Faith

Faith is a funny thing. At least, faith in God. So many times I think that we attribute faith to ourselves or others, however, I think that we have faith wrong...most of the time. Faith is not something we can choose to do, it is a gift. Faith is a gift from God. We cannot wake up one day and say,"Ahah! Today I shall have faith in God. I will believe in Him and all will be well." We cannot look at someone else and say, in an accusatory manner,"If you ONLY had faith, everything would be fine!" No...it does not work that way. If it did, that would mean that there was something that we had to contribute to make salvation work. It would mean that Christ's sacrifice on the cross, His death and resurrection, were not sufficient. Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. We have no work in our salvation. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Wow. What do you think? Obey

Pilgrimage...

My children love to listen to an audio version of "Pilgrim's Progress." It is a story that I have come to love over the last few years. I do not know if you are familiar with the story. It is the story of a man named Christian who flees the coming destruction of his city. He is fleeing to the Celestial City where the Great King waits to offer him peace and life. Christian's journey is not an easy one. He starts off heavily laden with a great burden. The burden is the burden of sin. Christian desperately desires the removal of this great burden. This desire is so great that he takes his eyes off of his goal and is quickly drawn out of the Way. He manages to find his way back but, throughout his journey is beset by many trials and missteps. He fails, he falls, he fails again...he continues. I love the encouragement this story offers because I have often found myself in the shoes of "Christian." I continually fall flat on my face, failing at being a "good Christian." I want to be one, but, I often find myself taking my eyes from my King and Savior and and trying to change my heart and my actions with my own power. Oh, I can change for a short time, but it is never lasting. I always revert back to my same selfish, self centered, self seeking, unforgiving, self righteous, self. The only lasting change that ever happens within my heart  is that which is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit.

I am so thankful that He can change me. I am so thankful that He can (and does) forgive me for my constant blunderings. How forgiving am I when others fail me, disappoint me, wound me, ignore me, turn their back on me, or sin against me? Honestly? I would love to be able to say that I am lowly and humble of heart and that I am that forgiving...but, that would make me a liar. I am proud. Oh, I used to think that I was humble...then I became a Christian and the truth was revealed. I tended to (and still unfortunately, sometimes still do) hold wrongs done to me, close. I would cradle them in my arms and tenderly nurture the unforgiveness until it became a festering, bitter, hateful resentment. The Lord is still working on this in me. Sometimes, I still want to hold onto those things. "See, what so-and-so did to me?! Poor me! Don't you feel bad for me?! Just look what they did!" Why do I do that? Ugh. It is so gross. I hate it in others...why do I seem to think that it is different in me?

Truthfully, I don't. Not really. Sometimes, I just want someone to put the blame on. Isn't that nice? I do not want to blame me...that would mean that I was, like, wrong about something! I would have to admit guilt...about something, anything. My pride does not think that is so cool. Thankfully, my Savior is continuing to chip away at this disgusting part of my nature. Thankfully, He does not give up on me. Thankfully, He forgives me. When I sin, I am rebelling against Him. I am fighting Him and telling Him that He has got it all wrong...that I have a better way. His answer? "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." He is the Way...my way? Not going to fly. Utter Failure.

So, why did I bring this all up? Why would you care? Because, miserable, putrid, wretch that I am, He loves me and He has made me His. He has sealed me, adopted me, made me His own. He is bringing me along patiently. He is guiding my feet every step. Like in the story, I fail. However, He never fails and He never gives up on me no matter how many wrong turns I take. Oh, do not get me wrong...there are consequences for my foolishness. He does chasten me, but, He does so with love and He does so perfectly and in just the way that I need.

I am on Pilgrimage. I am seeking the Holiest Land. I am seeking the King. I am on a journey and it is both terrifying and utterly glorious. Terrifying, because I know that He might ask me to do some really hard things and I am afraid that I will fail Him...utterly glorious, because I know that even though I am afraid, He will provide for me, and teach me, and strengthen me, and guide me through it all and if He wants it done through me...He will make it happen. If He wants it, I cannot fail no matter how afraid I am. Do you know why? Because, nothing is impossible with God.

