FAITH LIKE A CHILD

Our evening was planned out. I realize they weren't hot plans that would make the next person oooh, aaah and covet. But as for me, the evening was glass half full.

Simply stated, we had dinner together, took the kids for an evening walk through the neighborhood, then planned to make some special cookies we've all been looking forward to. And baths would end the day.

The cookies were scheduled as an activity for homeschool. They're called Resurrection cookies and they serve as a tool to help children better grasp the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We enjoyed sharing this experience with our kids and they really responded well to the kinesthetic message.

But it wasn't the family time that made my day great (though I did fully enjoy it). And it wasn't the really cool activity with the all important message. Rather, it was the response that was stirred in my 7½ year old daughter's heart. As we taped the oven door shut (to symbolize sealing the tomb), she dashed upstairs, quickly asserting, "I'll be right back!"

Several minutes later, she returned with a piece of journaling paper in her hand.
"I made this. I thought we could tape it to the oven door too, for Jesus."
Faith like a child. I'm always blown away by what my God can teach me through the eyes and hearts of my own children. And by the way, Olivia's own attempt at learning cursive was noted as she penned, "on the cross." I haven't taught cursive yet (this summer), but she's chomping at the bit to learn it so she's attempting to teach herself without me. Oy vey.

I praised God for her heart response this evening. As Tedd Tripp so clearly points out in his book Shepherding A Child's Heart, providing the best possible shaping influences is important. But we are not merely molding passive clay. And children are not merely passive receivers of the shaping influences they encounter. They are active responders who will either accept or reject the shaping and molding that occurs in all families. So again I say, praise God for Olivia's tender heart response this evening. Oh and by the way? The cookies are delish.

Mark 10:13-16
13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
UPDATE:Carl and I sampled a few cookies after they baked last night. Reece is our early riser. He came downstairs first today and immediately recalled the cookies that were placed in the oven when he went to bed last night.
"Momma, can I see the cookies?"
"Sure, bud. Let's do it."
I explained that the tape over the oven was now cut away, just like the stone over the tomb had been rolled away. I opened the oven and he peeked inside.
Astonished, he exclaimed, "Jesus ate some!"

Toni