Saturday Blessings

 1 Thessalonians 5:18
 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.


I am thankful for...

...a new Playdoh toy for Beth's Birthday. Loved by all!

...sweeping up Playdoh three times a day now (once my big boy did it).

...husband home for Saturday breakfast.

...Miss Beth waking up in the middle of the night and saying, "Mommy, did you pray for me?" Dumbfounded, I told her "Yes, Lovey, Mommy's been praying for you." I had been up an hour praying and staring at her. She is only vaguely aware that anything is amiss with her health, so this comment had something to do with a dream she had. She went back to sleep right away.

...Miss Beth walking right out of bed this morning. She usually can't put any weight on her legs right away, so this is a breakthrough. Maybe the flare is over? Thank you for your prayers!

...her smiling so wide while we sang to her.

...her dimples.

...her thank yous. She says them all day long.

...Daddy teaching her how to blow out a candle.

...Paul jumping into my arms for a standing cuddle.

...people with pressing spiritual and physical needs who take our minds off ourselves and put them on the Body of Christ.

...little girls who add their mealtime prayers to ours, quite insistently. :)

...little one coming up to tell me, "Mommy, it's time for my nap."

...puzzles checked out of the library.

Have a blessed weekend!

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Counting blessings:


I am thankful for...


...Beth taking to the steroid eye drops fairly well. There are so many doses and coupled with her two other medicines (one other eyedrop 1x day, and the 2x day naproxen) and everyone's vitamins, and Peter's medicine, and cream after bathing to control eczema, and lip balm to control Mary's winter lip issues, and you've got one very overwhelmed mother who's constantly wondering what she forgot. 


...the sweet letters my boys wrote to two children, ages 4 and 8, who lost their home in a fire Wednesday night. We received the news from our homeschool group, and as I gathered things they needed, the boys wrote letters. Today we'll make cookies and put together simple stocking gifts. 


Dear Christian and Carlos,


How are you? I am good. The fire must have been scary. I am sorry. Jesus loves you and he will take care of you. Did you know that angels are all around you? My favorite Bible verse is John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Love,
Peter


...frequent grace rainings. Typically, when the eye inflammation follows closely after the initial Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis, the prognosis is worse for the eyes. Eye problems often don't show up for years. Of those affected, the statistics are that 30% to 40% experience profound vision loss and 12% lose their sight entirely. Also, the steroid drugs used to treat the inflammation can cause glaucoma. Beth will know joy in her life through Christ and those who love her, but the thought of her not seeing her babies clearly or at all, profoundly saddens me. The children and chores and school keep me in the present 80% of the time, but there are times, like when I'm trying to sleep, that my mind still wanders to the what ifs. God knows my mind will do this no matter how strong my faith is. He meets my needs by reminding me of his abundant graces throughout the day. I call them grace rainings. 


...Beth's eye doctor, who is a renowned pediatric ophthalmologist. He has published extensive articles and in 1999, he helped developed a treatment for congenital nystagmus. Patients from all over the world travel to the vision center he works for. He happens to work at the same children's hospital Beth's rheumatologist works for. Praise God!


I wish I could write more, but life is so much busier now. Have a blessed weekend! And please let me know how I can pray for your family?

Your Task For Today: A Beauty Search

Sometimes when I catch a glimpse of our wedding photos, I'm caught by the naivete on our faces. Do you know why we were free and happy on that day? And why all parents are giddy at the birth of their babies?

It's the hope of tomorrow. In the majority of cases, nothing touches that hope on these glorious days. Brides and grooms and new moms and dads can get drunk on the hope--it's that plentiful.

The eye doctor told me today: "We're not going to think about her whole childhood right now. I won't do that to you or to me. We'll take it one appointment at a time." He said it nicely, but I knew not to ask any further questions right then, especially since my whole crew was along listening.

But tonight, I just had to know. What is the prognosis really? What is he not telling me? I can accept it, but I have to know.

Husband is angry and he doesn't want to know. I don't tell him most of what I learn, because it just makes him angrier, which I know is normal for many men. He just wants his little girl healed. Right now!

The real truth is, 12% of JIA patients will go blind. In the 1950's it was 50%. Because of early detection, it's now possible to do somewhat better than the 12%. But even if everything is done right, some children don't respond to treatment. They go blind.

What do I do with that 12% statistic? If she's already falling into the low percentages, what reason do I have to hope?

The Holy Spirit whispered it and you know what I'm about to type.


Your hope isn't here...remember? It's in heaven.

Hard to accept? Yes, unless you are Dana and your son gets crushed to death by a dresser. Or you are Shannon and you know your two children will absolutely die between 10 and 18 years old, or sooner. And in the meantime they will lose all their skills and need maximum assistance.

It wasn't hard for Gitzen Girl, who recently died from Ankylosing Spondylitis, an autoimmune arthritis much worse than Beth's. Despite being confined to bed and dealing with incredible daily pain, Gitzen Girl chose joy. 

Once you lose your innocence, you understand. Our hope isn't here. That's why kids go blind and some get crushed by dressers. And why some women want a baby desperately, but can never have one. God knows the plans he has for us in the heavenly realms. That's why he can allow these things to happen.

I've lost my innocence too, but God prepared me for this day. I know how to pass my days from now until eternity. Some of the lessons come from the Holy Spirit's whispers in my own life, and some come from Ann's life.

