Examen Pray-er with Kids Step 1 (1/2)

To re-cap our Examen with Kids prayer, remember the following-

• The first step of the Examen

  • You can rest here without moving forward into the other steps, if needed

  • Be a Pray-er becoming prayer: letting the distractions your mind offers as thoughts is not the same as allowing your attention to be diverted from the Presence of God

    • expect distracted ideas to float on by your focus like water fowl on a river escorted downstream.

  • There will be bad days, but you can still be consoled in just the knowledge you are trying. God is still moving infinitely in 1-3 minutes of your time with the kid(s) following you.

The Examen Prayer (with kids) is similar to visiting houses in a neighborhood.

Now, we can consider the Examen Prayer as a neighborhood full of friends we will visit together. The next step or house to visit might be the one in which we stay the longest, and, we may even find ourselves lingering there without visiting the others today. That's expected, because every day is different. We embrace these changes and model these differences for the spiritual hearts following our leadership.

What do we do when we become aware of the Presence of God?

Praise!

Let's go down to the river...and PRAISE!

How do you want to inspire praise? What do you hear, see, or feel? Remember, your response to God's presence, also, inspires praise in those following you! Sometimes, my household has used music to settle into a short reflective time of praise, or I have read a verse from Psalms or other inspiring, praise worthy verses.

Do you notice what I am not doing? I am intentionally avoiding giving you a canned verse to read over your Examen Pray-er with Kids moment. This is about you finding your tools and inspirations by listening to the still, small voice. What do you hear leading you to Jesus' Tree of Life right now in this Present Moment?

Once you hear Him whispering to you, lean into that direction and... "Do whatever He tells you."

Now, here's the fun part of praising Him with something unique to your family. When you least expect it, that song is going to surprise you on the radio or playlist, and it will bring back these whispers to your heart and those of your kids. That Psalm you heard Him telling you, or the verse you "randomly" turned to that day when you were marking a moment of Praise, will be read at the service when you absolutely need the reminder of praising Him...

Your kids observe this shift and the Holy Trinity, while invisible becomes visible to you and your kids. What will be more consoling at that moment? Will it be your heart's movement or the movement of your kids' hearts? I think the answer, is a simple, "yes."

Praise! These things are caught, not taught.