Avery's Salvation

So here's the story from tonight. It's pretty long, but I wanted to record all the words and conversations so we can always remember it. If you want the short version... Avery asked Jesus to come into her heart tonight!!! Glory to God!

So once the girls were all up from naps, we got out the play-doh. We don't do play-doh very often so they were very excited to get it out and start playing. After a few minutes, Laney got up from her chair and walked over to Avery's chair and starting grabbing at her things. So Avery pushed her to the floor and yelled at her. I, of course, yelled at Avery to come over to me and tell me why she pushed her. Avery was out of control angry that Laney was, at that very moment, sitting in her chair and playing with her play-doh, and completely oblivious to the fact that she was making Avery so upset. I waited until she calmed down and I prayed for the words. I told her that Laney just wanted to see what she was doing because she wanted to be a big girl too and do big girl things... she wasn't trying to be mean or to be annoying, she just wanted to be a part of what Avery was doing because she thinks Avery is so great. I asked her if Jesus was the big sister, would he have treated Laney that way or would he have done something different.... like teach her how to play with play-doh and show her all the neat things that big girls can do in a loving, sweet way. She agreed that Jesus would have done that, so I asked her if she wanted me to pray for her to have a loving, sweet heart toward her sisters. She did, so we prayed together.

After that she did a good job being patient and kind... until about an hour later when I was ready for them to pick up and eat supper. We have had major issues lately with her ignoring what we ask her to do and us having to ask her three or four times before she actually does it. Anyway, I asked her at least three times to get washed up for supper, and she ignored me so I told her if she chose to ignore me again and I had to ask her more than once to obey me, I would spank her.

So after supper, we sat down to watch their favorite movie, Sweetpea Beauty (the VeggieTales movie) and all was well until it was over and I told them to go upstairs and get in the shower. Avery ignored me so I told her I was gonna have to spank her because she chose to disobey. She hates spankings more than anything and threw a huge screaming fit, but I still put her over my knees and spanked her. Afterwards she ran and hid behind the recliner and screamed and cried for another 5 minutes. Praise the Lord Tatum and Laney were busily reading and playing together in the gameroom so they weren't in there with us.

Finally, Avery stopped crying and I told her if she was done crying I needed to talk to her. So she came over to me and sat in my lap. I asked her if she was angry because she didn't think she deserved a spanking. She said she was angry because it hurt. So God reminded me of the Bible verse that all punishment is painful at the moment, but in the long run it is good because it makes us learn to do the right thing. So we talked a little more about that, then I felt the Lord telling me to share the gospel with her.

Rewind a few weeks... she is doing Awana at our church and the first verse she had to memorize in order to get her vest is John 3:16. We spent alot of time talking about what that verse means over the past few weeks and it is truly a blessing to hear her say it now because she knows it by heart without even having to think about it. Anyway, back to today, I decided to share the gospel with her and just see what her response would be. So I told her Jesus loves her and wants to come live in her heart and help her to do what's right. And If she ever wants Jesus to come live inside her heart, all she has to do is pray and ask Him and He will come live inside her and help her do what is right. She looked up and told me, "I want to pray and ask Jesus to come live in my heart." I was super happy but hesitant because I didn't want it to be me putting the idea in her head if she didn't really believe. So I asked her a few questions...
Me:"Do you believe that you are a sinner?"
A:"yes"
Me: "You know all of us humans, Mama, Daddy and everyone comes into this world as sinners, and we are seperated from God. But God loved us so much, what did He do?"
A: "He died on the cross to forgive us of our sins."
Me: "He sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we can be friends with God again and He can help us to do what's right."

I waited a minute and thought I might have lost her, so I just asked, "What do you think about that?" I was pretty sure she was probably deep in thought about play-doh or some other random thing, but she looked right up at me and said, "I want to pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart." So we did. We kneeled by the couch and and I prayed a few words and she repeated them after me. She told Jesus she knew she was a sinner and she needed Him to come into her heart to save her from her sins. She asked Him to come in and be her Savior. Then I told her if she had anything she wanted to pray to Jesus, to go ahead, and she prayed "Thank you for coming into my heart and helping me to do what's right. Amen." (Looking back, I am amazed that Tatum & Laney did not come into the living room once that whole time. God is in control!)

