what will they be?

sweet sweet sweet little boys! at times i feel overwhelmed with the responsibility
michael & i have of leading & teaching them well.
what will they be?
what does the Lord have for them?
what trials will they go through?
it's not up to me is it?! not one little bit of the outcome of their lives is up to me. God is sovereign over all things. even if i was the worst mommy ever & never played with them or taught them anything... they could grow up to be the smartest, most God-loving men the world has ever known. 

so i was reading this really great book &
in the last few chapters CJ challenges parents...
to teach our children what true greatness is & have Godly ambitions for them.
oh that our boys would serve all people well to the glory of God. that they would consider others more important than themselves.
humility, servanthood, gentleness, compassion.

what are our ambitions for our children?
that they would be the best on the sports team,
smartest in their class,
make a lot of money & have nice things?
"are any of these ambitions in line with true greatness as defined in scripture? are any of your ambitions for your child more important to you than their cultivation of humility & servanthood--the basis for true greatness as biblically defined? are any of these ambitions more important to you than their learning to serve others for the glory of God? in other words, are you more interested in temporal recognition for your child than you are in his eternal reward? ultimately, that's what parenting is mostly about--it's about preparing our children for the final day. all parenting is ultimately a preparation for that day when your child will stand before the judgment seat of Christ & give an account."

oh Father, teach us how to make true greatness, in Your eyes, our one ambition for our children! not earthly, temporal recognition. all of that will not matter at the end of their lives.
may their sweet little lives be for Your glory alone, in whatever way you choose.
give me a heart for my boys like Hannah had for Samuel.
i urge you to consider what your ambitions are for your children, or even yourself.
are they to bring temporal glory? how can we change the way we raise our children in light of what the Lord's ambitions are for them?
al