It is late...I have babbled quite enough. I am sure that I will read this in the morning and it will not make as much sense to me as it does tonight. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Obey

The Great Goat Experience...or...You Would Have Been Laughing Hysterically at Us.

We are now the proud new owners of three lovely goats. They have been dubbed thusly: Princess, Lady, and lil' Shortcake. They are milking goats. We have never had milking goats. We have had chickens. Just a lil' FYI, chickens and goats are nothing alike. We have had horses....the only similarities thus far are, that they are both mammals.

I would like to take the moment to offer a word of advice to any and all who may be looking into a similar venture. The word is: milking-stand. If you get dairy goats and you do not have said milking stand, prepare to feel like an absolute goober. You will quickly find that a goat can climb anything. By that, I mean that a goat can climb you, the bales of hay behind you and then...the barn wall.

We did not have a milking-stand on our first day. I will pause while those of you who are experienced with goats, laugh hysterically at us........
Anywhooo, we did not have the aforementioned necessary piece of dairy goat accessories. In our naivete, we thought to ourselves, 'Surely, we can just tie them whilst we milk them.'

'Ahah!' thought the goats,' Surely not!'

Just to assuage all fears at this moment, the goats are all alive...and so, by the Grace of God, are we.

My poor daughter, who is a romantic to a fault, had her romantic vision of gently and serenely milking these beautiful does, pummeled into the ground along with her toes as these dainty ladies danced the Cha-cha  all over our poor unsuspecting bodies.

Now, you must understand, these lovely ladies are not bad...we were just not very bright and were utterly unprepared.

First of all, no milking-stand. Second, no grain. Third, no brain. Oi.

There we were, with these goats who have never seen us before; excited children dancing around, other excited children riding their bicycles around us (showing off for the goats dontcha know!), some not so thrilled children crying, dogs acting like their brains had been removed and running circles around us, and my daughter and I...looking for all things like we were part of a goat rodeo. We were at a loss...why wasn't this working?! My daughter had to leave to go to work. My heart went out to her. She looked so discouraged and sad.

Through much wrangling, we were able to milk these poor girls enough to, at least, feed the little doeling and relieve them of some...uh...pressure. I was not looking forward to the next morning.

That evening, as I studiously researched "How to Milk a Goat,"  my husband was off leading a Bible study.  One of the ladies, who attends this study, has had dairy goats. In her sweet and forthright way she quickly informed my husband of all that we had done wrong...which was almost everything.

Those poor girls.

But, they are forgiving wee lassies. A fact for which we are extremely grateful.

In the wee hours of the morning, this morning, my husband arose from the cozy warmth of our bed, bundled himself and stepped out into the frosty morn. What a man. He went out to the barn and built my daughter a milking-stand. We were still without grain, however, the morning milking session was much less traumatic than the previous evening, and, this evening (after purchasing some grain) it went even better still!

We are bruised. We are sore. We are getting closer to getting the hang of things. And the goats still like us. Now if we could just keep their feet out of the milk bucket...but, hey, baby steps right?

Praise the Lord!

Oh...and just so you are not worried...no, we aren't drinking their milk yet.

It seems....