So we went upstairs for their shower and right when she walked in the bathroom she said, "Mama, I want to get baptized." Seriously? I was shocked but so thankful b/c I was hoping the Lord would confirm for my heart that she really understands what she just did. So I said "Yes, Jesus does want you to get baptized to show the church that you believe in Him, so I'll call the church and see when they can do it." She was very happy about that. (Incidentally, we had baptism last Sunday and it was a super emotional goose-bumpety type of service, where people were invited at the end of the service to come forward and change into the church-provided shorts and t-shirts and be baptized right on the spot. Our pastor emphasized that baptism should be 1) after salvation and 2) at your first opportunity. So probably about 20 people got up from their chairs in their nice church clothes and went up the front to get the shorts/t-shirts and go get changed, then they all came through and got baptized right there on the spot. Needless to say, church ran pretty late last week, but I'm pretty sure no one minded.) Anyway, I don't know where Avery heard that she should be baptized after she's saved, but somehow she knew it. She also started using a very sweet, gentle voice for the rest of the night and tried super hard to be sweet. When we were saying our prayers before they got in bed, she prayed, "Dear Jesus, thank you that you washed away my sins and thank you that you made me kind and loving just like Sweetpea Beauty. Amen." After she prayed, she told Tatum that Sweetpea Beauty has Jesus in her heart just like her.



My thoughts... I am so thankful and humbled that God allowed me to bring my child to His throne and help her to enter into His family. What a huge privilege that I got to be a part of helping one of His chosen ones to learn about Him and make the decision to give her life to Him. I am so excited and a little nervous at the new responsiblity of having a sister in Christ in my home who is watching my every move to see what a Christian does. To Him be all the glory.

faith

tatum is in a stage right now where she does and says so many cute things. i often describe her as our rollercoaster because she can go from happy to sad faster than any child i've known. she wears her heart on her sleeve and you can tell what she's feeling by just one look at her face. there are good sides and bad sides to this, but one of the good sides i've noticed is her sensitivity to the Lord and her faith in Him even as a 3 year old.

When something is scary to the girls, Tatum is always the one who says, "we don't have to be afraid because God is with us."

She asked me this morning on the way to church what a palm is. So I showed her my palm and told her God has a huge hand and he is holding her safe in the palm of His hand. I closed my fingers tight over my palm to show her how God is holding her.

So today when i went in to wake her up from her nap, it was thundering outside. we sat there and listened to the thunder for a minute. She said she was afraid of the lightning. I told her we don't have to be afraid of the lightning because we're safe inside our big strong house. Then she sat up and said "I'm not afraid because God has me in his palm."

I know her 'faith like a child' is so precious in God's sight. She's pretty stinkin' precious in my sight too.

thoughts on the first week

here's my random thoughts on the first week of school...

me
my classes are small. 2nd period only has 10 kids in it. two of my classes are special ed. that is going to be tough, simply b/c i'm not good with low expectations and that is what we're expected to do for them. i do have a good co-teacher this year for my sp.ed. kids so that will be a great help. one my students is autistic, very sweet and polite, but hard to know when to let him talk and when to politely interrupt him and get on with the lesson. i genuinely like my students. i love getting hugs in the hallway from my former students who are now seniors and ruling the school. FCA starts this week and i am feeling excited yet overwhelmed about that since i am the only sponsor this year. feeling emotionally drained with all the smiling, hugging, asking questions, being kind and polite... ready to get on with the year so i can be less outgoing. that doesn't sound how i wanted it to, but i know what i mean. our pastor preached a sermon that was just for me on sunday... matthew 9: 9-12... to paraphrase, he called matthew to follow him then went to eat in matthew's house with all the tax collectors and sinners. the pharisees weren't having that and passed judgement on Him. Jesus told them it isn't the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. now go and learn what it means that I desire mercy more than sacrifice. God spoke to me through that. I have been so used to my Christian friends all summer with playdates and bible study, etc, that is has been a bit of an emotional shock to get back to the world of "sinners" and all the things that drag people down. I needed the reminder that Jesus ate with sinners. He didn't preach at them there, he just sat and ate a meal with them. That is good stuff. It is a blessing to have non-Christian friends... some people don't have a one.

