#I feel. actually helpless and hopeless in regards to this like. I usually have ideas about what to do about things even if I don't like it.

[ghostboyjules]

keepin it fully 100 if I'm not touched in a way that makes me feel loved soon I may very well Lose It™

[headspace-hotel]

further thoughts on modern extinctions of species

The scientists have a great difficulty laid out for them, doing public messaging about climate change/biodiversity loss that communicates the urgency and importance WITHOUT inducing a panic and helplessness that leads to apathy and shut-down (exactly what is seen in many young people in regards to climate change)

Now we all probably know here that it is really important for scientists to do "obvious" "water is wet" type studies showing something is a problem, even if the problem is obvious to anybody with eyes, because then the study can be used as hard evidence to change policies or to inform skeptics.

However sometimes these studies themselves end up becoming "Obvious" facts.

Because they are so important, they get cited a thousand times, and it becomes so seemingly reliable, that the methodology of the studies is not questioned very much.

It's not necessarily that the studies are even wrong—it's that their conclusions become Facts when the original study would only say "probably true under these specific circumstances" or "likely if measured within these parameters" or "suggested by what little evidence we can gather."

Here is one of those facts:

We know that abuse and misuse of our ecosystems can cause extinctions. But there needs to be hard evidence backing that up.

"The current extinction rate is over 1,000 times the usual background extinction rate" is an important estimate for understanding the magnitude of the damage deforestation, resource extraction, and other over-exploitation do to ecosystems.

But this estimate has become a Fact. It is treated like a black box. It is so widely cited and in particular it is so commonly used as evidence for the idea that human impacts on the Earth are irreversibly and unfixably destructive. People use it as irrefutable proof that we are in the midst of a mass extinction that we have very little chance of stopping. And that makes people feel hopeless...which makes people paralyzed and much less likely to act on behalf of their ecosystems. "We're all going to die! I can barely do anything, and it's unlikely to make a difference anyway. Why bother?" That's not good.

So...Here's an article that explains how this number is reached.

When bryozoans were my special interest I delved really deep into learning about fossils, and because of this I wondered, "How do we even know the background extinction rate, and how do we know there is a normal baseline for Earth's extinction rates?" The article explains:

I'm having a hard time finding very many articles about this, actually, if anyone has others, I would enjoy seeing them

So here's the thing...the fossil record is really, really, really, really, really low resolution. Fossilization is an extraordinarily rare event, huge periods of time are totally missing from the fossil record in any given place, and...this is just me, but since many living species can only be distinguished from each other by analyzing their genome, I doubt we could tell for sure if two fossils are the same or different species.

The way biodiversity is structured on Earth, there are usually small areas where large amounts of species diversify, often areas that are unique and isolated in some way. In other words, some areas are hotspots for species diversity. Many species on Earth have incredibly small, restricted ranges. (On top of that, these diversity hotspots are often islands or mountains...which seem unlikely to be areas where sedimentary rock deposition is happening.)

Since fossilization is such an unlikely event, and the fossil record is missing most of the time periods for each place because sedimentary rocks just weren't forming there (or they did and later got eroded), fossils probably preserve more wide-ranging, generalist species that were high in abundance. There must have been tons of weird, highly geographically restricted places like the Galápagos islands where bizarre creatures evolved and were never preserved because it was just a tiny area. (This makes me want to cry if I think about it too long.)

What's more, with vertebrate animals, species that fossilize and get easily noticed as fossils, tend to be larger-bodied, and larger animals generally tend to reproduce more slowly, which means the usual speciation and extinction rate for these larger animals might not reflect the speciation rate for, say, spiders or snails.

How is it determined that a taxon went extinct? Basically, when a taxon appears in the fossil record and seems to disappear, that's considered an extinction. However, that doesn't mean it did go extinct then. Maybe its range just became smaller, or maybe there is an unconformity. We could have a Coelacanth situation.

What I'm saying is...the fossil record is only a tiny bit of all the species that have ever existed, and probably wildly misrepresents the range of species evolving and going extinct at any time.

Now consider that the data is being filtered through something else that distorts it even more: databases and compilations of other scientists' works. So many disagreements and little errors pop up when you try to synthesize these!

All of these reasons are why I think "There is NO WAY we could estimate accurately what the average extinction rate for Earth is." Which is why it's frustrating to see the "1000x the background extinction rate" number treated like a rigid fact.

It's supposed to communicate that a lot of species have gone extinct in a relatively short period, I don't think it can be extrapolated the way it has been, to an irreversible and indescribably dire situation where the destruction of the biosphere is far beyond anything that can be fixed.

Here's the other part of this conclusion I find frustrating: How the current extinction rate is being calculated. It is based upon double and triple digits of species in each group (of vertebrate animals) having gone extinct both since 1900 and since 1500. Essentially, it uses these numbers from the vertebrate animals we know about that have gone extinct to extrapolate about the general overall extinction rates on Earth.

Articles and books that use this "1000x the usual background rate" statistic present it as some kind of ongoing process that is ruthlessly proceeding forward as we speak. But it is derived from scientists going, well, we predicted 1 or 2 extinctions for every 10,000 species per 100 years, but 100-something went extinct since 1900 that we know of, so this means the "current extinction rate" has changed to be a thousand times what it was.

I'm not great with math. But these numbers seem...coarse. Does that make any sense? The species that went extinct are each specific cases that we know about, and when you take these individual cases and multiply them by big numbers and divide those big numbers to get something like "20 species are going extinct every day!!" that seems wildly irresponsible. People are reading that and thinking, "Oh God, every single day more frogs and fishes and bees are gone forever" when there was such a large margin of error involved in each step of getting there that the final number is almost worthless.

And here's the BIG, HUGE, MASSIVE PROBLEM: The study treats the "extinction rate since 1900" as the same as "extinction rate today." The design of the study totally disregards ALL CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS because it assumes that human impact on the environment in all times since 1900 is the same as human impact on the environment today.

It is baked into the design of the study that the conclusions will assume wildlife conservation is happening to a much lesser degree than it actually is, because it uses the time when there were no protections for wild creatures or consequences for slaughtering them in mass numbers and dumping toxic deadly chemicals in waterways to draw its conclusions on what's happening "Now."

Environmental damage is still continuing, but it is not right to terrify people by treating species extinction as a steadily ongoing thing that has "risen" since 1500 because of broad forces that have stayed totally consistent, rather than something that happened for specific reasons in each case and can be prevented from happening. I have no doubt that species are still going extinct, but so many have been saved and are recovering, and it really matters that effort has been put into preserving them.

[penname-artist]

It’s kind of hard to find any good source materials that I can pluck from in regards to discussing the “yays and nays” of writing convincing PTSD, but I’m gonna take the knowledge I do have - both from my experiences and from everything I’ve picked up and learned around that - and just leave a few key points lying around like crumbs for y’all. Mostly made with writing trauma in mind:

-Though there are exceptions, for the most part, your sex and horomones may determine how you respond to stress and trauma. Higher testosterone makes it much more likely to react to trauma in a more “stereotypical” way, fighting back with aggression, deflecting, sometimes turning to addictions as means of an escape. Some of that comes from toxic masculinity, but some of it is just from having less natural emotional depth or a harder time venturing that emotional depth. (In summary: men put off therapy. A lot.)

-Meanwhile, more estrogen-based people will more often feel the emotional wringing of depression or fear, and actually become more vulnerable to getting in toxic situations. When you’re at a low point, it may be difficult to make clearer judgements, and seeking comfort for the sake of comfort might end up taking a toll like any other negative outlets. (Again with “there are exceptions” because not everybody responds in these ways, there’s definitely a uniqueness to the brain’s stress responses)

-For ye writing people, here’s some ideas on not-so-good outlets one might turn to when facing trauma: alcoholism, painkillers and substance abuse, anger outbursts (towards people or things equally), emotional outbursts, self-isolation (can be anything from leaving a virtual chat to locking ones self in a bathroom - both of which I have done, *ahem*), self-harm (note that this also includes restricting yourself from things such as food, water, communication, sleep, etc), co-dependency (ie looking for whoever will pay attention to them regardless of what that might do in the long run)

-And here’s some better ones: hobbies, games (particularly ones that require focus), physical exercise, basic self-care (look we all should be taking care of ourselves anyways but lots of us just don’t so doing that actually really fucking helps. Dude sometimes a long hot bath and Epsom salt can just make me not want to unexist), m e d i c a t i o n,  t h e r a p y, positive social groups or support groups (not specifically a therapy support group, but any group that is supportive towards healing from things like PTSD), meditation- and/or just sitting with your fucking feelings and acknowledging it’s a THING

-PTSD is oftentimes this tree that grows from a root problem (this can be something like family trauma, war, assault, abuse, emotional neglect, loss, literally any situation which made the person feel helpless, physically OR emotionally) and that tree branches into various symptoms and side effects. Some of these are bigger and broader terms, like depression (feeling hopeless about ones self and life, often becoming so emotionally overrun that you’re just numb and don’t care anymore) or anxiety (sometimes social, sometimes situational, or both, or all)

-In other ways, side effects are very specific things that comes from the same source. These can (but do NOT always) include: nightmares, flashbacks, bodily tremors, tics, headaches, bowel issues, heart palpitations, and a broad category called psychosis (a big fancy word that means you sense something that is not actually there)

-On that psychosis thing, because lo and behold I fucking have that problem, it’s usually not as “real” as it’s made out to be. Even we question ourselves for the realness of it, which if anything kinda adds to the fear because sometimes you really don’t know. Anyways you can experience psychosis in a lot of ways, from hearing things to seeing types of hallucinations, to believing in the higher meaning of things around you and having types of delusions (I struggle with those the most). It can also vary in frequency. Some people see shadowy figures all the time at night. Some people hear stuff only once every blue moon. Often, they come in episodes that only last for a short period of time (hours to days)

-Another vague category is dissociation, a feeling of “spacing out” that might be kinda frequent and kinda freaky. People can dissociate in different ways so it’s a little harder to pinpoint how to feel, but to an outsider it really just looks like your brain did an Error 404 on you. Some people feel paralyzed and cannot move. Some people feel out of their own bodies. And some feel like the world around them doesn’t really exist. Whatever the case, this is closely tied to the flashbacks thing and it can really take you outside of the present moment. It’s easy to get lost.

-Trauma does not have to be around 100% of the time. Sometimes people can heal from trauma and almost function like normal again. But it may still always exist, and while manageable, some things like triggers (I want to cover those but I don’t have the time at the moment to) will still be hard to deal with and take time and gentleness to get through. Some people can overcome PTSD in months to years. Others overcome it in decades. Some never overcome it, but it gets manageable with time and taking the efforts to process and heal.

Okay that’s all I got time for this morning :’)

[drowningbydegrees]

As it turns out, falling into bed with your very best friend who you are privately very much in love with isn't nearly so nerve wracking as waking up with them the morning after.

Read on AO3

He can’t remember the last time waking up was a remotely soothing experience. Geralt’s sleep muzzy mind has no other word for the body plastered against his front from shoulder to hip, the steady heartbeat against his palm where his hand is splayed out across someone’s chest. His nose is tucked against the nape of someone’s neck, and the scent is far too familiar to be jarring.

“Jaskier,” he rumbles quietly, his mouth miles ahead of the rest of him. The quiet, absent pleasure of waking up tangled with someone who smells sleepy and content and like they’re his leaves no room for reason. There’s no room for anything really, except to press a kiss to whatever patch of skin he can find, savoring the soft sigh it earns him.

Jaskier is… The night before rushes back to him, and Geralt almost jerks away, even though it would be entirely pointless to bother with that now. He cracks an eye open and is met with the disaster that Jaskier’s hair, mussed in the night by sleep, and by Geralt’s fingers buried in it before that. Even as worry begins to creep in, he sort of wants to do it again.

This isn’t the first time they’ve shared a bed. This probably isn’t even the hundredth time they’ve shared a bed. This is most definitely the first time they’ve done so with so little clothing between them, none to be exact. There’s only the blanket tucked around them both, warm and lovely and unexpectedly distressing.

Geralt isn’t sorry, per se. Jaskier’s chest rises and falls under Geralt’s palm in the slow rhythm of sleep. It’s the loveliest thing Geralt can remember waking up to, and therein lies the problem. An emotion fed only grows, and this unruly, sprawling affection is the worst offender. Stupidly, Geralt had thought getting this out of his system would quell it, but the longing reaches a fever pitch instead.

Jaskier is beautiful, all the more so for the way he shifts in his sleep, closing the gap Geralt has tried to put between them. Geralt could happily wake like this every day for the rest of his life, but it isn’t a fair thing to ask of someone who flits from one love to the next like a butterfly between flowers. He will not trap Jaskier in this just because he happens to be besotted. Somehow, the resolve not to try to keep this does nothing to ease the guilt welling up that he wants to in the first place.

Nothing Jaskier said the night before conveyed meaning beyond a playful desire to tumble into bed together. Moving the target now would only be cruel. He should be rolling out of bed, hastening them back to normal. He should be proving that this has done nothing to harm their friendship. It isn’t Jaskier’s fault, after all, the way Geralt wants to breathe him in and kiss him senseless and forget the rest of the world until the innkeeper boots them out.

“Geralt?” Jaskier startles the witcher from his worries, wriggling impossibly closer and laying a palm over his knuckles. “You okay?”

“Thinking,” Geralt replies vaguely.

“Well, don’t hurt yourself,” Jaskier teases, still warm and lethargic with sleep. Geralt almost manages to take advantage of the levity of the moment and extricate himself, but before he can, Jaskier rolls over so they’re nearly nose to nose. His fingers cradle Geralt’s cheek and any attempt to escape now would just be graceless. “What about?”

Geralt doesn’t know how to answer, so he only hums noncommittally and hopes Jaskier will let it lie. Of course, Jaskier being Jaskier, does no such thing. He takes advantage of the change in positions to tangle his legs up with Geralt. “I can’t tell you to knock it off if you don’t tell me what it is.”

“We should get going.” Geralt tries once more to escape, frowning when Jaskier shows no sign of releasing him. It’s silly of course. Jaskier couldn’t hope to hold him here if Geralt was set on leaving. He just can’t actually make himself do it.

“Was it that bad a night?” It’s an easy opening, an invitation to stray back to their usual banter, but Geralt gets no further than a raised eyebrow before Jaskier is clasping a hand over the witcher’s mouth. “Wait. Don’t answer that or I might have to smother you with a pillow and that’ll just be unfortunate for both of us.”

Right there, with Jaskier smiling at him, Geralt can almost believe they’re going to survive this. Almost, but almost still leaves a distance he cannot cross. As soon as Jaskier pulls his hand back from Geralt’s mouth, the witcher opens it. “They’re not going to let us sleep in forever.”

“They might if I convince them to let me play again this evening. We could move on tomorrow,” Jaskier ventures, but something in Geralt’s face must give him pause. “Oh do not look at me like that. The world isn’t going to end just because you stop to take a breath once in a while, Geralt.”

“That’s not…” Geralt starts, but he doesn’t know how to finish. There are no words that convey the razor wire sensation of facing down the impermanence of Jaskier’s affections, of realizing how deeply his own feelings run far too late.

“Shh.” Geralt knew what to do with impulse, with Jaskier’s mouth crashing into his, with Jaskier’s hands scrabbling at him to shed his clothes. He doesn’t know what to do with the tender, intentional way Jaskier regards him this morning, lips pressing to the witcher’s brow and lingering afterwards. Does it mean something, or does Jaskier grant all his lovers this subdued, aimless devotion? Lust was so much simpler than this aching sort of affection that puts down roots even as Geralt tries to burn it away.

Geralt doesn’t precisely surrender, but he resigns himself to the lazy attention Jaskier is so determined to lavish on him. If he lets Jaskier turn him away later instead of now, there will be at least this one pleasant thing to remember. So he doesn’t complain at Jaskier’s fingers combing through his hair, or the bard’s body pressed warmly to his. If every touch feels like a harbinger of their demise, it’s still hard to let go of.

He almost passes things off as okay, he thinks, until Jaskier kisses him. It’s a brief thing, immediately withdrawn. “Geralt?”

If realizing the hopeless situation he’s stumbled into was uncomfortable, the idea of talking about it is nothing short of torture.

“Well, you haven’t shoved me out of bed yet, so you’re not mad. Talk to me,” Jaskier coaxes, his expression so openly concerned and affectionate, Geralt could scream.

“It’s no-” Geralt starts, but Jaskier shut him up with a theatrically sour look.

“I swear if you say nothing,” Jaskier threatens aimlessly, an easy smile on his lips, but underneath, Geralt can hear the way his anxious heart threatens to vibrate right out of his chest.

“I don’t know what this is,” Geralt admits because that, at least, is safe. It’s nothing about how he feels in relation to anything. It’s nothing about the want that simmers under the surface despite his guilt.

Jaskier’s brows scrunch in a way that would be endearing if the entire ordeal didn’t feel so fraught already. “I don’t think I follow. I mean, I know having a conversation isn’t your usual wheelhouse, but it’s not exactly a foreign concept.”

“Not. That.” Geralt bites the words out, tight and clipped while he gathers his frayed nerves enough to explain. “You’re not in the habit of keeping people. I don’t know what you want.”

For just a second, Jaskier looks like he’s been struck and Geralt wants desperately to take the whole thing back. But the bard’s expression smooths out and then twists up in a wry smile. “Of course I don’t. What would I even do? Drag someone else along on our travels?”

