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New Year's Eve Prayer Box
We have some fun traditions that we celebrate on New Year's Eve. We usually buy all kinds of finger foods and make a holiday smorgasbord like my mother prepared every Christmas Eve when I was a child. After we eat, we gather in the living room to act out a play. This is really fun because we run around the house looking for the right props and costumes that we need. All of this is done at the last minute, but the memories of our spontaneous plays are precious. Later in the evening, we roll up the living room rug and haul out the old Magnavox record player (it’s the only thing that plays 78’s). We dance to all kinds of celebratory music: square dances, John Philip Sousa marches, the Best of Dixieland Band, the original Sons of the Pioneers, and whatever else tickles our fancy. Finally around 11:00p.m., I bring out a special prayer box wrapped in gold paper and tied with a simple bow. We all settle down with pen and paper and write out our prayers for the following year. After we’re done writing, we place our prayers in the box, to be left unopened until the following New Year’s Eve. Then we read the prayers that we wrote on the previous New Year’s Eve. It’s a very moving time as we see how faithfully God has answered our requests. It's amazing to see His hand and how He fulfils the desires of our hearts. No, He doesn't answer every prayer in the way we think He will, but we have seen Him answer the majority of them in ways that are always better. Every year we stand in awe of how the Lord has arranged circumstances or delivered somebody from a habit they were trying to break. It’s also interesting to see how we parents have to work with The Lord to make some of our children’s prayers come true (I know what Anna’s are because I write her prayers down). If you're looking for a way to teach your children about the power of prayer, and a way to impress upon them how personal and loving their heavenly Father is, I encourage you to start the New Year’s Eve prayer box tradition. It really takes the burden off of having expectations and goals that we have to fulfill for the New Year and puts them in the heavenly court where God can work miracles. It just takes a little faith to wait on Him. But remember, the prayers cannot be read for a whole year… and you’re not allowed to peek! 3:13 PM - Dec. 30, 2006 - post comment
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 Jill Novak shares from her heart and the pages of her journal about God's faithfulness through life's everyday teachable moments.Jill encourages families to write and draw from life. She and her husband Robert have been married 28 years and are the parents of five children. Together her family has founded Remembrance Press, publishers of The Pebbly Brook Farm Series: Character Building Stories for Boys and Girls, Becoming Gods Naturalist, The Gift of Family Writing, and The Girlhood Home Companion. Home View my profile Archives Email Me   Categories Nature Journal Making Snowflakes On Gossamer Thread Drawing Hollyhocks Basic Supply List for Nature Journaling My Nature Journal - Swamp Milk Weed Becoming God's Naturalist - Make a Nature Specimen Library SketchBook Summer School - Write and Draw from life! Basic Supply list for nature journaling From My Nature Journal Blogging Dueling Bloggers Are you a words of Encouragement blogger? are you a physical touch blogger? Are you a Quality time blogger? Are you a gift giving blogger? Uninspired Know you audience Spiritual diary He Touched me! Art Road trip to Tasha's - part Three Road trip to Tasha's - part two Road trip to Tasha's - part one Drawing From life - Figure Drawing and the Homeschooler What if we threw away those coloring books? Growing Future Authors and Illustrators Growing Authors and Illustrators - Part 1 Journaling With childeren Writng with little childeren - shared journal entries, shared fun! Help childeren of all ages journal there life stories Family Two Letters The Gift of Words Putting your pen to paper Homeschooling Mommy take good care of your self, you belong to me significance Journaling For such a time as this Upon the white log-in with the lord Truth is Stranger then fiction Links The Gift of Family Writing The Girlhood Home Companion  The Pebbly Brook Farm Journal  Recent Entries - A Delightful and Profitable Way to Pass a Dreary Winters Day - A New Tradition - Over the River and Through the Wood to Sarah's - The Challenges and Disadvantages of Homeschooling - Gods Creation and The Tools of the Trade - Milkweed Monday - Drawing Hollyhocks - This Pile of Stuff on the Floor - Annas Amazing Discovery or How to Draw a Toad - Nature Journaling Interview - HSB's Promo Friends TOSPUBLISHER Tami tn3jcarter ByHisGraceInColorado parkwaymom EmptyNestMom spunkyjunior Academy252 BlogBoy WritingTips leebenvic Cornflower Mariel mom26kidz creativehsmom SBadgley DreweLlyn MaggieHogan DandelionSeeds Lilacs grownathome TEACHmagazine homeschoolhelp gracefuljourney Stacy EclecticBibliophile LittleEblingsAcademy KerriHopkins TammyC Bioluminescence elljazz joymommy Boltbabe cynthiarobin COMamabear mrskbrook gottsegnet Galatians69 Cre8iveMom MyChildrenAndMe Melkhi Juliestew Joyfulhrt iluvtheland Dell mctenpenny mistresninos Redeemed JoelKing BarbaraS dolphindancer quietcajun BooksandBairns dumspirospero mycrazylife ElCloud akabain JewelSea JeanaG Rebeca REInvestor deedeeuk Hagertroops7 Beverly Margaret MyLittleWomen Louscrew MorningLight rjdjohn316 Jocelyndixon SuperAngel JacqueDixonSoulRestES annointed kurjian4school theheartofthehome ExperimentalKid kcomom 4evrHischild homesweethomeschooler lolly01 InkTraveler PennyRaine tiredmom belovedbooks 4kiddos4me SongOfTheSagebrush YoungManInTraining SincerelyAmanda momma9x PricelessPurity mariah debbiecorley nancysnook moreofhim ChristineRead stampalot lahbluebonnet srostollan BreezyTulip RaspberryPixieMuffin |
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