Praise GOD from Who all blessings flow....!  What a beautiful song the Doxology is!  Words cannot relay the song in my heart from having years of prayers finally answered!  Tori made a decision to become a Christian!!!  She made a commitment when she was six but the hell we have gone through with her over the past few years has not bore evidence of that.  In fact, she has been so antagonistic of anything remotely spiritual that she had gone so far as to call herself an atheist.  I have not gone into all that we have been through with Tori on this blog.  It is not something I want to dwell on or remember.  But there were many dark days and nights where I thought her and I both were not going to survive the terrifying direction her life was going in and the choices she was making. 
        Two years ago, I made a bold and crazy decision to homeschool my high-schooler after she flatly refused to go to a Christian school.  Me, homeschool!!!....the mom who said I'd never do that in a million years!  Man, times flies!  LOL  I swear that word "never" is a red flag to God and Satan!  Anyway, this was a decision that I felt the LORD was calling me to for Tori's sake.  She had just graduated from Grade 8 in a small, well-run public school.  But there was no way I could let her, in good conscience, go to a public high school.  I felt deep in my heart that we would lose her for sure, in more ways than one.  I had a mental picture that the devil and I were in a tug-of-war over Tori. 
    Homeschooling a troubled teen and a very unwilling student is overwhelming and next to impossible without the grace of God.  We survived the first year.  Tori was a good student and although wasn't loving being home with me 24/7, we hardly had any problems academically.  She raised her average from the 70's to the 90's.  Her behaviour was still troubled and erratic so it was with great trepidation that I considered continuing to homeschool her through another year.  I knew she would be furious when she found out.  Out of desperation, I prayed and prayed over what to do with her in regards to her schooling.  One day, I said right out loud, "GOD!  I wish You would tell me what the heck to do with this girl!"  And I clearly heard Him say in my heart, "You know what to do!!  You just don't want to do it!!"  Well, I knew my fate was sealed.  I had to tell Tori she wouldn't be going back to public school.  She did NOT receive the news well, as anticipated.  She cried, and raged, and staunchly proclaimed that when she turned 16 the next February, she was signing herself into school whether we gave our permission or not.  I wisely suggested taking it one semester at a time, instead of arguing and fighting about it.
    Many things have lead to Tori’s life change.  Prayer being the biggest one!  And, while praying, I myself changed as a parent towards her, becoming less judgmental, less sarcastic, less lecturing, more loving, more gentle, more understanding.  Many people and churches were also praying for her.  Homeschooling definitely was a huge factor, and the LORD has truly rewarded my obedience to do this.  Also, having a good Christian teenage friend for her has been a major factor.  When Tori was feeling very anti-Christian/anti-God, I prayed that He would bring a strong, Christian friend into Tori’s life who she could look up to, respect, and think was cool but who would be a testimony to her.  Not having a particular person in mind, I was hoping for a nice, local girl so her and Tori could hang out together.  But God, in His infinite wisdom…and knowing my teenage, boy-crazy daughter…brought a boy along to be this friend I prayed for!  I can only say, thank you, Lord, he lives six hours away!  LOL Jared knows his Bible very well and absolutely loves to debate.  During the last part of our first year homeschooling and the summer, we saw a lot of changes in Tori; her behaviour, attitudes, actions, etc. but the very last to change was the spiritual.
    About a month into the new school year, Tori gave me her communications journal and told me to read it after she went to bed.  I was a little wary, since the past year or two has either seen the journal completely ignored or used to say some pretty nasty things.  But by the look on her face, I could tell that what she'd written was going to be ok.  She wrote that a week and a half before, she'd decided to become a Christian.  "Not just, 'Ok, fine, I believe but a Christian CHRISTIAN", she wrote.  She didn't know what the big deal was but Jared (her now boyfriend) was pressuring her to tell us.  Man, how can a mom not dance with joy at that news?!?  I wanted to run downstairs and talk to her but I didn't since she wrote she didn’t want to discuss it.  Awhile later, she came upstairs to get something and I just couldn't let her go without saying "something"!  She started down the stairs and I called her.  She turned around and grinned at me.  I said, "Can I give you a hug?"  She came right up and hugged me.....hugged ME, for the first time in two years!!!  I cry every time I tell someone this or even think about it! 
    And as happy as I am about her decision, I'm even more thrilled to see evidence of a change and the Lord working in her life.  I have never seen God change anyone so drastically and so quickly as Tori.  She has started praying, joined the teen Bible study at our church, has invited a friend out who has started coming to church and youth group, and her and Jared have set up a daily Bible reading schedule.  This morning, her and I sat together on my bed comparing verses in Galatians that we had underlined because they spoke to us.
    Now, if anyone had told me a year ago, when we were going through this teenage hell, that today we'd be in heaven, I wouldn't have believed it!  But God truly is…..a God of miracles!! 

Thank You, Father!!!