Praise the Lord!

For a few weeks now, my almost 4 year old, (His birthday is next week.) has been telling me he wasn't saved yet. He brought it up alot. I didn't want to push it. I thought he was too young. But who am I to say a person is too young to get saved? He acts older than his age, and even if he didn't, he has that simple child-like faith.

This morning during Bible reading, he told me he wasn't saved. I asked the other children to go in the other room for a few minutes so I could talk to their brother.

He told me he wasn't saved. He knew Jesus died on the cross for his sins. He also knew that Jesus paid the price for his sins so he did not have to. He told me he wanted to get saved.

I showed him some Bible verses, (Romans 10:13). He prayed and asked God to save him. When he was finished, I asked what happened. He said, he asked God to save him. And he got saved. He was smiling and so happy.

When he told his older brother and sister they were screaming with joy. They were all so excited. They had been praying for his salvation.  He told his daddy and grandma he got saved. And during the day he said he was glad he was saved.

Some people make salvation so hard, but it's not complicated. You just have to come as a little child. My son trusted that God would do what He said He would do, which was saving those that call on his name for salvation. My son didn't have to do a list of things before he got saved, or whatever. Jesus did all the work for salvation on Calvary. All we have to do is trust the free gift of salvation and ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins, and He will.

So, I'm praising God today that my little boy asked Jesus to save him. The burden I had for his salvation is lifted. Happy, happy day!

My oldest two will have a spiritual birthday on September 22. It'll be one year since they received Christ as their Saviour. My daughter was 6 and my oldest son was almost 5.

I'm so grateful to God for salvation. I still believe in the Bible, and that there's only one way to heaven, and that's through Jesus Christ.

If you are not saved, Jesus wants to save you. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I got saved at 15. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I didn't go to church. I didn't know much about Jesus. All I knew was I had an empty void in my life, and nothing in the world could fill it. I was depressed and longing.

And one day I went to church with my grandma, and God began to do a work in my heart. I didn't get saved right away. But weeks later, I acknowledged I was lost and on my way to hell. God sent conviction so strong. I left church that evening lost, but I came back to church and got saved.

The emptiness I had felt for so long was finally filled. Jesus gave me a peace that I never knew existed. He saved my soul and my life. I was in awe that God would take a nobody like me, and change my life. It's amazing what God can do in someone's life.  I was excited, but burdened for my lost family members. No one else in my family was saved. My grandma stopped going to church shortly after I started going.

I had a rough home life. And I don't have time to talk about all of that, maybe in another post. But God proved to me that He's faithful and He could be trusted. Many dark nights, He was all I had, and He was all I needed.

Maybe one-day I'll write about how life was like being the only one saved in a home with a drunkard and ones that did drugs. It'd be a post about God's amazing grace.

Praise God for salvation!

My Greatest Fear.

We live in an age of fear. If you turn the news on for any length of time, you'd have to agree with me. There's so much bad things in this world. I could be a worrier if I let myself. I could worry about things that might not ever happen. I could fill this post with all the things that I fear, but I'm not going that route.
There's so much evil in this world. With rumors of wars, violence, terrorism, deadly storms, and I could go on, but you get the point. I don't want any of these things to happen in my life but they are not my greatest fear.

My greatest fear is raising my precious Children for the Lord, and one of them rejecting God. Maybe they live a long wasted life and at the end death or the rapture of the church happens and they never got saved. I fear being eternally separated from my children. Hell is fearful and I don't want any of my children going there. Some of my children are saved, and what a burden lifted when they got saved. I was so joyful because God had answered my prayers and saved them.
I have a hope, that as long as they have breath, there's still hope. God can still save. There's no one so low that He can't reach down and save. So, if you have Children that aren't saved, don't lose hope. God could be working on them, and you not even know it. My children are young, maybe yours are older and they seem hard toward the Gospel, and won't even listen to you anymore, don't ever give up. Maybe it's not even your children, it could be a parent , sibling, or someone else you care about, just keep on praying, God still answers prayer.

So, whatever your fear is today, let's give it to God. Why worry about something that we have no control over? It's so easy to worry and doubt. I think the devil likes to plant seeds of fear in our lives. He does a very good job. So when you start to be fearful remember these Bible verses,. Let the Word of God calm you soul.

Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

1 John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

Psalms 34:4 - "I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."

Proverbs 29:25 - "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.'

Philippians 4:6 - "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Romans 8:15 - "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

Psalm 56:3, 4

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me."

Romans 8:38, 39

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Teaching Children Bible Verses.

