deannecrawford.com

 I am reposting this as it has also disappeared into cyberspace. I am unsure why my last 2 posts have vanished, but am hopeful it not happen again. Love Deanne

In my last post, Watching Women, I stressed the necessity of actively being on our knees before God for the children that He has entrusted us to care for, guide and direct. I recently was struck afresh with the profound thought that God did not place Amanda and Jackson into my life and leave me on my own to bring them in the “admonition and nurture of the Lord”.  Our God is an active guide, presence and yes, even a parent to these 2 precious live’s that have been entrusted to the care of Manuel and myself. And it is an awesome responsibility!! Thankfully, He has not left us alone to raise them!!

The greatest gift we can present to our children is the gift of prayer! Have you ever considered YOUR prayers to be gifts….gifts that you unwrap each morning before the Lord? Gifts that you specifically choose and give to them?
The older my children get (nearly 17 and 14!!!) the greater awareness I have of the significant difference prayer makes in their lives! Our children quickly become young adults and a tremendous part of achieving adulthood is the gentle releasing them into the responsibility of decision making that accompanies adulthood! As I stand in the midst of this transition and gentle releasing, I am finding that my knees are becoming calloused from use–but PRAISE GOD, He is a very real help in times of need.

Do you ever feel that you want to pray for your children but simply just don’t know where to start? Or do you feel like you are saying the same prayer over and over for them–the “please God bless my babies” type prayers? Several years ago, I was given a Praying Parents handout (and unfortunately I no longer have the source so am unable to give credit to them. IF anyone knows the source, please email me or leave a comment!)

Directed Prayers are those that are specific and scripturally supported–and when we pray Scripture back to God I truly believe that He listens extra closely and provides an extra special blessing to them! I pray this list of directed prayers will guide you in praying for the precious little people in your life.

PRAYING PARENTS

• Pray that nothing will hinder your children from accepting Christ as their personal Savior early in life. (Matthew 18:6; 19:14)

• Pray that your children will learn to know their God, the true and living God and will have a deep desire to do His will for their lives (Psalm 119:27,30, 34-35)

• Pray that as your children hear stories from the Bible, a genuine love for God and His Word will become such a part of their lives that it will be the basis for all their decision making throughout life (Psalm 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:15)

• Pray that your children will develop a keen sense of what’s right and wrong–that they will abhor evil and cling to that which is good (Psalm 51:10; 139:23-24; Romans 12:9)

• Pray that your children will increase in wisdom mentally, in stature physically and in favor with God spiritually and man socially. (Luke 2:52) This prayer covers children’s total development to their full potential.

• Pray that your children will develop a thankful heart and a fine confident mental attitude (Psalm 126:2-3; Romans 8:31)

• Pray that God will protect your children from satan and his wiles in every area of their lives (Psalm 121:8; John 17:15)

• Pray that God will destroy the enemies in your children’s lives, whatever they may be–weaknesses, lying, selfishness, disobedience,etc (Psalm 120:2; Philippians 2:4)

• Pray that God will make your child successful in the work HE has planned for them to do (Psalm 118:25; 139:9-10)

• Pray that your children will have a strong sense of belonging to a family that is loving and dwells together in unity (Psalm 133; Colossians 3:12-14)

• Pray that your children will respect those in authority over them (Romans 13:1; Ephesians 6:1-4)

• Pray that their entire lives will be a testimony of the greatness and love of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Also pray that children will be caught when guilty, will desire the right kind of friends, will be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one,and will, along with those they wed, remain pure until marriage.

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I apologize for the long delay in posting. Our life is in a season of great transition right now and I sincerely covet your prayers. I hope to be able to write something in the next week or so sharing our transition challenges, but for now, simply ask for your prayers. Thank you dear readers. Love Deanne

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Posted on July 4th, 2008 by Deanne Crawford
Filed under: Homeschooling Tips | No Comments »

 I am reposting this as it seems to have  disappeared into Cyberspace. Not sure what happened to the original post, but here it is again….Love Deanne

As Godly women, wives and mothers, interceding for our children is THE greatest activity we can do for them.
As Christian moms, our greatest desire should be for children who surrender their life to Christ and continue to follow Him faithfully through out their lives. Achieving this comes at a great cost….of utmost importance is the recognition that this cost our Jesus His everything…even His very life and for us. And as Christian Moms, it will also cost us our all. We may not be asked to give our physical lives for our children, but often, we are called to give up other aspects of our lives for a season as we seek to raise children for the Lord. What sort of things may we be asked to give up? When I look back over my life, during different seasons, God has called me to give up a lucrative professional career, He has called me to give up financial comfort (from my career), He has even asked that I give up sleep as I have cared for young ones through the night. Ah, but His calling, His questioning of me, has provided amazing opportunities for His blessing upon my life. The blessing that is birthed from obedience to His will in my life.

