A few months ago I shared that we chose a life verse for each of our girls. A verse that simply expresses something God has laid on our hearts for their life. I'm still working on my project to somehow display each of their verses in their rooms. For Olivia we chose Isaiah 54:9-10,
To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you."
Olivia's name is derived from the olive branch, which is a symbol of peace and is mentioned in the story of Noah. We love this promise for her that nothing in life can change the unfailing love of her God or take away His promise for peace.
For more inspiring Word Filled Wednesday, visit Amy
I had a different song set to post as part of today's Then Sings My Soul, but God was really working on my heart and I felt I had to share this song instead.
I've been so encouraged by each of the emails, comments and PRAYERS you all have left. They have helped keep me in the right place, which is closer and closer to my loving Father. I have been praying that I would feel His peace. I'm craving it.
Tonight in the middle of family movie night, I started to have noticable pain in my abdomen and I got so distracted and worried about what it may mean. To be completely transparent, I think my desire for this baby (that in my worry I was working so hard not to get attached to) was stopping me from resting in that peace that I desire so much.
I realized what I had to do. I had to hand over my desires, and even my plans for this tiny baby's life, to the God who created us. Just as I have with each of my other kids. Only then will I be able to rest in His perfect peace.
This last summer when we lost our baby, I was able to bring glory to God through my response afterward. But this time I have the opportunity to bring Him glory in the midst of it. It's a challenge, for sure, but I can only pray that God enables me to accomplish it.
A friend recently shared part of a quote by Elisabeth Elliot, ""Waiting requires patience - a willingness calmly to accept what we have or have not...." And I've been thinking about that. Am I willing to accept whatever God has for me and for this baby? And can I do it calmly, without being rendered useless by all the worry?
I heard this song, While I'm Waiting, on Debra's playlist, and I cannot stop listening to it. What a message it sent straight to my heart. This is what I want my life to be during this time - an offering of praise to the living God.
I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am hopeful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it is painful But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint I'll be running the race Even while I wait
I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am peaceful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it's not easy But faithfully, I will wait Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve you while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord
When the girls had their MRSA ordeal this summer, I "stumbled upon" Jen and her amazing resource of essential oils. I had heard of oils before but was uncertain how to really use them in our everyday life.
The more we researched and begged God for direction during that scary time, the more I kept reading about the effectiveness of essential oils against MRSA (a potentially life-threatening antibiotic resistant staph infection) and other drug-resistant strains of infection.
Oils for Wellness happened to have a giveaway posted through CWO and I got in touch with her. She not only sent me samples to try (since Madeline is allergic to most everything), so I wouldn't have to buy something we couldn't use, but she sent emails everytime she found something that was useful for our situation. She became an excellent resource.
I credit those essential oils with clearing up the stubborn and resistant infections that invaded Madeline's system. She was too allergic to handle the antibiotics, so we ended up using the oils long term. Eventually, we didn't need them anymore.
Jen is having another giveaway on her site. This is for an aromatherapy sampler of 9 essential oils! I just ordered this set last month and it worked wonders on calming Olivia down before bed time and relieving pain my husband was having from his accident.
Simply leave a comment to be entered. Random drawing is on Jan 31. There are only a few comments today, so your chances are good. This is a wonderful, practical resource! Head on over....
I'm happy to be joining Thankful Thursday again. I have something I want to share, that I am incredibly thankful for. But I want to be sensitive to those of you that I have connected with because of our shared loss. I have been so encouraged by the stories of women who have dealt with infertility and who have lost babies of their own. I hope my story only continues to encourage you that God is bigger than what we can see.
If you've read my story of infertility, you know what we have faced. After my diagnosis of severe endometriosis, it appeared that we would only become pregnant after surgery, which has happened twice. And even then the doctors give us a slim 0.5% chance of conceiving.
Today, I am overwhelmingly grateful for the little miracle God has blessed us with, in spite of the doctor's diagnosis, and without surgery.
Although our intentions were to wait until we were well into the second trimester to share our news, a complication changed our minds. This little one is 8 weeks and could use some prayers. The same ultrasound that confirmed there was indeed excellent growth and a strong heartbeat, was the same to show that there is a large, threatening blood clot. It could be something old, although it was not detected in an ultrasound just 2 weeks ago, or it could be the placenta trying to separate from the uterus.
The doctor sentenced me to bedrest/no lifting, with the hope that the blood clot will reabsorb or the separation will heal. Incredibly, my husband is also recovering from double wrist surgery and has a 1 lb weight limit at the moment. I also have severe aversions to smells, mostly anything fragranced or edible. And I get extremely nauseaus when I eat, so I haven't been. The doctor said this was not helpful to the pregnancy and we are looking into a couple options to help with that as well.
