31 Days of Prayer for Daughters at the MOD squad

We just finished 21 Days of Warrior Prayers for our sons here at Milk N Honey, but I wanted to let you know about 31 Days of Prayer for our Daughters being hosted over at the MOD squad blog. It starts tomorrow! Let's continue praying for our children every day.

Warrior Prayers Ebook sale $2.99 until October 7!!

If you have not purchased the Warrior Prayers ebook yet, I highly encourage you to do so during this sale. This is one of the best books that I have used to pray for my son. There are 210 Scripture verses that you insert your child's name into as you pray all centered around 21 areas such as heart change, obedience, love, humility, etc. I just did 21 Days of Prayer for my son and it was incredible. So I recommend that if you do not have this book, you get it soon. The sale ends October 7th. The ebook is only $2.99 until then.  This is for PDF only.

Warrior Prayers Ebook $2.99 until October 7

Carlito C. Caterpillar MathHouse Games Giveaway!!

Head on over to my other blog The Knowlton Nest for this giveaway! Just for kids!

Warrior Prayers Survey

I am so glad you participated in the 21 Day Warrior Prayer Challenge here on Milk N Honey Learn and Grow. I pray you were as blessed as I was. I prayed for all of you everyday!

I would appreciate if you would fill out this short anonymous survey for me.

Warrior Prayer Survey

Thanks and God's Blessings, Shonda

PS. Come back and visit me at Milk N Honey anytime!

From Brooke:
It's day twenty-one.
The LAST day of your prayer challenge. Are you a mixture of relieved and sad all at the same time? What an accomplishment! (What an amazing amount of work!) If you're finishing today you deserve a pat on the back! Think of all the work that has been done on behalf of your sons! Congrats mom!

Ask God to give you 3 specific things that you can pray for everyday for your son(s).

Warrior Prayers: Day 21 (Humility)

Today is the last day and we pray for Humility (page 44).

From Brooke:
Scripture just seems to scream God's favor over those who are humble in heart.
• James 4:10 says that if we're humble before the Lord, He will lift us up.
• 1 Peter 5:6 says that if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God He will exalt us.
• Most importantly, in Psalm 149:4 we find that it is the humble who are adorned with salvation.

Do you see that? A humble heart is required for salvation. Just as Jesus humbled Himself unto the cross, we must admit that we're sinners, admit that our own way isn't the right way, and humbly ask for forgiveness before salvation comes.

Do you show humility before your sons? Do you always have to be right? Always have to win? Pray and ask the Lord for specific ways you can show humility today so that when the time comes, your sons will know how to show it too.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." ~Ephesians 4:2

Congratulations for finishing and keep praying every day for your sons!

Warrior Prayers: Day 20 (Salvation)

Today we pray for Salvation (page 39).
Be sure to read these pages before the end of this challenge: p. 41-42, 45-49.

From Brooke:
There is NOTHING my heart yearns for more than my sons' salvation. To quote from the eBook:

"Day after day you will parent, intentionally seeking the heart of your son. But until the King of kings and Lord of lords turns his heart of stone to a heart of flesh, your son's actions will be motivated by what is pleasing to him, rather than what is pleasing to the Lord." p. 15

Everything hinges on this. Oh, we can pray for protection, good friends and influences and positive, fruit-bearing experiences for our sons along the way. But until their hearts submit to Jesus they will continue to choose themselves and their own way.

Elyse Fitzpatrick, in her book entitled, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, says “There is no easy way to say it, but it must be said: parents and churches are not passing on a robust Christian faith and an accompanying commitment to the church.”

Take a moment today to look long and hard at your parenting. Is it Gospel-centered, or have you allowed the world's “stinking thinking” to creep into your home?

"Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." ~Romans 10:9

Question for Discussion:

*How can you "present" the gospel daily in your home?

Tomorrow- our last day (9/26) we pray for Humility (page 44).
Yes, there is an extra- Honesty (page 43).

Warrior Prayers: Day 19 (Anger)

Today we pray against Anger (page 38).

