Now I lay me down to sleep

When I was a wee lass living out in the country with my mom, there was a brass plaque on the wall that my bed was next to that read, "Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I  pray the Lord my soul to take."

I said that prayer every night, but didn't really pray much more than that during those years.

Something that I love about my daughter is how she prays. She blesses people and asks Jesus to heal ouchies and thanks him for her food and socks and "MommyandDaddyandJuliaandJosiah" and proudly declares "AMEN!" at the end.

I can remember my dad praying with me as a teenager, something that still means a lot to me.

When Julia was born, I knew that it was important to pray over her and speak blessings over her every day. Now, I'm not going to lie, there have been many days that I've failed to do so. Either because I forgot or was just plain *gasp* too lazy.

These are the things I pray over her regularly:

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. May you love the Lord with all your heart all the days of your life, and know Him at an early age. May Jesus be your highest passion. May you be bold and compassionate, shining your light to the world around you. May you have the faith of a child and know that you are a princess in the kingdom of God. No weapon formed against you will prosper; all those who rise up against you will fall. If the enemy comes at you one way, he'll flee from seven. May you be pure for your husband. May you be full of wisdom and discernment. Every piece of ground that you walk on is yours to take. May you have the confidence to fulfill your destiny. I declare healing over your body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Sweet dreams, restful sleep and visions of Jesus."

Of course I usually forget a few of those, and they don't always go in that order. I think she really enjoys it and sometimes even falls asleep as I'm saying it. There are few things in life more enjoyable than watching your child calm down under the blessing of the Lord!

I've noticed that it doesn't occur to me as often to pray these things over Josiah, not for lack of desire or need, I'm just so used to it being a thing that I do with Julia. So lately I've been making a point to pray the same things over him as well, plus some other things that I think are especially for him.