{"id":71846,"date":"2024-11-27T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/?p=71846"},"modified":"2024-11-27T11:46:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T16:46:08","slug":"making-room-for-children-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/making-room-for-children-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Room for Children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There were three small bedrooms in our yellow house. I was eight years old when we moved in, and a few weeks later our family of four multiplied into a family of nine when our cousins arrived from the Philippines to have a fresh start in a new country. We made room by giving our cousins the third bedroom to share. All five of them, four children and my aunt, shared one full size bed and one twin bed. We hosted a giant sleepover for the next nine months, sharing rooms, meals, and one working bathroom. Daily we exchanged customs and words and phrases from both cultures. We tried new food like champorado<\/em>, chocolate rice. They saw snow for the first time. Together we worked to build more room for them in our unfinished basement. In the crowded craziness, we shared lots of laughter, tears, and stories as we gave them the opportunity to begin a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new life. Isn\u2019t that the message of the gospel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus says in Mark 10:14, \u201cLet the little children come to me. Don\u2019t stop them.\u201d He spoke their language and embraced them. The lessons Jesus taught by example in welcoming the children are the same methods He used to reach out to all seeking Him. Jesus welcomes us to new life in His home with the same hospitality. He invites us to eat together at His table, to discover threads of familiar language and stories and memories to create and share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we invite children into the opportunity to experience new life by inviting them into our home, it doesn’t matter if we have enough beds or towels or food on the table. It may be for a snack, for a meal, for a sleepover, or for a short-term stay. We welcome children into the kingdom when we welcome them into our space. Maybe Jesus\u2019s love looks like warm chocolate chip cookies or painting rocks on the porch or reading a book out loud together or skipping rocks. Jesus was interactive with those around him, reaching out to them right where they were. He invites us to run to Him, to Abba, Father, a Father who welcomes us with open arms and will squeeze us close to his chest in his embrace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTruly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>
\u2014Mark 10:15<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were three small bedrooms in our yellow house. I was eight years old when we moved in, and a few weeks later our family of four multiplied into a family of nine when our cousins arrived from the Philippines to have a fresh start in a new country. We made room by giving our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":71639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-makingroom24"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[71656],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"MAKING ROOM FOR CHILDREN<\/b>

\r\nby Vina Mogg<\/i>

\r\n

There were three small bedrooms in our yellow house. I was eight years old when we moved in, and a few weeks later our family of four multiplied into a family of nine when our cousins arrived from the Philippines to have a fresh start in a new country. We made room by giving our cousins the third bedroom to share. All five of them, four children and my aunt, shared one full size bed and one twin bed. We hosted a giant sleepover for the next nine months, sharing rooms, meals, and one working bathroom. Daily we exchanged customs and words and phrases from both cultures. We tried new food like champorado<\/i>, chocolate rice. They saw snow for the first time. Together we worked to build more room for them in our unfinished basement. In the crowded craziness, we shared lots of laughter, tears, and stories as we gave them the opportunity to begin a new life.<\/p>
\r\n

A new life. Isn\u2019t that the message of the gospel?<\/p>
\r\n

Jesus says in Mark 10:14, \u201cLet the little children come to me. Don\u2019t stop them.\u201d He spoke their language and embraced them. The lessons Jesus taught by example in welcoming the children are the same methods He used to reach out to all seeking Him. Jesus welcomes us to new life in His home with the same hospitality. He invites us to eat together at His table, to discover threads of familiar language and stories and memories to create and share.<\/p>
\r\n

When we invite children into the opportunity to experience new life by inviting them into our home, it doesn't matter if we have enough beds or towels or food on the table. It may be for a snack, for a meal, for a sleepover, or for a short-term stay. We welcome children into the kingdom when we welcome them into our space. Maybe Jesus\u2019s love looks like warm chocolate chip cookies or painting rocks on the porch or reading a book out loud together or skipping rocks. Jesus was interactive with those around him, reaching out to them right where they were. He invites us to run to Him, to Abba, Father, a Father who welcomes us with open arms and will squeeze us close to his chest in his embrace.<\/p>
\r\n

\u201cTruly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>
\u2014Mark 10:15<\/em><\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"10","scripture":"Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 18:1-6, Matthew 19:14, Matthew 21:14-16, Romans 8:15-17, Psalms 8:2, Psalm 103:13-14","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}