God Says We’re Not Created Equal

October 29, 2012

No two apple pies (or people) are created equal. Where’s the spiritual truth in that? It is a biblical principle, sort of. Stay with me until the end, and I’ll explain. Read more

Five Reasons I Love Kids

February 6, 2012

There are so many reasons I love kids.  In today’s blog I’ve only listed five. My post is short, but short is sometimes good! I hope this poem I wrote brings you a smile or two: Read more

Five of the Best Gifts You Can Give Your Children (Part 1)

October 18, 2011

What parent doesn’t want to give good gifts to their kids? But what kind of gifts should they choose? Here are five of the best gifts you can give your children: Read more

If You’re Courageous, You Can Change

October 4, 2011

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”

When I saw that quote by Mark Twain, Read more

What Is the Quality of Greatness?

May 24, 2011

We associate various meanings with the quality of greatness. Probably none of those equal the way Jesus explained–and lived–greatness. Read more

Preparing Your Kids for Life: Encouragement for Women, Moms, and Grandmoms

April 6, 2011

At one time or another, we moms may think we’re not doing “enough” to prepare our kids for life. Deep down we feel inadequate. We may not feel skilled or talented or creative. Sometimes we even start comparing ourselves to others as parents, which totally makes us feel worse.

Every mom, young or old, is concerned about making wise decisions. Are we giving our children the right training? We fear for our kids. Are they being bullied? Are they safe enough? We all want our kids to “turn out right.”

If you are a mom or grandmom, here are four things to remember that might encourage you as you prepare your kids for life: Read more

Are Our Children Really Ours?

March 22, 2011

I was so impressed with this sweet testimony of friends Kacie and Jonathan Hunt that I asked permission to share Kacie’s recent blog as a guest post today.

Are our children really ours? Kacie shares a powerful answer to that question as she allows you to see a glimpse of the difficult journey she and Jonathan have just begun. I think you’ll be inspired and encouraged by their authentic faith.

Guest Post

Isaac Preston

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” – Genesis 22:2

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” – Genesis 22:15-18

Just as the Lord called Abraham to offer his son to him as a sacrifice we believe that as parents we should always remember that our children are not ours. They are the Lord’s and it is not about the plan that we have for them, but it is about His plan. That is why we have chosen the name Isaac for our precious son. It is a reminder that his life, no matter how long or short it is here on earth is for the glory of the Lord.

Thank you for visiting our blog and for taking the time to read about this new journey that the Lord has placed before us. I will take a few moments to give you a little background on how we got to where we are now. We found out on Christmas Eve that we were expecting our second child. We were so excited! We have always wanted a big family and Kadynce would be about 22 months when the new baby would arrive. It just seemed perfect. Early in the pregnancy I learned that one of my hormone levels were low, but that this was a fairly common problem. They put me on supplements and the pregnancy seemed to progress normally. We opted to have what is called a “first screen” at 12 weeks. It is a combined ultrasound/blood test that tells you your risk for chromosomal defects. We did not have this test with Kadynce, but for some reason we decided that we would with this baby. Insurance would cover it and it was one extra time we would get to see our baby. The test, however did not go as planned. They saw a couple of things that seemed unusual and combined with the blood test it raised my risk quite a bit for having a child with Down’s Syndrome. While this came as a shock, Jonathan and I had peace and were prepared to do whatever was necessary for our baby. We opted out of an amniocentesis to conform any suspicions at that time, but we did agree to return in 3 weeks for another ultrasound. That brings us to this past Friday. To make a long story short there were multiple abnormalities immediately detected and the nurse as well as doctor began to suspect the possibility of Trisomy 18 or 13 instead of 21(Down’s Syndrome). They strongly suggested that we go ahead with the amnio so we would know exactly what we are dealing with and they informed us that if it is one of the suspected syndromes most of the babies do not make it to term. We decided to proceed with the amnio so we could be better educated, but told them that it would not effect our decision about carrying the baby to term or as far as he would make it. After a long weekend of waiting we got a phone call Monday afternoon telling us that our baby does indeed have Trisomy 13 and it is a little boy. We almost immediately decided that his name would be Isaac Preston (Preston is Jonathan’s middle name and we have always wanted it to be a part of our little boy’s name.) We will find out next week whether or not this was inherited from us. 97% of the time it is completely random (although we know no baby is random) and not inherited. They say this type of abnormality occurs about 1 in 10,000. Yes our sweet baby is so very special.

There are multiple very good websites that talk about Trisomy 13. This site  (living with trisomy.org) is one of the best I have found. We are not in denial. We know that at this time the prognosis for Isaac is not good, but we also know that we serve a powerful and mighty God and that his will will be done in all of this.

Several of you have asked how you can specifically pray for us during this time. Here are a few requests that we have:

· That we will have a peace that surpasses all understanding. That our minds will not be filled with worry, but instead just an intense sense of peace.

· That our faith will remain strong and we will not doubt that our Lord is sovereign in all of this.
· That we will have wisdom. As the pregnancy progresses we will be faced with many tough decisions. We want to make the best decisions possible for baby Isaac as well as for our family as a whole. This may be very, very difficult and this is weighing so heavily on my mind right now.

· Most importantly that God’s glory will shine each and every day through our lives and the life of our Isaac.

Thank you much for your love and support through this. We love you all so much!

***************

I hope you will join Kacie and Jonathan in praying for these requests. You can read other entries of Kacie’s “Just an Ordinary Girl” blog here.

Feel free to share your comments below, especially to encourage Kacie and Jonathan in this difficult faith walk with God.

Loretta was the book giveaway winner of Karen O’Connor’s book, The Upside of Downsizing. Thank you for all your comments.

 

 

It Takes So Little to Be Above Average

January 16, 2011

I read Florence Littauer’s challenge years ago in her book, It Takes So Little to Be Above Average. But God reminded me of that principle in a truly simple way this week.

I had just semi-closed the misaligned door of the old armoire  in our bedroom. But as I rounded the corner to the hall, Read more

The Christmas Rat

November 29, 2010

A GUEST POST

Today features a true Christmas tail (er, tale) written by my brother in his recent book, Just Rememberin’:

The Christmas Rat

by Bob Barlow

“I’ve had lots of memorable Christmases, but one of those has a unique and somewhat humorous, even embarrassing meaning to me. 

I was in elementary school, about the third grade, and I came down with the mumps about a week before Christmas that year! Swollen throat like balloons was a sight to see! 

We lived in a two story house, with my bedroom being upstairs. My dad was the preacher at the Baptist church in town, and the parsonage had been enlarged from its original size to include a master bedroom on the back side of the house. Since my bedroom was upstairs, it was inconvenient for my mother to take care of me and check on me by going up and down the stairs, as well as preparing all the food and goodies for Christmas time. So they had me to stay in their bed during the daytime, allowing her to easily see how I was doing with the mumps. 

Where Is Santa’s Stash?

Are you a curious person?  I am.  Read more

In the Wilderness? Words of Encouragement for You

October 18, 2010

I asked the Lord this morning to show me some words that might encourage others, but as I journaled, He first reminded me of those who might need those words of encouragment the most, the ones still walking in their own “wilderness”:

Are you one of these?

• The one whose heart is broken by another’s cruelty and refusal to stay in the marriage.
• The one who is searching for something–or someone–to ease the pain of loneliness.
• The mom who struggles to find the balance between working at home and ministering and caring for her kids.
• The one who cannot work from home and whose heart is paralyzed with fear for the children’s’ protection.
• The father whose job is on the line and who lives with fear of a pink slip. Read more

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