I was a little late in getting my requests out to the people I want to feature this week so I’m still gathering the information I need for the rest of the features.  I was planning on this being my last post of the week, but I’ve decided to post it today in order to keep up the Missions Week flow.

Perhaps the most important mission any of us will ever experience is that of parenthood.  Now, I realize that not everyone who reads this blog is a parent, but a majority of you are, or will be someday.

I am living my mission field every single day.  And while I have deep desires to be more involved in missions outside of my home (and, truthfully, outside of my country) for now, this is where God has me.

Lee and I work really hard to support one another as the missionaries of our own little battlefield.  And I call it that because every day we are waging a spiritual battle for our children.  We are their intercessors at this point in their tiny lives.

Well, and also because, if you’ve spent any time with Sloan and Tia you know that it really can feel like an actual battlefield around here.  They are the best of friends, but oooh m’goodness…

Each morning, before he leaves for work, Lee prays over our children.  He speaks blessing over them.  And he rarely forgets.  Unless he has to leave the house before they wake up, he blesses them before walking out the door. 

The kids have come to so expect and look forward to this that on the rare mornings when Lee forgets or is in a rush, they remind him to bless them before leaving.

It looks a little like this:

The reason I don’t have a shot of him praying over Sloan is because the day I took these, Sloan had already left for school.

Lee and I are working hard to establish in our children the idea that there really is no place like home.  We want them to know that home is safe, home is a place where they will experience blessing and love.  We want them to know that no matter what happens in life, they can always return to the comfort of home.

As Laura Ingalls said in the first episode of Little House on the Prairie, “Home is the nicest word there is.” 

Season 1, Episode 1 – Harvest of Friends…Yes, I’m a geek, but didn’t that little bit of TV knowledge fit perfectly with what I’m trying to say today?  You. are. welcome. 

Aaaaanyhooo…

I’m so thankful for a husband who is willing to take his role as leader of our family seriously.  Praying blessing over our children is not something that comes naturally to me.  I have a hard time with it and so I am grateful for my husband, who so naturally speaks the blessings of God over our children.

His prayers over them usually go something like this:

Lord, I pray for Sloan today.  I pray that you reign down your blessings upon him – that you go before him as he goes about his day.  I pray that he would know how loved he is today, not just by his family, but by you, God.  I pray that you would give him a spirit of peace and of obedience.  I pray that he would be a leader in his class today.  Lord, we thank you for Sloan and the blessing he is in our lives… 

And that’s all there is to it.  It takes less than a minute, but the impact is eternal.

I would encourage all of you to take the time in your days to speak blessings over your children.  If, like me, it doesn’t come naturally, then I urge you to pray for them on your own.  We are in a time and age when our children’s generation could potentially suffer greatly.  We need to be paving the way ahead of them with our faithful prayers.

So today’s mission focus is the family.  May you all be encouraged…