Happy Easter!

I am still on holidays. Jeremy went back home today and the kids and I will head home on Tuesday. I have been sick since Friday so haven't posted any of our holiday yet. I have lots of pictures to share! But I had to share this little tid-bit, and it fit so well with the theme of Easter!



This year we celebrated Easter a little differently. We are at my parents' place and their church had a retreat this weekend.

Unfortunately my achy, swollen glands, sore throat, feverish cold came back so I've been out of commission since Friday. This afternoon I finally started to feel like I was coming back to the land of the living! Needless to say, I didn't partake in any of the retreat sessions. But I had to share something that happened last night.

Daniel had been goofing around and hit Grandpa (my dad) on the backside with a tennis racquet. Grandpa didn't think that was a very good idea and Daniel apologized.

Later as Jeremy was bringing the kids back to my parents' place for bed, Daniel confessed to Jeremy what had happened.

"Daddy, I hit Grandpa on the bottom with that thing but Grandpa didn't like that. I don't want to have a black heart. I want to have a white heart, a heart that's white as snow. Satan wants me to have a black heart. He's a meanie."

"Would you like to pray to Jesus?"

"Yes. Dear Jesus, I'm sorry I hit Grandpa on the bottom with that thing. Please forgive me and give me a white heart, a heart that's white as snow. Thank you, Jesus. Amen."

Then Daniel said to Rebecca, "I hate Satan!"

And Rebecca kindly reminded him that "that word" (hate) is a naughty word. So Daniel promptly prayed again, "Dear Jesus, please forgive me for saying that naughty word. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen."

"Daddy, now I have a white heart! Jesus wants me to have a white heart. I love Jesus!"

When they got to my parents' house, Daniel came in to see me (I was in bed, still sick). He shared with me what he had done to Grandpa. Then he told me that he had asked Jesus to forgive him and make his black heart all white, "as white as snow, Mommy; as white as people's teeth".

Last summer a friend of ours lost her newly-married husband in a tragic car accident. As we explained to Daniel that he was in heaven now with Jesus, Daniel was very touched by that and wanted to make sure that he wen't to heaven when he died. I explained to him that a person can ask Jesus to be their friend, to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and make their hearts all clean and to tell Jesus that you want to love Him and be His friend. After that, he went into the living room by himself. I wasn't sure what he was doing at the time but he came back to me after and told me he had just prayed to Jesus as I had explained. I wasn't sure how much I should believe him...did he really understand what I had explained, did he really mean it...? But I didn't want to totally doubt the faith of a child either.

I have to trust God at this point that Daniel's prayer last summer was sincere and that he is now a child of God. When I hear the tenderness of his heart about last night's situation, I thank God, have more hope that Daniel's decision was a sincere one and pray that his sensitive heart isn't hardened as he grows older.

I thought last night's story was so neat I had to share it (and I'm feeling well enough to sit up long enough to type this!).