What's On My Nightstand These Days

Getting back into school these past couple weeks since the holidays finished up has been difficult.  I can sense that ever-too-familiar critical and overbearing spirit of the flesh creeping up.  It does this every once in awhile.  Forgets its place.  And I succumb.  Again.  Trying to remember how to live in the moment of grace.  It's a lesson I've learned thousands of times before, yet still I find myself forgetting.  So often I wish this sanctification process would be a once and done thing.  Oh, how easy that would make things!!  But no, it is a daily need to lay all things at the cross.  Day after day.  Moment after moment.  Gathering up my daily manna from heaven. 

Oh, "quiet times" are still there.  Nicely and neatly packaged up - relegated to their own place in the day.  Not to be re-visited until the next morning.  But is this the way He intended it to be?  A small chunk of my day dedicated to Him, while all the other thousands of moments rush by without so much as a second glance?  Don't each of those moments belong to Him also?  Moments where I feel frustration towards my children.  Moments where I feel over-worked and under-appreciated.  Moments where I allow myself and my emotions to take precedence to truth.

As I've wrestled with the flesh this week, I've been so thankful for this book right now by Ann Voskamp.



If you haven't read it yet, I'd certainly recommend picking up a copy.  It is causing me to pause a little bit more.  To search for Him in the midst of ordinary life.  To literally count my blessings....One Thousand Gifts.  To quit trying to rush through life.....for now....this week.  A lesson being learned, yet again. 

This is what I am praying for this week....a thankful heart.  One that exudes grace, and beauty, and Him.  I'm praying for eyes that will recognize the Creator in every created thing.  Praying for a desire to glorify Him in my home.  With my kids.  With my husband.  In my attitudes.  In my heart. 

I'll leave you with this quote I came across this week.....

"Yes, give them God's law. Teach it to them and tell them God commands obedience. But before you are done, give them grace and explain again the beautiful story of Christ's keeping it for them. Jesus Christ is the only one who ever deserved to hear, "You are good", but He relinquished His right relationship with the law and His Father and suffered as a lawbreaker. This is the message we all need to hear, and it is the only message that will transform our hearts."

 -Elyse Fitzpatrick, Give Them Grace

Praying for grace. Kirsten



Home Sweet Home

Well, once again, we are feeling super thankful to our God.  Anna went home last night.....again.  Seems that it was *just* a bladder infection.  Nothing a round of antibiotics can't cure. :)

While she was there, they flushed her bladder for about 15 hours and several clots came out.  A CT scan that they did also showed that the large clot in her abdomen is dissolving and her hemoglobin is stabilizing.  This is ALL great news!!!  Won't you join me in praising the Father?

Thank you Lord that you are ABOVE all things, that you HOLD all things in your hands. Thank you that you only give good gifts to your children.  That when we ask for bread, You don't give us a stone (Matthew 7:9).  Even when it may seem so.  Thank you that we can ALWAYS trust that your ways are GOOD.  We pray that Anna's life would be a testimony to you, God.  To your power.  Your mercy.  Your faithfulness.  Your love.  For the sake of your glory.  Forgive us for our unbelief.  We know that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).  Oh Lord!  Increase our faith and give us eyes to see!

I leave you with a verse that has brought much comfort to Anna for the past week:

"Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress."

~Psalm 71:3



Thanks for your continued prayers for our family.  We appreciate it so much more than you will ever know.

Kirsten

Anna Update

Anna went back into the hospital this evening. :(  I think we all knew that Anna's recovery would be a long, grueling process (after all, in only a matter of days, she went through childbirth, had 5 surgeries, was given 23 units of blood and was sedated for a week), but still, it is hard to hear. 

Earlier today, Brian took her to the ER because she was experiencing blood in her urine.  After a bunch of tests, the doctors have found that her white blood cell count is elevated and a CT scan has shown two pockets of clear fluid in her kidneys and bladder.  They are still trying to figure out what is going on within her body. 

