A 7 year old's Confession of Faith

A few Sunday's ago Little Miss P didn't want to go to her usual kid's church. She wanted to come sit in with us in the church service. When she said that I wondered what was wrong.  And then I kind of sighed.  She's very wiggly and it make for a not so relaxing way to sit and listen to the sermon.  Her loving daddy however wrapped his arms around her and smiled at her and said "Sure!" like it was the best news he'd heard all day...may I add he did this sincerely.

So she came and sat with is.  And she sung along with all the songs. And she was very still. It was very odd. I must admit I wondered if she was sick.  This girl is a going concern from the time her beautiful blues open in the morning until they close at night.  

And then she tapped on my shoulder and showed me this

"Jesus is the truth and the way and the life. I will forever love him and be a Christian.I will always trust Him. I will never bow down to an idol. I will never worship anything or anyone but Jesus. I welcome Him into my heart."

Her confession of faith.  This was NOT what the pastor was preaching on AT ALL.  She had her own time with God. He met her right then and there.

WOW!

An Update

I cannot believe it's been since the middle of July that I posted!  So much going on. There have been so many times that I wanted to sit down and write something but did not have the time!  Yep, it's been that busy.
OK let's see...we had the privilege of going down to Palm Springs to visit my dad,step-mom, brother, and grandpa this summer.  That was fun!  We went to Capernwray on Thetis Island for a week with Shaun's family.  That was good.  The girls did swimming lessons and two Vacation Bible Schools.  We had a few bbqs and hung out with friends.  My mom took the girls quite a bit this summer between all their activities so we adults could work.  It was a good and busy summer!
Just before we went to camp we got a call saying it was time to come to Victoria and say goodbye to Grandma (Shaun's dad's mom).  We went. The hour and a bit we got to spend with her was lovely.  She was so gracious to us. She was in a tremendous amount of pain and yet she still had a cheerful smile and time to drawn and giggle with the girls.  I won't forget those last moments.  She passed away a week later.  We sure were thankful that we were able to take the time to go and say goodbye.  She had quite a life.  I know she loved Jesus and so I will get to spend some more time with her on the other side.  Death where is your sting!
School started at the beginning of September for the girls.  They are now in Grades 2 & 4.  My goodness they are growing up quickly! I'm loving it!  The older they get the more I enjoy them...and I really enjoyed them as babies! I'm one blessed mama. It was nice to be back at the same school and know people and greet people as friends instead of being the new ones (although I must say that last year the school they are in and the families that go there were so welcoming, warm and friendly to all of us even as newbies). We are very very blessed with the privilege of attending this school. The three years on the wait list was definitely worth it! Miss M has "an awesome" teacher.  She has her first male teacher. She loves being in his class.  Little Miss P has a new teacher to the school and she loves her as well.  I'm pleased with these reports.  I haven't been able to be around school as much this year as I've been working more intensely and longer but I am thankful that they are comfortable in their school environment.
Both girls began music lessons with the start of school. Miss M is taking piano lessons and little Miss P is taking violin.  They are doing well.  M practices without reminders most of the time Miss P...she needs the reminders.  They both have a knack for it though and it's fun to watch them learn.  I'm even getting to learn violin with Miss P so I can help her along.  Bonus!
We are now 10 months into attending the church that we went to when we were engaged and first married.  It is so nice to live in the community that we attend church in.  We see so many familiar faces where ever we go. I love it!  I can't recall ever having this experience so often.  If you've not moved often then maybe you wouldn't be thankful for this but for me it's a massive gift and I truly am thankful for it.  There again it's nice to go to church and now know people. It's always a bit awkward when you are new somewhere. And again, the warmth and kindness of people we've met has been so wonderful.  People are not always friendly, especially if they have lived somewhere their whole lives.  They can be cliquish and have no need or room for new friends.  This has not been the case here.  Many of our friends have lived here all their lives and they have time for our family.  It's a beautiful thing.  I am grateful.
I have been marveling at the people in our lives family and both old friends and new friends.  What a gift they each are! They each have a special niche of their own in our hearts.
For our 14th anniversary my mom took the girls for us for 4 whole days. We got to go to Whistler and just be away.  We even did something we've never done before...we went ziplining! We got up to 100 km /hr.  Awesome! We loved it!  We'd for sure do it again.
We celebrated Shaun's Grandma's life the weekend after celebrating our anniversary.  Memorials definitely set people to thinking about life and the inevitability of death.  It is interesting to watch how each person responds.  Shaun and I got to sing together at the memorial.  I must brag on my man here.  He's amazing!  I. LOVE. Singing. With. Him!  It's...it's probably one of my favourite things.  It's a gift to my soul, to the very core of my being...it brings me such joy.  I can't think of anything more amazing than singing TO my Creator with the love of my life.
The business as been humming along.  We are working hard.  It too is getting easier little by little...not less work, maybe even more work. But the learning curve is not at such a steep incline. It's still pretty steep though!  We're exhausted most of the time. :)...which we honestly don't mind.
So as you can see, life is humming along quite busily and nicely.  I think it takes a good 5 years to settle into a place properly.  We're a a year and a half in and it's getting easier.
I am thankful. I am blessed.

