Thursday, December 4, 2014

Teaching your Child about Christ Feels like Rocket Science!

Verse of the Week:

Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21


Teaching your Child about Christ Feels Like Rocket Science!!!

Overwhelmed, scared, burdened, and unsure were the feelings I felt when I thought of having to teach my children about Jesus.  The pressure to make sure my children received Christ was overwhelming. What if I messed up? What if Brayden and Carson didn't ever know Jesus?  Salvation is the most important choice they would ever make.  How could I make sure that happened?  How do I even start with teaching them about Christ?  There is so much for them to learn, and I don't even know how to go about it. These are some of the thoughts that have entered my mind when I think about Brayden and Carson's spiritual upbringing. I think perhaps that every parent who loves the Lord feels this way at some point.  There is no greater desire in me than for my children to love Jesus.  

However, I realized three things: 

First, I am not God and I can't make my children love Jesus. 
I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. (Isaiah 45:5)

Second, I have to just trust in the Lord and place both boys in His hands.  
Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. (John 14:1)

Third, when I do talk about Jesus with Brayden and Carson, I need to remember that God will help me. 
For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13)

When I realized those things, I felt a weight begin to lift from my shoulders. I realized that I could make it fun and enjoy sharing my passion for Jesus with my boys.  Just like a dad may have a love for football and wants to teach his son about football or a Mom has a passion for arts and crafts and wants to teach her girls arts and crafts, the same concept applies when sharing Christ.  Christ is my passion, and therefore, my goal is to share that passion with Brayden and Carson.  I know I am not God and that I can't force my boys to love Christ, but I can share with them my love for Christ and show them by example Christ's love for them.  Just like a dad hopes his son will love football and a mom hopes her girls will love art, I hope that Brayden and Carson will come to love Jesus the same way I do.

"So how in the world do I start?" I asked myself.  That was the challenge for me: how to start sharing. I think many parents like me struggle with how to talk to their kids about Jesus.  So I just wanted to share some tips and ideas from my current journey to any parents that are struggling the same way I was.

1.  Talk about Jesus in the middle of your daily activities.
It was hard at first for me to do this because I thought I would feel like an idiot when I tried to talk to Brayden about Jesus, but my first attempt came about when Brayden was excitedly looking at the moon one morning.  I said, "You know who made the moon Brayden?  God did.  Just like Mama makes cookies and muffins, God made the moon."  Brayden looked at me excitedly and pointed up to the moon again.  Seeing him excited, helped me get out of my shell and start talking to him more about God on a daily basis.  I would constantly ask Brayden what God made, and he would point to the moon.  After that I would share with him other things God made like the trees, grass, turtles, etc.  

Another example of sharing Jesus with Brayden during our daily activities happened when we were watching "Spookly the Square Pumpkin" on TV. The other pumpkins were making fun of Spookly because he was square and not round.  I took the time to explain to Brayden that Jesus would want us to treat others nice and that those pumpkins were not being nice.  Brayden looked at me with a quizzical look in his eyes as if he was in deep thought over what I said.  

However,it is important to note that not every time I talk to Brayden about God does he act excited about it. Sometimes it seems like he is completely ignoring me; however, I keep trying because I believe that he is listening more than I realize.  So parents, take heart if your kid doesn't seem interested, keep trying anyway. :)  

2.  Read Books
Reading about Jesus in story books is a great way to teach any child about Christ.  One of my personal favorites that I read to Brayden is called "God Loves You."  It talks about four major concepts: God made you, God loves you, God takes care of you, God sent his son Jesus to save you from your sins.  I though at first that these concepts would be too hard for Brayden to understand at 2 years old, but to my surprise, it is one of his favorite books.  We have also read the Christmas story over and over despite the fact that it isn't Christmas, but he is still hearing about Jesus. Find books that your child loves and read those books over and over. Now that Brayden is getting older, I plan to start reading from a Children's Bible to him.  He is getting it for Christmas so shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! :)
Brayden's Christmas present and favorite story book.



3.  Do Art projects
Brayden and I recently did a very fun art project together and made Brayden a Jesus Book.

Hard at work making his book!


