Happy Birthday Mom!

On my Mom's birthday, I want to take this moment to honor her. I've heard it said that you cannot fully appreciate your mom until you become one yourself. It is true that I am just beginning to see how great a life of love and sacrifice my mom has and continues to live. Even to this day, she would rather be at home or at her children's homes serving. With joy, she tirelessly raised and trained all five of her children. I remember often my mom telling me that she treasured the years we were at home, knowing that the years would be short and that her home was her mission field. Often, I would see my mom on her knees, crying out to our Lord for strength, direction...praying that her children would come to know, love and serve Him as their Lord and Savior. My mom's life is a testimony that our God is faithful. I am reminded of these verses:

"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him" (Isaiah 30:18).

"From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him" (Isaiah 64:4).

Mom, thank you for serving the Lord faithfully and for giving your life so that He would be glorified through you. I love you and appreciate you! Happy Birthday!

WOW

Well, even though I saw the sonogram at 6 weeks and it was clear that there were two babies in me...it has still been hard to believe. Now I have seen them for a second time...and it still seems hard to believe! :) I guess our state of shock should be ending in about 4-6 months. :) Okay, so are you ready for the real reason I'm posting this evening? I had my first appointment with the specialist today and was able, with joy, to have another peak at our babies...and even though I am only a little over 15 weeks, they were able to tell the gender. So are you ready??? The Lord has given us 2 more sons! Joshua has no idea what's coming but I'm sure he's going to have fun once they're here! I've been daydreaming today of things like big back yards and camping trips by a creek and making at least 3x as many biscuits for dinner... :) We are amazed & excited. We also are feeling very aware of our complete weakness & inadequacy...but even more aware of our great God, His sufficient grace and bountiful supplies of strength.

Please keep us in your prayers as we venture into some very full, busy and rewarding years of raising three young men whom we pray will grow to love the Savior and live their lives for His glory.

"As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things." Ecclesiastes 11:5

He's Crawling ;)

OKAY...the long awaited news is here...yesterday Joshua pulled himself up in his crib and today he started crawling! A big thanks goes out to his sweet cousins, Alyssa, Meredith & Brooklyn as I'm sure they all inspired him this past weekend when he spent the night at their house. :)






(These pictures were taken on our family vacation this past June.)

Relationships - A Mess Worth Making

As a church, we are going to be going through a book by Tim Lane & Paul Tripp. It's called "Relationships - A Mess Worth Making." Here are some quotes that I wanted to share with you all. As you read these, keep in mind that we are able to show such mercy & love towards others only as we ourselves have received mercy through the cross. "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:19-20).

"Our relationships will never work according to our plan...This means that God will take us where we have not planned to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own." (p. 109)

"God sends the uncomfortable grace of trial not to crush or discourage us, but to mature and refine us. ...It isn't enough to ask for the character you need to survive the difficulties of life and the weaknesses of the other person. We have been called to minister to the people that God, in his wisdom, has placed in our lives. He wants to use us as instruments of grace in their lives." (p. 110)

"Encouragement is not just about making people feel and think better; it's about stimulating spiritual imagination. Encouragement gives struggling people the eyes to see an unseen Christ. ...We need eyes to see this one amazing reality: that we are Christ's and he is ours." (p. 113)

"A relationship without mercy is a relationship lived outside biblical borders. ...two definitions of mercy: (1) Mercy is the kind, sympathetic, and forgiving treatment of others that works to relieve their distress and cancel their debt. Or (2) mercy is compassion combined with forbearance and action. ...What makes mercy merciful is a heartfelt compassion that results in some kind of action toward the other person." (p. 134-135)