Upcoming National Grandparents Day

Lillian Penner, who leads Grandparents @ Prayer would like to remind everyone to celebrate this year’s National Grandparents Day by praying for our future generations:

 Christian Grandparenting Network is asking grandparents all over the world to unite in prayer for their grandchildren on Sunday, September 8, 2013. This date is the official United States National Grandparents Day designated by a Senate proclamation signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

            Our grandchildren are living in a desperate moral and spiritual climate navigating in a world hostile to truth. Satan has launched an aggressive attack our families, schools and our nation to desensitize our children to truth and righteousness. Perhaps at no other time in our history is a call to prayer more urgently required than it is today for our grandchildren.

The mission of Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN) is to promote effective grandparenting, which is intentional about assisting our children and grandchildren to know and follow Christ wholeheartedly. CGN is issuing a call to all grandparents to join with other grandparents in their churches, community and around the world for an intentional day of prayer on behalf of the next generation.

            Will you stand in the GAP to join grandparents worldwide on Sunday September 8 to pray for the next generation that they may walk in the truth? Will you volunteer to plan an event with your friends or in your church?

To join the movement  go to https://www.facebook.com/GrandparentDayOfPrayer?ref=hl, “Like” our fan page, “Click” on the free download button to get the chapter “Communicate your Faith to your Grandchildren” from the book Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren by Lillian Penner, National Prayer Coordinator for Grandparents Day of Prayer.

For more additional information and resources go to www.gocgn.com or contact Lillian Penner lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net.

We at GTO sincerely hope you will get involved in this prayer effort and help move our children and grandchildren one step closer to the Lord.

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Praying for Grandchildren with Lillian Penner

Thank you for joining us again as we speak one more time with Lillian Penner, the National Prayer Director and founder of G@P (grandparenting prayer groups) at Christian Grandparenting Network. As we mentioned last time, Lillian has developed a great resource for grandparents–a prayer card that offers suggestions and scriptures for how to pray for grandchildren.

Before we get into the specifics of the card, let’s find out from Lillian how they came about.

Lillian Penner

Lillian, when we last talked to you, you shared with us two of your favorite scriptures that you believe really speak to God’s promises for our children and grandchildren. How did these and other such scriptures provide inspiration for creating your prayer cards?

Scriptures like these made me excited to pray, because I knew that I was praying God’s will for my grandchildren. After I got excited about praying the scriptures, I wanted to be able to share them with others. I thought a good way to do that was to develop a prayer card filled with God’s Word and promises concerning our grandchildren.

After I created the prayer cards, I’ve had many grandparents tell me they like these and other resources that I’ve provided for them. I then decided to pull these resources together into a book called Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren. Right now, I have prayer cards that help with praying for children, grandchildren, children specifically in school (preschool to college), and for grandchildren’s various life stages (from infants to married grandchildren). Additionally, my blog at http://www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com offers other resources and help for grandparents who want to be intentional about imparting the things of God to their grandkids.

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Lillian’s cards are designed so that a different suggested prayer and accompanying scripture can be prayed each day of the month. On her “Praying for Children and Grandchildren” prayer card, some prayer ideas include praying for compassion, direction, friendships, obedience to God, wisdom, salvation, peace, and self-control. Each prayer suggestion is one sentence, with a blank where the praying grandparent would insert the child’s name to make the prayer personal. A corresponding scripture follows each prayer.

The simple ideas are meant to serve as prayer starters, a launching pad of sorts for your prayers. Once you get started by saying the suggested prayers, it’s then time to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into a deeper more personal prayer for your grandchildren. He will show you the specific needs of each grandchild so you can then pray more effectively.

Lillian, I know these cards will be a blessing to any grandparent who uses them. Can you tell our readers how to access these cards?

The best way to get the cards is to download them from www.christiangrandparenting.net for free. From the website click on the prayer link, which will take you to the cards. You may also contact CGN to purchase hard copies of the cards.

Thank, you, Lillian! I hope all of you will take advantage of these prayer cards and share them with your family and friends as well. I also hope you have enjoyed our time with Lillian Penner and learning more about the awesome work she is doing across the country to help grandparents as they pray for their grandkids.

Meet Lillian Penner–Helping Grandparents Pray (Pt.2)

Welcome back, and thanks for joining us for Part 2 of our interview with Lillian Penner, the National Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network. Last time, we learned about how Lillian became involved with CGN and formed G@P (grandparents’ prayer groups), as well as her vision for the prayer groups. Today, let’s see what words of encouragement Lillian has for grandparents.

Lillian Penner

What advice or encouragement do you have for grandparents who may be growing weary of praying for a difficult family situation?

This is a tough issue that many grandparents are facing today. I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to take  those issues and lay them at the feet of Jesus. He is sitting at the right hand of God, waiting for us to bring our concerns for our children and grandchildren to Him.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have a wonderful Helper. The Holy Spirit knows the needs of our children and grandchildren, and knows God’s will for them. He will intercede for us, if we ask, according to Romans 8:26-27. Often I don’t know how to pray for my loved ones, but I ask the Holy Spirit to make intercession for me, and it helps to take the heavy load off of my heart.

What would you say is/are the biggest challenges grandparents and parents face today concerning their (grand)children?

A major challenge with grandchildren is how to relate to them once they get into the technological age. Today, if grandparents want to relate to their grandchildren in the teen years and beyond, they need to learn how to email, text, and participate in social media, if they want to stay connected with them. Grandchildren have many opportunities to be involved in extracurricular activities, so they are very busy. Grandparents need to be able to keep up with them!