There’s a point Jaskier is making. It’s right there. He knows it is, but it eludes Geralt anyway. “You could have stayed somewhere if there was someone you wanted to stick around for.”

Jaskier laughs, just a giggle at first, and then so hard that even his efforts to bury his face against Geralt’s shoulder do nothing to stifle it. “You are absolutely right. I could fall completely and utterly in love with someone and choose to stick around.”

“I don’t see how that’s funny,” Geralt says flatly, staring at the far wall of their room. The urge to curl around Jaskier and forget the whole stupid conversation in strong, and maybe he’d have been better off doing that in the first place, but he doesn’t surrender to it.

“Well, you’re one of the smartest people I know, so these moments where you decide to be an absolute idiot happen to be hilarious,” Jaskier teases. The bard must take pity, because his palm slides to cradle Geralt’s jaw, and Jaskier puts himself right at eye level where the witcher can’t look away. “Don’t you realize? I fell in love with someone, and I chose to stick around. It happened ages ago.”

Geralt has long since given up on trying to anticipate what Jaskier will say to any given prompt, but that is… somehow not even on the same continent as anything he might have expected. “What?”

“You really are determined to make this as difficult and stressful for me as possible, aren’t you?” Jaskier asks. There’s a tightness around his eyes when he looks at Geralt, leaving the witcher with the awful realization that Jaskier must be flying as blind as he is. He’s probably as unsure of Geralt’s intent as Geralt is of his. And yet… “I chose you, you ridiculous man. I always choose you.”

That… that explains a lot, actually. Geralt swallows thickly as Jaskier’s nose bumps against his. “Why didn’t you ever say?”

“Ah yes. ‘Hello my very dear emotionally… hampered witcher who will sometimes, on a very good day, admit that we are friends. Would it it complicate things overly much if I also happened to be completely, utterly in love with you?’” Jaskier huffs out a helpless, almost panicky sort of laugh. “Tell me Geralt, is there any time in the last few years where that would have gone well?”

Years? Now, confronted with the full force of it, Geralt isn’t sure how he even missed it last night, let alone for so long. Now that he knows it’s always been a bit painfully obvious. And much as he’d like to, he can’t really argue against Jaskier’s point that it probably wouldn’t have gone well to say so. “What changed?”

Jaskier sighs in that dramatic, overdone way he tends to when he’s being asked what he thinks is an exceedingly silly question. “You did.”

“Hmm.” Geralt doesn’t comment and Jaskier doesn’t press for further conversation. It’s peaceful, this thing blossoming between them, now that his most immediate concerns have been silenced.

That Jaskier laid his heart on the line and asked for nothing back isn’t lost on Geralt though. The words catch and stick on his throat, so Geralt writes them into the tender way he traces the curve of Jaskier’s spine with his fingertips. He presses them against Jaskier’s lips, jaw, throat with lazy, lingering kisses.

“So tell me-” Jaskier starts, the words interrupted by a soft sigh as Geralt’s thumb skims the divot of his hip. It’s an unmistakably promising sound all by itself, even ignoring that delightful way Jaskier presses into the touch. He finishes his thought, but it’s unmistakably breathless. “What are you thinking now?”

The recognition that this isn’t some fluke settles warmly around him. This could be always. There are so few things a witcher really keeps, but for now he’s willing to entertain the notion that this might be one of them.

“I’m thinking…” Geralt mumbles against the side of Jaskier’s neck, delighting in the way the bard’s fingers tangle in his hair and tug. “That maybe we’ll leave tomorrow.”

[starrybethany]

I’m Sure - Adam Boqvist Imagine Part 5

Word count: 4.0K

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Adam: You followed me

I stare at the three words, blinking with tired eyes. All I want to do is sleep, especially after the day I’ve had with Holden, but the baby decided kicking me was more important. So here I am at four o’clock in the morning checking my social media when I should be getting another three hours of sleep.

I rub my eyes, unsure of how to even respond to the message.

It’s just a statement. I feel flabbergasted by it- really, we haven’t talked in years- well, technically months, but the last time we saw each other we just fucked, and our child went to see him without my knowledge or consent. How the fuck am I supposed to respond to those three words?

Y/N: I think we need to talk.

I sigh, setting my phone down. Might as well get straight to the point. The sooner I tell him about the second baby and ask why he would see Holden without at least running it past me the better. I roll over, pulling the blanket tighter around me. Hopefully I can sleep at least a little bit longer. I’m going to need it to deal with the moody adolescent I’ll be seeing in the morning.

~

“I made some toast and bacon. Just let me just finish cutting up these strawberries and then breakfast will be ready,” I inform Holden as he hops down the stairs.

He picks up the filled plate waiting for him on the table, throwing the food into the trashcan and setting the plate on the counter, giving me an expectant look.

I stare blankly back at him. I know he’s waiting for a reaction. He wants me to blow up so then he feels okay yelling at me instead of starting the confrontation himself. Instead, I just say, “That’s wasteful.”

He rolls his eyes, grabbing his backpack from its usual spot by the door and making his way outside, letting it slam shut behind him. I release the breath that I’ve been holding in, popping a strawberry into my mouth.

I open my Instagram app to catch up on the posts that I’ve missed, freezing when I see that I’ve received a DM. I forgot that I sent a message to Adam last night. Well, technically this morning. After I sent the message, I passed out hard, and I thought the whole thing was a fever dream.

Adam: What about?

Adam: Here’s my number

My fingers tap the screen quietly as I add his phone number into my contacts, saving it and staring at it blankly.

Well. No time like the present.

Before I can even realize what I’m doing, before I can even think things through and decide what to say or whether this is a good idea or not, or hell, even what time it is in Chicago right now, I click on the phone icon.

I curse to myself, raising the phone to my ear. Absentmindedly, my hand raises to my mouth so I can chew on my fingernail. Nail-biting is a nervous habit that I gave up years ago, but I guess old habits die hard.

“Hello?” His groggy voice comes through the phone.

I can’t breathe.

The oxygen gets stuck in my lungs. All I can think about are his hands on my body, sliding down to grip my hips. The twinkle in his eyes as I would pull my shirt over my head.

And not to mention the last time I saw him. His hair is longer than he used to keep it, but it suits him. It looks good on him. And he bulked up since the last time I saw him, too- his abs definitely looked and felt like it, anyways.

“Hello?” He repeats, sounding more awake and borderline annoyed now.

“Adam,” I respond softly, suddenly feeling shy. Come on, where did my confidence go? I’ll need it to get through this conversation.

“Y/N,” he says, all sounds of annoyance out of his voice. “You actually called, I didn’t think that you would-“”Sorry for waking you up,” I blurt out, glancing at the clock and seeing that it’s seven in the morning here. Chicago is an hour behind Philadelphia- it’s what kept me from calling the boys on the team late at night for several years.

“Oh, no, no, don’t you ever worry about that,” he reassures me. It’s quiet. I know he’s waiting for me to speak, to let him know what I want to talk to him about, but I just can’t get the words out. I feel them stuck in my throat, clawing to escape. “So, how’s Holden?”

And there it is.

That question is what spurs me to speak, to dig into the man who hid a huge secret like that from me. But I guess I’m doing the same thing to him now.

“I don’t know, how is he, Adam?” I spit out.

He sighs. He sighs. I want to punch his perfect fucking face.

“If I had realized that you had such a problem with it-“”Such a problem with it?” I repeat, not believing my own ears. Suddenly I’m reminded of why I decided not to tell Adam about this baby and why he wasn’t ready to be in Holden’s life for thirteen years. Hell, it sounds like he’s still not ready.

“My son lied to me about his intentions of going to Chicago, traveled halfway across the country by himself, and saw someone who he’s never met before. Yes, I have a fucking problem with it,” I growl.

“Our son.”

“What?”

“He’s our son. You said my son.”

All I want to do right now is to reach through this tiny screen and hit him upside the head. Really, after I lay out all of my concerns, this is all he has to say to me?

“Whatever. When are you coming to Philadelphia next?” I question. I don’t want to air all of grievances and talk about the new baby over the phone. I’ve had enough communication classes to know that you need to see someone’s nonverbal behaviors instead just hearing what they have to say.

“Why? You want to see me?” Suggestion laces his tone.

No, asshole, you already got me pregnant again.

“Yes. We need to talk about Holden… and some other things,” my voice trails off at the end, not sure how to warn him about such big news.

“Some other things, eh? Well, I’ll be looking forward to that,” he responds, clearly thinking that it’s something regarding us and our relationship, well, our dislike or lust for one another or something, instead of picking up what I’m trying to hint at.

“Cool. So, can you take a trip to Philly sometime soon or are you going to wait until hockey season?” I inquire.

“I can take a trip there, just for you. And Holden, of course.”

I can’t help but let a small smile slip onto my face. That sentence shows me that he’d be a good dad if he just put in the effort. It infuriates me that he’s kept that from Holden for years just because he hasn’t felt like working towards a relationship with his son.

“Good. Let me know when you’re in town so we can meet up.”

“What? You’re not going to invite me to stay with you?”

“Goodbye, Adam.” I hang up before he can respond. All I can imagine the rest of the day is his reaction after that phone call. He would have that small, knowing smile on his face, pulling his phone out of his pocket every five minutes to check and see if he got a new text from me or to send the fifth one in a row to me- one that I still would not respond to.

And my heart skips a beat at the thought of that.

~

It’s been a week since the phone call and since Adam sent me a screenshot of his booked ticket to Philadelphia two weeks from then. For some reason, maybe it’s the stupid, hopeless romantic part in me, I had hoped that he would book his plane ticket and hotel room for that night or even the next day. But he told me he had some ‘lose ends’ to tie up in Chicago before leaving.

And it’s also been a week since Holden has said a word to me. I’ve tried talking to him. I’ve asked him about his day, his friends, cooked him his favorite meals all week, I even offered to take him to Target to get a new video game.

None of that has worked. And it hurts. It hurts knowing that after everything I’ve done for him and everything I’ve sacrificed for him, and how Adam has done none of that, he looks at Adam like a God and me like the scum on the bottom of his shoe.

I know it’s what I’m supposed to do as a mother, care for my son and make sure he’s happy, but it’s just- it’s just- ugh.

I start to feel my blood boil as my mom’s voice echoes in the back of my head. Life’s not fair.

It’s then that I realize that I’ve given him enough space and time to figure out his feelings and how he wants to proceed. I don’t want to give him too much space that he begins to resent me and feel like I don’t care about him.

I know that feeling all too well.

I knock on his bedroom door softly, waiting for him to open it before I just walk in. It creeks open slightly, and just as I expected, eyes matching my mom’s peek out to glare at me.

“Can I talk to you, Holden?”

He doesn’t respond, just stares at me.

“Please, you don’t even have to talk, just listen,” I beg.

Fortunately, he opens the door the rest of the way, watching as I walk into his room and sit gently on the edge of the bed. He sits down on his worn computer chair, laptop open to some video game I don’t recognize on his desk.

“I want to start by apologizing for yelling at you last week,” I begin, taking a deep breath. Apologizing isn’t something that comes easy to me- I grew up in a family where the words ‘I’m sorry’ were unheard of. My parents were always right, and I was always wrong.

“I realize it probably wasn’t easy for you to go to Chicago by yourself to meet your dad. Holden, I just want you to realize that I would do anything to protect you, and I love you with my whole heart so realizing that you were in such an emotionally taxing situation without talking to me about it first-“I pause to sniffle, starting to feel tears well up in my eyes. “I felt helpless. And I couldn’t stop wondering why you didn’t feel like you could share that with me and then I realized that it’s because I don’t share stuff with you either.”

He watches as I lift my sleeve, wiping the tears from under my eyes. His face is still blank, but his eyes look like they’ve softened. He’s understanding my words so far.

“So, yes, this baby is also Adam’s baby. And he did ask about you when I saw him back in February, but I let my pride get the best of me and I told him that he didn’t deserve to see you. I’m sorry for robbing you of meeting your father earlier,” I genuinely apologize, maintaining eye contact with my son.

He shifts in his seat, his hard exterior softening with every word. “Well, I’m sorry for calling you a shitty mother. And saying all of that other stuff. And, if it makes you feel better, I did go to the computer programming camp. I just saw Adam when we had a night off.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

He nods.

“What did he tell you? About not being involved in your life?” I ask carefully, curious as to what Adam told Holden to turn him against me like that.

“He just told me that he was working through some stuff,” he shrugs, acting like he doesn’t care but I know my son well enough to tell that he does. “And he wasn’t ready until recently to meet me.”

I bite my tongue to keep it from releasing an insult towards Adam. “And how does that make you feel?”

“Honestly?” I nod, probing him to go on. “Pretty awful. I don’t think I want a relationship with him, mom.”

A mix of emotions run through my body at his word. I feel anxious, because now I have to tell him that Adam’s coming next week and will want to see him, sadness, because my son now recognizes how his father did not want be involved in his life, and anger toward Adam for making him feel like this in the first place.

“Well,” I cough awkwardly. “He’s coming to Philadelphia next week. I’m going to meet him to tell him about the baby. If you don’t want to see him, you don’t have to. It’s all up to you, bud.”

I stand up slowly, rubbing my belly as the baby begins to kick. He always seems to do that whenever I move even just a little bit- he’s an active little guy.

“Oh,” I turn back around just as I’m about to close the door. “How did you even find out who your father is?”

“Please mom, I’m not stupid,” he grins slyly at me, sliding his headphones onto his neck. “You lived in Chicago when you got pregnant with me and worked for the Blackhawks. I figured, since you said you worked a lot, the only guys you really had a chance to be with were on the team. And when I asked you about my dad for that project for school you said he was Swedish, so I just went to the Blackhawks roster in 2020 and found the Swedish players, messaging them some really uncomfortable and intrusive messages on Instagram.”

I chuckle at that, shaking my head. It will never not blow my mind how clever and smart he is. As I close the door to his bedroom, I hear him say, “On the plus side, Alex Nylander is a really nice guy.”

~

The day is finally here. Being eighteen weeks pregnant makes it really hard to hide my baby bump, but I somehow manage to find a baggy sweatshirt that I’ve stolen from one of my ex-boyfriends to cover it up. I don’t want to walk into the restaurant we’re meeting at and have him immediately know.

Somehow my jeans still fit on my legs, but I have a feeling by the end of this lunch they’ll be unbuttoned. It’s just the way it goes sometimes.

I get to the restaurant before Adam, just like how I planned it. I wanted time to scope out my exits in case I need to bail halfway through this meal- knowing Adam, it’s a possibility. I haven’t thought through what I was going to say too much.

I know I need to talk to him about why he would keep Holden going to Chicago to see him a secret from me, and we need to talk about the baby.

But mostly I just want to hear him grovel. The secret, sadistic part of me wants to hear him beg for forgiveness for making me raise my child by myself for the past thirteen years. I want to hear him admit that he fucked up- I’ve never heard Adam Boqvist admit that he fucked up before.

He shows up two minutes late.

I know because my phone is sitting face up on the table and I click on it every five seconds to see what time it is. I tell myself that if it gets ten minutes past noon and he’s still not here, I’m going home and giving up on dealing with Adam ever again.

But then he’s standing in front of me, familiar toothy grin on his face, black beanie on his shaggy hair, and a bouquet of red roses in his hand.

“You’re late,” I state sternly, not letting any sign of emotion onto my face. I need to let him know I mean business. I need to let him know that I’m never getting into bed with him ever again.

“Yeah, sorry, there was a line at the grocery store,” his grin begins to slip, but as he holds the bouquet out towards me, it takes over his face once again. “I got you these.”

“Thanks.”

I don’t make any movement towards them. His smile falls once again and I begin to feel guilty- he did buy these flowers for me, but he also impregnated me and left me twice.

He slides into the chair across the table from me, setting the flowers on the table and coughing awkwardly. “So, have you ordered yet?”

“Just water,” I respond shortly.

“Do you want to split a bottle of wine?”

“I’m not really a day drinker,” I eye him over the top of my menu, then go back to skimming through the items. It’s a charade, though. I already know what I want.

“Are you two ready to order?” The peppy waitress appears at our side, notepad open in her hand.

“I’ll have the chicken alfredo,” I announce, folding my menu.

“I’ll take that too. And a bottle of your sweetest wine, please,” the blonde orders, passing his menu to the waitress. When she leaves, he turns back to me. “I know you like the sweet stuff.”

I take a deep breath, deciding to cut to the chase. I’d rather get through this meal as soon as possible. The sooner we get done talking about this stuff, the sooner I can get out of here.

“Adam, I’m pregnant.”

He chokes on the sip of water he’s just taken from his glass, water dripping down his chin and landing on the table in front of him. I can’t help but watch with a content smile as he coughs, trying to catch his breath.

“Excuse me?” He utters through coughs, wiping his chin with a napkin.

“I’m pregnant,” I repeat. “I’m due in November.”

“Well, uh, congratulations,” he says unsurely.

I roll my eyes, muttering, “You clearly haven’t gotten smarter since last time.”

He seems to catch on to the hidden meaning behind my comment, his eyes widening. “Oh is it- since we-“”It’s your baby,” I conclude bluntly.

A smirk begins to spread across his face. I can’t believe it. He’s smirking just after I told him that he got me pregnant accidentally for the second time.

“Why do you have that look?” I snap.

