Happy Easter from Maddie!

Happy Easter from my precious little Easter bunny! (picture taken yesterday at an easter egg hunt at church!)

I am so excited for MK's first easter! We have a precious easter dress thanks to Gigi and her easter basket (that I made her!) is filled... we're giving her a stuffed animal lamb and a "Gigi God's Little Princess" book and DVD, I also have plastic easter eggs that I'm going to fill with her favorite Happy Baby puffs. Mom and Dad got her the sweetest little angel doll and stuffed bunny...this girl is officially spoiled!

Good Friday and Easter always makes me think more deeply about my savior… and this year I find myself praying this prayer over and over again:

“God, please bring my precious baby Maddison to know you, capture her heart so that she grows more in love with you everyday. Help her to see that she needs a savior and that you are the only one. Help her to serve you all of her days.”

There is nothing that would bring me greater joy in this life than for Maddie Kate to accept Christ as her Lord and Savior. I know that all I can do is pray for her, teach her, and be an example for her… God’s got to do the rest! I am so thankful that I came to know the Lord at a young age, thanks to my wonderful Dad. I can vividly remember him sitting down with my twin sister and me when we were 7 and sharing the gospel with us…and in our child-like faith we prayed a prayer very similar to this: “Dear Lord, I am sorry for all of the wrong things I have done, thank you for dying on the cross for me and washing my sins away. I ask you to come live in my heart, to be my Lord and my Savior. I love you, Amen.” Now, it took a lot longer for me to figure out what this faith meant personally to me… I didn’t know the true joy of being in Christ until I was a teenager.

I hope that you know Him today…I hope that you experience the peace and joy of being in Christ.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Teaching MK "Why?"...

I can’t believe I will have an 8 month old at the end of this week! It seems like yesterday she was 3 months. Please tell me this slows down, it’s breaking me heart! I may be biased (actually, I know I am!), but she is the sweetest, cutest little girl I know! Our future kiddos have a lot to live up to!

Yesterday in church Todd said something that really hit home with me… that we should not just teach our children the moral “what” but we should teach them the moral “why”… I am certain that discipline is just around the corner in our house. MK doesn’t quite understand what “No” means, but it’s only a matter of months before she will. I want her to know why there are rules… not just what they are. If all I do with MK is give her a list of the dos and don’ts she’s going to be following the rules out of obedience and fear of punishment. But, if I can teach her the heart behind our obedience, she will be obeying out of love, respect and honor for the Lord! I want her to know that there are rules because God loves us and has our best interest at heart… he’s not a cruel dictator, he’s a loving Father! Check out Todd's sermon on Watermarkradio.com, the parents part is at the beginning so even if you just have time to listen to that it's well worth it!

So, I’ve been pouring over scripture for answers. There really is no situation you can find yourself in where God’s word can’t help you! The 10 commandments say in Exodus 20: 12 “Honor your mother and father. Then you will live a long full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Obedience to your parents is also found in Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother “things will go well for you and you will have a long life on earth.””

Verse 4 of Ephesians 6 also says “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

So what is the instruction that comes from the Lord? I love this passage from Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commandments I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hand and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

If I am to bring Maddison (and future children) up with the discipline and instruction of the Lord, then I’d better know what that is and follow it myself! I don’t have all of the answers… and I am sure that it will be a growing process. It simply comes down to me being willing to be lead by Christ like Isaiah 40:11 says so beautifully “..He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.” I am thankful that I can rest in that passage. He will lead me and as a result, will also lead Maddison!