my haitian son

My mission trip photo's are up! The picture here is one of my very favorite. I am standing with Simon. Last year, Simon and I bonded. It was hard to wait a whole year to see him again. However, I am sure the year seemed much longer to him. He knew I was coming and was expecting me. As soon as I got off the bus, he was standing there waiting with a huge smile and a big hug. I absolutely love that boy.

I came across a quote in a magazine (Real Simple-my favorite!), that made me immediately think of Simon. It reads, "A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return."

The last day was hard, knowing it could be another year before we would see one another. We hugged and I cried, then Simon presented me with a gift. It was two carved wooden figures of a man and woman. He gave them to me and said, "This is for you, my mamma. I have one mamma here and you are my mamma too." As poor as they are, he gave away what he had.

Simon's gift was truly given from his heart, to the right person-me, at the right time-a goodbye, at the right place-Haiti, and he expected nothing in return.

Simon, may Christ bless you beyond measure, in ways that I could never comprehend. I love you.

happy birthday, gracie caroline

Monday, December 3, 2001

1:58 p.m., 7 lb. 5 oz., 19 1/4 inches

After trying to have a third baby with no success, we decided to accept that maybe God was going to keep our family complete with two girls. However, He surprised us! Our Father saw fit to lavish us with His grace and give us a gift of a third child. We knew right away that there was only one name for this baby: Gracie, in honor of our Abba's grace.

We had no idea how that name would come to hold the meaning even more. We went into the labor expecting a fast, uncomplicated delivery. However, things quickly changed. To the doctor's horror upon checking me, the baby's cord had been delivered. No time for c-section. It was now a battle for life. Finally after much pushing, pulling and chaos, out came a lifeless, ash colored baby. All I could hear was the nurses yelling out zero's for all of her Apgar scores and the plea's for the baby to breathe. As she was being passed across the threshold of the door into the hands of emergency staff, she took a deep breath and flashed a bright pink. Her cry was the voice of an angel. After all of that, she was a completely healthy baby. Imagine.

What was playing behind the scenes is the most amazing part. A little bit before her birth, some ladies felt an urgency to pray for my delivery. The phone circle started and prayers began going forth to the Father. I can't help but imagine prayers being said the moment she passed across that threshold.

We did not get the delivery we expected, but God delivered more. He delivered us an amazing bundle of grace.
2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich". Boy, are we sure rich. Rich in grace.

lancaster family

This morning I was pondering on how thankful I am for our Lancaster church family. You have been so good to us. We are truly blessed. You have been putting Scripture into action! Galatians 6:10, "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the family of faith."

There are many of you who have played a large part in our transition to LBC. If I had the opportunity to give one of those "thank you" speeches at an award ceremony, it would go something like this....

First of all, I thank God for leading us to this new ministry field. How exciting to roll up our sleeves and work side by side in the coming years.

Thank you to the Pastor Search Team; Barney, John, Sean, Georgia and Della. You all made Lancaster look good! The church body did a great job in selecting you. Barney (Mr. Parker), you have shown your spiritual gift of service over and over. We love you and Loretta (Chris, Kim, Lauren and Parker too! And your cole slaw and sweet potato casserole!). John, I admire your quiet strength. Thank you for your financial wisdom and for always seeing that our accommodations were perfect. Sean, you are just a mess (I say that with love!). Your joy is contagious. You keep me in laughter. You, Page and the boys are very special to us. Thanks boys, for being good buddies to Abbie. And Jennifer, even though you were not on the team, thank you for helping Page with our girls and making them feel incredibly special. Georgia, I love you so much. You are a calming force for me. I can see you are the one who keeps "Toshika" -oops, I mean Rick, under control. ha! Thank you for all the emails that kept me encouraged and informed. Thank you also for loving my girls. Della, you my dear, were the driving force of prayer for the whole process. You are a great prayer warrior (And a good cook! Watch out Barney!). It is so easy to love you and Rodney. Walt, even though you too were not on the actual team, thank you for your advice and leadership in other important areas.

The Crutchfields: Greg and Heidi, you have bent over backwards to help us and it has not gone unnoticed. Thanks for opening your home to us and your third daughter. Heidi, thanks for going house hunting with me and for loaning your husband over to us so many times. We love you guys. Chris and Rhonda, thank you for using your God-given skills to help us with all the house work. And Rhonda, if I am ever sick, I want you to please come take care of me! Your gift of mercy is obvious. Jimmy and Willena, you two are precious. You have lavished us in love, especially the girls. Morgan and Madison, thank you for being good friends to my girls and treating them like sisters. Slade, my eyes are on you. :) Kevin and Spencer, thanks for helping out your dad.