“My little swimmers work pretty well, don’t they?” He inquires confidently, sipping from his water and succeeding this time.

I lean across the table, turning it on him. “I don’t know, do they? Are there any half-siblings that I need to worry about?”

The smirk is replaced by a look of genuineness now. It startles me, the sudden change of emotions. “No, it’s you, Y/N. It’s always been you.”

I lean back in my seat, the sudden seriousness too much for me to bear. I fiddle with the napkin sitting next to my glass, avoiding eye contact with him. “Yeah, so it’s a boy.”

“Another boy,” he echoes my very thoughts the moment I found out the sex.

I grin at the thought of my second child. When he’s been kicking me at night and keeping me awake, I think about what he’s going to be like. Is he going to cry a lot or is he going to be a quiet baby like Holden was? Will I have to keep an eye on him every minute or will I be able to get some breaks?

And what about when he’s older. Will he like hockey like his dad? Would he like the Flyers because we live in Philadelphia, or would he like the Blackhawks because his dad plays for them?

“Speaking of boys, how is Holden doing? He hasn’t been responding to my texts lately.” Adam means for the question to sound casual, but I can hear the undertone of worry in his voice. Maybe he isn’t as much of a shitty father as I think he is.

“He doesn’t want to talk to you,” I confess.

He doesn’t bother to hide the hurt on his face. I don’t expect him to. I know how it feels to feel unwanted and unloved by your child- I felt it when Holden told me that I’m a shitty mother. And although Adam deserves the consequences to his actions, I can’t help but feel a small amount of pity for him.

“I deserve that,” he sighs.

“You do,” I agree, knowing that I’m shoving the knife deeper into his heart. “But just give him time to decide what he wants to do. It’s all so fresh to him.”

He gives me a small, vulnerable smile.

“Why didn’t you tell me that he was going to see you while he was in Chicago, Adam?” I ask him the question I’ve been dying to ask ever since I found out about the situation.

He shrugs, not saying a word.

“Yes, you do know,” I persist. “So just fucking tell me. Enough of the bullshit, we’re in our thirties now. It’s time to focus on the children, not your fucking pride.”

He looks baffled by my sudden outburst, but it inspires him to answer. “I was afraid that if you found out, you would stop him. Then I’d never get to meet my son.”

“I would have stopped him,” I agreed, causing him to open his mouth to begin arguing with me. I start to speak again before he can begin. “And reschedule the trip to a time that works better with my work schedule so that I could go with him. Yes, you’re his father, but you’ve never been in his life. You’re essentially a stranger to him.”

He narrows his eyes at me like my words are a challenge. “Not anymore.”

I narrow my eyes at him now. “Really? What’s his middle name? When is his birthday? What’s his favorite color?”

He doesn’t respond and I scoff, taking a sip of my water again. “That’s what I thought.”

We’re quiet as the waitress returns with our meals. I cut my noodles, taking a bite of my food.

“I don’t want it to be that way with this baby,” he says, quickly adding, “And Holden anymore. I want to be there for this baby from the start. Or from now, I guess. And I want to be there for Holden, if he ever wants me.”

Mixed feelings begin to flush through my body. This is what I wanted for my kids from the beginning, an active father figure. And Adam’s offering it now, but why am I still feeling so hesitant?

After years of expecting him to step up as a parent and him never doing it, I have reasonable doubts when it comes to Adam’s parenting ability.

“Well, you know it’s up to Holden. You can’t force him to like you,” I begin slowly, trying to phrase my words in the best way possible. “But with this second baby… we can try it. I have a doctor’s appointment in two days. I’ll text you the address and time.”

“But my flight leaves tomorrow,” he whines. “Can’t you just reschedule for today?”

“You have so much to learn, Adam,” I shake my head. “I just hope you realize that being a parent means that you’re selfless more than selfish. Tell you what, go back to Chicago if you want to. But if you go back to Chicago, the only time you’ll communicate with the boys is when they want to talk to you.”

[theselfcaresocialworker]

Note 2: What is the mythical unicorn called “self-care”?

Hello again lovely!

Let’s expand more on what “self-care” is. For me, it is both simple and complex with two basic layers to it. One obvious layer is internal/personal, it focuses on how we treat ourselves and the other layer is how we allow other to treat us, what we allow into our lives, how we allow the world to treat us.

I think that it, at its core, that “self-care” is the fundamental notion, the expectation that you are worthy of and deserve being cared for and that you must do it for yourself first. This is wide and general and applies to all areas of our lives but on the internal/personal level, this means that you must be your own caregiver. This means parenting yourself and saying, “Sara. We have food at home.” “Sara. You need to eat those vegetables (not in a shaming way but because I genuinely do feel better when I eat mostly vegetarian).” “Sara. You have been stressed and your body hurts. Take 15 minutes and do yoga.”

Good self-care is holding yourself accountable to your own care first.

On another level, self-care is also about caring about ourselves in such a way that you structure your life as a whole according to, “our own best interest to fulfill some sort of present and future need, independent of what other people think is best for us, and relies on our own inner wisdom and inner knowledge,” (from a previous post, Note 1). This level of self-care is about deciding what relationship, situations, and environments we put ourselves in. If we are in a toxic relationship, environment or situation, there is no amount of internal/personal self-care that will change the toxicity we are exposed to and acting on that fact is paramount. It is an act of self-care to make decisions about our lives, to advocate for a life we don’t need a vacation from.

In addition to these two levels there are two other areas to consider, short and long term. I feel like there is a lot of consideration on short term solutions that help us take care of ourselves. Some examples include bath bomb, treating ourselves, vacations, retail therapy, venting, substance use. I think as a society we are focusing more on self-care which is awesome, but it is often more about short term band-aids. I am not saying that these things are unimportant, they can be so helpful and a great tool. I am also saying that focusing on what we need in the long term and structuring our lives according to basic principles is also vastly important. Long term self-care ideas may include saving money to make a big purchase that will provide more opportunities later, ending a relationship because you want different paths, making a career change because you don’t see yourself in that field anymore, switching to a plant based diet.

               Now you will ask, “Ok Sara, now what?” Good question. Now that we have more of an idea of what self-care means generally, we can start talking more about what to do. In my opinion, in order to “do self-care” one must be able to hear and listen to themselves, and then act on what you hear in a way that is in your own best interest on both internal and external levels keeping in mind your short and long term needs.

               It took me a while to figure this out and it was only when I was forced to look at my life and think about what I wanted that I started thinking about my short and long term needs and how they fit )and didn’t fit) together. I would suggest taking some time and thinking about what YOU really want in your future. Get as specific as you can about that, create a loose timeline. Work backwards until where you are now and figure out concrete steps. This will give you some general goals and help to begin figuring out more guidelines to begin following for your life now.

               The biggest and first hurdle (for me at least) is being able to listen to ourselves in an objective way. Really hearing what our bodies, our minds, our hearts are saying is difficult and can take some time to learn. This is a fundamental skill that helps in all realms of self-care.

Example 1:

The other day, (let’s be honest this happens most days) I got done with work and moved 6 feet to the couch and laid down. I felt pressure in my chest, it was tight and heavy, the knots in my back were stabbing, my neck was tight, I felt antsy, cranky, like crying (hurdle one cleared,  I heard what my body was saying). My first thought was, “I need a drink, or a cigarette, maybe a little weed.” But then I realized I would be self-medicating (this was profound for me to have noticed this in the moment) and I was using those things as a way to ease physical and emotional symptoms instead of practicing moving through them on my own (the healthy long term solution to the challenge). So, I laid on my back on the couch, with the swamp cooler blowing on me, closed my eyes and put my hands on my belly. I took deep breaths and focused on my body with as little judgment as I could muster. How did it feel, where did it feel, what emotions were tied to the physical sensations? I kept going in and out of this internal focus, but when I noticed I had left I brought my attention back to my breath, back to my body, back to the physical sensation and the emotion and breathed into it, letting it move, ebb and flow. Slowly through 10 minutes the tensions and pains lessened significantly. I wasn’t as cranky or short or irritated, my body hurt less.

               This is an example of being mindful and present in a moment of discomfort, and for me this was a big shift. I knew I had a number choices in the moment, but I stopped and thought about what path I want to be on. Choosing the path that I did, was in the moment, the best “good self-care” option for myself at the time.  

               Example 2 Regarding day to day decisions that follow general long-term guidelines:

               Something I know I want in the future is a family and a house. This is a long way off but I know I want it in the next 5 years. I know I am not close to that and one thing I will need for that to happen is to have some money saved up. Something I do now, day to day, to help myself work towards that goal is being mindful of my spending. Previously, I would spend my money eating out, buying useless items etc to make me feel better in the short term (yes I still do this…). In a moment when I am looking at things lets say online, I have to pause and think about if it is something I really need or actually want. Practicing this self-control is immensely difficult especially during times when I am upset, hopeless or helpless. It helps to have reminders for myself of what it is I am working towards and what I want. I ask myself the question, “Would this money be better spent on my future?” Usually it is. Sometimes I actually need or really want something, and it would contribute to my quality of life now so much that it would benefit me and my over-all self-care. It depends.  

…

               I have also learned recently that sometimes your self-care needs will change day to day, but in general it is important to follow a guiding outline of what you know you need (see above). Even when you have a pretty good idea of what you generally need, this doesn't mean you will always follow that day to day; sometimes one thing out weighs something else and sometimes you don’t have the motivation to do the thing you know you should do. It is ok for your choices to change day to day.

               Example:

“The other day”, I was driving home after meeting with a friend at a park (2 self-care activities, seeing a person and being outside!). I had to figure out what I was going to eat for dinner. I have been on a vegetarian “diet” kick so I knew that eating something on the healthy side was good for my overall self-care guidelines. On the other hand, I was tired, and didn’t want to cook anything, plus I knew I didn’t have a lot of good choices at home, and my soul wanted something “not healthy”. I had to weigh all of this and make a good choice based on all of these things at one time. My self-caring choice was to get McDonalds. I made this decision since I had gone for a walk, already eaten well that day, was tired and my soul needed something not healthy. I honored what I needed in that moment, while also keeping all the information in mind. An example of something that would have been harmful for me would have been to not listen to myself and my needs in the moment and maintain a rigid sense of duty to self-care and go home and force myself to eat something I didn’t want to eat just for the sake of being “healthy”.

Making “good choices” day to day is difficult and it is where the bulk of caring for ourselves takes place. It is in the small decisions, how we respond to ourselves, our Yes’s and our No’s. This is why caring for ourselves can be so fucking difficult, it’s an all day everyday gig and it is exhausting. It is also super worth it (I hear).

Exploration activity:

1.       Look back at the last week or two. During that time, when were times you were at your best? What was happening that day, who were you around, what were you doing, where was your attention? Take note of those things and try an experiment, do those things again on purpose and see how you feel. Keep track of the things that sooth you, energize you, bring joy, bring comfort.

2.       What are signs that your body or mind shows you that let you know you need something? What is the sign telling you?

[softdreems-archive]

[ A - Z, regarding Austin with Simon B) ]

@slxthargicx

A - Alone time (how do they get off when they’re all by themselves? do they watch porn, is it all in their imagination, do they jerk off, do they use toys?) 

Austin is very much a toys kind of person cx May or may not think about it being Simon in the process. He’s not a fan of porn or anything of that nature, it feels sort of like cheating and the thought of someone he likes getting off on seeing someone else makes him sad.

B - Bondage (do they like it? do they not? do they prefer to be the one being tied or the one doing the tying?) 

Honestly he’s never tired it, but the idea is more than a little appealing if he’s with Simon. He’d be more into being the one tied up, being left at Simon’s mercy is... way to good of a thought.

C - Crying (is it a turn on? a turn off? do they cry during sex? have they cried during sex? what was the reason?) 

Austin doesn’t like crying at all, so if he started crying during sex it would be more embarrassing to him than anything else. So his own tears are more of a turn off to himself than anything else, not that he’d do much more than cover his face and whine about the fact he’s crying. Simon’s? He’d be more concerned about the tears than about whatever they were doing.

D - Dominance (do they prefer to dominate, or be dominated? do they have experience as a Dom? Do they have a Dom that they trust already? What kind of things do they enjoy as/with their Dominant partner?) 

Austin is a hard core submissive no matter who his partner is, but it’s even more dramatic with Simon. He loves to feel like Simon’s in charge, like he can do anything Simon tells him to and he’d be perfect.

E - Extra info (any other fetishes? feet? leather? role playing? blood? fantasies that they might want to experience not on this list?)

He... likes collars, and being called a pretty little thing. He likes his partner to be able to say and do anything they want to him, to an extent at lest. Calling Simon daddy, owner, things like that hugely turn Austin on, even if he’s often to shy to say them. Being coaxed so teasingly gently into doing something - playing with a toy, or anything really - by his partner is... love and life tbh. He also likes being a little but that’s a mostly non sexual thing.

F - Food play (do they like using food in the bedroom? are there any foods they prefer to use during sex or foreplay? any they’d like to try?)

Not really his thing it’s kinda dirty :c Austin isn’t a clean freak but he has a hard enough time with seeing himself and his body as dirty that actually making it dirty is to much to handle.

G - Group sex (would they have a threeway? four? an orgy? do they put on a show for spectators? or do they like to keep it just between them and their partner?) 

N e v e r. Not with Simon, not with anyone. He struggles so much even just showing his neck and arms to people, having multiple people see him naked and practically helpless? Nope. Never.

H - Humiliation (does degradation and insults get them hot? do they get off on humiliating someone else? what kind of humiliation is good for them?) 

Austin: is insecure about body. Also Austin: kind of okay with this idea? Especially after he’s known Simon so long enough, and if he starts to realize what Simon’s actual thoughts are. He may just get off in the idea of being call a dirty little slut <.<

I - Impact play (here’s where talking about things like spanking, paddles, canes, floggers and the like.) 

Please Simon. Smack his ass until he can’t walk the next day. Sincerely, Austin.

J - Jelly (what kind of lube are they using? is it flavored? have they tasted it? do they prefer to use something other than real lube during sex?) 

Austin usually grabs the first one he sees on the shelf and uses that because... he’s to embarrassed to actually ‘browse’ at a store or something and find what he likes most. Tends to favor flavored one when he actually does have a choice though.

K - Kissing (what parts of their body do they like having kissed? what parts of their partner do they enjoy kissing? do they like leaving marks / having marks left on them?) 

Kiss any part of Austin and he’s hopeless, but especially if Simon starts kissing his neck the oh goodness he’s gone. He’d be a giggly mess but enjoy it way to much. His chest as well. Austin doesn’t let a lot of people see him even shirtless, so having Simon leaving marks on his chest would be heaven. Just... leave all the marks everywhere. Claim him as your own Simon.

L - Lighting (are the lights on? off? do they have some kind of mood lighting set up?) 

Off. He hates the sight of himself, someone being able to see him so clearly with the lights on is a terrifying thought - but if they got into it before really thinking about it then he’d be to far gone to complain one way or another. Lighting over all isn’t that important.

M - Masochism (do they like pain? scratching? biting? being bossed around? spoken down to? choked?) 

... Simon said he’s not into this but h o n e s t l y if Simon wanted to choke Austin, bite him, leave him all marked up and call him a pretty little slut he... would actually be down for it. Not all the time, but an occasionally extremely rough time? Yes please.

N - Not yet (orgasm delay? orgasm denial? do they tell their partner not to touch themselves for a certain amount of time or under certain circumstances? do they delay or deny other things like bathroom usage or food? do they need to beg first? do they like being denied / delayed?) 

Austin would never be the one to deny his partner a release, but being told not to, being forced not to even for himself? He’s more for this then he should be. Maybe it has to do with the idea of liking being able to give over full control to his partner. Leave him begging for release, long as he finally gets it in the end. No bathroom or food aspect to this though, there’s no fun in that for him.

O - Outdoor sex (have they ever done it in public? would they? where?)

Austin would have no idea how to even handle being kissed in public. He’d panic and squeak and generally be so worried about being caught? Just with a simple kiss. If Simon really wanted to then maybe he’d be okay with trying, but he’d have to get pretty creative with how to keep Austin quiet.

P - Photography (are cameras allowed in the bedroom? do they send nudes? do they ask for nudes? would they ever record themselves having sex / being caught up in a sexual act?) 

Nope nope nope nope nope. He’d need a lot of prodding and gentle pushes to ever be okay with even taking a picture normally, it would take a lot to get him to ever be okay with taking pictures of himself naked or in any state of undress. He’s... not opposed to getting a picture or two sent to him however. When he’s super comfortable with someone maybe he would be more willing to like... video call Simon and play with himself while Simon’s away, but actual recordings or photos is a big nope of panic.

Q - Quiet please (what’s the volume like in the bedroom? are they quiet? do they scream? do they like a loud partner? do they prefer if their partner is more soft spoken?)

It’s impossible for Austin to be quiet honestly, he’s so overly sensitive that every little touch and kiss would have him spouting some kind of sound. Austin really wants and hopes Simon would just let himself feel and let out all the noises he wants as well, it’s really cute though to see the usual loud mouth Simon get all quiet during something like that.

R - Routine (do they have a routine when it comes to picking up one night stands? do they have scheduled sex with their partner? are things spontaneous or planned ahead of time?) 

