Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

  • Home
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Policies
  • Contact

First Friday Prayers: Words for the Graduates

May 5, 2023 by Lauren 4 Comments

Words for the graduatesHere we are in May.  Graduations for high school seniors, college students, pre-schoolers and kindergartners lurk just around the corner.  I volunteered to help plan the baccalaureate service for my daughter’s class.  If you aren’t familiar with the baccalaureate tradition, it is a religious service – often interfaith – held before commencement with a sermon featuring farewell words for the graduates.  In our case, it is student and parent led and held off campus.

 

Wanting to make sure my girl got to experience this sweet custom, I met with a group of other moms and discussed speakers, worship songs and scripture readings.  Colossians 1:9-12 was bandied about as a great passage for these kids entering a new phase of life.  And now I can’t stop praying it for my girl.

 

For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the [a]knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [b]to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and [c]increasing in the [d]knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to [e]His glorious might, [f]for the attaining of all perseverance and [g]patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us [h]to share in the inheritance of the [i]saints in light. NASB

 

I also prayed this passage repeatedly for my now grown bonus son during his teenaged years.  There is so much here.  We could pray a different piece of this passage every day of the week for our loved ones.  But for our First Friday Prayer purposes, I’ll condense my prayer to these words for the graduates:

Replace the pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.  Non-graduates included.  This passage is great to pray year-round.  And I’m praying for you in this.  Don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

Lauren

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

I enjoyed reading Beth Willis Miller’s thoughts on Psalm 23.  The passage is so familiar but her post proves how living and active God’s Word is.  Always learning something new.

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Grad, Prom and all the Feelings

May 20, 2018 by Lauren 28 Comments

She’s a senior.  My daughter Shelby IS    A   SENIOR.  As the end of the school year races to a close, I’m trying to stay in my feelings.  My temptation is to stuff them down and barrel through this season, but I know this approach will only leave me with bigger, pent-up, frustrated feelings down the road.  So better for me to be open to the emotions as they come:  joy, sadness, pain, loss, frustration and happiness.  I vacillate between them all.  And probably a few I haven’t identified yet.

 

She’s a senior.  But for us, not much will change after graduation.  I was asked by the school to fill out this form for the awards ceremony:

 

These are just 3 of several questions that didn’t offer an answer remotely relating to my girl.  No where to even mark “not applicable”.  I closed the form in frustration.  Uncompleted.  Unsubmitted.  We won’t be going to the awards ceremony.  There is nothing there for us.  After our summer break, Shelby will go right back to high school to the transition program.  And while I am so very thankful for this option for her, it would be dishonest to say that I don’t grieve a “normal” future for her.  She will never go off to college, live on her own, marry or have children.  As we watch others prepare for these milestones, and as we anticipate our younger daughter doing the same in just a few years, grief comes anew.  Instead of questionnaires for awards ceremonies, I’m filling out forms like this:

so that we can have a current and accurate IQ test for Shelby as we go to court to be appointed her legal guardians at age 18.

While all of this future talk can be a little sad and a little sobering, there are still lots of senior activities to look forward to.  Like this:

 

 

Shelby got to go to prom.  Complete with friends, a corsage and a limo!  I am so very grateful to the Best Buddies organization and an especially sweet and loving group of kids who have a heart for the differently abled.  I believe I scared a poor 17 year old when I hugged her and shed way to many tears on her formal attire to thank her for including my girl.

 

On Monday, Shelby gets to do an elementary walk.  This tradition takes the seniors back to their first school in graduation gowns to walk the halls and see all their old teachers.  She gets to participate in Baccalaureate – a religious service for the graduates (having already been presented in our own church on Senior Recognition Sunday).  On the the last day of school, Chuck and I will get to join other parents and friends lining the halls of the high school to Clap Out the seniors as they exit the building for the last time.  Then she will help round out the Best Buddies team for field day!  And finally she will get to walk across the stage with the help of her teacher and favorite paraprofessional to receive her diploma with her classmates.  So much she does get to do.  So much fun!

 

So although I am allowing myself to feel whatever comes, today I feel grateful.  Today I am choosing to celebrate the “lasts” with this sweet baby – even if there are no exciting “firsts” to follow.  Today, I am hugging my daughter close and telling her how proud I am that she is made in the image of our incredible God.  And today, I thank Him for allowing me to mother such an incredible gift.  Today I praise God because Shelby is “fearfully and wonderfully made”.  (Psalm 139:14)

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHELBY AND THE CLASS OF 2018

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
Read More

Subscribe for Updates

Enter your information below to receive the latest updates from the blog!

Recent Posts

  • An Election Year and Titus
  • Christmas is Over. Now What Do We Do With Jesus?
  • Thankful Thursday
  • Going Forward with Some Changes
  • First Friday Prayers: 2 Corinthians 12:10

Find Devotionals By Me in These Books and Click on Image for Order Information!

A 25-Week Bible Study with Topics from Abide to Zeal
A 26 week journey to a better prayer life.
30 devotionals for faith that moves mountains

For Sharing

Lauren Sparks

Like Podcasts? I’m on This One

…and This One! click to listen.

Click below to get a free trial of my favorite technology monitoring platform

Need More Than Just Monitoring? Find Filters and Accountability Here

Search This Site

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2025 Lauren Sparks | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM

Stop!  Don't Miss Out!

I have a brand new e-book.  This was Not On My Bingo Card:  Essays on Cancer and Related Surprises is available to you FREE by simply subscribing to my blog!  

Invalid email address
I promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!