Tag: christianity

My first son-in-law became introduced to our family 23 years ago and instantly became a Virginia Tech fan, 99% because it was his future wife’s university, but also because the VT football fan craze contagion cannot be avoided by anyone! He became the Dad of my very first grandchild which is a very distinct honor! So, the journey to our “family building” began with him!

Thank you God that this son founded his household on the Firm Rock, Jesus Christ (Luke 6:47)! I do not worry that any earthly floods of sorrow or suffering will overcome this strong foundation. Thank you God that Your eternal Word fell on his heart’s good and rich soil long ago so that he is a faithful and fruitful husband, father, son, brother, co-worker, and friend. Multiply his fruitfulness to a hundredfold (Mark 4:8-9). Let him be a man who boasts that he knows and understands You Lord, and therefore flows with Your steadfast love, justice, and righteousness (Jere. 9:23-24). For his humility and kindness, I am so grateful. Thank You for giving him a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:23-24), for this reflects the Spirit of the Living God in his life of faith. Thank You that he is a man of prayer.

This faithful fixer of broken things is a builder and restorer of gasoline and diesel engines. For that matter, he is also handy at most all domestic repairs and minor renovations. He has a servant’s heart and a thoughtful personality. He is ready to share himself whenever there is a need. Dear God, please remove any “weariness in well-doing” that comes close to him, because he instead will trust You in all things. You have given him the gift of practical stewardship with which he blesses our family continually. He is our most dependable mender of appliances, painter, hammerer, nailer, wrencher, tightener, purifier of swimming pool water, mower, mulcher, carrier of heavy objects, washer of pots and pans and plates after a meal, smoker of meats, and automotive magician. No job seems too big or too small. The list goes on.

I pray that my son-in-law will continue to love the Scriptures and be strengthened in the grace of Christ to speak and act as a trustworthy and reliable witness who can teach others (2 Tim. 2:1-2). I pray that You will prepare him to preach the Word in season and out of season with patience and care (2 Tim. 4:2). I ask that You develop his leadership and teaching gifts in his church community. I pray that You will widen his spiritual sensitivity as You speak to him through Your Word.

Finally, I pray I Thess. 1:2-4 over my first son-in-law. God, will You greatly expand this son’s works of faith, labors of love, and steadfastness of hope? As You deepen his faith, give him many opportunities to let others see Jesus in his responding, especially when his faith is sorely tested and his circumstances cause stress. As You deepen his love, give him the caring attention and understanding needed by his wife, maturing daughters, parents, extended family and friends. Extend his compassion and mercy to the unsaved with whom he interacts. Use his practical skills to bless those who need his expertise. Lord Jesus, let him always be Your hands and feet. As You deepen his hope, give him Your perspective on world happenings. Let him sense Your Sovereignty and unthwarted purposes always at play. Let him find rest for his soul and body in Your capable hands.

Amen.

Another son entered our family in 2015. Coming from a Tennessee family, he was drawn to Virginia for preparation as a highly skilled surgeon. And, by God’s providence, he was also on a road to start a life with our youngest girl. He was then and is now, as his name means, a gift of God!

Lord God, I ask that my TN son-in-law would be one who seeks diligently after You, to understand You, and to look first to You in all circumstances (Psalm 53:2). May he be like a flourishing green olive tree in God’s house, prosperous, enduring – deeply connected to and trusting in the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for us (Psalm 52:8).

In the relentless demands of life, will You lead him to be still and really know that You are God (Psalm 46:10)? Be his rest, his energy, his motivation, his clarity. Will You supply him with good courage and the ability to walk evermore by faith rather than sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)?

Prepare my son-in-law’s mind for the requirements of the day and the unceasing calls for discernment and precise skill. Prepare his body to be strong and healthy so his journey through each day will be infused with grace, mercy and peace. Prepare his soul for life’s sorrows and joys, disappointments and celebrations, strengths in times of weakness, and ultimately the crown of life eternal.

Grant that he will be a curious and persistent disciple of Christ, always inquiring of the Lord answers to the many challenging questions of his heart and mind. May he be a compassionate husband and life partner, a wise father to his little girls, an attentive son, and a devoted friend. May he be an asset to his superiors, a support to his colleagues, and an encouragement to those he trains and leads.

In the midst of his life’s calling, will You generously give him abundant practical wisdom to detect problems, the keen imagination to consider solutions, and all the skills to apply remedies and save lives? At the same time, will you minimize the flood of demands that can easily overwhelm in such a consuming vocation? Will You make Your glory shine through the life-saving expertise You have given to this beloved son?

I pray Ephesians 3:14-19 over this son-in-law, that he will be strengthened by God’s Spirit in the inner man, so that he may be able to comprehend and know the love of Christ. Dear God, be my son-in-law’s Rock, Refuge, safety, guide, and leader. Give him broad shoulders and a deep heart. May his life always reflect Your love, joy, and kindness.

Amen.

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.

J.E.M. are the initials of my one and only grandson. He is set apart as a treasured “g-e-m” because he is the only boy, and because he is uniquely reflective of God’s handiwork, and because he adds an exclamation to our beautiful family! He navigates naturally among the six sisters or cousins that are our grandgirls. As God has Sovereignly placed our grandson in a position to carry on our family name, I pray Lord, that he lifts high the Name of Jesus to the 10th generation and beyond.

For this young grandson, I pray Proverbs 2:1-6 (ESV) “My son, if you receive My words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Father God, I pray that my grandson may always listen hard, cry out for Your help, and devotedly dig for truth in knowing You through the Scriptures and Your Spirit. Grant him the capacity and desire to love You wholeheartedly and to love what You say, even as a young boy.

As my grandson has a love for trains and planes, enable him also to know the reality of soaring on eagle’s wings when he has waited for the Lord Who renews his strength, so he will walk and run by Your Spirit without weakness. Like a smooth train, God, enable my grandson to stay on track with You and Your purposes for his lifetime. Like a reliable jet plane, God, regulate my grandson’s speed in loving others, altitude in humility, and tuned instrumentation in forgiveness. Allow him to land well in good times and bad times for your honor and glory.

Transport my grandson, Lord, to the open road where he may share the Gospel with whomever he meets. Transport him to the heights of the sky that he might always carry with him a vision of Heaven. Transport him daily to the remembrance that You are the loving and gracious Father who gave us this precious gift of one amazing grandson!

Amen.