A Child's Prayers

I asked the children to update their prayer jars this morning. Few things bless me more than their prayers.

The last time we updated their jars, Peter put in a prayer asking God to provide money for us to visit our Compassion children. It surfaced a few weeks after I told the boys a story from the Compassion blog, detailing one sponsor's visit. We kept praying it all these weeks, and then yesterday we got a Compassion e-mail telling us that an El Salvador sponsor trip is scheduled for October, 2012, costing $2,650 per person for the entire 7-day trip. It could be just a coincidence, but we all wonder what God is up to. Could we be so blessed? It would take a miracle for even one of us to go, but we know He is big enough. May it be so, Lord!

We recently received a pamphlet telling us more about Nelson, our 7-year-old child who lives in El Salvador. Gangs and violence are a major problem where he lives, and many children fall into this lifestyle in exchange for regular meals. Nelson has no father in his life, so it would be such a blessing for my husband to go and speak Life and Love into Nelson's heart.

A child's prayers come straight from the Holy Spirit. I strongly believe this!

Peter

- That animals will come to my shelter (he made a lean-to with wood boards so birds, squirrels, and chipmunks can get out of the rain and snow).

- That Joey at AWANA will become a Christian.

- Bless the church teachers and keep them from getting sick.

- That my leaves will make compost quickly.

- For Jayden's father to be a good Christian father.

- Please help Matt and his family find a church they are comfortable with.

Mary


- Please help Raphael to have good meals and have a good night's sleep with no bad dreams.

- Please help Divya to have nice dreams and wake up to a lovely morning and have a bow for her hair.

- Please help Nelson to have a nice bed and a TV to watch movies and enough food until we can visit them.

- Please help Divya, Raphael, and Nelson to become Christians and know Jesus.

- Please help them to have a nice house with lights.

Paul


- For discernment for our family member and for her boyfriend to become a Christian

- For the AWANA father with the unsafe job to come home safely every night.

- For Jayden to stop using the computer late into the night and for his Dad to stop too. (A little boy at AWANA told Paul that he and his dad were playing a computer game until 2 in the morning. The mother was very mad at the father about it. I don't know if our boys completely understood the tragedy in this, but husband and me found it profoundly sad. Computer-game addiction is very powerful for those involved. We are losing a lot of good men to it.)

- Please bless the new Pastor at the AWANA church. Bless his ministry.

Children have so much to teach us! I pray that we mothers, despite floors needing sweeping and laundry needing folding, stop to really know their hearts--to speak life and love into them. It feels good when laundry's caught up, but what could be better than a child's heart seeking Him? There's no comparing that joy to anything. We must daily die to ourselves to separate the eternal from the temporal.

God has us in our homes all day not to be housekeepers, but to be heartkeepers.

photo credit

Praises

Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

~ A sign of wellness when Miss Mary declares, "May I have more of that yummy oatmeal? Yummy, yummy for my tummy!" Thank you, Lord, for her wellness, and for the precious week I concentrated on knowing her heart better. Middle children can easily be forgotten, especially when the oldest and youngest are special needs. Mary and Paul need special attention. Her illness was His way of meeting her heart needs. I can't notice every heart need myself, but I can pray that my mothering honors him and hurts no one. He is faithful to parent through us.

~  A sweet little girl brushing Teddy Bear's teeth, covering him up, and adding a pillow.

~ Ordering used Sonlight American History novels/books and having my kids amuse themselves the whole while. We have plenty on hand for World History, but needed more selections for American History. Buying used is a time-consuming headache. Usually the kids interrupt every five minutes, sending me into a nervous frenzy as I try to concentrate on what website I just visited and what books they listed and what I already purchased. But this last time, His grace reigned.

~ A husband who understands how hard daily mothering is. "Honey, you have more daily stress and pressures than most mothers; just handling Peter can be frighteningly difficult." Being understood makes all the difference. Both of us have bodily signs of stress and we know it's time to come up with a multi-faceted battle plan, by His grace and wisdom.

~ Mary picked up the stomach virus from AWANA Cubbies about two weeks ago (her Wednesday night preschool church class). The incubation period is about 5 days and so far, the rest of us seem to have escaped The 2012 Stomach Virus From Hades! Praise God! We haven't seen the likes of it around here since April, 2006, when I was 3 months pregnant with Mary. I remember that month well. Three days after the boys, ages 2 and 4, were fully recovered, we went on a family outing and had to get McDonald's hamburgers because we'd missed dinner. A few hours later both boys threw up from the grease in the french fries. I learned my lesson then and will give Mary no fatty/greasy foods for a full five days.

~ Beautiful women writing beautiful words to inspire me, awe me, and send me to my knees in prayer.

~ The van now has a working driver's-side door handle and a working ignition keyhole. And a radiator that doesn't continually need fluid.

~ Sunshine and a winter mild enough to get the kids outside regularly

~ Paul getting one side all green on his Rubik's Cube

~ A green crayon made its way into the dryer, staining many garments in the 80-minute cycle. Thanks to a Good Housekeeping tip advising me to wash the whole load again in hot water and soap and a cup of baking soda, all is well.

