Oh! To Be Like A Little Child

I know I have said it before, but I learn so much from my children.  God has impressed upon my heart to share a few of his lessons, learned through my boys.

It began a few months ago.  Jack and I were talking about Heaven while he tried to go to sleep. It is a bit of a routine with us, that goes kind of like this:

I lay down with Jack

Jack whispers, "Let's talk about Heaven hey?"

Ok darling, let's talk about Heaven

"What sort of animals will be in Heaven Mum?"

And so we go on to talk about all of the different creatures that will be in Heaven and how he will be able to pat them and ride them.  We talk about the river that runs through the city from God's throne and how you can't drown in it and it's never too cold.  We talk about how everything in Heaven will worship God, even the flowers and the grass.  We talk about how there will be no sickness and you will never get tired. 

I love these times.  After our most recent talks Jack gets frustrated that Jesus hasn't returned for us yet.  He prays for him to come quickly.  He told me he wants to go now.

In light of this I will now tell you about another event. 

We were at a busy shopping centre carpark.  Jack wanted to show me how brave he was and so he crossed the road by himself without waiting for me.  Thankfully there were no cars and he was safe.  When I reached the other side, this was our conversation:

'Jack, don't you ever do that again.  That is really dangerous.  You must always wait for me.  Do you understand.'

'But I was brave Mum.  Did you see me?'

'It was not about being brave.  You could have been run over by a car and got really hurt, even die.'

'Oh Mum.  That's ok, then I would be in heaven and Jesus would send you a new Jack.'

(Gobsmacked by a 4 year old)

'But Mummy would miss you so much.  You must promise me never to do that again.'

'Aww..ok Mum.  Don't worry Jesus would look after you.'

How can you be angry with that?  I have told my son not to fear death.  He knows where he is going is better than where we are now.  God has confirmed it in his heart.  He knows it is true. 

I want my faith to be this black and white.  I am no longer content with half believing God's word. I want to believe it all, and God is teaching my by  his Holy Spirit to no longer doubt.    More and more God is impressing upon me the importance of our unwavering faith.  God cannot move in our lives if we continue to doubt his promises.  Will you be bold enough to trust him and believe no matter what it costs you?  Our family's journey is not an easy one, but I wouldn't change any part of it.  For it is through our trials that we have learned God is the only steadfast thing we know.  All else may fall apart around us, but he remains unchanging, his love never wavers.  It is the reason I love and live each day.

Whispers To My Heart - I'm With Him

The time has now come when you can ask Father God for anything in my name.  I don't have to ask him for you, because he absolutely adores you and listens to your every word.  He loves you because you love me.  He loves you because of who you know, not what you do.
(Spoken to Nicole from John 16:26-27)

Don't you just love this passage?  We can ask God for anything and step into his holy presence anytime, because we know and are saved by Jesus.  We don't have to ask Jesus to go to the Father for us for anything,  because we are already known to Father God by our relationship with his Son.  We are eternally marked by grace, mercy, love and power because we are the children of God.  We are let into the throne room every time, not by the things that we do to try and please God, but because we have street cred with his son.  It doesn't matter what you wear, where you live, where you work or what you achieve.  If you are saved by Jesus, he can't love you anymore than he does right now.  His love is unconditional.  It doesn't wane because he already knows what you were going to do in the future anyway.  His love cannot grow any stronger because it is already perfect.  What an absolute privilege to have this kind of relationship with my Creator and Lover of my soul.
And if you don't know Jesus.  He waits for you to call on him.  He watches you lovingly and tries to get you attention in many different ways.  You know what I am talking about.  He can't wait to take you to meet his Father.  They miss you very much.
Do you know how much he loves you?

A Special Moment to Share

Last night something special happened as I tucked the boys into bed for the night.  As usual, I gave them a kiss and then we took turns praying to God.  Sam prayed first,and then I prayed asking God for his protection and blessing as they slept.  With my eyes still closed, I waited for Jack to pray and when he didn't I prompted him that it was his turn.  With his eyes still closed we had the following converstaion.

'Jack it's your turn, buddy.'

'Shhh..Jesus is still praying.'

My mouth drops open.  'Ok then'

We waited another 30 seconds or so in silence.

'Ok, Jesus is done praying.  Now it's my turn.'

'Jesus thanks for loving us and for letting me be a cowboy.'

'We love you Jesus' (Nicole)

'I love you Jesus' (Jack)

'I love you Jesus' (Sam)

I wonder if you have moment like this when all logic and understanding falls through the floor.  A time when a supernatural presence fills the air and you know you are standing beside angels.  There was great peace in our home last night.

