'It really is that simple...'

OK...So WOW! What an amazingly average day that has ended with some GREAT news. Avery and "K" both prayed and asked Jesus to come into their hearts tonight. I am overwhelmed with Joy and Praise to a God who loves my children. Avery has such a great understanding of God and who He is. There is no doubt that her decision was genuine and came after much thought and prayer. We have been talking to her for some time now about her decision and fear has stopped her from asking Jesus into her heart. God allowed Todd and I to be with her tonight and give her the support she needed to officially ask God to be her Savior. She felt SO GREAT! Even at her young age, she had been carrying the weight of sin around with her.

Now, let me back up a little and tell you how God spoke to me through all of this.
I have felt a little overwhelmed and somewhat inadequate the last few days. We had a guest speaker at church yesterday who spoke about laying our burdens down to God. His point was "Why don't we? Why don't we give God our burdens EVERY day? Why do we only go to Him when things are REALLY bad? How would our lives be different if we just gave EVERYTHING to Him..EVERY day?" SO...I've thought a lot about it and I decided today to write my "burdens" down, and turn them over to God. I sat at the park while the girls played today and wrote them all out on a borrowed sheet of paper. My doubts, my fears, my failures, my inconsistencies, my limitations.... I was pretty hard on myself.
I would love to tell you that God spoke to me in the midst of the park, but He didn't.

He spoke to me tonight at the supper table.
"K" says out of the blue (somewhere in between "do I have to eat all of it?" and "can i have desert now?") that "I have decided to ask Jesus into my heart and today is gonna be the day I do it."

That simple. I want Jesus and I want Him now.
We were not talking about salvation. We hadn't even made it to devotion time yet. I was (in my own strength) doing nothing to lead her to Christ. Christ CAME to HER! So easy and almost hard for us to accept. We want salvation to be hard. We want it to be something that we have talked about, explored, explained... We want to try to figure out if it is "real". Then God whispered to me, "MELINDA, IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE... I'VE GOT THIS ALL UNDER CONTROL. ALL THOSE THINGS YOU WORRY ABOUT..WHY? YOU KNOW I AM ENOUGH."
I'm not sure how much "K" understands, but she knows who God is, she knows who Jesus is. She knows WHY He came to earth, and she knows that He rose again to save HER. That is, quite simply, enough.
As for me... I just have to do my best. I thank God for the reminder that IT REALLY IS that simple. HE is enough.

The Doxcology

Weird name for a post, i know... but for the last couple of weeks-this is the song I have stuck in my head.....
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

God has been so evident in our lives lately. We have a new placement and while my heart breaks for them, God has "leveled out the mountains" in so many ways. We started this placement a little differently, I guess. I have prayed-----about EVERYTHING---and God worked out so many "little" miracles for our family. The girls (yes, Todd is surrounded by MORE girls) are adjusting well. There is such a sense of peace even among the chaos!!! I get to brush hair for the first time ever!!! Yea! It is so much fun! I would love to share more about the girls, but I cant. I will tell you they are beautiful, sad at times, happy at others. They are smart, demanding, helpful, inquistive. They crave attention and try to get it any way they can (both good and bad). They are SO SWEET and will be the first to compliment you... They miss their family, but are making the best of what life has given them. They are learning about God and we are trying our best to model for them LOVE, RESPECT, ENCOURAGEMENT, TRUTH, FORGIVENESS, PATIENCE, ENDURANCE, and FAITH. That is why we praise God (from whom all blessings flow). He is allowing us the amazing opportunity to minister in His name.