as a means for meeting my need for times of testing to deepen my wavering “mother-faith.”

Father, thank you that my son has a love for theology and the reformed confessions of the Christian faith. At the same time, I pray that the systematic study of Your nature, relationship with the world, and tenants of faith would never replace the profound pleasure of his knowing You personally through Your everyday miracles in his life and Your eternal interests in molding him into the likeness of Your Son Jesus.

Lord, just like the expression of restoration that comes from blooming flowers lovingly cultivated in a backyard, enable this son to clearly herald to others that death has been overcome by Christ and that we were designed for beauty and immortality. In his calling to preach Your Word, may his spiritual plantings be received in the soil of many receptive hearts. May Truth be articulated in such a way as to awaken the thirst of souls for our Great God and for the salvation that only He can supply.

Thank you God for gifting this son with a refreshing “let’s all go” approach to life and friendship with others. Enable him to continue to be wisely inclusive, continually hospitable, and diligently proactive in building relationships for family-strengthening and church-growing. Multiply his ministries and cover him with Your ongoing sanctifying work, widening wisdom, and compassionate care.

Thank you Lord for all the FaceTimes and personal visits that my son and his family blessed us with during Covid days and beyond! Bless him richly for purposefully reaching out and showing up often when convenience and time constraints and responsibilities make it a true challenge.

May Hebrews 12:2 be the trajectory of my son’s life. May he look unwaveringly to the Lord, the Founder and Perfecter of his faith. May this young pastor be rooted firmly in You Lord, and be described as an “oak of righteousness” because of his well-watered faith. May he be the strong and compassionate husband, father, son and friend You intend him to be. May You give him increasing patience to lead and love well. May You give him humility before You and uncommon grace expressed continually toward others. May you enable him to fulfill the pastoral calling You have placed in his life for Your glory and honor!

Amen.