This is not the blog I intended to write today, but I think this is too important to ignore.
Get the scene in your mind. It is Friday morning. I am sitting on the side of my bed thinking about the weekend that is facing me. It is possibly one of the busiest weekends that I have had in a long time. Today, besides my typical work day, I have to pay a speeding ticket that is going to take me twenty minutes out of my way, one direction. I will then have to rush home to be there before five to babysit one of the most precious little girls I know. No nap. Saturday, bright and early appointment at the beauty salon, take my daughter shoe shopping, trek thirty miles for a birthday party for one of my nieces, find a MoneyGram office, go visit my father. No nap. Sunday, church, trek those same thirty miles, take my daughter and two of my nieces back-to-school shopping, rush to my husband’s soccer game and relieve him of toddler duty. No nap. Can I just crawl back into bed and sleep the weekend away?
Yes it was busy. I paid the ticket at lunch and made it home in plenty of time to receive precious Piper. With the family in tow, we got shoes and made it to the birthday party (only thirty minutes late). We easily found a MoneyGram office and sauntered to my dad’s house for a nice visit (with an extra teenager, car is full) and headed home for a belated birthday party for said extra teenager that resulted in a facial – using the icing on the cake. We actually made it to church – on time! Shoved lunch down our throats and waited patiently (or not) for my other niece to be dropped off so we could start shopping. Soccer game was cancelled, so that last bit of tension went away.
The girls and I had a blast. I had my daughter, Hunter, 11 and two of my nieces, Alyssa, 15 and Micah, 12. All of them are goofy girls. And when I am relaxed, we all get silly and loud. This nice little shopping expedition took a little over five hours. It wouldn’t have taken so long but we had a nice little fashion show at Ross, where I was certain we were going to get kicked out when we couldn’t stop laughing as all three girls donned the “Pink Ladies” jackets, which they had to buy. Alyssa actually wore hers outside. Did I mention it is August… IN TEXAS? When every dollar was spent, and the goods and nieces were safely delivered to their home, Hunter and I headed back to ours.
Get the scene in your mind. It is Friday morning. I am sitting on the side of my bed thinking about the weekend that is facing me. It is possibly one of the busiest weekends that I have had in a long time. Today, besides my typical work day, I have to pay a speeding ticket that is going to take me twenty minutes out of my way, one direction. I will then have to rush home to be there before five to babysit one of the most precious little girls I know. No nap. Saturday, bright and early appointment at the beauty salon, take my daughter shoe shopping, trek thirty miles for a birthday party for one of my nieces, find a MoneyGram office, go visit my father. No nap. Sunday, church, trek those same thirty miles, take my daughter and two of my nieces back-to-school shopping, rush to my husband’s soccer game and relieve him of toddler duty. No nap. Can I just crawl back into bed and sleep the weekend away?
Yes it was busy. I paid the ticket at lunch and made it home in plenty of time to receive precious Piper. With the family in tow, we got shoes and made it to the birthday party (only thirty minutes late). We easily found a MoneyGram office and sauntered to my dad’s house for a nice visit (with an extra teenager, car is full) and headed home for a belated birthday party for said extra teenager that resulted in a facial – using the icing on the cake. We actually made it to church – on time! Shoved lunch down our throats and waited patiently (or not) for my other niece to be dropped off so we could start shopping. Soccer game was cancelled, so that last bit of tension went away.
The girls and I had a blast. I had my daughter, Hunter, 11 and two of my nieces, Alyssa, 15 and Micah, 12. All of them are goofy girls. And when I am relaxed, we all get silly and loud. This nice little shopping expedition took a little over five hours. It wouldn’t have taken so long but we had a nice little fashion show at Ross, where I was certain we were going to get kicked out when we couldn’t stop laughing as all three girls donned the “Pink Ladies” jackets, which they had to buy. Alyssa actually wore hers outside. Did I mention it is August… IN TEXAS? When every dollar was spent, and the goods and nieces were safely delivered to their home, Hunter and I headed back to ours.
It was close to eight o’clock at this point and our tummies were grumbling. I hit the first fast food joint I could find and started off home. Besides the radio, the only other noise was the rustling of my bag as I dug out French fries and Hunter wadding up her wrapping after swallowing her hamburger whole. Then Hunter spoke the sweetest words I think I will ever hear in my life.
“Mom, I want to accept Christ.”
This is it! I’ve been praying for this day to come for the past three years. Oh my goodness! What do I say? Should I pull over? Should I turn around and go to my dad’s house so we can talk? I have to seize this moment. I turned down the radio and said a quick prayer.