Search for the beauty in today. God has planted blessing everywhere for our good pleasure. All his careful plantings? They're my grace and your grace. Give thanks for each piece of beauty....today. That's how we pass our time here. Counting blessings. Giving thanks. Today.

Wondering about tomorrow? It's like Peter taking his eyes off the Lord and falling into the water.

By the third dose of steroid drops today, Beth was a screaming mess, refusing to open her eyes. I couldn't get a full dose in, after twenty minutes of high-level stress.

But I'm going to bed now. Tomorrow is God's, not mine. And that means those steroid drops and my daughter's compliance are His too.

My hope doesn't lie in eye drops or in doctors.

photo credit

Prayer For Beth, Please?

I sent his out to the prayer team for Beth. Please pray for her? Thank you!

Hello,

We went to the eye doctor today to make sure Beth's eyes are not affected by the arthritis. We were expecting a good report because only 1 in 5 children with her type of arthritis have eye problems. 

She is the 1 in 5. There is inflammation in her eyes associated with chronic iridocyclitis. She has to have two different eye drops administered, one of which is a steroid given every two hours during the day and at night if she is awake already. After one month, he will see her again and evaluate the inflammation. He said we take it one step at a time, but the prognosis is good because we caught it early.

I am learning that the statement: "The prognosis is good" is just something they say to keep parents from crying in their offices.

Please pray that she will take well to the drops and that this part of the disease goes away quickly. If not handled properly this can lead to glaucoma, scars, cataracts and even blindness. The doctor assured me he would do everything he has to do to keep this from affecting her vision.

My husband and I feel like we're in a boxing ring with God and we just go knocked out. (The disease in her knees is still not responding to the naproxen.)

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I know that His grace is sufficient and I am happy to have his power rest on our family. We just need a break in the bad news.

Thank you!

Coming Before His Presence With Thanksgiving

Psalm 95:1-6
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."

I am thankful for...

...this passage I highlighted in Ephesians (2:6-7): "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show us the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."  When things seem heavy it's time to read these Scriptural reminders. Our time on earth is so short compared to eternity. Heaven is forever. Perfection is forever; the brokenness of earth is fleeting.  Dwelling on hardship and pain only weakens us as workers for Christ Jesus. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesian 2:10)  We must reset our gaze on heaven and get to work for God. 


When everything is going well it's harder to comprehend the concept that things are fleeting here. We want to hold on to our success and our personal empire, for we've deceived ourselves into thinking we're a self-made wonder. I have one child for whom everything comes easily. He struggles with pride and it's understandably hard for him to remember that even the inner workings of his brain are a gift from God, and not of himself. I've seen his ego puff up when his brother struggles with something. Of course boys are competitive, but pride is dangerous. Self-esteem is the world's buzzword. God's buzzword is self-denial. We are most foolish when we fail to bow down before Our King and say "Thank you; I am your servant." (Every child presents unique parenting challenges!)

...watching my children perform puppet shows at the library on Sunday afternoons.

...that Sunday afternoons at the library led to Sunday night Family Movie-Popcorn Night, which allows us to relax together in one room. As parents of four we rarely rest and I love just sitting down and holding one of my children on my lap, or having my husband hold me, while we enjoy some wholesome entertainment together. Simple family traditions bond us together, but when wiggly babies and toddlers are around, it's harder to set up relaxing family time. We've arrived at a time when everyone can sit still for a 30-minute kid movie.

Dinner and devotions are the most valuable tradition, but there are many others that bind us. What are some of your weekly family traditions?

...the postman bringing some new clothes for the girls' birthdays--gifts from Grandma. Beth was born Dec. 8 and Mary was born Dec. 14. The girls (and the boys) have tiny waists and rarely does anything fit unless I pick it myself, unfortunately, but grandmas love to send clothes.

Shortly after we lost our first baby a friend told us about a dream he had, in which we had a Christmas baby. He believed it was a message from the Lord. He was almost right; Mary was given a December 25th due date. According to the ovulation schedule this was correct, but she came 11 days early. (I had them all early.) Just a neat fact that will delight Mary some day.

...my boys, who never run out of things to do on rainy days.

...first-time library cards for Peter and Paul, who left the library feeling like proud young men, with their very own computer receipts tucked into their pockets.

...this gingerbread pancake recipe Jess shared.

...the Bible, which never stops speaking truth into us, via the Holy Spirit. Without regular readings it's easy to struggle and fall in this life. The Word is the wisdom that keeps us on track. Why forgo this wisdom and blessing? Remember the hardest part? Opening your Bible. Just go right now and do it. Open your Bible and be freshly blessed. Mark and date what blesses you.

...children who love and appreciate their Daddy for his hard work and hard play.

...a note from Peter. On the outside it says, "Open this note." And on the inside it says, "Dear Mom, This is a gift to you from Peter, Mary, and Paul. Thank you for your hard work." 

I hate to say it, but I think the timing of this note has to do with my unattractive complaining on Saturday that the kids don't appreciate all the laundry work I do. They throw barely-worn clothes around, leaving piles here and there.

...the children's Christmas book Silent Night: The Song and Its Story, by Margaret Hodges, with beautiful paintings by Tim Ladwig. What a lovely story about the writing and first singing of this classic Christmas carol.

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...the cute Christmas book Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas, by Julia Rawlinson. Throughout the reading, I raved to the children about the painted illustrations. I found the artist's depiction of a frost over the land quite beautiful.

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