Rachelle D. Alspaugh's Blog, page 30
January 8, 2018
Fourth stop
Our 4th stop led us right back to Columbus, IN just in time for Christmas dinner in the early evening on Christmas. We'd gotten up a little earlier that morning, ate breakfast, packed the car, visited more family, and then headed out on another 3 hour drive to Matt and Chrissy's. We had to grab lunch at a gas station along the way (nothing else is open on Christmas!), so we appreciated the nice warm meal they had ready when we got there.
The boys enjoyed one more night in the Man Cave, and Chrissy and I stayed up pretty late just talking over our "midnight snack" of lettuce wraps. :) Did I say how much it stinks that we have to live so far apart? I just love this family to pieces and so appreciate the special bond and connection that I have with my sister-in-law.
We all said goodbye that night because only Matt got up before dawn with us to take us to the airport in Indianapolis for an early flight out.
Next stop: the East coast.
January 7, 2018
Third stop
Our third stop was a real treat as we got to have all of Mike's family together to celebrate Christmas at his brother, Mark's house. The place was filled with cousins all over the place ranging from four months old to twenty years old. Somehow I missed getting a picture of Matt and Mark's wives, but they were there, too.
We absolutely adored their new labradoodle puppy. He was like a mix between a puppy and a teddy bear--and they don't shed!
The last time we saw little Reese was on her 3rd birthday. At first she didn't remember us, but she latched onto David pretty quickly and had quite a hard time saying goodbye.
After all the Christmas festivities, we left with full bellies and headed to the mall where Mike and I used to frequent as teenagers and then as newly-weds and young parents. It was fun showing David and Juan where we used to shop, what stores we liked to go in when we were their age, and also to show David places we took him as a young infant.
On the hour drive back to his parents' house that night, we reminisced over all the times Mike used to make that drive to come see me in Fort Wayne during my freshman year of college at Taylor University Fort Wayne.
One more day in Warsaw, and then we headed straight back to Columbus, IN, for our next stop.
We absolutely adored their new labradoodle puppy. He was like a mix between a puppy and a teddy bear--and they don't shed!
The last time we saw little Reese was on her 3rd birthday. At first she didn't remember us, but she latched onto David pretty quickly and had quite a hard time saying goodbye.
After all the Christmas festivities, we left with full bellies and headed to the mall where Mike and I used to frequent as teenagers and then as newly-weds and young parents. It was fun showing David and Juan where we used to shop, what stores we liked to go in when we were their age, and also to show David places we took him as a young infant.
On the hour drive back to his parents' house that night, we reminisced over all the times Mike used to make that drive to come see me in Fort Wayne during my freshman year of college at Taylor University Fort Wayne.
One more day in Warsaw, and then we headed straight back to Columbus, IN, for our next stop.
January 6, 2018
Second stop
After two nights in Columbus, IN, we hit the road and drove up to Warsaw, IN to Mike's parents' house. They still live in the same location where Mike holds many childhood memories, though the actual house has changed and grown quite a bit over the years.
David and Juan like to skip rocks whenever we find a lake or any body of water, so they had fun skipping rocks on their grandpa's pond, especially since it was frozen! They eventually got bored with the rock skipping and decided to find the biggest and heaviest rocks around to see which ones would break through the ice.
We visited with a lot of different family members during our few days in Warsaw, so we didn't have the opportunity to visit with friends as we would have liked (and then it snowed all day on our last day, so that took away our chances to squeeze in any last-minute visits, anyway). But thankfully my mother-in-law and I share a mutual friend, so we both went out to lunch with her on our second day in town while the boys and Mike went out to lunch with Mike's dad. We got to see my friend's daughter, too, because we went to her restaurant and she waited on us. :) She's an excellent waitress and super sweet. :)
Juan got his chance to start bonding with a few of his cousins. These two absolutely adored him, and he seemed to have a blast just hanging out with them.
My mother-in-law and I had a HUGE wrapping party. I loved seeing her get so excited about all the gifts she'd gotten her grandchildren. She picked things out to fit each of their personalities and interests, and she couldn't wait to watch their eyes light up when they opened their gifts. I will have to say, it was one of the most bonding trips I've ever had with her, especially since we're both rather quiet people and have never been known to talk a lot.
