Thank You God

When my son prays, it sounds like this.

God I thank you for helping that lady at the mall that needed help. Thank you for making her better.

That baby duck that was dead on the sidewalk…He was so cute. I thank you that he is happy in Heaven now.

Thank you God for a second chance today when I was a bad boy. Will you please help me to be a good boy tomorrow?

God thank you that Omio has food today and that no bad people will be chasing him so he can be happy and play with his friends.

God I thank you for Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

We love you a whole bunch.

Amen

Notice he only asked God for one thing in his entire prayer. He thanked God in every other part of his prayer. After hearing this same format of praying night after night, I began to ask questions. I wanted to know how he knew God made the lady at the mall better because she was a stranger and we didn’t know how things turned out. He looked at me as if I was crazy and said, “Well duh! We prayed for her when we saw the ambulance come.”

When we saw the dead bird he always thinks was a duck, he immediately asked if we could pray for him. I looked at him as if he were the crazy one and asked what we could pray since he was already squished. The crazy look was reciprocated and he simply answered, “Well that he has a fun time in Heaven flying around not squished anymore.”

Omio was introduced to my son in church as they were teaching him to pray for people in other countries who do not have all the cool stuff we have. My son was so saddened by the thought of a little boy not having a place to sleep, food to eat and always scared something bad would happen. So he prays for Omio and his friends just about every night for about 6 months now. Just the same, I asked my son why he thanked God for giving Omio food and safety when he couldn’t see if Omio had the things he was praying he would have. I was expecting the same crazy look again, but was given the don’t you already know the answer by now kind of look. “Mommy, when you pray for something, God does it so it is just better to say thank you because He is going to answer your prayers.”

As I kissed his sweet little head and left his room I thought this is just another way we need to be more childlike in our faith.

My son’s answers open a gamut of conversation topics. I have explained God does not always answer all our prayers just the way we pray because sometimes what we ask for is not good for us. Having a detailed prayer conversation with a 5 year old can be challenging at times to say things he will understand, but it is so worth my time to teach him because he is eager to learn and serious about God. Okay sometimes he will thank God for poop, but what little boy doesn’t! When I told him God has better plans than our prayers sometimes, his reply was humbling. “Yeah Mommy. I guess you’re right. God is pretty awesome so it is okay to thank him if something better is gonna happen when we pray.”

Thank you God. Two simple words followed by an amazingly powerful three letter word. GOD!

God is able. We have to believe God is more than adequate to handle anything we might throw His way. We have to be bold in our faith to wholeheartedly pray and believe the outcome will be good if it comes from the Father – even if it is different from what we specifically prayed for. God does not need our specifics. Our specifics are limited. Let’s give our issues, our pain, our doubts, our fears and our most valuable thoughts to God.  Wipe your hands free. Faithfully say “Thank you God!” Stand back and believe with a thankful, humble and faithful heart.

And when the answer to your prayer comes, be ready. Be ready for something different and thank him for the shift. The deviation may be hard to swallow, but it just may be the change needed to exceed your expectations for the situation, heartache and turmoil you don’t know how to handle on your own. God loves you. Let Him. He is able.

Let’s not forget the one thing he did ask for in his prayer. “Will you please help me to be a good boy tomorrow?” We can all benefit from asking God to help make us better daily. Such a simple request, but if we are flexible with our thoughts and who we think we are, God can make us better. A better us is a happier house, workplace and classroom. No matter who we come in contact with, we have the opportunity and backing of our Heavenly Father to shine a living God that is active in our life. Not so simple anymore, huh?

God we thank you for loving us like no other. Thank you for working through our situations and our hearts. Thank you for the Holy Spirit acting on our behalf in your name to guide us to a more Christ centered and thankful life. Thank you for the children teaching us to slow down our thoughts, to be more humble and stop making things so complicated. Thank you for new grace each day and a second chance when we mess up. Thank you for the sacrifices of the cross making this all possible. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. –James 1:6 (NIV)

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. -Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)

First Day of School

I remember when I was a student and unable to sleep the night before the first day of school. It never failed. Year after year I had a crazy dream of walking around school naked, wondering why everyone was laughing at me because somehow I had no clue.  After waking up embarrassed, finding sleep again was near impossible. My anxious thoughts began to wind around my mind preventing any rest.

