Speaking of Prayer...

I've been trying to introduce gospel concepts to Lily over the last few months. At one point this summer, she asked about going to heaven, and if everyone gets to go, and I explained how you have to ask Jesus to forgive your sins. "But we haven't done that yet!" she said, laughing. "I have, and Daddy has," I replied. We talked about it some more, and she said, "I'm not ready yet."

Then last week she brought up heaven again and how Grammy's doggies died and went to heaven. (That's always a tricky subject!) We talked more about forgiveness and how sin is disobedience to God and Jesus took our spanking so He can forgive us. She asked, "Do you have to pray?" I told her, yes, you talk to God about it. I heard her whispering quietly for a little bit, and then she told me she prayed. When I asked what she prayed, she said it was a secret. She was tired, so I wasn't sure if her tears were from God or simply exhaustion.

Then this morning she brought it up again. "Who is God?" she asked out of the blue. We reviewed who God is and how He loves her. Then she told me that "yesterday" (which means any day in the past) she prayed very quietly and told God she forgave Him. I tried not to chuckle. "You mean you asked God to forgive you?" I asked. "Yeah." "What did you ask Him to forgive you for?" She was quiet for a long time, and then, a little teary, she said, "Because I disobeyed Him." We talked about how God forgives us when we ask.

Then the next thing she said just about ripped my heart out: "I wonder why William hasn't done this." (William was in tutoring, so he wasn't there to be asked.)
"I don't know how to explain it to him, honey. You know how William has a hard time understanding words; I don't know how to tell him so he understands."
She said confidently, "Only God can do that."
"Yep, you're right," I said, marveling. "I keep praying and asking God to show me how to explain it to him."
"Do you want to pray right now?" she asked me.
And so we prayed together- so sweet, so heart-wrenching. My dear daughter verbalized the prayer I've had on my heart for years.

Painting Pumpkins

The kids did a pumpkin craft at school yesterday. When I asked William about it, I could tell he didn't know what it was suppose to be. So we stopped at a road side stand on the way home and picked up some pumpkins. We decided to paint a couple of them last night. Lily kept talking about how William was painting his all blue. Finally, William explained, "It's Thomas!"

God's Steadfast Love

Larissa Murphy does such a great job of putting into words the experience of walking with disability while trusting God. Her latest post five.years. is worth reading. She retells the story of how "who ian was for 21 years was left in the car that was towed off the highway." Then she recounts how God has met her in the trial that began that day five years ago. She ends by saying, "...and i see that our lives our full. they are sad and exhausting, but they are full. and god is the one who has filled them."

My First Appeal

As the conflict in Sovereign Grace Ministries continues, I can be tempted to think I've done all I can do to help. God graciously reminded me last week that that is not true. I still have multiple things I can do: I can pray, I can fast, I can humbly appeal to authority. My temptation is to take that last action point and run with it. But I think trusting God means starting with an appeal to Him first and foremost.

The idea of fasting can seem undoable as a nursing mom, but the more I have prayed and talked to Eric about it, the more I realized partial fasting is very doable. It can be as minimal as no desserts, or it can be no meat (like Catholics during Lent), or just fruit and veggies, or just veggies. It can be one day a week, or one meal a day, or just one meal a week.

Not that I want to discourage anyone who feels called to completely fast. But for those who feel too daunted to even try that, maybe you could start with something smaller like this, and let God build your faith as you move along.

The Mahaney ladies have encouraged fasting on their blog for years. Isn't it appropriate for us to return them the favor and fast on their and their men's behalf now?

If you are part of Sovereign Grace or a friend at least somewhat familiar with what's going on, would you consider joining me in praying and fasting for our group of churches and our leaders? Maybe you already are- Thank you!

Being Her Cute Self

Nutritional Supplement

For some reason William didn't want to eat his pizza at dinner tonight. So later I walked into the kitchen to find this.

Sleepover at Grammy's

Ever since Ella got back from Africa, Lily's been asking for another sleepover with her at Grammy's house. This Saturday she finally got one. Wow, was she excited! She was kind enough to let William, Abigail, and I stay too. =) Here the girls are watching a movie- probably Strawberry Shortcake.