This is an area where I struggle.  I'm praying for God to change my heart!  I tend to be a perfectionist and I get frustrated so easily and I let little things bother me and boil me.  This spills over into my interactions with my children.  Help me, Lord!  I want to be a better example to my children.

From Brooke:
So much of the Christian life is a choice. Every day (multiple times a day) we’re presented with a choice to choose God or choose ourselves. Anger is a perfect example.

You can just feel it coming, can’t you? Anger is an almost total body experience. Muscles get tight. Temples throb. Jaw clenches. Explosion feels imminent … wooing us into believing we have no choice but to react.

But it’s not true. We almost always have a choice when it comes to anger. We can choose to embrace it and sin. Or choose to put it away, and instead choose kindness, self-control, compassion, and love.

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."

~Ephesians 4:31

Tomorrow (9/25) we pray for Salvation (page 39).

Warrior Prayers: Day 18 (Self-Control)

Today we pray for Self-Control (page 35).
Read page 36-37 for tomorrow.

From Brooke:
*The key to overcoming our tendencies toward worshiping something other than Christ is to choose to love Him more than we love our sin. A constant laying down of our desires and picking up of Christ is the only fix.
*How many times have I chosen my own way when I knew the consequences? How many times have I forfeited the sweet, peaceful blessings of obedience in order to stamp my feet, cross my arms, dig in my stubborn three year-old-like heels and have my own way?

Question for Discussion:
*Do you have areas in your life where you lack self-control?  Ask God to help you in those areas and in that way He will show you how to teach self-control to your child.  (If you are willing to share, please do.  You can be as general as possible)


Tomorrow (9/24) we pray against Anger (page 38).

Today is our last Link UP day.  If you wrote a blog post about this challenge we would love to read it.

Rising Moon Adventures Giveaway!

I love Rising Moon Adventures Flannel Board stories and right now Olea is having a giveaway on her blog until September 24 for "Caps For Sale."

Go to Rising Moon Adventures Blog to enter today!

Warrior Prayers: Day 17 (Gentleness)

Today we pray for Gentleness (page 34).

From Brooke:
Aggression in men is commonplace. It may not manifest itself the same way for all of them, but it’s there nonetheless. For the physical boys, it shows up in their need to be on the top of the wrestling pile. For the intellectuals, it shows up in their need to score the highest on the exam or be at the top of the class. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with aggression. I don’t want to break my sons of their aggressive streak and I’m learning not to be afraid of it. But I do want to teach them how and when to use it. I’m beginning to think that gentleness is more of an approach to life than a specific characteristic to develop.

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." ~James 3:17 

Question for Discussion:

*How do you teach gentleness to your son?

Tomorrow (9/23) we pray for Self-Control (page 35).

Warrior Prayers: Day 16 (Faithfulness)

Today we pray for Faithfulness (page 33).

During our morning "Bible study" time with my almost 3 year old, I pray a daily virtue.  One evening we were praying together as a family and Shrade came up and said he wanted to pray for faithfulness.  I could only gather that he remembered that as one of the virtues that I've prayed for him.  So we did and I still do!

When I did the Beth Moore Bible study "Believing God" I read Romans chapter 4 twenty times.  Try it!  You will know a little more about faith after doing that.

From Brooke:
But really, what I want to talk about … what I want to pray about today … is that our sons would be faithful to God. Doesn't this one prayer bring with it the solution to everything else we could talk about? A man whose first love is Jesus, will be faithful in all of the areas above (marriage, job, etc) . He won't be perfect, but he will possess the ability to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be faithful. It is something worth praying for.

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness … " ~Joshua 24:14

Tomorrow (9/22) we pray for Gentleness (page 34).

Warrior Prayers: Ideas for praying

Are you feeling discouraged during this challenge? Well, you are not alone! I did this challenge in April and I tried to pray 21 days 10 times a day. Whew! I did that for like 2 days and couldn't keep up. I thought "what is wrong with me that I can't pray 10 times during the day?" Well, it is not how I usually pray and it's not the way I'm doing this challenge. That burnt me out and the last thing I wanted to do was stop praying which was what I did the first time. This is a battle, not only for my son, but for me to persevere.