~ Valentine kits from Walmart that resulted in beautiful Valentines for the kids to give out at AWANA. And enough chocolate left over for the Momma and Poppa here. Now that's something to smile about.

~ When my husband hugs me long, I can feel the tension release. One thing we definitely need is more hugging time. Husbands are such a grace!


~ I ordered and received a Compassion Sunday packet to present at my church. I'm praying for the courage  to speak before a couple hundred people.

~ A letter from India. Divya has a quilt to share with her family and a new dress. Praise God!


~ I don't have anything to share for Caldecott Medal Monday. Nothing's really captured me in that category lately. The committee seems to choose illustrations they like, rather than what kids might like. Here are a few we've loved lately, for both the paintings or photos, and the storylines. One Magical Day;  The Handiest Things In the World:  How Big is The World?

Her Smile

Deuteronomy 7:9 
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

 Her smile is back!

Learning His Ways

The timer beeps every ten minutes and I give 2 teaspoons of liquid. When she sips an ounce serving from a cup, she vomits. So we live slow.


"Life is so hard," my mind whines, as I rinse out the medicine dropper yet again. Day six and another incident of vomiting again this morning. And Mary? She's my hero. Anyone else would come unglued by now--no food, no energy, no fun. And wondering if it will ever end. When will life be normal again? I remember the depression of illness. The personal, bodily lows teach us to give thanks for the gift of today, for the gift of wellness.


She endures with nary a complaint. "She's like you", my husband remarks, when I tell him what a strong daughter we have. "Stubborn like you, too", he chuckles.


Yes, I see the resemblance. Stubborn people have strength. We're both prone to anxiety, yet have steady endurance that surprises everyone.


Husband and I sometimes feel like Job. Often, so many things go wrong at once. We wait for the downhill after the long uphill, but it never comes. What is the purpose, I wonder? What are we to learn? I always seek the meaning of the lesson...to get it over with quickly, I suppose.  


~ When life is lived in ten-minute intervals, I learn how easy time runs away. 


~ When I must recite Psalm 23 many times a day to control my body's response to stress, I learn to access His power. The power of the Word.


~ When I watch my daughter grow stronger as she gets weaker, I learn who she is on a deeper level. I appreciate the wonder of her. I see the beauty and strength God gifted her with.


~ While the laundry piles high and the folding piles grow even higher, I stop to hug my daughter and pray strength into her. To kiss her beautiful cheek. The moments matter. Each act of kindness, each act of love, of discipleship, makes the most of the life God gives. He wants life lived in the moments. Not the hours, or the days, or the weeks, or the years, or the seasons. Live love now. 


Nothing happens by accident. Not for the Christian. Every incident begs us to learn. Yet, we feel like throwing our hands up at God, complaining "What's next, God?"


Instead, He wants the opposite. Be my disciple. Matthew 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Learn to bow low and serve. Give thanks and praise in all things.


And in each hard day? There are always blessings. Always. I'm thankful for Miss Beth sitting on my knee as I kneel to wipe the floor. She hugs tight and tells me, "You're my best friend, Mommy."


I'm thankful for my husband, who passes me in the hall as we both serve. "Let me stop to hug you at least," he whispers. And we squeeze strength into one another, gather it from one another.


I'm thankful for 8-year-old Paul, who has a servant's heart. He makes toast. He's the first to pick up around here, and not because he cares about neatness. He has an acts-of-service love language. I learn this in the hard days here, and I make a mental note to serve him more. To fill his tank this way.


I'm thankful for what's happening between Mary and God. The other day Miss Mary vomited after a 12-hour reprieve. To my bent head and more of my desperate prayers, she responds quiet: "It's like God isn't even listening." At the time this crushed me, but I know God has a plan for Mary's faith. 


Sometimes, life is very hard and we endure and we believe and we love and we do the next thing. Steady. Faithful. Thankful. If you love God, He will teach you this. She is young yet, but He thinks she's ready for the hard lessons of faith. That's what 6 days of nausea, followed by slowly gaining strength, followed by living with sheer joy for the wonder of it all, teaches. 


Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Scripture source

Still Battling

Please pray for Mary and for the mommy and daddy here? She went a day and a half without vomiting, then vomited again tonight. We're worried about her and so very frustrated. We gave her only bland foods, and in small amounts, 24 hours after the last vomiting. We followed all the advice.

The ER doctor, whom I called for further advice, warned that it could last 5 to 7 days. I told her Mary now has a fear of vomiting, and she said to avoid pushing her to eat. Just push fluids, I'm told. When she feels well enough to truly eat, she'll ask for food, regardless of her fears.

How thin will she be, then, after 5 to 7 days? I'm worried for her, and for her tiny little sister, who can't afford to lose an ounce. No one else has it yet, but Beth got a hold of a cup today that Mary had used. God, please intervene here?

Please pray that Mary drinks the fluids offered her, and that God takes away her fear of vomiting? And that little sister won't get it? Thank you, friends.


Correction from the other day: Stomach viruses spread feces-hand-to-mouth and also through saliva. I neglected to mention the saliva, but I'm sure you already knew that info.. Someone asked about apple juice. Here is an article that discusses juices:
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/vomiting