An unexpected "guest"

Saturday, March 2:  7:30 and overnight! When I dropped Kaity off tonight, I was surprised (even a little shocked) that Emma came downstairs and asked if she could spend the night. I can't even tell you HOW HAPPY my heart was just to hear her ask!

Of course I said YES! Emma doesn't often come over any more. She is growing up and busy with friends and school stuff ... plus, who wants to sit around at your grandma's house anyway?

I didn't take any pictures of her while she was here, so I'm posting two altered photos from this summer ... just to remind everyone who Emma IS (although photos can mostly show only what is on the outside of a person ... and there is so much MORE to all of us, isn't there?).

I'm sure Emma has no idea what a GIFT this was to me, how much I love it when she comes over, and how precious her heart is to me. And that's OK. Some day, after she is a full adult and has a family of her own, she might understand the special love I have for her. I love what is inside of her. I love to hear what she thinks about, the stuff that is important to her.

We watched a movie ... "Mr. Church." Emma hadn't seen it yet. I had seen it once, probably 10 weeks or so ago--but I knew it was a story she would understand and appreciate. It's very fun to watch a good movie with Emma. We sat in front of my computer in our pj's eating our popcorn and just relaxing together. 

We prayed together before bedtime. I was so filled with joy just to sit beside her and ask God to watch over her life. I pray regularly for her, but I've changed the way that I pray. I only ask that God will give her the gift of strong faith in Him. I ask that He will give her eyes that see Him, ears that listen to His Word, and a heart that obeys. I don't ask God to give her success or money or a husband, etc. The only thing that matters, truly, in the BIG picture, is that Emma knows Christ as her Lord and her Savior. I think she does, but it's a difficult decision to follow Jesus and life is hard. SO ... I will continue to pray that God has His way in her heart.

We went to church this morning. I love going to church with Emma. I love listening to her lovely voice sing praises to our King. I get teary-eyed just remembering ... because it is just so precious to sit next to her and worship with her. Thank you so much, Lord, for this morning and everything about it. We had a guest speaker this morning from a neighboring church. His sermon was about trusting God in the middle of opposition. It was very good and challenging. I noticed that Emma took a few notes. After service, we quietly walked through the prayer garden together. What a blessing, what a wonderful time with my Emma.