Dana and Leah, thanks for having our girls over and treating them as your own. We will come back anytime for DiChervo Pizza! Leah, I feel a very special connection with you. Maybe because we share a lot of the same type of heartaches. I will never again see a butterfly without thinking of you. Thanks Brianna for being such a sweet friend to ChloeBeth.

Many thanks to those you who helped me paint. And paint. And paint. Sue, are you partly responsible? ha! Thanks for all you and Monty have done. Phil and Vicki, you threw up your sleeves and got started right away. Oh, and don't let me forget Vicki's little "my brother built that deck" stunt. You turkey. David D., thanks for giving up one of your days to help. Misty, I pray for you each Sunday as you bring us our lesson. David E., thanks to you (and your mom and dad!) for helping with all those boxes. Whew! We finally made it. Kathy for your help too. Amee, boy, you stuck it out all week. Thanks for taking away from your daily schedule to help me get organized. Cindy, thank you for the food. Oh, and for the expensive salsa I now have to buy! Thanks Michael for your patience at the hardware store (by the way, what a cute family you have!).

Michael and Sarah, thank you for the smooth transition. We truly love you and look forward to ministering side by side. And thanks Sarah, for being such a great mentor to Abbie. Stephen, Liz and Caden, we love you three! How blessed to have Abbie sitting under your leadership. Daniel, keep it coming! I absolutely love worship!

Allison, I look forward to digging into God's Word with you. Jenny, I love your enthusiasm for the lost. Tina, thank you for seeing about the girls at school. It makes me feel good knowing you are there. Allen and Tami, you have done much for us. Those t-shirts were thoughtful and kind. It really made the girls feel welcomed. Thanks, Allen for all the time you invest in our home. Joanna, thank you for making ChloeBeth feel at home during that first football game. Lori, what a sweetheart you are. Linda, I can't wait for Brad's mom to meet you. Bridgett, boy we had to bond fast, huh?! Wes, thank you for your book. I have a friend, Rebecca, who loves poetry. I will have to share it with her. Sky, thanks for making us feel at home online. Your computer skills are essential! Anna, you are a worker in the church and always enthusiastic when working! Jim and Kelly, you have blessed us beyond measure already. As I said before, not only did we get an incredible doctor but incredible friends too!

To some more kids. Claire, what a sweetie you are to Gracie. Isabella, your little smile makes me want to just squeeze your stuffins' out. Logan, thanks for all the texting to Abbie before she even came. Austin, my eye is on you too. Katie, thank you for being so loving to Gracie.

Now, have you ever seen a speech on an award show? Like me, they are too long and inevitably they always seem to leave out the most important person, like their spouse! Yes, I run the risk of leaving someone out too. However, it was not done intentionally. There are just too many of you to be thankful for! Please know that we love you all in the love of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

friends and pearls

Ok, ok! I know I am way behind in a new post. However, thank you my sweet sisters for gently reminding me. :) And, no, I haven't forgotten a single one of you in my business. Sillies!

I am reminded of my precious Cedar Hill sisters every time I look at my pearls. My ladies Sunday School class gave this pearl necklace to me as a remembrance of our friendship.

I will never forget that night. They treated me like a princess. We had a lovely meal together with so much laughter that the people around probably thought we were under the influence of "something". From there we went to Mary's for dessert (and the dessert was WOW!). Once we knew the time was getting away, they turned all serious on me. Each one of my beloved friends shared with me the influence I had on their lives. It was a very humbling experience. You can imagine the tears that flowed!

Then! The big surprise of the night. Those girls were giggly all night over a box. It was an odd shaped box. Yet I knew it had to be a special gift the way they kept carrying on about "the best is still to come". Mary handed me the gift and when I opened it, my breath was taken away. They presented me with the above pearl necklace. It even has two small diamonds in the clasp. I knew it was of great value when they presented me with the appraisal certificate in case I wanted to get it insured! However, it has more value than that piece of paper can ever approve. I will cherish it always and pass it down to my daughters one day. How fun to not only pass down a valuable treasure but to also pass down the story behind the necklace.

Mary explained that each pearl represented a lady in our class. Every pearl individually unique (and, yes, yours is still front and center Mary!). Individual pearls all bound together by one string to make one beautiful strand. Just like we are in Christ! The whole body of believers, bound together by Jesus Christ make one magnificent treasure.

Ladies, I love you all very much. Philippians 1: 3 & 4 sum up my thought for you today, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all."