"I remember my mother's prayers 
and they have always followed me. 
They have clung to me all my life."
- Abraham Lincoln

Do the prayers of someone close to you when you were a child affect you now? 

I remember the prayers of my mother and my grandmother.  

In fact, the prayers, practices, and perspectives of both women continue to affect me, especially the way my grandmother prayed, naming all the close family members I knew in New Jersey and then praying for all our distant relatives in that intriguing, "Old Country" of Czechoslovakia. 

Grandma Gorda prayed for the living and the deceased. She prayed for those in the past, for those in the present, and for the children to come.

When my children have an upsetting day, I remind them that the prayers of their great-great grandmother for them live on and that they are heard. 

I wonder how our prayers, practices, and perspectives are affecting today's children. What are they learning from us as they watch and listen? 

We are advised to pray, preach, and teach constantly and to use words when necessary.

May our words and prayerful actions uplift and encourage others, especially the children in our lives.

With faith, hope, and love,
Charlene

THE TWELFTH GIFT IS FAITH. 
May you believe.          
- from The Twelve Gifts of Birth