THANK YOU JESUS!

THANK YOU JESUS!

  • Children & Salvation, Testimonies

THANK YOU JESUS!

Dear friend, we celebrate with you!

“We cried tears of joy tonight as we watched our precious baby girl give her heart and her life to Jesus!! This is the most important decision she will ever make in her whole life, and our hearts are overwhelmed with the deepest joy and gratitude that she belongs to Jesus! The angels are rejoicing, and so are we!! We praise You, Lord!! She said, ‘I feel so so so so soooooo happy and wonderful! Jesus lives inside my heart, and I live inside His heart, and He will never leave me! I can talk to Jesus! I want to listen to Jesus music and praise Him! I love Jesus soooo much! And I want to get baptized!’ She danced and sang and smiled so big the rest of the night, so full of joy and wonder! What a precious gift! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, JESUS!!! He is so worthy and so beautiful and so wonderful!! ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’ (Matthew 19:14).”

GOOD NEWS

God has been highlighting my son to me for months now. Something just wasn’t quite right. I didn’t know if it was hormone issues, a heart splinter, or something else. I would cry out to God to reveal what was going on, and slowly the picture came into focus over a period of about six months – He isn’t a believer! There was a noticeable difference between him and the girls with attitude, interest in spiritual things, and even joy. God began to show me that when they were little, and we were going after hearing God’s voice, I would say to them, “Where does God live? In heaven? Out in the field? No, He lives in your heart,” but that isn’t actually 100% true. It is true that Jesus passionately loves us, and we can hear His voice and even play in His Kingdom, but each person must choose to receive Him and invite Him into their hearts. I believe the Lord allows children/us to play in the Kingdom so that we will enter the Kingdom, but playing in the Kingdom isn’t always the fruit of salvation. Matthew 7:22. I was keenly aware I could not go to my son directly and tell him, “Hey, I don’t think you are really a believer,” as that would have crushed him. I waited. I prayed. I cried out, and I waited some more. I knew God was after His heart and needed to let Him do the work. I continued being alert to His leading. It isn’t that my son didn’t know God, he did. It was that deep inside, he knew something was missing. He lives in a culture where kids are powerful, heal the sick, and hear God well. While my son was able to still participate in these things, he was keenly aware there was a space between his relationship with God. Others were modeling what he didn’t have. While it should have created hunger, instead, it created a wall of separation, and he felt exposed. It is hard to stand up against a culture and say, “Hey, I am not experiencing this!” We came home from church, and chaos broke out. I gave everyone the opportunity to enjoy some alone time. I sat in the living room asking God what was going on, and He told me to invite Hudson to sit with me. We sat face to face, and I could see the anguish in his eyes. I began to ask him about the space between him and God. A large teardrop fell, and I knew this was the moment I had prayed for. I asked for forgiveness for not clarifying when he was younger that someday he would need to make his own choice if he wanted Jesus in his heart. Such a sigh of relief validated his confusion over the months, perhaps years. I explained fully what salvation means; he was a sinner and has fallen short, Jesus died on the Cross for HIM, and Jesus longed not just to talk to him but actually reside and live inside of him. I passionately believe salvation isn’t just for the soul to enter heaven someday, but that salvation is for our mind, body, and spirit. We began to pray and ask Holy Spirit what parts of his mind, body, and soul needed healing. God had me ask if it was hard for him that his earthly father is very kind, even provides well for him, but doesn’t touch and interact with him. The tears began to pour out, and I asked, “And do you feel that way with Father God? That He is good, loves you, and provides for you, but that your heart longs for Him to touch, encounter, and embrace you?” With tears and the sweetest tenderness, Hudson became a Son!