It seems as though every one of my friends now has a blog. I think that it is wonderful in so many ways. I get to keep up with what the Lord is doing in their lives and they can keep up with mine...well, they can as long as I write on our family blog...which, yes, I know, I am not good at doing on a regular basis. It is a mystery to me how so many people can be so regular with their blogs. I think that perhaps I am just not as organized as I think that I am and I KNOW that I can be horribly lazy especially right now as my body is adjusting to pregnancy, again. However, I think of how much time it takes to sit and write a post. My three youngest are under the supervision of who, as I sit down to write? I feel that, with daily chores, etc. they often are "on their own"-ish, which I despise. As they grow older, they are helping me more and more and certainly when Big Sissy Faith is home, she is a super huge help to me. I find though, that as their mother, I feel it is wrong to rely on her too heavily because she is not their mother but rather their sister and it is not her responsibility to raise her siblings.  Help with them, certainly, but not raise them. I am, by no means, criticizing my fellow bloggers. Everyone does things in their own way...I simply cannot simplify my life enough to be able to squish everything in, it seems. Which brings me to something else. I am noticing a huge trend in simplification! I think that it is wonderful! So many people are coming to realize that they do not need all of the stuff that they have been stuffing their homes and lives with! I am constantly battling with stuff. Toys, clothes, dishes...it is all stuff. I am constantly trying to simplify our lives INCLUDING our schedules! Now, if you happen to have one of those elusive creatures at home called a "teenager" you will understand why I add schedules to the "stuff" category. Not everyone would do so. My beautiful and amazing teenage daughter, Faith, is a people lover! She works at a cafe, which suits her personality. She attends a group study, studying midwifery. She soaks people up. She just loves people. Which means that she is always on the move. This is not a criticism...it is simply, who she is. It is how the good Lord designed her. He has some plan for her involving people and I cannot wait to see how her life unfolds. HOWEVER, it has been a HUGE adjustment for my dearest husband and yours truly! When the Lord brought her into our lives, a little over two years ago, we had NO idea the changes He had in store for us. We were floored. We struggled. Sometimes with her...sometimes with Him. Our social calendar exploded...and here we are, two years later, still recovering from the shock. It has been a blessing in many ways, though we have not always been willing to recognize them, being such reclusive homebodies, ourselves. It has forced us to be a bit more social and hospitable. Funny, the Lord commands us to be hospitable...now, He has forced us into it. Hmmm...no, that is unfair. He opened the door and said, "Step out of your comfortable little box and experience what I have for you." I think that the Lord also has had and continues to have lessons for our daughter. You see, as reclusive homebodies, we also help her to moderate her activities. If we did not, she would run herself into the ground with all the things that she wants to do and all the people that she wants to go and see. My husband is also helping her to moderate her spending. She would happily spend all her money on her friends and really "cute" shoes, if it were not for the guidance of her Papa. It is something that I am still learning myself, so, he is definitely the better teacher!! All in all, it has been a growing experience for us all. We are trying to help our daughter understand, however, that too busy a schedule can run you off your feet and actually keep you from true hospitality and fellowship, just as much as no schedule at all. She has helped us to learn to open up our schedule a bit...and we are teaching her, with the Lord's help to close hers just a smidge so, that she can truly enjoy the life that He has given her and that it does not flash by her in a series of meaningless events that never allowed her to really get to know, love, trust or grow...that never allowed her to actually meet and know the people that the Lord has placed in her path for either their benefit, or hers.

Well, those are my ramblings for the day...thank you for stopping by and reading them. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Obey

Seasons...

Everyone talks in terms of "seasons."  This season of your life, that season of your life...This is a busy season of your life...etc.  Aren't they all busy, though?  I mean, yes, we can break things up and say 'I was busy doing blah-blah during such and such a time..." however, I think that people actually feel that this will end.  They feel that the business will somehow end, mysteriously disapear.  Folks--it doesn't end until we die...or Jesus comes...and even then, we may still be busy, we just will not care because we will be joyfully serving the Lord (or at least, I pray that you will be.)  I think that we get this idea in our heads that someday, somehow we will be saved from "business" or is it busy-ness? My prayer is, not that I will be saved from busy-ness, but, that all that I am doing glorifies and is for one Person.  God.  I do not mind dropping in my tracks if it is for Him, however, if I am so busy just because I am serving my self, my pride, and seeking my own glory...I have a serious problem.  Woe and whoa--to those of us doing that.  I do realize that in our human sinfulness, we do not always seek the godly and eternal things, but our main focus should be the Lord, not ourselves.  His glory and not our own. Well...those are just the thoughts running through my brain today. Grace and Peace!

A few of my favorite things...

Grace and Peace. Aren't they beautiful words? I am so thankful for the Grace bestowed upon me by my Father.  I am also thankful for the peace that His grace brings to me.  I am duelly blessed.  That does not mean that I am always at peace...my last post shows that!  It does mean, however, that I can seek peace within my Savior and find it in the midst of trials and tribulations. 

I have some friends who, as I write, are facing trials that I cannot imagine.  First, their baby was born with a serious heart condition.  The condition is so serious, in fact, that he received open heart surgery only days after his birth.  He has faced various complications since his birth and daily fights for his life.  His mother and father held him, for the first time, on his two week birthday.  This baby is a fighter and he continues to amaze us all with his strength and determination to live.  God has given this little baby the spirit of a warrior! 

Now, for the next trial.  Their home burned.  While the children were visiting with Grandma and Mama and Papa were at the hospital with the baby, their home caught fire and burned.  What was not destroyed was damaged by water and smoke.  God showed His mercy, however.  No one was home to be harmed.  A precious memory book, containing memories of a child lost to them a few years ago, was spared.  Precious heirlooms survived the destruction.  All in all, the fire was...dare I say...blessed.  The local news station came and interviewed my friend and her husband.  Thousands of people now know of their plight and are now praying for them and reaching out to them in numerous ways.  Above all, this couple has shown the Peace and the Light of Christ through this whole ordeal.  Their actions and their words have glorified our Heavenly Father throughout it all.  They have given praise to Him, leaned on Him, and glorified Him.  They are finding their peace in Him.  I believe that they are storing up precious treasure in Heaven...I also believe that the Lord will bless them for their faithfulness.  I am so thankful to have a Father who loves, and loves to bless, His children.  I cannot wait to see what He does next in the life of this family.

Grace and Peace...what a wonderful gift.

Did you ever....?

Did you ever get the impression that you had hurt someone's feelings or disappointed them somehow...but you had NO idea how?

Thus I find myself sitting at the computer at 5:30 in the morning, unsettled in my heart, because I feel that somehow we have offended a family who we love dearly.  Things have not felt right, between our two families, for some time now and I do not know why.  However, I thought that perhaps things were on the mend.  They had closed themselves off for a long while; not telling anyone anything about what was going on in their family.  Their family was going through some rough times. In the past, my friend would have called and asked for prayer, but, I was clueless because she did not.  I must stop and admit guilt here, though.  Because I sensed tension I backed off.  I thought maybe my friend needed space.  I did not want to seem overly pushy and I hoped that she would come to me when she was ready and talk to me about what was so heavy a burden on her heart.  She never did.  Occasionally, I would ask her how I could pray for her.  I would ask her how she was doing.  I would receive a non commital answer and I would move away. Should I have pressed?  I didn't think so at the time, but, now I wonder if I did not choose the wrong course of action.  My daughter, in speaking with their daughter was informed that their family was being cautious regarding us.  Had we proven ourselves untrustworthy?  I was confused.  What did we do?  Why did they not tell us we had done it?  Why did they not come to us and admonish us if we had done something offensive?

Recently, however, it seemed that they, as a whole family, were opening up again.  I was so excited!  My friend wanted to share with me again!  She wanted to talk to me! 

**sigh** and now, I am not so sure...

We apparently have offended them again in some way.  I do not understand.  Is this some ploy by the enemy (yes, I mean satan) to divide our two families?  What is going on?  I am sick in my heart about this.  I am one of those people who naturally shy away from conflict.  I am not brave about confronting someone when I feel that there is tension.  This morning I feel compelled to strap on the big guns.  I am going to get down on bended knee and ask the Lord for some serious strength and courage.  I am going to ask Him for wisdom.  I am going to ask Him for love.  I am going to ask Him for words to crck the shell of angst between us. Then, I am going to go and talk to my friend.  I am going to ask straight out...what is happening here?

We love this family.  They have been with us through so many things.  I cannot fathom not having them in our lives.  They were there for us when we first became believers.  They answered questions and they patiently guided us through ups and downs.  I, for one, am not going to lie down and watch as the enemy destroys our relationship.  I am going to fight.

So, if you happen upon this blog today and you are a believer and the Lord compells you...would you please pray for me?  I am not very good at slaying dragons...praise the Lord, He has given me armor to protect me and help me defeat the enemy.  Please pray that I will win this battle.

If Wishes Were Fishes...

I wish that I was a godly woman of great encouragment to others. I wish that I knew intuitively, how to be a great hostess. I wish I was a woman whose home knew no strangers. I'm not, though...and we live far enough out of town and in the opposite direction of every one else, that no one wants to come out here to just "stop by" for a visit. This, compounded by the fact that I am rather shy, makes hospitality an act of stepping forth from the ole comfort zone. As for the encouragement part...well, I am one of those people who thinks of the right thing to say 2 or three days later.  I try to be a good listener, though.  If I tried to pinpoint a specific "gift" that I have...well, listening would be it.

The thing that is great about listening is that you tend to watch people also.  By doing so, I have actually been learning quite a bit from a few of the ladies around me who are blessed with the gifts that I do no have.  These gifts may not come naturally, but, some of them can be learned.  Take hospitality for instance...I have a wonderful friend who is just a natural.  Even if she is just serving Mac-n-cheese, you feel like the guest of honor at a royal banquet.  She has everything set out, just so. There are candles, sometimes soft music, and she serves tea in beautiful cups that she has collected, if there is a wait for the meal. Several years back she tried to encourage some of us to be a bit more hospitable.  I began to shake. How would I do it?  What would I serve? What if they wanted to TALK or something?!? Then, I looked to my friend's example. Well, I do not have the lovely collection of pretty tea cups and saucers and I often forget to ask my guest(s) if they would like any refreshment, but, I do have a godly example set before me by my friend.  She has challenged me to be more courageous, hospitable, and transparent as a Christian.  I am learning from her, whether she knows it or not, and I try to imitate many of the examples that she has placed before me.  I figure that someday I will find my own rythmn and such, but, for now...I am learning all that I can.  Thank you, Julianne.

As for learning to be an encouragement to others...well, I am working on that.  I have shortened my response delay time to about 18 hours...but, it is getting better and well, God is not done with me yet.

God bless you all!

Well, it has been a mighty long time and MUCH has happened since last I wrote. To start off, we miscarried baby #5. He was brought into this world at a gestational age of 12 weeks. We named him Abram Woods. He was tiny and beautiful and is now in the arms of our Savior. We have also lost baby #6. We will not know whether this baby was a girl or a boy until we are called Home by our Heavenly Father. HOWEVER, we have officially gained a daughter!! Our dear girl, Faith, was officaially made our daughter on April 27th. She has been such a help to me and I thank God that He sent her to us. She is a wonderul daughter. I still have much to learn about being a mama...especially to a teenager! Most people get to grow into this role...we jumped into it--heart first! She and I are discovering all sorts of interesting things about ourselves...like, we both have control issues when we are working in the kitchen. We do things differently and like it our way...what can I say? Like mother, like daughter! I love her. We shall see if I can manage to keep up with this, this time...I really do enjoy it. It is a soothing balm in a way. God bless you all...whoever you may be.

Hiya!

Just a Post to let you know we are alive. I intend o n trying to write more but unfortunatly there is probably no one who knows as we have not updated this thing for so long. Just announcing that in aug/sep we should be having another child....#5. Otherwise the progress of this band of pilgrims goes fairly well. we slog through the valleys and rapture in the peaks
Glory to God
Trust

Faith is home to stay

My Steelhead caught on the Grande Ronde river
Trust and Obey
Our Daughter Faiths Puppy " Matilda" staring in the Kitchen window atop the snow burm
Goofy lil Blessing
A pic of the Ronde coming down the Rattlesnake Grade

The most exciting news we have had for awhile-Our Girl Faith is with us full time now as we have been officially made Foster Parents. We will be trying to solidify our position with her by getting her adopted into the family. It should take several months to complete so prayer would be good.
Trust has come back from His annual fishing trip with a couple friends from college. It was a pretty good trip. Success in the fishing and good time away from work where stress has seemed to be on the increase.
IN addition we have heard from some friends we have not heard from in awhile. Congrats to M & R for the new baby boy, and hello to J.B. who does not live that far from Trust and Obey at all.
I will leave with some more of our growing band of Pilgrims. We are 6 now in total, Our Lord is so Good to us.

Trust, Obey, Faith, Hopeful, Loyal, & Blessing

Just a few photos

I could not help myself, If you look close Blessing is Barfing
Loyal is just to much fun
What a good boy
I had a photo of our newest addition ( hopefully ) but i think it wiser to wait a little before we introduce her to the world

Love Trust, Obey, Hopefull , Loyal, Blessing and Gracefull ( alt name #2 )

Better than Bonanza!

It really is...better than Bonanza...What?! you might ask. What could possibly be better than Bonanza? God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. His mighty plan. He has a plan for all of us. It's really hard to see sometimes. Sometimes we play dumb and look around saying,"who? me?" But not this time. Nope, sometimes it's a neon sign flashing brightly before our eyes. Trust and I are entering into an amazing adventure that seems clearly set before us by God.

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our next child! Our home is abuzz with the sounds of preparations being made...literally. We are building an addition, expanding our house so that we might expand our home. Our next child is a beautiful blue eyed blond. She's 14...occasionally boy crazy and likes to get her way, we've been told/warned. We will call her Faith.

Our Faith caught our hearts, I think, some time ago. However, during that time we didn't know it. We tried to encourage her as we watched her discover the Lord and all His blessings. We've watched her bloom slowly under the careful care and cultivation of our loving pastor and his family. We've watched as careless handling damaged our beautiful flower (not the pastor...someone else.)

Then one night, Trust looked at me and I looked at him and we knew. She's our daughter and she needs to come home with us.

Well, that's easier said than done...but not impossible. We have to become foster parents first. We have to take classes, have FBI background checks done, and fill out lots of forms. Our home will have to be approved by the State. It's all kind of a pain (mostly because we're impatient!), but, Faith is more than worth it! The Lord has placed her in our hearts. She's there to stay. No matter what she does or what she says or how she acts...she's our daughter. I hope that she knows that we will fight for her.

Mercy is 14. I think that she sincerely wants to focus on her Lord and Savior. Everything is new to her! It will be exciting to watch her grow in the love of our Lord. Trust and I are excited to bring her into our family. Her little brothers-to-be already refer to her as sister and cry when she has to leave. We want to bless her with a family who loves her unconditionally. We want to offer her a stable, loving home where she can feel safe. A place to seek refuge if she needs it.

I'm tired. It's very late. I have babbled on long enough.
Good night and God bless

Long time, no post...

Well, our intention to keep this blog up and running...and up to date, has fallen by the wayside. It has been 4 months since our last post and many things have happened. The best and greatest is that our sweet little Blessing was born mid August! Yes, she was due August 2nd, but the Lord's timing is perfect. Even at 2 weeks + overdue she was only 6lbs. 13 oz. Had she been born on her due date or had she been delivered by scheduled c-section as originally planned, she would have been much smaller. We tried the VBAC but alas to no avail. The Lord had other plans for me.

I started to labor on a Friday at about 11:30 a.m. . That evening we drove up to the birthing center. At about midnight or so my water broke...but we didn't realize that it had, as there wasn't really any fluid. When my midwife came in that morning to check me she realized what had happened and that there was a lot of meconium present. Meconium in utero, if you don't know, is caused generally when a baby is under stress in the womb and passes a bowel movement. Meconium is the bowel movement...it's the yucky tar-ish stuff that babies pass until mama's milk comes in and flushes it out. Looking at the evidence, our little girl had been in it for several days. It was very thick and yucky. My midwife gave me 2 hours to show some progress in my labor. She said if there wasn't any progress we would have to look at our other options. Other options really meant c-section.

Well, 2 hours passed and nada...no progress. Inga, my midwife, left the room to go make a phone call to the hospital in C'dA. Now, here is where God's hand is so clearly evident!! At this time, my friend, doctor, and sister in Christ, Doctor B. was looking for a number on her caller ID. She couldn't find it, and never did. Every time she scrolled through, though, our pastor's cell number would catch her eye. She thought maybe she would give a call and see how my labor was going...I failed to mention that he and his wife were with us, lending moral and spiritual support!

My understanding is that she called just as Inga was going downstairs to call the hospital. Once on the phone, Pastor asked Dr. B if she would be able to do a c-section that day. She said that she would make some calls and get right back with him.