Austin has... never had a one night stand. Simon is his first partner in any way, so he’s a little virgin baby. He’d be way to embarrasssed to ‘plan’ time to have sex anyways; he’d probably just panic if they attempted to do that. Spontaneous is the only way he knows how to do it.

S - Sleepy sex (do they give oral to wake their partner up? do they like receiving oral to wake up? do they like fucking their partner awake? being fucked awake? how about being fucked to sleep at night? do they have lazy morning sex?) 

Austin would be so embarrassed about it but if he woke up next to Simon and found him clearly dealing with morning wood, or clearly seeming like he’s going to, he definitely would either suck him awake or fuck himself on him - all the while his face is covered and he’s blushing like a stupid. Simon fucking awake Austin would be the best sort of disaster, hyper sensitive (even more than usual) in his sleepy state. He’s not opposed to the idea, or the idea of having cute sleepy morning sex or falling asleep together still all tangled up.

U - Underwear (what kind of underwear do they put on in the morning, if any at all… do they own any sexy underwear or lingerie?) 

Austin is a briefs kind of guy, normally cute little ones with adorably embarrassing patterns on them. He also has a few cute little lacy underwear to match the dresses he has ( he swears it’s cus you can see his briefs through the dresses normally ) that he wears maybe a little to often when he wants to feel cute.

V - Voyeurism (do they like to watch, or are they more hands on? are they more of an exhibitionist?) 

Watch and hands on, with Simon he’s okay with either, but he doesn’t like to show off himself much - at lest not on purpose. It’s more of a... he likes the hands being on him whether he’s allowed to touch or not.

W - Water (pool sex? bath / shower sex? are they into watersports at all?)

Assuming it’s private and no one else can see them pool or bath sex might be fun, Austin doesn’t know if he’d be able to stand long enough for shower sex because his legs usually get all jelly when he’s overwhelmed.

X - X-dressing (do they crossdress as a part of teasing / foreplay? does crossdressing turn them on? turn their partner on? do they prefer to do it or watch their partner crossdress instead? do they use other costumes? cat ears, tails, etc?) 

He likes wearing his pretty little dresses and if things end up getting sexy while he’s wearing one then u_u he is okay with this. Austin doesn’t dress up specifically for it though (minus the cute little lacy underwear ) but he’s probably more confident when he happens to be wearing a pretty little outfit when things start.

Y - Yes, Master (what kinds of names are used during sex? do they like being called master / mistress, daddy, etc…? what names do they call their partner?) 

Call him kitten and baby and he’ll call you his daddy mon-mon uwu

Z - Zones (what are their erogenous zones? what spots on their body should be touched, bitten, kissed, when someone wants to get them in the mood?) 

Anywhere let’s be real. Austin is a big ol bundle of nerves kisses anywhere melt him. The back of his neck and his shoulders though are extra sensitive to kisses and bites. Do with that information what you’d like Simon.

[pokemonruby]

For the tag ask... Matthew. He is.... good. I love him. Give me the sweet sweet info. Pwease

of course! i love matthew so much, i could literally cry just thinking about him.

Full Name: Matthew Caelestis -- AKA “Prince Matthew”. Gender/Sexuality: Trans Male/BisexualPronouns: He/HimEthnicity/Species: Mixed (Black/White) + Nephilim (a demigod, essentially). Birthplace/Birthdate: He was born in the Capital City of the Kingdom of Elysia, which I’ve yet to come up with an actual name for since I’m... terrible at naming towns/cities, rip. His birthday is July 22nd (which he shares with his boyfriend, actually!) Guilty Pleasures: Matthew has quite the sweet tooth, believe it or not. Leo is the only person who’s aware of this, which means he is responsible for providing his boyfriend with delicious treats from the local bakeshop. Even if Matthew is embarrassed about this... childish affinity of his, he’ll happily accept anything that Leo presents him. Phobias: Well, I wouldn’t say that Matthew has a specific phobia. He’s just an exceptionally paranoid individual as a result of the premonitions received throughout the entirety of his life. After all, foreseeing the destruction of the world can leave a man terribly fearful of existence in general. I.E. Matthew’s bad habit of jumping at the slightest of sounds, or even his own shadow at times. Poor guy. What They Would Be Famous For: Well, you’d assume that Matthew’s prestige as a member of the royal family implied that he is famous to an extent. In actuality, it’s only the Emperor himself who’s made public appearances -- while his successors are only renowned by title... meaning that a disguise was unnecessary after Matthew’s betrayal of the empire. Considering that Matthew’s objective is supposed to be secretive, he’d be against the idea of making himself known to the populace... even if he is their prince. From Leo’s perspective, at least, he’s owned the legendary honor of being the “world’s best boyfriend”. What They Would Get Arrested For: Let’s not forget the fact that Matthew is a traitor to his people, though not in a bad sense. He simply wants to kick his dad’s ass because he’s a tyrant with little regard of the welfare of his kingdom ... and not to mention that he imprisoned Matthew, his SON, in the depths of hell. If it means he’ll be able to fulfill his sweet vengeance, Matthew doesn’t care at all about the repercussions for assassinating their king. OC You Ship Them With: Leo, of course! I mean, I’m not exaggerating when I say that they’re basically soulmates. Matthew has possessed feelings for him ever since they were children -- viewing Leo as his “hero”, his sole reason for fighting against this cruel world. His light. For the sake of that beautiful smile that he’s fallen in love with time, and time again -- Matthew would willingly challenge even the gods themselves. I could write an entire essay detailing their relationship but to spare you the cheesiness, I’ll just say that Leo and Matthew’s bond is stronger than fate itself.  OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Listen, Matthew hauled himself out of the deepest pit of Hell -- I don’t think he’d go down so easily. Nor do I think any person would ever have the guts to challenge him. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Surprisingly, Matthew is quite fond of the romance genre -- and has ever since he was a child. I mean, he used to imagine himself as the “damsel in distress” and Leo as the “dashing hero”. Riding off into the sunset together on a horse of snow white.... To be fair, he was fourteen at the time so can you blame him for his strange fantasies? Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Toxic couples. That’s all I’m saying. Talents and/or Powers: Matthew is outclassed by his siblings when it comes to swordsmanship and basic combat; however, that isn’t to say that he’s helpless. His covenant with the Devil has enabled Matthew to wield unfathomable power (I.E. superhuman reflexes and strength) though at the cost of his weakening body each time he’s forced to rely on the Devil’s assistance. He is usually equipped with a rapier at his side, bequeathed on to him by his older brother, Luciano. He is also blessed (or rather, cursed) with prophetic abilities due to his divine ancestry. Why Someone Might Love Them: Matthew is the definition of a “tragic hero”, fighting a seemingly unwinnable battle for the sake of the world -- of the people he holds dear. Though, in exchange for his very soul that was devoured by the Devil to acquire power in this hopeless rebellion of his; Matthew is truly unconcerned with his own survival, thinking of himself as a mere stepping stone for a worthier hero (Leo, in this case) to triumph. Matthew... is a child that was forced to witness the harsh reality of the world from a young age. He went through “Hell” in the literal sense of the term, yet refused to yield against this cruel fate planned out by the gods. While he definitely has a plethora of flaws, it’s undeniable that Matthew is selfless -- perhaps too selfless for his own good.Why Someone Might Hate Them: Well, Matthew has a vigilante mindset in the sense that he'd effortlessly kill anyone if they failed to meet his quota of “justice”. In fact, you could say that he’s rather cold toward any person that do not consist of his sparse number of loved ones. It’s possible that Matthew’s resolve to save the world is only significant to him for their sake, rather than mere strangers. It’s not that Matthew is a coldhearted person, he’s just... more preoccupied with ascertaining a better future for those within his circle. Still, this could easily be viewed as “selfishness” -- or maybe, Matthew just doesn’t know how to care about others in the same significance that Leo does. How They Change: It’s because of Leo that he’s eventually able to overcome his self-doubt -- as he’s always viewed himself as a “stepping stone”, like I mentioned before. That his death was inconsequential in the long-run, but Matthew gradually accepts the love that not only Leo -- but many others bear for him. Despite his curse; despite his stature as nothing more than a monster wearing human skin. That he is worthy of the beautiful gift of life, and must fight for his own sake as well. Why You Love Them: Matthew has always been my favorite character to write for this story, ever since its original conception back in freshman year. He’s just... such a deep, complex character -- one who I’ve admittedly worked on the most as he is extremely important to the overall narrative, being the secondary protagonist and all. And in general I just adore Matthew to pieces; he’s my actual son and I feel bad for hurting him all the time when he deserves nothing but happiness and a thousand kisses from Leo. 

[dragonologist-phd]

Breathe So Deep

For the @pillarspromptsweekly topic “Versatility”- or, what happened when my Ranger decided to learn how to punch people. Also posted on AO3.

Rudi was pretty sure she was dying.

“You’re not dying,” Eder said, exasperated. “You just spent an hour getting the stuffing beat out of you because you’re wearing the wrong armor. I warned you this would happen.”

Moving was excruciating, but Rudi garnered all of her remaining energy to raise a middle finger in Eder’s direction. He just laughed.

“Dick.”

To Eder’s credit, he took the insult in stride. “How about we call it good for today? We can try again another time. Maybe when you’re wearing some real armor.”

Rudi groaned, pulling herself off of the floor. She was exaggerating a little- this certainly wasn’t the worst she had ever felt. But it was a helluva lot worse than she was expecting this training to be.

“You know I can’t move around in that clunky stuff.”

Eder shrugged. “Well, you either gotta wear the armor or take the hits.”

“Isn’t whole point of fighting not getting hit?”

“No, that’s why they invented shields. Which you also refuse to use.” Eder’s amusement was evident in his voice. “I don’t really know what you were expecting to happen here.”

“Oh, go bench-press a boulder or something.” In her tired state, Rudi’s insults lacked her usual bite. She did, however, earn a chuckle from Eder.

“You don’t have to put yourself through this, you know. Why are you aching to brawl all of a sudden?”

Rudi shrugged and looked away. “You know me. I’m an asshole who wants to hit things.”

“Sure.” Eder didn’t sound totally convinced, but he let it slide. “Same time next week?”

Rudi’s muscles screamed in protest at the mere thought of more of this torture, but she was far too stubborn to turn him down. “You bet. Once I get the hang of this, I’ll wipe that smug look off your face.”

Truthfully, the whole stupid idea had started when Sol got his foot stuck in a clamp trap during a fight in the Russetwood. Rudi was more than confident in her ability to defend herself- and she had a reputation throughout the Dyrwood to back that up- but she hadn’t quite realized just how much that ability depended on a lion standing between her and her enemies. As deadly as Rudi’s bow and arrows were, they weren’t much use against a foe standing only a foot away and swinging a sword.

Rudi had hit the ground, bleeding and uselessly trying to string her bow before another strike could fall. Sol had still tried to protect her, of course. He’d ripped himself free of the trap and thrown himself back in the fight as soon as he saw his master fall, despite his injured paw. If Pallegina hadn’t been watching their backs… well, it had been far too close a call for Rudi’s liking.

As soon as they returned to Caed Nua, Rudi had enlisted Eder’s help in training.

As time passed and no noticeable improvement was made, Rudi’s patience began to thin.

Eder was a good teacher, but his method relied on armor and heavy weapons and a shield fashioned from a reinforced door, for crying out loud. Rudi couldn’t lug around a shield in addition to her bow and quiver of arrows. She couldn’t scout or stealth in stiff, heavy armor.

But she also couldn’t sit with the knowledge that she was helpless without her bow, so she kept returning to the training grounds to get her ass kicked.

Rudi ducked as Eder’s wooden training sword whistled over head, barely missing her. She took advantage of the situation to charge him, but he thrust his shield forward to block her. Unable to halt herself, Rudi smacked into the large shield. Her own training sword crashed to the ground, leaving her hand ringing from the impact.

Shit!

She lost her footing for a moment, and before she knew it Eder’s wooden sword had swing back around and caught her in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Again.

Rudi groaned as she sat up, wincing at new bruise in her side. Eder leaned over, holding out a hand. “You alright? Maybe we should finish up for today…”

Rudi swatted the offered hand away in irritation. She grabbed her sword and heaved herself up, getting back into sparring position. “One more time. I need to get this right!”

Eder sighed and shook his head. “We keep trying this, but I just don’t think it’s gonna work.”

“Why not? I’m following your instructions.”

“No, you’re not. You won’t use the right equipment, and it’s messing you up. You get distracted, then angry, and then you fall apart.”

Rudi bit down on her lip to keep from yelling something she would later regret. She knew she shouldn’t lose her temper over this- especially on Eder, who was remarkably patient.

But she needed to learn this, and she couldn’t, and that was seriously pissing her off.

Taking in her frustrated expression, Eder sighed. “I wish I could tell you something different but…the truth is, I don’t really see you becoming a fighter anytime soon. Sorry.”

After that disaster of a training session, Rudi found herself making her way to the stone amphitheater. Sol liked to nap in the sun there- she would sit with him for a while, and hopefully that would calm her down.

She did find Sol there, but to her surprise he wasn’t alone- Zahua was sitting beside him, staring unblinking into the sun as he slowly stroked Sol’s mane. He didn’t acknowledge Rudi until Sol jumped up and padded over to her. That must have broken his concentration- he blinked slowly and turned to smile at her.

“Ah, the young Watcher. How goes your training?”

“It doesn’t,” Rudi replied flatly. She scratched Sol’s ears, earning a low, approving rumble from the lion.

“You’re quitting?”

“No,” Rudi snapped automatically. She hesitated, gnawing on her lip. “Well, yeah. Maybe. I’m not getting any better. I think I’m actually getting worse.”

Zahua regarded her for a moment. “Perhaps you should join me tomorrow in my meditations. I would be willing to share my knowledge and skills.”

Surprise kept Rudi from answering for a few moments. Zahua’s style was…intense, to say the least. If she couldn’t handle Eder’s training, she didn’t even want to think about Zahua’s.

But right now, it seemed her only other option was quitting, and Rudi hated quitting.

“First tell me- is this ‘meditation’ one of those freaky torture things you enjoy so much?”

The nice thing about Zahua was that Rudi never had to worry about offending him. His smile only widened. “My particular practices, valuable as they are, are perhaps not suited for one not of the clan. Tomorrow will be a simple meditation, to clear the mind as dawn clears the night.”

“And is that just code for ‘doing whiteleaf while everyone else is asleep’?”

Zahua considered that for a while. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and at last he said, “Not necessarily.”

Not exactly promising, but at this point, Rudi was willing to try anything.

Despite what Zahua had told her, Rudi was still surprised to find that his meditation was actual meditation.

She met him as instructed in the Caed Nua gardens just before dawn, sleepy-eyed but determined. Zahua was already sitting contentedly when she arrived. His legs were crossed and his eyes were closed, and Rudi honestly wasn’t sure if he was meditating or sleeping.

“Sit with me,” he said as she approached, not opening his eyes. Huh. He actually was meditating.

Rudi obliged, copying his stance and closing her eyes. She didn’t feel nearly as confident as Zahua looked. “Um… what do I…?”

“Your goal is to detach yourself from this world. Clear your mind and forget your body. The rest will follow with time.”

“Just this once, could you actually explain what you mean?” Rudi pleaded. “It’s a little too early for me to follow this cryptic stuff.”

“Either you will understand or you will not. More talking will make no difference. Our breath is better served breathing.”

Rudi huffed but closed her eyes and did her best to clear her mind. It was difficult- trying to deliberately not notice things went against her nature. The nearby sounds of nature, the feel of the wind, the urge to open her eyes and check her surroundings- rather than fade with meditation, it all seemed to amplify.

Focus, she snapped at herself, but it was hopeless. She couldn’t clear her mind, and frankly, she didn’t see the point of it. This wasn’t going to help her defend herself any better. And next time she was caught unprepared in close combat, someone was going to get hurt. Probably her, but possibly one of her friends, or- Gods forbid- Sol. All because she couldn’t-

“You are not following instructions.”

“Dammit,” Rudi muttered. She opened her eyes and leaned back on the grass, glaring at the sky. She felt like she’d been sitting here for hours, but the sun still wasn’t up. She could feel Zahua watching her. “I really am trying. But I don’t know how to clear my mind.”

“Of course you know how,” Zahua said. “Everyone knows how. You only need to discover where that knowledge lies within you.”

“Zahua, I don’t know what the fuck that means.”

“Do you not harness your focus as you fight?”

“Sure, but my mind’s not clear when I’m firing arrows,” Rudi said with a frown. “I notice everything. That’s what long-range attackers are supposed to do.”

“Exactly,” Zahua said unfazed. “When you fight with your arrows, do you put all of your focus onto one single target? Or do you take in every target, every threat, every change in your environment? This is the difference between a distracted mind and a clear one.”

“Shouldn’t that be opposite?”

Zahua shook his head. “When I clear my mind, I am not devoid of thought. I am simply able to process my thoughts without the haze of emotion.” He smiled at Rudi, as if he was making perfect sense. “This is why I thought this style would suit you. These Dyrwoodans are effective, but preoccupied with what is in front of them. You and I, we approach the battle from a distance.”

“Do we?” Rudi asked, skeptical. “You fight by punching, Zahua. You’re about as much in the thick of things as you can get.”

“My body is.” Zahua agreed. “But is my mind?”

He paused, and Rudi wasn’t sure if he wanted an answer or not. The silence continued to stretch out, and she finally said, uncertainly, “…no?”

