Equip Your Grandchildren for the New School Year with God's Love, Joy & Peace

My grandsons will be heading back to school in just three weeks, so to help them focus and prepare in these final three weeks, we are going to focus upon and pray one of our blessings . . . 

Thank You God for giving me Your love, joy and peace. As I go through this day, please help me love You and others with my all, find my strength in your joy and know Your perfect peace. Thank You for loving me. Amen.

This blessing/prayer is based upon four Scripture verses/passages . . .

•  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace - Galatians 5:22
• “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:28-31

• The joy of the Lord is your strength. - Nehemiah 8:10b
• You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,
  because they trust in you. - Isaiah 26:3

As my grandsons start a new year of school, I want them to be able to rest secure in knowing God absolutely loves them. This is a rock-solid truth and I want them to know and believe it firmly. So, this week we are going to be praying for them to see and remember how God shows His love - in big and small ways. When my grandsons rest firmly in God's love, they will be able to do the next part - love God and others with their all. Love is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, so we will be praying about being people who love God and others with our all. If my grandsons know God loves them and choose to love God and others with their all, they will be able to avoid many of the pits and traps before them.

Next week we will be focusing upon how they are able to find the strength for all they face in the coming school year - and throughout their lives - in God's joy. As their love for God and others grows, they will experience the gift of joy - it is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. This joy will give them the strength they need each and every day of their lives, so next week our focus will be upon this joy, what it is, how to experience it and how to identify when we do.

Then, finally, the week before school begins, we are going to focus upon God's perfect peace. There are many things facing our grandchildren which are able to take their peace - from a surprise test at school, to a subject they truly struggle with, to violence and the fear of violence in their schools. I want my grandsons to know for every situation they face, large or small, God's perfect peace is available for them. God's perfect peace is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, so again, throughout this week our focus will be upon God's perfect peace, what it is, how to experience it and how to identify when we do.

God's love, joy and perfect peace - I want my grandsons to have a firm grasp on these things as they begin a new year of school and throughout their lives, so I am going to be intentional when it comes to helping them understand how since God loves them, they are able to love Him and others with their all, find their strength in His joy and know His perfect peace.

You will find the printable form of this blessing/prayer at the following link - consider printing one out for each of your grandchildren, so they are able to see what you are praying for them as they return to school and to remind them to make this their own prayer as well.

#grandmas #handingdownthefaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose