Abigail, almost 8, is participating for the second year in the National Bible Bee over the summer. This year, we are studying the book of Jonah. It's been a great study! Did you know the story of Jonah is all about God's goodness? I didn't! I thought it was a lesson in obedience... well, it is that, but there is SO MUCH MORE!!! If you want a good study on Jonah, the Bible Bee makes "Sword Study" books for all age groups! But I digress. In her study, she was instructed to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Try explaining this to a 7.5 year-old! Bulls? Doves? Your first-born? Just kidding! So I explained it to her like this: A sacrifice is a something of great value to you. It could be money, an object, your time, a daily ritual, something you cherish deeply, something that would be terribly missed if it was gone. You give it up. But you don't just give it up for no reason. There must be a purpose! The purpose is usually one of two things: God told you to, or you want to bless someone else who would value it even more than you do. The result of your sacrifice is that you are acting in faithfulness to God, and/or you are blessing someone, both of which lead to you being blessed as a result. This is not to say you sacrifice something SO THAT you can be blessed... no, you sacrifice to honor God and/or bless someone. Sometimes it doesn't make any sense, sometimes you see no purpose for it, but you will be blessed for it, either now, or when you are standing before the King of Kings in His throne room and He looks upon you and declares, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" My daughter was having a very hard time with this. The one thing she felt was of such high value to her to give up was her precious Piggy... ...aww, isn't she sweet? This is her when she was about 2 and Piggy was still pink and still had a hat. (I cut it off on her 4th birthday. It seemed she only sucked her fingers when Piggy's hat was in her nostril! That did it! She never put her fingers in her mouth again! And yes, I still have it in her box of special things. :-) )
Piggy has seen some wear, but she still cherishes him deeply, so much so that she cried at just the thought of giving him up! I assured her that she didn't have to sacrifice Piggy, especially since there would be no purpose, but that I was glad she felt so sad at the thought of losing him, as that is exactly how a true sacrifice "might" feel, that is, if there weren't the joy of the Lord and the promise of blessing to make your sacrifice one of joy instead of sorrow! Days go by and still no opportunity for her to make a sacrifice presents itself--not to her at least. We made a run to the bank and we noticed a couple laying on the grass. They were dressed skimpily, him wearing only cut-off jean shorts, and her, a very loose-fitting top and shorts. We had been blessed by a friend-of-a-friend, who had made "homeless bags" (lots of info is out there on these, but here is a picture to give you a good idea) and given us 4 to give away (2 for men, and 2 for women... ya'know, girls need certain things guys don't... could you imaging getting your monthly visitor and being homeless and without anything to keep yourself clean? Just think on that a minute!) Backtrack 2 days... we are driving along and are stopped at a light RIGHT NEXT TO a woman sitting on the sidewalk with a sign. She was close enough that Abigail could've opened her window and given her that bag. I read her sign. In big letters were some words like "HELP" and "HOMELESS", but up in the corner I noticed some tiny letters that had I been another car-length away, I wouldn't have been able to see. They read, "Why lie? I want booze and weed." I was shocked, but not surprised. Let's just say, we kept our bag. It was our last bag, after-all, and I didn't exactly feel like I should part with it just yet. I didn't feel guilty about it, and explained to the kids why I wouldn't give her anything (usually I throw some money or a gift-card into the bags, depending on what I have with me at the time). They understood, and we went on. Back to the story-at-hand. Abigail right away asked if she could give the lady and her male friend a bag. After we went into the bank and the kids each gave the tellers a million-dollar-bill tract (hilarious, I know... one teller wanted to put it up in her window!) I gave Abigail the go-ahead, and she cautiously approached, and at my suggestion, asked, "Excuse me, are you in need?" The woman jumped up, surprised by the sudden question directed at her, and said they were in fact in-need. Abigail handed her the bag and to our wonder the lady burst into tears! She said, "Are you serious? Thank you so much! I can't believe this! Are you for real?" She was so ecstatic! We all had huge grins on our faces as she asked if she could hug each of us, and assured us she was clean, that they had just showered that morning. She squeezed much tighter than I think she realized ;-). She then told me that had just started going to church. I showed her the New Testament tucked in the bag, and she began calling us angels sent from Heaven! It's not everyday you feel like an instrument of the Lord! When Abigail told her about the Starbucks gift-card inside the bag, you would've thought she had just won a million dollars! Ironically, and unplanned, there was a Starbucks in the very same shopping center! She said we made her 4th of July! I had parked RIGHT in front of where they were, so as I was buckling up the kiddos I could hear her and her friend naming with enthusiasm each item she pulled out of the bag! "Socks! There are SOCKS in here!!! Oh my! Deodorant? I just ran out of deodorant! I can't believe this! Look at this!" It was then that I felt I should give them the $20 bill I had in my purse. I didn't know their story or status, but I felt like this couple wasn't going to go spend it on "booze and weed" (and believe me I smelled for it when she was hugging up on all of us!) So I walked around the car and handed her the $20 and suggested they go get some lunch. By now the man was on his feet, and she was LITERALLY truly jumping up and down holding the bill to her chest! More hugs and thank yous, but what came after I never could have expected! The man came over and asked for my name. When I gave it, he said, "Crystal, I'm going to pray for you!" I asked their names, too: David and Rachel. He began, "Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for sending Crystal and her family to us today! I ask, Lord, that you bless them..." and he went on another brief moment giving glory to God and asking for blessing and protection on me and my family. I then prayed for them for provisions and shade and water. If my camera had been with me I think I would've taken a picture of us all together. I wish now I had. When we left, we were all beaming with joy and wonder at what we just watched the Lord do! We discussed it on the way home. I asked the kids if they thought that $20 and gift card were valuable to me, and what types of things I could have used them for. I asked them if they thought it was hard for me to give it up. I asked them if it produced a blessing for someone else and for us. I asked them if it was worth it. I asked Abigail, "Now do you understand sacrifice?" For more reading on sacrifice, try these passages: Genesis 22:1-19 Abraham offers Isaac. 1 Samuel 1 Hannah gives her only son to the Lord. 2 Samuel 23:13-17 David pours out water from Bethlehem's well unto the Lord as a drink offering 2 Samuel 24:18-24 David can't make a sacrifice that cost him nothing. Mark 12:41-44 The widow gives all she has. Luke 7:36-50 The sinful woman pours perfumed oil on Jesus' feet. John 19 Jesus offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
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Working on the Walk...
More than just being a parent, my job is to teach my children about the Lord, so that when they are old enough, they can choose to walk with Him or away from Him. I pray they walk with Him. See my latest efforts to impact their hearts for eternity here! Jump to these posts!
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