by Lori Turner Pavelkova, living in the Czech Republic
(As I finish this newsletter, Lori is about ready to deliver her first baby!
Not that they’ll be “well-liked”, but that they’ll never doubt for a second that they’re well-loved
To be “in the world”, but not of it
To be creative and well-rounded but to have the right priorities
To speak and write English and Czech fluently
To have all of their needs met and some of their wants, and to be grateful rather than materialistic
To be pure and innocent in a “depraved generation”
To feel “at home” in both the United States and the Czech Republic (and wherever else we may live!)
To embrace the faith of their parents and grandparents not because they “have” to, but because they want to and because the way we've lived our lives makes it attractive to them
To be men and women of integrity
To be “wise as serpents” and “innocent as doves”
To work hard and to know how to rest
To be reasonably fit and attractive but not overly concerned with their looks
To “honor their father and mother”, and that we would be worthy of that honor
To love their siblings
To be healthy and strong but, if not, to see God use every weakness for His glory
To learn from their parents’ and grandparents’ mistakes and not to repeat them (they’ll make enough of their own:))
Not that they’ll follow a list of rules but that they’ll desire in their heart to do what is right
To have a relationship with God that attracts others to Him
To spend time with the elderly and glean from their wisdom and years of experience
To save their bodies and their hearts for their future mates and to experience the blessings of those choices
To find and marry Christian spouses who will “spur them on to love and good deeds”
To be free from any type of addiction or unhealthy habit
That we will not favor one child over the others but that we will love each child uniquely and absolutely
For girls – to enjoy loving protection and physical affection from their daddy and brothers so they needn't seek it elsewhere; to be lady-like but not stiff and unnatural
For boys – to be “gentle men”, tender and polite; not that they’ll be “sissies” but that they’ll cry when they should
That they will be humble
That they will neither crave attention nor be starving for it
That God would protect their minds from doubt, fear, and despair
To have a sense of humor that is neither crass nor cynical
That our home would be a calm, peaceful, safe place for them to come to at the end of the day
That they’ll excel at something but not succeed at everything, lest they become proud
That they’ll know their parents love each other and feel secure in their parents’ commitment to one another and to them
That at the appropriate time they’ll “cut the apron strings” enough, but not too much
That no matter what other jobs we’ve had or things we've accomplished in life, our greatest success will be our marriage and the children we’ve raised.
(As I finish this newsletter, Lori is about ready to deliver her first baby!
Not that they’ll be “well-liked”, but that they’ll never doubt for a second that they’re well-loved
To be “in the world”, but not of it
To be creative and well-rounded but to have the right priorities
To speak and write English and Czech fluently
To have all of their needs met and some of their wants, and to be grateful rather than materialistic
To be pure and innocent in a “depraved generation”
To feel “at home” in both the United States and the Czech Republic (and wherever else we may live!)
To embrace the faith of their parents and grandparents not because they “have” to, but because they want to and because the way we've lived our lives makes it attractive to them
To be men and women of integrity
To be “wise as serpents” and “innocent as doves”
To work hard and to know how to rest
To be reasonably fit and attractive but not overly concerned with their looks
To “honor their father and mother”, and that we would be worthy of that honor
To love their siblings
To be healthy and strong but, if not, to see God use every weakness for His glory
To learn from their parents’ and grandparents’ mistakes and not to repeat them (they’ll make enough of their own:))
Not that they’ll follow a list of rules but that they’ll desire in their heart to do what is right
To have a relationship with God that attracts others to Him
To spend time with the elderly and glean from their wisdom and years of experience
To save their bodies and their hearts for their future mates and to experience the blessings of those choices
To find and marry Christian spouses who will “spur them on to love and good deeds”
To be free from any type of addiction or unhealthy habit
That we will not favor one child over the others but that we will love each child uniquely and absolutely
For girls – to enjoy loving protection and physical affection from their daddy and brothers so they needn't seek it elsewhere; to be lady-like but not stiff and unnatural
For boys – to be “gentle men”, tender and polite; not that they’ll be “sissies” but that they’ll cry when they should
That they will be humble
That they will neither crave attention nor be starving for it
That God would protect their minds from doubt, fear, and despair
To have a sense of humor that is neither crass nor cynical
That our home would be a calm, peaceful, safe place for them to come to at the end of the day
That they’ll excel at something but not succeed at everything, lest they become proud
That they’ll know their parents love each other and feel secure in their parents’ commitment to one another and to them
That at the appropriate time they’ll “cut the apron strings” enough, but not too much
That no matter what other jobs we’ve had or things we've accomplished in life, our greatest success will be our marriage and the children we’ve raised.
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