Blow Out "I Can't"

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

~ Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

The other day, I woke up with the song “I Need You More” in my head. It wasn’t until my almost 4-year-old yelled from her bedroom, “Mommy, I peed on my bed and got poopy on the door,” that I heard the song in context. Savannah is a very strong-willed child but she has her very sweet moments of complete obedience for us, as well as others. Throughout the day, we had times of calm and fun, but also times of struggle and testing.

That night, I went running before dinner. During my run, God said, “It’s time to blow-out the ‘I-cants’. It’s time to take on ‘I can’ as your crown of victory.” The things I can’t do have been mounting: I can’t get her to listen to me. I can’t get her potty-trained. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t… And truly, I can’t make her do anything. But I can sit her in my lap, giving her my full attention, and teach her God’s Word. I can encourage her to deposit His Word in her heart. I can pray that God’s Word will minister to her, grooming her for greatness. I can believe what scripture says, “As we teach our children about Father God and His Word, it will stimulate, penetrate, teach and be impressed diligently upon their hearts and minds. Our girls will put their confidence in God and not forget His words, but keep His commands…they won’t be stubborn nor will they be a generation whose hearts are not loyal or faithful to God. They will be an example and set a pattern for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith and moral purity,” (Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 78:6-8, 1 Timothy 4:12).

Running, opened me up to my Father, allowing Him to quiet me with His love. If you’re struggling with what you can't in your life, it’s time to blow them out and put on your crown of victory, remembering we can through Christ!

©Heather Potts 2016

Yet Examplify

We’re not keeping this to ourselves,
    we’re passing it along to the next generation—
God’s fame and fortune,
    the marvelous things he has done.

~ Psalm 78:4 MSG

“Play my church song.” That’s Savannah’s constant request whenever we’re playing music, even if she’s just heard “Not Ashamed” 5 times in a row. She loves her worship music! And the more “bounce” it has to it, the better. What better way to praise God than in the company of your kids? I can honestly say, it wipes away all the frustrations from the day’s battles when I watch my girls worship God. And it’s not even the high-powered worship sessions, it’s also the tender moments when she asks at dinner or before bed, “Can I pray?” Absolutely! Yes, you can pray! But her next question is always, “How do I pray?” And isn’t that what we’re teaching the next generation: how to walk closely and intimately with Father God in all the ways that we have, and even more?

My girls want to pray, dance before God, sing worship songs, and read the Bible. Why? Because it’s what they see their parents doing. Whether it’s our own kids, kids at church, or those in the neighborhood, the next generation is looking for someone to lead them. Psalm 78:5-7 teaches us what to do and why:

He planted a witness in Jacob,
    set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents
    to teach it to their children
So the next generation would know,
    and all the generations to come—
Know the truth and tell the stories
    so their children can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
    but keep his commands to the letter.

With our actions, with our words, and by our example, what are we teaching the next generation? We’ve been commanded to teach them the truth about God. Let’s determine we’ll yet exemplify Him.

©Heather Potts 2016

Follow in Your Footsteps

God’s answer: “Because they abandoned my plain teaching. They wouldn’t listen to anything I said, refused to live the way I told them to. Instead they lived any way they wanted and took up with the Baal gods, who they thought would give them what they wanted—following the example of their parents.”  ~ Jeremiah 9:13-14 MSG

Just before Elizabeth was born, Savannah was obsessed with puppies, to the point that if she found a show with puppies, we would watch it over and over and over and over and over and over and over until we begged her to watch something else.  Beethoven became one of her favorites.  We didn’t mind her watching it until we heard her using the word “stupid.”  After realizing it came from the show, not only did we find something better for her to watch, we also had to go through the work of correcting her language.

Today’s scripture says it’s the parents’ example that caused the children’s hearts to be turned from listening to God’s Word and following in His ways.  Parents can’t be held liable for all of a child’s choices and mistakes.  But as parents, we must choose a life that exemplifies Christ, which is a product of an ever deepening relationship with Him. Children watch, listen and then do, not necessarily as they’re told, but what they’ve observed.

Joshua 24:15 says to choose for yourselves whom you will serve. Serving results from relationship, out of really knowing and understanding someone. When you have a relationship Father God, His Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit, you will want to know all you can about them, including how to serve them.

Father, help us not to just tell our children about You and Your love for them. Help us to demonstrate it through our relationship with You, reflected in our relationship with them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2016