Let the little Children Come...

I saw a headline today. It said, “Afghans Sell Daughters to Repay Loans”. Is someone kidding? Unfortunately not.

When you read the article you realize it is not for lack of love that these fathers are selling their daughters…but for the lack of a choice- at least in their own minds. And in some places in this world- women, and children are commodities. Just pieces of silver.

I look at my own precious daughters and I see Todd love them, play with them, giggle and wrestle with them. My heart breaks for those who don’t have a father like that. I think of my own father who used to hold me in front of a mirror and say, “Didn’t God do good?” He hugged me when I didn’t want to be hugged and chased away the monsters from my room.

In so many lives- fathers are the monsters in the room. What do we do with that? How do we reconcile God’s love with the reality of so many broken lives?

The only thing I can hold on to and express to my friends who have past broken bodies and hearts is that in God YOU have value- not as a commodity but as a REASON for sacrifice. Jesus is our HOPE. But for those you have experienced this type of betrayal- hope can be elusive because it has never been experienced.

As little children we are all taught John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And at first glance- it seems rather basic but do we really understand- that God so loved YOU that he gave his only son?

Young women everywhere need to understand that they are daughters of the King of Kings. That is not something to be taken lightly. His Fatherhood is something God takes very seriously.

John 1:12-13
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

I love those verses- because God understood the culture he was speaking into and realized that children were at the whims of sinful men. He wanted us to all understand that HE CLAIMS US! Not because of anything we do but because he loves us. God has a plan for each one of us even in the midst of extreme suffering. He desires the truth laid out in the Bible to surround and comfort you. When I used to be scared in the middle of the night- I used to repeat memory verses I had learned. I encourage my children to do the same. Or sing praise songs- you see, even as loving parents, Todd and I cannot chase away all my children’s fears.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When 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. Mark 9:13-14

We just talked about this passage in our small group the other night. The phrase that our leader brought to our attention was that Jesus was indignant! He felt offense that His disciples were trying to keep the children away from Him. He placed value on the children and raised them up in the eyes of those around him. I can just picture a few children who had no understanding of love or value at home- clinging to Jesus’ robes. I see him putting his hands gently on their backs, bowing his head over them. He was a refuge. There are just so many verses in the Bible about God being our refuge. I encourage you to do a word study of them if you struggle with shadows in the night.
Remember. You are precious children. Daughters and Sons of a King.

mi jtyih ih ti ihi ihiu tti
jj hj hjn
m mb nmn mnmg nn n mng mgmgnnhmggmn

*so sorry to everyone....my daughter Raney decided she wanted to be a writer without me knowing!*

Journey with Julie

Thursday morning...much like other mornings. Getting kids ready for school, breakfast, coffee, checking in with Todd before he leaves and then getting Raney ready for her preschool. She and I started off...and then the flashing lights behind me caught my attention.

"Oh no...here we go again" I thought to myself.

You see, I am driving around with expired license plate tags....Yes, I can hear the gasps all around. I could share the multiple reasons why- but then you would be as bored as the police officer who stopped me. This is my 3rd time stopped for this same reason. So...I decide to take matters into my own hands rather than waiting on Todd to do it. Obviously that is just not working out for me.

I drop Raney off at her school, call my best friend in Alabama to vent my frustrations and pump myself up to go hang out at the DMV. I take my number just like everyone else, watch the myriad of people go up to the counters, and I wait patiently for A10 to be served. I spend my time trying to guess which window will I get to go to.

And then...my number is called! I go up to the window, give him all the required information and find out....I am not Todd Phillips- just the wife....who is not on the title for the car that is driven by the wife- at all times. So....I cannot renew the license plate registration. I chuckle to myself...walk out dialing my best friend in Alabama again to talk about how frustrating it is to try and get things done but unable to because nothing is in our name...except for the birth of our precious, painful at the time, children.

I get off the phone to treat myself to coffee....whooo hoooo! Dunkin Donuts here I come. I walk up and see a paper sign "Cash only Today". Criminy! No cash in this purse- just plastic. I cannot believe it- thwarted again!

So I call my friend (hopefully for the last time today) and she jokingly says, "What, they didn't allow you to buy coffee?" And I tell her what the sign said- she burst into laughter and I just had to join in. I mean, what else can you do?

And of course, all the while my radio is playing a song "There is a God" by 33 Miles. I think to myself Romans 8:31 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

And I laugh because the joy of the Lord is my strength- even in the monotony of meaningless trials...and I smile because through the meaningless trials, I am reminded of God's promises and his gift of life to me.