I pray the Lord, my soul to keep
Every night we pray this before bedtime with Jacob. And before, I would always wrap up the prayer with praying for Jacob and people we knew. One of the girls at bible study mentioned that she asks her son what he wants to pray for. Such a simple thing, and yet was one of those, why haven't I done that moments.
Since then, I have asked Jacob what he would like to pray for. And because he is a MASSIVE creature of habit, I pretty much know what he will pray for and in what order.
First we pray for B (his blanket), Baa (his stuffed sheep) and Nuk. We pray that they bring him comfort and peace during the night to help him sleep.
May God guide me, through the night
Then he wants to pray for Dada. And I help him "pick" what we pray for, good day at work, safe travels, more play time, etc.
Next, comes Momma. (yea, i know, i rank 5th...) Again, I help pick, but mine is usually for patience. Can never have too much of that with a toddler....
Then it depends. We thank God for the blessings of books, Mo's (motorcycles), 4 wheelers, trucks, and anything else he can think of.
I will usually wrap up the prayer for specific things for friends and family, new baby Avery has been a popular one this week, and when I say "In Your name we pray" Jacob starts chiming in with "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmen". I love it. Sweetest part of our day.
We read the same books for bed, and a favorite is "God's Little Lamb" which is sang/read to the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep. J LOVES this book, and his new thing is to sing "baa baa" throughout the book, and then giggle like a madman when we say it at the same time. :)
After books, we pray, then sing songs. I always sing "You are My Sunshine" and every night Jacob interrupts me to ask "one more?" at least once during the song. And I have to say "yes Jacob, we will sing one more after this song" otherwise he keeps asking. Song number 2 depends on how late it is, and how much patience i have... Sometimes we do "All God's Children", "Jesus Loves Me", one of his all time favorites Revelation Song or Forever Reign. It's my favorite thing, cuz he just SNUGGLES right in, and we rock. Believe me, i was not blessed with a singing voice, but J doesnt care about that.
After we wrap up rocking and singing, as I stand up, he reaches to touch his own back, and quietely says "Back?". His way of asking me to rub his back when I lay him down in his crib for a few minutes before I leave the room. And I say yes every night.
And wake me with the morning light