So here are some ideas for praying from Brooke so get you off in the right direction again:

1. Get up early to bathe their sons in prayer first thing in the morning.
2. Pray the prayers one at a time throughout the day
3. Make the prayers a part of their family devotion time, praying the prayers out loud over their sons.
4. Spend some time in concentrated prayer late at night, around bedtime.

You do not have stop 10 times a day to pray if that is not your style.  A concentrated prayer time is what is working for me.  I rise early every morning and start my prayer off for the Warrior Prayer Moms who signed up for this challenge.  Then I look at the topic for the day and look up each of the Bible verses and pray through each one.  Then I close my Bible, get on my knees and place a picture of my son before me and pray each one aloud while looking at his picture.  That is how I'm doing it this time.

Question for discussion:
*What ways have you found to pray during this challenge?

Warrior Prayers: Day 15 (Goodness)

Today we pray for Goodness (page 32).

This is not a word I think of very often and I was very glad to see all these verses in the Bible with goodness.  Be sure to read what Brooke has to say in her article about Aiming for the Heart.

Article on the M.O.B. Society by Brooke: Aiming for the Heart

Question for Discussion:
*In our efforts to raise our sons are we teaching them that if they do good things they are good? Righteous even? If we teach them that being good is all it takes, if our discipline and training focuses on their behavior, how will they know they need a Savior?

Tomorrow (9/21) we pray for Faithfulness (page 33).

Warrior Prayers: Day 14 (Kindness)

Today we pray for Kindness (page 31).

From Sally Clarkson:
There is so much more to say about this subject, but as I looked to God's design for men and saw the potential of my boys becoming strong, righteous men, I had the heart to become the mother that they needed me to be. One who had great respect for the holiness of manhood, even in the lives of the sweet boys that lived every day in my own home. And I girded my hands with God's strength to support and train them one day at a time.

For the whole article visit: "That Boy Needs a Strong Hand" Part 1 &  Part 2 at the M.O.B. Society

Remember, kindness is not something that comes naturally. We're selfish, sinful beings who mostly want our own way. No, kindness is a learned art, usually caught by experiencing it first-hand from the hands of the people closest to us.

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." ~Romans 12:10

Question for Discussion:

*If you read Sally's article, what kind of  "strong hand" do you need to work on the most right now?

Tomorrow (9/20) we pray for Goodness (page 32).

Warrior Prayers: Day 13 (Patience)

Today we pray for Patience (page 30).

Oh, how I wish I had patience!  I need to pray for this myself so many times.  I get frustrated so quick and easily about "little things."  I know that I'm not doing my son any favors by this behavior.  I pray that I will calm down so I teach my son about patience.

From Brooke:
I'm convinced that God cares less about how much I accomplish in life...the "great things" I do in His Name...than He does about how I respond to the things He allows into my life on the daily. Some of the most accomplished in the Kingdom of Christ are those whose names you and I will never know this side of heaven. And greatness is only measured by how well we respond to Christ in the little things. Being patient for what God's plan is and not necessarily pursuing our own dreams.

"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant … " ~Matthew 20:26

Question for Discussion:

Do you think we're teaching our sons that the "little things" are what matter most?

Tomorrow (9/19) we pray for Kindness (page 31).

Warrior Prayers: Day 12 (Peace)

Today we pray for Peace (page 29).

Peace!  What is that?  I don't know anymore.  Ever since I had children, peace is not a word I use or have very often, but it's something that God desires for us to better moms.  And we need to pray for our sons to have peace.

From Laura Lee Groves:
Motherhood has many demands, but I can’t do everything. In fact, I don’t need to. There’s One who knows better than I do and He’s waiting to catch me and my son when we stumble. He gives me grace to do all I can each day … then His grace provides for all I didn’t get to, as well.

It’s hard to believe anyone loves my son more than I do. But He does.