brian
being such a good sport with volleyball season. teaching two upper level "K" classes this year. also the world history team leader at his school. wondering if this might be his last year coaching/teaching (we're praying he can get an assistant principal job next year). he has good classes too. when he comes home, he & avery have been building some pretty inventive railroad tracks for her trains. changing the poopy diapers at night for me... God will bless him. puts all three girls in our shower each night and hoses them down before he puts them in their PJs and tells them a story. i sometimes forget what a great dad he is because we are both so busy completing all the chores that go along with having three little blessings... he is a blessing to me and i am so grateful for his laid-back, patient personality that makes my crazy, easily stressed personality more stable.

avery
you wouldn't know she started kindergarten last week. she is so laid-back (just like her daddy). she had a great week, but could only tell me about it if i happened to ask the perfect specific question. today she told me about the class bunny "patches" and she went on for 10 minutes about it, so i guess you just have to pick the right topic. we did have homework this past weekend, it was to find out the special meaning/history of her entire name. so that was a fun project. avery means "wise counselor", elizabeth means "consecrated to God" and kratky is the czechoslavakian word for "short", which is kinda funny b/c brian's dad is 6'4" and he and his brothers are all over 6 feet tall. anyway, her top left tooth has been hanging by a thread for a week now, but she will not let us pull it. that is the one thing she is not laid-back about. right now the two little ones are napping and avery is playing with her trains. she is having a conversation with thomas the train and tinkerbell. she is also using a british accent right now and she occasionally breaks out into song. she is very creative... when thomas came to a place in the tracks where they weren't connected, i wondered what thomas would do? well, avery grabbed tinkerbell and sprinkled fairy dust on thomas so he could fly over the broken track and get back to firm footing. i could not help the chuckle that came out. she is a unique creation and a gift from God.

tatum & laney
they both start T/Th preschool this week so i don't really have an update on them since they haven't started, but i think they both will love it. they will go to the same school that avery is going to for kinder, so i think they will all enjoy being down the hall from each other. i met their teachers last week and they are great. God bless them for teaching these little ones... i'm pretty sure i couldn't do it.

oh, and the littlest one is due to arrive around march 20, 2011! we praise the Lord for the gift of another baby for our family. if i can just make it through the next week or two, i'm hopeful that the yuckies will be gone and i will be a happy preggo mama again!

First Day of Kindergarten

My big girl started Kindergarten today. I have so many things I would like to write about this, but my eyelids are not agreeing to stay up long enough to write them tonight.

I am so proud of you, Avery!

Kindle Visit

We had so much fun hanging out with our sweet friends, the Kindle's, the last couple days. Jennifer and I met in a tennis class my freshman year at Texas A&M. Who would have thought that 12 years later, our seven kids and two husbands would all enjoy each other so much!

Laney - 1, Brett - 6, Kate - 2, Crew - 4, Tatum - 3,

Parker - 8, and Avery - 5

My bets are on Crew and Tatum getting married someday... can't you just see the cuteness of that little couple? I just can't say enough about this family and how much we love them. God has taught me so much through Jennifer's stand for Christ and she & Brandon making their family be set apart for Christ regardless of what anyone thinks. Brian & I always learn something good when we're around them. They always (without knowing it) challenge us in some area, and it's always refreshing to be around them. A breathe of fresh air, that's what the Kindle family is.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was crazy hair day at church for the kids so we had some fun making lots of tiny ponytails this morning. They were so proud of themselves. Tatum's Sunday school teacher told me today she is a "gem." I agree.

from killer whales to superheroes

We have had such a fun July. I didn't plan for it to be as busy as it turned out, but I'm so thankful we packed in as many fun things as we did.

