The most important decision

I wanted to blog about this so that I have these sweet, special moments documented. Because, really this is the most important decision our girls will make. In the last few months, Mali has begun to ask lots of questions about Jesus and what it means to ask Him "into her heart." We talk about how if Jesus isn't in our heart, our hearts are "ugly". I've done my best, or at least I hope, to explain what I can, while veering away from cliche, "Christian" terminology and really stick with Truth from Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Mali has had some fear that if she asks Jesus to live in her heart then she will die. I hope that we've talked through that enough though. The other day, Mali saw a picture of Nana being baptized in the Jordan River so we talked about baptisms. She also was able to see a few baptisms when she has gone to church with us. Anyway, that night she asked me when she would get to be baptized. I do not believe so much that this is a one time decision, but a daily, even hourly, choice to walk with Jesus and choose His path over her own path. She has also been wanting to "play out" the empty tomb and Jesus not being there. All of my play therapist friends understand the importance of this too. Mali will pretend to be the angel at the tomb and has me pretend to be a woman at the tomb looking for Jesus. Sometimes, Mali also pretends to be Jesus. That could be an entirely different post. Mali is not there yet, or at least I don't know that she truly grasps it, but the wonderful thing to know is that seeds are being planted all around her and she is interested! Most often it is when we are sitting down to eat lunch or breakfast (another reason why sitting down at meals is soooo important for families). I feel so inadequate and wonder if my relationship and love for Jesus really does show through to her, or just the ugliness in my heart; but I have prayed since I found out I was pregnant with Mali that she walk with God all the days of her life. And since I'm blogging about this, I also want to celebrate the decision of her best friends, Zach and Calyn, as they did ask Jesus "into their hearts" and have gone in front of their church to share their decision. So, any advice from you seasoned moms out there is also greatly appreciated. I've decided that I definitely need to be more intentional in having a daily time with her that we read scripture. But as my good friend Carrie reminded me, accepting Jesus as our Savior is all related to seeing our need for a Savior. We laughed at how we constantly fail as mom's and we surely can teach our children to turn to Christ because we can't do it and desperately need a Savior!:)