Each day we would work on one page for the book.  I allowed Brayden to color, glue, and put stickers in his book.  While we created each page, I explained to him the concept we were learning on that page.  The explanation probably only took 30 seconds to a minute to share, but for a 2 year old, that is enough.  I then laminated and hole punched each page and then tied the book together. After we completed the book, we now go back and read it constantly, and Brayden loves reading something he made.
Pages in Jesus Book

Allow your child to make the pages himself. It doesn't have to look perfect!


4. Pray Pray Pray!
God says to pray without ceasing for a reason.  We need God's guidance as parents on a daily basis.  Ask God to reveal to you moments you can share Him with your child. Pray for your child to know Jesus.  Cover your child with blankets of prayer.

5.  Don't expect every attempt to share Jesus go go perfect.
To be honest, there were times when things were a disaster when I tried to teach Brayden about Jesus. For instance, when Brayden and I made the Jesus book, there were a couple of times when he was misbehaving and received timeout for dropping crayons on the floor and throwing a tantrum.  There have been times when Brayden hasn't wanted to read his Jesus book, or listen to me talk about Jesus, but that is ok.  Just keep trying and know who holds your child in the palm of His hand.

Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that God promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18-21)



Sunday, November 23, 2014

Tragedies...Where are you God?

Verse of the Week:


In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Tragedies...Where are you God?


Why God? Why?  I had just received tragic news via text that one of my friends had lost her baby boy. Later she asked her friends to pray that God's glory be revealed in this situation.  So I began to pray for exactly that, but while praying for her throughout the week, a new question formed in my mind: How is God's glory ever shown in such awful tragedies?  How is His glory shown when a couple who wants kids keep having miscarriages, or when a family who was so excited about having a girl lost their daughter at birth, or when a husband and wife who want to have kids cannot conceive. As I pondered the question, I began to remember one of my favorite heros of all times, Corrie Ten Boom.  Corrie was sent to a concentration camp during World War II for hiding Jews in her home. There in the camp she encountered senseless tragedies and watched numbers upon numbers of people die.  She saw an evil in that camp that no living human being should ever see.

One day when I was younger I remember watching Corrie on TV talking about her experiences in the camp. She said something that I will never forget,

 "There is no pit so deep, that He is not deeper still."

There is no tragedy so awful that God is not present in it all. His glory can still be seen in the worst of worst times and in the darkest hour. "How?"  I asked and prayed, "How can God's glory be seen when there is nothing but evil present?" Then God brought a verse to my mind from the book of 1 John.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.  [...] No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:9, 12)

God's glory is revealed through people and their love for one another. People see Christ through the lives of other people. God's glory is in his followers, and He is made known through they way that they respond to situations in their lives.

No matter how deep Corrie's pit was, God was still there, evident through the life of Corrie and her sister Betsy in that concentration camp.  Together the sisters were able to share the gospel and provide comfort and love to countless women even in the darkest of times.  In the worst of the worst, Christ was there in the life of his followers.

Another scripture comes to mind...

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

When Christians face senseless tragedies and trials, they have a chance to show their faith, though refined by fire, is genuine and real. And when they show the world Christ in the darkest of situations, Christ's glory is revealed.

I used to think that at the end of verse 7, when it talks about Christ being revealed, that it meant when Christ returns to this earth, but then I realized that it goes much deeper than that. Christ is revealed through the lives of those who love Him, whose deep faith sets them apart from a world who has no hope without Christ.

I look at that couple I was praying for, and realized something.  God's glory is indeed being shown in this awful tragedy.  His glory is being shown in that baby boy's parents who have shown such a deep faith and trust in God in the midst of it all.  Their attitude in the midst of it all has indeed glorified God. Instead of drowning in a sea of bitterness and hatred, they have risen above it all and continued living life full of hope and love because they know who holds that sweet boy in the palm of His hands.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

Thank you Lord for showing me where your glory is truly shown.




Wednesday, November 5, 2014

My Home Outside of the Womb

Verse of the Week:  

..."No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9


My Home Outside of the Womb


Life is a miracle.  Seeing our second son being born once again reminded me how miraculous life truly is.  Our son started off smaller than a poppy seed and came out an 8 pound 12 oz giant.  During the course of 9 months, he learned to move his arms and legs, swallow, see light with his eyes, and hear mommy's voice and heartbeat for the first time. He learned to breath fluid, suck his thumb, and poop all while he was safely curled up in the warmth of  his sac, growing and receiving nutrients from his Mama. What a beautiful life he had already lived before entering this world.  