Rather than respond to her answer, Zahua closed his eyes. “Let us continue our meditation. Copy my breathing, and trust yourself.”

Rudi was lost as ever, but she acquiesced. She copied Zahua’s posture once more, and tried to remember his advice. This time, instead of fighting against the noises and feelings of everything around her, Rudi followed her instincts. She listened to world around her, and as the minutes passed she grew used to the rhythms of her surroundings.

And in a strange way, Zahua’s words began to make sense. The meditation was reminiscent of the long hunting trips she took back home- the endless hours of moving through the wilderness, taking in the prey and predators around her, at one with the hunt.

When Rudi opened her eyes again, she was surprised by how high the sun had risen.

Of course, it couldn’t all be meditations and sunrises. The time came when once again, Rudi had to endure sparring sessions.

Zahua, however, eschewed the training swords in favor of simple hand-to-hand. As always, he wore little in the way of armor. This was a small comfort to Rudi- at least there would be no concern over heavy metal weighing her down.

And yet the training was more ruthless than anything Eder had put Rudi through.

“Fuck!” Rudi yelped, cradling her bruised arm. “That’s gonna hurt for weeks!”

“Of course it will hurt.” Zahua’s eyes seemed to burn as he stared Rudi down.  His fists were raised, ready to lash out again at any moment. They had barely started the session and he’d landed countless blows against her, while Rudi was barely able to stay on her feet as he danced around her.

“Our way is not comfortable. Nothing worthwhile in this world is comfortable. We do not do this because it is easy. We do this because we must.” He lunged forward, but Rudi managed to dodge out of the way. She swung out, managing to graze him with her fist. He took her strike with a grin. He lunged again, this time managing to grapple Rudi and trap her in a hold.

Rudi threw her weight forward to try and break the hold, but Zahua held fast. “You will not succeed in these methods until you embrace what must be endured. I know why I must do this. Do you?”

Rudi struggled to free herself, but Zahua’s grip was iron. She was left to consider his questions. She still didn’t understand Zahua’s philosophy- his journey for perfection had never made sense to her. But she did understand the need to hold on to something important, the last thing he had of his home.

“I’m doing this because there are things I need to protect,” she said, breathing heavy. “And I can’t do that if I can’t protect myself.”

“And this is something you will suffer for?”

Rudi was almost afraid to answer, but she took a deep breath and steeled herself. “Yes.”

“Then do not focus on the pain. You have already decided you can accept the pain. Clear your mind. Forget your body. See the battlefield from afar. See how everything is connected. See how you can use the pain.”

That’s not helpful! Rudi thought, but she bit back a barbed retort and tried to go back to that space she was in during meditation. She tried to step out of her body, take in the sensations, and trust herself. And to her own immense shock, a sudden flash of clarity came. Rudi sensed the weakness in Zahua’s hold, and could see in her mind how she could twist and break his grasp. It would mean straining-possibly dislocating- her already aching shoulder, but it was the only way.

So Rudi gritted her teeth and shoved herself to the side.

It worked- Zahua’s hold broke, and although Rudi’s shoulder was screaming in protest she was able to whip around and kick his feet out from under him. Despite the pain, Rudi barked out a laugh. This was the first time she’d held the advantage over somebody in close combat. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Zahua leapt back to his feet, grinning maniacally. “Now we’re having some fun!”

Afterwards, they did smoke some whiteleaf.

Sol was curled up at Rudi’s feet. She wondered how much the lion truly understood about their lives. Did he realize how far they were from their home back on the Plains? Did he wonder what happened to the village they left behind? Did he keep count of how many times they’d both nearly died this past year?

Sol yawned, looking for all the world like a careless, sleepy cat. Rudi wondered just how fast-acting this stuff was.

“It relaxes the muscles,” Zahua claimed. “Very important after a sparring session. It is also good for meditation.”

Rudi wasn’t sure how seriously to take him, but for once, she decided not to question his methods. Despite her tired, aching muscles, Rudi thought her journey to monkhood might not be all that bad.

[estpunk]

Mark Fischbach ‘Markiplier’ [ENFP]

@markiplier

Prologue

When I first saw him I thought that he was an ENTP (because he looks like a geek, lol) then when I started watching him I realized that he’s too sensitive to be an ENTP, so I started to analyze his personality and I found that he’s an ENFP (may not 100% accurate) I know that he said that he’s an introvert because he loves to walk alone, but walking alone and being quiet doesn’t necessarily means that you are an introvert. I’m an ISTP but I can talk a lot if I feel like I need to/want to. ENFP is described as the most introverted extrovert because of their dominant Ne and Ne is a function where you have to process everything not just outside of your mind but also inside (lots of process outside and inside). Many people type him as INFP and also he took a test based on stereotypes recently, which is less accurate than self evaluating or tests through cognitive function and he got ENTP. Here are my explanations on why he’s not INFP and ENTP

During stress he’s more likely to use his inferior Si than his inferior Te. He did had a fight with his step mom, but I don’t think that he intentionally wanted to cause it and I don’t think that he wants to control everything (including people) during stress and being too mean, too logical and tried to nitpick their flaws, that’s what inferior Te does. And also he didn’t suffered Fi-Si loop during his dark times, he suffered Si grip

He’s more like a Fi (ENFP) user than Fe user (ENTP) because I don’t think that he easily compromises his personal value. After he made his Respect video he made some explanations to some people of why he holds onto his ‘Respect’ value. I don’t think that he cares about validation from others regarding his behavior. He doesn’t really need everyone to agrees with him and that’s what Fi is like

Well I don’t know if Mark will notice this, but if he does, I hope that what I explain here is right and I hope that his personality type is accurate right here

Now let’s get into the explanation of his cognitive functions

Dominant function: Extroverted Intuition (Ne)

He loves to see possibilities and think of endless possibilities. He sees the potential of something in the future and tries to make it into reality

“ I want my channel to be big enough to make an impact on the gaming community as a whole… we can actually make a difference… and believe that gaming is actually an important part of our world is going to change the society in the years to come that’s what I believe and that’s what I’m gonna push”

He loves to explore every idea that is interesting and worth pursuing that come to his head and try to make it happen and that’s why he has lots of things that he wants to do

“You can’t kill your idea before it happens”

He also describes himself as a sporadic and scatterbrained person. He usually also takes ‘What could be the meaning’ of something that he perceives. When his Ne was unhealthy, he didn’t know what he wants (He took engineering major in college then go to biomedical engineering and then go to gaming again and back to engineering again then he dropped out) You can also see that he write everything that is on his head when he play Google Feud although it’s stupid or silly. He can get frustrated when he was offered too many choices because Ne dominants natural ability is to choose the good and bad ideas, but still he loves to do lots of things and accomplish lots of things that he thinks is worth pursuing. He also feel tired if he doesn’t make any progress or becoming greater (he’s tired of the feeling of being stuck in a limbo or not going anywhere in his life)

Auxiliary function: Introverted Feeling (Fi)

He shares his father’s values to his fans (his personal values) and he can feel conflicted when someone brutally do something that contradicts his belief and he probably angrily trying to defend his values, especially if it has something to do with someone he loves, just like in the respect video, but usually he let people to decide what they want to believe and not forcing his values on people. He tries to see what other people might think/the other perspectives (Ne-Fi), but still when it comes to discussing his beliefs/values, he goes with a deep conviction. Unlike Fi doms, he does not harshly judging people that what they do or believe is wrong. Also he tries to keep his feelings private or hide it especially if it’s a negative feeling (usually he immediately wants to end his video after he cries) then he tries to process his feelings inside. He is a very caring person. He tries to do something that he believes is right to do and he tries to make a good impact in the world. Because of his Fi, it’s hard for him to share his feelings especially when it’s a negative one because it’s hard for Fi users to put their feelings into words (he usually says that it’s hard to describe what he feels), but there’s a time when he has to let something off his chest, so he tries to put his feelings into words (Fi-Te) His feelings is very deep. He was sad because his dad got cancer, but he’s not being sad for the sake of being sad or because his dad got cancer so he should feel sad

“You know it’s the struggle that really, really tears me up… It’s the sense of helplessness that really, really affects people”

Tertiary function: Extroverted Thinking (Te)

You may see that he sometimes being a little bossy when he works with his friends or do a teamwork. If you see the Cringemas livestream, you’ll see that he kinda tried to tell what he and Emma have to do to make a home for Edgar and I can say that he did it efficiently (although he didn’t win the competition) he’s also very productive and a very driven and responsible person

” I actually do love staying busy, and I love working because I love what I work on… And so, when I get an opportunity to work on something cool, like what I do on YouTube normally or when I get a chance to work on something outside of YouTube it really inspires me to keep pushing forward, because I’d rather stay busy, and I’d rather lose sleep right now, in the prime of my life, when I’m able to focus 100% of my effort on these things, than do any sort of over-relaxing, or something like that. And I’m not even saying that it’s a bad thing to relax, like definitely, you guys out there, take time to relax! It’s just that I don’t want to, I’ve got so much stuff to do and so little time to do it… enjoying what you work so much that you want to sacrifice everything for it”

Inferior function: Introverted Sensing (Si)

When he play rage games, usually the more he do something that he failed on before, the worse the outcome is, it’s probably because of his inferior Si that makes him not very good at recognizing what causes him to fail. Because of his inferior Si he usually neglects his physical needs (forgetting to eat when he’s very busy or pulling an all nighter) and that may causes him to get sick often. He also loves to remember something that he did and reflects on what he did in the past. During a very heavy stress, he uses his inferior Si. He became very hopeless, not being able to search for other opportunities and being obsessive (He didn’t know why he kept doing his job that he hated) Although he loves to reflect on his life in the past, he doesn’t like to remember or reliving bad events that has happened in his life (he doesn’t want to make cancer as a memory of his dad, he looks back fondly on the times that he and his dad had together) When he played That Dragon, Cancer he talked about hope in a situation like that (a stressful situation), so I think he talks about what is hope to him in a situation like that and I think that Mark doesn’t really want to cling to hope in a stressful situation like that, he becomes pessimistic and try to solve the situation with a ‘reality’ solution (Inferior Si grip)

“It’s another thing about…talking about hope. Talking about hope there is, and the hope you have in terms of situation like this, and what hope can do, you know? Cause, what can hope do? Hope can do nothing. Nothing except make people feel.”

Because of his inferior Si, he can move past a negative event pretty fast. Inferior Si doesn’t really want to be stuck in the past, especially if it’s a negative past experience. He also usually overlooked some details on some things he do

[soccernetghana]

FEATURE: Ghana’s failure in youth football: The growth we need

Poor pitches with no touch of green in sight, No flood lights or lamp poles, so they play till the night. And no touchlines, just their imagination of where to call it quits. Yes, the bumpy pitches make control difficult when the balls take flight, But the tenacity and strength they build makes them commit. Essien, Muntari, Appiah; yes we admit, Grassroots football was helpful but it’s now pointless.   Now, it’s difficult to be scouted and it makes me hopeless, I wanted to play in the top tier and make mummy speechless but now I’m helpless. Some academies gave me an opportunity but I had to support my family, Picking an injury would have been a calamity so Mummy said “focus on reality”. She made me believe I was chasing a “fantasy”. Yes, I should have tried, but who was I kidding! I had to choose a path that was more certain, Education and football couldn’t find a middle ground. With this trade-off, I had to choose one that was sound Maybe if a better talent development strategy was launched, I could have been the shining light the Black Star needs. Some context:

There are numerous problems in Ghana’s football industry today. From lack of professionalism to administrative issues, to dire financial problems. These problems are affecting the performance of the football leagues and the national teams in international competitions. Ghana’s best performance from her youth national teams dates as far back as 2009 (i.e. Winning the U-20 World Cup in Egypt). Hence we have a lot of foundational work to do.

The neglect of grassroots football (commonly called colts football in Ghana) over the years has crippled the image of the Black Stars and the best clubs in Ghana’s premier league.

As it is impossible to ignore a flat tire, so it is impossible to ignore youth national teams. The words of the poetic piece above highlights the depth of this argument.

For my undergraduate thesis, I interacted with some football stakeholders. I collated data from retired coaches and players to grassroots coaches and players, to help investigate how youth football can be improved in Ghana.

This post will explore the problems from the perspective of the youth football players I interacted with.

Some of the main problems the colt team players battle with include; the worries and drawbacks of “football age”, the trade-off between schooling and a pro-career, and poor training infrastructure.

I gathered these problems from interacting with 10 players across 5 colts teams; Great Corinthians, F.C Glory, Hope Soccer Academy and Biribi (all colts teams in Accra).

Football Age

I witnessed a conversation between a colts team player and a scouting manager from an academy, during an exhibition match earlier this year.

“How old are you?” the Scout asked. “I am 12” said the young boy. “Are you sure?” “I know your Headmaster, if I go to your school and they tell me something different I will sack you!”, the Scout said. The young boy afraid to lose his only shot said, “please I am 14.”

Lying about your age to benefit from opportunities is prevalent in many underdeveloped countries because of poor documentation and accountability. Too prevalent in Africa that, FIFA introduced MRI scans in 2009 to help identify which players were qualified to participate in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations which took place in Tanzania.

In football, age is very important. Players who indulge in this fraudulent act do so to outperform younger opponents in age-restricted competitions, and help them attract club contracts.

According to one of the colts team coaches I interacted with, academy scouts and foreign club scouts are mostly looking for players between the ages of 8–15. Therefore, when the players are above 18, they become a “burden” to their coaches. A burden because such players are usually not attractive to scouts, hence they cannot be traded. The coaches then try to fix the players in local league teams in the lower divisions.

From the data I gathered, most players easily pass off as younger than their actual age because of imbalanced nutrition in their diets. Notwithstanding our poor culture of documentation.

This has cost some “right-aged” children the opportunity to be scouted even when they tick all the right boxes. Luckily, some players are registered with colts teams at the regional level, hence it is easy to refer to their records. That is a good step by the FA. Yet more work needs to be done.

With regards to the size of the pitch, ball size, number of field players, the distance between the goal posts, match duration and many other rules concerning the game, may differ from different age categories (i.e. U8’s, U10’s, U12’s, U13s, U16s U18s and Seniors (18+)).

For example, U7s in England do not have strict referees officiating their games, they do not have to face the disappointment of an offside or a poor goal kick from the goalie, they get 2 attempts to correct a foul-throw and more interestingly they play 5 a-side for 10 minutes a half with unlimited substitution of players. This sounds fun and structured right?! That is what organisation looks like.

In England, there are development matches and competitive matches. An U7s game falls under development matches. The focus is on learning basic skills in football such as passing in close spaces, decision-making, increased attentiveness and increased ball-time. The objective usually does not include “the number of goals scored”.

This ties in with the idea of some colts teams using one brick as a goal post with no goalie, or slippers/stones as a goal post with no goalies.

From what I observed during my research, this is mostly not the case in Ghana. A 12-year-old could be playing against an 8-year-old. In terms of physicality and skill they are most likely not on the same level and it makes evaluations biased and inefficient.

The “inescapable” trade-off

If you are a Ghanaian and you want to make the most of your education and football talent, especially when you are not well connected or “lucky”, you will have to choose between the possibility of dedicating money and time to successfully secure a football career, or focus on schooling for a more certain future.

Considering the special attention young footballers require in developing the fundamental skills a footballer needs, Ghana’s current educational system is not supportive of youth football development.

Most students in Ghana spend 8–9 hours in school from Monday to Friday. Several students in the rural areas support their parents’ trades before and after school. Also, some students in the rural areas must travel long distances to attend school. Others face both problems and discouragement from their parents about their football dreams. Though parents are aware of the success stories of some football stars, they believe the chances are very rare.

Though most colts team coaches encourage their players to go to school, they hesitate to insist when the children’s parents cannot afford. Thanks to Free-SHS, the players can now afford to attend school. Nevertheless, in cases where the location of their schools is far from their training grounds, the players are unable to consistently attend training sessions.

Additionally, most parents in the informal sector would want their children to support them with house chores and their family trades after school. This makes it difficult for young talents to get the attention they deserve from their coaches. How then can we get the next Abedi Pele, Tony Yeboah or Asamoah Gyan?

But are the parents to be blamed?

Some of the players are made to believe that when they make it, education will not matter. Hence, most players quit school after Junior High School and train intensively with their coaches hoping to be scouted to Europe.

From the qualitative research I conducted, some grassroots coaches scout for players across Ghana and camp them away from the children’s parents. One of these teams is Great Corinthians at Abokobi. Some responsible coaches create partnerships with private schools to provide education to their players. Hence, they call themselves “mini academies”. When the players in these mini academies fail to be scouted in football trials or “exhibition matches”, the coaches feel indebted to the children’s parents. The coaches then try to fix the players in local league teams in the lower divisions. As we know, the local league clubs are not well-funded. This pushes most players to take up multiple jobs with the aim of earning a little above their cost of living.

One of the scandalous issues I discovered was that young players had to pay “a small fee” to be enrolled in some football academies in Ghana, after they displayed exceptional skills during their trials or exhibition matches.

From a personal experience in High School, during inter-school competitions, I had to miss classes while my colleagues studied ahead. This trade-off will continue to exist if the relevant stakeholders do not find a well-fortified bridge between education and football talent development.

Poor Training Infrastructure:

In an interview with a retired goalkeeper of the Black Stars, he stated that, “investing heavily in the national teams has affected youth football in the country and the narrative has to be changed to improve football at the grassroots level”. I cannot argue with that.

