Wow, I have a whole new appreciation for the work that preschool parents do each and every day!  I have spent the last week working with six precious preschoolers, including my own sweet granddaughter, at my church’s VBS (Vacation Bible School).  With ages that range from a year and a half to four years old, and even with a team of five ladies, I’m so exhausted at the end of the morning I can barely stand!  I know I once raised preschoolers, but I believe there is good reason I had my children young…I just don’t have the energy like I did way back when!  So I salute you wonderful Moms and Dads of preschoolers!  May you continue to stay focused on God, let Him give you the strength and endurance to teach those little ones in the “way they should go” (and I don’t just mean potty-training 🙂

Psalm 127:3-5a  “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

Psalm 28:7  “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

Psalm 100:2  “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”

Psalm 119:105  “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalm 107:9  “…for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

Proverbs 1:8-9  “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.   They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.”

Proverbs 23:18-19  “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path.”

Isaiah 40:31  “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

2 Corinthians 9:8  “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Colossians 2:6-7  “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Psalm 37:4  “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 126:3  “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”

Proverbs 3:5-6  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8  “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Philippians 4:4  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Colossians 3:23-24  “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24  “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

Ephesians 2:10  “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Philippians 1:9-10  “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”

Philippians 1:6  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 1:9-10  “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

James 1:5  “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Matthew 21:15-16  “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.  “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

Matthew 18:2-6  “He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.  “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

2 Peter 3:18  “ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen.”

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™