God is in Charge

Some of the most convicting words I heard this week came out of my daughter's mouth as she shared her testimony.

He is in control, not me or anyone else. (Anyone else need to hear that this Christmas season?!)

It was a very, very special day to get to watch firsthand as Jeremy baptized Grace.

I wanted to record some of my thoughts from the day she made her decision.

December 2, 2014
Today I received a call from a teacher at school outlining some trouble Grace was having at school getting along with other students...again. It has plagued this school year. My opinionated firstborn is struggling socially to make and keep friends in her everything is black and white world. She doesn't know grey, or compromise very well.

This particular case was just down right parenting embarrassment. I started at my whit's end but thankfully God in his grace didn't leave me there.

I discussed the situation and Grace had little repentance on her part. She really felt she had the right to express her distaste towards other student's actions and attitudes. AGH! I shared with her that I wasn't exactly sure what to do with her. We model love & forgiveness in our home, we have taught her to be kind and that there are consequences when we are unkind, we give her boundaries and consequences. I reminded her that her problem was SIN, and asked her if she knew what the solution was.

She was quick to tell me that only salvation brings a solution to a sin problem. She reminded me that for over a year she had been asking questions and insisting she wanted to become a Christian and that we consider her being baptized.  Can I just be honest? Leading our daughter to Christ has been one of the hardest things we've ever done! We just wanted to make sure she was ready and felt like she was making her own decision. We have wrestled and wrestled and sought wisdom and wrestled some more. (Its so true you learn on the first one!)

So we revisited some biblical truths we had talked about the last time we were caught in a struggle. I had clearly shared the gospel with her and asked where she was at in the fall. For the first time since she has started insisting she responded with uncertainty and so I had let it be. Today the Lord gave me the wisdom to ask exactly what was holding her back. She shared with me she was afraid of getting up in front of the entire church. And then the Holy Spirit took over.

I shared with her a verse from Ephesians that God brought to mind about how we are to bear with one another in love.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

We had been talking over and over and over again about being a peacemaker at school.

But that wasn't what caught her in the verse. We talked bout what it meant to be a prisoner of the Lord. Then we talked about who/what we are a prisoner to before we belong to the Lord. She identified that she was a slave to sin, and she wanted freedom. And she knew who could bring that freedom. She identified she was ready for God to be boss! (a big deal for her) As I prayed with her I had a total peace that this was the moment of clarity we'd both been searching for.

As soon as she spoke those precious words of accepting Jesus and said amen she ran to get a paper and pencil. She forced me to sit down and right down everything she wanted to say so she could copy it with the correct spelling (who is this child who cares about spelling?!) She still had consequences to face for her misbehavior but she was a different child. She was so full of joy. She picked out a fancy dress to wear to school the next day to share her big news!

God also started working on her fearful heart. Soon she came to me with a realization. There were so many people at church who have taught her and were excited for her baptism. She bravely made the choice all on her own to do it during church. She wasn't fearful at all! She bravely declared every word.

I posted the video above but here is her testimony word for word in written format:

Today I became a Christian. 

I decided to become a Christian because when I was at school I felt yucky, and had problems. I felt under arrest by my sin. I talked to my mom and read a Bible verse, Ephesians 4:1-3. It was about being a peacemaker. I had sin in my life. I prayed with my mom and admitted my sin. I asked for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus is my Savior and my Lord. He is in control, not me or anyone else. When we were done I didn't feel yucky. I felt good inside. I felt the Holy Spirit. I want to be baptized and live a life where God is in charge. I made this choice, and Jesus saved me.

My Grown Up Christmas List

Have you ever heard the song, "Grown Up Christmas List?"

For me it has to be sung by Amy Grant.

Not popping into your head? YouTube can help.

The tape this song was on was a standard at our house growing up. We loved us some Amy Grant.

(Most of you who read this are probably nodding your head but I know I'm dating myself here...)

Essentially the song is about a grown up wish list for Santa...

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

It's not got a ton of great theology in there. Until Jesus returns lives will be torn apart. War will start. Time will never heal our hearts. There will always be people without friends.

Right will win in the end, but on this earth it will never always win.

But the good news is love WILL never end for those who know Jesus Christ.

And so I'm not making a christmas list for Santa.

