Parenting

Love On Your Little Ones

Posted on by lainamunoz

Live your life with children, explore faith with them as well as the back yard. Love them innocently and fiercely because they get it. This #ThinkBackThursday brought to you by 5 years ago – Feb 2011
I can’t explain a lot of the feels I have in my heart for my sister. Sometimes one of my friends will bring her up because it changes my demeanor instantly. I wonder if G-d’s face changes when He thinks about us…
Be blessed, be new and thank you for having a look into the stories that make up my life.
Today was a day that Oklahoma decided to have good weather. I enjoy those. You could hear kids playing in the neighborhood as their parents called for them to come inside for washing up. I had a few friends over and for whatever reason I was parked behind them, so when it was time to say goodbye I had to move my car for them to get out. I pulled my car back and was about out of their way when I see my little sister running down the driveway crying. I’m a softie for her firstly, because she is my sister, but also because when something breaks her heart it usually breaks mine. This wasn’t a scared cry; this wasn’t a hunger or a pain cry even. She was running down the sidewalk shrieking, so I jump out of my car and run to her and hold her.
“Gracie, what’s the matter? What happened?” I start to cry simply because I can see in her 6 year old body, brokenness. Something is eating her apart inside and I can’t do anything. In a painful, sobbing voice I hear her scream, “Why don’t the little ones belong to Him?”

I couldn’t answer her.

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so

little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.

She was torn apart because she knew the kids in the neighborhood didn’t belong to the Saviour. The kids who most people just want out of the road, the kids who people look over and wonder what their parents are thinking letting them play in the street.

Gracie has taught me more than I could ever explain about life and about G-d. The story above was a dream I had one night and woke up crying to. Children have such a precious heart; they have such a strong faith that when someone tells them something is they believe it. One day Gracie wanted to stay home and watch TV while everyone else was leaving… I told her that it wasn’t safe and she had to come with me because no one would be there to watch her. She told me G-d would be there to protect her.

How do you argue with that?

I told her that if she got hurt there would be no one to take her to the hospital. She said that if she got hurt G-d could heal her. Who am I to tell her she’s wrong? That the faith she has isn’t always true? (I didn’t leave her alone but I had a hard time convincing her that she just WANTED to come with me).

I want child like faith. I want to have passion for the little ones who don’t yet belong to Him. I want more G-d… 

Familiar Phrases

Posted on by lainamunoz

For your listening enjoyment while reading: No Longer Slaves

At Team Night this week I told G-d that I was done doing things for Him. I am done waking up early to do devotionals and I’m done with Leadership College. I’m done attending and serving at church for Him. I’m done striving to do what I can to make sure that when I’m 50 I’m still faithfully serving. Why?

Because this whole gig isn’t working for me.

So I sat. I didn’t tell Him that I was done in the context of ‘Stuff You, this is isn’t something I want to be apart of’ but, I sat there telling G-d I was done because it’s exhausting to try to work for grace. It actually accomplishes nothing. My personality type is a ‘doer’ I want to accomplish things and find an organized approach to make sure that no one sits in a pointless meeting longer than they ever have to.

I forget something so special when I live in fear that if I don’t wake up and read and write every morning that somehow I no longer have the Spirit actively with me. Or if I forgot about Him for a moment I maybe somehow would have a day where I wasn’t being used for anything worthwhile.

“You need to trust His ability to LEAD you more than your ability to follow Him.”

My faithfulness is no reflection of His.

Teamnight was all about songs, the ones we sing to connect to G-d, confess truth of who He is and who we are, and the song that G-d sings over us (Zep. 3:17). So I asked G-d if I could listen in. I wanted to know what G-d was singing over me. It blew my mind when I felt like He was responding with something already dear to my heart, “His banner over me is love”. I don’t know another person or thing on earth that knows what the melody of love is, but He does. He resonated that in my heart and it felt as if my heart responded to the familiar chorus. My mom used to sing a song to me ages ago with those lyrics (His Banner Over me Is Love – I could have found a better version… but these outfits! I also found it extremely appropriate that it was children singing)

Almost everything in my walk with G-d has something to do with Grace, my sister. As we sang No Longer Slaves and proclaimed “I am a child of G-d” over and over, I thought about what it truly means to be a child of someone. I don’t DO things for my parents to get them to love me, in fact I’m sure I’ve done things that would give them every right not to love me but they still do. I think about morning cuddles and that wonderful age of 2-4 years when you just run up to your parents and throw your hands above your head and wait to feel weightless. I’ve never been super emotional or sentimental but at no point in my life do I remember not just waiting for Gracie to throw her arms up towards me. It overwhelms you with love for these little squishy beings when they CHOOSE you. You feel cooler than the other people in the room when they throw a fit until YOU pick them up.

Guys, I shamelessly go on and on about my sister frequently because my heart actually has never understood more of G-d’s love than when I think about her. I legitimately ACHE when I think about how much I love her… and shoot, she’s not even my kid. But a long time ago I asked for something tangible from G-d to understand His love, He gave me grace… and He gave me Grace. And if I don’t even fully understand how much parents love their kids then this is just the beginning of G-d’s love… like the VERY VERY small and humble beginnings.

How great is His love?

