The Word became flesh and moved into our neighborhood

Published by Meg on February 18, 2010 in Weekly.

Following Jesus is the way to enter into the struggle and find true freedom. The way is the way of the cross, and true freedom is the freedom found in the victory over death. Jesus’ total obedience to his Father led him to the cross, and through the cross to a life no longer subject to the competitive games of this world. Jesus held onto nothing, not even to satisfying religious experiences. His words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” give us a glimpse of the complete surrender of Jesus to his Father. Nothing was left for him to cling to. In this complete surrender he found total unity and total freedom. – The Road To Day Break, Henri J. Nowen.

I’ve been reading this book called The Only Necessary Thing; Living a Prayerful Life by Henri J. Nowen. This book is a variety of excerpts taken from all of his books. I’ve read Clowning in Rome – which I highly recommend. And, The Way Of The Heart. Both two solid books on a lifestyle of prayer and devotion (i.e. a purposeful consecrated lifestyle). I really enjoy the way Henri speaks of these things. He does in such a manner that leaves a resounding “Yes” in my spirit. The things I think, and feel, and know are truths, and they are the knowledge of God. In Him all the fullness dwells, and in Him we find life and love and freedom. He calls us to come away with Him to those secret hidden places – only to find our true selves, and in those secret places He pours out an immeasurable abundance of His love and grace and frees us up to be who we’ve always been. It’s such a refreshing thought.
I am unique. I am unlike any other human on this earth. I think things and feel things differently than any other human being. I am alone in the way I perceive the world. But I am not lonely. God sees my uniqueness and calls me lovely, I am accepted in the Beloved.
Oh the love of Jesus!

- Meg

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Awake o sleepers!

Published by Kevin on February 10, 2010 in Weekly.

Ephesians 5:14, “Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’ ”

I have been in this tense battle lately.   Allow me to ramble about this.   I speak of the battle where the most important things I want to get done are put aside more and more, and the least important things are taking more  and more from me.   It’s the age-old struggle of the one who has committed his heart, even his life, to living out Psalm 27:4.  It’s what the Song of Songs calls the “little foxes” that steal the grapes.  I’m living in this tension of making time for the things that my heart desires versus the things that seemingly “have to get done” in the day-to-day life.  Why does it seem like there’s the hollywood version of my spiritual life that I’d like to live, and then there’s the WNY version that I’m settling for?

I have 4 kids who I’d love to see leading a prayer set in a house of prayer someday – seven days a week, of course.  I imagine my girl singing her heart out from the Psalms or the Song of Solomon, because of the love that’s alive inside of her.  I see my three boys praying diligently for healing, prophecy, and salvation to break out in the Western New York region.  I can see God’s heart moved by their petitions, and their songs of devotion, and I can even see Him releasing it, “just because.”  It feels like I can see this thing happening so clearly, but then I wake up from my dream and see that it’s 8am and I have to get dressed, shovel the snow off my car, and get to work for my 9 to 5 job.

Interesting to me that we’ve started this blog about “living a lifestyle of prayer in a busy world”, and most of what we’re doing is struggling through the mud and talking about it.  At our meetings, we’re encouraging one another along and pressing in to see more of God’s presence, and we are even graced with His presence, but then the meeting’s over and we all go our separate ways… back to our homes, back to our jobs.

At home, we pray with our kids throughout the day for various things.  We talk about Jesus and what He’s done for us, how much He loves us, and who He is to us.  The kids love to pray – they even add to each others’ prayers at the dinner table (it’s cute to see).  One time, Anna forgot to ask Jesus to heal us (we’ve all been sick the past two weeks), so Elijah decided to add that at the end of Anna’s prayer.  Anna responded with, “LET ME!  …and Jesus heal us, amen.”   Anna and Elijah are learning verses to memorize  each week, and they are doing really well with them.  We stress forgiveness in their relationships with each other, and with us parents.  Is it enough?  I can’t help but wonder if they’ll be equipped for the days ahead.  Maybe my concern is a good thing.

I look at this “WNY version” of my life and I realize that the struggle is tough, but maybe eventually it’ll be rewarding.  I have to stay up quite late some nights just to get some time with my Bible… with my Lord.   And then there are other nights where I wished I would have opened my Bible.  I wish that I could have had some “face time” with God before I headed into the next day.   The ache inside of me continues to bring me back to this reality that without Jesus, I have no light… I have no truth… I have no peace.  Tonight is one of those late nights where I do have my Bible open, and I am listening to Him.  I am remembering that I do need to “stay awake”, as Paul says to the Ephesians, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

There are many questions that still fill my head at this stage of my life.   For Leah and I, living this life and seeking God as we plan our family’s steps is full of questions.