But, I have been thinking about what I'm asking the Lord for this coming year.

My Christmas Prayer List:

- For Dorcus to have a family. 

Dorcus is a little girl who remains in the orphanage who rescued our David. It is my heart's desire that a family would obediently answer the call to adopt this precious one. I'm praying they will be brave and say yes and begin this crazy journey called adoption. I can't wait to meet them and help them in any way I can.

-For God to equip our family to love and share the good news with the families of Afterschool Adventures.

This is our mission field and we desperately need God to reach it. I am asking for God to continually break my heart for the harvest in this community. That we would sacrifice, love, be hands & feet, and know how to do it to God's glory and these children's benefit. We CAN NOT do it alone.

-For my kids to be world changers for the kingdom.

Parenting is hard. I feel like I'm failing at it a lot. And I have definitely figured out my kids are only going to be the people I desire them to be by the grace of God. But I'm going big on this one. I'm not just asking God to save my kids. This year I am going to ask him to show their little hearts the big plans he has for them to grow his kingdom. I want to raise world changers and prayer is my parenting strategy. (I might have stole that from PBT and tweaked it- but its good stuff.)

So there you have it. This is what I'm praying about as I look to 2015.

There are so many more things, but these are the three I'm putting my prayer team on.

(aka making sure my kids are on board because they are so persistent in prayer sometimes it secretly makes me jealous)

Black Friday

Have you ever wondered why they call it BLACK Friday?

Me too. So I did a bit of research. (aka I typed it in a search engine)

Here is what I discovered.

The day's name originated in Philadelphia, PA, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation was made: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss ("in the red") from January through November, and "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or "in the black".

I copied that from Wikipedia just for you. I'm generous like that.

I think I have only gone Black Friday shopping once. And to be honest it was like the second round black Friday shopping. I've never stood in line or any of the other craziness. Although I'm not being critical either way... I don't like to start riots around here. I just desperately needed a post idea.

But, I started thinking about all that a color can communicate. 

And it got me to thinking you might be interested to know that all my kiddos are a color. I guess some people might think that sounds weird, but its totally normal in our little family. If you know us well you probably even know which each of their colors are. It started as a survival technique when I had two girls only 19 months apart. And it has definitely come in handy now that I have two boys that are only 10 months apart. But, it has turned into much more fun than that. I always tell my kids that I love them their color. I love them all the same but that love takes on different shades according to their own personal bent.

Gracie I love you the purplest. Its perfect that I gave you purple because it was my color and I'm just not a "pink" girl. And since you are my mini me that worked out like I planned it that way. Purple is the color of royalty and you know how to pull off a regal command like any queen. And you truly are the queen bee of our family. You were definitely born with a bent to rule, and I can't wait to see what you do for God's kingdom.

Faith, I love you the pinkest. Even thought I'm more purple I absolutely love being the mama to a pink girlie girl. You are our princess in every way and I'm so glad we saved pink for you. You are the pink to Grace's purple and you two make a perfect sister pair. Pink is the color of a ballerina and you can dance into almost anyone's heart. It's also the perfect sprinkle color and you are our sweet little cupcake baker and spa maker. I can't wait to see all that God will call you to love with your pink heart.

Titus, I love you the greenest. I guess I'm non-traditional since I went with purple and green before pink and blue. But, you kind of just choose green all on your own. I also love it because you truly are our green giant, and a gentle giant at that. You became the bull in our china cabinet and we just loved that because we've always liked cows around here and they eat green grass so it all works out nicely. Speaking of green grass I'm pretty sure your daddy expects you to be involved with a brown ball and some green grass someday. I can't wait to see all God does in you as you grow in him. It's going to be giant.

David, I love you the bluest. You aren't sure about being blue, sometimes you would really like your color to be red. And that really fits you too because you just weren't sure in the beginning about us telling you anything. But, you have grown into a blue brother that loves your best green buddy fiercely. When you two get together its not always blue skies its more like a thunderstorm. But, rain makes for green grass! You are also blue like jazz. Your love and God given talent for music is so fun for us to enjoy. You can also make us laugh till we are blue in the face. I know God is going to use you to make sure others aren't blue, and that they know God's love for them.

Purple. 

Pink. 

Green. 

Blue. 

Oh, how I love you each more than you know!