Saturday, May 2, 2015 began as any other typical Saturday in
the Haynes Family. We woke early, ate
some chocolate chip pancakes and, as Micah likes to call it, the bumpy bacon vs
the flat turkey bacon. The Haynes Team
worked together to do a quick straighten of the house and we were out the door
headed to the Fort Mill Strawberry Festival before 9:00 AM. After walking the festival and watching the
boys collect lots of junk from the booths that Chris and I somehow ended up
carrying, we left when our hands could hold no more, our arms and pockets were
full of strawberry erasers, Sand art, Frisbees, balloons, a cup and new helmets
for all of the boys and our bellies sampled some funnel cake and strawberry
donuts. We had a short window to grab
some lunch at our favorite fast food, Chick Fila. Then we headed to Masons football game. His cheering section for the Ducks is always
full of both sets of Grandparents and two little brothers that are his biggest
fans. Once again the Ducks walked away
with a win! We had some time before Micah’s
soccer game so we stopped at trail head park and our family pretty much had the
playground to ourselves. Ethan had
started potty training the day before and was very proud to keep his underwear
dry when he made some use of the parks potty!
You know its your third kid when instead of staying in the house on day
two of potty training you just go with it and are gone the entire day! After everyone had sun screened up and
refilled their water bottles, we headed over to the soccer field to cheer Micah
on. Chris has had the opportunity to
help coach Micah this year and Micah is growing into quiet the soccer player. After soccer we had time to swing by the
house for Chris to jump on the mower while the boys jumped into the shower
before we headed over to Phillip and Linda’s for some Chop Suey and homemade
chicken fingers and some mac and cheese
that we didn’t discover was too cold for Micah to eat until after ice cream and
brownies were served for dessert at Haynes Family Dinner.
Finally, we were back at home reflecting on our full day as
a family. While I put Ethan in the bed, Chris,
Micah and Mason were in Masons room reading their nightly bible stories with
daddy. Tonight’s bible story was from
the Jesus Story Book Bible. The story
that Micah chose was the story of Jesus’ baptism. Chris began asking the boys if they
understood what it meant to be baptized and Micah said yes “Baptized means you
wanna be clean and ask Jesus into your heart”
Mason explained in further detail that it is a symbol of being clean,
you need Jesus to wash your sins away and make you clean. It’s a symbol of the death burial and
resurrection of Jesus and how we are made new.
Mason said, “Micah when are you going to ask Jesus into your heart, its
okay if you don’t want to right now, there will be lots of opportunities when
you go to the Exploratorium?”
Micah’s face was grinning and as the conversation continued
I asked Micah, “Micah, do you want to pray and ask Jesus into your heart?” He
without hesitation quickly nodded and smiled and said, “Yes, I am ready”! He
wanted to be sure we understood that sometimes we would still make mistakes as
a Christian, and that’s why we need Jesus!
Micah wanted to be clear that he didn’t think saying a prayer was going
to make him perfect or make it any easier for him to make wise choices. Mason encouraged him that when Jesus is in
your heart it does make it easier. We
discussed the power of the holy spirit living in us when we become a Christian
and I explained the A,B,C’s that Mason basically said to Micah from learning it
at AWANAs, Admit you are a sinner, Believe in the Lord Jesus and Confess your
sins. Chris led Micah in a simple prayer
and after the prayer Micah was so excited at the thought of being able to share
his salvation story with his Cousin Caleb!
Micah also said that he understood that even Christians, like daddy,
hurt peoples feelings. Micah confessed
that he had hurt feelings when daddy made him go to the bathroom when he didn’t
have too or when daddy asked him to brush his teeth when he had already brushed
them. Understanding that you indeed
will mess up and make mistakes is the reason we need a savior! Chris apologized to Micah for hurting his
feelings and thanked him for being obedient in those situatons.
As we set in Masons room, all somehow trying to fit on the
bottom bunk, Chris encouraged Mason and Micah to trust each other, to encourage
each other. They have the awesome gift
of being not only physical brothers as part of the Haynes family but now they
are also brothers in Christ.
Thank you Lord, For Micah!
The reminder that our hope is in you! For the gift he is to our
family. For the joy he brings and the
honest way he can openly confess. May he
continue to have the ability to understand his feelings, his emotions and
communicate well and may he learn how to trust you, wait for you and know that
you do indeed hear him!
Micah 7:7 But as for
me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear
me.