I keep coming back to this verse… “Christ will give you light.”   In our dark (immature) understanding, Jesus has faithfully brought His light.  There will be questions and there will be struggles in the days to come.  I want to know that I have God’s promises fresh on my mind, and etched on my heart.  Isn’t that part of the struggle? – to question why you’re here?  to question why you do what you do?  It’s easy to get caught up in the doubt, especially when the culture around me hasn’t made the same committments as me, and unfortunately, they may not even believe in God.

As I read a couple of verses through in Ephesians 5:15-17, “see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is,”  I realize that Paul had some insight into the struggle of which I am speaking.  He was speaking to the Ephesians about something more than love.  He was talking to them about the discipline of love.  That may be a topic for another blog, but Paul introduces the topic in Eph 5:2, “and walk in love…“  and he then expounds on this walk in more detail throughout chapter 5.  He is speaking of the walk that’s entailed in loving Jesus.

Maybe we’ve made our commitments to this fasted lifestyle, or to this love for Jesus, or a re-commitment, or however we worded it.  Now we’re here together wondering, “what’s next?”  Well, may I say that the next step is to start to walk out this love with discipline - with commitment?  Let’s change our lives around and put Christ back in the center.  We’re in this for the lengthy ride.

Let’s awaken our hearts.  Let’s redeem the time.  It may sound odd, but let’s dare to go on this journey with our Savior.  As I think about it, this WNY version IS the hollywood version.

Jesus give us grace to pursue Your Heart as You desire us to, amen.

- Kevin

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Sanctuary

Published by Dalene on January 31, 2010 in Weekly.

The definition of “sanctuary” from dictionary.com:
1. a sacred or holy place.
2. Judaism.
a. the Biblical tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem.
b. the holy of holies of these places of worship.
3. an especially holy place in a temple or church.
4. the part of a church around the altar; the chancel.
5. a church or other sacred place where fugitives were formerly entitled to immunity from arrest.
6. immunity afforded by refuge in such a place.
7. any place of refuge; asylum.
8. a tract of land where birds and wildlife, esp. those hunted for sport, can breed and take refuge in safety from hunters.

I’ve always thought that a person’s home should be their sanctuary, their safe haven from the craziness of the world. Beginning my maternity leave just before giving birth to my 2nd child 1 month ago, I was really looking forward to staying home each day with my 2 kids; my husband works from home so we see him frequently as well. Maybe it’s because I’m an optimist, but I really thought we’d have a great time & that my son would adjust well to his new sister without *any* problems or controversy. He was doing great accepting everything we told him about what life would be like & was looking forward to having a new sibling. For the most part things have been going well & he is gentle with her & gives her kisses. However, today I thought I was going to lose it.
Every chance he got, my 2 yr old would disobey, waking the baby up twice in the process. I’m sure he was just looking for attention, & yes, he sure got it! He spent quite a lot of time in the corner, unfortunately. Anyhow, today my safe haven, my sanctuary, was anything but. It was more stress & chaos than a tough day at work! Stay-at-home moms definitely work hard! The experience made me realize 2 things.
First, it made me ponder, & know just a little bit better, how God feels when we, His children, disobey His word. I don’t mean ignorance, but blatant disobedience. Have you ever knowingly disobeyed the Lord? Ever felt like you were “standing in the corner” or on a “time-out” for a while in life? God doles out the discipline with more love in His heart & a whole lot less anger (Ps. 86:15) than we earthly parents! But each day as a mom I look at my 2 kids & get to know the parent part of God’s heart that much better. It makes me want to be a better daughter.
Second, & my main point, is that He reminded me that the temple veil was torn when Jesus was obedient & completed His mission on the Cross. The holy of holies, the ultimate place of worship, was opened up to us all. 1 Cor. 6:19 tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Christ is dwelling within our hearts & with us now & always, to the end of this age & for eternity. In the midst of my little home’s stress & chaos, I was reminded that Jesus is with me through it all. He is right there with me in my boat that is being tossed to & fro in the storm & He is calm. When I remember that He is with me, not only can I tell the storm to calm, but like Peter, even I can walk on the water with Him, by His power.
My sanctuary, my safe haven, was within the whole time.

