What’s Wrong with Waiting Until a Child is Older to Be Saved?

July 2, 2015July 9, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

“My five year-old has been asking us so many questions about salvation, and about asking Jesus to forgive their sins, but we’re putting him off right now, because we want to make sure he’s ready.”

I have heard that statement so many times and I can’t tell you how it saddens my heart. I understand that the parent is fearful that the child won’t remember what he has done, and may have doubts later on, but as I mentioned in an earlier post here, I don’t have a problem with that at all. Read the post to understand why.

However, I have three reasons why I believe it IS right to allow a child to pray to be saved when they bring up the need to you.

Jesus said, Suffer the children to come unto me and forbid them not. Can it get any clearer? Don’t hinder them from coming to Christ! Bring them! Encourage them to do so. You will be obeying Christ’s command.
A child’s heart is soft when they ask to be saved, but it will harden as they get older. Why run the risk of them turning away from the Lord? What a tragedy it would be for a parent to put a child off who is asking to be saved, and then the becomes desensitized towards their spiritual need!
The sooner a person comes to Christ the longer they have to serve Him!

Think of two candles, one very long and the other very short. The long candle represents a child and the short, an elderly person. Often when we have an older person saved in a service we have a huge time of rejoicing, which is definitely worthy of joy to see this heart finally yielded to Christ! But when a little child gets saved, it’s often given a little nod. But think of those two candles. That short candle, representing the older person only has a little time left to “burn” for Christ. The child, however, has their whole life to make a difference for the Lord in this world! That reason in itself should make us realize the urgency in bringing little ones to the Savior!

I trust this helps every adult who can influence a child to have a heart for little ones coming while they’re young! Let’s obey Christ’s command, do it while their heart is soft, so they can use their whole life to serve God!

If you know a parent with little ones who might need this encouragement, feel free to share this article on your Facebook account or Twitter.

Lovingly,

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A Peek from My Porch – What I’ve been up to!

July 1, 2015July 9, 2015 RefreshHer5 Comments

Let me give you an up-close peek into my world in the last few days:

The last thing I baked: Strawberry Pizza. I made this yesterday for the deacon’s meeting my husband hosted in our home.

The last book I read: The Kneeling Christian. What a wonderful book that has challenged me in my prayer life!

The last activity I participated in alone: Bible Club – My two little neighborhood children and I are now learning about Moses and the children of Israel. The five year old boy amazes me. Though he’s wiggly and squirmy and energetic and seems to not hear a thing, he can recount every detail about our lesson and remember words that I’m teaching them. Today he told me “God is omnipotent!” His sister has a tender heart towards the Lord and has trusted Him as her Savior. Her burden for her brother is so precious.

The last activity I participated in as a group: Visitation. Seven gathered yesterday to go visit folks who need the Gospel or need encouragement. What a blessing! Jesus’ last command was “Go!” We must obey until He comes and gives us another command, “Come home.”

The last recipe I pinned on Pinterest: A layered Ice Pop recipe.

The pink is not for me, but I love the texture of the back. ~~~~ Pink Short Hairstyle 2014 — B.

The last thing I’m thinking about via Pinterest: A shorter style hair cut.

15 Shaggy Pixie Haircuts | The Best Short Hairstyles for Women 2015 — C.

Do you have an opinion about the hair cuts? No? Yes? Which one? I’m open!

What have YOU been up to this week? I’d love to hear!

With love from my country porch,

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What If Your Child Doubts Their Salvation?

June 30, 2015July 9, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

You get in bed after an exhausting day and just after you get all cozy, your front door pops into your mind and you can’t remember if you locked it or not. What will you do? If you’re concerned about your security you will step out of your comfortable spot to get up and check the lock. It’s normal; we may have all done it at one time or another.

Your child was in your home and their young heart realized they were a sinner and they needed a Savior. While your heart beat wildly with joy, you opened your Bible and showed them the verses in Romans about their sin,God’s love, what they deserve, and how to gain eternal life. Then, in simple, child-like faith they prayed to receive Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf so they would have a relationship with God and a home in heaven. And you never forgot that day because it was one you’d prayed for since the day they entered your world.

However, one day, in their teen years they went to a Bible preaching summer camp and heard a message about salvation that Christ offers, and about hell for those who refuse. They have a foggy recollection of that decision they made when they were very young, but they’re unsure, and who wants to wonder if they’re ready for heaven? They walk the aisle and make a decision to be saved.

