Psst....You are Going to Want to Read This!

Chelsea's Testimony of God's Gracious 

Intervention in her life.

Praising God....

He is so good to us...

Way beyond what we deserve.

What am I praising Him for today?

Well....let's see.

A spontaneous hug from my 19 year old son last evening.

Watching God at work in his life.

That he found a church fellowship that fits him right now and

that his best friend is also a believer with a genuine and active

relationship with Christ.

A nearly 21 year old son who is actively seeking things of the Lord.

It is a delight to see him engaged in caring for others and 

discussing things of the Lord with our Pastor and ourselves.

Picking him up at 1am from work and getting an hour of chat time with him.

Watching him be a positive influence on his friend who is going 

through a hard time.

A 16 year old daughter who is growing in her walk with the Lord

by leaps and bounds.

Knowing that she missed our time together last week due to her 

new work schedule.

Tee-hee. 

It is nice to be missed.

A husband who loves me and our children intensely.

So thankful that he is a leader in our home and that he has 

taken the steps to know and understand our children.

For our mothers who would do anything for us.

They show their love in so many ways.

For our church family and friends.

For a home that shelters us in a very comfortable way.

For His creation and the opportunity to take time to 

appreciate it today as we stroll some beautiful gardens.

So much to be grateful for....

What is on your list today?

Understanding God

Saying that I understand God would be like 

saying that I have explored and mapped the entire ocean.

It is not going to happen.

However, I trust in His plan.

He is eternally, infinitely wiser, stronger, 

more loving, artistic, giving beyond anything

I'll ever experience anywhere else.

He delights in His children.

He binds our wounds.

He answers prayer.

Nothing can separate us from the LOVE of God.

Romans 8:38, 39(NIV)

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

 neither angels nor demons, 

  neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 

 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God 

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Walk in confidence my dear friend

and Child of a King.

There is no better place to be!!

Valuing Life

Over the past year I have shared frequently about my dear friend, Susanna,

and her family's calling to adopt Katerina from an orphanage in Bulgaria.

We have seen, heard and learned about the differences when people choose to 

value life or disregard it.

Check out the differences on the 

sidebar of a devalued Katerina and then really look at the joy in the eyes of 

a loved, respected and highly valued child.

There are many, many photos of a changing and thriving Katerina throughout

the posts here.  Also to be found are photos of children still waiting 

to find the joy of being in a loving home.

To be treasured.

 

In a culture such as ours the tradition has been to value life.

To recognize all life as God given and to treat all with dignity and respect.

I have to say that with the advent of abortion and a leaning toward

premature deaths for the ill and elderly we have crossed to 

 a very dangerous path in which we make

a judgement of which lives have value even here, in our own country.

We have heard, within our own borders, 

that there is a cure for Down Syndrome....

"abortion".

Not my words!

This week some dear friends of ours have experienced a gut wrenching event.

They were expecting their sixth baby.

At B's 18th week check up it was discovered that the baby had died in 

her womb.  She called J and told him and they have been processing their loss

ever since.  B went through the labor and delivery process knowing that

she was going to deliver a stillborn child.

The doctor offered her a faster, more clinical way at another facility.

What he offered was not available at their hospital.

They declined.

Choosing, instead, to dedicate the time and effort to 

delivering this baby in as natural and least destructive way as possible.

Today, we will gather at a church cemetery. 

We will bring the beginning of healing to a family who 

lost something of much worth to them.

To all of them.

To all of us.

 

I called their house this week and their oldest son, 

still a child himself, asked me if I knew that "our baby died"?

Their young daughter has treasured a memory box 

given to them by the hospital.

She, too, was looking forward to the safe delivery of 

a precious brother or sister.  

Honestly, the boys were hoping to even up the family a

bit...they have three sisters and another brother would

have made it three and three.

The Psalmist made it very clear that God knows each and 

every human being before they are even conceived.

He sets our DNA in place and causes life to happen.

Psalm 139 (NIV)

  For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
 How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them! 

Because of this I must value life.

Whether that life happens to be in its mother's womb

or a child that some would say has no value due to mental or 

physical conditions.

Once we begin judging that this one or that one shouldn't 

live because of one reason or another it is only a matter of time

before our imperfections are cause for question as to our value.

I don't want someone in my final days deciding that my quality of life is 

not worth the effort of allowing me life.

Only God has the right to make that choice.

I'm not advocating unnatural methods of keeping us alive 

at all costs...

but am strongly opposed to any method of premature ending of life.

Whew!  This is deep for a Saturday....

but it is on my heart.

Thanks for reading.

 

My Girl....

Chelsea is back to work.

Since the opening of Jonah she has worked

many, many hours.

This means that my sidekick has been too 

busy to hang out and go places with me.

Taken last Summer ....this is one of her fav activities.

When she mentioned that she doesn't 

have to be to work until mid afternoon today

we quickly decided that this morning will be 

our opportunity to go somewhere together.

While a few places were mentioned last night before

bed she kept changing her mind so I told her

to wait until this morning and then let me know.

It doesn't matter much to me whether we go to a 

tea house, a book store or a coffee shop.

Just hanging out and catching up from 

a busy week is what really matters.

I didn't know when I got a daughter that she 

would also be a friend.

Well, I guess that shouldn't have been true.

My Mom and I are very close.

We have shared a ton of laughs and good times.

We chat on the phone most days 

even though we do live two doors away 

from each other.

Most weeks we see each other multiple times.

So....

I should have known.

But 

in any case

I am so very thankful for 

the delightful

times I get to spend with 

my girl.

She is a girl after my own heart.

Other than her coffee addiction.

She got that from her Dad.

I did enjoy two lovely cups of peach 

tea at a jewelry party yesterday.

Does that count?

And The Doctor Said....

There is NO CANCER in my thyroid!

So.very.thankful!

Crocus and Family Time

Monday evening was the time we chose to celebrate Mom's birthday

and Our 23rd Anniversary as a family. We agreed on Ruby Tuesday

because it is the one restaurant that has something for each of 
our picky eaters.

Mom and Warren were already "up there" as we say. Since we live

South of civilization. They had been at work all day. Mikey and

Jonathan took off in Mikey's truck. That left Chelsea and I to pick

up Grandma Georgia. In an unusual turn

 of events she wasn't immediately

ready to walk out the door

 so Chelsea and I had some fun.

I spotted crocus bunches in her front flower bed. Then, while taking

photos of them Chelsea poked her head

 around the bushes and challenged

me to get a picture of her there. 

Not bad, I think. *smile*

It didn't take long at all and Georgia was headed 

out the door to join us and we snapped these adorable shots of Chelsea getting into the van.

Such a cutie patootie, this girl.

Apparently there is something "wrong" with the boys. 

 I didn't know they had made faces until this morning 

when I downloaded these photos.  

They are insane.  

I love them!!