I wonder if it was hard on him to leave the safety and security of his womb at birth and enter into this huge scary world.  I am so glad he did.  He would have missed so much if he hadn't.  He would have missed seeing colors, learning to crawl, walk, and throw a ball.  He would have missed receiving hugs and kisses from his brother, Mama, and Dada. He would have missed seeing the trees, moon, stars, grass, and flowers.  He would have missed touching a puppy's soft fur, feeling the coolness of sand, and stroking the smooth back of a turtle's shell.  He would have missed playing with his brother, tasting yummy treats, and drinking cool water on a hot summer day. He would have missed his Mama's laugh, Dada's funny singing, and His brother's wrestling. He would have missed so much if he had stayed in the womb....


I wonder about heaven....I will admit that there are times when death scares me, because I fear the unknown.  Sometimes I feel like I am in the dark womb of this world, clueless about what is on the other side of eternity.  Like Carson felt safe and secure in his womb, I feel safe and secure in this world, because it is all I know; heaven seems so scary.  However, I know I would miss so much if I never went there.  As it says in  1 Corinthians 2:9,  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."  I can not even conceive in my mind what God has prepared for those who have received Jesus in their hearts.  He has prepared blessings that I cannot even begin to imagine...Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph 1:3)  

There is a story I remember someone telling me about a dog.  The dog wanted to get through a door to another room.  He had never seen the room and didn't know what was in it, but he was anxious for the door to open so that he could enter because he knew one thing...his owner was on the other side.  He knew home was where his master was, no matter what was in that room.  Heaven maybe scary, but I have nothing to fear, because on the other side of that door, my heavenly Father is there.  I will be home safe in the arms of my Father, no matter what.  Our home is not on earth, but in heaven where Jesus is.  So, like Carson, I plan to enjoy my life in the womb, and grow and prepare for the other side...And when death comes, I will finally be home.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

My Theory in Raising our Beautiful Boy

Verse of the Week:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12


My Theory in Raising our Beautiful Boy


Ok, lets all face it.  While the Bible has many wonderful concepts on how to raise children, it doesn't exactly give step by step guidelines in the child rearing. I have concluded that the missing book in the Bible is 1 Katrinalonians (written by me of course!).  In it I would have all the step by step verses on many things related to child rearing.  For example, some particular verses I would create would involve how to keep a straight face at a smiling one year old caught in the act.  A person would look up 1 Katrinalonians 3:2-5, and it would say the following:

2 Thou shalt not smile when your child is caught disobeying.  3 Think negative thoughts while starring at the adorable smiling face and a frown will go well with you. 4 Exercise self control with your mouth muscles to keep your frown intact. 5 A man who coughs and turns his head to hide his grin is wiser than a foolish man who grins and leads his child to more disobedience.

Yep...that is my next calling, write the next book of the bible, 1 Katrinalonians. :)

However, on a serious note, I could not raise Brayden without the Bible.  While the Bible doesn't necessarily give step by step guidelines in child raising, it does provide a wealth of information you can use while going through the amazing journey of parenthood. Many of my theories and ideas of child rearing are based solely on the Bible.  Lately I have been clinging to Romans 12:12.  It says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

1. Be joyful in hope

When I looked at several versions of the Bible, I found that joyful could also be replaced with rejoice, glad, and happy. A lot of people in my family know that I tend to look at the glass half empty at times.  In the middle of a hard day of disciplining or perhaps a sleepless night with a teething baby or even after a week of taking care of a sick child, it can be hard to look at the bright side of things.  With Brayden, I tend to look at his emotions in a negative light.  He has a hard time controlling his anger....mmmm....I wonder where he got that from.  Oh yeah, me!!!!!!  Seeing that side of him makes me despair at times because I do not want him reacting to things the way his Mama has done in the past, but due to genetics, I don't think I am getting out of this one. :)  

However, I receive renewed hope when I take the time to see how wonderful his emotions have been.  We have a very tenderhearted boy.  Already at 21 months Brayden has displayed such sensitivity and love toward others.  I loved seeing him the other day staring at me, and then out of the blue, he ran over and gave me a hug.  I knew immediately what he was doing because I was seeing something his Mama used to do. Growing up, I would just be looking at my parents and feel this as I used to call it, "over come with love feeling" for them, and I just had to go and give them a hug to express it.  Seeing him express such love is beautiful.  I love watching him with children, and sharing!!!  No, not taking, but constantly sharing his toys with others.  What a selfless act.  Brayden is my helper and loves to help me out.  He especially loves helping me with the groceries.  A few weeks back, I had to go outside and finish unloading groceries out of the car.  When I returned inside, this is what I saw.