Please continue to pray for her.  She needs peace tonight, as it is very scary anytime there is a setback.   Please also continue to pray for the doctors and nurses who will be caring for her.  Pray specifically that they will be granted wisdom as to how to treat Anna.  Pray that they would be able to determine what is happening, correct the problem, and send her back home to her sweet kiddos.  And as always, please also remember to pray for Brian, their children, and also my in-laws.  My MIL and FIL have been out in CA ever since Anna first had the baby and have been holding down the fort for three weeks now.

A couple nights ago, Charles and I had the opportunity to Facetime with Anna.  Isn't technology amazing?!!?She really looked GREAT!!  She was smiling and sharing some of her memories (or lack there of) from the past few weeks.  We loved being able to talk with her and tell her some of the things that God has been doing in the lives of so many people because of her.  We praise Him for the work that He has already done!  Praying that we will continue to trust Him and His perfect timing, even in the midst of uncertainty. 

Thank you prayer warriors for believing in the power of prayer!!  We love you all!




Kirsten

Remember

Well, I'd say 2012 hasn't exactly gone according to plan for our family. :)

For those who followed Anna's story, you certainly know what I am talking about.  Then, just as things began to settle down for her out in California, we heard news from Georgia.  Our three-year-old niece had pulled a chair over to the stove to help cook dinner just as my sister-in-law, Rebecca, had turned her back.  Let's just say, a gas stove and clothing don't mix well.  2nd degree to deep 2nd degree burns all over the left side of her sweet little body.  From her hip, all the way to her armpit.  Here's a news clip of our niece and nephew that literally circulated around the world this week:



         


I'd say we were the lucky ones of the bunch with *only* one trip to the ER this week with a two-year-old and her dislocated elbow.  Popped it right back in. :)

Yup, it's been one of those months.  And yet, through it all, God has remained faithful to our family.  In each circumstance, He has shown that He alone is God and that we CAN trust Him, even when things don't go according to plan.  The past couple weeks have been hard for our family as a whole. Yet, through it all, we have found ourselves surprisingly encouraged by our trials.  Sensing that something greater is happening that we don't yet see.   My sister-in-law posted this quote that she had read that same day that her baby girl ended up in a burn unit in Atlanta:


"Try to view each day as an adventure, carefully planned out by your guide.Thank me for this day of life, recognizing that it is a precious, unrepeatable gift. Trust that I am with you each moment, whether you sense my presence or not. A thankful, trusting attitude helps you to see events in your life from my perspective.  

A life lived close to me will never be dull or predictable. Expect each day to contain surprises! Resist your tendency to search for the easiest route through the day. Be willing to follow wherever I lead. No matter how steep or treacherous the path before you, the safest place to be is by my side."

                                                                  ~Excerpt taken from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young


I talked a little in my last post about not wanting to forget what God has done over the past few weeks. 


His faithfulness. 
His mercies. 
His unfailing love. 


But isn't that what we do so often?  Turn back to what is comfortable?  Life as normal?  I know that is certainly my tendency.

"Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children

and to their children after them."

~Deuteronomy 4:9

A few years back, I decided I did NOT want to forget the things God had done in my life.  In the book of Joshua, after the whole nation of Israel had finished crossing the Jordan River, the Lord told them to gather twelve stones from the middle of the river.  Then God told them:

"In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?', tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a

memorial to the people of Israel forever."

~Joshua 4:6-7

 

The memorial was to be a constant reminder of what God had done for them.  Their children would see the stones, hear the story, and learn of our great God.  Enter my stones of rememberance:

Every time the Lord has taught me a lesson, impressed a verse on my heart, or allowed a miracle to unfold before my very eyes, I added a rock to my collection.  Lest we forget or go back to the comforts of an ordinary life lived out in the flesh.  Check out my newest stone:

So, I invite you to mark out a place in your home as a memorial to our God.  A rememberance of sorts of all that He has done in YOUR life. Over and over throughout scripture, God reminds His people of how far He has brought them. 

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

~Exodus 20:2

He didn't do this to pat himself on the back, but to remind His people of how far they had come.  Why?  Because it's too easy to forget His goodness.  It's too easy to look at our current circumstance and wonder where God is in the midst of chaos.  Won't you join me in remembering? 

