A Favorite Christmas Tradition: Prayer Cards

Moms, I'm convinced one of the greatest gifts we can give our kids is prayer. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind of meals, laundry, and disciplining that we forget to take a step back and evaluate: "How is my child doing? What are his strengths and weaknesses? How can I pray for his developing character?" 

When my kids were babies there weren't too many Christmas traditions we could do with them. My advent activities, Christmas skits, and Christmas crafts would have to wait a little longer. But there was one tradition I started early, and I'm so glad I did. 

I got this idea from a missionary prayer card we received in the mail. It was a picture of the missionary with a list of prayer requests. I decided to make my own "prayer cards" for my sweet boys. 

Photo card with prayer requests: I make these cards using any online photo card service. Each child gets his own unique set of prayer requests based on his personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Every year my husband and I look over the prayer requests from the year before and write new ones. We keep one copy for our family scrapbook and give one to the grandparents. It's one of the sweetest gifts we give each year. They make awesome Bible bookmarks! 

It's amazing how we can look back over these few short years and see answered prayers. These cards allow us to see how God is specifically molding each of our kids' hearts as we commit them to Him over and over again. We can see how their personalities have grown and developed. 

I know I am creating a keepsake that I will treasure forever. I can't wait to see what this book looks like ten years from now! When my kids are grown and gone I know I will look back over this precious book and pray through it for each one of them. 

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