Yep, the lettuce and Pam spray put carefully away in the wrong spot!!!  However, it was so sweet to see him try so hard to help his Mama out and display a servant's heart.  The other day, I saw him gently petting a cat and kissing it, and to my surprise, the cat didn't run away!  He is so good and sweet with animals.  Brayden's emotions can be so beautiful, and I need to rejoice and place my hope in the good things he does out of his tender heart. 

Sometimes we focus so much on the negative that we overlook a wealth of positives. For example, oftentimes when we look at a photograph we tend to complain that our smile doesn't look right or that our eyes are closed, and because of those things, the picture is ruined.  Whereas, if we would look past the flawed part and look at the whole picture like the amazing mountain view or sunset, we would see something beautiful and be richly blessed.  Don't focus on the negative only with your child, rejoice and thank God for the beauty that you see in them.  It is so important to look at the positives because you don't want your child growing up thinking that you are disappointed in them because you can only see the negative things they do.  Look at the whole picture and rejoice in the good.

2. Patient in Affliction
Other versions of the Bible use the words suffering and tribulation in place of affliction.  Patience in the midst of a trial is such a hard thing to display.  Often times I imagine myself as an amazing mom who exercises patience with Brayden in every situation.  I respond in a calm voice,  no traces of anger are displayed, and I think calmly and logically through each situation. I imagine myself as the person below...

Yep that's me...calm, cool, and collected in the midst of affliction. When in reality I probably look like this...
Yep, that looks more like me!
On a serious note though, I have found that when I exercise patience with Brayden in a situation, I tend to think clearer and make better decisions.  Brayden tends to respond to me better when I am calm, and on the days that he doesn't respond to my calmness, I still find myself less frustrated. Yep, patience is a necessity.

3. Faithful in prayer
Other Bible translations have replaced faithful with constant and steadfast.  I have found that continuous prayer is a must in parenthood.  Prayer calms me down; prayer takes the focus off of the situation and focuses on God; prayer allows me to see things through God's eyes; and prayer allows me to depend on God and become more aware and attentive of what He reveals to me. It was prayer that led me to see Romans 12:12 in a new light as a parent, and that verse has become part of my heart as I try to approach life daily with Brayden.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12  



Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Calming the Storm Inside of My Heart

Verse of the week:

I will praise you O Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Psalms 9:1

Calming the Storm Inside of My Heart


A storm was begining to stir inside of me. Panic, hopelessness, worry, and fear had taken hold of my heart. I began to cry out to God for help over the current situation, but the storm in my heart was turning into a hurricane. How many times do we pray to God and ask Him for help in a situation, but still feel scared, hopeless, and fearful after our heartfelt cry out to Him?  We tend to focus only on the problem as we pray, and even though we are crying out to God, we still feel that storm. People say to turn to God for help during our troubles, but oftentimes we end up just telling God our troubles, and not truly looking to Him. As a result, the same worries, panic, and stress remain inside of us. 

I love this verse in Psalms 9:1
I will praise you Lord with all of my heart; I will tell you of all your wonders.

Thank you Lord that you are in charge. Thank you Lord, that I can trust you in this current situation. You have been faithful to me in the past, Lord, and I thank you for your faithfulness in this situation. No matter what happens, Lord, you are sovereign. Thank you that you love this person more than I ever could. Thank you that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.....the storm begins to quiet down. Instead of focusing on just the problem, we turn our eyes to the one who has every good and bad situation under control. The thank yous replace my panic with trust, my fearfulness with peace, and my hopelessness with hope in the One who knows what He is doing even if we don't understand.

Present your problems to God but don't forget to thank and praise Him  whole heartedly throughout it all. It can calm the storm raging inside of your heart.

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and you will see things through the eyes of our heavenly Father. No, the situation may not have changed yet, but your heart has.

Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding , shall keep your hearts  and minds through Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:6-7

Monday, April 28, 2014

True Humility

Verse of the Week:

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5b

True Humility

A while back I had had a wonderful day with my husband and son. We had just enjoyed a fun time being outdoors, and watching my two boys together made my heart swell with love. After being outdoors for most of the day, it was nice to go inside, relax on the recliner, catch up on emails, and check my facebook. As I quickly scrolled down on the newsfeed of facebook, my eye caught a post. It said something along the lines of this: "Had a wonderful evening with my friends tonight." Then the post tagged all the people that were there... many of them my friends. Immediately my day went from wonderful to bad.  Why wasn't I invited? Did they not like me?  Hurt filled me. Maybe I was considered weird or maybe my hearing loss turned them off. I began to go through things I had done in the past wondering if I had hurt someone's feelings or had done something to make them dislike me. For two days I wallowed in self pity over it. My self esteem hit an all time low. I thought God was humbling me so I began to put myself down. I cried out to God to take away the hurt, but it continued to plauge me. Can anyone relate?

One morning during my quiet study time I started doing some deep soul searching.  I believed God was teaching me a lesson on humbleness but my perspective of what being humble truly was was completely distorted. Yes, there was a lesson for me in humbleness, but it wasn't about putting myself down and having a pity party. I read a definition in the dictionary about humbleness, and it said, "having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc."  People tend to take the words insignificance and inferiority and think that they are supposed to put themselves down, but insignificance doesn't mean putting ourselves down. Here is my definition of humbleness: changing our focus to God and giving Him the glory.  When we shift our focus to giving God the glory, we strip ourselves of our glory and make ourselves insignificant. Our focus is not about ourselves but about God and what we can do for Him, which is love Him and others.

My eyes began to open up to the pride and selfishness I was showing to that facebook post. It was all about me, myself and I. Why wasn't I invited? Why was I not part of the group? I deserved to go to the gathering. Then I realized something God was asking me, "Why was going to the party so important?" In light of Jesus, it was so insignificant. In light of me, it was so important. People, including myself, like to climb the ranks of social status and make themselves look good. How many likes or comments did I get on facebook? How many friends do I have? Do people like me? Do I dress and have the home decor that would meet the approval of others? Do I donate money for causes to make myself look good? Am I climbing the ranks of social status in my job? Am I talented enough in a sport to WOW people when they watch me play? Our motives tend to be prideful and selfish.

Here is what I am learning:

Pride- focusing on ourselves
Humility- focusing on God

It is all about HIM, folks, not about me.  When I began to understand true humbleness, the verse 1 Peter 5:5b began to have deeper meaning: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. I began to understand why God opposes the proud, it was all about THEM! He needs followers of Christ who are focused on giving Jesus the glory not themselves.  He gives grace to the humble and uses them because He knows that the humble will give Him the glory.

My perspective on that facebook post began to change. In light of God, it didn't matter one bit if I was invited or not. What mattered to God is that I make myself available to loving my friends and others.  Being available if they need me; talking with them about how they are doing; asking questions about their lives; and making them feel important...invitation or not. Philipians 2:3 says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Wow! So I need to treat others as if they are more important! That is true humility.

Dear Jesus, thank you for showing me what true humility is. Help me to love You and others with the same kind of unselfish love that Jesus displayed for us. To You be all the glory.

It is all about Him, not me.


Friday, April 25, 2014

Adventures in Disciplining a Toddler

Verse of the Week:

Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives. Proverbs 19:18


Adventures in Disciplining a Toddler

Tears were streaming down my face for the second time that week. I was having another Mama meltdown. I have always heard of the terrible twos, but I didn't think that it was that terrible. NIGHTMARE seemed like the better description. I had just spent part of the day disciplining, disciplining, and disciplining! I was saying things similar to this,   "Do not push the buttons on the dishwasher, do not pull down the blinds, don't put the plastic flute down the drain, do not stand on the chair, kleenex is to actually stay in the box, and for the fifty gazillionth time, do not take the dvds out of the tv stand!"    After barking out orders, Brayden looks at me with his mischevious grin, and does it anyway. Lets just say the grin doesn't last long after Sergeant Mama administers her consequences. Then five minutes later he would go after it again. To top it off, there seemed to be a temper tantrum around every corner.  Would the day ever end? 