Our time in Warsaw gave us a chance to reconnect with my in-laws, visit with a friend, randomly run into two other friends in town, visit with Mike's brothers and their kids, and visit with Mike's grandma and aunt on his mom's side and then his aunt and uncle on his dad's side. We got to go to a Christmas Eve service at Mike's parents' church after it had snowed ALL DAY LONG and continued to snow while we were there.
Mike and I both agreed, it was a restful, relaxing time at his parents' house and likely one of our best trips back to Warsaw. Definitely one to cherish.
Next stop: Fort Wayne, IN
David and Juan like to skip rocks whenever we find a lake or any body of water, so they had fun skipping rocks on their grandpa's pond, especially since it was frozen! They eventually got bored with the rock skipping and decided to find the biggest and heaviest rocks around to see which ones would break through the ice.
We visited with a lot of different family members during our few days in Warsaw, so we didn't have the opportunity to visit with friends as we would have liked (and then it snowed all day on our last day, so that took away our chances to squeeze in any last-minute visits, anyway). But thankfully my mother-in-law and I share a mutual friend, so we both went out to lunch with her on our second day in town while the boys and Mike went out to lunch with Mike's dad. We got to see my friend's daughter, too, because we went to her restaurant and she waited on us. :) She's an excellent waitress and super sweet. :)
Juan got his chance to start bonding with a few of his cousins. These two absolutely adored him, and he seemed to have a blast just hanging out with them.
My mother-in-law and I had a HUGE wrapping party. I loved seeing her get so excited about all the gifts she'd gotten her grandchildren. She picked things out to fit each of their personalities and interests, and she couldn't wait to watch their eyes light up when they opened their gifts. I will have to say, it was one of the most bonding trips I've ever had with her, especially since we're both rather quiet people and have never been known to talk a lot.
Our time in Warsaw gave us a chance to reconnect with my in-laws, visit with a friend, randomly run into two other friends in town, visit with Mike's brothers and their kids, and visit with Mike's grandma and aunt on his mom's side and then his aunt and uncle on his dad's side. We got to go to a Christmas Eve service at Mike's parents' church after it had snowed ALL DAY LONG and continued to snow while we were there.
Mike and I both agreed, it was a restful, relaxing time at his parents' house and likely one of our best trips back to Warsaw. Definitely one to cherish.
Next stop: Fort Wayne, IN
January 4, 2018
Our 2017 Family Vacation--First stop
I spent my 40th birthday in tears.
It was the day we realized just what a horrible mistake I'd made by getting Julian a nonrefundable ticket to reunite with both his brother and his sister (and me) in Spain. I felt absolutely humiliated, and I was devastated that Julian could not go with us because of my own stupid mistake. I hoped to give him the gift of a lifetime, and instead I felt like I'd waved a million dollars in front of his face and then threw it in the fire. Not only did the opportunity vanish, but so did all the money. (If you don't know the story, it's long and complicated, and just trust me, it was ugly and heartbreaking on so many levels.)
Thankfully, after going back and forth for two months straight with the airline over the ticket's "non-transferability", they finally settled with me by giving me a voucher in Julian's name for the amount of the ticket, one that I could use to purchase tickets for anyone. We just had to use it within a year.
A ticket from Argentina to Spain was anything but cheap (thus why I felt so horrible when I thought I'd lost all that money). In fact, there was enough money on that voucher to either go somewhere pretty far or even for all four of us to fly somewhere together.
We looked into Hawaii and other exotic places, but the voucher didn't quite cover it, so then we asked ourselves where we might all like to go together. Mike wanted to go to Indiana to spend time with his family, and I wanted to go to Pennsylvania to take Juan to meet my brother and his family and to show him where I grew up. The voucher didn't have enough to cover two different trips, but when we looked into combining them into one trip with multiple stops, we had more than enough to cover the cost.
So, after coordinating our schedules and both of our families' schedules, we booked our tickets and started planning out this rather unexpected trip. We purchased the tickets at the end of October, and about 7 weeks later, we boarded our first plane with one backpack and one carry-on each to spend the next two weeks together.
Here are a few pics to show you our first stop, or leg, of the journey.
Boarding our first of five airplanes, on our way to Columbus, IN to spend our first two nights with Mike's brother, Matt, and his wife and kids.
The boys' sleeping arrangement, The Man Cave, one of their favorite places in all of Indiana (really just a transformed loft above Matt's garage).