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Preparing the way…

Published by Melissa on January 18, 2010 in General.

I am currently nearing the end of my pregnancy with my second child and despite the fact that I’m generally exhausted after taking care of the absolute basics of family life, I have this overwhelming drive to nest and prepare everything for the baby that is coming soon.
This morning, I’ve been thinking about how this instinct has the power to keep me going when I’d normally (and probably should) be resting. The fun and frustrating aspect of this whole nesting deal is that it is quite often an urgency that I alone feel. When I come up against an obstacle to completing a specific task, it’s easy for others to say, “Relax, we’ve got time to get that taken care of”. And everything inside of me screams, “No! We need to do it now because time is short!”
Having had one baby already, I know that once that little one arrives you’re pretty much involved in their care 24/7 and whatever stage you were at in preparation is what you generally live with.
As I ponder this, I am reminded of the urgency that I am meant to carry of the arrival/return of Jesus Christ. I so often give in to the “Relax, there’s plenty of time” mentality when in fact I need to have the same -if not greater- drive to be fully prepared when He arrives.
Just as I am all of a sudden aware of every bit of dust or clutter in the house, I should be acutely aware of the state of my heart and what “little foxes” are distracting me from full communion and partnership with Jesus.
Whatever measure of oil – reality and intimacy in relationship with God(Matt. 25) – I have when things get dark before His appearing is what I have to carry me through to seeing His face.

So, my prayer in this season is this: “God, give me wisdom to know what is absolutely necessary in preparing for this baby so I don’t over do it, AND give me more hunger and urgency to prepare a place for You in my heart, my home, my city, and my nation. Help me to stick to the task of preparing the way for You even though others might say it’s a waste of time, energy, etc.
And May You find Faith, Love and a dwelling place here in my heart upon your return.” Amen.

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Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, & Jesus our Christ

Published by Dalene on December 19, 2009 in Weekly.

Question: One of these things is not like the others. Can you guess which?
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Answer: The Tooth Fairy! Because it isn’t related to a holiday we celebrate. Or because she’s female & the rest are male. Yeah…so obviously the answer is Jesus because He’s the only in the list who isn’t make-believe. He’s REAL & ALIVE! But at one time in my life I would have answered the Tooth Fairy. When I found out there was not a Santa, my immediate line of thinking was in that order: if Santa is fake then so is the Easter Bunny…& the Tooth Fairy…& Jesus too? I questioned momentarily, but decided He is real because I knew people around the world died for His cause, for the Truth. No one risked their life for Santa, a Bunny, or a Fairy. My sister said she followed a similar line of thinking that brought her to questioning Jesus’ existence. I don’t want that for my kids.

The other day I told my 2 year old that Santa is pretend. I specifically said, “Did you know Santa is pretend? Yes, he’s pretend – he’s just something that we talk about & have fun with at Christmas. He’s pretend. But God – Abba – Jesus is real”. He stared at me blankly. I know he knows the concepts of “pretend” & “real” because he has used the words several times before correctly. However, the next day he was talking about Santa with my parents & was “being good so Santa brings him toys”.

My son didn’t even believe me when I told him the truth – that Santa is fake. Then the thought occurred to me…although part of the issue is the influence of society & consumerism upon kids, & part of it is how we present it initially to a child (like my parents “calling” Santa on the phone to get him to behave – which works), I realized that God designed us to believe – to want to have faith in something, or somethings. We want to believe in the mystic, the mysterious, the supernatural, the other-worldly, the unexplainable. God designed us to question & judge, & sometimes be skeptical, sure. But He also, in His infinite wisdom, designed us to be people who specifically look for, & desire to believe in, things out of the ordinary.

Think about how many movies & tv shows have to do with the supernatural & mysterious. There’s a ton. Most of them have absolutely nothing to do with Christ, unfortunately. Part of our make-up is looking for & looking forward to what we cannot logically explain. Those things that seem to defy the natural.

Can we harness this? Can we focus our curiosity on only the things of God & be sure to stay away from those other distractions & lies of the world? Can we use this innate curiosity most of us seem to have to draw others to Christ?