You know you are raising a toddler when....
1. Everything must be touched.
2. They smile at the word no
3. You sound like a broken record when trying to get them to do something
4. Their scream stops everyone but you mid way in their tracks
5. Their cuteness keeps you from throwing them across the room

Thank goodness these days are not everyday, but when they come, I begin to wonder where I went wrong with my boy, and begin to have a pity party for the next hour! I start to wonder if the disciplining is even worth it, but according to Proverbs 19:18, it is SO WORTH IT! King Solomon wrote, "Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives." I discipline Brayden because I want to prepare him for the future. I want him to know how to display proper behavior in kindergarden, how to share, how to listen to authority, and how to manage his emotions. Ultimately, I want him to grow up to be a blessing to society and to be a light for Jesus. I discipline him because I love him. I hate the process of disciplining, because I have never liked conflict, but I do it because I love Brayden. 

Even though I have those days where I feel like disciplining is getting no where, it is the good days that I receive renewed hope that it is all worth it. Days when I see Brayden asking me permission to go someplace or touch something; days when I see Brayden putting the kleneex back in the box because he knows they aren't supposed to be out; days when I see him reaching for the blinds and dvds, but decides not to touch them; and days when he wants to get upset but controls his emotions are what encourages me to stay strong and keep trying. Don't give up parents! Keep disciplining because you love your children and you want what is best for them. 

Train a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

In the Garden of Gethsemane

Dear Readers,
I sometimes like to look back at some of my old writings and see what I wrote. I just recently found this poem that I wrote over 3 years ago in my Grandma's old box of pictures and keepsakes. It is all about Jesus' love.  I am in awe with all that my Savior went through.  While Easter is a wonderful day to celebrate Christ rising from the dead, I don't want to forget the costly sacrifice he made three days prior to it. I love you, Jesus, and thank you for your amazing love.
Happy Easter to All!
-Katrina Arnold
In the Garden of Gethsemane
By Katrina Arnold 2010

This Poem is Dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

In the Garden of Gethsemane was a man
Didn’t look like anyone grand
He was a son of a carpenter, with hard working hands
His appearance seems ordinary, nothing to attract man
If one were to look deep in His heart, he would discover to his delight
His heart was as big as the universe; His love reaching the highest heights
A sacrifice he would choose to be,
To see mankind face his doom, just wouldn’t do
Man represented hate, jealousy, anger, bitterness, deceit, selfishness, and greed
He represented love, kindness, joy, peace, and generosity to those in need
In the garden, he bowed down to pray,
Sweat pouring down his face
In anguish he cried out to God, knowing what was to come his way
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;” He would say
“Yet not my will but yours be done.”
Only HE could accomplish what needed to be done
                                               
Into the garden, came his friend with army men
One who had eaten, laughed, and said he would follow him to the end
Man’s heart above all things is deceitful, it has been told
His friend would be his deceiver, betraying him not with gold
But for only 30 pieces of silver, he would lead the soldiers to him
Betraying the one who knew no sin
With a kiss he would reveal to those the Savior of the world
The one who was the King of Kings and Lords of Lords
The kiss was given, betrayal was done
 Soldiers carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons approached God’s son
Arrest had begun,
The soldier’s seized God’s son
A follower of Jesus, stepped forward, sword in hand
Ready to kill the entire armed band
Striking a soldier’s ear
The fight had begun, “Stop! Put your sword back in its place.” He would hear
“For all who draw the sword will die by the sword,” declared his Lord
Jesus touched the man’s ear and it was restored
Despite the kindness, love, and healing he had given
Away from the garden he was driven
Arrested and taken to the high priest to be judged
False testimony would be given by those with a grudge
Liars, cheaters, and deceivers gathered in the courtyard to slander our Redeemer
All those around blasphemed our Leader
Jesus stood silent taking beatings to his heart,
Holding no grudges, despite the breaking of his heart
Forgiveness was all he knew,
His love for man, would never cease
                                   
In the midst of the courtyard was one who loved his Savior
But no love would be shown by his behavior
He had told Jesus he would stand with him to the end
But standing with sinners and mockers, he refused to be associated with Him
“You were also with that Nazarene, Jesus,” the people would say
Fearing for his life, three times he would say, “Nay”
Earlier that day Jesus sadly foretold Peter’s crime
“Peter, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times,”
“Even if I have to die with you, I will NEVER disown you!” Peter insisted
The rooster crowed, prophecy fulfilled
Realizing his deceit, he broke down and wept
His promise to Jesus wasn’t kept