Last night was much the same. Luckily I have grown out of the crazy dreams, but my thoughts still ran wild. Did I teach my daughter enough last year to help make this year more successful? Could I have done more for her? How will he do <without me> at his very first day of school? Did I prepare him properly for such a big phase in his life? Did I pray for all the right things?

Time crept as thoughts defeated my sleep. I remained frozen in worry filled thoughts of not being the mother they needed. With the soft sounds of the night I had a chilling yet promising thought. Now was the time to release the string of control of my youngest to the hands of a very capable God.

In recent years our lives have been dedicated to bringing our children up in a home of love, faith, truth and togetherness based off the core principle of God being number one. I struggled with the concept of my son embarking on a new level of independence although so many years have been intentional to prepare for this time in our lives. For four years my son has been in almost everything I do. If I wasn’t with him, I was only a text or phone call away. I felt like I was in control of his everything. I could protect him. Kindergarten means I am far from controlling his routine, expectations and safety. In all the preparing, I was focused on him and failed to look at how my heart would hurt to see him go.

Dominance from anxiety overpowered the hours and became scary because my mind wondered into the dangerous pit of what ifs. Despite my struggle to relinquish authority, the answer and end to my restless thinking was the hope that comes from knowing God can do it much better. He can see my son when I can’t. He can help him feel loved when I am not there for a hug. God can help quiet his anxious mind and focus him when he struggles. I can’t do these things like his loving Heavenly Father. My mind teetered on what was right and wanting to hold on. Eventually I settled. God deserves unrestricted superiority to what belongs to Him whether I am ready or not.

In the wee hours of the morning I silently talked with God and asked to be His partner in creating an amazing son of God with His hand guiding us both. When God and I had the exchange, I could almost visibly see me relinquishing the string of control to God’s hand. I know this is potential to be a daily struggle for some time, but I have faith. Even better, I have living proof.

I handed God the string for my daughter many years ago. With different circumstances, God once again proved his faithfulness to me. Because God so beautifully designed an awe inspiring and remarkable young woman of God, I am forever faithful He will do the same with my son. With God in control, my son will advance in being groomed to be the man God designed him to be.

I am honored to be God’s partner in raising these two amazing children of God alongside my husband. I know it is a daily job and one I do not want to do alone. Even with good intentions, I don’t always get it right. This morning at school, my son walked into the line to wait for his teacher. He looked up for me to see if I was still there with him. When we made eye contact, I motioned him to come back over to me. In the busyness and sea of people, I forgot to hug him. I couldn’t let him go to school without a hug from Mommy! He came back and wrapped his little arms around me to squeeze the tears from my eyes. I held so tight and didn’t want to let go.

“Mommy, I love you, but you are hugging too tight. It kinda hurts.”

God, guide parents to be the Godly example you designed us to be so we can grow a great Kingdom for you. Advise us when we hold too tight and it’s really time to let go. Teach us the importance of your will in a very loud and demanding world that seems to spiral out of control because it moves so fast. Guide us to love each of our children as individuals created and loved by you. Thank you for the gift of new grace each day. Help us to put our grace into practice everyday to love and steward for them no matter the pain and frustration they lay on us.

I pray for teachers who dedicate their days to step in as daytime parents to teach our children to be better humans with expanding brains and capabilities. Please give teachers an extra dose of grace so they can be a great instructor and disciplinarian no matter how their days begin.

Father most importantly I pray for the children. For those attending new schools, first experiences and those who have the hang of things– they all need you. Please send the Holy Spirit to watch over these beauties you have created. Encourage them all to respect others and focus on the importance of learning and growing successfully. God I pray no matter how hard their day, stressful their load or hopeless things may seem, they know of and feel your love. Keep them afloat on your Word taught by loving and humble parents, teachers and caretakers. God we thank you Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We pray in Jesus precious and holy name. Amen.

