Over the years our kids have struggled with bad dreams and fear during the night. This really came as a surprise to me as we were extremely careful about what influences we allowed in the home...and still are today. But, most of our kids have experienced fear in a deeper way around three or four years of age. How severe the fear and how they dealt with it was different by personality but most went through it.
I remember being up with one of my little guys after he had a scary dream about turning different colors. At the time, I didn't realize that fear is a natural stage of child development. Influences will exasperate the fear stage so it is important to monitor the influences but, it isn't those things alone that cause fear. So, as our later children have reached this stage, most have experienced similar issues but, we have been better prepared deal with it and to point them to where our peace comes from...the Lord.
One child in particular was waking at night, crying, and wanting to be in our room...on a regular basis...well...every night, actually. I want my children to feel safe and peaceful, but we all need to get good sleep as well. After a while, I really felt the Lord prompting me to use scripture to calm and reassure. So, I looked up verses about fear and where our security if found and helped that little one memorize the verses. I then, posted them next to that child's bed and bought a special flashlight so the verses could be viewed when awakened during the night. We have also used peaceful pictures that represent verses for those not reading yet, but this child was already reading at four so the verses alone worked. We would read/quote the verses together each night when tucking in bed. I was truly amazed. It was a matter of days before there were no more night time fear issues. I wish that I had taken pictures to share but it was many years ago and I had no idea that I would later blog about it...haha.
Here are some of the verses that I used.
Psalm 91:1-2
"1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 27:1
"1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 4:8
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 23
"1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
Psalm 56:3
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." (We add "God" to the end to define "you".)
The Psalms are just full of fantastic verses of David calling out to God in moments of fear and desperation, and yet trusting God. What a great example for us to follow!
A friend of ours took some of these verses and wrote a song for us. This was fantastic, as Peter and I neither one have musical giftings...haha. We could sing the verses with our sweet little one and she could watch her friend's dad singing the verses on our computer. So, this became a regular part of our bedtime routine for a season. Here is a link to that song. Our friend's site is called Holy Oatmeal. He has written some fantastic songs that we occasionally use in our family worship time. If you are looking for songs that will help your kids memorize scripture, check out holyoatmeal.com.
I am forever grateful for those quiet promptings of the Holy Spirit as I endeavor to raise a godly generation!
Sweet dreams:)
What a wonder post, I will use these scriptures for sure. You pics of your little ones sleeping are so sweet. I read about your miscarriage, I am so sorry for your pain. I am having a weekly link up for moms that have lost babies/children I would love if you joined, it stats tomorrow. By the way we had a sleepwalker that left the house a 2 am one time, the neighbor brought him home....I sleep very light now LOL.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, how scary!! We haven't had any sleep walkers so far. The weekly link up sounds great. I will check it out and see how often I am able do it:)
DeleteHiya, you run such a fantastic resource, on this one! And there is one thing that I wanted to ask you. Is this a paid blog theme which you buy or a free one?
ReplyDeleteEverything that I am doing here is free. :)
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