Webster’s dictionary defines an advocate as:  a stand in, defender, promoter of another. Have you ever watched parents of a sick child or one with a disability, whether physical or mental?  They’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that child has all the resources they need to enter mainstream society, integrating their children into conventional classes and giving them every opportunity available.

They attend meetings, do research, create fundraisers, write letters and work tirelessly, along side the teachers and medical advisers as an advocate for their child.  There is no greater call or mission in life than to stand up for your children and give them the best opportunities available.  These moms are quiet impressive.

We need to be an advocate for our Children’s Spiritual well being.

If you’re not there for them, who will be?  No one will love or care for your children, like You will.  Nobody!

We have to stand in the gap for them and pray for their teachers, their friendships, their salvation, their protection, their character and integrity . . . who they will marry, and the list goes on. Once they board the school bus, they are physically out of your hands.

When you’re in the “carpool line” at school, Pray!  When you’re loading groceries in the “check out line” Pray!  You are their advocate, the one who has their best interest at heart.

Don’t be shy or passive when it comes to representing your children in any capacity.  They need you to be praying for them.  They need a defender who will pray for their present, their future, for the Lord to guard their hearts, so they will not bow to the wrong peer pressure, but to be confident individuals with all the resources they need to be the people God has called them to be.

Be their little voice, their defender.  If you don’t stand up for them, who will?

Lamentations 2:19

Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.  Lift your hands toward Him . . . for the life of your young children.

Suggested Reading:  Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartian

My 7 year old son ran into the kitchen and said “Mom, the DisneyWorld commercial just said:  Kids go ask your mom to go on our website and play a game.”  I’m like, WHAT?  He said:  Yes mom, they were talking to ME.  Let’s go.

A few days later, “Mom, the commercial said go to the website and register to win $100,000 dollars.  We need to go now.”

And yet I had asked him to clean his room and put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket and NOTHING.   He immediately had no ears, no recollection, AMAZING, right?

But the minute I sneak a cookie out of a rattling bag and head to the back porch “BAM” . . . What are you eating . . . did I hear something rattle in the pantry?

Have you noticed that their ears quit working when the TV is on.  Instead of talking over it, just turn it off.  It’s amazing how their ears will return and be willing to do any task to get it turned back on.

I saw a woman on TV once that said her son was playing with matches and accidentally lit the broom on fire.  As he was urgently running through the house to tell his mom that the laundry room was on fire, he passed a TV with cartoons on, stopped and began watching them, losing all sense of thought and forgot about the fire.  Unfortunately the house burned to the ground.

So when you’re giving your little one a task or instructions, make sure you turn the TV off, cause Mama is in charge and if your competition is the TV, it will ALWAYS win.  But if you turn it off, it’s amazing how quickly their ears will return.

Does the TV have power over you, or do you have Power over IT?  Who’s  running the show?  Please send us your comments.

Have you ever wished you had a hover craft or felt the need for a helicopter to get where you need to go?  If so, Y-O-U . . .  MIGHT BE Too busy.

Does the inside of you car look like a vending machine blew up?  If so, You . . . MIGHT be Too busy.

Do you throw your kid off at soccer practice, just to screech into the parking lot 5 minutes late to drop off your ballerina?  If so, You . . . Might BE too busy.

If you’ve EVER fed your child a snack that you found underneath the car seat . . . ehhh You . . . Might Be Too Busy!

Slow down and re-access.  Re-schedule AND re-arrange. Like Sands of the Hourglass, these are the Days of Our Lives.  When you’re a kid, it seems like forever till your birthday comes.  As an adult, the hands on the clock are smoking’!!!  It’s March, then November then another birthday.  No matter how hard you slam on the brakes, time is ticking away and you’re another year older.  .  . and so are your kids.

Whether you work in or outside the home or wear polka dots on Tuesday, Time stands still for NO ONE.  My friend sent me this email the other day.  It said, there are some things you can never take back:

The word, after it’s said . . .

The occasion, after it’s missed . . .

Time, after it’s gone . . .

That hit me hard.  A few year’s ago, my husband and I each started new businesses and we were working hard to keep that gerbil wheel spinning, building clientele, increasing market share and establishing a presence in the community.

Then one day, after hearing my 1 1/2 year old say the occasional “Ma Ma and Daddy, he said a word that brought my life to a screeching halt, a word, this little fella had heard me say that cut me to the core.

He uttered the words:  BUSY!  BUSY!  BUSY!

It stopped me in my tracks.  I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.  It made me cry that day.  Out of the mouth of babes!  I’m all for work and I was making great money, but I was burning the midnight oil at both ends, while trying to raise 3 kids under 1st grade.  We had little Quality time, and virtually no Quantity time.

But time was slipping away and I wasn’t using it wisely.  I sat down with my husband and we re-accessed, made a new plan, re-organized and rescheduled a few things.  It took a weekend of thinking outside the box, several sheets of paper and quite a few compromises, but once it was hashed out, it was like a light shown down from heaven; and we had such Peace on how we strategically planned to move forward in a New Way.

If you have a Dream, you can make it work, but it’s NOT gonna fall into your lap.  It may take blood, sweat and tears, but remember your priorities and fight for them:  God and Family.  There will always be people Johnny on the Spot, ready to fill your list with meaningless things that help themselves.

Learn to say NO.  Fight for your family, tear up that little BLACK BOOK that makes you a slave to too many daily activities and take the BUSY BUSY BUSY out of your life and fill it with things that produce FULFILLMENT, HAPPINESS, JOY AND  PEACE.

Here’s to a Better Life!

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My 7 year old was listing all the friends he had.  He was telling me about the kid in his class from Vietnam, or about Freddie who went to London with his parents and the list went on.

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When he left, my 3 year old asked:  Mom, do I have fwends?  I said yes and listed the names of little kids in our neighborhood.  He said:  ”Oh good!”  He trusted that I knew he was ok.  It was so sweet how he looked to me to determine if he was valued, loved and established.  Of course he was.  It’s funny to hear the ideas, concerns and perspectives little children have.

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It’s our job to remove those little insecurities and reinforce a sense of belonging and being apart of Community.

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What is your son or daughter concerned about?  Talk about it on a one on one, fun bike ride or walk in the park.  Keep Communication flowing and frequent.  With chaos in the day, opportunities do not always present themselves.  You have to invest the time and when you do, those concerns will rise to the top and can be easily dealt with.

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Concerns don’t always come in the form of a “knock on your door.” Set the stage for good communication.  It might be a warm cookie and a hug when they come home from school, stacking legos on the floor or just a quiet walk down the street.  Some kids wear their heart on their sleeve and can open up in 2 seconds to discuss a concern or problem; others are like slow cookers.  If you spend enough time and build their trust, they’ll mention their concerns around bedtime in the quiet of the evening.

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Each child is different.  Keep your eyes and ears open.  The world is full of people ready to tear down your child’s self esteem.   School, “so called friends” and the world in general, can be a harsh place at times.  Building self esteem is not an overnight fix, it’s a journey.

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I tell my kids: “You’re my blessing or You make my heart feel good” and now they tell me I make their heart feel good.  They need to know that mom, dad, and siblings have their back.  It’s All for One and One for All!

Tell us how you handle building self esteem.  We’d love to hear your story.