Make 2017 the Year Where You Pray Deeper!

Praying for our grandchildren (and children) is something we all know we need to do, but it is also something many of us struggle with. We may feel like our prayers do not even make it through the ceiling above us and do not know what to say or how to pray. Our lives are busy, so finding the time to pray can be a challenge which we may not overcome and then days go by without us spending time in prayer.

Yet, we know prayer is important. We know, especially in this day and age, we - and our grandchildren (and children) need all the prayer they can get. We want to be people who pray; and people who pray deeply, but are not sure how to be this kind of person.

Well, please allow me to help you. I understand these feelings about prayer and struggled many years to be a person who prayed. Then one Sunday I heard Dr. Ed Dobson preach about how the best way to pray is to pray Scripture. This made sense to me, so being a writer, I started at Genesis and worked my way through the Bible to Revelation. Whenever I came to a passage I could pray, I wrote it out as a personalized Scripture prayer and divided it into seven parts, so I would be able to pray the passage more deeply by praying each portion over a week's time. This allowed me to pray regularly and to pray Scripture more deeply by spending a week praying through each passage!

Let's Talk Grandparenting Ministry - Science, the Bible & Fun!

Stop and think for a moment about how a strong Grandparenting Ministry helps our Children's Ministry be much stronger as well; and as you do, think about what we want to see happen in this ministry with the grandparents in our church. Clearly, we want to engage them; help them see and understand how they still have a very important job to do. Their "job" is not over when their own children are grown. These years are not the time to just retire and recreate. There are very important things for them to do in passing on a heritage of faith!

Yes, we want to, and need to engage the grandparents in our churches, but we also have to equip them. We need to provide resources they can use which will help them feel able to pass on a heritage of faith. I've talked with many grandparents who tell me they want to pass on a heritage of faith, but they do not know how to do so; they do not know what to do.

Thursdays = Science, the Bible & Fun!

My husband and I are members at a large church (about 6000 people). Our church is in the middle of a major building and renovation project. Since April we have been meeting at a local college (Calvin College) on Sundays in their sports arena, as our own auditorium is being renovated (balcony removed, roof raised a few inches, back wall pushed back to make more room). We are hoping to return to our newly renovated auditorium in December.

The Children's Ministry area is also being made new with a new addition, but it will not be ready until August 2017. So, due to available space issues on Wednesdays (the old Children's Ministry area) they had to limit registration in our mid-week ministry this year. I knew this was going to be the "plan" while the new area was being built, so a year ago I wrote, Science, the Bible & Fun to use with my grandsons while the new children's area was being built. (My grandsons attend my church's mid-week ministry.)

Today is the first day of our Science, the Bible & Fun! We decided to have it on Thursday nights this year, so their poppa is picking them up from school and we will have supper together. After supper we will spend time discovering more about God through fun science projects, work on crafts or bake something tasty and most importantly, learn about real Bible people who chose to love, know and follow God. We will talk about how we can do the same and spend time learning to pray the Psalms back to God. The boys will learn how to keep a prayer journal . . . it is my prayer at the end of our year of Science, the Bible & Fun, they will be boys who are serious about talking to and with God!

So, tonight we will be having fun with a science project where we combine yeast, dish soap and peroxide . . . we will learn about obeying from this project. We will make our prayer journals, play some fun games and spend time talking about Jeremiah 29 and 33 and how God promises to listen to and answer our prayers! Over the coming months we will learn about Noah, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, Jesus, Daniel, Caleb, John and the Judges - and have a lot of fun doing so!

As I mentioned, I wrote Science, the Bible & Fun to use with my grandsons, but it is available for you to use with your grandchildren/children, too! You'll find all the details at this link . . . check it out and try this free lesson, too! This is one tool you can use as a grandparent to pass faith to your grandchildren!

I'm Giving a Book Away Tomorrow - You Could Win!

I talk a lot about passing on a heritage of faith to our grandchildren, but you may be wondering how do you actually do this? You know it is important - even essential - for you to do this, but how do you pass on your faith whether you are a grandparent or a parent? Is this something you can actually do?

First of all, the answer is, yes! Passing on your faith is something you can actually do! The simple answer for "how" you do this, is you take a two prong approach to it . . . you plan times to specifically focus on passing on your faith and you work it into the day-in-day-out living of life by watching for those opportunities when you are able to connect life with your faith.

As for more info on how to do these things, take a look at my book;  It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren; and Other Important Facts for Grandparents & Parents, Too!. Along with, "sweet boy stories" (I am a grandma, after all!) in each chapter in this book I share specific ways you can pass your faith to your grandchildren!

