Makenna's 18th Birthday!!

My second oldest had her 18th birthday this last weekend February 3rd. Wow, time has gone by too quickly. I am so thankful the Lord has given me such a sweet, loving, daughter whom I am proud to call me "friend" as well. She has matured so much the last couple of years. I can trust her to manage our group of children for me and she usually still has a smile to share with me when she has been at school all day, up half the night doing homework and wakes up before the sun for prayer at school. She LOVES her school and she is on her last semester, to graduate this May. It should work out to the perfect timing, if the Lord allows it, for her to be ready to manage our home with the children we are leaving, while we head to China to bring home our 2 newest littles. We are still praying for help for her, especially someone to stay at night with them. We might have a solution but won't know just yet.

Makenna has been a little spit-fire of a personality. I don't mean that in a mean way. I mean, that while yes, she too has a stubbornness (seems most of my kids do), but even so she wants to stand up to injustice. She wants to make sure everything is just so, and she will work hard and diligently until it is, and fight if she has to make that happen on her own.

Well, the last couple years, especially this last year, she is learning to die to that flesh she has been born with. She is learning to allow Jesus to be in charge. While He requires her to work hard and fight for injustice He wants her to do it in His strength, not hers. It is a lesson, that I myself am still learning, so I am glad she is working on it as a young adult. It will save her a lot of heartache as she goes on in her life.

I am so thankful, that in spite of my inadequate parenting job over her short time in my life, that the Lord is doing great things in her heart. He is causing her to seek after Him with all she knows how to do. He is provoking her to change some ways she thinks and to worship Him freely with all that she is. God amazes me and He is so gracious to us parents. We fail, we are ignorant, we are sometimes just plain blind to what our children need from us. But, God knows exactly what they need. He will keep working and He will keep His promises.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

She wants to do mission work some how, some day, some where. I have to be able to come to a place in my mind and heart that I without a doubt trust God and His wisdom and surrender her to him. Just like I did Tyler, my first child when I was a new mother. But letting adult children "go" actually seems to me even more difficult sometimes. But in reality, it should be easier. They still have God and if our heart was good with following the Lord's ways, no not perfection, but seeking Him and repenting when we failed as we raised them, then He will keep His word to us like in Proverbs 22:6. Our children, while even still maturing, have a foundation. They will only get stronger as they learn to surrender to Him.

My blessing to you for your birthday my daughter is that you would continue to seek the Lord with all your strength. And when you feel that difficulty of wanting to go your "own way" in your "own strength" that He would remind you that you can do nothing without Him. You are a mighty woman after God's own heart and I see great things being done through you for God's kingdom. I will cheer you on as you follow His lead. I love you my dear daughter. 

We gave Makenna a surprise party when her Daddy took her out to dinner. About 25 of her friends came to celebrate with her. I think she was very surprised!