As we enter through the doors of 2012, my prayer is that we would........that I would.........

REMEMBER.

Kirsten

She's On Her Way Home!!!!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Anna is on her way home as we speak!!!!  Charles just got off the phone with his mom a little while ago.  They were checking out of the hospital and making their rounds to say goodbye to the countless doctors and nurses who assisted in saving her life.  Anna is doing GREAT!! Such an amazing day!!!! 

I will be certain to post more details later, but for now, just wanted to say......

Yay God!!!!



Kirsten

Correction....

Just a quick note to make a small correction to my post from last night.  This is from my mother-in-law:

I went to the hospital twice today. And each time I was filled with joy and reverential awe to our God. Anna was much more alert and was able to carry on some conversation. The MRI from yesterday showed no stroke and no bleeding. They did another CT scan this afternoon because she had some tingling in her fingers but everything was fine. When Anna asked when can she go home; the doctor didn't really answer that question, she just said it will take at least 3 days to make the switch from heparin to cumidin. So...there is no time frame for her release from the hospital at this time.

The children got to skype with her this evening and there was much rejoicing and some tears.

 

Many, many doctors and nurses have stopped by for a "social visit" as they say. The anesthesiologist who did the anesthesia for the c-section stopped by to see Anna today. He came in smiling and said: "I am so happy; I am so happy to see you alive." He went on to tell us that he was the anesthesiologist for both the c-section and the next 2 life-saving surgeries. He said that he had taken her breathing tube out from the c-section and was finishing up when things started going horribly wrong. He said usually in a crisis situation there is more than one anesthesiologist - but things happened so fast that there wasn't time to wait. He said he started saying: "God, help me; God, help me." At that, he felt a "force" take over his hands and work swiftly to do what needed to be done.

I told him that it was the Lord Jesus who helped him. He said, yes, I believe it was God. Then he said he worked in a trauma unit for many years and he had never seen anyone make it with a hemoglobin count of 2.9 which Anna's had dropped to just before the 2nd life-saving surgery. Miracle after miracle, that is what we have had the privilege of not only watching but participating in. To God be all the glory. Amen and Amen.

Please continue to pray for complete restoration of her kidneys and blood levels, no infection, hemoglobin to go up to at least 10 and stabilize, optimum cumidin level, and clearer and clearer thinking and whatever else the Lord lays on your heart to pray for. Once again, thanks so much.

 

So, just wanted to clarify the information on Anna's going home in three days.  I know that anything is possible, but there is still much that needs to happen first.  Please don't grow weary in the praying!!!  Thanks so much!

 

 

 

Kirsten

Finding God in the Mundane

Well, there have been ALOT of milestones since I last wrote just a few days ago!  Lots of rejoicing going on over here. :)  Here is a look at some of the highlights of the week:

Anna woke up on her own the other day!  This was HUGE and such a relief for the whole family.  At first she was still pretty groggy, as she still had a TON of drugs in her system.  With her kidneys not working at their optimal level, they were a little slow at flushing out all of the sedatives and anesthesia she had been on for the past TEN DAYS!!  There was also a little concern as to whether any permanent damage had been done to her brain.  The past couple days have been filled with CT scans and MRI's.  Great news though!  The MRI showed no sign of stroke and nothing acute.  Anna was able to get up out of bed yesterday and even fed herself yogurt.  Today, she went for a little walk.  She has even been told that there is a possibility of her going HOME in as little as 3 days!!!  Praise God with us today!

What an extraordinary week this has been!  For those just joining us, you can read Anna's story from the beginning here.  Some of my favorite stories in the Bible also deal with the extraordinary.  David and Goliath.  Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  Jesus feeding the five thousand.  They're big and exciting and loaded with larger than life characters who are full of faith.  Kind of like this last week has been.

