The Lord's Prayer

It's amazing how quickly prayer can calm you down.

Not always but still quite often, school mornings are stressful and loud in our house. They start so calm and peaceful when I wake the kids and during breakfast but it's after that, that it all goes downhill. Maybe the kids start fighting or being ugly to each other. Maybe they're playing when they should be getting ready. Maybe they're watching tv when they clearly know that we don't watch tv before school. Maybe they're outside playing when I realize they still haven't brushed their hair or gotten a jacket. The list is endless but the result is always the same - I get "steamed", we get in the car and then starts my lecture. When I'm finished, I take a deep breath and calmly remind the kids that it's time for prayers...

Each morning, on our way to school, the children take turns reciting "The Lord's Prayer" and then afterwards, one of them leads all of us in a prayer. We've been doing this for years. And despite how worked up I am or the kids are, it's during this time of prayer that you can almost see the tension released and feel the peace restored. I love this time of prayer - to focus our minds on what is important before we begin our day: God. Loving Him and honoring Him in all we do. Reece often asks God to help him resist temptation. Cecily is good to always remember if someone is sick, or if one of the kids is going on a field trip, she will ask for protection for them. Brock usually asks that God will protect them from evil. Sometimes the prayers are short, sometimes they're long - but one thing is always the same: Reece, Cecily and Brock give their hearts over to God each and every time they offer up their sweet words.