Gratitude on Sunday

So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.
Psalms 79:13

My gratitude List

~ Reading My Great Aunt Arizona over and over.



~ A weekend spent entirely at home because the van needed repairs. At first we felt trapped, but its been a pleasure.

~ Reading Ladybug Girl and Bumble Bee Boy over and over. It reminds me of my own kids' play schemes. Even my boys listen over my shoulder.



~ The whole family folding laundry together.

~ Boys digging out old science books to make modeling dough in the kitchen, and then accidentally doubling the amount of oil in the recipe. And by God's grace, their little bowls and frogs and spiders hardened nicely after baking.

~ Sisters having oodles of fun together.

~ Showering eight-year-old Paul with little comforting gifts after he suffered a nasty skin flap wound on his lip. (Ahem. Playing football in the house.) Hopefully they won't decide it's advantageous to cut your lip around here. I bought him a rare liter of root beer from the store, and Daddy brought home donuts for him and even bacon, their favorite poison. Daddy won't admit it, but the bacon was for him too, since no van meant no outings and that man hates to be in the house.

~ The fragrance of my girls' hair in my nostrils as I read to them.

~ Sisters comforting each other when one is sad.

~ The Institute for Excellence in Writing's Student Writing Intensive A DVD course. It's every bit as wonderful as we thought.

~ Peter making much progress in spelling, thanks to Avko Sequential Spelling.

~ Finding a mnemonic device program for memorizing multiplication facts: Times Tales

~ Huge progress on some stressful paperwork.

~ A husband who loves, plays, and even cooks and vacuums when I'm smothered in paperwork. He hates housework, yes, but paperwork he's absolutely allergic to.

~ A good friend's sister will live after a tragic accident. Please pray for this unspoken request? She has a long recovery road ahead (her name is Lisa). And pray for her two children during this transition? Thank you. No Mama wants to be gone from her children so long.

~ Peter having a calm day. Did you pray, friend? Thank you! It worked and I must say, I actually felt the prayer!

~ Still enjoying Isaiah and Ephesians. I've never been very motivated to read the Old Testament, but this year I'm going to read chapters from both Old and New at each sitting.

~ Beth's join pain and stiffness returned today, but by God's grace, her smile and her giggles remain.

Perspective

Most days, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I can list having special needs children as a blessing.

Peter's heart couldn't be sweeter. Beth couldn't be more of a joy.

But when my emotions crash for other reasons, I struggle.


Why, God?

Why must I deal with a son who rages? A son whose mind tortures him with OCD lies? A son who, though incredibly bright, can't seem to learn his multiplication facts?

I know the deadliness of comparison and I avoid it routinely. Tangible, incredible blessings flow here. I count them daily.

Sometimes my emotions stoop so low, comparison creeps in like a poison.

She doesn't have a single kid with a problem, short of a messy bedroom. Why, God? Why were we chosen for this hell? And how will my son make it in life? How will any of us make it, without stress disorders raging?

What's missing on days like this? Days when I say...No thanks, Lord.  Rather than...Yes, Lord. Let it be for me as you say.


Perspective. 

My mind is not sharp enough to say, "Oh, I just need some perspective...that's all."

But my testimony is this: God always provides it, at the most needed moment.

I began reading the Mercy House Blog, about a maternity home ministry in Kenya--a ministry begun by Kristen Welsh. 

Currently, seven girls are being served, three of whom are new to the home. The three new girls experienced the worst kind of abuse and trauma the ministry has seen. These girls' presence in the home? A miracle.

One young girl recently left unexpectedly due to the negative influence of her witchcraft family. She chose to leave the safe haven of a maternity home with her new baby...even after professing Jesus as Savior. To go back to a horrible hell on earth. 


Suddenly, my mind filled up with new names to pray for. My heart broke. My spirit groaned with all humanity for the collective suffering this earth knows.

How will God fix the broken young hearts and lives in Kenya? Outside of a miracle, I don't know.

But I know His power prompted Kristen's family to leave their comfort zone and take on incredible stress in this ministry endeavor. To learn things about the depravity of man that haunt their minds. May God Bless them and refresh them. May he shower them with blessings large and small, as they love the broken and the lost.

I have small potato problems. I thank God for them now, knowing He is mighty to save.

Please write down these names and pray? Lucy, Elizabeth, Violet. Violet was violently attacked and suffered burns, for which she's still being treated. She has a long road ahead, including surgeries. Her baby, still in the womb, survived the attack, thank God. Also pray for the young girl who left, named Felistas, and her baby, named Emmanuel.

The Problem With Exhortation

What I really want to spill out on these pages is poetry. Somehow, though, it just doesn't come out of me.

Instead, I have the spiritual knack of exhortation. I sit down, heavy with something the Spirit said, and I write. When it's all done, it is not poetry, but a pleading with you, the reader, to do something. To perform in some way.

The problem with exhortation is that sometimes, grace gets lost.

I have been exhorting you to open your Bible this month. I am doing much better in opening mine, and I hope you are too.

Last year, I put more discipline into my prayer life and learned much about the power and blessing that prayer can be. I wrote a series of posts on prayer.