Grandparent's Day & Another Giveaway!

Yesterday I announced a special Grandparent's Day giveaway of my book  Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition, - you'll find all the specifics about how you may enter the drawing at this link. Today I want to announce another giveaway for Grandparent's Day . . . my book; It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren; and Other Important Facts for Grandparents & Parents, Too!

In this book I share some important facts, such as, It is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren, A Grandma's Lap is a Place for a Grandchild, Some Things are Just Obvious, and many more. Each chapter not only shares a "fact", but connects these facts with God's Word and how He models to us what it means to love well, so we will be able to do the same with our grandchildren/children.

Interspersed with fun "sweet boy stories", this book will have you laughing, recalling your own sweet grandchildren/children stories and most importantly, encourage you to pass faith to the children you love!

Since I wrote this book, I thought it might be nice for you to see what others say about it -

Grandparent's Day & a Giveaway!

September 11, 2016 is Grandparent's Day . . . a day set aside to, " honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer".

It is also the day for the observance of the Million Praying Grandparents, with the goal of, "mobilizing Christian grandparents worldwide to regularly and intentionally pray for their grandchildren, families, and the influences in their grandchildren’s lives." (You'll learn more about how you can become one of the million praying grandparents at this link.)

So, with Grandparent's Day just around the corner and the focus upon the Million Praying Grandparents, I thought it sounded like the perfect time to have a giveaway . . . I'm giving away one of my Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition!

Mid-week Curriculum Option - Science, the Bible & Fun!

What do you use for your Mid-week curriculum? Do you have a program, but need to supplement with Bible curriculum or, are you looking for something to use? If you need curriculum, take a look at using my Science the Bible & Fun! curriculum. I wrote it to use with my grandsons, but it would also work very well for mid-week ministry.

Learn, Have Fun and Grow Closer to God Together!

There is nothing more important for grandparents to do, than to be intentional about passing on our faith to our grandchildren. However; while some of us know how to do this, and have resources to help us with this, others struggle to know what to do to engage their grandchildren in learning how to love, know and walk with God.

This is why I wrote Science, the Bible & Fun. I have three grandsons and I want to pass my faith to them. While it matters for me to share my faith with my grandsons - and I do this - there has to be a point where it becomes their faith. Where they choose to love, know and walk with God. So, since I know my grandsons enjoy science projects, I wrote a curriculum to use with them which will engage them in science projects, gives us time to play fun games and make crafts, but most importantly, helps them learn about Bible people and how they chose to love, know and walk with God, so my grandsons will be able to make the same choices.

Do What Matters Most . . .

So, what should a grandparent do when it comes to "being" a grandparent? I'm sure we all agree on things like spend time with our grandchildren, give lots of hugs and kisses, celebrate with them, teach them things from making cookies to fixing cars, help them learn to read - read to them a lot, be their "cheer-leader" and the list goes on and on.

All of these things are important, and all things we should do with them, but the most important, and most required thing for us to do is to pray for them. We can - and must - tell them about Jesus. We can - and must - encourage them to walk with God. We can - and must - help them develop a trust in God's Word, so they will believe and hold on to what it says. We can - and must - help them learn to find their absolutes in God's Word, and not in the world around them. But, while these are all things we can - and must - do, we can not make our grandchildren do any of these things. They, and they alone, have to make the choice. 

However; what we can not do, God can! God can open their eyes and draw them to Him! God can send His Spirit to convict and create a desire for Him in their hearts. God can do what we can not do, so prayer is the most important thing for us to do.

We must be grandparents who pray for our grandchildren - every day. While you may agree with me on this, the question is, do you do this? Maybe you are a committed prayer warrior when it comes to praying for your grandchildren. Maybe you struggle with praying. In either case, consider the following ideas to help you be a committed and faithful prayer warrior . . . 

Know, Honor & Respect

I recently wrote a post for the Legacy Coalition facebook page which I want to encourage you to read today. In it I talk about how Deuteronomy 31:13 challenged me to focus on what is most important . . . helping my grandsons know, respect and honor God for themselves.

You will find the post at this link - please read it and then the next time you are with your grandchildren (or make time to call, email or snail mail them), be sure to share with them what you do to know, respect and honor God. Help them do the same by . . .

Science, the Bible & Fun! - Look What People Are Saying . . .

Recently I shared with you information about my book; Science the Bible & Fun! I also posted one complete lesson for you to see and try.