When they get home from camp, they share their decision with you and you’re startled. What should you do?

First, remember the need for security and assurance. If they had a doubt about their salvation, wouldn’t you rather they “check the lock” than to wonder about it all their life?
Rejoice with them. Assure them that that’s the wisest decision to make because eternity is too long to regret.
Humble yourself and resist the urge to say, “I was the one who led you to the Lord!” Or, “I know you’re saved!” It’s easy to feel a punch to our pride and feel wounded that we didn’t do a good enough job, but we must think the truth – we don’t do the saving! Christ does! If they’re doubting their salvation, then they don’t remember it.
Encourage them to record this decision in their Bible or journal.
Follow through with teaching them verses on security – for example,John 10:28 and I John 5:13. Also teach them I John 1:9 – that when they sin, they haven’t lost their salvation, but they’ve lost fellowship. They need to confess the sin and forsake it to regain fellowship with the Lord.

Should the fact that a teen or adult might need to check the security of their decision urge us to discourage a young child from being saved? Of course not! It shows their tender heart. They may never doubt their decision! But if they do, let them “get up and check the door!”

Has any reader needed to check your salvation’s security?

Here is the first post in the series about children and salvation it’s entitled, “How to Tell if your child is ready for salvation.”

Lovingly,

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Eat Healthier and Cheaper!

June 29, 2015July 9, 2015 RefreshHer7 Comments

What’s Cooking in the Country?

Last weekend I was flipping through my latest issue of Southern Living, looking for some of their amazing recipes when I came across one for Homemade Shake and Bake Pork Chops. If you were around in the 70’s you may remember the commercials for the baked-on coating. The commercial was full of homemade goodness and lots of southern accents! Take a look and have a laugh…

Now, instead of buying the coating in a box, you can stir some together with ingredients you probably already have on hand. This mixture will be healthier (no preservatives) and cheaper than the box you buy. Mix it up and say with your best southern accent, “And I helped!” =):

Homemade Shake and Bake

1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 1/8 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 (1/2-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin chops

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together first 6 ingredients, 2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper in a bowl. Transfer mixture to a 1-gal. zip-top plastic freezer bag. Rather than adding the Olive oil to the dry ingredients, I brushed the chops with the oil, then dropped them into the Ziploc bag with the baking mixture.

2. Sprinkle pork chops on both sides with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Place 2 chops in breadcrumb mixture, and shake to coat well. Place chops on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chops.

3. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; turn chops over, and bake 10 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 155°. Let stand 5 minutes.

Here was my menu that went along with the pork chops:

Baked Pork Chops
Roasted potatoes
Roasted squash
Watermelon Salad

The result was a crispy, oven baked pork chop full of lovely flavor! You need to try this! If you have a few minutes, just mix up the coating and put it in a ziploc bag and keep it for when you need baked chicken or pork chops. Pin this to your Pinterest board to use later if you don’t need it now.

What have you been experimenting with in your kitchen this week?

With love from my country kitchen,

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New Life for an Old Magnet!

June 26, 2015July 9, 2015 RefreshHer8 Comments

I recently received an agenda for an establishment that was printed on a large, flat magnetic sheet. Something like this:

It measured 5″ x 7″. I really had no use for it, but the magnetic sheet was a good, sturdy quality, so I tried to think of a way I could re-purpose it. Then it came to me…A Menu Board! Suddenly my old magnet was given a whole new life!

It took me all of about ten minutes to make this.

Here’s how I did it:

Cut scrapbooking paper to fit the magnetic sheet. Glue in place.
Add scrapbooking letters for the word, “Menu”, and the letters for the days of the week.
Slip the sheet into a vinyl sleeve, so it can be written on over and over. (You could cut a piece to fit the menu and glue it over the paper, and I might do that, but for a quick fix this works perfectly!
Add menu with washable markers.
Hang on refrigerator!

If you have a small magnet that was an advertisement or campaign trophy, you could glue a great vacation picture, your husband’s photo, or a beautiful picture from a card your friend sent you! Don’t toss that magnet in the trash!

This is a simple little idea, but if you have an sheet of that magnetic material lying around in a drawer, you could make something really useful with it! Add this to your Pinterest Board to use later!

Stay refreshed!