Family Reunion
In late June, my brother Matthew, his girlfriend Tracie and her two sweet kids, Taylor and Jake, came to stay at our house for a night. They rented Avatar since I had never seen it, and I must say, it was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. Then we all got up and went to our family reunion together at my Uncle Don & Aunt Sharon's house in Spring. They have a beautiful pool in their backyard and all the cousins had a blast swimming and hanging out.

This is me and my sweet cousin Sara!! She and I were the only McReynolds girls for a very long time and we taught all those boys a thing or two over the years. I love her so much and wish I could see her and her family more often.

Laney decided that MeMe's lap looked like the most comfortable one in the group, so she just climbed right up there and made herself at home. It was very sweet to see my precious grandmother and my sweet baby doing some bonding.

PawPaw was so cute talking to Laney while she just stared at him.

I love this picture Sara took of them having a little conversation.

Hurricane Alex

So on the night that Alex blew torrential rain down on Houston, we decided to use our Fajita Willies coupon for some good Mexican food. We got poured on getting into the resturant and we got poured on going back out to our car. But the food was so worth it. Then since we were drenched anyway, when we got home, we decided to get our bath toys and rubber duckies and have a duck race in the river that was our street. Not the best picture, but since it was Laney's first time to wear her raincoat and her first duck race, I had to remember this night. I'm pretty sure I saw one of our neighbors look at the window and laugh at us. Oh well, we had fun.

Discovery Green

A fun free little outing we took to Houston's new downtown park turned out to be a big hit. There happened to be a dog jumping contest there, which was so much fun to watch. We saw one golden retriever jump 24 feet into the water to get his toy! It was so amazing! The playground was really fun and of course, the girls loved the splash pad! We couldn't believe this big beautiful park was tucked in right next to Minute Maid Park and the George R. Brown. We will definitely go back, maybe right after a hot Astros game!

Sea World

This was a last minute decision, but we found a great coupon online for Sea World tickets and since we have free lodging and free babysitting for Laney (thanks Mom & Dad), we decided it would be fun to take Avery and Tatum to experience my all-time favorite amusement park! I was nervous standing in line to buy our tickets b/c I was afraid my awesome coupon wouldn't work and we'd have to pay way too much money. But they took it and we got in, and for a small second I felt kinda bad like we'd robbed them. But I felt okay again after our ONE drink cost us $8.95. That day might have been the funnest day of the whole summer. I can't say enough good things about that place. Shamu made me cry. I kept fighting back tears when I saw those gigantic wild sea animals letting the humans kiss them and waving or clapping their fins at us. It was breath-taking! We sat in the "splash zone" for every show, but we only really got wet at Shamu's show. We rode the only two roller coasters that Tatum was big enough to ride and it was hilarious. We all screamed and hollared and it was way too fun watching the girls experience that for the first time. We hung out in the waterpark awhile and did the wave pool and the lazy river. We didn't take a stroller, which turned out to be so nice. We occasionally gave the girls a piggy back ride, but they both walked most of the park all by themselves. We stayed from open to close and had an absolute blast. We will definitely try to make that a yearly tradition, if I can find that coupon again next year!!!

Brian and the girls in the Shark House

Trying to pet the dolphins - we were too cheap to buy the special dolphin food, so they didn't like us very much. But it was fun watching them swim around anyway.

Wish I had taken more pictures, but since we were getting wet all day, I kept my camera locked up in our locker most of the day. Next year, I will definitely buy a water proof camera!

Brian has his M.Ed

Brian graduated from Lamar University with his Masters in Administration! He didn't actually walk the stage, but we did celebrate his hard work and accomplishment. Here he is celebrating with a Tatum-smile for the camera!

Galveston oh Galveston

We made it out to Galveston last weekend. We just spent a few hours on the beach, just playing in the sand, having a "mud bath," collecting pretty seashells, etc. Laney was fearless, running out into the waves. Last year when we went, she was still a baby so this was her first real experience in the ocean. We stopped at Freebirds on our way back home and had some Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert.