I believe this is a resource grandparents will be able to use with their grandchildren to pass on their faith. I believe parents will be able to do the same. I believe home-schoolers will find this resource one which would fit nicely with their school plans by providing science experiments and Bible study. I also believe churches may find it to be a resource which fits very well with their mid-week ministry needs. I believe it is a resource which will fill the needs of many; but then I did write it!

So, today I want to share with you what other people are saying about Science the Bible & Fun! . . .

Praying Intentionally - Deeper In . . . Give It a Try for Free!

Praying grandparents. We all want to be praying grandparents. We all try to be praying grandparents, but how faithful are you in praying for your grandchildren - or children? Do you pray every day? Are you focused and intentional in how you pray? Or, do you feel like your prayers do not even reach the ceiling? Do you feel like you do not really know how to pray? Do you find it a challenge to pray every day? Whether we are grandparents or parents we know how important it is to pray for the children we love, but if we are honest, we may admit we struggle with praying faithfully.

It does not have to be this way. 

Science, The Bible & Fun . . . Give It A Try for Free!

Summer is almost upon us! My grandsons get out of school on June 15th (Josiah's prayer request for me last week was for school to at least "seem" like it is going faster for these last two weeks!) and then I will be able to see them more - we are adding an extra sleepover each week throughout the summer! After all, what would summer be without more time with the grandsons?

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my three sweet boys and part of this time will be spent intentionally focused on helping my grandsons know and walk more closely with Jesus! To do this we will be using my Science the Bible & Fun! curriculum. I wrote it to use with my grandsons and since they love the science projects and activities - it seems like a great "fit" for this Summer!

Pass On Your Faith & Illustrate a Book Together!

Passing faith to our grandchildren/children is the most important thing we can do - will anything else we do matter if the children we love grow up and forget God? 

There are many ways we can do this; when it comes to passing faith to my grandsons I tend to write resources I can use with them. One such resource I've written is a series of books about unknown Bible heroes which they can illustrate. I am in the process of publishing several of these, but the first one which is ready to go is about Jehoshaphat. Who was Jehoshaphat, you ask? He was the great, great, great grandson of King David - and since most people have not heard about him, he definitely qualifies as an "unknown Bible hero"!

Fun New Resource & A Giveaway, Too!

In this day and age it is especially important for grandparents (and parents) to be focused upon passing their faith to the children they love, but it can be a challenge to find resources to help us do this. Science the Bible & Fun! was written for this reason and provides 52 weeks of lessons grandparents/parents will be able to use to engage our grandchildren/children in learning how to love, know and walk with God!

Each week there is a science activity which will engage children and connect them to the point of the Bible event. They will learn about Bible people and how to pray the Psalms back to God along with fun activities which are just for fun!

Make A Real Difference . . . Pray Scripture!

I firmly believe when grandparents are focused upon passing their faith to their children's children, this benefits children and families for generations. It matters when grandparents (and parents, too) are focused upon growing in their own walk with God and upon passing on a heritage of faith to the children they love.  

Today I'm very happy to recommend to you a resource which will help you do this . . . Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parent's, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition. This book provides grandparents - and parents - with 52 weeks of prayers from Psalms which they will be able to pray for themselves and for the children they love. Each week provides a Scripture passage from the Book of Psalms, questions to help us think through what this passage is saying and then a personalized prayer for us to pray for our own walk with God and another to pray for our grandchildren. Then, the prayers are broken into seven portions - one for each day of the week. This helps us pray focused on smaller portions so we are able to be very specific in our prayers throughout the week.

I'm putting a sample prayer here for you to see . . . and try. 

Special Giveaway on May 2, 2016!

Tomorrow on grandma's cookie jar (my blog for grandparents/parents) I'm giving away one copy of Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition. You have time to enter the drawing - who knows??? Maybe you will win!

I think this is a book which will prove to be a very useful tool for grandparents and parents as they focus on praying for their grandchildren/children . . . but, then I did write it, so it is possible my opinion would tend towards the "biased" side!

So, today I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the opinions of people who read my book before it was released . . . 

Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! - Mini-Edition is FREE for Five Days!

I believe one of the most important things we can do for the children we love - both our own children and grandchildren - is to pray for them. While we may believe this to be true, we may also feel confused about how to pray effectively for them. This is why I love praying Scripture for my adult children and my grandchildren - and is why I've released two Scripture prayer books . . . Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Old Testament Edition and Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition.

