MY FUNNY BOYS

MY HANDSOME SONS....lol

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MY FAMILY

I love it so much when the kids come home...what joy it is to my heart! We got to decorate eggs..we got to spend time together for 3 days! All 4 kids! It was such a good visit--Craig and all 3 boys got to go to sunrise service. We all made it to church--and I made it through the whole service...what a blessing.
I am reminded of the truth of this celebration . Christ took my sins to the cross...He bore the punishment for my own sin. Sometimes I can't bear the thought of it. Thinking of the suffering He endured breaks my heart--and at the same time I am so thankful--so grateful for that sacrifice. all so that I could go to heaven. I am overjoyed at the thought of His love for me! I pray for the salvation of my family and friends who don't know what He has done. Peace is available...just believe!

A NEW DAY

Today is a new day. Full of hope..full of promise. Craig is away with Mikey, and I miss him! He is such a strength in my life! But as Craig and Mike flew off on their Colorado adventure, Nicholas came home on spring break! So I am not here by myself at all--I am so thankful! I am thanking God to have had a few more tests and appointments on my journey with my health challenge. I am heading for an MRI of the liver and pancreas. Other tests coming up as well. All part of the answer, all part of going forward. I want to make things very clear here on my blog. I am having tremendously challenging health issues...but I am in the Lord's care. I cannot say it isn't hard, and I can't say it isn't scary--it IS scary. But, the part I want to make very clear is that I do trust God with it all. There are times when I am repeating Scripture over and over--I remind myself that there is NOTHING that the Lord doesn't know, there is NOTHING He cannot do. At the end of the day the point of it all is that this is only temporary. It is for a season...He holds my future in His capable hands. I am His servant. I am His child. Nothing can happen to me that He hasn't given permission for. With that in mind, I want to clearly say that if you are suffering, He cares. He cares so very much. He can give His peace to you in the midst of the storm. He is the immovable anchor---the stronghold. When you are His child, nothing can separate you from His protection. Nothing can remove you from His protection.He never changes, and I encourage you, the reader, to see for yourself.

MONDAY MORNING

As I listen, I hear God speaking to me...He is speaking to me through His creation today...the creation cries out its praise to the Creator!
The birds chirp their cheerful greetings---God speaks.
The sun is streaming though the window, lighting the room and also my heart---God speaks.
The iris are pushing through the garden soil tentatively..bright green and promising---God speaks..
The air is light and fragrant, and smells of the weekend's rain---God speaks..
The crocus are appearing, bright and full of the promise of spring---God speaks...
The sky is painted light blue , with the Artist's palette---God speaks...
The salty air reminds me of the majestic sea...
the crashing waves...the ebb and the flow...dependable tides---God is speaking to me...
The sun sets..the sun also rises. Seasons come and then they go. Dependable reminders of our Creator, who is also orderly.
God is always speaking..His Word reminds us that all these things come from His hand--the world cries out its praise. The heaven's declare His glory--and so do I!

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Today I begin again...today I begin the journey again, on a different pathway. Thanking the Lord for the news that I DO NOT have a Pheochromocytoma--I am overjoyed about this! But I do not know what the answer is, and I need to pursue that answer. I am reminded that the Lord meets ALL of my needs, not my potentially PERCEIVED needs. Do I NEED a diagnosis to have joy? No, I don't. Do I NEED a diagnosis to move forward ? No, I definitely don't. Is it difficult NOT knowing? YES! an absolute yes. But today I know more than I did last week...I know what I DON'T have. I need to go forward today and make some appointments, and I need to make them with confidence. I am so thankful to have had 3 better days IN A ROW, which have allowed me to go to a women's ministry meeting Friday night, as well as church AND home fellowship group yesterday! It has been weeks and weeks since I could manage all that. I do NOT know what has made the difference in the dizziness and faintness, and I do not know what today brings, but I am encouraged to move foreard and make the necessary appointments that I need to make. Praying for doctor's wisdom. Praying for relief from the pain in my side. Praying for continued strength to deal with the symptoms. Praising the Lord for my new mattress that I fondly refer to as the "Miracle mattress"...I am nearly sleeping through the night since it arrived Thursday! Praising the Lord for my church family, that has been a constant support and encouragement to me and my family every single day.

Craig heads to Colorado this Friday for business, and is taking Mikey along with him. This is a wonderful opportunity for Michael and Craig to have some quality alone time, and actually is a dream come true for Mike. As happy as I am for them to have this chance, having Craig be far away is a bit unnerving to me at this time. As I thought about how hesitant I am about Craig being away right now, I had a picture of a sparrow flash in my mind--God cares about these tiny helpless creatures. HE cares about them, and He takes pleasure in them. He pays attention to each one. He knows THEIR condition, and He cares. How much more does He care for ME, His own child? How much more, as He counts every hair on my head..as He knows my every anxious thought and holds my tears in a jar. He is exceedingly able to carry my burdens, and to carry ME! I praise Him for that. I thank Him for His tender care, and for His protection. I thank Him for the tiny sparrow, whose cheerful chirps cry out their praise to the Creator! How much MORE should my praise be heard !!

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father… So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

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His Eye is on the Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.