BELONGING

Ellie was invited to spend the day at the coast with friends. They were having so much fun that it turned into an impromptu sleepover. She came home the following morning 2 minutes after we walked in the door from church. We were rushing around getting things done as we had friends coming over for brunch. I greeted her, hugged her, and continued to get ready. The entire time our friends were here, she was in a funk. She was snapping at her siblings and just being unpleasant. After they left, I heard her respond unkind and asked her to come to me. I inquired if anything happened on her adventure with her friend that needed to be processed. Nope. I asked if she was tired from the late night and needed a quick nap. Nope. I asked if she was hungry as our lunch was off due to late brunch. Nope. I finally said, “Then what is agitating your heart so bad?” and she burst into tears. She began to tell me how much joy and fun she had with her friends and that when she walked in the door, it was like no one cared that she was back. BINGO! I vividly remember Emma having the exact same scenario play out years ago. She cried big tears, saying that when she came back home, no one asked her about her time or stopped doing what they were doing to welcome her. I did not fully understand the scope of it until Ellie experienced the exact same thing. Friends give us a deep sense of belonging, so when a child has a great sleepover, playdate, or outing with their friends, their love tank in the area of belonging is overflowing. When they re-enter the family, they need a few minutes to be welcomed back home with intention, or it can send the message, “You don’t belong here.”

DAUGHTER GOOGLES

I ministered to a 20-year-old mom who said with tears streaming down her face, “Lisa, you gave me Daughter goggles. Suddenly all I can see now is the orphan spirit in operation, which makes me so hungry to act like a Daughter.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I like the sound of that. And then we prayed for the gift of discerning identity to be activated in her life. She is a force to be reckoned with and will be used mightily in the Kingdom to give others Daughter goggles.

CHILDREN & SALVATION

I personally do not believe in rushing out to get your child ‘saved’ as it is an organic move of the Holy Spirit. I personally wanted it to be real and authentic, not just out of obeying or pleasing me. However, I do strongly believe that children need to be taught what salvation looks like.

There are four aspects to Christian salvation: 1. We are all sinners – we all fall short of being good enough on our own. 2. Everyone is born a spiritual orphan. 3. Jesus died for our sins – He took our spanking for our wrongdoings. We must receive and believe in that gift – just knowing it in our mind is not the same as receiving the gift. 4. If we receive Jesus in our hearts, we will live with Him FOREVER as His Son or Daughter.

I would say to the children, “Someday, you will make a choice if you want Jesus to live in your heart or not. Only you get to decide that.” When we would see people acting in ways that were not kind or honoring, I would use it as a teachable moment through the lens of salvation, such as, “That person is acting that way because they haven’t been introduced to Jesus yet.”  I also filtered p*rnography through this lens by saying things like, “That is someone’s daughter, and we want to cover and protect her. She is doing that because she doesn’t know who she is.” It isn’t an s*x issue. It is an identity issue.

JESUS IS ALL YOU NEED

I wrapped up six weeks of classes at the local rescue mission for moms with drug and alcohol addictions in an 18-month program. Let me tell you – when Jesus is all you got; He becomes all you need. These ladies are so precious, and the transformation was visible. They shared stories of how they are learning to partner with God in their parenting. So many reported that the entire house is calmer, and the kids are much more at peace. They are learning to see, really see, their children for the first time, and the fruit has been incredible. Jesus, you are so amazing, and I am so thankful I know you and get to tell others about you.

SURE FOUNDATION

The other night my daughter was ANGRY and lashing out at everyone for the smallest things. Clearly, this was not her, as she is normally sweet as chocolate. The following morning, I asked her to do the dishes, which should have been a four-minute gig, and 1.5 hours later, she was still there. It was time to go, and she still hadn’t finished. I came to her and put my hand on her heart and said, “Babe, I do not know what is going on, but you were not wired to hold onto sin, and something is clearly coming out crooked. When you are ready to talk, I am here.” I didn’t know there was sin, but those were the words that came out of my mouth. She asked to talk hours later and, with tears, began to tell me that she was invited by her friends to vape at school. She declined the offer, but the realization that she had to stand alone was overwhelming to her. I wanted to assure her that it wouldn’t happen again, but the truth is she will have to stand alone and make choices against the pressure of the crowd for the rest of her life. It was a beautiful and tender conversation about what it really means to be a follower of Jesus in today’s world. We talked about the ‘high’ of popularity and the joy of obedience. The next morning at Church, worship began, and I leaned over to her and said, “Sweetheart, focus on this song with your situation in mind. Is He worthy of following, even if it means not vaping with your friends?”  I HATE that she was asked by her friends to vape, but I am SO glad it agitated her soul to the point of being exposed and that God used it to be yet another building block in her story with Him. He IS worthy of it all!