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when Inga came up to ask me if I would like to go back to home town and have Dr. B do my surgery!!!

Although I was saddened by the fact that I would not be able to deliver naturally, I was sooo grateful that the Lord had provided me with the opportunity to be surrounded by my family in Christ even while "under the knife."

I have to admit that there was a period there where I was fighting with myself and my emotions. I had wanted this so badly...but I wanted to be an obedient daughter and not fight my Father. He knows what is best for me...so much more than I do. I really wanted to glorify Him...but, I had this struggle within myself because I wasn't getting what I wanted...I felt like I was 2 years old again. But, I digress...

Anyway, the surgery went on and our little Blessing was born at 2:22 p.m. on Saturday. God is so good! He placed His mighty hands on our little girl and kept her safe through the delivery. He kept her from asperating (that might be spelled wrong) any of the meconium, and drawing it into her lungs. He kept her safe in my womb and free from the infection that we found out later had been spreading through the placenta. He is so good and soo faithful!

God has also blessed me with a nearly painless recovery!
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS!!

At 5 weeks old, our lil' Blessing came down with an unexplainable fever of 102.2. After running several tests to rule out things like a urinary tract infection, Dr. B decided to do a spinal tap to culture for menengitis. Gentle though they were, and try though they might the doctors had to stick our little girl 6 times before they were able to get a sample. There is nothing worse than standing by listening to your tiny baby scream in pain and not be able to do anything, including comfort her. The samples were contaminated by blood so preliminary tests were ruled null and void. We had to wait for the culture. Three days minimum in the hospital and hooked to an IV pumping antibiotics into a very tiny body.
The folks in our neck of the woods are amazing. Trust's boss told him to take whatever time he needed so that he could be at home with the boys while I was in the hospital with Blessing. You should understand that this had the potential of being 4-5 weeks if Blessing did in fact have menengitis.
Our Christian brothers and sisters rallied around us, not only in prayer but also coming to see us at the hospital and holding Blessing while Trust and I got a bite to eat or I got out and stretched my legs. Being confined in a quarentine room in a hospital is like being a prisoner in solitary confinement. Except you get a TV. I was reintroduced to TV at this time and am very thankful that we don't have that poison in our home. Even the commercials are revolting! We have a television set to watch movies if we'd like...but no stations. Again, I digress!
On our fourth afternoon in the hospital Blessing's IV popped out of her arm. The nurse looked at the sight and said it looked fine. They decided not to put a new one in right away. A half an hour later the doctor came in to tell me we were free to go! hmmmm.... might the Lord have been telling me something? I don't know. But it sure seemed like it!
I got on the phone to call me husband...I couldn't find him! Not anywhere! I was packed--ready to go home--NOW!! And I couldn't find him!
I was grabbing everything together and getting ready to lug everything into the waiting room when the door opened. There stood my knight in dusty Carharts! I love my husband. I missed my husband. And there he was! My heart leapt and I nearly burst into tears!
And what did I say to him? I love you? I've missed you? We can finally be a family, together at home again? Nope.
"Where have you been?!" I accused,"I've been trying to find you for the last 45 minutes!"
What a wife! Evidently, the Lord needs to work on my mouth.
The point of this story is this: God is good. All the time. Would He still be good if my baby had been ill with menengitis? Of course. I don't understand the why's and wherefor's of God. I don't need to. He is faithful. He is true. He is also wrathful and just. He is God. I love Him. I trust Him. I only wish to praise and glorify His name. He is so good to such a yucky little sinner like me...and He loves me even though I'm a yucky little sinner.
May the Blood of Christ cover you.
Love to all,
Obey

Living on the Edge

Hopeful and Loyal at the new used organ that we got from some friends for free. The edge comes in on the increase in noise pollution in the house
Love you all

June 10 update!

Onward Christian Soldier! Hopeful and Oliver take on a crusade against the Saracens.

Hopeful and Matilda Chasin Bubbles on a sunday afternoon

Good natured Loyal with matilda and little car in the back ground.
An actual still photo of Matilda!
Just a nice shot of the spring flowers in the front field. Its really beautiful...then all the noxious weeds come into bloom and its not so great.