“”The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”" Daniel 2:47 NIV

Daniel continuously used his spiritual gifts to reveal mysteries to those around him, & proclaim that our God truly is the most-high God, the only One who is all-knowing & the “revealer of mysteries”. However, Daniel was only able to do this through 1) God’s grace of course, & 2) living a lifestyle of prayer & fasting. Daniel remained pure when surrounded in a counter-culture. He stayed true to what he knew the Lord wanted. He lived his life always striving to do the right thing; there was no selfish corruption in him. He prayed without ceasing & fasted daily, encouraging others to do the same. Accordingly, God continually rewarded him by strengthening his spiritual gifts, protecting him in impossible situations, promoting him strategically within the kingdom administration, & further opening his eyes to the spiritual. Daniel never had all the answers, but the eyes of his heart were open to the Spirit’s leading. He spoke with angels & had revelation of the end-times.

Can we, like Daniel, live lives of prayer & fasting in such a way that we draw others to Christ? Can we model & teach our children to seek after the mysteries of God, rather than the frivolities of our culture & world? If “we become what we behold”, perhaps we should be sure our children are beholding what we want them to become…

Dalene

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Awakened again

Published by Melissa on December 8, 2009 in Weekly.

I’m so thankful that the Lord doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the “do not disturb” sign I sometimes hang on my heart. He is so faithful to gently stir my heart when it becomes a little numb or too out of touch, and even yank on the leash when I’m really getting away from the path He’s laid out for me.
I am quite prone to growing cold and numb on the inside – mostly from a lack of time and energy given to seeking the very One I say is the only one who sustains my heart.
Several years back I had the very uncomfortable revelation that the blazing, sold out love I thought I had for Him was really pitifully weak and wandering. Since then, I have asked Him to hold on to me in His love and grace and to keep me, keep my heart and the flame of love He has lit there from going out.
I was blown away today when listening to an account of how a 15 yr. old girl ’s declaration of love for Jesus helped ignite the Welsh revival many, many years ago. She simply stood up in a meeting and said ,”I love Jesus, with all of my heart!” What a simple, yet powerful confession. I long to be one who loves the Lord with my whole heart, mind, strength and soul from now into the eternal ages. I so desire that He would find faith, and love, and a resting place in my heart when He looks upon me. I desire to be one with whom He truly dwells.
Oh that my love for this Beautiful and Glorious God-man would be further awakened that I would find ways to be where I know He’s going to be. That nothing else would even begin to compete for time with Him in His incredibly life-giving Presence. Oh that He would further blur the lines between the mundane and the holy. Come Jesus, awaken my heart again.

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Hear The Words

Published by brad on November 29, 2009 in Weekly.

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Starting here, and continuing through 2 Cor. 3:18, Acts 17:28 and Col. 3:10; we see that we are not the “instigators” in our relationship with God. In all my fallen humanity, I don’t approach Him because of my own bright idea. It’s always a response to Him drawing me.

Having said that, I’ve found (and am still finding) that the best way to maintain a life of prayer is to fill my mind with truth about how God sees me and feels about me. I need to hear His words. To borrow from Meg’s post, when I consecrate myself to take in His words about how He sees me, I set myself up to encounter Him in the place of prayer.

For me, this all starts in Psalm 45:2…”Grace is poured upon Your lips.” The words that He speaks are dripping with grace, with love, with mercy…they’re words that my soul loves to hear. They don’t condemn me, they lift me up. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I usually prefer to hang out with people who, I’m pretty sure, I like me. And by the same token, if I know someone really doesn’t like me, I’m usually going to do everything in my power to avoid being alone with them. The same is true of my heart before God: if I feel shame or condemnation, or if I believe the lies that I’m not performing up to snuff, I avoid prayer. I don’t want to set my heart before someone (God, no less) if I’m sure they’re disappointed in me. But when my heart is convinced of the truth that He is in love with me, as much now as He has ever been and ever will be, prayer becomes a little more enjoyable. Just a little. So the more my heart hears those words from the One who is drenched with grace, the more I want to stick around in that place with Him (prayer).

So let’s consecrate ourselves unto encounter; let’s commit to getting the Word into our heads and our hearts, especially the passages that reveal His thoughts and feelings about us. Hear words of grace, love and kindness, and let the understanding of His thoughts and feelings about us sink in. Realize that He actually likes us and likes to be around us. That’s where prayer starts to become enjoyable, which is the best way I know to sustain prayer in a busy lifestyle.

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a season of consecration

Published by Meg on November 17, 2009 in Weekly.