I could have no greater joy to hear that my children are following the truth. - 3 John 1:4 (NLT)

Puppet of God

So often I thought I am not good enough. Deep down inside I wanted to cower in the background. I wanted to go unnoticed thinking I had nothing to offer. Inherent and accustomed ways of thinking left me feeling somewhat comfortable, but still pointed me to the back of a crowd. My comfort came with unsettlingly feelings and wanting more. I was attempting to appear strong on the outside to feel loved on the inside and constantly longed for acceptance. Being in the back, hidden in the crowd, I distanced myself from others and blamed people for not making me feel whole.

Bishop T.D. Jakes said, “God gives us new grace everyday to discover ourselves.”

God knows the dark dwelling inside. He knows we need new mercy and favor each day to hold our head up in this world. In Genesis chapter 3, guilt entered the world. We look at this passage of scripture as the fall – when sin entered the world. Guilt stems into a multitude of negative, numbing and dangerous emotions to make us hide from who we really are or what we have done.  The first man and woman of the earth hid from God for the first time after their sin. Because of their wrong doing and sinful decision making, they were so guilty they felt naked. Sure they were without clothes, but now they felt exposed as if they should not be seen because of what they’d done. We have more in common with Adam and Eve than just our sinful nature. We like to hide from our truths. You may not be like me and literally want to hide in the back of the room, but we hide who we really are or what we have done. Because of our guilt and attempts to cover what we have done, we fall into lies and more sin to find ourselves lost in immorality. Satan is our puppeteer. His deceitful ways encourage us to continue down a path to separate us from God because he does not want us to experience the daily grace of God.

Are you okay with Satan as your puppeteer? When I learned Satan wanted me feeling little, pointless and insignificant to keep me from God, I was fueled to grow closer to God. I wanted to let Satan know his ways were not welcome in my life.

I first learned details of the story of Gideon* when reading the Bible to my son at bedtime. Gideon’s audible lack of self confidence caught my attention right away. The way he tried to talk God out of his calling several times made me feel sad, guilty and convicted as I sat on the side of my son’s bed. I too have done this with God. So many times I have told myself, and even worse God, I am not good enough. With my son looking at me with eager eyes to hear the rest of the story, I quickly realized God has tailored me much like Gideon. The many signs God has faithfully shown throughout my story proved to me God was actively living out His promises in my life.

I have to accept the fact I am all God needs me to be. Broken can be made new with God shining through our cracks. Average can be phenomenal when God’s unending mercy transforms what seems lifeless. With God guiding our thoughts, speech and actions we are less likely to fall into evil traps of deception. When our hearts and desires are focused on loving God, we begin to show the love of God because of the grace and mercy we have accepted is alive in us.

Who I am is contingent on who I choose to let control me. If we allow God’s new grace shine in our lives, we become a puppet of God. His character is actively given with each of His movements to transform ours. God lovingly holds and sophisticatedly moves each string individual to our insufficiency and urgency. He moves past our knowledge and makes changes above what we can see. When we feel weak, he rescues with strength. When circumstances leave us depleted, he bestows endurance. During moments evil and anger want to spew out of us, God moves our strings gently with love and forgiveness. With God as our puppeteer, we create a beautiful story and leave our R rated stories in the past.

Hand the strings over to God.  Accept His grace daily. Discover the new you with God in control.

God I pray the promises spoken in the Bible are felt as promises made to us individually so we are able to relinquish control of our lives to you one string at a time. Guide our paths with your promises so we are able to see your faithfulness to encourage and inspire us to give you another string until they are all with you. Whether Satan or our selfish ways hold the strings, help us to see the truth so we become a puppet of God living beautifully to enlarge your Kingdom. Thank you for the cross making transformation possible. It is in Jesus perfect name I pray. Amen.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. –Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

*Gideon’s story begins in Judges chapter 6.