*Please excuse my "poetic liscence" otherwise known as lazy writing! Words in "quotes" are Geoffrey's my responses are not marked.*

It is nearly midnight. The house is quiet, all the kids are tucked in, prayed for and sleeping. Oh no, please not tonight... I hear the pitter patter of little feet and the little voice cry out, "Mommy, I am scared." Earlier today the kids were playing outside, we had some out of town friends over and my children were eager to show off the abandoned house in the woods next door. A few neighborhood 'darlings' joined in the fun and proceeded to tell the kids about the 'Haunted House' and the man who died in the house and has come back to haunt it. Little wonder that my six year old can't sleep tonight. Of course all this drama happened unbeknownst to us parents - remember being a kid and spending the day outside making up wild stories and adventures to fill the day?

"Mommy, I am scared, can I sleep in your room?" How do you turn that away - there he is standing in the doorway holding his pillow and blanket and three webkinz, he is sobbing and the tears are running down his chubby cheeks. I scooped him into my lap and began to question what he was afraid of. Apparently the house is not only haunted by the long dead owner, but the owner left her dog and puppies there. "Little Innocence" from down the street KNOWS because she was in the house and she heard a man say "Get out, get out, get out!" and saw a floating key.... we talked about things that float and things that do not float and determined either she was confused and wrong or she was lying. Geoffrey stated that if she was wrong then she is lying... totally not understanding the confused part, but moving on - he realized that a floating key is ridiculous. Tomorrow when it is daytime Daddy will take you to see the house and you can see for yourself that it is not haunted. "But she heard the man." he reminds me. That is true, but lets think about this, who in our house says "Get out, get out, get out!"? "ummm, you mommy?" thanks kid, really (do I? I don't think I do but...) Ok, whose ROOM is on that side of the house? Ya think maybe Preston had his window open when this girl was in the house and he shouted "Get out, get out, get out!" to one of his siblings who dared to enter his room? Could it be possible?

"But Mommy, the house is haunted." No baby, the house is not haunted, but it is dangerous. I don't want you guys playing there because it is falling down and someone could get hurt. "But what about the puppies, they were left locked up in the house." No, there are no doors - a mommy dog needed a safe, warm place to have her babies - remember the puppies (no he was only 2 at the time) daddy and I found homes for the puppies. "It is a haunted house" he insists. No, from here we began discussing what happens to someone when they die. The undertaker cleans them up and they are buried, like Uncle Robert - remember? "Yes, but I don't want to do that when I grow up." I understand, neither would I, but I am glad there are people who do take care of those things. What about a persons spirit? Where does it go? Beaming he says, "HEAVEN" Right "Mom is everything in Heaven golden?" The streets are. "Cool" And the gates are pearl and there is a crystal lake. He is grinning so big now.  

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." Rev 21:21

So when people die, they go to Heaven? "Well, some of them go to Hell." Ok - so if your soul is in Heaven, are you coming back to earth? "No way, who would want to leave Heaven?" Ummhmmm, what if someone is in Hell, do they get a break from the eternal burning to visit earth? "NO!" So you see, once someone is dead, they are either in Heaven or Hell - they are not making trips back to earth to scare kids! *he was recently very interested in learning what Hell was like - apparently he was considering a visit, but with the worms eating you forever and the fire constantly burning he changed his mind!*

There are no ghosts Geoff, but there are demons. His eyes get big and he looks concerned. But - for every demon that is serving Satan - there are 2 angels to whip his bottom! Ahh, there is that grin again! Bible scholars say that when Lucifer was cast out of heaven he decieved 1/3 of the angels who were cast out with him - leaving 2/3 of the angels serving God - thus 2:1 ratio. I am no Bible scholar but I do like those odds! "What is Satans weapon?" Being a 6yr old boy he is very interested in weapons. He is a little taken aback when I reply - LIES. "So what is God's weapon? Fireballs?" Nope, his weapon is the TRUTH! I can see the light go on in his mind. He understands.

Who lives in your heart Geoff? "Jesus" and who surrounds you? "Jesus" Right and his angels  - you are safe. He is feeling confident and secure. "So does the universe just go on forever and if you are in space how come you can't breathe?" Where is this coming from? Before I can formulate an answer he continues "Oh yeah, because there is no oxygen in space. Do you think if you brought a tree to space you could breathe?" Ok we are getting off track here... No, bc there is no carbon dioxide for the tree to breathe. "Oh yeah, why is there oxygen on earth? Oh... I know because God wanted us to be able to breathe!" Right! "When I am a teenager can I have my birthday party in space? Just me and you can go because I want to try to breathe without my space helmet" It will be expensive, about 10 million dollars, you better start saving! "Ok, but mom, can I still sleep in your room?" Sure. "And I don't want to go visit that house tomorrow, I would rather go another day when I am more brave." Sure, we can wait.

We prayed and he is sleeping sweetly in my spot! But, I am so thankful that I am here with him and that I took the time to share these conversations. Our babies grow up so fast and it is so easy to get caught up in the rules  - he was up past bedtime, he did need to go to sleep, I am tired, I do want my down time... but I am grateful for the opportunity to tie strings to his little heart, to minister to his hurt and to guide him to his Savior.