Category Archives: Parenting

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Adopted

We received exciting news this month – our nephew and niece adopted a 7 year-old little girl named Priscilla. The parents have a loving, nurturing, godly home already and adding Priscilla will just make it more so. I am thrilled for them, but even more blessed for little Priscilla. She was chosen by her parents, and when she was told who her “forever parents” would be, there were tears of joy all around. My nephew and niece have stayed in our home several times and have always blessed us with their servant hearts and willingness to “go with the flow”.  What wonderful qualities for parents!

I also have a friend who has adopted an infant girl in the past year. This couple too, had a loving, nurturing, godly home and one birth child before bringing a new baby home through adoption. This precious little one had to fight for her life at first and is now thriving in a safe, stable environment.

Two very different situations, yet families blessed by the gift of adoption.

While praying and thanking God for providing a child and families in each of these diverse situations, I was struck by the truth that we as Christians are adopted into God’s family. Paul is talking to the Romans about the work of the Holy Spirit and says –

Romans 8:15 (NIV)

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

Several parallel truths gripped me as I read this passage.

  • Adoption by God frees us from fear since we have a loving Father
  • Adoption for these little girls provides security and protection
  • Adoption provides “sonship/daughtership”, we may call God, Abba – Daddy.
  • Adoption provided a mommy and a daddy for these girls
  • Adoption means we are God’s children with His name – Christian
  • Adoption provides a new name for each of these girls
  •  Adoption means we inherit all God’s promises to His children
  • Adoption means these girls will be provided for and inherit from their families
  • Adoption means we will share in Christ’s sufferings AND His glory
  • Adoption means these little girls will face trials AND triumphs together with their new families.   
  • Adoption is eternal. Our Father’s promise is that we will dwell with Him forever
  • Adoption is a life long committment – a “forever family”

Priscilla and “Precious” are so blessed to be part of their new “forever families”. As God’s children, we are part of His forever family. We enjoy God’s presence, praising Him for His faithfulness and love.

I know of several beautiful testimonies of God’s grace and power being demonstrated through adoption. If you would like to share such a testimony on this site, please e-mail it to me and I can insert it into the blog. Send it to nanawoody9@gmail.com – or include it as a comment. This will be a blessing to others.

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Dance Party

I have watched with amusement and wonder as each of our grandchildren has bobbed, swayed, wiggled, and ultimately danced to the sounds of music. This can be music on the radio, a CD, or even a ring tone of a cell phone. After one or two bars of a melody, their little bodies automatically respond and start to move. It’s so much fun to watch!

I’ve observed as older siblings watch a Veggie Tale. The 8 or 10 month old sits up and bobs as the Veggie Tale theme comes on. As soon as Larry and Bob start talking, the little ones lose interest. But, if a song comes on again – they are right back in front of the TV, ready to dance.

This response to music is innate – no one tells these small children to dance, no one teaches them. There is something within us that responds to music – emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It is such a natural, joyful expression.

Music is also a “hook” for long term memory. Think of the songs you remember from childhood. “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider”, “Old McDonald”, and best of all – “Jesus Loves Me”. We hear the first few notes of any of these songs and we can instantly sing along. Knowing this, parents can use music in meaningful ways in the lives of their children. Many children learn their A, B, C’s by singing – “ a,b,c,d,e,f,g,” etc., and learn to count by singing – “one little, two little, three little, etc…”

Music is an effective way to memorize Bible verses. There are many Scriptures that I know because I learned them set to music. There are countless times that God’s Word has come to me in my time of need in a song. This is a blessing as well as an encouragement.

Psalm 150:1-6 (NIV)

1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2 Praise Him for His acts of power;
praise Him for His surpassing greatness.
3 Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise Him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise Him with timbrel and dancing,
praise Him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise Him with the clash of cymbals,
praise Him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord.

These verses from Psalms exhort us to praise the Lord with our voices, various instruments, and DANCING. I have seen this in the three homes of our grandchildren. Each has certain songs they play, DVD’s the children watch, and CD’s they listen to that contain God’s Word set to music. They dance with joy and abandon! These will be verses that the children know by heart and that the Holy Spirit will use to build their faith, challenge them to walk with God, and even bring correction in their lives.

Our children listened to Bill Gaither when they were small. Remember “I’m Something Special” and “I am a Promise”.

What are your children listening to?

Please share songs, CD’s, or DVD’s that your children enjoy that allow them to dance and sing before our Lord. This will give all readers a chance to have Dance Parties of their own. Thanks in advance for sharing.

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Super Hero

Watching one of our grandsons dress up as “Larry-Boy” and suction “bad guys” with his super ears is very entertaining. He will dart around the house wearing his cape and vanquish all foes. It’s all fun until his little brothers are the “bad guys” and then his efforts to eliminate them create problems.

As humans, we all love to celebrate heroes. We love our sports heroes, our military heroes, and our civic heroes. We celebrate their accomplishments, and we are crushed when they disappoint us by being human.

The fact that children have heroes can be a positive thing. If their hero demonstrates the kind of character that encourages Godly behavior, that can be a powerful influence in the child’s life for good. Yet heroes often change as a child’s interest changes. It may be a cowboy or princess when they are very young, then change to an Olympic soccer player or singing star. As children are young, parents can control much of what their child is exposed to and therefore whom they choose as a hero.

I remember one of our daughters wanting to be like Mia Hamm. She was a prominent soccer player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during that time and went on to be an Olympic soccer star as well. Ms. Hamm was a quiet, hard-working individual that stayed away from the spotlight, often deferring to her teammates even when the focus of the media was on her. This was a positive example of putting the team first over the individual, an important quality in team sports.

The most important heroes for our children are those who demonstrate a love for God and His Word. Sadly, our culture does not often acknowledge the selfless sacrifice of the real heroes of the faith, so as parents we must make that effort. We must remember that only God is perfect, so even the most upright individual may fall, especially if they are put up on a pedestal. We could fill pages with names of prominent Christians who have fallen short of God’s glory, as we have ourselves.

In Hebrews there is a passage that is sometimes referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame. These heroes were just living their lives when God stepped in and required them to step out in faith.

Hebrews 11:7, 11, 12, 31-40

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,in holy fear built an arkto save his family.By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

Goodness!!! Shut the mouths of lions! Escaped the edge of the sword! Sawed in half! This is better then Robin Hood. These people paid the price and are true heroes of the Faith.

I always love to hear young adults who are walking with God share about the people who have led them on their path as Christians. Sometimes they mention someone who was not even aware of the positive role they have played in the spiritual life of that person. It may be a Sunday School teacher, a coach, a youth leader, or parent of a friend – some unsung hero who lived a life of Godly influence day by day. These are the SUPER HEROES!