So let me paint the picture for you .... it was a Monday morning (today in fact) coming off of a long weekend out of town. We had a fantastic weekend, and we spent some really good time with my mom, my sister and her family, and some good friends -- but by the time we got home and got settled Sunday night ... it was LATE. To add to it, there were some very violent thunderstorms that rolled through Alabama on Saturday night, so we did not get a great deal of sleep. The weekend was fun, but we woke up this morning absolutely bushed!

Added to the lack of sleep, Cyndi and I both had to be at work early this morning for meetings. So we got up a little bit earlier than normal, got dressed, drug our little zombies ( ...oops, I mean kids) out of bed, packed lunches, got all of our stuff together and rushed out the door to take on the day.

Now I'd like to say that we were all pleasant to one another this morning before leaving home, and that everything went smoothly, but that wouldn't be the truth. In fact, there were multiple instances of "verbal motivation" required (okay, borderline yelling) for both kids. So we actually rushed out the door in a bit of a frenzy to take on the day.

I headed towards Cleveland around 7:00 AM with my brain already in work mode, and Cyndi left to take the kids to school a few minutes after. By the time I got about half way to work, Cyndi called me on my cell phone to share a story. She told me that she and the kids got into the van and listened to a praise song for the first few minutes of the drive (what a great Mom she is), then they turned the music off to say a prayer to start the week. I didn't mention this earlier, but Cyndi started getting a little sick on Saturday. So as they started to pray, Anna Grace said "Mommy, I am going to pray for you to feel better" and proceeded to pray a sweet prayer over Cyndi. Then Austin proclaimed, "I am going to pray for Daddy" and his words were very close to ..... (and keep in mind that when Austin prays, he is very deliberate and takes it very seriously) .... "Holy Father, please be with my Daddy today because he is exhausted. Please help him to have a good day at his work and keep him safe and thank you Holy Father. Amen!"

My whole attitude changed instantly, and I know without a doubt that my day was much, much better than it had started out to be because my little 6 year old son lifted me up in prayer. And he meant what he prayed.

I pray for my children constantly and thank God for them often, but how sweet it is to know that they pray for me too. It is so incredible when they demonstrate what we have worked to teach them, but even more incredible when they turn around and teach us too.

After I hung up the phone with Cyndi, I thanked God again for the precious gifts He has blessed us with in Anna Grace and Austin, and prayed for them and Cyndi. And then I did the only thing that seemed right to do .... I followed Austin's lead and lifted up my Mom in prayer.