celebrating your kid's Christian birthdays

My husband and I have been praying for our girls’ salvation since before we had children. It has been my main goal as a mother since we actually had kids. Abigail, my 8 year old, became a Christian on May 31, 2005 and last week my 4 year old asked Jesus into her heart right before bed on February 14. Needless to say these two events made my heart more than happy. This is what I have wanted, my girls accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. Even though these two moments were incredibly special and memorable, I soon realized that while helping my girls realize they needed Jesus as their Savior is only half the battle. And if truth be told, this was the easy part, and it wasn’t that easy. As a mother of two young believers it is now my responsibility to help them learn how to grow in their walks with the Lord, even at this early age.

I am a product of a Christian home, and while I feel so fortunate to have been brought up in an environment like that, the one thing I really struggled with was I had no memory of asking Jesus into my heart. My mom told me the story of how my brother was teasing me that he had Jesus living in his heart and I didn’t. After spending time talking with me on the front steps, I became a Christian at the age of 4. While in high school I struggled with how do I really know. . .I decided that when our girls asked Jesus into their hearts, I would do everything within my power to help them have the memory for themselves. When Abigail asked Jesus into her heart it was over dinnertime. Since I knew I wanted to record it all, I quickly grabbed a pencil and paper and my camera. As soon as we were done talking with her and she prayed the prayer after her dad, Jeff and I frantically wrote down our conversation. I then proceeded to take photos of the moment. We read the book 3 in 1 and then asked her how she wanted to celebrate. In true Aba fashion-it was cupcakes and party hats. We also called the grandparents and allowed her to share her exciting news. In the next few days I put together a scrapbook for her. She can look at it anytime she wants, but every May 31^st, she finds it on the kitchen table along with a decorated table just for her. May 31^st is her Christian birthday and we celebrate it! Depending on what life brings it may not be an all-day celebration, but it is still a celebration. Each year we give her a small gift of something that will continue to help her grow in her walk with the Lord. We usually buy her an Adventures In Odyssey CD set. She loves to listen to Adventures in Odyssey and it is an awesome tool to help her learn more about Jesus. My main goal with these celebrations is to make a big deal about the most important decision my girls have made. I want them to remember their day. . .their decision. Each year I add a page or two to the scrapbook with journaling from the past year that shows evidence of her walk with the Lord. I am hopeful that one day she will take over updating her book, but until it can be more of her own, I am the one who has chosen to help her remember this moment. I encourage all of you, in your own way, help your children celebrate their Christian birthday. Here are a few photos of Abigail's celebration last year. . .

Jeff and I wrote evidence of her having Jesus living in her heart or choices she has made to further her walk with the Lord (i.e. carries her bible in her purse, takes notes at church) on paper hearts that I hung from her doorway.