Day eighteen, nineteen, and twenty - Anger, Salvation, and Heart Change

Wow! I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of our 21 days of prayer! I had the kids this weekend and it's amazing how much harder it is to find the time to blog and spend time praying and reading God's word. Their summer visit with their Dad will end next Tuesday and I will have them back full time (thank the Lord) but I will definitely have to figure out how to make my time with God the first priority even with others here vying for my attention. I don't ever want to go back to making prayer an afterthought.

All three of the topics we have been praying over the past two days and today really boil down to the attitude of the heart. It will be my forever prayer that God mold Tyson's heart. That when the world is bearing down on him he will choose not to respond in anger but with the fruits of the spirit. I get angry, we all probably do, but man does Tyson get angry! I've talked to other Mom's of teenage sons and heard similar stories and I take comfort in knowing that I am not alone but that sure doesn't make it any easier when Tyson is in his room banging his fist against the wall or making creepy growly/yelling sounds. I am glad that he is able to not direct that anger towards anyone but I will be happy when God teaches him how to deal with those emotions in a more healthy manner. In the mean time I will be sure to model appropriate anger and continue to pray.

I had an interesting talk with a pretty cool 14 yr old tonight. He has been going to youth on Wednesday nights at our church for about six months. Tyson invited him the first Wed but now he comes whether Tyson is there or not. He is hungry for knowledge about the Lord and not ashamed to ask questions when they come up. He asked me tonight if I was mad at his Dad for saying there was no such person as Jesus. He was quick to defend his Dad saying that he is a really cool guy except for that. I was so glad for the opportunity to talk to him about this statement his Dad made because it had been weighing on my heart since the conversation happened. I told him that no I was not mad at his Dad. That I was sad that his Dad didn't believe in Jesus and that I was sad his Dad said those things in front of him when it is obvious how much he loves Jesus and how important that relationship is becoming to him. I explained to him that it was not our place as Christians to judge but that we should pray for him and let the love of God shine through us to his Dad. He wanted some concrete answers about how he could prove to his Dad that God is real. He said how do we really know we are right and all the other religions are wrong? I am so thankful for the prayers on changing hearts we have been praying. I told him my faith is very simple, I believe Jesus is the son of God who came to this earth to die for our sins. I believe because of his death on the cross our sins are forgiven and if we accept Him as our savior we can spend eternity in heaven with God, the creator of everything. I told him that part of having faith is not knowing all the answers but believing anyway. I told him I will pray that God changes the heart of his Dad. He reaffirmed that yes that was what he too believed and he told me about how God has been speaking to his heart lately. What a great conversation! I tell you this story for two reasons- 1. so that you can join me in praying for my young friends Dad and 2. to remind you that our boys are going to be around people all the time even people who love them who will challenge what they believe. It is our job to continue to pray and share the love of Christ with our sons so that in times where their faith is brought into question they will continue to stand strong.

I am praying for you!