“God, please don’t let me screw this up.”
Yes, I realize it wasn’t the most eloquent prayer and maybe it was a little crass when speaking to the Lord Almighty; however, there was something a little more pressing that needed my attention. We began talking and I asked her why she wanted to do so. I knew why I wanted her to do so, but I needed to make sure that she was doing it for the right reasons.
Ok, I’ll be honest. I questioned her sincerity. There are certain things I do not allow her to do because I feel that her relationship with Christ isn’t strong enough. Certain movies and books that I don’t permit her to read because her faith isn’t strong enough and I feel that her beliefs will be swayed in a negative direction.
Hunter stated that she heard a woman’s testimony at church earlier that morning and it made her realize that a relationship with Christ will help her get through the tough times ahead. She said, “I am going through some stuff and I think it will be easier to go through if I do it with God.” She is starting middle school this year. That in and of itself is hard, but we moved 25 miles away this summer to a town where she has three friends, all of which attend different schools. She knows that things are about to get tough.
We began to discuss salvation. And right off the bat she asked me a question in which I did not have the answer. I called up a good friend of our family and asked if he would mind if we dropped in and told him why (I needed him to answer the “tough” questions!). At 9:45 my daughter prayed a prayer of salvation. With tears on my face I saw my daughter beaming. She was the happiest I’ve seen her. She said that she felt like a new person. Indeed, she was. We told her that since she prayed and ask Christ into her heart, her old life is gone. She is a new, clean person.
Her decision has also affected me. As proud as I am, I’ve been sharing the joyous news to everyone I see. Believers AND non-believers. I’ve actually even been able to witness. That is a great gift from God. I was witnessing to one friend and as I was speaking about what comes after you accept Christ, I realized that maybe I needed to reinforce that in my life… I’ll say it, I’m a slacker. It shows me what I need to do, and will do, to help my daughter in her walk with the Lord.
Yesterday was the happiest day of my life. I always thought the birth of my daughter and son were the happiest days in my life, but it pales in comparison. Nothing can compare to the day that your child is given eternal life.
“Mom, I want to accept Christ.”
This is it! I’ve been praying for this day to come for the past three years. Oh my goodness! What do I say? Should I pull over? Should I turn around and go to my dad’s house so we can talk? I have to seize this moment. I turned down the radio and said a quick prayer.
“God, please don’t let me screw this up.”
Yes, I realize it wasn’t the most eloquent prayer and maybe it was a little crass when speaking to the Lord Almighty; however, there was something a little more pressing that needed my attention. We began talking and I asked her why she wanted to do so. I knew why I wanted her to do so, but I needed to make sure that she was doing it for the right reasons.
Ok, I’ll be honest. I questioned her sincerity. There are certain things I do not allow her to do because I feel that her relationship with Christ isn’t strong enough. Certain movies and books that I don’t permit her to read because her faith isn’t strong enough and I feel that her beliefs will be swayed in a negative direction.
Hunter stated that she heard a woman’s testimony at church earlier that morning and it made her realize that a relationship with Christ will help her get through the tough times ahead. She said, “I am going through some stuff and I think it will be easier to go through if I do it with God.” She is starting middle school this year. That in and of itself is hard, but we moved 25 miles away this summer to a town where she has three friends, all of which attend different schools. She knows that things are about to get tough.
We began to discuss salvation. And right off the bat she asked me a question in which I did not have the answer. I called up a good friend of our family and asked if he would mind if we dropped in and told him why (I needed him to answer the “tough” questions!). At 9:45 my daughter prayed a prayer of salvation. With tears on my face I saw my daughter beaming. She was the happiest I’ve seen her. She said that she felt like a new person. Indeed, she was. We told her that since she prayed and ask Christ into her heart, her old life is gone. She is a new, clean person.
Her decision has also affected me. As proud as I am, I’ve been sharing the joyous news to everyone I see. Believers AND non-believers. I’ve actually even been able to witness. That is a great gift from God. I was witnessing to one friend and as I was speaking about what comes after you accept Christ, I realized that maybe I needed to reinforce that in my life… I’ll say it, I’m a slacker. It shows me what I need to do, and will do, to help my daughter in her walk with the Lord.
Yesterday was the happiest day of my life. I always thought the birth of my daughter and son were the happiest days in my life, but it pales in comparison. Nothing can compare to the day that your child is given eternal life.
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