Little Boy

A friend who works with an orphanage in East Asia told me about a little boy. I don't know his name, but I ask you to remember him. She said she went to the orphanage yesterday and was shocked to see this boy, almost 3 years old, in the orphanage. He was supposed to have been adopted this week. But the parents would not take him. They said his head was too flat! All orphanage babies have flat heads! This child had been in a foster home. Now he is in the orphanage. I feel physically sick when I think about this poor boy! He had a foster family. Now he is sleeping in a strange room with 50 kids. The glimmer of hope is that the local foster family might want to adopt him. Please pray that they will. Please pray he can get back to them quickly. Tonight as my 3 year old Jett was going to sleep he wanted me to wrap my arms around him. He held my hand and kissed it. If he sensed that I was pulling away, he would hold me tighter. I cried as I thought about that dear little boy missing the hand of his foster mom. I tried to imagine my Jett in a strange environment not understanding what had happened to his happy family. That makes my heart hurt.

2nd Wav - Walking Wisely

Last night 2nd Wav got to play for 900 high schoolers. What a thrill! They did a great job on Hit Me With Your Best Shot, the song to open the event. I had to fight back the tears seeing my son up there on stage, doing what he loves to do. Noah already says he wants to follow in Danny's steps with a career in music. I believe he will do just that. God has blessed him with a gift.

Resurrection Cookies

My mother-in-law gave me this fun idea for Easter. We are going to do this tonight. Gather the kids together with your Bible and a few ingredients and make Resurrection Cookies. You have to leave these in the oven overnight. There is a scripture to read as you add each ingredient. This is a great visual that will leave make a lasting impression.

Rees Howells Intercessor

Some books are better read when you're desperate. For me, this is one such book. I feel I have just taken a course on intercessory prayer. To be in the throes of following Divine direction, yet not having the needed resources is a personal test of faith. It is as if a veil is blocking me from seeing what is around the next corner. Though that veil hinders my vision it is serving to strengthen my faith. By no means am I facing what Mr. Howells faced. Yet being immersed in his testimony of the Holy Spirit is somehow holding me above my own sea of human emotion and showing me how to abide in what God has said. I am learning that when God is silent, his presence has to be enough. Can I be sustained by that? Can I hold on, unwaivering, to what he has spoken to me until he chooses to lift the veil?

Preparing for Easter

Until two years ago, I never thought much about the season of Easter. I only celebrated the day. But after my first encounter with the Stations/Way of the Cross at a silent retreat, I realized how much more we as a family could be doing to celebrate Easter.

Easter is the pinnacle of what we as followers of Jesus believe. I want to lead my children in learning to focus on the season and not just the day. Two years ago, our daughter, Promise Joy, wanted eagerly til Easter morning to accept Christ into her heart. She knew that day was special. She woke up that morning, brought me her Bible and said, "Let's pray!" Another reason I want to develop within the hearts of our kids, a reverence for the season is because of the power of the resurrection on an innocent heart. I remember as an 8 year old going to Israel with my parents. I can recall the emotion when I stepped into the tomb believed to be the burial place of Christ. My mom says I immediately began crying. I don't remember the tears. But I can still see the inside, the bench, the garden surrounding the entrance. That event affected me as a young girl. Kids are never too young to be included in what we believe.

Even though I am starting a little late, I am going to share some ideas we are using as a family to celebrate the season of Lent and prepare our hearts for the Easter celebration. I am getting most of these ideas from an out of print book entitled Before and After Easter by Debbie O'neal. Other ideas come from devotional readings. Let me know if you are interested in those.

Discuss Lent. It literally means springtime. During this season, we can meditate on passages of scripture that focus on Christ's death and ressurection.

Day 1: Carve a cross from a bar of soap. This symbolizes the cleansing of our souls through Christ's sacrifial death. Jesus washed away our sins on the cross.

Conversation Hearts with God

Noah had his first orienteering experience with the Boy Scouts this week. When I picked him up, he told me very excitedly, "Mom, God spoke to me today." Noah and his buddy were having a hard time finding their way. Noah said he was starting to get worried and felt himself getting scared. He sat down and pulled some conversation hearts out of his backpack. As he was crunching away, he read one that said, "Chill Out." Noah said, "Mom, I just knew God was giving me that message. I knew we were going to be ok after that and I wasn't so worried."

As a mom, this thrills my heart that my 11 year old is listening for God. We have talked alot lately about ways that God speaks. However, I did not mention candy. :) I was recently telling him about my turning point in college when I heard God speak so clearly. He was really into that and asked questions about how I knew it was God. Just like we know the voice of our own mom, we can learn to recognize the voice of God. "The shepherd walks right up to the gate...the sheep recognize his voice....they follow him because they are familiar with his voice...they won't follow a stranger's voice because they aren't used to it." John 10 The Message