I Love You Enough...

If I wrote a children's book, it would probably go a little like this...

I love you enough...

To pry the carcass of your dead hermit crab from his shell so you could have it to remember him by.

To forgive you without using the words "next time" or "I told you".

To make you take medicine even when it tastes "like sewer trash".

To investigate that giant crash.

To help you clean up that cookie jar you just broke.

To discipline you for sneaking cookies without permission.

To respect your privacy.

To invade your privacy if you give me a reason to do so.

To let you run around in cowgirl boots and a diaper.

To not take pictures of you wearing only cowgirl boots and a diaper for the sole purpose of showing a future boyfriend.

To tell you the truth even when its hard or uncomfortable.

To know which talks would be better handled by dad.

To sort through pumpkin goo so you can cook the seeds.

To remember that there is a difference between letting you grow-up and forcing you to grow up.

To applaud you for being a big boy even when I kind of still wish you were a baby.

To hold you when you have a rotten day even though you think you are too big for that.

To welcome your friends into our home and make it a place they enjoy hanging out in.

To spoil you with love, affection and time, but not with materials.

To teach the difference between loving people and loving sin.

To teach you to respect authority.

To teach you how to disagree with people in authority while still being respectful.

To let you eat that cookie that fell on the floor.

To not let you drink that chocolate milk that has been in the car for two days.

To let you make your own mistakes, but not at the cost of your safety or well-being.

To pray for you and tell you that I am and why.

To laugh at your jokes.

To lovingly tell you when you are being annoying.

To admire your lego creations even when I'm not sure what they are.

To make you pick up your legos even though you are planning to play with them tomorrow because legos hurt to step on.

To call your disobedience what it is...sin.

To remind you that Jesus died because of sin so you will understand that there is a price to pay for sin.

To tell you over and over and over that Jesus paid that price and that His death made a way for you to spend an eternity with Him.

To never let you forget that while I love you enough to do all these things and more for you, Jesus loves you even more and always will.

Uncomplicated Prayers...

Stories from the Growing Years By: Arleta Richardson

"Our daughters have gone into business" Sarah Jane announced.

"What kind of business?"

"They're selling prayers."

I don't know what I'd expected to hear, but nothing in my experience had prepared me for this. "They're selling what!?"

"Prayers. Actually, Jessica is selling them. Alma is praying them. And they're dividing the proceeds."

My knees gave way and I sat down in the closest chair. "Maybe you'd better start at the beginning."

"I told you that Alma had assured Jessica that the new baby was a sister because of her prayers. It sounded like too good a talent to waste, so Jess persuaded Alma to pray for a new dress for her before school started. Sam got wind of it and allowed as how he could use a new pocket knife. Alma agreed to give it her best effort. Don't ask me how it happened, but Grandma Clark sent Jessica a dress and Grandpa Charles sent Sam a knife."

"It turned out," Sarah Jane continued, "that since three things that Alma had prayed for were granted, it seemed likely that whatever she asked would be given."...

Z prays. A lot. About everything. But one of his most consistent prayers go like this, "Dear Jesus. You are the one true God and you can do anything. Please make Asher get better. Amen." Asher is our friends son who has Cystic Fibrosis. When I wrote about losing our sweet Paxon, that was Asher's baby brother. Well, Asher is getting another brother in March. We are so excited and I could hardly wait to tell the boys. I was able to share the big news yesterday...

October 18th: Today I told Isaac that you were expecting a baby boy. He burst into tears. When he calmed down he explained it to me and I burst into tears.

"Mommy, when Paxon died I cried and cried because that was Asher's brother. So everyday when I prayed that God would make Asher better I prayed that He would give him another brother, too. And He heard me, mom. Do you know what that means? It means God can make Asher better someday, we just have to keep praying and looking for a cure."

..."No wonder Jesus said we must become as little children," Sarah Jane said when the girls ran off to play. "We go out of our way to complicate our faith, don't we?"

"Yes," Thomas replied, "With about one-tenth that much, we could change the world."

So...what big prayers are you praying with confidence?