It's so important to memorize Scripture with your children. You don't have to wait until they are older. Once they begin to talk, you can start working with them. Even if they can't say all the words of a verse, it's ok. They are learning to hide God's Word in their hearts.

We do Master's Club at church as well as memorize Bible verses in school. So, we have alot of opportunity to learn Bible verses.

My children are currently learning Genesis 1: 1-5 for school and numerous ones for Master's Club.

If you haven't thought about memorizing Bible verses with your children, it's not too late to start.

Here's a couple videos of our little 2 year old trying to say his verses.

How Do You Measure Success?

How do you measure success? What picture comes to mind when I mention the word success? Are you only considered a success if you have a high paying job? How can you truly be successful in this life?

As a stay-at-home mom, I might get referred to as not having a 'real' job. Others may look at my unmatched clothing, my barely brushed hair, and the circles under my eyes and deem me not successful. The world might think that my mundane life isn't purposeful or of much value. But my success isn't defined by the world. My success is defined by God, who has called me to be a mommy.
Titus 2:4,5

"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

I know what the world calls a success. In my own eyes have I fallen in the world's trap by thinking that everything I do isn't very important.  I'm not that successful business woman. I'm not climbing the career ladder, or bringing home the big paychecks.

I'm changing diapers, cleaning up accidents, kissing boo boos, cleaning everything, teaching children, playing referee, cooking, nursing a baby all day, running around juggling two or more things at one time, and so much more. What's successful about that?

Do I only call my day a success if all of my to-do list is checked off? Am I only successful if my house is spotless?  Was my day productive if everyone made it through school without a meltdown? Am I a success for only taking care of my children? Am I a success if supper turned out good? How do I measure what I do? It's nothing glamorous. How do I know what I did today was good enough?
I can't deem my day successful by comparing it to anyone else's day. I can't think, 'I got more done than her, I'm successful.' 'Or look at Julie's house, mine never looks like that, I must be successful.'
I can look at God's Word and measure what I've done to His teachings.
1 Corinthians 4:31

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

If I want to know if my day was a success and not a complete failure, I can ask myself if I tried to glorify God in everything I did. 

When my daughter was having a hard time in school, did I patiently explain to her how to solve the problem? If yes, then that was a success, because I showed her compassion.

When my two year old was fussing and getting into everything, did I yell or calmly take his hand and help him? If I helped him, that was a success. I showed him God's patience. 

When my children were fighting, and were having a hard time getting along, did I punish everyone or did I talk to them calmly? If I talked calmly, I was showing them mercy. 

All the hugs, kisses, and smiles were reminding my children that they are loved. And that's definitely a success. 

Today, I successfully pointed my children to Jesus, and that's more valuable than any paycheck. I reminded them that they are loved and wanted. I showed them that success comes in all shapes and sizes. And I showed them it doesn't take the world to validate success, it only takes God. 

So, if you feel less than successful, remember, not to measure your life to someone else. Measure your life to God. Are you living your life to bring glory and honor to Him? If you are, then it doesn't matter what the world says, you are truly successful.

Joys of Motherhood

Psalm 113:9
"He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD."

Motherhood is filled with many joyful times. There's nothing like being a mommy. Mother's hearts are full of love, compassion, and laughter. 

I have five children, one girl and four boys. My oldest turned 7 this month. The boys are 5, 3, 2 and 7 weeks old. 

Sometimes, life is crazy. But it's the life God has given me and I wouldn't trade it for another. 

Laughter is definitely needed to diffuse a tense situation. 

Here are somethings about my day that you probably can relate to, or either laugh about. 

I am homeschooling a second grader, first grader and a child in K4. 
It never fails, when I'm in the middle of a lesson, my 2 year old has to go potty. If I don't take him, he will run around naked. My baby will start crying because I put him down, and my once focused children will be running around the house, because mommy left the room. This is an example of the joy of homeschooling. 

My younger children think that art should not be contained to paper. My walls are decorated with crayons and markers. This is the joy of creativity. 

Like I said, I have four boys. If you come visit my house, and you need to use the bathroom , and you happen to see water on the floor, it's probably not water, so try not to step in it. This is the joy of boys. On a side note, it doesn't matter if I just cleaned the bathroom either. 

My two year old is aspiring to be a gastroenterologist. He thinks it's fun examining his poop and wiping it wherever he can until mommy finds out. This is the joy of exploration. 

My children are all about showing off their muscles. They each tell me daily all the things they can pick up. To name a few, Daddy, Mommy, our house, the whole world and the list goes on. This is the joy of raising super heroes. 

A house full of screaming, wrestling, tickling, running around, and just being crazy. This is the joy of play time with Daddy. 

Hugs, kisses, endless 'I love you,' notes, smiles, sweet baby slobber, good helpers, cuddles, and so much more is the joy of a mother's heart. 

God's protection

We had just got in our van to go to church. We noticed the dark clouds and decided to drive through town instead of going the hwy. We live about thirty minutes from church.

As we drove into town, we noticed how backed up traffic was. We thought it was just because the roads were really getting flooded. It looked like a river.
As we got further up the road we saw a car stuck in the flooded road. At that time, I received an alarm on my phone about a flash flood.
I was getting nervous. The more we drove the more flooded the roads seemed. We passed a few vehicles stuck in flooded roads. We saw a van drive through a very flooded parking lot only to get stuck.
It was lightning really bad, and I was thinking we should have stayed home.
I knew with more storms approaching and night coming, it would be harder getting home. We finally made it to church. The road that the church was on was also getting flooded.
We decided that we had better go home or risk getting stuck in the flooded roads. We dropped something off at church and turned around to go home.
My husband decided to go the hwy this time, since the roads in town were pretty bad. I was still kind of nervous. The lightning was bad and at times it was raining so hard we couldn't see the roads. It was already dark, so I was praying none of the roads ahead were flooded.

God protected us and safely brought us home. I was so thankful to see our house. And that my family was safe.

There are many instances in life where we face a storm, maybe it's not really a storm but a trial that life brings. God will always be everything we need when we are in a  trial, storm, or whatever life may bring.  Just look to Him, because He's always faithful.

There Arose Another Generation.

Ever since I was little, I loved children. In fifth grade, I used to go help out the kindergarten children. A few of the children called me their 'mommy.'

As a teen, my friend and I started a Bible club, ministering to public school children.

At 18, I went on a missions trip to Romania, and took part in Vacation Bible School to  village children and in orphanages, telling the children about Jesus.

And through the years, I have worked in different children ministries.

I married my husband who was/is involved in children ministries. He's the youth director at our church.

I say all that, to say this,  my heart is sad when I look at the state of our children as a whole. I'm not just talking about non church children, but children who go to church.

I was looking at pictures of our old youth group at church. I could count with fingers the ones that were still at church. You spend your time ministering to them and praying for them, and at a certain age, they  are gone. Young people that just seem to disappear from the radar, so to speak.  

Young people that are not rooted and grounded in faith, but who are ready to get out as soon as they can.

What is different from the ones that disappear, and the few young ones that I could count on my fingers?

My children are little, and they go to church because we go as a family. It's very important. But when they get 18, will they too disappear from church, only to walk through the church doors on certain holidays? Or will the faith that mommy and daddy have, become their own? Will that faith lead and guide them in fellowship with God?  

Christian parents can get distracted and think that their children will turn out right.

But here's somethings that I've noticed that distract us and send messages to our children that contradicts our words.

If we put every recreational activity above church, then we are showing our children, that church is not the most important thing. If we make sports top priority when our children are little, don't expect them to be faithful to church when they get older.
There is nothing wrong with sports, but if it keeps you out of church, then there's a problem.

If our children never see us reading the Bible, and only picking the Bible up when we go to church, then it'll be just another book to them.

If they never see us praying, we can't expect them to pray and seek God, because we don't do it.

If we are all about praising Jesus in church and living contrary to the Bible the rest of the week. Our children will want to stay away from that hypocrisy.

If we punish our children for bad behavior by not allowing them to go to youth class, then we are telling them that youth ministries aren't  that important, and only good kids get to go.

If we fill our home with fighting, strife, and contentions then we will drive our children away from our faith. The reason is because we are supposed to be Christians, and they will associate Christians with being fake.

I know how hard it is raising children. We as Christian mom's, don't want to fail our children. We want to raise young people that love God. We have so much responsibility, and sometimes we let things slip. Not on purpose, but because we are so busy. If we aren't intentional about showing our children Christ, then we won't. I think distraction is a tool of Satan.  We waste so much of our time on things that aren't so important. I have a hard time with this myself.
We are in a battle. Satan wants to destroy our children's lives, and alot of us stand by and let him. If we don't guard our children's hearts, who will? If we don't fight for them, no one else will.  We can't just hope they will stay in church when they get older. We can't just assume since they are raised in church they will love God.

We have to fervently pray for our children, and show them by our lives that God is real, and the best life is one lived for Him. If we don't want our children to be another has been, then we need to determine to serve God. We need to stop playing church and be real. The lives of our children depend on it.
Judges 2:10 says
"... and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord," 

I don't want my children to be apart of the generation that doesn't know the Lord. Who will stand with me, and faithfully point our children back to Him, not only by our words, but by our lives?