Again, we seem to be in a battle to keep this baby, but that's the way it always is around here. Please pray for our little one (and for us). The pain of our last loss is still strong. In spite of that, we know who our God is and we put our lives, and the life of this very tiny baby, in His hands.
Today Iris was thankful for God's word and she shared this verse. Little did she know how meaningful it would become to me.
“This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” ~ Psalm 119:50 (ESV)
Blessings,
Today Iris was thankful for God's word. What are you thankful for? For more words of inspiration visit her at Sting My Heart....
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
I ran across an article the other day, in which the author was particularly excited about some Chinese fortunes they had acquired. They went to the trouble of saving them and framing them, putting much hope and expectation into what they promised.
I thought about how blessed we are to have the promises of God's Word to get us through the difficult passages of life - and how glad I am that I don't have to rely on the luck of a fortune cookie to tell me what my future holds.
For more inspiring Word Filled Wednesday, visit Amy
LauraLee writes, "The New Year is a time for us to let go of the past and look forward to newness. Everyone thinks about that differently." She poses these questions for us to think about:
1. What is your favorite "resolution" in the Bible?
2. Do you do a New Year's resolution? Why or why not? Does your family make a resolution together?
3. Usually a resolution comes as a result of regretting something you didn't do the year before. How do you let go of the regret and move forward?
4. Have you ever made a resolution in the past that you didn't keep and wish you had?
One of my favorite resolutions in the Bible is Psalm 92:1-2. "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening," It is something I have worked on throughout last year, giving God thanks and praise everyday, no matter my circumstances.
To be completely honest, I've never been much of a resolution-maker. A year-long list maker, yes; a once-a-year goal maker, no.
But I've also never quite looked forward to a New Year like I have this year. I was looking for a concrete point where we could put the craziness of the past year behind us and start fresh.
While I haven't decided on any detailed resolutions, I did have a few ideas. Resolutions seem to flow from our priorities. So for the New Year, I want to consider some of my personal, marital and family priorities.
First off, I want to review our Family Vision, as a family. I want to see where we got off track and where we've accomplished what we set out to do.
Secondly, by accident, it seems my husband and I somehow got on the same page, and we're getting our house in order. He's wrapping up the loose ends of incomplete home improvement projects (don't ask how since he still has a 1 lb weight limit from his double broken wrists) and I'm getting rid of the unneccessary around here (clearing out closets, cupboards, craft rooms). Getting rid of the excess appears to be a common goal.
Thirdly, I want to continue to put some serious energy into our marriage. I'm thinking the Love Dare book that I did not complete last year. Or maybe another round of the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge.
Lastly, I want to be purposeful in my relationship with God. I want to guard the time I have to spend with Him, not fill up my days so that I am too busy, and really dig in this year. I want to hear what God has to say and dig into His word even more. Last year was a year of pruning and taking away, this year I want to bear some fruit!
To start, I found a list of questions over at Ashley's that were helpful in taking spirtual inventory. She says, "Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going. The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God."
1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?
Last month was a doozy. So many things happened at once, I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry myself into hysterics. (And I didn't even tell you the one about the "lady" at my husband's work party, who obviously didn't see me with my hands full of children at the buffet trying to stick their hands in the food warmer burners or snatching highly allergic foods off the platters, who allowed me to travel approximately 2 feet away before she proceeded to deliver an exceptionally loud [and long] diatribe announcing how I walked past her without saying Hello and how glad she is that she doesn't have to "deal with me" but once a year). And here's where, yet again, I desperately wish that I could think of a clever retort in the moment. But alas, it is not my gifting.
In spite of everything, I found this one thought persitantly making itself heard: whining or complaining was not going to make anything change for the better. I was not in control of the situation, but I certainly controlled my reaction.
And so I attempted to talk about the glass half full. I laughed. I searched high and low for the irony in it all. And I tried to find some lessons in whatever the Crisis-of-the-Day happened to be. (Note: Lesson #1, be sure to say hello to women prone to long and blustery speeches.)
I'd been composing in my head a very thoughtful post about the choice we have to recognize God's hand in things or freak out about them, when I found this Internet Cafe devotion in my Inbox (thanks to Sue, at Praise and Coffee).
I could not write what I had been pondering without being accused of plaguerism by those of you who also enjoy Internet Cafe devotions. I had no choice but to direct you to Sue and simply write, "what she said."