“A life of consecration always comes before a life of love, and a satisfying experience always comes after an act of consecration.” – Watchman Nee

Currently I have made the decision to step into a season of consecration, it was a hard decision mostly because it was waging war against my flesh but I knew the Lord was calling me to come out and be set a part from my current lifestyle, situation, circumstance, etc. It took almost a month to finally make the  decision but I am seeing how it was the best decision I could have made for myself, and honestly it was the Lord that really made that decision. I just obeyed. I was sharing with my roommates and some friends that through this consecration I am ACTIVELY pursuing singleness. I know that sounds strange, and completely the opposite of what is “normal” because here I am at age 27 still single and now I have chosen to pursue the single lifestyle for an entire year. Basically the Lord and I decided this was the best thing for me because, well, first of all – He has a lot for me still, and He’s not ready to give me up yet. Second of all, I have been marriage minded since I can remember, and it’s time I lay that idol down and really let the Lord take hold of that part of my life.

Awhile ago I felt the Lord speaking to me about marriage and I believe it was He that spoke, but I took hold of that quickly and had such a strong hold on it, I don’t know if I was still really listening to what the Lord was doing – having said all that, it just made my life way more complicated the past two years. So now all that changed, I am pursuing holiness and sanctification above all else. I want to be all that I am, and be fully known by the Lord. I hope that through this journey I will learn what it means to be fully known and to fully know God.

There have been some extremely painful moments, and also some sweet moments, and granted its only been two weeks, but I look at it and think, wow two weeks. Some moments it feels like yesterday I made the decision and some moments I feel like I’ve been on this path FOREVER. Two weeks, fifty to go. I’m mostly excited to see what week 23 looks like, and week 40. I am expecting much revelation from the Lord, and also the opportunity to practice my own spiritual gifts that the Lord has given me.

I don’t really know if any of this is making any sense because I’m just rambling. But I am excited to bring you along with me on this journey. I actually have been documenting it on my own personal blog here for those of you interested. I blog about my journey daily. I hope to keep doing it throughout the whole year.

Know that you are loved by a jealous God, and He will have His way.

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Temptation

Published by Kevin on November 14, 2009 in Weekly.

This weekend I’ve been reading Acts 8:1-8.

This verse in particular has caught my attention (v1), ” At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,”

I’ve been bombarded with the real temptations to get caught up in the busy life that surrounds me. I work a 9-5 job, Monday to Friday, that I feel God placed me 8 years ago.  I have 4 kids, and my wife.  I have the dirty diaper changes, the breakfast to make when the wife needs to sleep in (b/c our newborn kept her up the night before, and yes, I do make breakfast at other times as well), the homeschooling to help with, the house to clean with the kids, the kids to play with, the car’s oil to change, the computer just crashed so I have to fix it, the wood to stack (we heat our home with wood(, and then there’s the FOTB prayer that we’re involved in.  It certainly takes a measure of discipline to keep my eyes fixed on the simple and steady things that God’s word calls us to walk through.  The temptation to let a busy life sweep me away is something that I face – I know my wife feels the same way.

As I consider the verse above, I can’t imagine having a major hub being displaced in such a dramatic fashion.  I look around the world today, knowing of some major missions centers, but none can compare to the beginnings of something like what was had in Jerusalem. I think of how much calamity must have been taking place around those people who were followers of Christ.  Some were most likely newbies, others may have been followers for some time, and then the others were the apostles.

I think of the real threats that people in that day had to live with.  Here, in my life, I concern myself with things like: knowing Jesus, food, shelter, and health for my wife and kids.  These just don’t seem as imminent a threat as what may have existed in those days of Jerusalem.

I wonder about the fathers and mothers of that day.  There are those parents who took a chance to believe what was spoken of Jesus and now were being persecuted because of their beliefs.  They must have been concerned for the safety of their children.  There must have been some inner questioning of their choice to believe the words of Jesus.  The fathers and mothers had to keep things together enough to move these families out into Judea and Samaria.  I think things like, “Where did they go?  How did they make the choice about where to flee?”

There is truly much to the story that we may not know.  There must be personal stories of great things that God did in their midst during this time.  There must have been families who moved together with other families, and this built a sense of community, fellowship, and accountability.  There certainly was worship and prayer involved.  This is what keeps me encouraged.  God knows us enough to place us within a community of believers who will encourage us towards the best things (Matt 22:37).  In this context we will struggle through the hard and challenging stuff together.  We will have people to pray for us and to pray with us.  At our FOTB prayer times, there are men who are sitting there, elbow-to-elbow, praying together with me because they see that it’s the best thing for them to do for their families and for their life in God.  There are mothers there who have chosen that time as sacred for the purpose of agreeing with God and His Word.  If you have a chance, come pray with us on a Friday night.

