NGM dinner

We had our "graduation" dinner for Next Generation Mentoring last night. It was an odd feeling walking into Martha's house with our husbands. Of course the whole vibe changed. We were no longer our little band of five, with Martha at the head. But it was also fun and interesting to see everyone with their men. Our husbands are such an integral part of who we are; without them, none of us were ever really showing our whole selves.

Melissa wasn't there, of course, now that she's heading towards divorce. But this is a good thing, or at least a better thing than languishing in a one-sided relationship. Lord, I pray for Melissa, that she'll know that You are there through this with her, and that she and the children are in Your mind, in Your heart, and part of Your plan at every moment.


Some things I learned from Martha last night:
--She was a consistent presence for her middle school aged children when they came home after school. She put aside whatever she was doing, and sat and talked with them every day when they arrived home.
--When it came to school, she prayed for her children. She prayed about their placement in teachers' classrooms. She wasn't a letter-writer. And when her youngest, Claire, got a "bad" teacher, she simply prayed. The teacher turned out to be the best teacher for Claire.

Lord, thank you for Martha and for the NGM group, and for showing me these things now, before I stumble into them unaware. I want to be a consistent presence for my children, and to have faith that God is guiding them through their schooling process. I pray that I'll remember this later. What will I do if Isabel gets one of the teachers I've been warned about? Pray through it and accept it as God's will. This is about putting faith into practice. 


Lord, I pray that You will place Isabel in the classroom You have for her, and that she will flourish in that classroom, whoever the teacher is. 


I pray for the summer that stretches out before us. We have a lot to do, the children and I. Some goals:


Reading together
Reading the bible together
Learning to tie shoes
Practicing learning to ride a bike
Learning to swim
For Lily to gain confidence and self esteem though gymnastics
Lots of planned play dates
Healthy snacks
Learn little chores like making beds and clearing dinner table


I pray for Lily to improve in her swimming skills. Now that the swim instructor isn't coming to East Spring Lake, I need to find someone to teach her. Lord, please guide me in the direction I should go.


In Your son's name I pray,
Amen