When I Pray For You
These four kids have my heart. We’re not related, but I consider them family.
We took a five day babysitting gig 18 months ago. It turned out to be so much more. went from total strangers to literally talking about and praying for these four every day (and missing them like crazy).
When I Pray For You Book Launch
I love children’s books, so I jumped at the chance to be on the launch team for this book. As a former preschool librarian, I knew I had to jump at the chance. I’m excited to announce that Matthew Paul Turner’s newest children’s book “When I pray for you” has arrived! I was already familiar with his bestseller When God Made You. It tugs at your heart strings in all the right ways, and I knew this book would be even better.
From the first page, I could feel a lump in my throat as I thought about those precious kiddos I love so dearly. How I pray that they would stop growing so darn fast, but mostly that they would love Jesus. I pray that they would not throw yet another tantrum when I watch them so I don’t lose my mind, but more that they would be loving to everyone they meet.
The lump in my throat grew as I flipped through this book (which, by the way, has INCREDIBLE illustrations that are so diverse and inclusive!), and read the words I think every time I see these kiddos:
“Cause when I pray for you, I imagine God’s view. And pray all that God sees comes alive inside you”
Do you remember “Love you forever” by Robert Munsch? It has that kind of tenderness, but with the addition of prayer and God’s love. I think that is what transforms this book from simply a whimsical tale of growing up. Instead, it is a deeply moving narrative of a praying for a child as they grow into who God created them to be.
When We Pray for Them
Those four littles up there? I’ve babysat a lot of kids in my lifetime, but this was something different. My love for them runs so deeply. Cody has told me that he never understood how it was possible to love an adopted child as much as you love a biological child, but when he met these four, he finally began to understand.
We know the love we have for this family, and it’s humbling to think about how much more our Heavenly Father loves not only them, but me. These kids have given me the closest example of God’s love for me that I have ever experienced.
My deepest hope is that they can know how greatly loved they are and that they would reflect that love to others.
This book is a must-read for families with young children (or for anyone with kiddos in their lives that they love). You can pre-order it at matthewpaulturner.com, where you can also get his book “When God Made Light” for free! I honestly can’t recommend this book enough!