Lessons from my 6 year old

With Chloe gone this week, Emma and I have had some quality one on one time. Something she has needed for a while. But this week, we've had fun time, art time, swim time, and serious time.

Serious time took place beside the pool this morning. Before I can get to the serious stuff you need to understand some background information. :)

Emma became a Christian last Christmas. She had been telling us for several months that she needed Jesus to live in her heart because she was the only one in our family without Him. I wanted her to understand that she needed Him because she was a sinner, not because she was the only one without Him.

So during the weeks leading up to Christmas we had the "What Does God Want for Christmas" kit. (LifeWay sold it) We read part of the book and opened one "gift" a day for several days. On the last day, the gift we opened was a mirror. When you look in the mirror you see what God wants for Christmas -you!

It was on that last day that she told me she needed Jesus because she did "bad stuff" and needed Jesus to make it right. I knew she got it. We rejoiced, called the grandparents and celebrated.

Then came the issue of Baptism. Emma does NOT like to be center stage in a large group of people. When her children's choir sings, we do not tell her where we are sitting and try not to make eye contact with her if she sees us. She has been known to walk off the stage straight to us. We haven't pushed the issue of baptism because of this. We don't want it to freak her out, much less cause a tidlewave in the precious waters!!

Recently she told us she was ready to do this and felt like she could do it if my Dad would do it at his church. So, this weekend we travel to Chattanooga for my Dad to baptize Emma. It will be so special as he baptized Chloe too.

Okay, with that out of the way...back to the serious time at the pool.

We were talking about what why we are baptized. That it is an act of obedience to be done after you ask Jesus to live in your heart. This is where she proceeded to tell me that Jesus lives in her spiritual heart not her "beeping" heart. She wanted to make sure that I understood that. I told her I did and she said good, she just wanted to make sure. I smiled.

The good stuff happened next when our neighbors L. and her 3 year old daughter T. came to swim with us. Emma says we're going to Chattanooga for me to be baptized this weekend!! L. says really, that's neat. T. says in her curious 3 year old voice why is she going? L. says well, she has a special baptism this weekend. T. says what's that for? Emma says, it's because I have Jesus in my spiritual heart, not my beeping heart. I'm a Christian.

I smiled and didn't really know what to say. This is a fairly new neighbor and I'm unsure of her faith. She didn't say much after that for a little while, but she did move over to sit near us! We love to play with them and I'm praying that this will be the beginning of some spiritual conversation. What does it say about a little child leading them? Sometimes we big people can learn much from the honesty of a little person.

Happy Birthday!!!!

 

Today is very special. Two very important people in my life are celebrating their birthday today.

Mom, Happy birthday. I'm sorry that we aren't there today to help you celebrate and I'm really sorry that you're sick. Thank you for being such a godly example for me. This morning, I asked God to give me a verse from my quiet time for you. It's Proverbs 12:4a "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown." You are my daddy's crown. Thank you both for showing Chad and I what a godly marriage looks like. I love you.


Chadwick, Happy birthday. Do you remember the time we realized you and mom shared this day? We hadn't been dating long and you were having dinner at my house with my family. The "when's your birthday" question came up and I honestly thought you were joking. I figured you, ever the prankster, had found out that July 11, was mom's so you were just kidding around, seeing as how I believe anything. (Later, I would check your drivers license to see if you were telling the truth!) I asked God to show me a verse for you today too. It's Proverbs 2:7-8. "He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones." Over and over in your life, I see God's protective shield covering you. Guarding you, preparing you to be the man you are today. From childhood until now you have gone through some tough stuff, but God was faithful. I believe with all my heart that you are doing just what God intended for you to do. I was so proud of the man you were when we were married, but I'm more proud of the man you are today. I love you.

So, on today's list is a little last minute birthday shopping. And then Emma and I will be making Shrimp Lasagna, a salad (with Emma's homegrown maters!) and homemade garlic cheese biscuits for dinner. We'll also make Brownie Tarts for dessert. The only thing is missing is Chloe.

Thanks for indulging me in this birthday post! If you've read all of this, you are a good friend! Have a great day!

Dive In

This morning, we took Chloe, one suitcase, a pillow and a carry-on bag to church. She left for camp. Out of state camp. It's just a little over an hour away, but it's out of state, on a college campus. She's been telling everyone that she's living in a dorm this week. She's a pretty mature young lady, but you would have thought she was entering college the way she's carried on.

We watched as a few vans, a box truck packed with luggage and sound equipment, pulled out of the parking lot followed by 5 buses packed with 2nd-5th graders getting ready to "Break Free". (the theme of camp) Excitement was in the air. We walked back to the car and I cried. All those little hearts are going to learn this week about freedom in Christ. I can't wait to hear what happens! I'm going to ask Chloe to blog about it when she gets home.

Emma and I returned home to have some snuggle time, that lasted all of about 5 minutes. So I turned to blog land for a little while. While visiting I went over to Kathy's at Sunballo. Kathy too is writing about becoming more disciplined about getting up and getting into the word. The "Dive In" photo to the right is an invitation to you to join others as we commit to go a little deeper with the Father.

God seems to be placing this theme on several hearts close to mine this week. My sister-in-law at TwinsX2 is a good example of this. Haley at Mommy's Heart has also posted about making time for Him.

With this theme running through blogland, I have to wonder if God is getting ready to do some powerful things in us and through us. He tells us that He wants to meet with us and speak to us. He has something designed just for you. So, how about you? Will you Dive In and go a little deeper with the Father that loves you so much? I'm praying that you will. Swim over to Kathy's and check it out!

Morning by Morning.......

In a previous post I talked about the instructed tongue, it was inspired by the following verse.

Isaiah 50:4 "The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught."

The second part of this verse gave me the HOW TO I was looking for. How to speak with an instructed tongue. Is it possible? YES!! All things are possible, how? Through HIM (God Almighty) who gives ME strength!! Okay, all that church lingo is great, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

First of all the "He wakens me morning by morning" is a big ole issue for me. For my entire life I've been a night owl. I love to stay up late and read, write lyrics, talk to God. It just seems to be easy for me to stay up late and I've written quite a few songs in the wee hours of the morning.

Over time, I have become more of a morning person. There is just something about being the first one up. I love having the first cup of coffee, reading the Word and talking to the Father, BEFORE I become a short order cook, school teacher and laundry service! :) (That doesn't happen every day, but it's more often than it used to be.)

My sister in law recently wrote about making herself get up early.

She said, "I got up this morning trying to be better about managing my time. I have come to realize that if I can get my lazy butt out of bed before the kids get up, we all have a better day. I wake up and have some down time (ALONE) and I can get every one's day started on the right foot. "

I remember the day God showed me that while 1:00 or 2:00 am was early in the morning,
it wasn't what He had in mind for us. He wanted me to get out of the bed before my family and do what the 2nd part of Isaiah 50:4 says. He wanted my ears to listen as one being taught. He wanted me to read the Bible, pray and the biggest thing of all, LISTEN!

So it began. I have to say that these have been some of the most precious times. We've worked through some tough things early in the morning. I also have to say, that there have been times when I've chosen to hit snooze and sleep an extra hour. Typing that makes my heart sad. Every time I choose to stay in that bed, I miss something God had to show me.

Proverbs 31:15 says. "She gets up while it is still dark..." This has been my biggest motivator. I want my husband and girls to say that I'm the godliest woman they know. At this point in life, I'm not. Praise the Lord, His mercies are new every morning! He is the God of second chances, and even on the days I hit snooze, He says let's try again. It was on a "try again" day that the following lyrics came during my prayer time. God would later use this song at our 2006 Spring Women's event with Lisa Whelchel.

Speak To Me

Speak to me.
Father in this moment speak to me.
You alone hold everything I need.
Speak Father


Speak to me.
Father in this moment I am weak.
But You alone are all the strength I need.
Speak Father, speak to me.


I am waiting, anticipating You.
Take what’s breaking and restore it with Your truth
Speak Father.

Speak to me.
Father in this moment speak to me.
You alone hold everything I need
Speak Father

Speak, Father. Speak Abba Father. Speak to me.

CopyrightStephanieParson2006


May we have ears ready to listen, and hear, as one who is being taught.

5 Things I Dig About Jesus

My friend Angela tagged me tonight. The challenge is to list 5 things I dig about Jesus. At first, I was a little overwhelmed because I didn't really know how to start. How do I list just 5!! So, here are a few of the reasons I'm into or "DIG" Jesus.

1. He knew every detail of my life before I was born! That blows my mind. I dig Jesus because He's all knowing.

2. He wooed my heart as a child, and I felt His Holy Spirit speak to my heart as a young child. I dig Jesus because He loves children.

3. He gave me a fresh passion for His Word. Even though I was saved as a young child, I chose to become complacent in my early 20's. I dig Jesus because when I asked Him to forgive me for what I call the "Wasted Years", He did.