Playing darts, doing "guy stuff"
Meeting our littlest nephew for the first time
Hanging out with Chrissy, one of my favorite people to hang out with. Marrying brothers who are alike in so many ways gives us a bond like no other. I love her dearly and wish Indiana and Texas weren't so stinkin' far apart.
David's little cousins just adored him. They're country, boot-loving little boys, just like David and Mike, so they couldn't get enough of David. (Juan is more the city boy, so they weren't quite sure what to make of him. But don't worry, more cousins will surface on our trip.)
We thoroughly enjoyed and embraced every minute of our first two days in Columbus, reconnecting with people who really get us. We also really appreciated them loaning us a car to visit with the rest of the Alspaugh family about three hours away. I'll fill you in on those visits on the next few posts. Stay tuned. :)
It was the day we realized just what a horrible mistake I'd made by getting Julian a nonrefundable ticket to reunite with both his brother and his sister (and me) in Spain. I felt absolutely humiliated, and I was devastated that Julian could not go with us because of my own stupid mistake. I hoped to give him the gift of a lifetime, and instead I felt like I'd waved a million dollars in front of his face and then threw it in the fire. Not only did the opportunity vanish, but so did all the money. (If you don't know the story, it's long and complicated, and just trust me, it was ugly and heartbreaking on so many levels.)
Thankfully, after going back and forth for two months straight with the airline over the ticket's "non-transferability", they finally settled with me by giving me a voucher in Julian's name for the amount of the ticket, one that I could use to purchase tickets for anyone. We just had to use it within a year.
A ticket from Argentina to Spain was anything but cheap (thus why I felt so horrible when I thought I'd lost all that money). In fact, there was enough money on that voucher to either go somewhere pretty far or even for all four of us to fly somewhere together.
We looked into Hawaii and other exotic places, but the voucher didn't quite cover it, so then we asked ourselves where we might all like to go together. Mike wanted to go to Indiana to spend time with his family, and I wanted to go to Pennsylvania to take Juan to meet my brother and his family and to show him where I grew up. The voucher didn't have enough to cover two different trips, but when we looked into combining them into one trip with multiple stops, we had more than enough to cover the cost.
So, after coordinating our schedules and both of our families' schedules, we booked our tickets and started planning out this rather unexpected trip. We purchased the tickets at the end of October, and about 7 weeks later, we boarded our first plane with one backpack and one carry-on each to spend the next two weeks together.
Here are a few pics to show you our first stop, or leg, of the journey.
Boarding our first of five airplanes, on our way to Columbus, IN to spend our first two nights with Mike's brother, Matt, and his wife and kids.
The boys' sleeping arrangement, The Man Cave, one of their favorite places in all of Indiana (really just a transformed loft above Matt's garage).
Playing darts, doing "guy stuff"
Meeting our littlest nephew for the first time
Hanging out with Chrissy, one of my favorite people to hang out with. Marrying brothers who are alike in so many ways gives us a bond like no other. I love her dearly and wish Indiana and Texas weren't so stinkin' far apart.
David's little cousins just adored him. They're country, boot-loving little boys, just like David and Mike, so they couldn't get enough of David. (Juan is more the city boy, so they weren't quite sure what to make of him. But don't worry, more cousins will surface on our trip.)
We thoroughly enjoyed and embraced every minute of our first two days in Columbus, reconnecting with people who really get us. We also really appreciated them loaning us a car to visit with the rest of the Alspaugh family about three hours away. I'll fill you in on those visits on the next few posts. Stay tuned. :)
December 6, 2017
It's all about Jesus
We won't be home for Christmas this year, so we decided against setting up a tree (at least, as of now we decided against it).
I have a growing collection of nativity sets, though, so I did set them up. David and I used a day of our break to put on the Christmas music, clean off the shelves, and put the nativities and a few decorations up.
Outside we put up a lit nativity with a lit cross behind it.
Inside, this is what I put up:
A little nativity ring dish from a previous student.
Another nativity box from a previous student (I believe).
A nativity lamp that I found at a thrift store (two matching ones still in their boxes, one for me, one for my mom).
Another nativity (that lights up) from a previous student, plus a book about the very first Christmas.
A small nativity that we bought in Colombia, as well as a small figurine nativity from a student.
Two tiny, tiny nativities from Colombia (left) and from Spain (right)
A nativity that one of my Guatemala team members bought for me in the airport in Guatemala.
The nativity set that I grew up with that my mom passed on to me.
