O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

In honor of the day that Magdalena came into this world, August 6, 2008, we are celebrating by collecting new, unwrapped gifts for the children's hospital where Magdalena received her care after birth. Children from all over the state go to this hospital from small ailments to cancer treatment. We received by mail the very first gift (really multiple gifts from one person)!! Thank you, Allison, for being SO thoughtful!

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us; For in him we live and move and exist. - Acts 17:24-25, 27-28 Wow! This week was a hit to the heart, and made me really evaluate my heart on so many levels. Just because I write what I have learned does not mean that I am perfect in these areas! As I write I pray that God will change my life in such a dramatic way that every ounce of me glorifies Him. I am still so selfish with things that come to my life and the lives of my children. I want to squeeze them in my arms and guard them as though they are mine to keep forever. "One was that the value of a life is not determined by how long

Noah has been taking Greek, which is part of his program while in seminary, but along with an intense class we have moved. Through all of this Noah has done an AWESOME job! He finished his first exam yesterday, and we are so proud! Still there are many weeks to go, but we had to celebrate his great job so far! My little men are dressed in their Guayaveras, and we ate some delicious fajitas.

As far as I am concerned, God turned good what you meant for evil. - Genesis 50:20 With our situation, as I am sure it is with you, we asked the question why? many times while in others God's presence was much more obvious. For me, the times that I questioned our situation Satan was attacking me to question God, but I know that God is in control of all situations. Nothing happens against what He will allow. What I liked most about this chapter is that it is for all who have suffered in different ways. It doesn't have to be due to the loss of a child. The reasons that given in this chapter, and supported with scripture are 1.) natural consequences for your sin or someone else's sin, 2.) the result of a living in a fallen, broken world, 3.) suffering Satan has brought, or 4.) discipline through hardship. My hope is that so many of you are reading this book along with me, and if you aren't, I would really encourage you to read this chapter along with the scripture in

To celebrate the day Magdalena entered into this world Noah and I are hosting Magdalena's Birthday Balloons for Batson. It will be a time to play games, cook-out, and all people that are coming are asked to bring a toy for the children who receive treatments at the Blair E. Batson children's hospital. Of course we have to have t-shirts too! I have posted a pic, and they are $10 for children and adult sizes. I will place the order at noon on Friday, July 15th.

Although these are not super clear pictures, I wanted to share what Walt's scrapbook is looking like so far. I am scrapping the first year of each child, or at least that is the goal right now!

Every month we have taken a picture lying down in his diaper so that we can scrapbook his growth. Well, although it didn't work out because Walt wanted to show-off his skills, we still got some cute shots! He is growing so much, and I am loving this fun stage of life!

God offers compassion to those of us who are suffering. If you had said that to me while I was having to say goodbye to Magdalena, I am not sure if I would have agreed with the word compassion because my heart was torn into pieces, but I am truly learning that God knows much more than I do. He sees things on a grander scale than I could ever imagine. I am going to be quoting Nancy directly a lot during this chapter because I don't want anything missed when these are such sweet reminders of how truly awesome our God is. "Worshiping God does not require that we understand or approve of what God has allowed into our lives; it simply requires a heart that desires to trust God and a will that is bent toward obedience to God regardless of our feelings. We worship God because he is worthy, not because we necessarily feel like it. And as we worship in the midst of our pain, we are able to gain perspective on that pain. This is a costly worship - which makes it all the more wor