Kids & Parenting
XIV. Children, Family & the Holy Spirit
by Bill Hunt
It was a House of Prayer in a place of healing.
The little white farm house with the green trim was built into the side of a hill as was the small matching barn beside it. Below in the back, across the rippling brook, was the red chicken coup with a dovecot overhead, just down from the pond. Young pine trees filled the remaining acreage rising on a slope toward the horizon.
A wonderful blessing, God provided the seven acre mini-farm at the end of the flowery cliffs of the Boonville Gorge winding north from Delta Lake. The region was beautiful but not known for its employment. We found ourselves living simply by faith in God's country.
The Black River Valley winds along between the edge of the Tug Hill Plateau and the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York's green farm country. This was the region of my wife Mary's birth and girlhood.
The country farm was perfect for our children. Our daughter, Monica, cared for a Shetland pony named Valentine. The younger children helped Daddy raise chickens, roosters, doves in the dovecot, and rabbits, dozens and dozens of white rabbits.
Oh yes, there were the grey geese. The gander would lower his head and long neck and attack-charge from a distance of twenty feet every visitor that came across the yard to our country farm. But being a sanctified goose, he'd break off the charge at six feet distance and strut away honking his brag, leaving a reluctant bystander behind. Maybe God will provide such a place for us again in heaven someday.
Our family with four little ones gathered to pray in the evening.
In cold weather, we burned logs in the brick fireplace. The kids gathered to sit around the living room on the furniture or down on the rug with their Bibles. We'd open by singing beautiful spiritual songs together. Each child then picked a scripture and read to the others.
After, we prayed spontaneously one by one. Monica often prayed for her pony, Valentine. Brian and Emily prayed for the other animals and for friends. Even little Joanna prayed cute lines of heartfelt requests. Mommy and Daddy would follow with prayer and a Blessing, laying hands on each child.
�May our Heavenly Father bless you in the wonder and power of his love and give you a peaceful sleep in the Name of Jesus. Amen.�
"Daddy, can you teach me to pray in tongues?"
One evening, little Brian, age 7, in his pajamas jumped up in the living room and came to my chair.
"You don't learn how to pray in tongues," I answered him.
"God gives it to you as a gift. But I can pray for you. Close your eyes and raise your hands."
Mary, working in the kitchen, heard the innocence of her son's question. She wiped her hands on a towel and leaned in the doorway to watch.
I gently laid my hands on Brian and prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Immediately, out of his mouth, Brian prayed in tongues.
"It was so beautiful," said Mary, "such a testimony to God's faithfulness to the prayer and faith of a little child."
"Me too, Daddy!" Monica, age 8, came over, and she too, received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
"That's when you gave me my Bible for Christmas," said Mary. "And I started reading through it from beginning to end. I began studying, assimilating, and memorizing scriptures."
Life was very simple on our little farm.
"God took our television away," Mary recalls. It quit. We had very little money for lack of employment. Jobs were sporadic. We had no medical insurance. It was an incredible period during which God took care of us.
I worked low cost wedding photography and business promotion to feed the family. Fortunately, our mortgage and expense costs were otherwise very low. The country electricity coop charged bills of only ten to sixteen dollars per month.
Bags of groceries suddenly showed up on our front doorsteps!
We never understood how God did that so faithfully. Time and time again, when we were out of food and out of money, I'd open the front door and find five or six bags of groceries sitting on the front steps!
Mary and I would not tell anyone our need. But there would be the groceries each time we needed them. God had his hand directly on our lives. We finally concluded some of those elderly Pentecostal ladies must have had a direct line to God. That is not as farfetched as it sounds.
Occaisionally, Mary was able to substitute teach in the town school, or she'd ride her bike two miles to the music store and give piano lessons. We planted an intensive garden, digging deep into the ground to mix natural fertilizers. With a great yield of vegetables, Mary used a pressure cooker to can. Of course, we raised roosters and rabbits for meat, as well.
A lovely female evangelist named Shirley held evening revivals in the local Assembly of God Church.
This greatly blessed the children's spirituality. One by one, each of our four children walked up and gave their lives to Jesus. Her ministry blessed us all. She brought many people to the Lord with her anointed preaching and deep spiritual songs.
As I said, �It was a house of prayer in a place of healing.�
(True Story #14 in series: Life is 100 Million Miracles.)
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
Bill, I so enjoy your stories. They are always filled with His miracles, blessings,and love. They offer up hope and encouragement to all who read them. Thank you, as always for sharing. Debby
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1070 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by BILL HUNT or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 1070 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.