Thirty some years ago, after we started our family, I read Dr. James Dobson’s book The Strong Willed Child and loved it. It resonated with me—a balanced approach to parenting that was practical and worked.

 

Recently I saw a quote someone had posted from the preface of his latest book Your Legacy.

 

“For parents who believe passionately in Jesus Christ and anticipate His promised gift of eternal life, there is no higher priority in life than providing effective spiritual training at home. Unless we are successful in introducing our children to Him, we will never see them again in the afterlife.”

 

What a terribly sobering thought.

 

My years of daily parenting are done and I am so grateful that my children walk with the Lord. It’s amazing how quickly those windows and doors of daily hands-on influence closed.

 

But I love knowing that prayer transcends time and distance and God is always listening. I can take the names and faces of those I love to him at any time. And then he, in some unfathomable unearthly way, unleashes his power into our lives.

 

Never stop praying.   (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

 

The first time I heard Chris Rice sing Deep Enough to Dream, I was captivated by the line…

 

…Deep enough to dream in brilliant colors I have never seen…

 

And even now, my imagination stretches and turns trying to imagine colors I’ve never seen.

 

In the early tsunami grief months after Dan was killed, I was broken and nothing felt good. But I tried to be conscious of anything that helped me feel even a little less awful and discovered that happy colors did that.

 

So I began painting my way through the house. My color choices wouldn’t work for everyone, but I’d have to work hard to be bothered about that.

 

Even the names of my colors make me smile: Inchworm (very early morning sunlight on green grass), Soft Camel (soft cozy warm), Pail (as in little blue), Overalls (soft washed denim), Evening Glow (glorious golden evening sunlight), Harvest Sunset (fiery orange red), and Fresh Periwinkle (late evening twilight). I’ve one more room to go and was tickled beyond measure when the color I liked best was named Rich Honey (looks just like it sounds).

 

I’m so grateful God painted this world with color. How incredibly sad it would be to live in shades of gray. And I’m sure hoping and believing my future home has some brilliant colors I have never seen.

 

The wall was made of jasper,

   and the city of pure gold,

     as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls

   were decorated with every kind

     of precious stone.

The first foundation was jasper,

   the second sapphire,

     the third agate,

   the fourth emerald, 

     the fifth onyx,

         the sixth ruby,

   the seventh chrysolite,

     the eighth beryl,

         the ninth topaz,

   the tenth turquoise,

     the eleventh jacinth,

        and the twelfth amethyst. 

The twelve gates were twelve pearls,

   each gate made of a single pearl.

The great street of the city was of gold,

   as pure as transparent glass.

Revelation 21:18-21

 

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea, 

even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

 

I love knowing that it’s impossible for me to ever be out of God’s presence. He guides and holds me firm, not to confine me, but to support and keep me safe to him.

One evening while babysitting Faith she disappeared, so I went to check on her.

She was playing and talking to her Lamby on the floor in the back bedroom. Nothing was wrong, but she startled and looked guilty when I opened the door.

I commented that she and Lamby were playing. She immediately pointed her finger to the door and said, “You go in there (out of the room) and shut the door.”

I said, “No, you keep the door open.” (I worry she’ll lock herself in).

She kept her eyes trained on mine, turned her head to the side (while squinting her eyes) and said loudly “That’s NOT my word!!”

I said, “No, that’s not your word, that’s MY word and I’m bigger than you.”

And she replied even louder, “I AM NOT BIGGER THAN YOU.”

I was slightly confused, and giggling to myself, at the turn in our conversation. The louder she argued, the harder it was to tell which side of the argument she was taking. Which makes perfect sense because she’s two years old.

Makes me wonder if sometimes the Lord just shakes his head and smiles at my protestations too.

 

The LORD doesn’t see things

the way you see them.

People judge by outward appearance,

but the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7)

 

Battle Setting: the Valley of Elah

 

Main characters:

Goliath – the antagonizing bully who stood over 9 feet tall.

David – a young shepherd boy who was dark and handsome and had beautiful eyes.

 

The two were extremely unevenly matched for battle, but in a way the surrounding soldiers didn’t understand. The bully was in way over his head—but he just didn’t know it.

 

The bully’s taunt: I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me! (1 Samuel 17:10)

 

The shepherd’s response: Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26)

 

And then armed with his shepherd’s staff, slingshot, (and the LORD of heaven’s armies), the shepherd set out across the valley to fight his giant.

 

“Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick?” roared the bully. (1 Samuel 17:43)

 

The shepherd’s reply, “You come at me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

 

Today the LORD will conquer you…and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

 

And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle…” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

 

And so it was.

 

I love the unleashed power stories of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies in the Old Testament. They flow seamlessly into the New Testament descriptions of continued battles that we fight daily.

 

For we are not fighting against

flesh-and-blood enemies,

but against evil rulers

and authorities of the unseen world,

against mighty powers

in this dark world,

and against evil spirits

in the heavenly places.

(Ephesians 6:12)

 

For the sheer beauty of poetry, I love the King James version of the 23^rd Psalm.

 

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy

shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

Forever. That’s my plan.

And I’ll see you in 100 years has become one of my favorite ways to say good-bye. But it’s only going to work if the other person has also completed a personal transaction for the same destination.

Romans 10:9 is a great place to confirm your reservation:

 

If you declare with your mouth,

“Jesus is Lord,”

and believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved.

 

Amen.