I wanted to share this with you to show you how much God loves and reveals to little children.  I learn so much from my two boys.  When I went to bed last night, I shared my heart with God and then just lay there and listened.  I too wanted to see Jesus praying.  I felt his peace. I will have to learn to be more like Jack if I want to see Jesus.

Jack asleep with his drawn on moustache :)

But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me.  Don't stop them!  For the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children. (Matthew 19:14)

Sam's Heart (The Book) -Pray and Believe With Me

Sam's Heart is now at the printers and is due for release in 7 weeks! I am so happy that all of that work is done.  Now it's time to pray and wait on God to do the rest.  This was always his project from the very beginning.  When God asked me to write our story, I kept putting him off saying 'I'll have more time when...'  In the end he was very insistent, he wanted this story told to glorify his name.  So I am expecting big things from God.  I am praying, you'd better believe it, but I am also expecting.  I am asking boldly for God to do all that he promised me he would do.   I wonder if you will pray and believe with me:

I believe he is going to touch people's hearts.

I believe that he is going to speak hope into other people's lives.

I believe that he will do what is needed to get this story into people's hands.

I believe that he is going save little lives, through a message of hope.

I believe that he is going to heal hearts and broken lives.

I believe that he will not put me to shame but that people will buy and read the book according to his purposes.

I believe he will bless my publisher for her faith in this project and her obedience to his voice.

I believe he will bless whoever reads our story with a special message just for them.

and...

I believe that through my obedience and by his grace that Sam will be healed and receive his new heart.

Are you bold enough to pray and believe with me?

Warning Danger Ahead

Warnings can save us much hurt and grief, if we listen to them.  When we are driving in our car and we see a sign warning us of a sharp corner, we do well to heed that advice, unless we want to end up well off the track.  It is just the same with God.  When Jesus returned to heaven he sent Holy Spirit to be our guide.  In John 16:13-15, Jesus tells it like this.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.  He will tell you about the future.  He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.  All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'
I have had people over the years tell me that we cannot pretend to know the mind of God.  It is true that our minds are prone to all sorts of traps and snares but we can know the mind of Christ.  We may not yet have the mind of Jesus, but I know the One who does.  He lives inside of us and he knows everything that Jesus knows-he is Holy Spirit.  Jesus says in the book of John that he considers us his friends, not his slaves without privilege.  It is his desire that we hear his voice and follow the path he has mapped out for us.  In order to do that you must heed the warnings and advice given by Holy Spirit. 
These warnings usually come well before an event is about to take place in our life.  God does not leave us unprepared.  Let me give you an example.  Before I knew we were pregnant with Sam, I was given a dream/vision from God about our family walking through liquid fire.  It consumed everything in it's path but we walked through it and were not burned or scorched in any way.  It was accompanied by this scripture, 'Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine.  When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you...(Isaiah 43:1-2).   Almost a year later when we were in the midst of Sam's surgeries God brought that dream to my remembrance, and assured me of us walking through the trouble unharmed. You get the idea.
The most important lesson I have learned about hearing God's voice is to spend time listening to him daily.  If you wait until you are in the midst of a situation, it is easy to be deceived by the many other voices clamouring for attention in your heart and head.  It can be confusing and hard to know which way to go.  If we spend time daily with God, he reveals his path for us, bit by bit ahead of time, preparing us for what is ahead.  And when trouble comes, and it will, you will be at peace and be assured that he is with you every step of the way.  You will be confident in your ability to step out in faith because you truly know the heart of your Saviour.
Do you desire to walk a life of confidence in Christ?  It is possible, if only we would ask, listen and then obey.

Whispers To My Heart-Command the Mountains!

Don't forget God's promise to you!  Have complete faith in God.  You can command any obstacle blocking your path, to be removed.  You can say to this mountain, "May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea and it will happen".  But you must really believe that it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.  You can pray for anything, and if you believe that you have received it, it will be yours.  Don't listen to the lies of the enemy who comes to steal and destroy.    And remember, when you pray, come to God with a clean forgiven heart so that your sins will be forgiven too.  While you wait, God will increase your faith.  Praise Him while you wait for him to act. 
(Spoken to Nicole from Mark 11:22-25)

These words amaze me.  It is here that Jesus promises that we may ask God for great miracles, and life changing experiences, and they will happen.  There are two conditions to your prayers being answered as you ask:

• You must come to God with a clean heart-The only way to truly have a clean heart is to know Jesus as your Saviour and be born again into the Kingdom of God.

• You must ask, believe and then receive. 

Are you living your life, the way God intended?  Be bold and step out in faith.  God isn't backing you up, he is leading the way!

An Answer To Prayer

In the last few days Sam has started eating again.  It may be small amounts but that is nothing new.  I am just so relieved and excited and had to share the good news.  Now he just has to put on some weight.  Glory to God!