With the increasing rate of developmental and real estate projects in our communities, the availability of pitches or unoccupied lands are very limited.

The needed infrastructure; quality football turf/fields, top-notch training facilities and stadiums that attract tourists.

It is difficult for colts teams to have access to these infrastructure especially when the local clubs cannot afford such “luxury”. Though some colts teams are funded by foreign scout teams, they still lack some basic but modern football training equipment and accessories like agility equipment, soccer tennis sets, rebounders, crowd barriers, pop up goals and the speed chute.

The amount of sprinting in the English Premier League has increased by 50% in the last 10 years. The matches are infused with high intensity sprinting and increased physicality. The new direction of elite football requires players to have stronger muscles and a higher recovery rate which makes them accelerate and decelerate quickly. This requires special training sessions to suit the individual differences of players. Hence the need for these “modernised” accessories to remain competitive on global grounds.

This is the core problem out of the 3 problems stated above, which limits the progress of Ghana’s youth football. In the interim, I think more investments should be made in the youth teams as compared to the senior national teams.

Some young talents are lucky to be scouted to European clubs through academies. The greater number who do not make the cut, should be most likely to get an opportunity to play in the youth national teams and consequently make up the senior national team. Unfortunately, these local players do not get access to premium training facilities for talent development. Making them unattractive to national team coaches.

Some of these players become a burden to society as most of them do not complete school, hence cannot get descent well-paid jobs. It contributes to a big vicious cycle.

It might sound cliché, but if the foundation is weak, the building can only go as high. Therefore, the Football Association and relevant parties need to seriously consider a talent development strategy, which incorporates honing football skills and providing quality education. This will benefit everyone. People may guess that we should adopt an academy system. Frankly, that is not far from the right path.

In subsequent posts, I will explore more problems grassroots teams face from the different perspective of football stakeholders in Ghana, and how I believe Ghana’s youth football can be elevated to everyone’s benefit.

By Nana Ama B. Ayenor 

source: https://ghanasoccernet.com/

[hellojulie1971]

Believe God for our children

Whether your children are young and innocent or older and struggling with a rebellious nature, whether they're living at home or are away and out in the world, our children need our prayers like never before. Oftentimes we feel so helpless, especially when they've gone astray and seem so lost, so angry and so unreachable. But the good news is that prayer works, especially when it's based on the Word of God. I love what Isaiah 55:11 says about this: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Know this: As a born-again Christian, you are the establishing witness of the Word of God on the earth. Almighty God has already sent forth His Word, and when we take hold of it by faith, laying claim to it within our hearts and make the quality decision to give it voice, we are then establishing His Word onto the earth. Wow! What a powerful people we are as born-again believers - oh if we only had an understanding of this to its fullest sense. I pray that the Lord will begin to open your eyes to this wonderful truth.

Look also at Psalm 103:20-21 that enforces this truth and reveals a benefit of giving voice to the Word of God: "Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." Do you want to put the angels of God to work in your behalf? Then begin to boldly proclaim the Word of God in prayer. It activates the heavenly hosts to minister effectively in the situations that concern you.

On September 3, 1987 I gave my life back to the Lord after many years of rebellion, drug addiction, womanizing and hard-core living. I had walked away from the Lord at 17 years of age and finally came back to the Lord when I was 33. During those wayward years, in my parents eyes, I seemed so hopeless and lost with no way of ever coming back to the Lord. I had lived a life outside of the law, was very prosperous and had influence amongst some very bad people.

In fact, the week before I gave my heart back to the Lord, during a confrontation that my parents initiated regarding my lifestyle, I took hold of my father and aggressively shoved him up against a wall and told them both that if they didn't back off and leave me alone I would have them both killed and that it wouldn't cost me a cent! I looked them right in the eye and told them they were nothing to me. Can you imagine how they must have felt? However, within the span of about four days a miraculous event took place in my life and I was saved and back with the Lord. Yes, it got worse in their eyes before it got better, and that's something that you must remember. When you begin to pray for your children things could "seem" to get worse before the breakthrough comes. Don't be moved by that, just continue to stand your ground and believe God! The devil usually likes to kick up his heels a bit in the hope that it will bring discouragement to you and that you will cease in your prayer and believing.

The very morning that I gave my heart back to the Lord, a demonic spirit approached my bed and spoke to me - yes, I was able to see him clearly. He told me who he was and that he was sent to take me to hell, and to hell I would go! As he spoke, In an instant, the whole Bible made perfect sense to me, it was like a light had been turned on in my understanding. I looked at him and thought, "he is a demon, and a creation of God." It's interesting to me that His presence actually proved the Bible to me, and suddenly it all just made sense to me. I looked at him and said, "I know someone much stronger than you!" He said "Who?" I said, "Jesus, that's who!" At that moment I lifted my hands and asked Jesus to forgive me and I asked him to come into my heart, take control of my life and change me.

Right then, the Lord spoke to me audibly and told me to step out in faith. So I got up, went to the place where I stored my drugs and took every one of the large containers of drugs and flushed all of the contents down the toilet. To make a very long story short, I never went through any withdrawals from the drugs, I was healed of the addiction from that moment forward. You see, I had a revelation of the Word of God that became so clear because of the many people who were praying for me. If you were to think of a seemingly impossible person to repent and be saved, someone so full of anger and so full of self, a person that seemed to be too far gone to ever turn around, that person would've had to have been me. We need to always remember what Jeremiah 32:27 says; "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?"

Before I had repented, my mother had me on so many people's prayer lists. She contacted ministry after ministry and told them to add my name. One day while she was speaking with a pastor regarding my situation, he told her to pray Ephesians 1:17-21 over me, inserting my name in that very prayer that Paul had prayed: "17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power."

What's interesting is, God honored that prayer exactly on the morning of September 3, 1987 - because in an instant the eyes of my understanding were enlightened. Yes, it's true they prayed many years for me, but they stayed with it and didn't give up, thank God. You see no one would knowingly choose to go to hell. We need to understand that when a person is in rebellion they are deceived, and they need enlightenment from the Lord to know the way. I often tell people that I am a victim of prayer and am greatful for those that knew its power and stayed the course. They partnered with God, giving Him substance to work with to bring about His will for my life - I am so humbled by this and grateful for it.

The following is a combination of the two prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed that are taken out of Ephesians 1:16-21, and 3:14-19. This is a good place for you to begin in your intercessionfor your loved ones. Simply put their name in the blank and pray it by faith! (You may want to highlight, copy and paste the following prayer into your word processor, then print it out)

Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I ask that you would give to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that the eyes of _____________'s understanding would be enlightened; that ____________ may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And that You would grant to ____________ , according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in their inner man, that Christ may dwell in their heart through faith; that ____________, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that ____________ may be filled with all the fullness of God.

You might also want to pray this prayer over yourself from time to time and over your mate. As born-again believer's we are all children of God and need the understanding and continued revelation of God and His Word.

Know that the Lord hears us when we pray according to His Word which is His will (1 John 5:14-15), so when praying this over our loved one's we only need to ask it once if we ask in faith from the heart. You may want to tailor it to be a prayer of thankfulness after your initial asking of the Lord. You may want to pray something like:

Father, I thank you in the Name of Jesus Christ, for giving to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, thank you that the eyes of _____________'s understanding are being enlightened... It will serve as a reminder to you of what God is bringing about because He is faithful to His Word.

I think you get the idea.

Helpful Tools Of Intercession

Before going on to the many Scripture Promises regarding your children, I want to take a moment to arm you with some helpful Scriptural tools for successful intercession regarding someone who is rebellious and away from or does not know the Lord.

Luke 10:19 - Jesus said: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."NOTE - Get a hold of this: you have been given delegated authority over the devil and his demons. They are under your feet. So you have the God given right to command them to take their hands off of your children. In fact Verse 20 reveals to us that these spirits are subject to us! Use your authority!!!

Matthew 18:18 - Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." NOTE - Again, you can see how much authority has been given to the believer. As the establishing witness of the Word of God, the Lord wants us to begin to forbid some things with His delegated authority. Put your foot down and forbid the enemy to ravage your children. "Devil I bind (forbid) the spirit of addiction, I bind the spirit of lust, I bind the spirit of confusion etc. in Jesus' Name!"

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age (the devil) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." NOTE - See how the devil has placed blinders on them causing the deception. Take your authority and command the devil to take the blinders off of your children so that the light of the gospel can and will shine on them.Mark 11:23-24 - "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."NOTE - Don't just speak to God about the mountain, Jesus said here that YOU must "speak" TO the mountain. A mountain represents an obstacle that is in your way, or in this case in your children's way. Call out what ever the problem is in your children's life and command for it to be removed. "Spirit of addiction, spirit of rebellion, spirit of lust, spirit of homosexuality - I command you to leave my child in the Name of Jesus Christ - NOW!"  

Matthew 9:37-38 - "Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." NOTE - Jesus said for us to "ask" the Father (Lord of the harvest) to send out laborers. So take Jesus at His Word and ask the Lord to send someone to your loved one that they will respect and listen to that will be able to speak the Word to them in love. This is so very important. I guarantee that you will be amazed at the Christian laborers that your loved one will tell you about one day that God had sent to minister to them.

Ezekiel 36:26-29 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." NOTE - This is the will of God to take out hardness of heart and replace it with a soft heart of loving understanding and surrender. So ask Him to take out the hard heart and give your loved one a heart of flesh and deliver them from all uncleanness.

Remember James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask not. There is no better way to receive from God than when we come to Him on the basis of His Word.

The Promises of God Regarding Our ChildrenThese are promises that you can lay claim to personally as you proclaim them in prayer or as faith declarations over your children. Remember, the Bible tells us in James 5:16 that the prayers of a righteous man or woman avails much or as the Amplified version says: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Know this, you are a righteous person if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. I will continue to update the list of Children Scriptures as I come across them.

Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (salvation, deliverance and healing), you and your household (this includes your children)."

Psalm 115:14 "May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and yourchildren."

Psalm 112:1-2 "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed." NOTE - Keep yourself sensitive to the things of the Lord and His ways and the blessing will flow to your children.

Proverbs 14:11 "The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent (dwelling place, household) of the upright will flourish." NOTE - As you continue to serve the Lord and walk in His ways, begin to speak out daily, "According to the Word of God, I say my household will flourish in Jesus' Name!"

Proverbs 20:7 "The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." NOTE - Here again we see that the blessing flows to the children of those who walk in the ways of the Lord. So if you haven't been, start today!

Isaiah 49:25 "For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children."

Proverbs 11:21 "Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But theposterity (children, descendants) of the righteous will be delivered ( rescued, released, escape)." NOTE - Parents, this is a powerful promise to you if your child is in bondage to drug addiction, alcohol, pornography etc. The Lord is wanting to give you hope, they will be delivered as you continue to mix your faith with the Word of God in prayer! If you are born-again, then you are the righteous, that is your God given inherited position in Christ. See 2 Corinthians 5:21. So there is no doubt that this Scripture is for you!

Jeremiah 31:16-17 "Thus says the LORD: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work (raising of your children, prayer) shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they (your children) shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope (something you can expect) in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border (place of peace and safety and well being)." NOTE - Don't place your focus on how bad it may be now, instead look to the the promise of the Word and the power of the Lord to bring it about and begin to rejoice - their coming back!!!

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." NOTE - They may stray from time to time, but eventually they will return to what they know is right. Godly parenting is giving God substance to work with in their latter life.

Psalm 25:12-13 "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity (at ease, cheerful, free from worry) and hisdescendants shall inherit the earth (blessings)." NOTE - As you take time with the Lord, He will teach you His ways and you will live at ease free from worry knowing that the Lord will take care of and bring about the blessing of salvation to your children.  

Isaiah 61:8-9 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed."

Psalm 128:3 "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, yourchildren like olive plants (symbol of anointing) all around your table." NOTE - Begin to see your children in the light of the Word that you are believing for them. In your prayer time begin to call them blessed, begin to see them in your minds eye as anointed by God, anointed to carry out the call of God on their lives and live as a blessing unto the Lord and all they come in contact with.

Isaiah 54:13 "And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. (And their undisturbed composure) Amplified Version NOTE - Begin to call your children peaceful, composed, steady, and constant in what is right in Jesus' Name!

Psalm 36:7-9 "How precious is Your lovingkindness (covenant remembrance, love & favor), O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness (fatness, abundance) of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain (outflow, spring) of life; In Your light we see light." NOTE - This verse is so full of revelation and power! Look at the heart of God toward us, nothing but goodness and blessing. I love the phrase, You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. What is interesting is the Hebrew word for pleasures here is the word "Eden," The same word as the garden of Eden - a paradise, perfection. That's right, He wants to satisfy His children with His very best - holding nothing back. Take a look at Luke 12:32 which confirms the Father's will for His children: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." So know that He's holding nothing back, and will provide His very best in bringing your children back to Him and keep them safe, pouring His life into them. Rejoice - this is the will of God!

Isaiah 44:3-5 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.' One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel (Prince having favor with God)."NOTE - Wow! I love this verse of Scripture. Are you weary believing for your children, do you feel dry in your spirit? The Lord wants to bring refreshing to you - right now lift your hands to Him and take a moment and allow Him to bring the refreshing that He has promised to you. Know that this is His desire to pour out His Spirit on your children - believe it and receive it now!

Psalm 102:28 "The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You." NOTE - Established in righteousness!

Deuteronomy 7:13 "And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb." NOTE - The word "bless" if you do a word study, literally means empowered to succeed.

Isaiah 29:22-24 "Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine." NOTE - Begin to see your children in your minds eye worshiping and praising the Lord. Begin to thank the Lord for correcting your children and bringing them into the blessing.

Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me (my children);Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands."

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (be whole, be nourished up) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage (inheritance) from the LORD." NOTE - Your children do not belong to the devil, as this Scripture clearly states, they are an inheritance from the Lord. So command the devil to take his hands off and begin to proclaim that they belong to the Lord!

Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: [the people of God] My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."NOTE - Accept this as a promise, and begin to see in your minds eye, your children and your entire family line serving the Lord and proclaiming the Word of God. Instead of fear or dread because of what might be happening in the natural, begin to look beyond to the eternal, and begin to praise Him for bringing this promise to pass - after all, it is a covenant!!! Remember, it takes just as much energy to worry as it does to believe God. So aim it in the direction that will do the most good - worry is always unproductive and operates in the realm of unbelief.

Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. NOTE - Because of your dedication and walk with the Lord, because of the covenant in which you have entered into with Him, His favor and grace goes out to your children and He will draw them in.

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[hellojulie1971]

