Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).
Invitation to Prayer, TODAY
Hi Friends,
Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday
- TODAY - at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.
Also,
Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.
All the best,
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
Over big steaming bowls of Thai curry, we talked about finding ever-elusive balance in our lives... Balance between work and play, rest and action, family and community. And like so many conversations between mothers of young children, soon the conversation turned towards our kids.
"I want my children to know they are the most important people in the whole world to me," I said. "And I also want them to know that our lives are not about ourselves. And so much of what I see around me is so child-centric that it feels like we are turning our children into these little emperors and empresses who think the world revolves around them."
"I want to be child-centric," my friend said. "But it's not just about the two children who live in my home."
With that simple statement, she seemed to cut through so much of my confusion.
As a mother, I'm grateful so much of my life is centered on my girls. I treasure the fact that this morning on the way to work we pretended the car was full of imaginary animals complete with just the cacophony of noise as you might imagine. I love watching my children master new skills whether that's at the swimming pool or the library. Just this week, my 4-year-old learned to write the first letter of her name, and it's one of the most exciting moments of my month!
My children are at the very center of my heart, thoughts, energy and passion, and that's as it should be.
But in order for them to grow into the kind of women I hope for them to become, they need a mama who draws a wider circle. Our children need parents who love them well... just as much as they need parents who love others well.
I saw a sign in a store the other day that I almost bought to hang over my girls' bunk beds: "Here sleeps a little girl with a head full of magical dreams, a heart full of wonder, and hands that will shape the world."
That is the what I want for them -- dreams, wonder, and hands that will shape the world. I can't yet speak from experience, but from what I've seen modeled in the lives of other families, this seems to most frequently happen in homes where children know they are securely loved and see that love turned outward from the family unit.
The world is full of millions of children who have no one to claim them. No one who stands up and says, "She's with me." Or, "He's mine." The world needs more child-centric grown-ups who draw wide circles around the outsiders and the stragglers and the kids who don't think anyone notices and cares. When we see people draw wider circles and turn strangers into beloveds, we see God's temple being built. When we participate in that ourselves, we build His Kingdom, brick by brick and stone by stone.
You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all-irrespective of how we got here-in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day-a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
- Ephesians 2:19-22, MSG
This week, I invite you to join me and ask God to show us how we can draw wide circles around our families, including the lonely and lost, the confused and hurting, the forgotten and friendless.
And may we pray for children around the world. I thought this week we could focus our prayers this week on Iraq:
IRAQ // Praise God for Iraqi lawyer Khaleel Aldakhi and his wife Ameena Saeed Hasan who have drawn a wide circle around their family and began using their energy, resources, connections, and time to rescue Yazidi girls trafficked by ISIS. So far they have saved nearly 200 girls, returning them to their families. Recently honored by Human Rights First, a US Aid organization, for their work in freeing Yazidi slaves, the couple traces their involvement back to their own daughter: "As parents of a young daughter, Aldakhi and Hasan said they could not tolerate others families' suffering. "It's affected me most as a woman and as a mother," said Hasan, who carries around a mobile phone whose cover displays a picture of their 7-year-old daughter in a bright red dress."
Learn more here ...
IRAQ // As I'm writing this, Iraqi and Kurdish forces, supported by the US, are pressing into the city of Mosul to liberate it from ISIS. Let us pray for the children and families who will be caught in the crossfire. The UN has warned that the aftermath of this military operation will possibly be the greatest man-made humanitarian disaster the world has seen in a long time.
"Don't scream too much. Try to keep the children calm."
-Instructions dropped in a leaflet.
Leaflets dropped around the city of Mosul by the Iraqi military try to provide families with basic tips and suggestions to survive the battle. According to Preemptive Love Coalition,
"Residents are essentially prisoners in their homes. Leaflets dropped on the city by Iraqi government forces asked families to "stay away from certain parts of the city, avoid ISIS positions, remain in your homes and seal your windows and doors." They've been advised to keep wet cloths on hand to treat potential burns. Residents were asked to put white flags on their homes, or to tape messages on their windows-which, of course, would make them immediate targets for ISIS."
Learn more about what life has been like in Mosul under ISIS control for the last two years, and join me in praying for the citizens of Mosul -- especially the children -- as they endure the days and months ahead.
Praying with you,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net
The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.
