7 Quick Takes – Claytonian Prayers

1. Prayer Pencils - I had a meeting with my retreat leadership group this week.  My Catholic Moms group is putting on a retreat for the women in the group. I am super excited about the retreat now that I know there are people to help.  I really think and hope,  that this is going to be an encounter with the Holy Spirit—enough said.

On a related note, I was in Adoration this week and the children’s behavior permitted me an opportunity to read.  After I prayed my usual prayers, I still had 45 minutes.  I could not find my book on St. Nicholas that morning, but, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, caught my eye on the book shelf.  I was able to read just 10 glorious pages with interruptions.  There is not a single thing I read that was unremarkable.  I was definitely moved.  But, what I took away was that she referred to herself as “a pencil in the hand of God.”  Everything she did or experienced she gave due to God.  That is my hope for this retreat—that God’s work is done in the hearts of the women attending—that the leadership group may be a “pencil in the hand of God.”  Please pray for grace for those who will attend this retreat.  Grant it, O Lord.

2. Parenting Patience - My “high-intensity” child, Alex, was on his game this week.  Lately, everything I ask him to do, every time I try to correct his bad behavior, he responds oppositely.  I am so disheartened that no matter what I do, say or ask, he responds, “No.”  I have endured probably two months of, on-and-off, really bad behavior.  I have been really stressed out by his behavior. I get to five o’clock in the evening and I am exhausted!  Then I just try to fake it until bedtime (mine, not his). 

Though this has been going on, we HAVE made progress in his behavior.  He is really impulsive and wiggly.  We will tell him to not jump all over the furniture and he will say okay as he cartwheels over the ottoman.  He is hardly a compliant child.  But he is still my sweet and loving boy. 

In parenting Alex, I have finally learned what it means to serve, and serve in love.  And now, I am trying to teach it to him.  I foresee that I will be helping him to learn that he is not the center of the universe for the remainder of his fourteen years under my rule.  Pray that we may come to an understanding.  Pray that he may learn to serve. Grant it, O Lord.

3. Home School Hammering - Whether, we will home school or not has been a daily conversation in our house.  We like the idea, but there are also a lot of benefits of going to school as well, despite the negatives.  We think Alex would benefit from going to school and we doubt our longing to homeschool.  We talk about it a lot mainly because we struggle so much with Alex’s defiance toward us.  He does really well under the instruction of others.  Therefore, would we be doing him justice if he cannot focus and behave under our instruction?

I got to thinking about it all while driving one day.  I realized that the deeper reason I want to home school is because I LOVE my children SO MUCH.  That is not to say that others do not love their children as deeply if they send them to school.  It is just that I want to express my love through imparting upon them education.  I want to be around them and give them the blessings of education.  I want to be able to see the sparks in their eyes as they begin to understand.  I want to be given all the time necessary to teach them the facets of our faith.

Pray that we might be given clarity and fortitude in this matter.  Grant it, O Lord.

4. Average Annie – Annie had her 4 month check up this week.  Annie is not a hobbit like the other two.  She is practically perfect in every way.  She is 50%, as of now.  As I recall, Alex was average until his nine month appointment.  It was after he had started walking and also had trouble with asthma.  But, I have a feeling Annie will be average in size her whole life—like me.  But, she is pretty smart. 

Pray that the trajectory of Annie’s life remains this way.  Or as I pray when I pray for others, “Lord, grant that she may receive the grace she needs to endure this life.”  Grant it, O Lord.

5. Baby Bellies – “Hey Mommy, look the belly button is where Annie gets food!”

“Yes, when she was in mommy’s belly…you all have belly buttons and that proves that you were once inside mommy’s belly.”

I pray, Lord, that they always have food for those bellies.  Grant it, O Lord.

6. Tiny Toes – Look who found her toes.  She was just giggling about it.  Very adorable.

7. Magic Money – I don’t understand it, but ever since we moved into this house we have been receiving refunds and rebates.  When people buy a house you think of bleeding money into the home.  I thought owning this home would drowned us financially.  Granted, we have spent just about every refunded penny on things we needed to settle the home—refrigerator, hoses, garage door opener, ladder and so on.  But, we are still on top.  We still need curtains and landscaping.  We plan to get a sprinkler system with our tax refund. Next up, I think we are going to paint the kitchen. It has flat paint and the kids dirty handprints stick to the paint.  We’re going to go with glossy washable paint in a rich color.  God bless this home.