To Ella:

7 Things You Need to Know about Your Heavenly Father:

More than worldly ‘success’, I want you to be obedient to what the Lord calls you to do no matter the cost. More than popularity, I want you to know relationship with your Heavenly Father in a deep and personal way. More than academic knowledge I want you to have biblical wisdom. And more than common sense, I want you to have a spirit of discernment that you’ll know His voice as well or better than you know mine when we are talking together. But, mostly I want you to have a heart like His. That you’ll be a light in this world and glorify Him in all you do. I pray all these things for you, and now I want you to know some things about your Heavenly Father that I wish I had known so much earlier in my life. He has entrusted me with enormous responsibility. It is my job to point you to Him with every breath I take and so my “mommy brain” doesn’t forget some of the basics I’m writing them down so we can talk about them together from time to time.

1. Your Heavenly Father will speak to you softly and in quiet moments.

God speaks to our hearts and minds. I can’t tell you exactly what it sounds like. But, you’ll know, you’ll feel it in your heart. I’ve been praying that you would have a spirit of discernment for such a long time. I want this so badly for you. The enemy will lie to you. He will tell you things that sound true, but aren’t. Remember, he tried to lie to Jesus in the desert and trick him using scripture. When the enemy tells you lies, it will make you doubt. That’s your red flag right there- the doubt. John 10: 27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” You will know it when you hear it, and if it’s the Holy Spirit you will have NO DOUBT. So train yourself, spend time with Him and hide His Word in your heart and mind so you’ll also know when it’s being used as a lie. It took me a long time to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit. My dad is a loud, type A, aggressive person. When I was a child and he would yell for me, my shoulders would shrug up to my ears, my body flinched and my heart would jump up into my throat. Whether or not I knew I was in trouble I could always tell by his tone. So, I thought the holy spirit would sound like that….you know, when God, who created the entire world, wanted to talk to me or discipline me then the heavens would open and His voice would beckon me like the thunder. That’s not so, He whispers to us and if we’re not paying attention, we miss it. So, be a good listener.

2. He’s a GREAT teacher, the best.

Don’t go looking for someone else to teach you what only He can. He knows you better than anyone, even me. He knows the hairs on your head. He knows the things you want, the things you need and the things you “think” you want, but don’t need. Let Him do His job. All scripture is “breathed out by God.“ So, when you don’t know the answer, I assure you it’s in His word. He knows what you’ve been through, what’s to come and how you’ll handle those things. Nothing surprises Him. His plan is perfect. Let Him lead you in all things, ALL THINGS! And also, the moment you’re convinced He needs to teach someone a lesson is when He will teach you one. He’s ALL about teaching humility…and those lessons are always fun to learn. Except not.

3. He disciplines out of LOVE

He is patient and forgiving, those are beautiful attributes of His character. It’s so important that you know this. Most of the time I fail here as your mom. I discipline you sometimes out of anger, sometimes because what you did “inconvenienced” me in some way, and sometimes because you didn’t do what I thought you should or wanted you to. I’m trying to be more like Him in this way, but I’ll always be a sinner no matter how hard I try and your Heavenly Father, unlike me, will never discipline you out of inconvenience or anger. Revelation 3:19 says, “Those whom I love, I discipline.” When you know that He is disciplining you; repent and know that He loves you. He loves you too much to let you continue in your sin! His discipline is a GOOD thing!

4. He is LOVE and loves you as if you were the only one.

Last week in school you had to memorize John 3:16. That pretty much sums up the gospel and His love for us. “For God so loved the world, he gave His only son.“ I don’t love anybody enough to give you up, but I’m not Jesus. He loves you with an everlasting love. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.“ John 15:9. Romans tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us“. So, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. You could never do anything that would make Him love you less. He is greater than all your sin. He died for it. We live in a world based on “conditional love.” Love that comes with strings. People will “love” you because you act a certain way or do certain things, maybe even because of how you look or what you wear. There will be people in your life that will make you feel like if you mess up or don’t do it their way they won’t love you anymore. My best advice is look to Him for your love and your approval, His opinion IS the ONLY one that matters.

5. He will push you.

“Comfort” is not His thing. So if you are comfortable, then get ready to move. This is pretty much life. Without Him, we’re not equipped for anything. But, He will call you to do things you won’t feel equipped to do. Pray, lean on Him and then be assured you have everything you need to accomplish His call. In Him is where we do more than we ever thought we could. Those things that we’ll look back afterward and go, “I can’t believe I did that.“ We are never fighting a bigger battle than when we are doing work for the kingdom-no matter what that work is. And you don’t have to be good at it, just available. And, know that in this place where God is pushing you, Satan is fighting you. For every good and perfect thing God does you better know Satan has a counterfeit.

6. His “good” is not always what you’ll deem as “good.”

Sometimes things happen that don’t seem good or fair. That doesn’t mean that it’s not His will or that you‘re being punished. If you’re living in unrepentant sin that may be the case, but if you’re seeking Him then He’s teaching you something and drawing you closer to Himself. Not all trials are a result of our sin, When you want to strengthen a muscle you work it, hard. So, sometimes He works our “spiritual muscles.“ James and Romans both talk about trials in tribulation and rejoicing in our sufferings. His will is perfect, He sees the big picture. We don’t. You just have to trust Him. This can be hard. So, be honest, tell Him it’s hard. He may or may not give you understanding at that time, but He will always give you peace and comfort. Romans 8:28 says, “He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.” The word “all” there, literally means everything. So, when it seems bad (and there will be bad) just know that He Will bring good out of it. God WILL do what He says He will do, He will make good on His promises-EVERY TIME!

7. He wants a relationship with YOU.

You are not just a number in a world of billions. You aren’t just a being He created and left to fend for yourself. You are a DAUGHTER of the one true King and Creator of the World. You are an heir to God and His kingdom! He is your Father. You are in first grade right now. When your dad or I pick you up from school, you TALK. OUR. EARS. OFF. You give every detail of your day, including who picked their nose, how many times you went to the bathroom, who said what and what made you laugh. Do this with God. Talk to him all day about all things. He wants to know the details of your life. And the more you talk to Him and include Him in those details the easier it is for you to depend on Him for not just the big things, but the little things too. The world tells us God is too busy. He’s got too much going on. One, single being isn’t important to the creator of the world. But, you were important enough for Him to create in the first place, and He doesn’t do anything that won’t bring Him glory….so, glorify HIM!

I can honestly tell you that I’ve learned the most about 1-7 just in the almost 7 years that I’ve been a parent. I learned so much about how He loves us because of how I love you and your brother. I don’t know how anyone could parent without Jesus. I don’t know how anybody does anything without Jesus. And I never want you to.