THE GIFT OF GIFTS

From the time Ellie was itty-bitty, she would ask me to buy her stuff. I am not a materialistic girl, and the best way to get me to save money is to give it to me because I won’t spend it. I am frugal to the core. Her requests bothered me, and I began to view her as materialistic. I spent countless hours training her to stop asking for things as I saw it as a character issue. One day I realized, oh my goodness, gifts were her love language. All those times, I pushed her away and scolded her when she was not really asking for the toy but wanting to feel loved. I came to her in tears and repented. She smiled the biggest smile, finally feeling understood. Now when she asks, I see it as my clue that she needs some lovin’. If I have to say “No” to her, I assure her of my love and that she means the world to me, though I am not able to buy her that item right now. I handle the request with much more sensitivity than I did before. I also proactively look for ways that I can give her little gifts. It is never the price tag that matters to her; it is the love through it. I am often leaving little things on her bed with a note attached. The other children only have a problem with it when their tanks are low. When their tanks are full to overflowing, they have no jealousy or sense of injustice that their sister is getting more gifts than they are.

DON’T CURSE YOURSELF

From the mouths of babes. A mom was troubled by her daughter’s ongoing anxiety and worry. Every night she would declare how awful she is going to sleep, and it would put her into a bad cycle with so much angst and worry in her voice. I taught her how to teach her daughter to take authority over it and this is what her daughter said, “I like that, filling me with peace. I’m going to sleep well tonight.” 

NO ONE TOLD US

I was raised in the church. By that, I mean I was in attendance nearly every Sunday for 15 years (before I moved out of the house). Roughly put, I walked through the doors over 800 times (not including weekly gatherings, potlucks, and Confirmation classes). When I was in the 4th grade, I began attempting suicide. I continued to go to Church. I had meetings with the Pastors 1:1. I had a near-death experience when I was 24 and encountered hell as I was not a believer (I thought it was because I knew all of the stories and went to Church but had no relationship). It wasn’t until I woke from my coma that I realized I had missed the boat and that I did not have a relationship with Jesus, salvation, or was ‘saved.’ When God says, He sent His Son to save us; HE ISN’T KIDDING! It isn’t heaven or earth; it is heaven or hell, and hell is a very real place. How in the world can someone go to Church their entire childhood and never once be told about salvation and the CHOICE that was given to me to accept Him? I spoke with my brother, who said, “I didn’t know. No one told me.” This is mind-boggling to me.

The goal is not to get our children saved but to lead them to the One who saves. Parents, in this hour, our children MUST know that there is another world available to them through Christ Jesus. Have you taught your children? Do they know that someday they will stand before Him and give an account for their lives? Do they know they can choose Jesus NOW? As I taught my children, I never asked if they wanted to receive Him as I wanted it to be something that came from within them, not pressure from me. I would say, “Someday, I hope you make a choice to want Jesus in your heart,” and planted seeds that they had a choice to make.

Parents, do not wait – teach them TODAY about the GOOD NEWS!

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When Hudson was six years old, he came to me after we were all in bed and said there was fear in his room. I asked what he wanted to do, and he said, “Mom, we need to go up and tell it to leave.” YES! He gets it. Fear doesn’t chase him out of his room. That is HIS room, and fear is the one that has to leave. When we KNOW fear, we need to say NO to fear. If they do not have a junior Holy Spirit, they don’t have junior authority. When my children saw ‘bad’ stuff, I asked if they wanted it to be there because respecting free will is how the Kingdom of God is established. I would then help them to pray using this outline.

The Bible instructs us to command whatever is NOT in heaven to go in Jesus’ name and to invite in whatever IS in heaven in the name of Jesus. COMMAND THE BAD TO GO: “Fear/anger/strife/chaos/, I see you, and you need to leave in Jesus’ name.” INVITE THE GOOD TO COME: “Peace/love/joy/comfort/, I invite and welcome you in Jesus’ name.” There is no rule on how to do it, but this outline helps to teach them. I love the expression, “I see you,” when speaking to the fear/anger because it helps us to FACE the issue head-on rather than ignore it or feel paralyzed by it. The greater point is that children need to be intentionally TAUGHT tools to use when fear comes. They do not need to be harassed day and night endlessly with fear. Jesus trumps fear… Always!