. Another miniature nativity craft that I made with my mom a few years back. It's a little box that looks like a gift, and on the top it says, "The World's Greatest Christmas Gift".
My annual "Jesus" tree, a small lit-up tree covered in ornaments with a variety of the different names of Jesus.
And this year, I am going through a devotional that my friend gave me, specifically on the names of Jesus.
Christmas is all about Jesus. The more we seek Him, the more we find Him. The more we find Him, the more we see that nothing else can even begin to compare.
I have a growing collection of nativity sets, though, so I did set them up. David and I used a day of our break to put on the Christmas music, clean off the shelves, and put the nativities and a few decorations up.
Outside we put up a lit nativity with a lit cross behind it.
Inside, this is what I put up:
A little nativity ring dish from a previous student.
Another nativity box from a previous student (I believe).
A nativity lamp that I found at a thrift store (two matching ones still in their boxes, one for me, one for my mom).
Another nativity (that lights up) from a previous student, plus a book about the very first Christmas.
A small nativity that we bought in Colombia, as well as a small figurine nativity from a student.
Two tiny, tiny nativities from Colombia (left) and from Spain (right)
A nativity that one of my Guatemala team members bought for me in the airport in Guatemala.
The nativity set that I grew up with that my mom passed on to me.
. Another miniature nativity craft that I made with my mom a few years back. It's a little box that looks like a gift, and on the top it says, "The World's Greatest Christmas Gift".
My annual "Jesus" tree, a small lit-up tree covered in ornaments with a variety of the different names of Jesus.
And this year, I am going through a devotional that my friend gave me, specifically on the names of Jesus.
Christmas is all about Jesus. The more we seek Him, the more we find Him. The more we find Him, the more we see that nothing else can even begin to compare.
December 1, 2017
My Christmas motto
If I learned anything this year, it's this: Memories are far more priceless than material things. Memories live on forever and sometimes feel even warmer and richer with time.
Our family spent a lot of time apart this year for various reasons, so we never did get to take a trip together, just the four of us.
With the airline voucher we got after we were unable to get Julian's ticket to Spain worked out, we had enough money in the voucher for all four of us to go somewhere within a year. A blessing in disguise, I guess. After looking at all we've got going on with school, work, soccer, etc., we figured Christmas made the most sense logistically.
The boys agreed that we'd save our money to enjoy our vacation together and skip the gifts this year. Instead, I'm spending all my time finding hotel deals, rental car deals, and planning fun stuff to do. Feels weird not shopping and picking up gifts here and there, but I will have to say that I like the mentality and the shift in focus. Memories will last forever.
Stay tuned after Christmas to see where we end up going and what all we end up doing. :) We're narrowing down ideas for activities, and tonight's ideas got me pretty excited.
I made a free photo calendar with an offer on Shutterfly, and this is one of my favorite pages on the calendar. This year my Christmas motto is to collect moments, not things.
November 26, 2017
November 23, 2017
Joy spelled with 9 letters
G-R-A-T-I-T-U-D-E.
Each year I try to choose a word to define the year ahead, a word to guide me through the next twelve months. Last year (2016), I chose JOY. But I looked in all the wrong places for it and, sadly, I couldn't find it.
At the end of the year, my mom bought me a devotional book for Christas by Sarah Young called Embracing Joy in His Presence (part of the Jesus Always books). Now that I'm coming to the end of the year-long devotional, I've learned the secret to finding that joy I so desired.
It's only found by sitting at Jesus' feet with a heart of gratitude for all He's done, is doing, and will continue to do.
It doesn't mean life is wonderfully joyous because I'm grateful. Some days life is just plain hard. It throws curveballs at you that you never saw coming and leave you speechless and heartbroken. Some days life can bore you, leaving you stuck in a rut with no excitement, meaning, or adventure. Other times it's terrifying, wondering which choice ahead of you will lead you in the right direction and what will happen if you make the wrong choice. Or God may be asking you to take up your mat and walk a road that you don't think you have the strength to handle. Or He's asking you to step out in faith to do something that logistically makes no sense at all.
This year (2017) has been one of the most emotionally diverse years of my life so far, leading me to the highest of highs and to the lowest of lows. But through it all, I found so much to be grateful for, and that gratitude fills me with a joy I can't put words to.