Whether your children are young and innocent or older and struggling with a rebellious nature, whether they're living at home or are away and out in the world, our children need our prayers like never before. Oftentimes we feel so helpless, especially when they've gone astray and seem so lost, so angry and so unreachable. But the good news is that prayer works, especially when it's based on the Word of God. I love what Isaiah 55:11 says about this: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Know this: As a born-again Christian, you are the establishing witness of the Word of God on the earth. Almighty God has already sent forth His Word, and when we take hold of it by faith, laying claim to it within our hearts and make the quality decision to give it voice, we are then establishing His Word onto the earth. Wow! What a powerful people we are as born-again believers - oh if we only had an understanding of this to its fullest sense. I pray that the Lord will begin to open your eyes to this wonderful truth. Look also at Psalm 103:20-21 that enforces this truth and reveals a benefit of giving voice to the Word of God: "Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." Do you want to put the angels of God to work in your behalf? Then begin to boldly proclaim the Word of God in prayer. It activates the heavenly hosts to minister effectively in the situations that concern you. On September 3, 1987 I gave my life back to the Lord after many years of rebellion, drug addiction, womanizing and hard-core living. I had walked away from the Lord at 17 years of age and finally came back to the Lord when I was 33. During those wayward years, in my parents eyes, I seemed so hopeless and lost with no way of ever coming back to the Lord. I had lived a life outside of the law, was very prosperous and had influence amongst some very bad people. In fact, the week before I gave my heart back to the Lord, during a confrontation that my parents initiated regarding my lifestyle, I took hold of my father and aggressively shoved him up against a wall and told them both that if they didn't back off and leave me alone I would have them both killed and that it wouldn't cost me a cent! I looked them right in the eye and told them they were nothing to me. Can you imagine how they must have felt? However, within the span of about four days a miraculous event took place in my life and I was saved and back with the Lord. Yes, it got worse in their eyes before it got better, and that's something that you must remember. When you begin to pray for your children things could "seem" to get worse before the breakthrough comes. Don't be moved by that, just continue to stand your ground and believe God! The devil usually likes to kick up his heels a bit in the hope that it will bring discouragement to you and that you will cease in your prayer and believing. The very morning that I gave my heart back to the Lord, a demonic spirit approached my bed and spoke to me - yes, I was able to see him clearly. He told me who he was and that he was sent to take me to hell, and to hell I would go! As he spoke, In an instant, the whole Bible made perfect sense to me, it was like a light had been turned on in my understanding. I looked at him and thought, "he is a demon, and a creation of God." It's interesting to me that His presence actually proved the Bible to me, and suddenly it all just made sense to me. I looked at him and said, "I know someone much stronger than you!" He said "Who?" I said, "Jesus, that's who!" At that moment I lifted my hands and asked Jesus to forgive me and I asked him to come into my heart, take control of my life and change me. Right then, the Lord spoke to me audibly and told me to step out in faith. So I got up, went to the place where I stored my drugs and took every one of the large containers of drugs and flushed all of the contents down the toilet. To make a very long story short, I never went through any withdrawals from the drugs, I was healed of the addiction from that moment forward. You see, I had a revelation of the Word of God that became so clear because of the many people who were praying for me. If you were to think of a seemingly impossible person to repent and be saved, someone so full of anger and so full of self, a person that seemed to be too far gone to ever turn around, that person would've had to have been me. We need to always remember what Jeremiah 32:27 says; "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" Before I had repented, my mother had me on so many people's prayer lists. She contacted ministry after ministry and told them to add my name. One day while she was speaking with a pastor regarding my situation, he told her to pray Ephesians 1:17-21 over me, inserting my name in that very prayer that Paul had prayed: "17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." What's interesting is, God honored that prayer exactly on the morning of September 3, 1987 - because in an instant the eyes of my understanding were enlightened. Yes, it's true they prayed many years for me, but they stayed with it and didn't give up, thank God. You see no one would knowingly choose to go to hell. We need to understand that when a person is in rebellion they are deceived, and they need enlightenment from the Lord to know the way. I often tell people that I am a victim of prayer and am greatful for those that knew its power and stayed the course. They partnered with God, giving Him substance to work with to bring about His will for my life - I am so humbled by this and grateful for it. The following is a combination of the two prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed that are taken out of Ephesians 1:16-21, and 3:14-19. This is a good place for you to begin in your intercessionfor your loved ones. Simply put their name in the blank and pray it by faith! (You may want to highlight, copy and paste the following prayer into your word processor, then print it out) Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I ask that you would give to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that the eyes of _____________'s understanding would be enlightened; that ____________ may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And that You would grant to ____________ , according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in their inner man, that Christ may dwell in their heart through faith; that ____________, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that ____________ may be filled with all the fullness of God. You might also want to pray this prayer over yourself from time to time and over your mate. As born-again believer's we are all children of God and need the understanding and continued revelation of God and His Word. Know that the Lord hears us when we pray according to His Word which is His will (1 John 5:14-15), so when praying this over our loved one's we only need to ask it once if we ask in faith from the heart. You may want to tailor it to be a prayer of thankfulness after your initial asking of the Lord. You may want to pray something like: Father, I thank you in the Name of Jesus Christ, for giving to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, thank you that the eyes of _____________'s understanding are being enlightened... It will serve as a reminder to you of what God is bringing about because He is faithful to His Word. I think you get the idea. Helpful Tools Of Intercession Before going on to the many Scripture Promises regarding your children, I want to take a moment to arm you with some helpful Scriptural tools for successful intercession regarding someone who is rebellious and away from or does not know the Lord. Luke 10:19 - Jesus said: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."NOTE - Get a hold of this: you have been given delegated authority over the devil and his demons. They are under your feet. So you have the God given right to command them to take their hands off of your children. In fact Verse 20 reveals to us that these spirits are subject to us! Use your authority!!! Matthew 18:18 - Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." NOTE - Again, you can see how much authority has been given to the believer. As the establishing witness of the Word of God, the Lord wants us to begin to forbid some things with His delegated authority. Put your foot down and forbid the enemy to ravage your children. "Devil I bind (forbid) the spirit of addiction, I bind the spirit of lust, I bind the spirit of confusion etc. in Jesus' Name!" 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age (the devil) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." NOTE - See how the devil has placed blinders on them causing the deception. Take your authority and command the devil to take the blinders off of your children so that the light of the gospel can and will shine on them.Mark 11:23-24 - "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."NOTE - Don't just speak to God about the mountain, Jesus said here that YOU must "speak" TO the mountain. A mountain represents an obstacle that is in your way, or in this case in your children's way. Call out what ever the problem is in your children's life and command for it to be removed. "Spirit of addiction, spirit of rebellion, spirit of lust, spirit of homosexuality - I command you to leave my child in the Name of Jesus Christ - NOW!"   Matthew 9:37-38 - "Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." NOTE - Jesus said for us to "ask" the Father (Lord of the harvest) to send out laborers. So take Jesus at His Word and ask the Lord to send someone to your loved one that they will respect and listen to that will be able to speak the Word to them in love. This is so very important. I guarantee that you will be amazed at the Christian laborers that your loved one will tell you about one day that God had sent to minister to them. Ezekiel 36:26-29 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." NOTE - This is the will of God to take out hardness of heart and replace it with a soft heart of loving understanding and surrender. So ask Him to take out the hard heart and give your loved one a heart of flesh and deliver them from all uncleanness. Remember James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask not. There is no better way to receive from God than when we come to Him on the basis of His Word. The Promises of God Regarding Our ChildrenThese are promises that you can lay claim to personally as you proclaim them in prayer or as faith declarations over your children. Remember, the Bible tells us in James 5:16 that the prayers of a righteous man or woman avails much or as the Amplified version says: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Know this, you are a righteous person if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. I will continue to update the list of Children Scriptures as I come across them. Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (salvation, deliverance and healing), you and your household (this includes your children)." Psalm 115:14 "May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and yourchildren." Psalm 112:1-2 "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed." NOTE - Keep yourself sensitive to the things of the Lord and His ways and the blessing will flow to your children. Proverbs 14:11 "The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent (dwelling place, household) of the upright will flourish." NOTE - As you continue to serve the Lord and walk in His ways, begin to speak out daily, "According to the Word of God, I say my household will flourish in Jesus' Name!" Proverbs 20:7 "The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." NOTE - Here again we see that the blessing flows to the children of those who walk in the ways of the Lord. So if you haven't been, start today! Isaiah 49:25 "For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children." Proverbs 11:21 "Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But theposterity (children, descendants) of the righteous will be delivered ( rescued, released, escape)." NOTE - Parents, this is a powerful promise to you if your child is in bondage to drug addiction, alcohol, pornography etc. The Lord is wanting to give you hope, they will be delivered as you continue to mix your faith with the Word of God in prayer! If you are born-again, then you are the righteous, that is your God given inherited position in Christ. See 2 Corinthians 5:21. So there is no doubt that this Scripture is for you! Jeremiah 31:16-17 "Thus says the LORD: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work (raising of your children, prayer) shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they (your children) shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope (something you can expect) in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border (place of peace and safety and well being)." NOTE - Don't place your focus on how bad it may be now, instead look to the the promise of the Word and the power of the Lord to bring it about and begin to rejoice - their coming back!!! Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." NOTE - They may stray from time to time, but eventually they will return to what they know is right. Godly parenting is giving God substance to work with in their latter life. Psalm 25:12-13 "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity (at ease, cheerful, free from worry) and hisdescendants shall inherit the earth (blessings)." NOTE - As you take time with the Lord, He will teach you His ways and you will live at ease free from worry knowing that the Lord will take care of and bring about the blessing of salvation to your children.   Isaiah 61:8-9 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed." Psalm 128:3 "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, yourchildren like olive plants (symbol of anointing) all around your table." NOTE - Begin to see your children in the light of the Word that you are believing for them. In your prayer time begin to call them blessed, begin to see them in your minds eye as anointed by God, anointed to carry out the call of God on their lives and live as a blessing unto the Lord and all they come in contact with. Isaiah 54:13 "And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. (And their undisturbed composure) Amplified Version NOTE - Begin to call your children peaceful, composed, steady, and constant in what is right in Jesus' Name! Psalm 36:7-9 "How precious is Your lovingkindness (covenant remembrance, love & favor), O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness (fatness, abundance) of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain (outflow, spring) of life; In Your light we see light." NOTE - This verse is so full of revelation and power! Look at the heart of God toward us, nothing but goodness and blessing. I love the phrase, You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. What is interesting is the Hebrew word for pleasures here is the word "Eden," The same word as the garden of Eden - a paradise, perfection. That's right, He wants to satisfy His children with His very best - holding nothing back. Take a look at Luke 12:32 which confirms the Father's will for His children: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." So know that He's holding nothing back, and will provide His very best in bringing your children back to Him and keep them safe, pouring His life into them. Rejoice - this is the will of God! Isaiah 44:3-5 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.' One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel (Prince having favor with God)."NOTE - Wow! I love this verse of Scripture. Are you weary believing for your children, do you feel dry in your spirit? The Lord wants to bring refreshing to you - right now lift your hands to Him and take a moment and allow Him to bring the refreshing that He has promised to you. Know that this is His desire to pour out His Spirit on your children - believe it and receive it now! Psalm 102:28 "The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You." NOTE - Established in righteousness! Deuteronomy 7:13 "And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb." NOTE - The word "bless" if you do a word study, literally means empowered to succeed. Isaiah 29:22-24 "Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine." NOTE - Begin to see your children in your minds eye worshiping and praising the Lord. Begin to thank the Lord for correcting your children and bringing them into the blessing. Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me (my children);Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (be whole, be nourished up) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage (inheritance) from the LORD." NOTE - Your children do not belong to the devil, as this Scripture clearly states, they are an inheritance from the Lord. So command the devil to take his hands off and begin to proclaim that they belong to the Lord! Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: [the people of God] My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."NOTE - Accept this as a promise, and begin to see in your minds eye, your children and your entire family line serving the Lord and proclaiming the Word of God. Instead of fear or dread because of what might be happening in the natural, begin to look beyond to the eternal, and begin to praise Him for bringing this promise to pass - after all, it is a covenant!!! Remember, it takes just as much energy to worry as it does to believe God. So aim it in the direction that will do the most good - worry is always unproductive and operates in the realm of unbelief. Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. NOTE - Because of your dedication and walk with the Lord, because of the covenant in which you have entered into with Him, His favor and grace goes out to your children and He will draw them in.

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[hellojulie1971]

Whether your children are young and innocent or older and struggling with a rebellious nature, whether they're living at home or are away and out in the world, our children need our prayers like never before. Oftentimes we feel so helpless, especially when they've gone astray and seem so lost, so angry and so unreachable. But the good news is that prayer works, especially when it's based on the Word of God. I love what Isaiah 55:11 says about this: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Know this: As a born-again Christian, you are the establishing witness of the Word of God on the earth. Almighty God has already sent forth His Word, and when we take hold of it by faith, laying claim to it within our hearts and make the quality decision to give it voice, we are then establishing His Word onto the earth. Wow! What a powerful people we are as born-again believers - oh if we only had an understanding of this to its fullest sense. I pray that the Lord will begin to open your eyes to this wonderful truth. Look also at Psalm 103:20-21 that enforces this truth and reveals a benefit of giving voice to the Word of God: "Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." Do you want to put the angels of God to work in your behalf? Then begin to boldly proclaim the Word of God in prayer. It activates the heavenly hosts to minister effectively in the situations that concern you. On September 3, 1987 I gave my life back to the Lord after many years of rebellion, drug addiction, womanizing and hard-core living. I had walked away from the Lord at 17 years of age and finally came back to the Lord when I was 33. During those wayward years, in my parents eyes, I seemed so hopeless and lost with no way of ever coming back to the Lord. I had lived a life outside of the law, was very prosperous and had influence amongst some very bad people. In fact, the week before I gave my heart back to the Lord, during a confrontation that my parents initiated regarding my lifestyle, I took hold of my father and aggressively shoved him up against a wall and told them both that if they didn't back off and leave me alone I would have them both killed and that it wouldn't cost me a cent! I looked them right in the eye and told them they were nothing to me. Can you imagine how they must have felt? However, within the span of about four days a miraculous event took place in my life and I was saved and back with the Lord. Yes, it got worse in their eyes before it got better, and that's something that you must remember. When you begin to pray for your children things could "seem" to get worse before the breakthrough comes. Don't be moved by that, just continue to stand your ground and believe God! The devil usually likes to kick up his heels a bit in the hope that it will bring discouragement to you and that you will cease in your prayer and believing. The very morning that I gave my heart back to the Lord, a demonic spirit approached my bed and spoke to me - yes, I was able to see him clearly. He told me who he was and that he was sent to take me to hell, and to hell I would go! As he spoke, In an instant, the whole Bible made perfect sense to me, it was like a light had been turned on in my understanding. I looked at him and thought, "he is a demon, and a creation of God." It's interesting to me that His presence actually proved the Bible to me, and suddenly it all just made sense to me. I looked at him and said, "I know someone much stronger than you!" He said "Who?" I said, "Jesus, that's who!" At that moment I lifted my hands and asked Jesus to forgive me and I asked him to come into my heart, take control of my life and change me. Right then, the Lord spoke to me audibly and told me to step out in faith. So I got up, went to the place where I stored my drugs and took every one of the large containers of drugs and flushed all of the contents down the toilet. To make a very long story short, I never went through any withdrawals from the drugs, I was healed of the addiction from that moment forward. You see, I had a revelation of the Word of God that became so clear because of the many people who were praying for me. If you were to think of a seemingly impossible person to repent and be saved, someone so full of anger and so full of self, a person that seemed to be too far gone to ever turn around, that person would've had to have been me. We need to always remember what Jeremiah 32:27 says; "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" Before I had repented, my mother had me on so many people's prayer lists. She contacted ministry after ministry and told them to add my name. One day while she was speaking with a pastor regarding my situation, he told her to pray Ephesians 1:17-21 over me, inserting my name in that very prayer that Paul had prayed: "17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." What's interesting is, God honored that prayer exactly on the morning of September 3, 1987 - because in an instant the eyes of my understanding were enlightened. Yes, it's true they prayed many years for me, but they stayed with it and didn't give up, thank God. You see no one would knowingly choose to go to hell. We need to understand that when a person is in rebellion they are deceived, and they need enlightenment from the Lord to know the way. I often tell people that I am a victim of prayer and am greatful for those that knew its power and stayed the course. They partnered with God, giving Him substance to work with to bring about His will for my life - I am so humbled by this and grateful for it. The following is a combination of the two prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed that are taken out of Ephesians 1:16-21, and 3:14-19. This is a good place for you to begin in your intercessionfor your loved ones. Simply put their name in the blank and pray it by faith! (You may want to highlight, copy and paste the following prayer into your word processor, then print it out) Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I ask that you would give to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that the eyes of _____________'s understanding would be enlightened; that ____________ may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And that You would grant to ____________ , according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in their inner man, that Christ may dwell in their heart through faith; that ____________, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that ____________ may be filled with all the fullness of God. You might also want to pray this prayer over yourself from time to time and over your mate. As born-again believer's we are all children of God and need the understanding and continued revelation of God and His Word. Know that the Lord hears us when we pray according to His Word which is His will (1 John 5:14-15), so when praying this over our loved one's we only need to ask it once if we ask in faith from the heart. You may want to tailor it to be a prayer of thankfulness after your initial asking of the Lord. You may want to pray something like: Father, I thank you in the Name of Jesus Christ, for giving to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, thank you that the eyes of _____________'s understanding are being enlightened... It will serve as a reminder to you of what God is bringing about because He is faithful to His Word. I think you get the idea. Helpful Tools Of Intercession Before going on to the many Scripture Promises regarding your children, I want to take a moment to arm you with some helpful Scriptural tools for successful intercession regarding someone who is rebellious and away from or does not know the Lord. Luke 10:19 - Jesus said: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."NOTE - Get a hold of this: you have been given delegated authority over the devil and his demons. They are under your feet. So you have the God given right to command them to take their hands off of your children. In fact Verse 20 reveals to us that these spirits are subject to us! Use your authority!!! Matthew 18:18 - Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." NOTE - Again, you can see how much authority has been given to the believer. As the establishing witness of the Word of God, the Lord wants us to begin to forbid some things with His delegated authority. Put your foot down and forbid the enemy to ravage your children. "Devil I bind (forbid) the spirit of addiction, I bind the spirit of lust, I bind the spirit of confusion etc. in Jesus' Name!" 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age (the devil) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." NOTE - See how the devil has placed blinders on them causing the deception. Take your authority and command the devil to take the blinders off of your children so that the light of the gospel can and will shine on them.Mark 11:23-24 - "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."NOTE - Don't just speak to God about the mountain, Jesus said here that YOU must "speak" TO the mountain. A mountain represents an obstacle that is in your way, or in this case in your children's way. Call out what ever the problem is in your children's life and command for it to be removed. "Spirit of addiction, spirit of rebellion, spirit of lust, spirit of homosexuality - I command you to leave my child in the Name of Jesus Christ - NOW!"   Matthew 9:37-38 - "Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." NOTE - Jesus said for us to "ask" the Father (Lord of the harvest) to send out laborers. So take Jesus at His Word and ask the Lord to send someone to your loved one that they will respect and listen to that will be able to speak the Word to them in love. This is so very important. I guarantee that you will be amazed at the Christian laborers that your loved one will tell you about one day that God had sent to minister to them. Ezekiel 36:26-29 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." NOTE - This is the will of God to take out hardness of heart and replace it with a soft heart of loving understanding and surrender. So ask Him to take out the hard heart and give your loved one a heart of flesh and deliver them from all uncleanness. Remember James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask not. There is no better way to receive from God than when we come to Him on the basis of His Word. The Promises of God Regarding Our ChildrenThese are promises that you can lay claim to personally as you proclaim them in prayer or as faith declarations over your children. Remember, the Bible tells us in James 5:16 that the prayers of a righteous man or woman avails much or as the Amplified version says: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Know this, you are a righteous person if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. I will continue to update the list of Children Scriptures as I come across them. Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (salvation, deliverance and healing), you and your household (this includes your children)." Psalm 115:14 "May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and yourchildren." Psalm 112:1-2 "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed." NOTE - Keep yourself sensitive to the things of the Lord and His ways and the blessing will flow to your children. Proverbs 14:11 "The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent (dwelling place, household) of the upright will flourish." NOTE - As you continue to serve the Lord and walk in His ways, begin to speak out daily, "According to the Word of God, I say my household will flourish in Jesus' Name!" Proverbs 20:7 "The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." NOTE - Here again we see that the blessing flows to the children of those who walk in the ways of the Lord. So if you haven't been, start today! Isaiah 49:25 "For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children." Proverbs 11:21 "Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But theposterity (children, descendants) of the righteous will be delivered ( rescued, released, escape)." NOTE - Parents, this is a powerful promise to you if your child is in bondage to drug addiction, alcohol, pornography etc. The Lord is wanting to give you hope, they will be delivered as you continue to mix your faith with the Word of God in prayer! If you are born-again, then you are the righteous, that is your God given inherited position in Christ. See 2 Corinthians 5:21. So there is no doubt that this Scripture is for you! Jeremiah 31:16-17 "Thus says the LORD: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work (raising of your children, prayer) shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they (your children) shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope (something you can expect) in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border (place of peace and safety and well being)." NOTE - Don't place your focus on how bad it may be now, instead look to the the promise of the Word and the power of the Lord to bring it about and begin to rejoice - their coming back!!! Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." NOTE - They may stray from time to time, but eventually they will return to what they know is right. Godly parenting is giving God substance to work with in their latter life. Psalm 25:12-13 "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity (at ease, cheerful, free from worry) and hisdescendants shall inherit the earth (blessings)." NOTE - As you take time with the Lord, He will teach you His ways and you will live at ease free from worry knowing that the Lord will take care of and bring about the blessing of salvation to your children.   Isaiah 61:8-9 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed." Psalm 128:3 "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, yourchildren like olive plants (symbol of anointing) all around your table." NOTE - Begin to see your children in the light of the Word that you are believing for them. In your prayer time begin to call them blessed, begin to see them in your minds eye as anointed by God, anointed to carry out the call of God on their lives and live as a blessing unto the Lord and all they come in contact with. Isaiah 54:13 "And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. (And their undisturbed composure) Amplified Version NOTE - Begin to call your children peaceful, composed, steady, and constant in what is right in Jesus' Name! Psalm 36:7-9 "How precious is Your lovingkindness (covenant remembrance, love & favor), O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness (fatness, abundance) of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain (outflow, spring) of life; In Your light we see light." NOTE - This verse is so full of revelation and power! Look at the heart of God toward us, nothing but goodness and blessing. I love the phrase, You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. What is interesting is the Hebrew word for pleasures here is the word "Eden," The same word as the garden of Eden - a paradise, perfection. That's right, He wants to satisfy His children with His very best - holding nothing back. Take a look at Luke 12:32 which confirms the Father's will for His children: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." So know that He's holding nothing back, and will provide His very best in bringing your children back to Him and keep them safe, pouring His life into them. Rejoice - this is the will of God! Isaiah 44:3-5 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.' One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel (Prince having favor with God)."NOTE - Wow! I love this verse of Scripture. Are you weary believing for your children, do you feel dry in your spirit? The Lord wants to bring refreshing to you - right now lift your hands to Him and take a moment and allow Him to bring the refreshing that He has promised to you. Know that this is His desire to pour out His Spirit on your children - believe it and receive it now! Psalm 102:28 "The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You." NOTE - Established in righteousness! Deuteronomy 7:13 "And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb." NOTE - The word "bless" if you do a word study, literally means empowered to succeed. Isaiah 29:22-24 "Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine." NOTE - Begin to see your children in your minds eye worshiping and praising the Lord. Begin to thank the Lord for correcting your children and bringing them into the blessing. Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me (my children);Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (be whole, be nourished up) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage (inheritance) from the LORD." NOTE - Your children do not belong to the devil, as this Scripture clearly states, they are an inheritance from the Lord. So command the devil to take his hands off and begin to proclaim that they belong to the Lord! Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: [the people of God] My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."NOTE - Accept this as a promise, and begin to see in your minds eye, your children and your entire family line serving the Lord and proclaiming the Word of God. Instead of fear or dread because of what might be happening in the natural, begin to look beyond to the eternal, and begin to praise Him for bringing this promise to pass - after all, it is a covenant!!! Remember, it takes just as much energy to worry as it does to believe God. So aim it in the direction that will do the most good - worry is always unproductive and operates in the realm of unbelief. Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. NOTE - Because of your dedication and walk with the Lord, because of the covenant in which you have entered into with Him, His favor and grace goes out to your children and He will draw them in.