Take Mary, for example.  I'm certain the day Gabriel appeared to her was pretty awesome, but what about the other 364 days that year??  Or the thousands of days that followed the birth of her firstborn son?  I'm gonna venture to guess that it was filled with some pretty ordinary tasks also, much like mine.  Wiping snotty noses (and bottoms!!), dressing and undressing babies, chasing after toddlers, making dinner, cleaning endless piles of clothes and dishes, sweeping the floor (again!!).    The mundane makes us oh so weary.

*Sigh*

This is where we find Anna also, as well as those taking care of her and her family.  The worst is behind.  The dust has settled.  She is on the road to recovery, and this is AWESOME news!!  Now what do we do with this?  How do we process a miracle of this magnitude and where do we go from here?  As the adreneline rush subsides, the earth continues to spin on its axis and life goes back to normal for so many.  But for those directly involved, the monotony of a new normal begins to set in.  And so begins the search to discover God in the mundane.  In the everyday tasks that are necessary for her full recovery.  But that is where He lives.  Where He resides.  In the ordinary tasks of everyday lives.  In the weariness of life.

"Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not grow faint."

~Isaiah 40:28-31

As my father-in-law takes the night shift, caring for three sick kiddos who have the stomach bug, He is there.  As a brother lovingly sits in a hospital room reading scripture over his sister or combing out the knots in her hair from days of bedrest, He is there.  As a husband gets ready to take his wife home, to care for her himself, He is there.  When we choose to honor Him even in the mundane, He is there.  Even when it's not very glamorous or even easy.  He is there.

How will we take then what God has done and allow it to permeate OUR mundane?  After all, if we haven't said it before, we've certainly thought it, "If only I had seen Jesus heal the blind man, or the sea calmed, or a man named Peter walk on water, then I would believe."  But is that true?  Certainly it wasn't true for the Israelites.  I mean, COME ON!  After literally SEEING the Red Sea part in half, the Israelites still wondered if God would provide for them in the desert.  AND, when He did, they complained it wasn't good enough!  Many saw, but then allowed the monotony of life to take them right back to where they had started.  My prayer is that I would allow God to use the extraordinary to transform the ordinary.  To find God in the mundane.  That I would not forget what He has done.  That I would allow it to permeate the other 364 days of the year.  Even when times get tough.  What a shame to have witnessed a miracle and then to return to life as we knew it before!

So, I'm off to clean up my kitchen.....again.  Only to get messed up.....again......tomorrow. :)  But you know what?  That's OK.  Because I'm choosing to look for God in the mundane today.  Hoping you will join me!

PRAISE HIM:  Join us in praising Him for healing Anna!  Loved this post from a friend the other day:

I have been so ministered to by the countless number of people praying for Anna and her family during this very difficult time. The Lord is working in my heart, showing me the extreme privilege it is to be called upon to pray on behalf of a brother or sister in Christ, that somehow, in some mysterious way, our prayers can affect the outcome of God's will. It's crazy to me, that God has a perfect plan from before the foundation of the world reaching into all eternity, and as it is being played out, he wakes me up in the night and says, "Ask for this..." just so that I can be a part of seeing Him answer! What is this but a gift? I love Him for this. He wants me to partner with Him in His beautiful plan for His people. Wow... thank you for loving me Jesus! 1 John 3:1, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are."  

Thank Him for allowing us to play this role!  Thank Him also for mobilizing the church to pray on behalf of our dear sister.

SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS:  Continue to pray for Anna's blood production to return to normal.  Also pray that she will have a good night's sleep again tonight.  Pray specifically for her husband Brian, as it has been a LONG week for him.  He accompanied Anna into the hospital 13 days ago and has hardly left her side since then.  He has had very little sleep.  Pray also for the extended family that is out in California caring for the children while their mama continues to heal.  Pray that they would see God in the mundane!!  In every diaper that is changed.  In every bottle that is given.  Praying that God would give strength to the weary.  It has been a long week for everyone, and it certainly isn't over yet - not even when she returns home.  Lastly, pray for Anna's children - all 7 of them.  Pray that God would continue to protect their little hearts.  It has been a hard week without mommy.

Thank you prayer warriors!  We are thankful for each of you and the role you have played in praying Anna home.  We are eternally grateful.




Kirsten