Days 133 & 134-Faith Like Potatoes

Christmas 2010 was a complete success! What a happy day! We woke early, as usual, thanks to our toddler. The children ran downstairs in their pajamas to see the beautiful Christmas tree and all the lovely gifts from family members displayed beneath the colorful tree.

There were books and coloring books for the toddler, heirloom ceramic horses and a pink guitar for our 11 year old, and new clothing and electronic accessories for our 15 year old.

But the MOST special gifts were from my husband to me and the children: Bibles for each of us -- well, minus the toddler. She is using a toddler Bible that was passed down from my eldest to my middle, and then from my middle to my youngest. My husband chose a colorful preteen Bible for our middle daughter (full of modern pictures and helpful advice), a pretty little teen Bible for girls for our eldest (with photos and sections geared for teen girls), and a leather-bound women's study Bible for me! Each Bible had been embossed with our names on the covers. What touching and lovely gifts!

We spent the day in our jammies, lazily reading books and eating a lovely Christmas breakfast of scrambled eggs with breakfast sausage patties, toast and orange juice or hot coffee. The children played board games and watched new family DVDs purchased from the Christian book store. I napped -- TWICE! And in the evening, we all gathered together in our living room and watched the movie, "Faith Like Potatoes," a true story of a South African farmer who finds Jesus.

In the beginning of the movie, the farmer is unsaved, struggling through daily life, struggling with his family, hot-tempered and lost in direction. In the movie, he finally finds Jesus -- who changes his whole world! The farmer has such a zeal for Christ that he ends up leading others to Jesus, as well as performs a miracle through Christ's name. It's an inspirational movie, to say the least. And when it was over, I said to the girls, "Girls, let's pray for Daddy. Let's all gather around him, lay our hands on him, and bestow a blessing upon him."

At first, the girls didn't quite understand what I meant. But I led the way.

As my husband sat in the middle of the couch and my girls gathered on either side of him, holding him, and I knelt in front of him and held his shoulders, I prayed and thanked the Lord for calling my husband, and that my husband softened his heart and accepted and believed. I then prayed and thanked God for the positive changes in our home life since this change, the positive changes in my husband since this change. And then I prayed a blessing: "Lord, I pray that my husband would hear Your voice loud and clear, that there would be no mistaking Your voice and Your direction and Your calling on His life."

And then my middle daughter began...with tears and a shaking voice. She prayed a tender little prayer of thankfulness to God for calling her father, that her father could now go to heaven, and that her father was now a kind and gentle man instead of the angry man he used to be. And her blessing for her father was that he would have a faith that can't be shaken, that he would always believe until the day he dies.

There were lots of tear by all of us. My husband squeezed everyone's hands and shed many tears.

Then it was my eldest daughter's turn. At first, she was so choked up she could barely speak. She finally began with, "Thank you, Jesus, for my new Dad. I didn't like my old dad. I didn't ever feel his love for me. I didn't see how he loved my sisters or my mom. He was angry all the time. I used to watch my girlfriend's fathers and wish they were my dad instead of the one I had." At this point, we were all bawling and heaving. Then she said with such wisdom, "Thank you, God, that my youngest sister won't have to grow up with Old Dad as we did, but that she will be blessed to have New Dad all of her life!"

Our eldest daughter gave her blessing on her New Dad's life: "God, I pray that Dad would teach others how to find you, and how to be good to their families."

We hugged and held each other in a giant group hug, including the toddler. Although our toddler didn't understand the significance of such a moment, she was there with us, lying next to her father with her milk bottle.

What a special moment in time for our family!

Lord, I pray that we would grow closer to You, that together as a family unit, You would lead us and guide us down the path that You have chosen for us. Grow deep inside us a faith that is BIG and miraculous. Amen.