If you haven't noticed, I don't write much anymore. I only blog when I have something exciting to share or when there's something tugging on my heart that I'm wrestling to process and put into words. I've backed up a few steps, gone against all book marketing advice, withdrawn from a lot of activity, and pushed forward toward answers to things I'd been praying about for a very long time. This year changed me and helped me see and hear God like never before. For that, I am grateful, because that's where I found joy.
Today on Thanksgiving Day, I'm reflecting about the top things in life that changed me the most over the last year.
My adopted son graduated from high school and started his first year of college at Dallas Baptist University. Less than fifteen years ago, Mike and I moved to Texas penniless, deep in debt, and with a very broken marriage. The fact that we adopted a child in the years that followed and actually have enough funds to get him through this first year at a private Christian university is beyond anything I ever could have imagined in those hopeless days. I wish I could say he's doing exceptionally well and thriving, but there's definitely some maturing that needs to take place first before we can see that happen. There's no better place to watch him experience this year of life and freedom, though, than exactly where he is. God has a great plan for him, and I pray that this year transforms him in ways he can't even imagine. For this, I am thankful for how God redeems and restores our broken lives.
My dad is alive and well. No one ever wants to get that phonecall from their mom, hearing the words, "Your dad is in the hospital, and it doesn't look good." It was a day marked on the calendar to celebrate my son's graduation, and instead of preparing for his party with a cheery attitude, I sat in my room sobbing, wondering if I'd ever see my dad again. I waited too long to make a decision to head straight to St. Louis with my brother and sister-in-law, so I thought I'd missed my chance. Thanks to the advice and generosity of friends who attended the graduation party, I made it out on a late flight that night not only to see my dad again the next morning, but to watch him recover more quickly than any of us expected. The road ahead was long and difficult, leading him to retire from his ministry of almost 47 years. Now he's only weeks away from moving here to Texas to begin a new chapter of life surrounded by family. For this, I am reminded to be grateful for each day because each one is a gift. I watched other friends lose a spouse or parent over the last few months, but for some reason, my dad is still here, and God still has plans to use him on this earth. I look forward to having him and my mom close by after many years of living so far apart.
I chose to step away from teaching a summer Bible study and decided to travel to Guatemala on a mission trip with my son instead. That trip will follow me for the rest of my life. When I pick up my gratitude journal each morning that I bought in an open air market in Guatemala, I am reminded to be grateful for the clean floor I put my feet on, for the bathroom I used to bathe and shower in, for the stove I used to make my breakfast, and for the clean, fresh water I drank to take my daily medicine and vitamins. I am thankful for the food available for my cat and my dogs and for their health, even if we struggle with bouts of fleas every now and then. Suddenly, my house doesn't seem so small, the repairs don's seem so big, and the messes don't seem so bad. Instead I wake up thankful for a beautiful home, for warm blankets, clean clothes, and healthy food readily available.
Finding Laura again, reuniting her with her brother, meeting her family, spending intimate time with her and her mom in her home, having her back in my own life, not just Juan's--all of the above fills me with more gratitude than I can even contain some days. I look at the pictures of our trip to Spain and catch myself breathless, realizing that all of that really did take place. The pictures we now have are absolutely priceless, treasures that I will never take for granted. God gave her back. He answered my prayer. When I asked Him for anything, even just a picture, to let us know something about her, that was the day He opened wide the door to help us to begin searching for her the right way. Having her in our lives brings me incredible joy, but the greatest joy came from knowing that God heard my prayer and answered me, very specifically, that very day.
Life still carries struggles, disappointments, heartache, difficulty, exhaustion, stress, and fear each and every day. But in the midst of it, may I never forget what God has done in my life up until now. He's been real, He's been big, and He's always intimately involved.
It's in the daily practice of gratitude that we find joy. Not just in November. Not just at Thanksgiving. But every single day.
Each year I try to choose a word to define the year ahead, a word to guide me through the next twelve months. Last year (2016), I chose JOY. But I looked in all the wrong places for it and, sadly, I couldn't find it.
At the end of the year, my mom bought me a devotional book for Christas by Sarah Young called Embracing Joy in His Presence (part of the Jesus Always books). Now that I'm coming to the end of the year-long devotional, I've learned the secret to finding that joy I so desired.
It's only found by sitting at Jesus' feet with a heart of gratitude for all He's done, is doing, and will continue to do.
