Well, my hubby is leaving in an hour to meet the group at the church leaving for Nicaragua. He'll be on a plane at 6am in the morning heading out of the country. I'm so excited for what God is going to do through this team as they are ministering to the people in Nica. But, I also know this year will be a bittersweet time for Rodney. Two years ago we were getting ready to adopt a precious baby girl born there. She was so beautiful. We started the process and soon found out she was very sick, so sick that the US would not allow us to adopt her. We tried all we could to get her here. But, nothing worked. We had even been given the awesome privlege to name her. Her legal name was Renee Grace Williams. When Rodney visits this time he will visit Renee Grace's grave. She would have been 2 years old January 1 of 2007. She had a condition called hydracephalis (i'm sure that's not spelled right). This basically means she had water on her brain, and that half of her brain did not develop correctly. Because the shunts did not work when they didn't surgery to remove the water from her brain, her head just kept swelling and getting larger. From all the pressure building she was slowing dying. I can't even begin to explain the feelings of loss that I experienced. I felt like my own flesh and blood had been ripped to pieces as I had to sit back and be totally helpless through this whole situation. I do praise God that she is completely healed and happy now... but part of me still longs for my little girl.
If you get a chance just say a prayer for Rodney as he visits her grave. I know it's going to be really tough on him. He had actually been able to go to Nicaragua before and had held her and met her personally. I've only known her through pictures and phone calls.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
STARBUCKS.. my new best friend
I've reached a milestone in my life. I experienced my very first STARBUCKS today. I have to say, it was quite emotional and spiritual all in one.
I've never had a coffee taste before, but for some reason here lately I've really wanted coffee. So, I gave it a try today. And, I'm IN LOVE!!!
I've never had a coffee taste before, but for some reason here lately I've really wanted coffee. So, I gave it a try today. And, I'm IN LOVE!!!
Friday, July 27, 2007
TGIF
IT'S FRIDAY!! Thank goodness! We are heading over to Nana and Papa's today. Joshua is so excited. He loves going over there. He gets to swim in their inground pool, or his little kiddie pool, or the HOT TUB (my favorite). He automatically turns into a fish everytime we go over there. And, it's always so relaxing to be over there with them. I just love them so much and am so lucky to have such great in-laws.
I was reading my devotion this morning and it's so neat how God always gives us exactly what we need, for such a time as this. I read from Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." I'm definitely in a season of my life that I really don't know how or what to pray for. I'm not sure what to be asking God for other than his will for my life. So, this verse brings great comfort. I know that the Spirit of God understands my circumstances and is asking God for exactly what I need.
I love how Beth Moore pictures this in her Whispers of Hope devotional. She says, "Imagine this poignant scene. The child of God musters her last bit of strength to collapse before the throne of God. Words do not come - just groanings. They are not her groanings, though they emerge from so deep within, she thinks they are hers. The Spirit of God searches her heart, gathers her pain, and lifts it to the Father of all comfort. The Spirit of God, knowing both the depth of her agony and the will of the Father, can bring forth glory from even this. He insists that the Father usher overflowing comfort. He urges the child to let the Father have his way. He prays for things she could not bear to pray - that she lacks the courage to pray. He prays for glory."
I was reading my devotion this morning and it's so neat how God always gives us exactly what we need, for such a time as this. I read from Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." I'm definitely in a season of my life that I really don't know how or what to pray for. I'm not sure what to be asking God for other than his will for my life. So, this verse brings great comfort. I know that the Spirit of God understands my circumstances and is asking God for exactly what I need.
I love how Beth Moore pictures this in her Whispers of Hope devotional. She says, "Imagine this poignant scene. The child of God musters her last bit of strength to collapse before the throne of God. Words do not come - just groanings. They are not her groanings, though they emerge from so deep within, she thinks they are hers. The Spirit of God searches her heart, gathers her pain, and lifts it to the Father of all comfort. The Spirit of God, knowing both the depth of her agony and the will of the Father, can bring forth glory from even this. He insists that the Father usher overflowing comfort. He urges the child to let the Father have his way. He prays for things she could not bear to pray - that she lacks the courage to pray. He prays for glory."
Thursday, July 26, 2007
SUPER WIFE.... SUPER MOMMY
It's been a crazy, busy week. Rodney is down in his back and can barely walk without hurting, so he's totally out of comission. Which means, SUPER WIFE (tatatadaaaa) and SUPER MOMMY (tatatadaaaa) has had to come out. I am just so thankful that today is Thursday and I don't have to work tomorrow so I can have a looonnnggg weekend to do absolutely nothing. :) I don't know what Rodney is going to do if he isn't feeling better by next week. He is suppose to leave for a 1o day mission trip to Nicaragua next Wednesday. Now, of course I'd love it if he stays home because I hate being without him. :( But... I think this is just one thing satan is using to discourage Rodney and make him doubt whether or not he should go. I know that ultimately the Lord's will, will happen so we can rest assured in that.