http://allchristiansarewelcome.blogspot.com/2017/11/believe-god-for-our-children.html

[hellojulie1971]

Whether your children are young and innocent or older and struggling with a rebellious nature, whether they're living at home or are away and out in the world, our children need our prayers like never before. Oftentimes we feel so helpless, especially when they've gone astray and seem so lost, so angry and so unreachable. But the good news is that prayer works, especially when it's based on the Word of God. I love what Isaiah 55:11 says about this: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Know this: As a born-again Christian, you are the establishing witness of the Word of God on the earth. Almighty God has already sent forth His Word, and when we take hold of it by faith, laying claim to it within our hearts and make the quality decision to give it voice, we are then establishing His Word onto the earth. Wow! What a powerful people we are as born-again believers - oh if we only had an understanding of this to its fullest sense. I pray that the Lord will begin to open your eyes to this wonderful truth. Look also at Psalm 103:20-21 that enforces this truth and reveals a benefit of giving voice to the Word of God: "Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." Do you want to put the angels of God to work in your behalf? Then begin to boldly proclaim the Word of God in prayer. It activates the heavenly hosts to minister effectively in the situations that concern you. On September 3, 1987 I gave my life back to the Lord after many years of rebellion, drug addiction, womanizing and hard-core living. I had walked away from the Lord at 17 years of age and finally came back to the Lord when I was 33. During those wayward years, in my parents eyes, I seemed so hopeless and lost with no way of ever coming back to the Lord. I had lived a life outside of the law, was very prosperous and had influence amongst some very bad people. In fact, the week before I gave my heart back to the Lord, during a confrontation that my parents initiated regarding my lifestyle, I took hold of my father and aggressively shoved him up against a wall and told them both that if they didn't back off and leave me alone I would have them both killed and that it wouldn't cost me a cent! I looked them right in the eye and told them they were nothing to me. Can you imagine how they must have felt? However, within the span of about four days a miraculous event took place in my life and I was saved and back with the Lord. Yes, it got worse in their eyes before it got better, and that's something that you must remember. When you begin to pray for your children things could "seem" to get worse before the breakthrough comes. Don't be moved by that, just continue to stand your ground and believe God! The devil usually likes to kick up his heels a bit in the hope that it will bring discouragement to you and that you will cease in your prayer and believing. The very morning that I gave my heart back to the Lord, a demonic spirit approached my bed and spoke to me - yes, I was able to see him clearly. He told me who he was and that he was sent to take me to hell, and to hell I would go! As he spoke, In an instant, the whole Bible made perfect sense to me, it was like a light had been turned on in my understanding. I looked at him and thought, "he is a demon, and a creation of God." It's interesting to me that His presence actually proved the Bible to me, and suddenly it all just made sense to me. I looked at him and said, "I know someone much stronger than you!" He said "Who?" I said, "Jesus, that's who!" At that moment I lifted my hands and asked Jesus to forgive me and I asked him to come into my heart, take control of my life and change me. Right then, the Lord spoke to me audibly and told me to step out in faith. So I got up, went to the place where I stored my drugs and took every one of the large containers of drugs and flushed all of the contents down the toilet. To make a very long story short, I never went through any withdrawals from the drugs, I was healed of the addiction from that moment forward. You see, I had a revelation of the Word of God that became so clear because of the many people who were praying for me. If you were to think of a seemingly impossible person to repent and be saved, someone so full of anger and so full of self, a person that seemed to be too far gone to ever turn around, that person would've had to have been me. We need to always remember what Jeremiah 32:27 says; "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?" Before I had repented, my mother had me on so many people's prayer lists. She contacted ministry after ministry and told them to add my name. One day while she was speaking with a pastor regarding my situation, he told her to pray Ephesians 1:17-21 over me, inserting my name in that very prayer that Paul had prayed: "17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." What's interesting is, God honored that prayer exactly on the morning of September 3, 1987 - because in an instant the eyes of my understanding were enlightened. Yes, it's true they prayed many years for me, but they stayed with it and didn't give up, thank God. You see no one would knowingly choose to go to hell. We need to understand that when a person is in rebellion they are deceived, and they need enlightenment from the Lord to know the way. I often tell people that I am a victim of prayer and am greatful for those that knew its power and stayed the course. They partnered with God, giving Him substance to work with to bring about His will for my life - I am so humbled by this and grateful for it. The following is a combination of the two prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed that are taken out of Ephesians 1:16-21, and 3:14-19. This is a good place for you to begin in your intercessionfor your loved ones. Simply put their name in the blank and pray it by faith! (You may want to highlight, copy and paste the following prayer into your word processor, then print it out) Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I ask that you would give to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that the eyes of _____________'s understanding would be enlightened; that ____________ may know what is the hope of Your calling, what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Your power toward us who believe, according to the working of Your mighty power which You worked in Christ when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And that You would grant to ____________ , according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in their inner man, that Christ may dwell in their heart through faith; that ____________, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that ____________ may be filled with all the fullness of God. You might also want to pray this prayer over yourself from time to time and over your mate. As born-again believer's we are all children of God and need the understanding and continued revelation of God and His Word. Know that the Lord hears us when we pray according to His Word which is His will (1 John 5:14-15), so when praying this over our loved one's we only need to ask it once if we ask in faith from the heart. You may want to tailor it to be a prayer of thankfulness after your initial asking of the Lord. You may want to pray something like: Father, I thank you in the Name of Jesus Christ, for giving to ____________ the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, thank you that the eyes of _____________'s understanding are being enlightened... It will serve as a reminder to you of what God is bringing about because He is faithful to His Word. I think you get the idea. Helpful Tools Of Intercession Before going on to the many Scripture Promises regarding your children, I want to take a moment to arm you with some helpful Scriptural tools for successful intercession regarding someone who is rebellious and away from or does not know the Lord. Luke 10:19 - Jesus said: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."NOTE - Get a hold of this: you have been given delegated authority over the devil and his demons. They are under your feet. So you have the God given right to command them to take their hands off of your children. In fact Verse 20 reveals to us that these spirits are subject to us! Use your authority!!! Matthew 18:18 - Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." NOTE - Again, you can see how much authority has been given to the believer. As the establishing witness of the Word of God, the Lord wants us to begin to forbid some things with His delegated authority. Put your foot down and forbid the enemy to ravage your children. "Devil I bind (forbid) the spirit of addiction, I bind the spirit of lust, I bind the spirit of confusion etc. in Jesus' Name!" 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 - "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age (the devil) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." NOTE - See how the devil has placed blinders on them causing the deception. Take your authority and command the devil to take the blinders off of your children so that the light of the gospel can and will shine on them.Mark 11:23-24 - "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."NOTE - Don't just speak to God about the mountain, Jesus said here that YOU must "speak" TO the mountain. A mountain represents an obstacle that is in your way, or in this case in your children's way. Call out what ever the problem is in your children's life and command for it to be removed. "Spirit of addiction, spirit of rebellion, spirit of lust, spirit of homosexuality - I command you to leave my child in the Name of Jesus Christ - NOW!"   Matthew 9:37-38 - "Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." NOTE - Jesus said for us to "ask" the Father (Lord of the harvest) to send out laborers. So take Jesus at His Word and ask the Lord to send someone to your loved one that they will respect and listen to that will be able to speak the Word to them in love. This is so very important. I guarantee that you will be amazed at the Christian laborers that your loved one will tell you about one day that God had sent to minister to them. Ezekiel 36:26-29 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." NOTE - This is the will of God to take out hardness of heart and replace it with a soft heart of loving understanding and surrender. So ask Him to take out the hard heart and give your loved one a heart of flesh and deliver them from all uncleanness. Remember James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we ask not. There is no better way to receive from God than when we come to Him on the basis of His Word. The Promises of God Regarding Our ChildrenThese are promises that you can lay claim to personally as you proclaim them in prayer or as faith declarations over your children. Remember, the Bible tells us in James 5:16 that the prayers of a righteous man or woman avails much or as the Amplified version says: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Know this, you are a righteous person if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life. I will continue to update the list of Children Scriptures as I come across them. Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (salvation, deliverance and healing), you and your household (this includes your children)." Psalm 115:14 "May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and yourchildren." Psalm 112:1-2 "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed." NOTE - Keep yourself sensitive to the things of the Lord and His ways and the blessing will flow to your children. Proverbs 14:11 "The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent (dwelling place, household) of the upright will flourish." NOTE - As you continue to serve the Lord and walk in His ways, begin to speak out daily, "According to the Word of God, I say my household will flourish in Jesus' Name!" Proverbs 20:7 "The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." NOTE - Here again we see that the blessing flows to the children of those who walk in the ways of the Lord. So if you haven't been, start today! Isaiah 49:25 "For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children." Proverbs 11:21 "Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But theposterity (children, descendants) of the righteous will be delivered ( rescued, released, escape)." NOTE - Parents, this is a powerful promise to you if your child is in bondage to drug addiction, alcohol, pornography etc. The Lord is wanting to give you hope, they will be delivered as you continue to mix your faith with the Word of God in prayer! If you are born-again, then you are the righteous, that is your God given inherited position in Christ. See 2 Corinthians 5:21. So there is no doubt that this Scripture is for you! Jeremiah 31:16-17 "Thus says the LORD: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work (raising of your children, prayer) shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they (your children) shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope (something you can expect) in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border (place of peace and safety and well being)." NOTE - Don't place your focus on how bad it may be now, instead look to the the promise of the Word and the power of the Lord to bring it about and begin to rejoice - their coming back!!! Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." NOTE - They may stray from time to time, but eventually they will return to what they know is right. Godly parenting is giving God substance to work with in their latter life. Psalm 25:12-13 "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity (at ease, cheerful, free from worry) and hisdescendants shall inherit the earth (blessings)." NOTE - As you take time with the Lord, He will teach you His ways and you will live at ease free from worry knowing that the Lord will take care of and bring about the blessing of salvation to your children.   Isaiah 61:8-9 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed." Psalm 128:3 "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, yourchildren like olive plants (symbol of anointing) all around your table." NOTE - Begin to see your children in the light of the Word that you are believing for them. In your prayer time begin to call them blessed, begin to see them in your minds eye as anointed by God, anointed to carry out the call of God on their lives and live as a blessing unto the Lord and all they come in contact with. Isaiah 54:13 "And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. (And their undisturbed composure) Amplified Version NOTE - Begin to call your children peaceful, composed, steady, and constant in what is right in Jesus' Name! Psalm 36:7-9 "How precious is Your lovingkindness (covenant remembrance, love & favor), O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness (fatness, abundance) of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain (outflow, spring) of life; In Your light we see light." NOTE - This verse is so full of revelation and power! Look at the heart of God toward us, nothing but goodness and blessing. I love the phrase, You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. What is interesting is the Hebrew word for pleasures here is the word "Eden," The same word as the garden of Eden - a paradise, perfection. That's right, He wants to satisfy His children with His very best - holding nothing back. Take a look at Luke 12:32 which confirms the Father's will for His children: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." So know that He's holding nothing back, and will provide His very best in bringing your children back to Him and keep them safe, pouring His life into them. Rejoice - this is the will of God! Isaiah 44:3-5 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.' One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel (Prince having favor with God)."NOTE - Wow! I love this verse of Scripture. Are you weary believing for your children, do you feel dry in your spirit? The Lord wants to bring refreshing to you - right now lift your hands to Him and take a moment and allow Him to bring the refreshing that He has promised to you. Know that this is His desire to pour out His Spirit on your children - believe it and receive it now! Psalm 102:28 "The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You." NOTE - Established in righteousness! Deuteronomy 7:13 "And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb." NOTE - The word "bless" if you do a word study, literally means empowered to succeed. Isaiah 29:22-24 "Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine." NOTE - Begin to see your children in your minds eye worshiping and praising the Lord. Begin to thank the Lord for correcting your children and bringing them into the blessing. Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me (my children);Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (be whole, be nourished up) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage (inheritance) from the LORD." NOTE - Your children do not belong to the devil, as this Scripture clearly states, they are an inheritance from the Lord. So command the devil to take his hands off and begin to proclaim that they belong to the Lord! Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: [the people of God] My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."NOTE - Accept this as a promise, and begin to see in your minds eye, your children and your entire family line serving the Lord and proclaiming the Word of God. Instead of fear or dread because of what might be happening in the natural, begin to look beyond to the eternal, and begin to praise Him for bringing this promise to pass - after all, it is a covenant!!! Remember, it takes just as much energy to worry as it does to believe God. So aim it in the direction that will do the most good - worry is always unproductive and operates in the realm of unbelief. Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. NOTE - Because of your dedication and walk with the Lord, because of the covenant in which you have entered into with Him, His favor and grace goes out to your children and He will draw them in.

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