The God of Grace

Thank you so much for your prayers! We really were so aware of God's grace yesterday as we traveled to Iowa to see my dad. Tali & Owen were excellent in the car; we didn't even have to stop on the way home as O slept the whole way.

On our way there, we got a call from my dad saying that his procedure got pushed back to today (Saturday). So, as of 8:00am (unless something else changed), he is undergoing his colonoscopy. If the doctors don't find the source of the bleeding, they will go ahead and then go into his mouth with a tube to see if they can determine the problem that way. (We're praying there's no need for that as it's much more invasive.) He is in really good spirits as always and is grateful to be getting some help. They didn't have a lot of rooms available in the hospital so right now he's in the Oncology ward...nothing like being surrounded by those in severe pain or with a terminal illness to make you think about the gift that life is. Pray that the Lord uses that.

My grandma made it through the bypass and did well. I haven't heard from anyone today but yesterday they said that it will be a long road to recovery.

Please do continue to pray:

* For my grandma's quick healing
* That the doctors determine what's wrong with my dad
* For God to continue using this in the lives of my family members for His glory
* For my mom who is there caring for her mom while knowing that her husband is hours away at another hospital. She is looking to the Lord for strength and He is giving it. Please pray that scripture is brought to her mind and that much peace is given to her.
* For our friend, Jim Snowden, who is in the hospital after having some kidney stones removed. Pray for his healing and especially that pain would be removed and that he would stay hydrated.

Thank you!

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Updated Prayer Requests

Please do continue to pray. Here's the update:

Grandma: Is going to need a quadruple bypass as all four valves are blocked. Please pray for a safe procedure and quick recovery.

Dad: Probably has a bleeding ulcer but they aren't sure where. He will have a colonoscopy at some point today. Please pray that they can figure out what's going on.

Mom: Has had some palpitations (she has AFIB so this happens at times) so please pray that they quickly cease.

Thank you for your prayers!
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9:30pm Update

What a blessing it is to know that people are praying! We feel the peace of the Lord and know that He is sovereignly working good in this situation. Here's the latest:

* At 10:00am tomorrow (Friday) my grandma is having her quadruple bypass. Please pray for her. She is a believer (as is my grandpa) and they are greatly encouraged by all of your prayers.

* At 8:00am tomorrow my dad will have a colonoscopy to hopefully determine where the bleeding that he's experiencing is coming from. Last time he had a colonoscopy, his heart had some trouble so please pray that God protects his heart. If the results don't show what's going on, they will have to go down his throat with a tube to do some other searching. Please pray that that is not needed. Please pray that the Lord would use this for good in my dad's life to show him the glory of the Gospel.

* My mom is feeling better. She'll be driving to Davenport late tomorrow afternoon. Josh & I are taking the kids there tomorrow morning to be with my dad. Please pray for safe travel and grace for our children & us.

Thank you so much for petitioning the Lord for us! We are strengthened in knowing that our God is the ultimate physician who created my grandma and my dad. He is perfectly in control and will not slumber or sleep.

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New Prayer Request

Well, my family is not at the peak of health at the moment. Prayers are much appreciated. My grandma is having a heart attack and is currently going in for an angioplasty. My dad was on his way to go be with my mom who is caring for my grandma and he had to check himself into the emergency room in Davenport. They are running tests on him but think that he has a bleeding ulcer. Please do pray:

1) That the doctors would discern what is wrong with my grandma's heart and be able to help her.

2) That the doctors would discern what is going on with my dad's health and be able to help him.

3) For peace for my mom as she is in Des Moines waiting to hear about my grandma while my dad is in the hospital in Davenport.

Thank you for your prayers. I will update as I get word.

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Prayer Request

My grandma, Joanne, was taken to the hospital in DesMoines, IA today after being in the ICU yesterday for some sort of heart problem. They are unsure if it's a heart attack or something different. Please pray for Grandma's healing and for compassionate and quality care from the doctors. Also, please pray for my grandpa as he isn't feeling too well himself (bad cold) and is waiting to hear how my grandma is doing. Thank you!

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Read, Think, Pray

My hubby gave a very helpful and practical message on Sunday about prayerfully meditating on God's Word. The strategy involves reading the passage, thinking/meditating about the passage, and then praying through the passage (read, think, pray). Our pastors have challenged us to use the next seven days to try out this helpful strategy. Josh has encouraged me to do this before and I've found it very fruitful. Today I sought to do it again, except this time it went a little something like this:

1) Prayed that the Lord would bless my time with Him
2) Stopped to go put the pacifier back in Owen's mouth as he awoke screaming
3) Read 1 John 4:10-11
4) Stopped to go put the pacifier back in Owen's mouth again
5) Re-read 1 John 4:10-11
6) Stopped to keep Tali from pulling by Bible off of the table
7) Started to write out 1 John 4:11
8) Stopped to go put the pacifier back in Owen's mouth again
9) Finished writing out 1 John 4:11
10) Started to write a sentence to meditate on the passage, starting with "God..."
11) Stopped to keep Tali from ripping a page out of my Bible

It continued like this for quite some time until, at last, I had actually read, meditated, and prayed! The process took about 30 minutes but the actual invested time with the Lord probably totaled 5-10. I hope that God is glorified by my efforts!

p.s.-This is a good example of how much more fruitful my time with God is when I do it during Owen's 6:30am feeding, rather than when he's sort of asleep and Tali is running around the house like a crazy woman. Now, if I could just be disciplined at 6:30am rather than wanting to half feed him and half sleep at the same time...

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Family is a Gift From God

The past couple of days my grandparents have been visiting. It was so much fun to have Grandma playing with Tali and to see Grandpa hold Owen. I can only imagine how strange it must be for them to be playing with their daughter's daughter's daughter. :) It was another reminder to me of how quickly time passes. They made comments about when my mom was an infant just like it was yesterday, as it is still fresh in their minds. I hear it constantly from voices all around me, "Enjoy the time now because it will go by so quickly." To think that in the blink of an eye, Tali and Owen will be grown and before I know it, I may be visiting them to see their own children...

Yes, the shortness of the time continues to be at the forefront of my mind, as you can see. I just do not want to wake up one day years from now with an empty house and the thought that I wasted the time that I had to love my children while they were with me and to reflect to them the mercy and grace of God. One day all of the diapers and the a.m. feedings will be a distant memory. Today, I have the opportunity to speak and live with my children in such a way that I am a living message about Christ's saving work. I want to redeem the time!

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He Does What I Can't Do

It's funny, the rich sense of accomplishment I feel when the day is ending. There's this resounding "I made it through another day...and it went fairly well" echoing in my head. I didn't do brain surgery (or even leave my house) but seeking to love and care for two babies is downright hard work. At this moment, all that I want is to go to sleep and not wake up until at least 6:00 but that's just not reality and it probably won't be for another month or so. And it's completely worth it; don't get me wrong. I would not trade this for anything but I am tired. Very tired.

A week ago I really didn't see how it was possible for me to take care of two needy babies at once. They both need things at the same time and there's only one of me. I can't be everywhere doing everything at the same time. Thankfully, God is helping me to see the situation in light of who He is, not just in light of who I am not. God is everywhere and He does everything that needs doing, even if I can't do it. So, I guess the sense of accomplishment is just the recognition of the grace that He's giving me to do what I can as I trust Him to do what I can't.

Every single exhausting moment is a blessing and I am grateful for it. But oh, do I need grace to have the energy to keep on going with joy and diligence! As always, I would love your prayers.

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