In the front of the courtyard, a daring question was asked
“Are you Christ, the Son of God?’
“I AM,” Jesus replied
“Blasphemy!” people would say
Put him to death, and do not delay!
Filled with hatred and abhorrence, their hearts were hard
They spit at him, blindfolded him, and struck him until he was taken by the guards
Under the guards, he was beaten and mocked some more
Covered by his blindfold, the guards would hit him without remorse
“Prophesy! Who hit you?”  They would taunt and sneer
Their eyes would not see nor would their ears hear
Of all of the things Jesus had done in the days before
The deaf could hear, the blind could see, the lame made to walk, and hearts restored
The blood in their hands
Belonged to the Son of man
Christ, Savior, God, and Lamb

Morning came and the sun touched the sky,
Today Jesus would die
The Jews led him to the governor’s palace
Seeking to talk to the leader, Pilate
“I find no basis for a charge against this man,” Pilate proclaimed
Desiring that the Son of Lamb not be slain
To the crowd Pilate brought out two men
A criminal named Barabbas murderer and fiend
Along with Jesus, Savior and friend
Each year they would release from prison a man
In order to give mercy to one who had greatly sinned
Pilate looked at the crowed and asked, “Do you want me to release the King of Jews?”
“No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”  The crowd shouted
The evil doer was freed
Jesus’ death was now guaranteed
“Crucify him! Crucify him!”  the crowd chanted
Condemning an innocent man was not what Pilate wanted
“Do you want me to release him?” Pilate would question
 “No!” they would reply, leading their Creator to His destruction.
Hoping to save Jesus from execution,
Pilate ordered him to be flogged, a different solution
With Courage greater than the world has seen
Our Savior was sent to the soldiers for more beatings
A whip covered with sharp stones and glass
Was placed on Jesus’ back
Over and over flesh ripped apart
A sacrifice to heal mankind’s hearts
A crown of thorns was placed on Jesus’ head
Like needles they sunk into His head
The soldiers clothed Jesus with a purple robe to bring Him disgrace
“Hail, king of the Jews.”  The soldiers laughed and struck him in the face
Bitterness never took hold of Jesus’ mind,
Forgiveness was all He knew for mankind.  

Sent back to Pilate for one last chance
To perhaps change the course of events
Pilate brought him out to the crowd with his purple robe and crown of thorns
Hoping to stop all of the scoffs and scorns
“Here is the man,” Pilate declared
“Crucify him! Crucify him!”  The crowd shouted; Jesus would not be spared.
Pilate handed him over to be crucified
The King of Kings would not be dignified

Carrying his own cross to the place of Skull
Jesus had no strength to carry on any more
Simon of Cyrene was forced to help
He carried Jesus’ cross, despite how he felt
At the place of skull they placed the King on the cross
Through his suffering, our sins would be bought
Hammering a nail on each hand and one on his feet
Each pound represented the freedom that we seek
By each of his sides hung two other men
Criminals and sinners in need of Him
One represented the desires of the world,
Selfishness, pleasure, no consideration for others or His Lord
“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
Hurling insult after insult at Jesus
The other represented repentance and a need for redemption
His heart filled with conviction
Over the sins he had committed
“We are being punished justly,” he admitted
 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Forgiveness he received no matter what he had done
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus said.
To heaven with Jesus, he would be led

In the sixth hour darkness filled the land
Soon Jesus would surrender his Spirit into his Father’s hands
By the ninth hour a storm had arisen
“It is finished!”  Jesus cried
His last breath was given
The task was done, Jesus had forgiven
Every sin in this world
No matter how bad or horrid
The price was paid
New life was made
For all who come to Him
Sadly 2,000 years later some men still prefer sin
Rejecting all that was done for them
They now stand condemned

For those who chose life
Jesus gave it with a price
That he paid full on the cross
So that none would be lost
Freedom they received,
Eternal life if they believed,
Was given by an extraordinary man
In the Garden of Gethsemane


Saturday, April 12, 2014

A Lasting Heritage

Verse of the Week:


Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)


A Lasting Heritage



I can remember seeing these beautiful vineyards on a drive up through Northern California.  The lush vines with ripe juicy grapes hanging from the limbs was breathtaking.  I wished Brian and I could have stopped at one of them so that I could just walk through the endless rows of green and purple or lay under the shade of the plants and rest in the beautiful sanctuary.