Other than that we don't have much going on. Just working and staying caught up on everything else. Joshua is doing great, so that's always wonderful. He's starting to talk more and is saying a lot more words. I'm amazed at how much he's grown just in the past couple of months. He sure does make life fun. He's so cute at night, because he's got his routine down to a science. He takes a bubble bath, puts his lotion on (the boy loves putting lotion on), puts his jammies on, and then we go and dry his hair. He gets so excited when it's time to dry his hair, he just loves it. Then we go back downstairs and he gets like 5 or 6 books and wants to read every one of them before he goes to bed. So, he gets his blankie, climbs into my lap and we read... and read... and read.. But, you know I'm just cherishing every single moment I get with him. I'd sit and read 100 books with him if he wanted because I just want to enjoy this season of life to the fullest with him. There will come a day when he won't want to sit in my lap and read with me, so I'm not going to miss a night of it until then. :)
I think that's the problem with most parents. We rush our kids to grow up or we get frustrated because they want to do something that keeps us from what we wanted to do so we just brush them off, and we miss out on the small, yet most meaningful times with them.
Oh Lord, help us to slow down and spend time with our kids. They are gifts to us, from You. Remind us to cherish them and love them for the small amount of time we have them.
Other than that we don't have much going on. Just working and staying caught up on everything else. Joshua is doing great, so that's always wonderful. He's starting to talk more and is saying a lot more words. I'm amazed at how much he's grown just in the past couple of months. He sure does make life fun. He's so cute at night, because he's got his routine down to a science. He takes a bubble bath, puts his lotion on (the boy loves putting lotion on), puts his jammies on, and then we go and dry his hair. He gets so excited when it's time to dry his hair, he just loves it. Then we go back downstairs and he gets like 5 or 6 books and wants to read every one of them before he goes to bed. So, he gets his blankie, climbs into my lap and we read... and read... and read.. But, you know I'm just cherishing every single moment I get with him. I'd sit and read 100 books with him if he wanted because I just want to enjoy this season of life to the fullest with him. There will come a day when he won't want to sit in my lap and read with me, so I'm not going to miss a night of it until then. :)
I think that's the problem with most parents. We rush our kids to grow up or we get frustrated because they want to do something that keeps us from what we wanted to do so we just brush them off, and we miss out on the small, yet most meaningful times with them.
Oh Lord, help us to slow down and spend time with our kids. They are gifts to us, from You. Remind us to cherish them and love them for the small amount of time we have them.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Where will my strength be found......
Proverbs 24:10 (esv)
"If you faint in the day of adversity; your strength is small."
Proverbs 24:10 (msg)
"If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place."
I really got to thinking about this verse and you know if we automatically get down and depressed over every pain, every adversity, every bad circumstance that comes our way maybe there isn't much to us. As believers in Christ we have every reason to remain strong in the face of adversity. Our Savior did it for us... so, what's our problem? It seems as soon as something bad happens we immediately go into a"woe is me...everything bad happens to me" syndrome. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of this. I want to be able to stand in the face of my adversity and say, "this might be a horrible situation I'm in, but I refuse to give in to it and let it ruin me or bring me down." Let's learn how to tap into the might power of Christ strength so that we can stand strong when life starts throwing waves.
"If you faint in the day of adversity; your strength is small."
Proverbs 24:10 (msg)
"If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place."
I really got to thinking about this verse and you know if we automatically get down and depressed over every pain, every adversity, every bad circumstance that comes our way maybe there isn't much to us. As believers in Christ we have every reason to remain strong in the face of adversity. Our Savior did it for us... so, what's our problem? It seems as soon as something bad happens we immediately go into a"woe is me...everything bad happens to me" syndrome. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of this. I want to be able to stand in the face of my adversity and say, "this might be a horrible situation I'm in, but I refuse to give in to it and let it ruin me or bring me down." Let's learn how to tap into the might power of Christ strength so that we can stand strong when life starts throwing waves.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Burger King/McDonalds
Here's some pictures of Joshua playing at the Burger King play area. We stopped at alot of these so he could run around and play a little bit as we were traveling to TN for vacation. :) Needless to say, I don't want to see another Burger King/McDonalds for a LOOONNNGGG TIME!! :) At least he had fun though.
Vacation
We are back from vacation. We went to Gatlinburg, TN and had a really great time. I had found a really nice resort to stay at that had an awesome pool area. It had a regular pool, a lazy river, and the winner for me was the 1foot kiddie pool. Joshua had a BLAST in that thing (it's the one to the far right in the picture with the yellow thingy). I'll add more pictures later when I get them downloaded on the comptuer. It was just so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life.
The only crazy, scary thing that happened was that the tire blew on the car on the way up there. We were only 5 exits away from our hotel and BOOM, the stinkin tire blew. Oh my word, it scared me half to death. We were in the fast lane when it happened, so we had to manuver ourselves over 3 lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road. I have to say Rodney did a great job getting us off the road, and getting the tire changed.
Other than that, we had a blast and got lots of rest, which we totally needed. I will say, it's great to be home though!! :)
The only crazy, scary thing that happened was that the tire blew on the car on the way up there. We were only 5 exits away from our hotel and BOOM, the stinkin tire blew. Oh my word, it scared me half to death. We were in the fast lane when it happened, so we had to manuver ourselves over 3 lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road. I have to say Rodney did a great job getting us off the road, and getting the tire changed.
Other than that, we had a blast and got lots of rest, which we totally needed. I will say, it's great to be home though!! :)
Monday, July 16, 2007
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