We must be intentional when it comes to our children…intentional in teaching them His Word, intentional in leading them to gratitude and worship for His very Being, and intentional in praying for them.
In her precious book, “A Mother’s Heart”, Jean Fleming writes, “The best possible parenting cannot produce children who are spiritually responsive to God….” It takes so much more! Yes, we are called to be the very best Mom we can be….A Mom who will teach her children the ways and worship of the Lord, but there is so much more that is God’s plan for us as Moms!
Proverbs 31:27 instructs us to “watch over the way of (our) household”.  The fascinating word here used for watch is so much more than our English language portrays. The word, “Watch” encompasses the idea of a “leaning forward; peering; observing. The root includes the idea of “a narrow watching; to keep guard and to hedge around.” Elizabeth George expands on this idea of watching, in her book, “A Woman after God’s own heart”. In it she quotes, Derek Kidner who writes, “(to) watch is used through out the Bible to describe people who were posted to report the first sign of God’s answer to prayers” (1 Kings 18:41-44)
Watching our children encompasses SO MUCH MORE than the idea of simply knowing what they are doing at any given time! It even encompasses far more than playing a game with them, reading Bible stories to them  or even screening  their friends and relationships!
As Christian moms, we must seek God on our children’s behalf and we must be always looking for answers to those prayer requests! We must accept the mission to watch our children…watching them according to the original Hebrew intent of the word.
Where do we begin this mission to watch over children?
We must step up our prayer life! For me, to achieve this “watchman mission” I have found that I must write out specific prayers for my children and then be on the lookout for God’s answers! When God answers, I write (journal) His responses in my journal. By doing this, I am able to look back and see specific answers to needs my children had and I am able to see a little bit of the big picture that I sense He has for them.
   Jean Fleming shares, “The goal of parenting is not for us to decide what we want our children to become and then ruthlessly teach, train, squeeze, badger, and cajole them into that mold.  Instead we must recognize God has already designed them.” She confirms what is spoken in Proverbs 22:6 (amplified version) Train up a child in the way he must go (according to his individual bents and gifts) and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” So often in homeschooling circles, we use this verse to solidify our homeschool decision or even to discipline our child…but the original Hebrew meaning again, lends a completely different perspective!
Our prayers should not be for God to create in our child(ren) the child (ren) that we feel they must become. Our prayers should be prayers of humility, prayers seeking God for HIS will and His purpose in their lives, through out their lives.
What does this look like?

For me, it begins with
PRAISE—I praise God for His hand on my children. I praise Him for creating them with the specific gifting, personalities, learning styles and yes, even temperaments He has given to them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
After I praise, I will
PREPARE my heart to receive my children as HE created them . I ask God to enlarge my heart with love for them. If I am struggling in anyway being a loving mother to one child, I humble myself and ask God to work a miracle in my heart, to fill my heart to overflowing for that child (I share more of my prayer struggles in Treasure’s of Psalm 119 Bible study) and to grant me a greater acceptance of a child I may be struggling with at any specific time.
PURPOSELY ask God to work HIS purposes in my child and ask Him to show me the way to guide my child into this purpose. This includes seeking God for which curriculum to use with each child, seeking God to show me how to reach a specific learning need and even which activities each child should involve themselves in (music lessons, work, swim team etc)
PEACE…As I pursue God’s will and purpose for my children, I experience HIS peace, His peace knowing I am leading, training and discipling my children according to His plan for them (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:7)

For more thoughts on being a Watching Woman, I encourage you to read “A Mother’s Heart” by Jean Fleming. This book was given to me as a young, new homeschooling Mom and although it is not specifically written to homeschool Moms, it is a book of great encouragement and hope for all moms. Also, highly recommended is Sally Clarkson’s Educating the Whole Hearted Child and Season’s of a Mother’s Heart. Both of these books, present encouragement and hope as we raise children for the purposes of the Lord.

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Posted on June 16th, 2008 by Deanne Crawford
Filed under: Homeschooling Tips | 1 Comment »

You may think it strange that I have chosen to write about Father’s Day gifts! Over the past 19 years of marriage (16 years with children) there has been ONE gift that I have given to my husband that is always LOVED and highly desirable. Surprisingly, it is not fishing equipment or a musical instrument (both of which are of the utmost value in our home!)