Power-Up VBS

So our new church is really really big on VBS. I've heard that the head pastor became a Christian at a VBS when he was a little boy, so he puts alot of effort and resources into making VBS great. Well, it was amazing! It was all about the Superheroes, Captain Zirk, Zing, Zap and Zoink and their battles against the "Posers" (the anti-superheroes) to teach them to do the right thing. Hence, we all have superhero shirts with "Z" on them. There was also a Jump team of high school girls that do really fun dances to all the VBS songs we sing. Again, I was blown away. I helped out in the Kindergarten room, so I got to be with Avery and all her little friends each day. It was fun to observe her in that setting and meet all the sweet little kids that are in her Sunday school class. Tatum and Laney got to come too, since I was working it, and they got into the Superhero spirit too. Brian even came with us on Friday because we just had to let him see it all for himself. It was an exhausting week, but definitely one of the best of the summer! Power Up!

Gramps Camp

My parents took Avery & Tatum to San Antonio for five days for their 1st Annual Gramps Camp. They have been planning for months all the fun things they wanted to do with the girls, like Kiddy park, riding the Breckenridge Eagle (train) the Children's Museum, etc. I don't have any pictures, but I know they had a blast. And Brian and I had only one child for five days. It was crazy. We kept saying to each other, "Do you remember when we just had one child and we thought it was so hard??? This is SO easy!" Laney was in hog heaven. Brian and I had so much fun just lavishing our attention on her. We also accomplished my 18-month-old goal for her... only giving her the paci at night and naptime. She took to it really well. Now when she wakes up, she takes the paci out of her mouth and throws it down in her crib and is ready to go. Yeah!

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for giving all of us such a thoughtful and wonderful gift. We all can't wait for Gramps Camp next summer!

New Family

Brian's brother, Brandon, and his fiancee, Adriana, are expecting a baby boy due around Christmas 2010. This is an exciting time for our family, with their wedding in September and the arrival of our first nephew in December! We are so happy for them that they are starting their lives together and we are looking forward to having Adriana and their sweet baby boy in our family. I must admit I am excited to have an excuse to shop in the boy section in all the cute kids stores now too!

Buffy Me

Not really, but for a month now, I've been working out three mornings per week at 5:15 AM. Brian's cousin, David, recently opened his own gym and I've been wanting to try it for awhile, but I only just got the nerve a month ago. There's about 5-6 women that meet, including his sweet wife Melissa, and he is our personal trainer for an hour. We don't do "women" work-outs. We do power lifting. We push his Tahoe across the parking lot. We use sledgehammers to hit huge tractor tires. We push a prowler across turf like a football player. We never do the same thing twice. You never know each morning when you walk in what form of pain you will experience that day. But it's always good pain. I am so thankful he gave me a good deal so I could be a part of it and I'm so thankful to get to experience muscle soreness like this. As an ex-athlete, I LOVE the feeling of soreness. It makes me feel like I accomplished something. It makes me feel like I'm making strides in my attempt to be a Proverbs 31 woman...

"She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong." Proverbs 31:17

Ruth

Our women's Bible study has been so encouraging to me too. I am so thankful God put this opportunity before me to be a part of this summer study with the ladies He has brought together. I have learned so much from Ruth. She is amazing. God is amazing how He orchestrated Ruth's circumstances and helped her have faith even when she was unloved. She went from being a foreigner in Israel to being the mother of Obed, who was the grandfather of David! Who, of course, is in the same line as Jesus! I love that God took this Moabite woman and gave her a greater future and hope than she could have ever imagined because she took refuge under His wings.

That about wraps up our July. Brian started volleyball this week, so his summer is officially over. I've got about two and a half weeks left. Ouch, that hurt me to type that. But it's okay. Again, God has given me peace that I do not understand, and I know He has a good purpose for me again this year. But I can't deny I have LOVED every minute of this summer being off and spending such great times with my three little blessings. Summer 2011 is not that far away, right?