Sin Nature at its Finest...

I had an interesting experience the other day.  Shaun and I were both grumpy. We were both feeling that the other was being irksome and so we decided to give each other a taste of the other's medicine (we, of course, figured this out later). You know how it is...snarkiness leads to more and more and more snarkiness. Now we, generally, have a pretty easy-going, happy, and good relationship.  We work hard at our marriage. But this day was an exception and our darker sides won this round.  It wasn't a big deal compared to some people I've seen at each other...but it was a big deal to us.  We were just nattering and at each other.  After we kissed and made up I got to thinking for the next day and a half.  I was praying and asking God to show me exactly what my part in that exchange was.
First of all some good excuses: we were both very tired and not feeling that great, it had been an extremely long day and it has been some time since we've actually rested.
    Are those good enough excuses to excuse that kind of behaviour?  No. Not for us.
A few lessons I learned from this:
   It was very clear to me how easy it is to, exchange after exchange like that, to lose your mates heart.  It is a bit by bit thing I think.  It's not an all of a sudden thing.  But if you don't hold your sin nature in check each time and ask for help from God...I think that each of those kinds of exchanges would get easier and easier.  You would lose that sweetness factor very easily.  You lose that joy of walking life's path together and in-step.  I've seen it repeatedly as I've observed people over the years.  It's easy to let your heart get hard.  It's takes repentance and humility to walk as one.  Those two words, repentance and humility, are nearly impossible without God's help.  I mean, you can do it but I think it's nearly impossible to do it in a healthy way and not lose your soul little by little in the process.  With God, you can do it with health and not come out as a victim or a doormat.  It takes living with purpose.
In that exchange I could feel my heart getting a little harder. It took my husband being the first one to be humble and ask for forgiveness for my heart to soften.  It was as clear as day to me and it really startled me. I saddened me that I allowed my heart to get hard towards my husband.  I had never done that before. I was NOT going to give in.  Stubbornness and pride were at the forefront.

It was perhaps a 10 minute exchange but God was gracious to me and showed me the path those behaviours ultimately lead too...they lead to death.  Death of a marriage, death of a family, death of a life well worth living.

It was a rather painless way to learn that lesson.  But it was enough.  It was sin nature at its finest...and it's stil l as ugly as sin.

Take me to Paris.

The girls and my mom were having a conversation and the girls were asking my mom when she was going to go to London again.  They talked for a bit about money and the cost.  Then Portia piped up, "Grandma, if you ever go to Paris you must take me!" My mom asked her why she wanted to go to Paris. "I want to be a fashion designer, Grandma, and that's where all the best ones live!" .

I have no idea where she got that but...the girl knows her mind!  That has been on her radar for 3 years now and she's only just 7. And you know, I think she would be excellent at it. So perhaps one day, we'll be heading to Paris to visit our fashion designer.  :).  

A Crutch?

As I was working on a job-site this last week I was contemplating something people say who are not Christians and this is their reason why they are not Christians..."I don't need a crutch and that's all that religion is to me".  That statement may very well be true of religion.  I don't believe in religion though. I don't believe in ritual. Well I should clarify that...I don't believe in ritual that is routine (in other words something that you do to check the box). I believe in ritual, however, which has meaning of deep importance...but that's a topic for another day.   As I was thinking about this and mulling this "Christianity as a crutch" over it hit me as a somewhat  bizarre. 
 Jesus is not a religion. If He is that then we're back at "checking a box". Because, you're right, if Jesus was a crutch to me that would be mean that He is a temporary fix to a fixable problem. That I only need Him for a short time. It would mean that within myself I'm self sufficient.  That I'm a god, essentially. What bunk! What arrogance.
Jesus is not a crutch He is...
He is out of time and space.  He was before time and space. He has no beginning and no end. He is Creator and I am created.  He is the son of God. He saved my soul.  He is grace. He is Love. His love never fails. His love is flawless.  It never gives up. It never runs out on me.  His love is constant through trial and pain. It overwhelms and satisfies my soul.  I never ever have to be afraid.  He took our sin. He bore our shame, He rose to life. He defeated the grave.  He delights in His children. He is the treasure I could not afford but He gave it freely.  He is slow to anger.  He is the essence of kindness. He is my provider. He is peace. He is light. He is my counselor. He is wisdom. He is comfort. He is my sanity. He is my clarity.  There is no power that can come against Him. Who He opposes cannot stand. He is faithful. Day and Nights angels sing "Holy Holy is the Lord" to Him. He hears the cry of every broken heart, He gives the hopeless soul a brand new start. He leads the captive to freedom. He holds orphans in His loving arms. He is beauty and majesty and glory. He is worthy.  He is Servant and King of Kings.  He is my breath of life. A love like this the world has never known. His love has captured me. He has replaced my lesser gods and lesser pleasures. He alone can satisfy.  He holds my every moment. Everything else fades in the light of Him. He in Himself is enough. 
That's what God does. That's who He is...and I could keep going. There is no end to Him. You cannot plumb the depths of Him.
Any of those qualities in me are only a reflection of the author and finisher of my faith. Jesus Christ.  A reflection not the source. 
Indeed, I need much more than a crutch.