Several posts ago, I wrote about the absolute necessity of praying for our husbands. As wives and daughters of the Most High, we are uniquely equipped to stand in the gap for the men in our lives. Proverbs 31:11-12 states, “The heart of her (the excellent wife) trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life”. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians that all Believers should pray for one another. Is there any greater good that we can do for our husbands than lift them up in prayer before our Almighty God?
Over the years, I have found that praying for my husband not only brings a tremendous blessing to his life…but I am also greatly blessed. Now before you quickly assume that my blessing comes from the changes I see in my husband in answers to the prayers I have lifted before God (you know the “LORD change my husband before I kill him type prayers!). The reality of it is, praying for our husbands is a truly a way to show him unconditional love, honor and devotion. I love what Stormie Ormartian says, “A wife’s prayers for her husband have a far greater effect on him than anyone else’s, even his mother’s. (Sorry, Mom.) A mother’s prayers for her child are certainly fervent. But when a man marries, he leaves his father and mother and becomes one with his wife (Matthew 19:5). They are a team, one unit, unified in spirit. The strength of a man and wife joined together in God’s sight is far greater than the sum of the strengths of each of the two individuals. That’s because the Holy Spirit unites them and gives added power to their prayers.”

Check out this 31 day Prayer Guide for husbands! 

May God open our eyes to see what the holy ministry of intercession is to which, as His royal priesthood, we have been set apart. May He give us a large and strong heart to believe what mighty influence our prayers can exert. And may all fear as to our being able to fulfill our vocation vanish as we see Jesus, living ever to pray, living in us to pray and standing surety for our prayer-life. Andrew Murray

Posted on June 12th, 2008 by Deanne Crawford
Filed under: My Blog | 1 Comment »

My family spent the last week in a delightful cabin on Rice Lake Wisconsin. As a child, my family would spend summers at North Shore Resort in Rice Lake and we have recently attempted to continue the tradition of fishing with our teens at Rice Lake. It was a delightul and restful trip, although we are very grateful to be home! I thought I would share a few photos of our trip with you–Enjoy!

                                                  The Great Fisher-manny with his catch of the day! See the joy!

 Like Father, Like Daughter…Amanda the great fisherwoman AND Football fan–notice the Minnesota Vikings tackle box!

Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Deanne Crawford
Filed under: My Blog | 2 Comments »

 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)

My heart swells with gratitude for ALL the men and women who have sacrificed their all for the freedom that my family is blessed to enjoy in America. For me, there are no words to express my appreciation, gratitude and love for these brave men and women.
Although I struggle with just the right words to say thank you–President Harry Truman expressed his gratitude well–so well in fact, that his words will forever remain with us–etched in the World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C.
“Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifice.”

In the US the highest award for wartime valor is the Presidential Medal of Honor. This award is granted sparingly and is reserved for those who show outstanding courage and heroism.

One recipient of this prestigious award was Private Milton Olive III. Private Milton sacrificed his life for the men he fought with in Vietnam. I will let Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s poignant words share the incredible story of Private Olive.

“The Medal of Honor is awarded for acts of heroism above and beyond the call of duty. It is bestowed for courage demonstrated not in blindly overlooking danger, but in meeting it with eyes clearly open.
And that is what Private Olive did. When the enemy’s grenade landed on that jungle trail, it was not merely duty which drove this young man to throw himself upon it, sacrificing his own life that his comrades might continue to live. He was compelled by something that’s more than duty, by something greater than a blind reaction to forces that are beyond his control. He was compelled, instead, by an instinct of loyalty which the brave always carry into conflict. And in that incredibly brief moment of decision in which he decided to die, he put others first and himself last. I have always believed that to be the hardest, but the highest, decision that any man is ever called upon to make. So in dying, Private Milton Olive taught those of us who remain how we ought to live.”
President Lyndon Johnson presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Olive’s parents.

Although rare, this tremendous honor will also be bestowed upon Ross McGinnis in early June. Private McGinnis purposely sacrificied his life for the men he served with by shouting a warning and  throwing his body over a grenade that was tossed into their Humvee. You can read more about it here.

In the words of Jesus, “greater love has no one than this–that a man lay down his life for his friends”

Dear Soldier,

I am in awe of the love you show for your country and fellow Americans. Thank you for your sacrifice….and to all the families who have a husband, child, brother, father in active duty–Thank YOU for your sacrifice. You have the gratitude and prayers of my family. May God bless you and keep you as you live the words of Jesus Christ.

Posted on May 25th, 2008 by Deanne Crawford
Filed under: My Blog | No Comments »