Over the 17+ years of my Christian life, I have been a single mom raising my 2 kiddos with Jesus. It has been trying at times as well as lonely being both the mom and dad figure in my children's lives. I always told myself I needed to love them more as if they had both parents in the home. Their father has been absent since the pregnancy of my daughter who is now 17 years old, independent with a job and just bought her first car. My son is 18 years old and just completed his first year of college with 4.0 and was hired for a second job tutoring in biology. He has also held a job at our church since he was 16 years old. I will get into that later.
         For now, I just want to introduce myself and the reasoning behind writing a blog. I have had 3 pastors from my church tell me to write a book on how to raise godly children, especially as a single parent. I wish I would have wrote in a journal more when my kiddos were young to recall in details all the trials and stretching the Lord has brought me through. This is really out of my comfort level because I will need to open myself up and let everyone learn of my failures and triumphs. Who ever said raising kids was not for wimps knew what they were speaking about. I have learned many lessons through trail and error that then lead to constant and fervent prayer. The Lord has brought us to a place where I can now look back and have the peace that surpasses all understanding that my children will be with me in Heaven! So this is where I will start.....
       In 2007 I was blessed to travel to Israel with an inheritance from my grandpa. My children were 12 and 13 and at a point in their life where they need to make a choice about Jesus. God opened my eyes on that trip and revealed to me the most important gift I can give my children is a godly mommy and teach them about Jesus that leads to salvation. My heart was so heavy because I did not know where they stood at that age. It is a tricky age and I doubt they knew either. They both said they were saved, but my heart lingered in uncertainty and without peace just not knowing for sure. After that trip I started a fervent prayer over them, night and day I prayed, I filled out prayer cards out at church and humbled myself to ask everyone I knew who prayed, to pray for their salvation. It became the center of my life, watching, praying and trying to guide them towards salvation. As I look back now, I was similar to a manic about seeing them in Heaven. We can not make them accept Jesus as their Savior, but we can lead them by example and words of God's never failing wisdom.I can stand here now and tell you they are both saved and I can exhale and rest in the assurance of God's salvation.
       It was not always an easy task, and there were trials and tears, but they made it. I will share some of those experiences next time I blog!! Blessings to you!