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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Blogging again. Oh, and Lexi is a Holy Roller.

I am a total slacker at this blog thing.

Life got busy. And let's face it...Facebook is a lot easier. Especially for those of us with ADD. A quick status update...and I'm out. Off to do 346 other things...and of course, not finish a one of them.

But here I sit, on a Sunday afternoon...with nothing to do. Well, I suppose I could clean my house which happens to look like a college dorm room at the moment. Or I could work on the garden, which appears to be turning into a tropical rain forest. Or I could scrub the toilets, which appear...ah well, I will stop there.

Instead, I think I will blog. I will give it another chance.

So what to talk about?

Well...lets see. A lot has happened recently...but I think I want to write down a story about my precious Lexi before I forget it.

We do this thing at our church...Baby Dedication. It's where the parents come up with their little tot and dedicate them...well, really, it's the parents saying that commit to raising them in a Godly manner, in a home where Christ is at the center. It's lovely. And they give the parents a rose to signify something (Which I forgot)...and they give the baby a little tiny Bible. You know...the tiny ones that you can barely read without putting on your bifocal glasses. The one that has no pictures and is in the King James Version...no offense...but neither of which are very "kid friendly."

So to be honest...Lexi's little Bible has sat in her dresser drawer for 3 years. She found it about 3 months ago, and carries it with her around the house. She will come up next to you and say, "Read me my Bible." And of course, you have to. You also have to translate it to a more "kid-friendly" version. But she loves this. I mean, she loves this little Bible like most kids love Dr.Seuss.

So now that you have that little backstory...tuck that away. We'll come back to it.

But first, you need to know this. We moved into our current home almost a year ago. We are friendly with our neighbors...everyone is very nice. But I have other friends that live in neighborhoods where there are kids everywhere...always coming and going. And I've always been a bit envious. I would love for my kids to have that.

So last week, we were outside playing, and the girls finally connected with some kids who live several houses down. Before I knew it, these kids were in my house, hanging out, playing. Which is cool. I liked it. But please keep in mind...we don't know these people at all.

So imagine my shock when I hear my sweet Lexi go up to this little 8 year old girl and say, "Can you please read me my Bible?"

Silence.

Me. (Suddenly frozen...but waiting to see what happens.)

And the girl in her soft spoken voice says, "Okay?" Emphasis on the question mark...cause she really wasn't sure.

So here's what you need to know. I know the Bible isn't for everyone. I mean, well, it is...but some people aren't into it. I get that. And I am sensitive to it. Do I wish they would be? Of course. But I'm not so sure thrusting a little tiny King James Bible onto a girls lap and asking her to read Revelation is the way to bring something to Christ.

So then the little girl looks at Haley and says, "I don't have a Bible." And Haley says, "WHAT?" And she says, "I don't go to church." And I kid you not...my sweet, church mouse daughter DROPS THE TOY SHE HAS IN HER HAND, and says, "YOU DON'T GO TO CHURCH?"

Me. (In the kitchen making noise...getting real nervous and wondering how to handle it.)

"Haley" I say... "Not everyone goes to church."

"WHAT?" She says. She is completely confused.

Enter Lexi.

Lexi clueless about what is happening is persistent with her question... "Can you read me my Bible?"

Okay, now I realize this is getting a little crazy a little too quick. "Lexi, honey...Mommy will read it to you a little later. The girls are going to work on a craft now."

Lexi is okay with that. And she goes and takes the Bible away from the girl and then as if we are straight out of some crazy evangelistic movie, Lexi starts walking around the house with her Bible in her hand saying, "This is God's Holy Word...a light into my path...a lamp on my head." (Ah well, close enough.)

She must have said it about 10 times...over and over. And I am a crazy mixture of laughing to myself...cringing out of nervousness for the girl who probably thinks we are straight up Jesus Freaks and will never come over again...and also partially wondering if this isn't God moving/speaking through my child... Yep, all those feelings...all at once.

And right about that time, Lexi busts into the song "Waves of Mercy, WAves of Grace...Everywhere I look, I see your Face."

Seriously? When did my daughter turn into such an evangelist?

The truth is, it all made me a little nervous because I know that religion is such a polarizing topic. And although this wouldn't be the way I would choose to tell my neighbors about Jesus...I love the innocence of both my girls. I love their boldness. I love that they want to read the Bible, that they think everyone should go to church. I love that they are forming a relationship with Jesus that they want to share with their friends. I love what they are teaching me!

The good news is, we didn't scare the little girl off. She's been back over to our house since that day. So maybe my girls will keep building a relationship with her and who knows? The Little Holy Rollers might even lead her into the best relationship she could ever have....one with Jesus Christ.

9 comments:

Lyn said...

What a precious story. I love my little evangelist granddaughters and their mom's great storytelling. Thank you for sharing these beautiful thoughts.

Don said...

I am speechless. Your mom is so right! Love you!

johnsonandjohnson said...

LOVE.IT.

I know what you mean about the nervousness though too. My new friend was over when we made the easter egg rice krispie treats and they were over longer than expected so I offered to make lunch for everyone. When I put the food on the table Emily says, "Let's pray." I know my friend doesn't go to church so I was so nervous, but she looks at Emily and says, "that sounds like a good idea."

Lyn said...

And Grandma is proud of Ems, too. Emily saying "Let's Pray" is so sweet, but let's face it, all these stories you relate about Haley, Lexi, and Emily just show what these precious ones are learning at home. And that makes this Grandma very happy (and teary-eyed, of course).

Oh, and my word verification is "teres." ha ha

Rick said...

I think the essence of childlike faith is that is has no concept of political correctness

Jarrod Renaud said...

ah. so sweet. my little Olive will be 3 this june and hearing her pray or talk about jesus in her little way is so amazing, it impacts me more then anything else:)

AMankin said...

thank you for choosing to share this instead of cleaning your toilets!!!!!

Lisa P said...

"Waves of mercy, waves of grace..." So hilarious, and I can just picture this so clearly!

Good for you for walking this line. It's hard to know, and I relate to all those feelings at once. My 1st grade son, while on the ride home from a field trip, asked his classmate if he had accepted Jesus because he died on the cross for him. I was speechless.

PS: speaking of your toilets, my WV is unclog. Coincidence?

hbmommy said...

That's so funny because last night I tucked Kaleb in, read him a story, and then kissed him good night. As I was getting up I said, "Mommy's going to go read to help me fall asleep."

He pointed to his little Bible from baby dedication day and said, "Mommy you can read my Bible. It always makes me sleepy."