We all teach children to pray according to our understanding and beliefs. One of the habits I incorporated into our homeschooling program was letters to God at the end of the day. It was a tool my kids could use to reflect on their day and the lessons or struggles they experienced and discuss them with God.
Looking back on them and re-reading them today, it brings joy, laughs and deeper reflections on who they always were and what changes have been made. More importantly, it gave them something to look back on to see how God has worked in their lives. They wrote letters to God about their own desires and short comings but the funniest letters came when they wrote about one another. I post these on occasion in our family chat and they are fodder for many laughs and discussion.
My younger son once wrote that he did not want our oldest to go into the Army because he did not want him to die. Our oldest not only went into the military, he is coming up on 20 years service. We had a good laugh and of course my oldest said “Hey, I didn’t die.” :)
All jokes aside, we have discovered that the boys have never once stopped antagonizing their sisters. My oldest daughter still stresses about crazy stuff. The middle girl still likes to argue and the youngest girl still likes to boss everyone around. Some characteristics never change. It is part of their personality and who they are. These things show up throughout their lifetime and it is so interesting to look back and see it when they are older.
My kids are in their late 20s and 30s now and long gone are the privacy concerns of those letters. They provide an adorable view into the hearts and minds of children and give every family a chance to look back and have great discussions around the bonfire.
If you would like to teach your children to pray, reflect on changing and growing, get into the habit of praying for others, these prayer letter templates are for you. I have listed one for boys and one for girls. They are also included in the book of letter templates in my store. Once you purchase the template, you do not need to purchase them again. You can print them off as many times as you like.
Both documents are included in the big books of templates in the store. Please email me with any questions at werockthepen@gmail.com.
Until next time,
Rock That Pen!