Potty Training

I tried to potty train Tyler over Christmas break, and after about 48 hours, we quit. He didn't care at all and had no control over his bladder. My strong-will was not enough to train him then. So we started training again this weekend, and it's been awesome!!!! He's worn underwear everyday and only had a couple of accidents a day, unlike the 11-12 "accidents" he was having during the Christmas training. I'm so proud of him. He gets a piece - a very tiny piece - of candy every time he goes on the toilet. I've had to change up the kinds of candy to keep him interested, but it's still working. For times when he just refuses to go on the toilet, I bring out the Peeps, which he excitedly calls "sugar bunnies!" I guess what everyone says is true....they will be potty trained when they're ready.....and not a minute before.

Prayer Notebook

After reading "Disciplines of a Godly Family" by Kent and Barbara Hughes, I decided to create a prayer notebook, and it has been an awesome resource for me as I pray. I thought I'd share with you how the Hughes suggest to make your own Prayer Notebook. So here goes.....

In a 3 ring binder, use 6 Main Tabs with paper and post-it notes to use in each section.
I write some of my prayer requests and things that might change over time on post-it notes so I can remove and replace without messing up an entire page in the notebook.

Tab 1. Meditation: Put scriptures that you really like to meditate on...some good examples are :

• Exodus 20:1-17 The Ten Commandments
• Matthew 5:1-10 The Beattitudes
• Galations 5:22-23 The fruit of the spirit
• Romans 1:16-17, Romans 3:21-26, Philippians 3:9
• Add as many as you like....

Tab 2. Confession:

• Scriptures for confession are: Romans 3:9-18, Ephesians 2:1-3, Psalm 51:3-5 and 139:23-24
• Write prayers of confession here. (I actually copied a few of Mother Teresa's prayers in this section. There's a little book you can get with a bunch of prayers she's written, and they're really good.)

Tab 3. Submission:

• Write or make notes as you pray to submit to God and His calling for you life.
• Scriptures for submission are: Isaiah 6:1-8, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 11:28-30

Tab 4. Adoration:

• Worship: Mark 14:1-9, John 4:23-24, Psalm 108:1, Exodus 33:11
• Celebration: Psalm 19:1-4, Psalm 29 and 104, Job 26:7-14 and 38:1-41, Colossians 1:15-20, John 1:1-3, 1 Corinthians 8:6
• Holiness: Isaiah 6:1-8, Exodus 19:16-19, Revelation 4:1-11
• Devotion: Psalm 63:1-7

Tab 5. Petitions: (biggest section)

• Scriptures: Ephesians 3:16-19 and 1:18-19 (I also copied a few of Mother Teresa's prayers in this section as well.)
• Daily section: There should be a page for your family in general, a page for your marriage, and a page for each of your children. On each of these pages, I just place little post-its with things I want to pray about for my family, marriage, and children.
• On the children's pages, I have 8 different sections that we pray about for that specific child. The sections are: spirituality, character, health, friends, protection, problems, future spouse, and praise. I've written things specific for each child in these sections using post-it notes. So, for instance, Tyler has his own page with 8 post-it notes for each area of prayer. We don't pray for all 8 areas everyday, but we try to at least get through them all within the week.
• Weekly section: 4 pages - we usually cover one page a day during our prayer time (so this leaves for a few days in case you need to make up for missed days). For me, these pages just help remind me of my duty to pray for our political and church leaders.

• Page 1 - Post-its for: Others' Prayer Requests, Spiritual Warfare, and Friends
• Page 2 - Post-its for: World, USA, Personal life, and Needed Personal Qualities
• Page 3 - Christian Leaders, Pastors, Upcoming Ministries, Vision
• Page 4 - Government Leaders (Local, State, and Federal), Longtime friends
  

Tab 6. Answers:

• Keep an ongoing list of how God answers your prayers.

I'm really glad I made a prayer notebook, although I have to admit it's been hard to keep up with it every single day. My life is so busy and hectic right now, so it's hard to stay disciplined and use this the way it was intended. But I thought I'd share it with you because I think the Hughes have created an awesome resource that we can use and mold to fit our own prayer needs.