The Theology of Children

What a fancy way to say: what does God say about Children in His Word. This has been a topic that has been on our mind ALOT lately. The questions we had to ask were: how many, how often, with what attitude. We have a wife who has had 2 c sections who desperatly does not want another but is commited to doing both her husbands and especially her Lords will. Her husband would like nothing better than say: C section from here on out baby! But he realises his weakness in regards to listening to Medical science and paying attention to it. His wife would like to give V backs a chance in a safe hospital environment. Wanting to please my wife and trust in our lord, I am willing to move forward in a controlled manner and give V backs a chance...just on the possibility that we are not done having children but are in fact intended to have quite a few more.

With that said we have given away the obvious conclusin that we saw in scripture. God opens and closes the womb. Children are precious in his sight and we are told to be fruitful. There is also they parable of the talents or menas. How many gifts and responsibilities will our Father give me? What will I do with those gifts and how will they profit Him to His Glory. That is why we have indeed decided that now is not the time to seek a vasectomy or tubal ligation. My wife has been gifted with fertility in a time when so many around me are having trouble concieving. What would it be if I turned aside what they so desperatly desire. Our children are a treasure of Love and effort. Given by Our God and Father to the Glory of His Son Jesus, through the working and indwelling of His Holy Spirit in us. I could collect rifles and fishing gear have a nice place and be able to retire at a ripe age with a functioning body. No, I would rather wear this weak vessel out in service to Him and my Family.

Please pray as we look into how we may have a V-Back birth. To help me fight the fear of losing my precious wife in child birth. We both feel good about the decision to have as many children as He wants. I am struggling to feel good about defying doctors ( who i have listened to my whole life ) who state your "numbers" and without a doubt would rather schedule your delivery than wait to do it naturally. My wife is much braver than I and certainly more confident in alternative medicine.

Much continues to change in who we are, where God wants us to be.

Maranatha!
Trust

A good book

Just thought I would make mention of an excellent book:
Where the Red fern Grows. I have not read a piece of fiction like this in a long time ... now some more photos....

The Boys...............



Me getting mauled by the naughty puppy while oliver ignores her..sorry cannot figure out how not to underline stuff

whats happening latley: for our single fan

Hello all ( haha )
What has been happening: I have been planting trees ( or supervising ). Possibly the most boring job in the world. If it was not for my bible and things going wrong to cause a panic situation I would die from boredom. It is actually tough work b/c you spend all day in a clearcut walking and digging and watching etc etc. Hopeful and Loyal are doing well. As is my lovely bride. I have been trying to get her to come on and post, but it seems difficult to tear her away from 2 screaming children hahahah.


Some big news: we have a new addition to the family:


Meet Matilda! She is 1/2 anatolian shepard and 1/2 ??????. ?????? means that we could buy her for 50$ instead of the normal 700- 1000$ for a 100% anatolian. We are happy with our little girl who could grow quite big.Loyal is growing big and is starting to use some sign language.
Hopeful is Hopeful, trucks cars, horses with barns on fire ( reference : Black Beauty ) are on his brain as well as a dramatic increase in energy that comes with being a little boy! Amen to that!
With our Saviors Love,
Trust

The beginning of critical thinking.

I am going to share something a little personal. Tonight as I lay tucking the boys into bed...i had...well some pretty bad gas. So Hopeful ever on the " watch " caught some bad odor and declared " Loyal pooped". I naturally laughed and said no Loyal did'nt poop. He stopped looked for a second and said " Poppa pooped " I couldnt help but laugh pretty hard. Its amazing to see the wheels clicking and the wonderful development of our children. Loyal is definatly understanding most of what we tell him and Lord bless him the little sinner is actively rebeling.
I would just ask for your prayers ( any who do read this ) my wife is off to visit her folks and swing by mine later, all by her lonesome pregnant with 2 kids. But with the help of a portable DVD from a friend I am hoping travel will be a breeze for her.
We are putting our Jeep up for sale as we have just bought a Black suburban we are nick naming the Dark Ark. In our typical nutty christian way-everything refers to our Lord and what we are about in some way.
Love you
Trust