Evangelizing

Noah is concerned about the state of his brother's soul.  He is constantly telling Jonah how to be saved and explaining the importance of it to him.  Joe and I have told Noah that God will work in Jonah's heart when he is old enough to understand, but Noah is a bit impatient.  I overheard his newest tactic just last week...

Jonah don't you want to give your heart to Jesus?  That way when you die you will get to go live in heaven with Jesus and Granny Faye. And pretty soon Mommy and Daddy are going to be living there too!

I had to intervene at that point.  I am glad that Noah has a burdened heart, but I see no need in rushing things!

The Greatest Gift

♪♫•*¨*•♫♪Praise God from whom all blessings flow♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts♪♫•*¨*•.

.•*¨*•♫♪Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

¸.•*¨*•♫♪...♪A-men!!!.♫•*¨*•.¸.♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

If you have not already heard the news...Noah asked Jesus into his heart today!!!!
We were on our way home from school, singing songs back and forth when Noah all of a sudden says, "Momma, I want to ask Jesus into my heart so that I can be a Christian." I asked him if he was sure and all of the other questions that let me know that he truly understood what he was doing. I did not want to have another juice and cookies conversion. After realizing that he truly was ready and understood what he wanted, I drove to Grammy and Pa's house so that we could all pray together.
I am brought to tears of joy to know that even through inevitable death, I will never be permanently separated from my child. Tonight I am full of peace, comfort, and unspeakable joy. All I can say is that God is good. Hallelujah!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!

Happy Birthday six year old!!

I look at you and don't know where the time has gone. I remember holding you in my arms and knowing that you were the most beautiful baby that I had ever seen. As much joy as you brought to me on the day you were born, I never imagined all the joy that you would continue to bring into my life. There is not a day that goes by that you do not make me smile.

This has been a big year for both you and me. You started Kindergarten and I had to give you up for part of the day. I miss you those hours that you are at school each day, but I see how much you are learning and I know that you are having a blast.

You have become so much more independent this year and I see every day that you need me less and less. It is such a bittersweet feeling to watch you as you grow. You no longer use training wheels on your bike, you take care of your animals all by yourself, and you are even helping out Daddy at the shop. You are a great big brother and a big help to me. Most importantly this year you have begun asking serious questions about salvation and I pray that your heart remains tender to God's prompting.

So Happy Birthday to My Noah. Mommy loves you!

Communion

This post really isn't about communion at all, but rather about Noah. However, you may need a little background info in order to understand the post.
Our church has communion every Sunday. Although many parents allow their children to take communion before they have made a firm decision for Christ, Joe and I believe that communion is for believers and will not allow our children to partake until they have publicly accepted Jesus as their savior. (We may be wrong, very possibly are, but it is our life, our kids, our faith, and our decision.) That being said, it is difficult to explain communion to small children who just see that they don't get to have "juice and cookies" during church.
We have been discussing the plan of salvation with Noah for a while, but I don't think that he fully understands. I mean, I know he is ONLY five, but we try to answer all of his questions honestly, pray for him daily, and prepare him for the day that he feels the tugging of his spirit. We are very conscious of the fact that this has to be Noah's decision, made in God's time. (I don't think I did a very good job explaining that, but I am in a hurry...hopefully you get the drift.)
On our way to church yesterday morning, Noah leaned forward and whispered to me...

Momma, I need to tell you something.
Go ahead Noah, tell me what it is.
I'm ready to ask Jesus to live in my heart.
Noah that is great, do you want to pray right now?
Yeah, I'm really hungry and I think I am going to need that juice and cookies in church today!

After a long discussion about the fact that partaking in communion was not the reason that you should ask Jesus into your heart, Noah decided he wanted to wait for a while anyway. Ah, the joys of motherhood and trying to figure out the workings of a child's mind.