One way we memorize

My Mom bought the girls "See It - Say It Bible Storybook" a few years back.  The girls loved it. It was a Rebus picture book Bible for kids.  This Rebus way of telling a story set me to thinking that I could do that for the girls to aide them in memorizing some Bible verses. So These pages are one of the first ones I did. We have since moved on to whole chapters memorizing verses this way. It has worked fantastically well. It makes it fun.  It also lets me learn a skill that I didn't know I was capable of and am now enjoying....drawing. So a win all around. 

What am I filling up on?

When the girls were babies I would make up songs to verses of scripture and I would teach it to them when I tucked them in at bedtime. We have also been very careful about what they see and hear as far as TV shows, movies, and music...especially music.  We are also very careful about what our eyes and ears hear and see too...not just the girls.  Shaun and I are both very aware of those little lies that Satan whispers in our ears that can either be deflected and fall dead to the ground with God's words OR can be planted into our souls and take root and destroy us.  
Actually this whole idea is a massive topic.  But after reading a friend's blog today I have been pondering one part of it...the hiding God's word in my heart part.  You know there's only so much room in my heart.  When I fill it up with music that has words that don't edify Him or me, garbage movies, garbage TV shows (don't get me wrong here, I love watching shows the same as the next girl and all shows and movies aren't bad...but there are those things that I don't need to fill my mind with...remember, this is a big topic...trying to narrow it down to the part I was thinking about ;), etc. I don't have room in my heart to think about God.  I don't have room to ponder His words.  I don't have room because I'm all full...on junk food.  
Shaun and I have been changing our family's eating habits.  We have also been changing our family's spiritual eating habits...so to speak.  While we have been going for the nutritiously dense foods and pretty much taking junk food out of our body's diet...we have also been taking out the junk food of our spiritual diet more and more.  We have been turning off the TV...just that one thing...frees up SO MUCH mental space.  What's been the most interesting thing about that is...the girls rarely watch a show now...on their own initiative. In fact, over spring break they informed me "We used to watch a lot of shows, Mom.  But now we prefer to play." And it's true!  I see their creativity shining through.  They get along better.  Their thought patterns are clearer. Their curiosity is alive and vibrant...and that's just the girls.  Shaun and I have noticed that when we read our Bible, we're able to take it in.  It's not just one more input into our overtaxed brains.  We think about God's word. We ponder it.  It is changing us.  We talk more. We get more done. We have more time for the things that refresh and fill our souls.  For us we have to be pretty disciplined to keep it that way because our default mode, at the end of the day, is to flop on the couch and turn on the TV because we are so tired.  We are always so much better off when we go about our life this way, though that the being disciplined part isn't hard.  
Let me give you an example of TV taking up our mental space.  Shaun and I watched 2 seasons of Downton Abbey a few months back every evening until we were done.  Great show, by the way! But we found ourselves (bot of us) dreaming (literally) about Downton Abbey, talking about Downton Abbey, perseverating about Downton Abbey! It's a TV show for crying out loud...not real people! But it felt real to us.  We were completely obsessed!  about a TV show.  I think you get the point.  If we had put 1/2 that amount of thought and energy into something that really mattered...
So after de-cluttering our hearts we are also starting to notice that memorizing God's word is a breeze. It stays in our hearts. His words are powerful. When Satan is up to his old tricks His words rise to the surface and deflect.  They protect us.  They inspire us.  They calm us.  
Shaun does the tucking in now and every once in awhile I'll peek in, undetected, and see his snuggled in with the girls saying the current chapter of the Bible that they are working on.  We've been at it now for about 3 years and they have 4 or 5 chapters memorized. 
A few months back Papa was over for a visit and tucked Mercedes in...Shaun peeked in on them and Mercedes had her Bible out and was going through all the chapters she has memorized and was explaining them to Papa.  *tears*.  Often, if we peek in on her after she's been tucked in, she'll be reading her Bible.  It's awesome! 
Portia, from time to time, is scared in the night.  Over the years she would come into our room quite beside herself with fear and would crawl into bed with us.  So we started teaching her verses about fear and that it's not from God. We started teaching her that she has a weapon against those little (or big) whispers from Satan...the word of God. About 6 months ago she got it!  In the night she would start to pray and quote those verses.  One morning she said to me "Mommy, I was afraid last night and then I prayed to Jesus and said those verses and I wasn't afraid anymore."  Massive massive deal in our house! Our wee daughter, at 6, is learning to fight her enemy. She's learning warfare...and winning because she has the God of the angel armies, the King of kings and the the Lord of lords, on her side.  
Just thinking about all of this makes me want to do the happy dance. What a difference.  Yes, life still has its moments...but we have HOPE! We know those are just moments that will pass. We have hope. I don't know about you, but I need hope.  I can't live without it. The good thing is...I don't have too. 
These verses stuck out to me today from my friend's blog posting

"The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man (or woman!) who trusts in him." (Ps.32:10) 

"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love." (Ps.33:18)