 Lately I have had the opportunity to study how the Jewish people tended their vineyards during the days when they entered the promise land. Jewish families did not own acres upon acres of land to grow their crops; apparently they created terraces. Each terrace was owned by one Jewish family.    Even though the soil was rocky, it was incredibly fertile and allowed them to grow grapes, figs, and olives.
Vineyard Terrace
Each Jewish family owned a row or terrace


While the Israelites were not responsible for making each plant produce fruit, they were responsible for creating an environment in which would allow plants to prosper and produce much fruit.  One of their main jobs was to keep the stone walls in repair.  They built strong stone walls because it was the only way to keep the rich fertile topsoil from blowing away from a strong wind or washing away from a heavy rainstorm. Once the topsoil escaped, it was gone forever. 

 Many  of these terrace vineyards with the stone walls have been around since the days of Joshua and the plants are still producing figs, grapes, and olives today.  Wow!  It got me to thinking on how well Jewish families taught their children generation after generation on how to take care of the walls and nurture the soil so that their crops would still produce. What a lasting heritage.****

I started thinking about my own children.  What kind of heritage do I want to leave them with?  I once again began studying Jewish tradition in the Old Testament and found this:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

I love the words the Israelites were told to impress on their own hearts and the hearts of their children, "to love God." The lasting heritage that I want to give my children is not a vineyard, money, or some fancy heirloom but a deep love for Jesus. A love that they can pass down to their children, to their grandchildren and great grandchildren.  

I know I cannot make my boys love Jesus; just like the Israelites could not make their plants produce fruit.  But I can create an environment that will give them the opportunity to learn to love Jesus.  I can build high stone walls and tend the rich fertile soil, and, eventually, with much loving care, I pray that an abundance of fruit will began to grow from the vines and branches.  I pray that I am able to show my two boys God's loving grace, and that through His grace, they grow to love Jesus.  I pray that I will let Christ orchestrate my life in a way that my children will see nothing but Jesus inside of me, and eventually they desire to have what I have.
Sweet Jesus, may you build a strong stone walls in our home.

What lasting heritage do you want to pass down? 

****Jewish history of Terraced Vineyards was found in Ray Vander Lann's DVD "With All Your Heart"

Monday, February 10, 2014

Safely in His Womb

Verse of the Week:


"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)


Safely in His Womb


My husband and I were so excited last Friday as we went to our OBGYN.  We were going to get to meet our second child through a sonogram. I get tears in my eyes as I recall seeing our little baby boy/girl moving about our womb at 9 and half weeks.  He was an active little bugger, moving his arms and legs all over the place.  I could hear his strong heart beat, and he seemed so content and protected in my womb.  This wasn't a embryo or fetus floating around doing nothing; this was a baby!...A live being!...He was already living life and trying out his new limbs, experiencing the gift of movements for the first time.  It brought Brian and I so much joy when we viewed him/her. 

What a gift it is to carry our little child.  A child who is wrapped safely in my womb. A place of refuge to grow and develop and get prepared for the outside world.  I thank God for the gift of seeing our little child (only an inch long) living life to the fullest inside of me...such sweetness that it makes my heart ache.

Our sweet Child's head (slightly cut off in the pic), arms, legs, and umbilical cord. Fingers are there too, even if you can't see them!

I love to think of God in the same way.  When I became a child of God and asked Jesus into my heart, immediately, my new heart was wrapped safely in His arms.  Protected.  Loved. Allowed to grow and develop and prepare for eternity with our Lord!  

Hebrews 13:6 says,  'So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”' In this world, we will face hardships and troubles. Men may try to hurt us, abuse us, kill us, and break us.  But there is one thing mankind does not have access to, our heart.  It can't be touched because it is safe in the arms of Jesus.  People sometimes don't understand why God didn't protect them from certain situations, but my answer is that He did!  Your heart has not been touched. If you recieved Jesus into your heart, it is His, and no one else's.  

Yes, God will always protect me. Even when death claims me someday, my heart will go safely into His arms.


Thank you Lord, for protecting my heart.  Allow it to continue to grow and develop, just like a baby inside a womb.  And someday, I will emerge outside of the womb and see you face to face, Jesus. What a day that will be! Until then, thank you for your never ending love and protection.

My heart is Yours!

"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)