These books give you 52 weeks of Scripture passages - one passage a week - which are then personalized into a prayer for yourself and for the children you love. These passages are divided each week into seven portions which allow you to focus on a specific portion of the prayer each day. The goal for each book is to guide you into thoughtful and specific, focused Scripture prayer, each day for a year.

Announcing - My New Book - Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition!

I'm very happy today to share with you my new book - Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Psalms Edition!

I firmly believe one of the most significant things we can do for our grandchildren /children to pass on a heritage of faith is to be consistent and faithful in praying for them. This book will help you do exactly this by guiding you each week for a year in praying specific passages from Psalms for yourself and for your grandchildren/children.

My "Grandma Challenge" & Signs of Life/Spring

When it comes to passing on a heritage of faith, there is a certain amount of doing so which requires us as grandparents to learn, to read, to pray and to be challenged by the truth of God's Word. So, we read, we learn, we pray and we attend conferences - or at least we can do this now! (Check this link about the very first ever Grandparenting Conference in Eden Prairie, MN - just outside Minneapolis - this coming May . . . and please plan to join us!)

And while all of these things are excellent - and necessary things for us to do, there comes a time when we have to "act". When we have to engage our grandchildren as we are active about passing on our faith.

My grandsons are young - seven, four and two years old - so I focus on engaging them while they are young to build a foundation on God's Word for them to hold on to. One thing I am doing with them is called my "grandma challenge"!

Check Out the New Cover on, It Is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren . . .

Last year my book; It Is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren: and Other Important Facts for Grandparents and Parents, too! was released. Today I'm happy to show you the new cover for this book!

Being Intentional - Praying God's Word With & 4 My Grandchildren

As I've shared with you a few times so far this year, I'm very focused and intentional about passing on a heritage of faith to my three sweet grandsons. One way I'm doing this is by praying Scripture for them. But, I do not stop at just praying Scripture for them. Most weeks my grandsons spend Friday night at my house on a sleep-over, so on Saturday, we sit at the table, or on the sofa, and look at the verses their Poppa and I have been praying for them throughout the week. They get to hear us pray for them; and they have the opportunity to pray as well. (I LOVE hearing them pray!) We talk about their prayer requests from the previous week and how God is answering their prayers. 

Then, we look at the passage we will praying for them in the coming week and talk about what the verses are saying. I have the boys draw another prayer request, which we can pray about for them in the coming week, and then we all pray together.

I want my grandsons to hear us praying for them; not just hear me saying we will pray for them, and so far, the boys - especially Josiah, are enjoying this time of prayer. They seem to really appreciate how we are praying for them and are starting to understand what it means to pray Scripture.

In the coming week we are praying Psalm 119:1-16 and the prayer requests the boys have given us. I'm praying my grandsons will love God's Word and will want to follow it all their lives. I'm praying they will learn to turn to God's Word throughout their lives when they have to make a decision, they will love God's Word more and more, and will experience great joy when they make the choice to obey it.

So, I thought I'd share this passage with you, so you can pray it for yourself and for your grandchildren, too! (It is from my book, Deeper In 4 Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children You Love - Old Testament Edition. By the way . . . I'm almost finished with the Psalms Edition and am looking for a few people who are willing to read it and write a few sentences to share what they think about the book . . . if you are interested in doing this, please email me - lyndagcj@gmail.com)

Being Intentional & Engaging Them in Prayer

I want my grandsons to grow up to be children, then teens and eventually adults who love, know and follow God, but I know in this world it is becoming ever more difficult for this to happen. So many things and people around them tell them it is okay, and even fun, to do whatever they feel like doing, and it is okay to ignore God's Word.

But this is not the truth. I know the only way my grandsons will experience a life of joy is if they choose to love, know and walk with God. This is the truth and I want them to know and believe it.

Earlier this month I said; "If we are serious about passing on a heritage of faith to our grandchildren, we really need to be intentional. We need to think about it. We need to pray. We need to have conversations we plan, as well as be listening and watching for opportunities to help our grandchildren connect what they are doing/what is happening with God's Word. This may sound difficult, but it is not. It is just about being intentional. About thinking about it. About planning. About watching for those opportunities."

A Year to Grow!

Do you have any plans this year to help your grandchildren learn something? To help them develop and grow their heart for others? To help them learn to know, love and grow closer to God?

I do. In 2016 I want to help my grandsons grow their tender hearts. I want to help them learn to be sensitive to the leading of God when it comes to showing love and care for and to others. And I have a plan to do this.