“I am surrounded by the arms of a Father

I am surrounded by songs of deliverance”

At this point in the evening I might have started crying at the thought of my sister and the thought of me being G-d’s child, I couldn’t even process or express how much I loved her and then I got a nudge in my Spirit, “I love you more”. Again, my mom used to say this phrase to me (and still does via 9,000 miles of iMessaging). More than I love anything on earth, He loves me MORE (than I understand). G-d knows how to get my attention.

I love you more
I cannot fathom the depths

I sat after telling G-d I was done working for something I already had, and was just there, listening to this song I left up at the top for you all. The bridge starts to sing;

“You split the sea so I could walk right through it,

you drowned my fear in perfect love”

I stood, letting go of the fear that somehow if I didn’t DO something to get His attention I wouldn’t have it. I lifted my hands knowing that He couldn’t leave me there.

((He always picks me up.

((His grace is always enough.

((I am a child of G-d

The Heart of a Child

Posted on by lainamunoz

I wrote this when I was 18 years old, which would have made Gracie about 4 years old at the time. Also making her the cutest ever. Also making this a #ThinkBackThursday…

Pardon my love for ellipses at the time(…)

Enjoy!

Whatever you write on the heart of a child
No water can wash away
The sand may be shifted when billows are wild
And the efforts of time may decay
Some stories may parish, some songs may be forgotten
But this graven record—time changes it not
Whatever you write on the heart of a child
A story of gladness or care
That heaven has blessed or earth defiled
Will linger unchangeable there…
-Author, Unknown

“And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.”//“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

For anyone on the brink of being a parent, who has been a parent, or who works with kids of any age: realize the gift and responsibility that has been given to you.

G-d not only gives children for the purpose of raising but instructing and to personally keep YOURSELF in check…

Storytime!

One fine, freezing Monday afternoon an Ice storm hit Owasso, OK. At the time I was at church working with Kevin, Kara, Nich and Francyne (Frankie). Nich and Frankie live in Catoosa (roughly 45 minutes away from Owasso) and the roads had already gotten too slick to drive safely home for them, so they stayed at my house. The next day was filled with quality time with them and my baby sister Gracie. Gracie and I LOVE making cookies so, Frankie, Gracie and I start making our homemade chocolate chip cookies. Francyne and I both LOVE McAlisters Deli cookies because they usually (more often than not) under bake them so that the middle is still a very soft almost cookie-type cookie dough (AMAZING).
So in honor of being stuck at home and wanting that good ol’ comfort food we under bake a batch just enough to satisfy mine and Frankie’s taste.  🙂

All of the cookies are done and cooling on the table downstairs and the boys come down (what guy doesn’t come to the smell of food?) so downstairs at the table it was me, Grace, Francyne, My dad, and Nich (Vito might of been there too at this point)… I went to go for one of the under baked cookies with a lot of chocolate chips. I picked it up with both of my hands and ALL of my focus. Nich, being the loving co-worker and friend that he is decides to take my chair out from under me and I, in all faith and confidence sit down expecting the chair that I just got up from to be there. I land on my back. I was really alright with falling, no big deal… but when I looked up and realized that my cookie that I so carefully picked out was no longer in my hands I shout (in a joking voice) “I HATE you Nich!! I hate you!” I look around in a somewhat panic to find my cookie broken into two or so pieces and I pick it up, pout and make Nich eat it because it fell on the floor.

About this time while everyone is laughing at me falling, Gracie chimes in and says “Laina, you shouldn’t say you hate people…” at this point apologize and still laughing sort of brush the comment off; She continues “It hurts G-d’s feelings when you say Hate” Ouch… I slide back from the table and everyone at this point is in shock and laughter (Francyne was crying she was laughing so hard) because hearing something like that from a 4 1/2 year old isn’t exactly common. Everyone is laughing and we all semi-collect ourselves back to the table. I apologize once more and take a huge sigh and say “I’m sorry Gracie but that was really funny” and she replies “Yeah, that was really funny when Nich pulled your chair out from under you”

….Gotta love the mind track of 4 year olds.

This was possibly one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me and also one of the most spiritually convicting.

The idea of having “Child-like faith”

It’s an innocents I wish I still had.

Words such as “crap”, “dang”, “stupid”, “hate” are all words that coming out of a child’s mouth you’d cringe to hear. But why does the standard change just because you’re older and you’ve put in your time? Do you somehow earn the right at a particular age to say whatever you want? What you say around children will not be forgotten. Gracie is 4 and absorbs anything and everything she hears. I thank G-d and my parents for teaching her that life is about being polite and honest and keeping your speech at a standard that pleases G-d. To this day I watch more than ever what I say because I didn’t even think about Gracie being in the room. To tell the truth I didn’t even think about saying “hate” …no harm no foul?
However, the harm in the situation is not being sensitive to the fact that not only was I in the presence of a child, I was in the presence of G-d and HE monitors more than just my speech, He guards my heart and spirit. The Bible says the Word of G-d even separates bones and marrow. G-d gets to the nitty gritty of faith and gives a black and white of what life should be.

Why is any of this story Important?

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 18.3

If you don’t become like little children, you WILL NEVER enter heaven. What better way to learn how to be a child that from a child? Next time you’re around a young person watch what you say and instead of trying to get them to learn to read or add or multiply or any of that, why don’t you just observe what exactly they have that you’ve lost.