Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bedtime prayers

Do you suppose one of the reasons Jesus encouraged little children to come to him is because he recognized just how much amusement they'd provide via their bedtime prayers?


Lately, I've had the kids move away from the standard "Now I lay me down to sleep...". I figure their prayers will be more meaningful to them if they use their own thoughts and words, and actually have to think about what they're saying rather than just recite a poem. It's given me a chance to listen in on some interesting conversations they've had with God. For instance, Sydney earlier this week prayed:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for my family. Thank you for my toys that I like to play with. Thank you for making us."

She stopped and looked up at me, "Did God make us?"

"Yes," I answered, "God made us."

Nodding, she continued, "And thank you for my toys. Amen."

She looked at me again. "Your turn."

AJ, meanwhile, has taken it quite literally that he can talk to God about anything. His kindergarten class is in the middle of a special unit on planets, which has taught him some things that apparently weigh heavily on his mind. His prayer a few night ago began:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for school. Thank you for the plantets. I wish... I wish Pluto could be a planet again."

On another night, he threw in a subtle guilt trip for his two snowbird grandmothers.

"Please let my grandmas like winter again because I miss them."

He didn't mention his grandpas, so I guess they can continue enjoying their warm climates, guilt-free. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this new source of blog material. Guilt-free.

1 comment:

  1. Grandma Elouise/Grandpa DavidMarch 11, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    In unison, Grandpa & Grandma (Larson) said, "Ain't gonna happen, AJ." Except for the rain yesterday, and cooler temps today, we'll take the palm trees, green grass and warm temps we've had most of the winter. Florida winter is NICE. Remember being down here last year, AJ?

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