ASK YOUR FATHER

ASK YOUR FATHER

Years ago, as a homeschool mom of four, we went to the library weekly. I cared deeply about what their little minds were feasting on and had a high guard against witchcraft, sexual material, and language. They would bombard me with, “Mom, can I rent this one?” I finally said one day, “Ask your Father!” They asked Jesus, and 9 out of 10 times, He said NO. The amazing thing about children hearing their Father is that their spirit knows it is the truth and can be trusted. I was filled with joy to receive this testimony. 

“We’ve been slowly learning to hear His voice. My nine-year-old just came to me with a book on cd from the library and said that God told him not to listen to that one. He put it back on our library shelf. I’m so thankful for your teachings that have helped me connect my kids directly to Him, as I do not have time to pre-read every book they want to read.”

PROPHESY

Years ago, the kids and I went through the Kingdom training classes. One night, I was selected to be a part of the team to ask Jesus (prophesy) what He wanted to say to each person. There had to be well over 150 people lined up around the room. It was a powerful night of activation for me. I got to the end, and Jary was waiting, but when I got to her, she turned the tables on me and began to prophesy such deep rich words of life over me. It is hard to explain all that happened at that moment. All I know is that I received something so profound through this woman’s prayers. Years later, I can say that I am walking in what she released over me.

EMPOWERED MAMA

These are the testimonies I love so dearly. This sweet mama took my class one night and sent me a testimony before she even went to bed!

“Something awesome just happened with my daughter. When I picked her up tonight, I could immediately tell something was off, but the Lord pressed me not to ask anything until we got home. When she was in bed, I went to say goodnight and asked her if she would like to ask Jesus why she was feeling what she was feeling. She said yes, so we asked Jesus what was going on. She said that Jesus said there was darkness in her heart. We asked Jesus where the darkness was coming from, but when I asked her if Jesus said anything, she said, “No… well… yes… but it was different this time… He said not to worry because I’m His, and He is mine.’ Lisa, I just started crying. I feel like with all this heaviness, Jesus is saying and showing that He’s breaking through all of it. I just wanted to share that with you. Thank you so much for teaching me how to do this. It’s been a revelation for me as a parent, connecting with the kids as well as connecting the kids to Jesus.” 

GOD CALLING

God is always calling your name.

I excitedly read a book cover to cover in one sitting about children hearing God and then set it down. My religious mind told me that they were too young for such complicated spiritual matters. While the information exploded in my heart I longed for the day they would be mature enough to participate in the Kingdom! A few days later, we were all down by a river eating shelled peanuts. Lauren, my eldest twin, asked if she could feed the squirrels. Suddenly, to my own surprise, I heard myself say, “I do not know if it is a good idea or not, go ask Jesus,” and a few seconds later she jumped off the chair to go play. To know Lauren is to know that she is quite strong and bright and she will repeatedly ask and even repackage her question until she gets the answer she desires. She doesn’t just let things go and run off and play without getting her answer. I called her back and inquired if she asked Jesus or not, and what she said rocked my world to the core. She said, “Oh yeah, He said it wouldn’t be a good idea,” and again she bounced off to play. For me, in that moment, the world stopped. Tears streamed down my face as I realized that my baby had just heard the voice of the God of the universe. I knew in that moment that I was not a single parent but that my children have a Father who is eager to parent them. I took a mental snapshot of what just happened and vowed to the Lord that I would spend the rest of my days on earth tuning my children’s ears to His voice!

If you have followed Let the Children Fly for any amount of time you will notice a theme of sharing the stories of people having an issue/conflict, asking Jesus and then walking out the fruit of what He said. Anyone can have a bad day, mess up or create conflict, but as sons and daughters we get to declare, “Look what my Father did.”

I am passionate about YOU cultivating conversations with your Creator. If a parent has a lifestyle of communicating with their Creator, it will become natural for their children. We can’t expect our children to play in the Kingdom if we aren’t modeling it first in our own lives (I didn’t say children can’t hear God unless you do. I said it would not be their go-to if it isn’t something that is the norm in your household).

If God is the head of our households, then we need to be giving Him more room to speak into the decisions and situations that face our families today.

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Before we get into the good stuff, we need to resolve something first.

Each person must come to their conclusion to this question. “Does God still speak today?”

Some would say, “NO!” Some would say, “YES!”

I say, let’s ask Jesus and let His Word be our guide.

John 10:27 – “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

John 5:19 – “Jesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

Many have been taught that He no longer speaks and if that is your adopted belief, then you are going to be double minded in trying to have conversations with Him. Your underlying belief will sabotage your growth because you will cast doubt on anything you hear.

Let’s go through the Word one more time.

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” **Conversations with our Creator is a two-way communication, not a grocery list.**

John 10:27 – “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” **How can you follow if you cannot hear? Hearing is essential to following!**

John 5:19 – “Jesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” **This is an astounding verse. Jesus is saying there isn’t anything (nothing, was the word He used) great about Himself, but what makes Him so fruitful is that He ONLY does what He sees/hears His Father doing. Part of following Him means to imitate His ways and do as He does.**

Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” **God is the original parent and doesn’t want us just to hear Him, but obey. (Aren’t we the same way with our children?) He isn’t just demanding obedience; He is asking we following what He is telling us. There is a difference. Old Testament was about the rules and law. The New Testament was about our relationship and connection with Him. As a loving Father, He instructs us and wants us to trust Him enough to obey.**

Parents, parents, teachers, and friends are there to help us, but it is ultimately Holy Spirit’s job to lead us into truth. John 16:13 says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

I want to leave you with an action step based on John 11:40 that reads, “Jesus looked her in the eye. ‘Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’”

Do you want to see the glory of God? Regardless of wherever you are right now on the subject, you can see the glory of God *IF* you believe.