A challenge with parents is that they are so busy nowadays, it’s hard to find time to connect with them and the grandchildren. Some grandparents struggle to know their boundaries and also fall into competition with the other grandparents. I have recently talked with several grandmothers who are not allowed to have any contact with their grandchildren because of conflict with the parents.  Additionally, about one-third of all grandparents are having to raise their grandchildren full-time.

It is so important that we know how to pray effectively for our children and grandchildren. There are just so many issues and struggles to deal with nowadays. Lillian, do you have any favorite scriptures that speak to God’s promises for our children and grandchildren?

My two favorites are:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”                           1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

 Thank you, Lillian, for sharing from God’s Word with us today. Knowing how to pray makes all the difference–in our lives and in the lives of our family. Next time we meet, we’re going to share with you the incredible prayer cards that Lillian has developed as a tool to help parents and grandparents more effectively pray for their children and grandchildren. We hope you will join us next Tuesday and learn how you can receive your own prayer cards for free!

Once again, in the meantime, please visit Lillian at her blogsite: www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com.

Lillian Penner is an author of Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren, blogger, speaker, and national prayer coordinator for the Christian Grandparenting Network. She has been active in church ministry for more than fifty years. Currently residents of Portland, Oregon, Lillian and her husband John have three sons and nine grandchildren.

Meet Lillian Penner–Helping Grandparents Pray, Part 1

Lillian Penner

 

Today we’re going to hear from a very special guest: Lillian Penner. Lillian is   the National Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network. I’ve asked Lillian to share a little about her role in the organization, her vision, and any suggestions she has for helping and encouraging grandparents in their prayer journey.

We won’t get to all of that today, but we’ll be back with Lillian this Thursday as well. Let’s get started since we have so much to talk about with Lillian.

First of all, how did you initially come to get involved with CGN?

I received the special gift of grandparenting as I approached my midlife season. It was exciting to become a grandparent. However, I learned that along with this gift came a sacred trust to imprint another generation with the message of God’s faithfulness. Reflecting on my new responsibility, I realized my prayers were too general and vague, and I became frustrated with how I was praying for my grandchildren.

After I asked God for wisdom and read several books about prayer and grandparenting, my praying changed dramatically. I discovered God’s Word was a great resource to help me with my praying; not only for my family, but also for myself. Praying Scripture gave me more boldness and confidence in my praying.

While surfing on the internet looking for grandparenting resources, God directed me to the Christian Grandparenting Network website. After sharing my passion with them, they invited me to become their National Prayer Coordinator, a position they did not yet have. This would include writing devotionals and prayer suggestions on their website.

I recognize that these are challenging moral and spiritual times in which we live, especially for our grandchildren. A media-driven culture has desensitized our grandchildren and pushed the boundaries of a Christlike lifestyle. Today, the role of grandparenting has become very important because the rescue of our culture may well rest on the shoulders of praying grandparents.

What an incredible call we have for the second half of our life! As the National Prayer Coordinator for CGN, I want to help encourage grandparents to better understand the mighty and powerful force that prayer can be for our grandchildren in these times.

I understand that you have started something called the Grandparents @ Prayer Project. Explain a little about what that is and what your vision is for the project moving forward.

At Christian Grandparenting Network we have developed “Grandparents@ Prayer” or G@P. This is an intercessory prayer group that brings grandparents together to pray for each others’ grandchildren and families.

In the Bible, Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews. Today, grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren. As grandparents, we can make a significant difference in the world by praying regularly and deliberately for our grandchildren and their parents. We have an opportunity to powerfully touch the lives of another generation for eternity.

At G@P…

Our purpose is to call grandparents around the world to intentionally and regularly gather to pray and intercede for their grandchildren, children, and communities.

Our goal is to encourage and provide resources that help grandparents become intentional prayer warriors on behalf of their grandchildren. This is accomplished through the personal discipline of intercessory prayer in the battle against the Enemy.

Our structure is that of small and large groups meeting for about an hour once or twice a month at a designated location for guided prayer and fellowship.

I see an urgency for grandparents to intentionally pray for their grandchildren in this morally and spiritually deprived world in which we live today. Moving forward, my vision is that we would have 100 G@P groups in the U.S. and other parts of the world by the end of 2013.

So, you want to reach 100 in about a year. How large or widespread is G@P today? 

We currently have about 22 groups meeting throughout the U.S.

Lillian, for those grandparents out there right now reading this and wanting to get involved in a G@P prayer group, how would they do so?

Grandparents can get involved by going to www.christiangrandparenting.net then clicking on the prayer link and completing the form. They will then be sent information, including the locations of current G@P groups. If there are no groups in their area, we also have guidelines for how grandparents can start their own group.

Does G@P have a presence in churches, or is it restricted to individual and small-group participation?

The G@P groups are used by churches, small groups, and also individuals. Some groups start as small as one interested grandparent asking a friend to join him or her in prayer. Usually the groups will grow by word of mouth as others hear how they can get involved.

Thanks, Lillian, for introducing us to your prayer network. On Thursday we’ll discuss meeting grandparenting challenges through prayer, scriptures to encourage grandparents, and the prayer cards Lillian has developed to help grandparents more effectively pray God’s Word.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Lillian at her blogsite: www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com.

Lillian Penner is an author of Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for Your Grandchildren, blogger, speaker, and national prayer coordinator for the Christian Grandparenting Network. She has been active in church ministry for more than fifty years. Currently residents of Portland, Oregon, Lillian and her husband John have three sons and nine grandchildren.