Knowing that, I can “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (Psalm 105:3,4)

And I can help myself to peace--from above.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee."
~Isaiah 26:3 (ASV)

Laura Lee Groves wrote an outstanding book for mothers of boy which I have read and reviewed:

I'm Outnumbered!: One Mom's Lessons in the Lively Art of Raising Boys

by Laura Lee Groves

Question for Discussion:
*What are some ways you promote peace in your home?


Tomorrow (9/18) we pray for Patience (page 30).

Free and Fun Friday: Fruit and Fish!

I married a very resourceful man.  He amazes me with his uncanny ability to obtain large amounts of food for us for free or very little cost.  Here are just a few things that he has done this past month to provide for our family!

Jeremy took Shrade over to Eastern WA to pick up windfall pears from a college roommate of my dad's.  My husband does not do anything half way.  He picked up 700 lbs of pears!  When Shrade came home I asked him how many pears they got.  He said FOUR!  We will dehydrate them, can them, make pear sauce, pear juice and use some for fruit leather.  We also give lots away!

My husband is also an avid fisherman!  He has caught 34 salmon so far this season.  This particular catch was 4 fish in 20 minutes.  Shrade likes to watch daddy filet the fish in the back yard.  (Ew, for me!) We have frozen them, canned them, eaten them fresh and smoked them!  We have also given lots away.  Here is a recipe that we just made and it's yummy: Italian Salmon.

Jeremy also made these delicious salmon balls.  Did I marry the right guy or what?  We hope after awhile Shrade starts to learn some of these great resourceful ideas.  Jeremy plans to take Shrade fishing someday.

Warrior Prayers- Answers

We started this challenge praying for Heart Change, Obedience, Submitting to Authority and Avoiding Foolishness. That week with my son was the HARDEST week ever! He defied me on everything and I was losing it.  I thought, I'm praying these prayers and they are having the opposite result!  I sat down and cried to God and asked him what to do with my son who just seemed so out of control.  He gently reminded me that He loves Shrade more than I do and I am not in control.  Whew!  But how was I to handle this behavior that was not typical of my dear little boy?  Well, God revealed to me that I need to calm down and continue praying.  So I did.

Yesterday, Shrade and I had a fantastic day together.  Instead of me getting upset when he wanted his own way, I calmly gave him options and he complied.  Later in the day he cleaned up his toys without complaining and started saying "yes" to everything!  He was happy to obey.  Then as we were getting ready for bed I called him over to the couch to pray and he wanted to pray for "faithfulness."  I think he got that word from the daily prayers that I pray with my kids.  It was so sweet.  I know not everyday will be like that, but I will treasure this day in my heart and know that God answers prayer!

Warrior Prayers: Day 11 (Joy) and Link UP day!

Today we pray for Joy (page 28).

I have had a lot of hard experiences in my life and sometimes I don't show joy.  But everyday, my son wakes up with a smile on his face and says "Good morning, mommy!"  I need to take a few pointers from him because no matter what he always finds something to smile about.  I want his attitude with Christ's joy in my heart.  And I want to teach him about true joy in Christ.

From Brooke:
Salvation may be a once and forever event, but trusting in Christ is ongoing. Trusting in Christ's work of grace on the cross to be important enough to change my grumpiness to gratefulness. Trusting in Christ's work of grace on the cross to get me through a rough day with my children. Trusting in Christ's work of grace on the cross to be enough when I'm enduring tantrums in the grocery store. Trusting in Christ's work of grace on the cross when my sons choose their own will …

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." ~Psalm 28:7

Question for Discussion:
*What is something in your life that brings you joy?

Tomorrow (9/17) we pray for Peace (page 29).

Also, it's link up day! If you have blogged about this prayer challenge, please link up so we can read each others thoughts.

Warrior Prayers: Day 10 (Love)

Today we pray for Love (page 27).

I grew up not wanting to be touched.  Don't ask me why!  Then I married a man whose primary love language is touch and now I can see my son yearns for that.  I want to love my son using his love language.  I can best teach him about God when I use his love language to love him.

