Introducing: Mentor Mom Kay Dooley

If you haven't had the chance to meet Kay Dooley, Harborside MOPS Mentor Mom, look for her at future meetings. She will be providing support to our group as well as insight and wisdom in her weekly blog devotionals called "Mentor Mom Mondays."

Here is just a quick word from Kay about herself: I was raised in Valdosta, Ga., along with my sister and brother, in a Christian home with Christian parents. I attended college at Mississippi State and the University of Georgia. My parents were very patient with me and my siblings - the greatest lesson I learned from them is prayer works. I have been a stay at home mother for the past twelve years, during which we have moved three times. We have been residents of Palm Harbor for the past two years. I have a loving husband (Glenn) and three boys. I enjoy tennis, running, cycling, and reading. I love to travel and, of course, shop. We have been attending Harborside Church since March of this year.

Your Child's Future Spouse

What is the most critical decision your children will ever make besides accepting Jesus as their savior? Picking their spouse. It is never too early to start praying for your children’s future mate. The first time I heard a Mom pray this I thought it odd. Then I realized that it will affect them the rest of their life. It is important to start early before they have had a chance to choose someone. Ask God to give your child wisdom to choose a Godly mate. Read Genesis 24 for the first account in the Bible of praying for a Godly spouse.The realization of the importance of this came to me one day as I sat daydreaming about my boys’ lives as adults. What will they be like? What will their wives be like? Then fear gripped my heart. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she is so attached to her own Mom she wants to spend all the holidays with them? What about my grandchildren? It is never too early to start praying for that special woman or man who will one day be a part of your family too. Here are 12 ways you can pray according to Pam Dowd in Pray! Magazine. These are based upon praying for daughters. Any of these items can be prayed for children of either sex.

1. Help my child's spouse to remain pure.

2. Make my child's spouse a man after God's own heart, a maturing Christian who can take a spiritual leadership role that encourages my daughter toward deeper spiritual growth (Eph. 5:25-28).

3. Develop in my child's mate a desire to seek and ask forgiveness when wrong from both God and man (1 Jn. 1:8-9).

4. Show my daughter's spouse what you want him to do with his life. Help him to seek your purpose forhis creation (1 Tim. 4:12).

5. Teach my child's spouse the basics of spiritual warfare, how to flee temptation, how to take thoughts captive, and how to stand firm against the devil's schemes (1 Pet. 5:8-9, 2 Cor. 10:3-5, Jas. 4:7-8).

6. Help my daughter's spouse to become a master of good, uplifting communication. Protect him from foul language and angry response (Col. 3:8).

7. Give my child's spouse deep, satisfying personal relationships that will prepare him for marriage without compromising his purity (1 Thess. 4:3-8).

8. Teach my daughter's spouse to be a good parent. Give his parents good parenting skills, and, if not, provide him with a godly role model. Be the Father to the fatherless if he has no father (Ps. 68:5-6).

9. Give my child's spouse a hunger for God through prayer and Bible study (Mt. 13:23).

10. Help my daughter's spouse to make a commitment to the truth, to choose honesty in every situation, even when tempted to lie to lessen punishment or consequences (Eph. 4:25).

11. Give my daughter's spouse a proper attitude toward money in giving, receiving, and working. Help him learn how to budget, save, and tithe (1 Tim. 6:6-11).

12. Make my child's spouse considerate and sensitive, a giving, loving Christian man who can placeothers needs before his own without losing his personal identity (1 Jn. 3:16-18).