Jonah.

Dear Jonah,

When I picked you up from your nursery class last week the teacher said that you knew all the answers and that you were having full conversations with them. It's true, you are such a big boy and you love to express yourself. There isn't anything you can't say or sing. I love communicating with you and I love watching you talk with your sisters. You are one amazing dude!

You have been getting into a little bit of trouble lately and no obeying first time. This is largely my fault because whenever I do go to scold you - you give me a look and I break into a wide smile. It now is your "pass" to get out of anything. I don't mean it to be and I'm really trying hard not to let it distract me, but goodness, it is so adorable.

Your memory is amazing! As we drive down the road you can name places that are along the road  - even places we haven't been for a while. One day as soon as we turned down an exit you said, "Chuck-E-Cheese" and I think it had been at least two months since our last visit to Chuck-E-Cheese. And on our first family walk of the season you passed by a house and pointed to it and said "woof woof" -- you were asking where their dog was and we had not walked by the house since the fall and there was a dog at that house previously. What a smart little man!

I have known since you were in my womb that the Lord has significant plans for you!  When we found out you were going to be a boy I really struggled with the mighty task that is. Teaching you to be a protector of purity, a defender of the family, a leader, a provider, someone who doesn't compromise, etc. While I want Havana and Selah to be all those things as well - I need to teach them also how to find the right man to marry while we have to train you to be that kind of man. It is a good think you have such a wonderful father to model after.

Anyway, when you were about three months old there was a sermon on vocational ministry and the preacher asked us all to think of one person we can be praying for and supporting as we encourage them to enter into ministry. All of a sudden, the Lord whispered your name into my heart. What? You were going to be the president of the united states! But, I do believe that the Lord will call you - at some point- into ministry for Him.

All that to say, you're my special little man and apparently Satan knows it too. Back in December you began struggling in your room at night. That progressed to you not doing well at nap time either, and then finally that progressed to you not wanting to even go into your room at all. At first we started thinking it was a new phase and that you needed to cry it out, but it just seemed different.

There was about a two week period where you daddy was working a lot and so I had to put you down by myself a lot. I kept telling your dad that something didn't seem right in my spirit. I could feel evil. And I proposed more than once the possibility of all of your crying resulting from something evil. Your daddy didn't really know what to think, and while it wasn't like he didn't believe me, he just wasn't there to experience it.

However, in January he ended up sharing with a man of faith this situation and the man looked at him point blank and said, "Satan wants Jonah" -- and your daddy said at that moment the Holy Spirit overcame him and he was so convicted that he had not done more to protect you. From that day on we took praying over you and your room very seriously. Praying over everything, every entrance and exit, and quoting lots of Scripture. Very quickly all your crying seemed to stop... you began singing yourself to sleep and sleeping through the night. It was amazing (and somewhat scary) how quickly everything bounced back into place. We followed up all that prayer by anointing your room. We still pray over you every night, but the darkness that I felt in my spirit is no longer in your room. And your story has spread - since telling friends they have also anointed their children's rooms and I have been stopped by people on the elevator thanking me for sharing it. Your daddy and I have told Satan he picked the wrong family to come after - he can't have our children. No way. We are fighting for you. We love you! Can't wait to see what God has in store for you.