The Battle is ON!

I read somewhere that if we as parents, who love and care the most about our children, don't pray for them, then who will?

Well, maybe grandparents or really good friends on occassion, but ultimately it is our job as their parents.

Recently, the Lord has been teaching me what it means to be a prayer warrior on my family's behalf. As i have been pondering this and learning about this, i've noticed the spiritual warfare beginning. Satan likes it when we are complacent and mainstream, that's where he wants us, not making any waves. Only when we choose to go against that, does the battle begin. And it is so real!

To fill you in a little, ever since Owen was born, i have felt strongly that the Lord is going to use him for His glory in some way. Of course, i have no idea how that will look, but my friend Kim told me that we, as his parents, have an even greater responsiblity to train and guide him in his early years. This way when the Lord calls him, he will be ready to answer (as it should be with any of our children).

So recently, it was like a light bulb went off when the Lord showed me why Owen has been our most challenging child. It's not because he just likes irritating us or making things difficult, but because Satan wants him and is willing to do all he can to divert him, and us, from training and disciplining him the way God wants us to.

Owen wants so much to do good and be "good" but he will honestly look at me and say from his heart, "Mommy, I just don't know how to do it" or "why can't I just be good?" It almost breaks my heart to hear this, but I now realize that the turmoil in his heart is a raging battle between good and evil, even at his young age. He really can't do it himself. It is only going to happen when he surrenders his life to Christ and lately, he has been asking lots of questions about that. However, I know that I am to gently and lovingly and constantly redirect him to the Lord every single time he does something wrong. Even when its the 20th time that day, i am to faithfully train or discipline him again and again.

Those who know Owen, know he has a wonderful, funny, sweet side to him also, which thankfully is what most people see, but for some reason, he is the one we struggle with most. When he is happy, he is such a joy to be around, but when he gets upset, hold on tight because it's going to be a bumpy ride!

(The pictures above were taken and compiled by Amber Butler Photography. She tries to catch children in their own and of course, Owen showed his own to her. I will always love these pictures! She has lots of pictures on her website of our children at http://www.giggleboxphotography.com/ that are great!)

Back to my original story.

I have heard it said, that dreams involving snakes, can represent a struggle with satan. Every time i have a dream with a snake (which thankfully isn't often), it is chasing me and i can't get away. I wake up feeling as if the dream was so real that i have a strong hatred towards snakes. I can't even look at pictures of snakes and am constantly on the look out for them since we live in the country. (I will spare you and myself from a snake picture here!)

So, as i have been praying consistently for my family, another snake dream came recently. I share this not because i want you all to think i have really fallen off the deep end, but to show you how amazing God is and that He can speak to us even through a dream.

Here's my dream:

My children and i were all together somewhere, i don't know where, but it was a room. A snake aggressivly began chasing and striking at my children. I was running after it, not afraid of it, but so determined to protect my babies. However, it struck at Cody and got him on the leg, but he was ok. I reached down and grabbed it by the back of the head and began trying to squeeze it in my hand. When i realized i couldn't kill it that way, i pushed it down on the ground with my hand and then took my heel and crushed it to death.

For the first time, I beat the snake in my dream! I didn't wake up scared and exhausted from running from it, but i woke up feeling victorious!

That i could win the spiritual battle for my children's souls through prayer and sound, biblical parenting!

That they belong to Jesus Christ and are His only, bought with a price, His chosen people!

That Satan can't have my children's minds, thoughts, dreams, or actions anymore!

They belong to God!

I also was immediately reminded after waking up of how similar my dream was to the excerpt in Genesis where God cursed Satan after tempting Eve:

"From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15

The footnote in my NLT bible says this:

"Satan is our enemy. He will do anything he can to get us to follow his evil, deadly path. The phrase 'you will strike his heel' refers to Satan's repeated attempts to defeat Christ during his life on earth. 'He will crush your head' foreshadows Satan's defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A strike on the heel is not deadly, but a crushing blow to the head is. Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his Son, Jesus Christ."

I don't know for sure what it all means, but I do know that God will be victorious! It doesn't mean that there won't be struggles or trials or even temptations, but in the end, He will win!

So all you parents out there, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

It's is so important!

Your children's eternity depends on it!

It's not hard to do, just commit to doing it everyday. Right now for me, I pray specifically for this every night when i sit down in the rocking chair to nurse Kate before bed. It can be when you're driving, or taking a shower, or making dinner. It doesn't matter when, just faithfully commit to a time and do it!