And then do you know what happened? My daughter began having problems. When a diagnosis was given, I didn't have the words to pray. Though I communed with the Spirit, it wasn't traditional prayer, in which I put forth effort. He poured into me. Currently, He has me doing a lot of intercessory prayer. It isn't organized like a traditional "quiet time". The miracle is that the names pop into my head, along with the prayers. He is giving me the gift of prayer, through no effort of my own.

The other day I told you I was committing myself to laughing every day with my children, to bless them and assure them that everything was going to be okay. And do you know what happened the very next day? My emotions crashed, as they're apt to do some months. No laughs that day, and maybe only a few times this week. Tears come easily at these times for me. Laughter? Not so much.

Oh, the irony.

The notion that I have power, that my striving is the answer, always gets shot down. He reminds me that all power comes from Him.

He loves you. When you pray, when your open your Bible, and when you don't. We don't always adhere to our own best plans, because life is messy. Though I exhort you to do things, never suppose I'm saying that your striving is the answer. Sorrowful things happen, no matter how you "perform". Grace triumphs over sorrow. Grace triumphs over our failings.

There will be times you possess spiritual discipline that surprises even you. God's power is upon you then, possibly preparing you for a storm. Other times, it will seem like you're incapable of discipline. You're too frail. You might have four mothering days in a row that knock you out, and your Bible remains unopened. On the fifth day, you open it.

God doesn't condemn you for days one through four; He rejoices with you on day five.

The enemy wants us to believe this:  it's all or nothing. He convinces us we're pitiful and we sometimes believe him.

Let me repeat these words: He rejoices with you on day five. 


Let us keep that in our heart, always.

My Cinderella

Cinderella at her ball? Very blessed, but only until midnight. What a challenge...to live like there's no tomorrow, to embrace every single blessed moment, knowing there really is a tomorrow, and it's a sorrowful one.

Cinderella knew she'd go back to her mean step-sisters, her evil step-mother. But while she danced, she danced with joy, with abandon, even forgetting her deadline, until she heard the striking clock.

My little Beth? My very own princess? Thanks to prednisone to get her through a medication transition, she has a week to live like Cinderella at the ball. No pain, no swelling. She can finally run, and jump. She can keep up with her athletic sister.

I watch her run around the house, around the yard, and I marvel. Just how it used to be. My little girl with the contagious giggle, the contagious joy. I am so happy for her, tears spill.

But oral prednisone is dangerous, only to be used for emergencies, for small doses of time. It carries with it potentially serious side effects. Many mothers, I'm sure, praise it and give thanks for the miracles it works in their asthma-weakened children. But they grieve too, that it's needed in the first place. They think about the future, about the damage it might do.

In about five days, my girl will probably feel the thorn in her flesh again. She might get out of bed, plant her feet down, only to slump to the floor, unable to put any weight on her achy knees. Not quite this bad every morning, but often enough that she knows the pain of defeat, first thing in the morning.

Our challenge, my princess and me? To savor these days as a gift from Heaven above. To thank our precious Lord for a body that works, if only for a week. To live like there's no bitter tomorrow. To embrace it all, even the ending, while still praying for spontaneous remission.

And to trust Him, in all His plans, knowing that they're beautiful, purposeful. Like Cinderella marrying her prince, Beth will have her reward from Him, and it will be sweet.

Friend, I don't know what sorrow has come your way. But I know Him. He is mighty to save. Embrace your today, clinging to Him. I'd be honored to pray for you. You can leave your request in the comments, which I've switched to blog-owner approval. I'll be faithful, friend. Your prayer request won't post to the public.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.


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.


James 1:2
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.


Romans 5:3
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

Linking with Jen today

Amazing Works of God

Sometimes, living in blessed America, we miss out on truly amazing works of God. I have a very short story for you today. One you'll never forget!

Gerald, a Ugandan Child Development Center Officer, recounts:

Anne was one of those children at Bugolobi Child Development Center who gave their lives to Jesus Christ every day after the altar call at the center. She had done this for the three years she was part of our Child Sponsorship Program.

As a Child Development Officer at the center then, I did not know whether Anne and the other children took salvation seriously or, better still, whether they understood what salvation was. It was not until Anne turned 10 that I understood that God honors a child’s commitment to Christ, and He gives such a child His Spirit, too.

At the age of 10, Anne began taking a bus to and from the Compassion Child Development Center. One Saturday, two women who appeared friendly on the bus, kidnapped her, taking her to the hut of a witch doctor. Anne recounts:

“I was taken to a small hut. The man inside the hut saw me and told the women that his spirits did not like the Holy Spirit inside me. He said that the women should go and bring another child to sacrifice.”

The two women abandoned Anne in the Ugandan bush. With God's help, Anne walked back to the main highway, and then to a police station.

Gerald, the Child Development Center Officer at the time, recounts:

When we got Anne back, we took her for trauma counseling. She found strength to testify before fellow children at the center. Her testimony moved the one hundred and fifty plus children in attendance that Saturday to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and ask God to give them His Spirit.

Anne reiterated to the fellow children that when children give their lives to Jesus, God gives them His Spirit

I have included only excerpts of this story. Click on the Compassion link below to read the story in its entirety.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/when-god-gives-us-his-spirit-it-is-recognizable/#ixzz1kIQgHxkM