It doesn't mean life is wonderfully joyous because I'm grateful. Some days life is just plain hard. It throws curveballs at you that you never saw coming and leave you speechless and heartbroken. Some days life can bore you, leaving you stuck in a rut with no excitement, meaning, or adventure. Other times it's terrifying, wondering which choice ahead of you will lead you in the right direction and what will happen if you make the wrong choice. Or God may be asking you to take up your mat and walk a road that you don't think you have the strength to handle. Or He's asking you to step out in faith to do something that logistically makes no sense at all.
This year (2017) has been one of the most emotionally diverse years of my life so far, leading me to the highest of highs and to the lowest of lows. But through it all, I found so much to be grateful for, and that gratitude fills me with a joy I can't put words to.
If you haven't noticed, I don't write much anymore. I only blog when I have something exciting to share or when there's something tugging on my heart that I'm wrestling to process and put into words. I've backed up a few steps, gone against all book marketing advice, withdrawn from a lot of activity, and pushed forward toward answers to things I'd been praying about for a very long time. This year changed me and helped me see and hear God like never before. For that, I am grateful, because that's where I found joy.
Today on Thanksgiving Day, I'm reflecting about the top things in life that changed me the most over the last year.
My adopted son graduated from high school and started his first year of college at Dallas Baptist University. Less than fifteen years ago, Mike and I moved to Texas penniless, deep in debt, and with a very broken marriage. The fact that we adopted a child in the years that followed and actually have enough funds to get him through this first year at a private Christian university is beyond anything I ever could have imagined in those hopeless days. I wish I could say he's doing exceptionally well and thriving, but there's definitely some maturing that needs to take place first before we can see that happen. There's no better place to watch him experience this year of life and freedom, though, than exactly where he is. God has a great plan for him, and I pray that this year transforms him in ways he can't even imagine. For this, I am thankful for how God redeems and restores our broken lives.
My dad is alive and well. No one ever wants to get that phonecall from their mom, hearing the words, "Your dad is in the hospital, and it doesn't look good." It was a day marked on the calendar to celebrate my son's graduation, and instead of preparing for his party with a cheery attitude, I sat in my room sobbing, wondering if I'd ever see my dad again. I waited too long to make a decision to head straight to St. Louis with my brother and sister-in-law, so I thought I'd missed my chance. Thanks to the advice and generosity of friends who attended the graduation party, I made it out on a late flight that night not only to see my dad again the next morning, but to watch him recover more quickly than any of us expected. The road ahead was long and difficult, leading him to retire from his ministry of almost 47 years. Now he's only weeks away from moving here to Texas to begin a new chapter of life surrounded by family. For this, I am reminded to be grateful for each day because each one is a gift. I watched other friends lose a spouse or parent over the last few months, but for some reason, my dad is still here, and God still has plans to use him on this earth. I look forward to having him and my mom close by after many years of living so far apart.
I chose to step away from teaching a summer Bible study and decided to travel to Guatemala on a mission trip with my son instead. That trip will follow me for the rest of my life. When I pick up my gratitude journal each morning that I bought in an open air market in Guatemala, I am reminded to be grateful for the clean floor I put my feet on, for the bathroom I used to bathe and shower in, for the stove I used to make my breakfast, and for the clean, fresh water I drank to take my daily medicine and vitamins. I am thankful for the food available for my cat and my dogs and for their health, even if we struggle with bouts of fleas every now and then. Suddenly, my house doesn't seem so small, the repairs don's seem so big, and the messes don't seem so bad. Instead I wake up thankful for a beautiful home, for warm blankets, clean clothes, and healthy food readily available.
Finding Laura again, reuniting her with her brother, meeting her family, spending intimate time with her and her mom in her home, having her back in my own life, not just Juan's--all of the above fills me with more gratitude than I can even contain some days. I look at the pictures of our trip to Spain and catch myself breathless, realizing that all of that really did take place. The pictures we now have are absolutely priceless, treasures that I will never take for granted. God gave her back. He answered my prayer. When I asked Him for anything, even just a picture, to let us know something about her, that was the day He opened wide the door to help us to begin searching for her the right way. Having her in our lives brings me incredible joy, but the greatest joy came from knowing that God heard my prayer and answered me, very specifically, that very day.
Life still carries struggles, disappointments, heartache, difficulty, exhaustion, stress, and fear each and every day. But in the midst of it, may I never forget what God has done in my life up until now. He's been real, He's been big, and He's always intimately involved.
