On Sunday, March 5th, my daughter Linnea was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes and crying. She wasn't sobbing, but she had tears in her eyes. I asked her what was wrong and after a long wait she said she didn't know how to put it into words. I told her I was going to stand there and so was she until she told me what was going on, and finally she told me something like, "I know how hard you and Daddy are trying to teach me and Megan how to be good people. But God has been speaking to my heart, and I know the only way I'm really going to change is if I get to spend time alone with Him. Because He and I working together is the only way I'll really change. But I feel like I can't ever spend time alone with Him because someone always needs me. There's always something that needs to be done."

I really felt a sense of urgency, that this is a God-birthed need in her that should not be ignored. So I asked her what she thought of the idea of staying home from school one day. With Megan at school, Keith and I at work, and Rebecca and Stephen at daycare, she would have the house to herself for 5-6 hours. She shook her head and said it wouldn't work because with nobody home to keep her accountable, she'd be too tempted to watch movies or T.V. or play video games. So I told her I'd be willing to give her an hour a day, un-interrupted, alone in the bedroom she shares with Megan. She said she thought that might work out quite well.

I asked her what her plan was as far as format, and she said she was going to pray and read the Bible. She wants to read it from beginning to end. I told her that was a great idea. I firmly believe that all Christians should read the Bible all the way through as many times as they can in their lifetimes. But I also told her that being a 10-year-old, she might need some help understanding and applying some of what she was reading, so I thought a Bible study or devotional book geared towards preteen girls might be helpful. I told her I would find a time to take her to Christian supply, just her and me, and that we would look for a book together. She felt much better after we decided to do these things and was glad that I had urged her to tell me what was on her mind.

The next day, Monday, I left work at 3:30 so I could pick Linnea up and take her to Christian Supply. We prayed that God would direct our choices, and we looked through most of the devotional and Bible study books in the kids and teens sections. Finally Linnea decided on the book "Shine" by the Newsboys (or maybe it's about them). And I picked up a devotional book for girls for Megan.

On our way home, Linnea told me that her dream is to get through high school without having her purity compromised in any way (sex, alcohol, drug use, bad language, the wrong friends, etc), to marry the one man God wants her to marry, have 6 or 7 kids, and never get divorced. She's concerned that the enemy will succeed in getting her off the right track. I told her how proud I was of her, and how important it is that she consistently fill her mind with truth, because the enemy is out there and he's very good at deceiving people. But we're much less vulnerable to his attacks when our minds are filled with God's truth, our hearts are filled with His love, and we have godly friends and family in our lives to be accountable to.

Since then Linnea has had 5 of her hours alone with God. She says she can feel her heart changing, and that when she skips several days at a time, her heart gets "moldy." What an insightful comment! If water sits in one place too long without movement, it gets moldy and stagnant. When a Christian's heart sits too long without the refreshment of God's Word and presence, it gets moldy, too. And when our heart is "moldy", pretty soon our actions will reveal it.