Journal Write to your Children
At the end of this month, my husband and I will be dedicating all three of our kiddos at our church. Yes, they are two and four years old, and most people do this before each baby turns one. But, that opportunity just has not happened for us until now. Several reasons may have come into play with that, which do not really matter anymore, because we are doing their dedication now.
Building My Faith
Last year, one of the things I wanted to do for the year was to build my faith in Christ. I wanted to study the bible more, and learn more and even journal in my bible. Which I did do all through 2016. And, Im pretty happy with what I have done with that goal, but I want to do even better this year and more in my faith category. I want to improve me, my faith and my study. I wrote all about bible journaling, and how I write in my bible and what bible journaling tools and materials I use. And I love it. I am not perfect, I still use a few curse words from time to time, (something I am still working on, and not proud of) but, I have come closer in my relationship with God. And for that I’m grateful.
It is hard to live a day without having Jesus. Not a day goes by where I do not call on God, for help guidance or blessing. I do not know really how in the world I survived my younger days, the college years, or my younger adult days where I would let days go by and not call on him, think of him, say his name, pray to him, or just thank him for my many blessings. The only thing I can think of as to how I survived those times (the distant ones) is that I have some pretty sweet angels up in Heaven looking over me. And quite frankly, believe they still do even though my faith in God is stronger.
God’s Grace
God’s Grace is good and I believe he uses me in mysterious ways to show others or allow others to realize the blessings they have. Probably this post is one of them, someone reading this may need a nudge back in, so here I am writing this to tell you it is not a coincidence that you are reading this- God is very intentional. (Insert the thinking emoji face here).
Raised in Faith
My mother always said, that if a child is raised in the church, that they will never leave it. And my mother is right! Sure, we may stray from time to time, but the truth is, we always find our way back home to God. If you didn’t know already, I’m a momma of three. And they know God pretty well. They love saying their prayers before dinner, and sharing what they learn about Jesus to us form school and church. They even attend Wednesday nights to learn even more.
But as their momma, that is only the surface. It starts and ends at home. And, at the end of the month, my husband and I will finally get to dedicate our children to Christ, and make a public promise and commitment to raise then in the church and to know Jesus Christ.
In preparation for this, the Youth Pastor asked us to write a letter to each child specifically to them, personal in nature, and our promise to them. The letter is to be sealed and kept until they are 18 years old. And, on the their 18th birthday we will give them this letter.
But I have plans to do even more…
The interesting thing is that just under a year ago, I got the idea to start personal individually journals to my children. I purchased three notebooks, one for each from target. And my intention was to begin writing our memories, thoughts, and snippets of life in them along with guidance and words of wisdom. But I never did, until now.
Getting Started
A few days ago, I actually sat down to write to each one of children in their journal. I wrote a promise for the book and my hope to give it to them one day filled with our shared memories together. I wrote to each one about things like their names and where we got the ideas to name them. How their births occurred in the hospital, how their little personalities are forming and how I am enjoying being their mom. My hope is to continue this as they grow.
I cannot take full credit for this idea, as a co-worker of mine so graciously shared her two daughters books with me. I loved it immediately because the journaling and the memories could be random. There is no specific dates or milestones where I must document certain things, and honestly, I never even did “baby books” for my kids. Sure, I have keepsake boxes for each one of them, and I save my favorite artwork pages they create. But nothing for notes or concrete. So, when this idea came along, I was excited.
Making Memories
Unfortunately, it’s taken me until now to begin, and now that I have them started, I think it will be easier to add dates and memories as life happens. The hardest part was just starting. I think writing the letters for their dedication is what triggered it all. And, of course, I will be placing their personal letters from their dedication this month inside each one of them.
I may also include pictures of moments, sort of like a baby book. I’m not quite sure, as there is no rules to how to do this thing. One thing I do know, is that I have a place to keep our precious memories documented, and I’m pretty sure, I have God to thank for it and in letting it finally begin.
Do you journal memories of your children, or do you do something else to keep sake the memories? Leave a comment below and let me know. I’d love to hear your ideas.
Layne
Comments & Reviews
Thank you for the article,
Very nice. I too am trying to get a journal going for my child. I can only imagine three.
A friend told me to start an email account when our child was born. Works great for pictures and letters. I only wish I would have started it sooner, but better late than never.
Something else I found while watching tv, Shark Tank, is a company called Groovebook that came on their show. For a nominal fee, once a month you send in 40-100 pics from your phone through their app. And they in return send you a 4-6 book with the pics you choose. I haven’t yet received my first book, but I am looking forward to it, see how it comes out. A lot of pics on my phone so it’s going to take some time.
Best of luck
Nice article.