On Friday nights, as I sit there with this group, I am constantly reminded by the Holy Spirit of Acts 6:4-5, and the call to that kind of lifestyle of prayer; that kind of intimate friendship with God.  Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the longer I know Christ, the more I depend on Him.  There’s comfort in knowing that I can continue to trust Him; in knowing that the Father is good (Ps 25:6-11), and He desires for me to know Him.  Lord, awaken our hearts!


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Does Jesus Ever Enjoy Potty Humor?

Published by Dalene on November 1, 2009 in Weekly.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. The scriptures really don’t give much detail at all about Jesus’ life growing up with His siblings and friends, but we do know He had a typical childhood. He had to learn how to walk, talk, & be potty-trained just like the rest of us humans. After all, He is fully God but also fully man. So, I guess maybe I’m wondering if the typical child 2000 years ago in Jewish culture liked potty humor? Let me explain where I’m going with this…

I think most kids today, especially boys, really enjoy potty humor. I hear about it from other parents of young ones, read about it online & in email newsletters, etc. Most boys go through it around 3 or 4, so I read, but my little one has really enjoyed it all along. His first word at 6 months old was not Mama or Dada, but “poo”. At the end of singing his ABCs, he says, “…next time won’t you sing with poopie?!” He loves the reaction & the attention. He thinks it’s hilarious & I have to admit, sometimes the silly potty-related things he says are pretty funny. Maybe I’m immature, or maybe just light-hearted; let’s assume the latter. :) However, I was conflicted when he first began saying his “poopie” prayers.

Each night we try to wind down (which takes quite a while!) by putting on pjs, brushing teeth, reading a couple books, & then sometimes a verbally-told story as well. We finish up with our good night prayer. Some of you may know it: Now I lay me / Down to sleep / I pray the Lord / My soul to keep / Keep me safe / All through the night / & guide me ’til / The morning light. We then add additional prayers for healing for various people, the poor, the church, ourselves, some thanks, & close with “In Jesus’ name, I love you, Amen”. John repeats after me line by line. He’s gotten some of it memorized by now & if I say something in a different order he’ll correct me (as if it were wrong) or if I forget something or someone he reminds me. Sometimes he’ll even add something! But, several months ago when he repeated each line, he began adding the word “poopie” into it! So it instead sounds more like: Now I poopie lay me / Down to poopie sleep / I pray the poopie Lord / My soul to poopie keep, etc. My husband & I couldn’t believe when he first did it; he didn’t miss a line! I was shocked & didn’t know what to do. My husband laughed hysterically until he couldn’t breathe (maybe it’s a guy-thing?). This has gone on every night ever since!

I told a few other young adults & was told I should stop him from saying it. He needs to understand a respect & healthy fear of the Lord. Prayers are powerful & shouldn’t be taken too lightly. Others, like my parents, laughed & said something along the lines of, “what a kid”. At first I was torn! What do I do?! Let my child be goofy during prayers or insist that he needs to say them the proper way? (Actually, is there a proper way?)

Well, I’ve so far decided to let it be. He’s 2. If I insist he not use the word “poopie” during prayers, he may just use it all the more (with his personality & twinkle in his eye I’m almost positive that would happen!). & I wondered, what would Jesus have said, while He physically walked the earth, if one of the children who came to Him said something similar? The Jesus I think I know, would laugh right along. I can almost imagine Him giggling & shaking His head, just happy that John is having fun while saying prayers & learning how to speak with his God. Here’s what Jesus said, as written in Mark 10: 13-16 (NIV):

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.

Therefore, I decided to continue leading him in the prayer my way (i.e.: I don’t say “poopie”), but let John respond how he wants. So, prayers are still poopie for now.

Think about the young kids you know & how they approach God. They don’t go before him worrying about paying bills or getting a better job. They don’t have issues, judgments, or bitterness about their past, their present, or their perceived pessimistic future. They don’t pretend to be someone they’re not. What do they do? They simply run up to Him, jump into His arms & get comfy, ready to listen to a great story told by a strong, gentle voice. They’re silly & they just act how they feel & say what they’re thinking. They’re real. Maybe we should all begin approaching Jesus with such realness?

What do you think? How would you respond? Any similar stories to share?

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