December 22, 2016, at 10:18 pm | Sorry for dropping the ball on posting this week! We’ve had a few intense days of the kids, Jim and I all taking turns being sick, and now with pre-Christmas activities upon us, I’m stretched pretty thin! Tonight, as I was looking at my sweet Becky lying on the couch, pale and flushed all at the same time, I felt so overwhelmed with worry. I worried because I didn’t know whether I should make a doctor’s appointment for her or whether this was just a virus we needed to ride out (so many days I wish I had a medical degree so I could diagnose my family myself without having to haul us to the doctor’s office!). I worried because I didn’t want the illness to pass to the other kids, who were all still recovering from the last (albeit mild) illness. I worried because we have so many wonderful Christmas traditions in the next few days and I didn’t know how many we’d be healthy enough to do. I hated for the kids’ Christmas memories for this year to be marred by illness. And we have a loved one who is in the hospital and so there’s always worry related to that. But God quieted my spirit and reminded me that my worries were indicative of a lack of trust in His timing and His control. He reminded me that there are so many people out there with problems far deeper and more painful than I can imagine. Even tonight we received a call from a DCF worker asking if we could take an emergency placement of a homeless teenager (we declined for a variety of reasons, but it was heartbreaking to think of the need out there). How can I get wrapped up in worry, when my family is safe and warm and (almost entirely) healthy? And even if we weren’t…even if we had just buried a child like our dear relatives had to do this week…we are loved by a good and faithful God who has secured our eternal salvation, so that no matter what happens, we can rest in Him. When I went to the funeral on Wednesday, the preacher read a passage that had been underlined in the young woman’s Bible before she passed away. No doubt she was very familiar with worry, as she had struggled with a devastating illness her entire life. But she clung to this verse, as each Christian has the privilege of doing: “ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39). NOTHING – not illness in any form, not trouble in any form, not danger in any form – can hinder our refuge in God when we trust in His Son. We can have perfect peace in Him.
When I was looking up the verse tonight to include in this blog post, my eyes scanned the prior verses in the chapter, and I was struck by the peace that each of these God-breathed words offers to those who love Him. This time of year can bring with it so much worry. But it doesn’t need to. Please, read these words. Do they apply to you? Have you been justified? Do you have a hope for eternity? Have you trusted in the One who “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all”?
Romans 8:18, 28-37:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us…And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
December 18, 2016, at 11:12 pm | We had a great time boating on Lake Pleasant. It was a beautiful evening.
 
Note Julie’s lack of confidence in her brother’s drone-landing skills:
Game time!
We took a day trip to Tombstone to visit the O.K. Corral:
Sampling the local rootbeer!
Enjoying the tourist traps:
  
Look which “kid” is swinging the highest!
The kids loved the history of the place (especially Jimmy, my history buff):
 
Think Jimmy is trying to rope the cow or his brother?
The kids with the cast of the gunfight reenactment:
Carriage ride through town:
 
We finished off our visit with a trip to Boothill Cemetary:
December 16, 2016, at 11:11 pm | After my mom’s visit, we packed up and headed to Arizona for an early Thanksgiving get-together with Jim’s sister’s family. We packed a whole lotta fun into a week with the cousins!
The kids always think the rental car shuttle is one of the best parts of any trip!
The early morning flight finally caught up with the boys:
 
The cousins wasted no time before jumping into fun and games!
A hike up a nearby mountain was worth the spectacular view:
Ice skating time!
 
Driveway B-Ball with Bubba
Ladies outing at the outlets:
 
December 15, 2016, at 10:11 pm | A beloved member of our extended family went suddenly to be with the Lord today. I can’t imagine the pain her parents are feeling as they say goodbye to their daughter. We cling to the knowledge that God is good, even in these darkest of days, and that sweet Lauren is finally safe and whole and healthy in the embrace of her Heavenly Father. I found solace in these words by Charles Spurgeon:
““O dear friend, when thy grief presses thee to the very dust, worship there! If that spot has come to be thy Gethsemane, then present there thy ‘strong crying and tears’ unto thy God. Remember David’s words, ‘Ye people, pour out your hearts,’ — but do not stop there, finish the quotation, — ‘Ye people, pour out your hearts before him.’ Turn the vessel upside down; it is a good thing to empty it, for this grief may ferment into something more sour. Turn the vessel upside down, and let every drop run out; but let it be before the Lord. ‘Ye people, pour out your hearts before him: God is a refuge for us.’ When you are bowed down beneath a heavy burden of sorrow, then take to worshipping the Lord, and especially to that kind of worshipping which lies in adoring God, and in making a full surrender of yourself to the divine will.”
While we don’t understand why God would let a child die, we trust that her death is in His divine will, and that His stores of compassion and comfort are freely given to all who take refuge in Him.
December 12, 2016, at 8:56 pm |
December 11, 2016, at 9:55 pm | I love how Danny’s mind works. He loves to play with anything. Out of all my kids, he’s the one who can pick up a rock and turn it into a race car, or find a coin and make it a space ship. This creativity sometimes gives me gray hair, but for the most part, he makes me laugh! For example, a few weeks ago, I wondered why Danny was walking all hunched over, and that’s when I realized he had tied the tops of his boots to his drawstring pants, so he couldn’t straighten up!
Or here he is, after fashioning a human sling shot out of an exercise band, a strap, and an office chair. Even though he wasn’t propelled very far, I’m sure his next creation will go farther! 
December 9, 2016, at 10:47 pm | I’m so excited to announce that…drumroll please…Jimmy is READING!!!
He is doing AWESOME in school. When I went to the school last week for his conference, his teacher was very enthusiastic about his work ethic, his focus and perseverance, his self-control (MY Jimmy?!?), his adorable curiosity, and his academic progress. I’m so incredibly proud of him!!
December 7, 2016, at 10:42 pm |
December 5, 2016, at 9:36 pm | Danny was coloring a picture of a pumpkin for a school project. I told him he was doing a good job, but he insisted his homework was very hard. He (randomly!) explained, “This is way harder. Harder than cleaning up a garden.”
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Danny had me write a to-do list for him. Here is his list verbatim:
1) Make a big toot
2) Ride motorcycles
3) Clean the basement
4) Poop in the toilet
5) Ride motorcycles again
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Susie was happily performing her chore for the day – dusting – when she announced, “Hey! This is fun AND work! It’s ‘fork’!”
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Danny was relating a story to his siblings, but Jimmy was concerned that he was going to ruin the punchline before Jimmy could say it. He interjected: “Don’t spoil the beans!”
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Danny: “If I see a mosquito, I’m gonna make a sign that says, ‘No Mosquitos.’”
Me: “Can mosquitos read?”
Danny: “No, I’m gonna hit the mosquito with it.”
December 4, 2016, at 8:24 pm | Q: What do you get when you cross a four-year-old, a preschool friend, and a bouncy bed?
A: A head injury!
Fortunately, despite its bulbous appearance, the injury was minor, so Danny recovered very quickly and hopefully (finally) learned his lesson not to jump on beds!
 
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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