encouragement and a favorite sermon

I love this passage of scripture that I read today.  We are in Ephesians this week, which is one of my favorite books in the bible.  Or New Testament.  Either way, I have always loved this passage of scripture, and this was reinforced about a year ago, when my friend sent me a link to a sermon by Francis Chan on this same passage.  I'll write more about this in just a minute, though.  (Also, this is why Missy and I are best friends.  We listen to sermons on YouTube in our spare time.) 

I love these verses, because several years ago, the Lord led me to start praying these over my family.  Having boys is so different for a mom.  I have mentioned on here that I once heard someone say that the most effective parent is the same sex parent.  Meaning, Todd is most effective in the lives of all my sons.  Back to why being a mom to sons is so different, though....I have always said that I'm not just raising sons over here.  I'm raising future husbands and fathers.  That is a huge responsibility!  I don't know if you've noticed this, but we are living in a time that men are constantly being undermined.  Their value, in terms of the world around us, is diminishing before our very eyes.  Their roles are not as important anymore, at least, in the eyes of the world around us.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  Men are to be the spiritual leaders and the head of the home, but the later the time gets, the less this is so.

God knows all of this, none of it is a surprise to Him.  He knows the day and time with which we live in right now, and that is why these verses are so important.  As parents, as moms, we MUST pray over our kids.  And what kinds of things should we pray?  Well, it's written out above, in that picture.   I pray that the Lord Jesus would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they, being rooted and grounded in that love, would know the breadth and length, height and depth of God's love, and that they would be filled with all the fullness of God.  Praying that alone puts perspective all the other things we pray for, as parents, but really, the prayer I just wrote out is the most important thing we could ever pray.  If they know that, if they know and are filled with the fullness of God, then everything else in their life will just fall into place. 

It's that simple.  We don't have to fret and worry about the future...it's already been determined by God.  If you have some time on your hands, I encourage you to listen to this sermon by Francis Chan that I love.  I listened to it again, just now, as I wrote this post. 



Thanks for reading!  Love to all.