It's in the daily practice of gratitude that we find joy. Not just in November. Not just at Thanksgiving. But every single day.
November 18, 2017
Another milestone
Ten days after Juan David left teenagehood, David celebrated his sweet sixteen. I am still struggling to process this reality. He's not quite ready to get his driver's license yet, but within the next year, he will. And then so much of his dependency on us will change. I don't know that I'm ready for that day, but I know it will be here soon.
I miss my little boy. I love that we have a close relationship, still go for walks together, and talk on such a deep level. I am enjoying this time with just him at home again, and I want to cherish every day, every moment with him. I will not deny that our adoption story really rocked his world. He's been through a lot and had to sacrifice more than many of his peers, including his natural birth order. It wasn't easy for him, but it was God's plan for his life.
Yet it's opened his eyes to the world outside of himself, given him a depth of compassion for others and an understanding of the world that his peers just do not have. It has shaped him into the young man he is becoming. He's grown up knowing what really matters, and I'm so grateful for the way I can talk to him on such a mature level sometimes.
He's by no means a perfect child, but I sure do adore him. I am both loving and hating seeing him grow up. Not many kids can claim the firstborn and the youngest position in the family. He's my baby, and I love him to pieces.
Donuts in the morning
Dinner and special cake at night
With a special girl by his side. :)
Homecoming pics from the weekend before his birthday
Today he's off on his second year of the high school retreat with church, though this is his first year to go without big brother around. Definitely the way he would prefer. And I totally respect that.
He's a busy boy these days!
I miss my little boy. I love that we have a close relationship, still go for walks together, and talk on such a deep level. I am enjoying this time with just him at home again, and I want to cherish every day, every moment with him. I will not deny that our adoption story really rocked his world. He's been through a lot and had to sacrifice more than many of his peers, including his natural birth order. It wasn't easy for him, but it was God's plan for his life.
Yet it's opened his eyes to the world outside of himself, given him a depth of compassion for others and an understanding of the world that his peers just do not have. It has shaped him into the young man he is becoming. He's grown up knowing what really matters, and I'm so grateful for the way I can talk to him on such a mature level sometimes.
He's by no means a perfect child, but I sure do adore him. I am both loving and hating seeing him grow up. Not many kids can claim the firstborn and the youngest position in the family. He's my baby, and I love him to pieces.
Donuts in the morning
Dinner and special cake at night
With a special girl by his side. :)
Homecoming pics from the weekend before his birthday
Today he's off on his second year of the high school retreat with church, though this is his first year to go without big brother around. Definitely the way he would prefer. And I totally respect that.
He's a busy boy these days!
November 12, 2017
Need a faith boost?
Last Saturday night I had the privilege of sitting in the 19th annual Roaring Lambs Hall of Fame Banquet as an honored guest (along with a guest of my choice) as they inducted three more well-known Christians into their Hall of Fame, while also launching their second book of Stories of Roaring Faith . My story, The Box on the Shelf, is featured as one of 35 different stories of God working through the faith of His people during unimaginably difficult circumstances to bring about endings we could not see, light we didn't expect to shine, strength we didn't know we had, open doors we thought were shut, guidance when we lacked direction, and peace in the midst of a storm.
I started reading my copy last week, and I am overwhelmed at how encouraged and uplifted each story has made me feel thus far. It is an amazing collection of testimonies of God's people living through the unimaginable and making it through to the other side, stories of steadfast faith that resulted in victory.
This is a book for any audience. For someone in the middle of a trial, feeling lost, alone, and helpless. It's a book for someone still searching, looking for a faith to cling to throughout this life. It's a book for a believer who just wants to renew their faith, be encouraged by other believers' stories, or for an unbeliever who may not know Christ personally yet. There is sure to be a story they can relate to in some way. Medical issues. Health issues. Cancer issues. Parenting issues. Marital issues. Divorce issues. Infedility issues. Grief issues. Adoption issues. Work issues. Drug issues. Home repair issues. And that's only the stories I've gotten through so far in the first third of the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who just wants to be reminded that God is a constant, ever present help in every detail of our lives. And every life, every trial, every story has purpose and can be used to glorify God.
They truly are stories of roaring faith. Check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Roaring-Faith-Book-2/dp/0692951903/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510106892&sr=8-1&keywords=stories+of+roaring+faith
