Preparing for the Unexpected

     When our little Ezekiel decided he wanted to be in this world eight weeks early my Husband's boss at the time said something to the affect of "forget making plans because when you have kids they almost always find ways to mess them up!"  Sometimes I agree and say that this boy is no exception to the statement, but as I sit and chew on it a little while I've learned to embrace it.   We were able to make him wait two more weeks, but from the moment Ezekiel was born it has been apparent that this child has places to go, people to see, and things to accomplish.   He is BUSY!   

     As a new Momma who is blessed to be able to stay home with my boy I have to admit that like a lot of Moms I'm often Exhausted.  Toddlers are EXHAUSTING!  They interrupt your sleep schedule, they climb in the bathtub fully dressed and turn on the water when you are attempting to do your hair, they get in the toilet feet first and flush themselves while you are trying to get your shoes on, they figure out how to open the pantry door and dump bags of sugar all over the floor, they get into the laundry room and decided to swim fully dressed in the tub of homemade laundry soap, and with my boy the list goes on and on.  If I let myself go there it can affect me in a not so good way.  I'll get discouraged and think things like "I never have time to do things for myself" or "I don't have time to read my Bible because I have to clean the house during nap time", and at times I'll even get frustrated with him and think that because I had to sit in the other room and baby sit I couldn't experience and encounter Jesus at Friday night prayer.  

     The Holy Spirit had to give me a swift wake up call and show me how selfish I was acting!    

     A few days ago Ezekiel and I were sitting in the living room and he begged me to get his Bible off of the shelf and read it to Him.  I don't let him play with it because it has pages that he can and has ripped…  I got it out and opened it up and he immediately started shouting "Joshua, Joshua," so I turned to the story of Joshua and before I got to the picture of the great wall he said, "Jericho, Jericho."……………………………………………………… He's not even 2 yet, I couldn't believe He knew all of this.  He then directed me to go to the story of Goliath, Noah, and of course his favorite Daniel and the Lion's den "roooaar".   I had taken for granted the many many times that I had read stories to him over and over again.  

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.    

     I realized that I needed to appreciate the times that I am spending with my Baby, to take time to use all of those moments we have together to teach Him how to worship Jesus and allow for opportunities to let Him experience the Holy Spirit.  I can't make my Son want to love God but I can position him to be in a place where he can catch a spark of fire from the Holy Spirit.  If I don't take the time to do these thing who is going to?    

     Parents:  Children's pastors and Youth pastors shouldn't be expected to be the only ones teaching your children about the things of God.   As parents it is our job to cultivate the environment in which our child live.    Proverbs 22: 6 Train up a child in the way he should go,  And when he is old he will not depart from it.   I'm sure all of us at one time or another have caught ourselves doing things or saying things that we had seen our parents do while we were growing up.   I want to create a environment in my home that involves worship and prayer and reading the Bible because if my child grows up in that setting it will be much easier for Him to carry that into his own life.  

     Nothing gives me more joy than to see Ezekiel raise his little hand and say "Jesus, Holy"  when he hears music playing or when I tell him my head hurts without even asking him to do so he puts his hand on my head and says "Jesus………(quiet for about 30 seconds)…. Amen".

     I want to be like Timothy's mother and grandmother in 2 Timothy 1:5 whose faith was so strong it was a generational thing and passed on to Timothy.   Not that my child chooses my faith in Christ because I do, but because it come out of him from the inside.  He is my legacy… who my child is reflects on me, but even more who I am reflects on my child!   

     Jeremiah 29:11 I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. 12Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.13You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me! 

     I can only imagine what the future holds for my little one. What I do know is that the Lords plans for him are far greater than anything that I could ever dream up or plan!  My heart is to see him worship God and to love Him with his whole heart.  I want to see him have Encounters with Jesus from an early age.   My prayer for him is that "He will go where no one has gone before, he will do what no one has done before" and that he will see the Unexpected.