MORNING TIME

When you go into your child's room, say, "Good morning, friend! I'm so glad God gave you to me to be my son/daughter and my friend. God gave us Jesus to be our friend, too!"

 DRIVE TIME

As you drive, take turns with your child naming friends. Some of them should be the same. After all, family can be friends, too! Talk about how Jesus wants to be our friend. In fact, Jesus wants to be our friend forever!

 CUDDLE TIME

Cuddle with your child this month and pray, "Dear God, thank You for giving us so many great friends. Thank You for (list friends with your child). Most of all, thank You for giving us Jesus to be our friend forever. We love You, God. In Jesus' name, amen."

 BATH TIME

While bathing your child, play a game where your child closes his/her eyes, you count to three, and then your child opens their eyes when you say "three." When your child opens their eyes, say, "Jesus is alive!" Play again and again as long as your child is having fun.

My husband often tells me “the happiest and healthiest people are those whose expectations meet reality.” I frequently need reminding of this. I live in expectation—playing things out in my head of how I would like them to unfold. The problem is, as you might imagine, the more expectations I have, the more likely I am to be disappointed when they aren’t met. 

Last Easter, I had expectations which seemed harmless enough. My husband had come across an egg-dying method involving silk ties and twine. Though craftiness deficient, even this seemed simple enough. I imagined our experiment unfolding like the pictures online promised. We included my two-year-old in the process, hyping it up, promising beautiful eggs when we were finished and he waited patiently for the great unveiling.

But when we unwrapped the first egg we were—disappointed . . .

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