For those who haven’t experienced conversations with your Creator, ask, “Holy Spirit, who do I need to forgive for teaching me that You no longer communicate with your children?”

For those of you who have experienced it before, ask, “Holy Spirit, is there anything blocking my way to greater intimacy with my Creator?”

LET’S ASK JESUS

“Father, You say I am the apple of Your eye. What do You love most about me?”

Gather as a family in the living room, in the car, at the dinner table, or at bedtime, and ask Jesus together. This is so empowering for children because they get to witness how God communicates with you, which increases their faith, and together you get to encounter Him. Spiritual hearing is a muscle that is strengthened by worshiping and praying. The more you do it, the stronger you become at it.

HEARING GOD

The first thing I ever recall hearing the Father say to me was, “The deaf can hear.” I laughed. And then I argued, “No, they can’t. They are deaf.” But I heard that statement many times. I just assumed that all believers heard God speaking the way I did; after all, that IS what the Word says – His sheep will know His voice. I vividly recall talking to a family member one day about hearing God, and while she loved the Lord, she said she had never heard Him speak. That blew me away. It opened my eyes to the fact that so few children hear their Father’s voice. I started teaching classes on it, and it has been a life mission of mine to help connect young and old to their Father’s voice. I am so passionate about it that I created this resource to help others. In Conversations with Our Creator, you will grow in your ability to hear Him and learn how to teach your children.

Conversations with our Creator eBook – Let the Children Fly

LET HIM LEAD THEM

How many times do we miss the move of God on our children because we are focused on them looking or behaving a certain way? 

A mom shares: “My son was ‘soaking’ during the worship time at church, and I didn’t even realize it at first. We were in the back row, and he put his head on my lap. I was about to encourage him to sit up ‘properly’ or stand with me and sing but had this sudden realization that he was just… basking. So we sat and soaked. I was so excited to try the sponge activity with the two kids after church, but after today I feel like I can pick up soaking tips from them too.”

WE WROTE A BOOK

The kids and I never set out to write a book. We just told our story over and over, and here we are nearly a decade later with the chapters of our adventures of playing in the Kingdom in a gorgeous magazine-style 130-page book.

JOURNEY is for anyone in the midst of parenting, grand-parenting, or those who will someday become a mother or father. It is about the journey of becoming Sons & Daughters and parenting the next generation out of that place.

Journey – ONLINE CLASS – Let the Children Fly

FEAR, I SEE YOU

I loved receiving this testimony!!! Crawl into the world of this little boy and how his mom responded to his real heart. 

“Hi Lisa, I’m not sure you’ll get this, I know you receive a lot of messages but I just finished your JOURNEY course and had to share something that happened today. My three-year-old has been struggling in Sunday school for the last month or so. When I signed him in he immediately cried and clung to me. I told the teacher I would keep him for worship and try again in a bit. We went in and started singing and he just hugged me and snuggled through two songs. I brought it up that I would take him after singing and he started fussing again. The band started singing Jeremy Camp “Same Power” right then and it hit me – your authority lesson! I asked him if he wanted to not be afraid and then I said, ‘Fear, I see you,’ and commanded it to leave and then ushered in peace. After the song I asked if he was ready and he was a completely different kid!! He walked to the room holding my hand and didn’t look back after saying bye to me. I am embarrassed to say I’m shocked, I shouldn’t be, because this is our God, but I just can’t recall ever feeling this powerful before in my parenting. I’m just so excited to have done this class and learn things I can use to help my kids through life! Thank you, thank you!!!”

BELONGING

I love this testimony from my friend: “Last week one of my kiddos came home from an after-school class very distraught. He had experienced some relational pain with his peers and did not ever want to go back to this class. While I know I didn’t handle the situation perfectly; I tried to ask questions, listen and empathize. Then I shared some stories where I had had similar experiences as a kid, and I chose to quit almost every time. I told him I always wished I had the emotional capacity and support I needed to stick those hard situations out and see them through. He seemed responsive and willing to keep trying. But when that class came again this week, the panic alarm sounded, and he told me he would not go. I ended up getting him to class, honestly not knowing if I was making the right call. I got into my car to drive away with a plan to reach out to his class teachers, and then I also fervently prayed for him with two of my other kids. We asked God to intervene and show up in class today miraculously. When I went to pick him up, I saw that the teachers had called him after class, so I walked up to see what was going on. They had been seeing that he was struggling and were able to recognize and validate the issue he was having with one of his peers. Then they shared how much they valued him and how sad they would be if he left the class. They gave him a place of belonging and showed him how wanted he was. I almost burst into tears on the spot. God had heard my prayers and cared for my boy as only He could. My son left encouraged, seen, and more committed than ever to his class. Thank you, Jesus, that you hear when we cry out to you. You are our provider! And thank you for providing a beautiful school with a loving staff. My heart is full and oh so grateful.”