From Brooke:
I've thought for years that love can't really be all that it should be apart from God. The Bible says that God IS love. For us mathematicians, using the word "IS" is the same as using the word "EQUALS." In other words,God and love are one and the same. There is no real love apart from God, and God is behind all real and genuine acts of love.

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." ~1 John 4:8

Question for Discussion:

*What is your son's primary love language?  How do you think you can use that to teach your son(s) about God's love? (At this time when they are so little you can practice using all of them, but do you see any emerging?)

Love Languages: 

*Words of Affirmation

*Quality time

*Receiving gifts

*Physical touch

*Acts of service

Tomorrow (9/16) we pray for Joy (page 28) and it's Link UP day!

What's on our Bookshelf? The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton

We absolutely love Sandra Boynton books!  This  is another silly one.  This book is about a bunch of hippos who LOVE their belly buttons.  The little hippo calls his "Bee Bo."  Shrade likes to say that part when I come to it.  The funniest thing is when all the hippos go to Belly Button Beach, one of them is wearing a shirt that says Naval Academy.  This is just fun book to talk about belly buttons.  We usually tickle ours after we finish reading!

Warrior Prayers: Day 9 (Honor)

Today we pray for Honor (page 24).
Please read page 25-26 before tomorrow.

I remember when I first started dating my husband that he opened the door of the car for me.  I felt very honored.  My husband occasionally now does that, but I think teaching our sons to open doors for others is a way to display honor.

From Brooke:
There's a book by Karen Kingbury- The Princess and the Three Knights which is a book written for girls, but demonstrates how young men can defend the honor of a woman.  The message is for girls and boys.  The only knight good enough to win the heart of the princess was the one who would do anything to protect her.
That's the kind of honor I'm praying for in my sons.

 

"But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good." ~Romans 2:10, NLT

Tomorrow (9/15) we pray for Love (page 27).

Warrior Prayers Day 8 (A Servant's Heart)

Today we pray for A Servant's Heart (page23).

From Brooke:
Jesus led by serving.  And He said that if we want to be first, we'll need to be last.  He said that loving others, serving them, was serving Him- loving Him.

"The greatest among you shall be your servant."  Matthew 23:11

Try finding ways to serve with your family.  

Question for discussion:

*What kinds of projects have you done with your children to teach them about serving?

Tomorrow (9/14) we pray for Honor (page 24).

Brightly Beaming Resources Week #13: Cars/Trucks

This week our theme was cars and trucks.  Shrade plays with cars and trucks all day long so this was perfect for him!  We did lots of "learning" activities that are little more advanced than I usually do and he's catching on.  Our nursery rhyme is See Saw Margery Daw.  Usually I don't explain the nursery rhymes, I just use touch to make it come alive by tapping his knees or another part of his body.  He sometimes starts repeating those rhymes through the day.

I have made a few lapbooks, but they are not very fancy or durable because I don't have a color printer or laminator.  It's OK.  We make do.  This Cars Tot Pack is from 1+1+1.  I also used some printables from the transportation theme at Homeschool Creations.

Shadow matching, counting, shapes, spelling, name

Counting/identify # and tracing (new activities)

We did a fun little scavenger hunt to work on rectangles.  I drew (very crude) pictures of items in our home that were rectangles and Shrade had to put the paper next to the object.  He did very good.  The hardest was the TV, but we don't watch it so I didn't think he would get it.  He knew window right away and he figured out dresser! 

We like to do letter of the week from No Time for Flashcards.  Of course, we had to taste the marshmallows too!  I made a line of glue and he had to put marshmallows on the line.  He did very well with this fine motor skill.

M is for marshmallow

Doing 13 arm lifts!

One of the things I did when I taught Kindergarten was to exercise when we counted.  It was a great way to count and burn off energy.  Since our numbers are getting larger that makes it fun!  Shrade learned how to count to 10 before he was 2 because we counted every time we went up the stairs.  It's amazing how quickly kids pick up on things.

Here are some books we read: