Yes. No. Wait.

After we moved from Florida to TN, my son started praying that we would have snow on Christmas.  I was so sure that it would snow; I figured that God would answer a sincere little boy’s sweet prayer request.  But, well, it didn’t happen.

Christmas came.

It did not snow.

I was not happy.

Yes. It was immature of me. Yes, I knew better.  It doesn’t help that I have been a Christ-follower for years and that I am a pastor’s wife.  You would think I would know better.  But I simply thought that this would be a great way to build my son’s faith and teach him how God answers prayer.  I didn’t “get” why God didn’t “get on board”.

Well, a few weeks passed and it finally snowed. I was furthered annoyed, questioning why God could not have brought it earlier.  But I decided to make the most of it. I bundled up our two little ones, grabbed our new sled and took off up the hill.

We went flying down the hill, giggled, threw snowballs and enjoyed the white beauty.  As we were climbing up the hill, my son started talking about God. “Mom, God told me to wait, didn’t He?”  I tried to decipher what he was talking about; when I understood, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

My four year old trusted God better than I did. “A” realized that God had heard his prayer. It wasn’t that God was ignoring him. It was that God had different plans.  God brought the snow when He decided to bring the snow.

“Yes, ‘A’, God had you wait.

…but when He brought you snow, it was perfect. It was beautiful, it was fun, it was exactly what we needed.”

I’m so thankful that God doesn’t give up on us. …AND I am thankful that my son has learned to trust and love God even when his mama messes up.

Rejoicing,

Joy

 

 

Read Me A Story

What are your favorite children books? (PLEASE SHARE BELOW) One of my new favorite authors is Max Lucado and let me tell you why.

I was visiting my parents last year, and my son asked me to read him a book. We read a book called THE WAY HOME, PRINCESS STORY. It was a beautiful parallel of how we strayed into the world and how our Father came to rescue us. While a few of the pictures are a bit scary for a young child, the story is right on. It became a favorite of my three year old.

My mom also has a quite a few other children’s books written by Lucado. I noticed in every story that he tied the gospel or an essential Bible lesson to each of them.

Take, for instance, the Wemmicks in his YOU ARE SPECIAL series. These stories teach about a Creator who made us for a reason, Who gave us gifts and Who loves us. These too are favorites of mine.

This same author is famous for his book JUST IN CASE YOU EVER WONDER. This is a great book for new
moms and their babies.

Here are others:
THE BOY AND THE OCEAN
THE OAK INSIDE THE ACORN
YOU ARE SPECIAL
JUST IN CASE YOU EVER WONDER
THE SONG OF THE KING
THE CHILDREN OF THE KING
THE CRIPPLED LAMB
I WISH I HAD A GREEN NOSE
THE TALLEST OF SMALLS
A HAT FOR IVAN

Try them out, you won’t regret it. What about you? What do you read to your children?

Rejoicing,

Joy

Scripture Training

As a mom of a two and four, my life seems a little bit full of temper tantrums, fighting and DRAMA.  I want my kids to behave but I don’t want them to be robots.  I want them to obey, but I also want them to know why and not just my reason why, but God’s “why”.

I want my children to listen to me, but MORE then that I want them to listen to God and His Words. So lately, I have been trying to give them Bible verses, instead of mom’s words. Here are some of the verses:

It’s a process. We only have a few so far, but little by little…

Fighting:
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:32

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” – Philippians 2:3

Putting others first: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God,” – I John 4:7

Sharing: “Give, and it shall be given unto you” – Luke 6:38

Obeying: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” – Ephesians 6:1

Lying:“Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.” – Proverbs 12:22

Self-Control
“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” – Psalms 141:3

There are SO many more verses, but this is a start. What verses do you use with your kiddos? Share below.

-Rejoicing,

Joy T