4. He cares about women. Over and over in the Bible we see Jesus interacting with women. They were precious to Him, we are precious to Him. I dig Jesus because He digs women!

5. He left Heaven to live on earth. He knows how hard life is. He is a with us God, who understands that living on this fallen planet is tough. Our Jesus came and lived here. He breathed our air, he was hungry and tired. He listened to grumbling.
I dig Jesus because He cares about our daily life and (This could be number 6) He lives to intercede for us!! He takes our prayers to the Father!! How cool is that.

So, there is my list. I may add to or change as time goes by but for right now. Those are my top 5. I tag......Lindsay, and Haley

The Instructed Tongue

I love to talk. Always have. I talk to whomever is listening. My husband, the girls, the dog, the flowers. When there isn't another living thing around yes, I talk to myself. I would love to know just how many words I say during the day. To make it worse, I talk fast. Combine that with my southern accent and you've got quite a show. :)

Unfortunately that combination can be quite deadly. When I'm "on a roll" and the words are flying out of my mouth, I don't always think through what I'm saying. God taught me the hard way several years ago to be more mindful of what I say. There are always consequences to our words.

Yesterday I read Isaiah 50 during my quiet time. Verse 4 became my verse of the day. It says: "The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught."

There were 2 parts to this verse that I feel led to write about, but for today it's the instructed tongue. A tongue that speaks what God would have it to say. That hit me hard. Of all the conversation I have during the day, how much of it is instructed by God? How about my thoughts? Are they instructed by God? They have to be if my tongue is to speak as one that is instructed by God!

We find over and over in the Proverbs verses that relate to the tongue/mouth. Here are just a few.

Prov.4:24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips.

Prov.12:18-19 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

Prov.15:1 & 4 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Prov.16:23-24 A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Prov.20:15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

Prov.26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.

I'm guilty of forgetting how powerful my words are. Just as important, the tone of my voice. God showed me that my gift of gab was okay, I just needed to make sure that what I was gabbing about was pleasing to him. To make sure I had a purpose for saying what I was saying. (And that purpose better be related to HIM)

To be honest, I thought, how in the world can I function like this. But, I've started to pray that God would give me an instructed tongue and only allow me to speak what He would have me to. It is changing my conversation with my children, my husband, my friends..everyone. It's making a deliberate, conscience effort to THINK and PRAY before I speak. For some of you this will probably seem a little weird, and for others you probably got this lesson a long time ago! (IF so, please comment on what God showed you, any verses and what you learned during that time.)

Isaiah 55:11 is a well known verse: "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

I don't know about you, but I don't want to use empty purposeless (is that a word?!) words anymore. I want more than ever for the words coming out of my mouth to have godly consequences. I want them to achieve the purpose God sent them for. I want an instructed tongue.

Legacy

I was recently given some bad news about a person we care deeply for. It's horrible news. The kind that after I did a little Internet research on, I found myself in tears. I made my way to my closet floor, in prayer for this family.

This news made any hardship in my life seem like nothing. My mind is consumed with concern for this person. Not worry, but concern. I know the eternal destination of this friend. She is my sister in Christ. She is a strong woman. Much stronger than I am. A beautiful, strong woman.

In late January, right after Chad lost his job, we were with her. She shared some very personal things with us. This lady knows what it's like to hit the bottom and look up into the face of Jesus. I rejoice and take comfort in knowing she loves the Lord and depends only on Him.

In this situation that so breaks my heart, there is little earthly hope. There are few words that can speak comfort. There are no fancy self-help guides to enlighten the journey. And the neat thing about this special lady is that she wouldn't turn to those. She knows where her help comes from.

When I look at my girls, I think of her child. What will become of this life if and when she's gone? Will the example and truth our friend has lived, remind her that God is more than enough? Or will she run again? Will this be the one thing that causes her child to look up into the face of Jesus?

How will the example I set and the truth I believe impact my daughters after I'm gone? What will I leave them? What kind of spiritual heritage am I creating for them, for my grandchildren?

What is my legacy?

How precious this moment called life is. It is just a breath in comparison to eternity, but oh what a breath it is.

Thank you Jesus for hope when there seems to be none. Thank you for your Word that is life to our weary bones. As Isaiah says, give us ears that are ready and willing to listen to you, and give each of us an instructed tongue. Help us to always speak the things you would have us to say. In everyday life and in times of crisis. In Jesus name, Amen.