greater glory

Lets talk about this child for a moment….

Hudson is (obviously) our oldest son and one of the lights of our lives.  He is truly extraordinary, uniquely crafted.  He changed our lives forever when came into this world and God has big plans in store for him.  But, to be completely honest with you, at times he also tends to be a big source of worry for us.  Let us explain. 

Some of you may know how the story goes, but to those of you who don’t, here’s the gist of it.  When Hudson was about 2 years old he had, what we thought to be a seizure (although with seizures, doctors don’t really ever confirm them or not, because basically they don’t know unless they see it).  Very scary, we didn’t know what to do.  We took him to the ER and they first told us that they were going to do a CAT scan to make sure he didn’t have a brain tumor.  Imagine what was going through our minds as we looked at our precious boy lying in the hospital bed as we awaited those results.  The CAT scan came back clear, and we praised God, but we still didn’t know the cause.  After taking him to a pediatric neurologist and cardiologist, and after having many tests performed such as an EEG, EKG, etc., everything kept coming back “clear” and “normal”.  The doctors response – “hopefully this just won’t ever happen again”.  NOT comforting, Doc!!!  Turns out, doctors don’t really ever come out and confirm that it was or was not a seizure, because truly they can’t say unless something shows up on a test; it’s all about “data” and “hard evidence”.  But, we know that  GOD knows!  In fact, He planned this out before the beginning of time and so we were able to rest assured in knowing that it was okay.  You see, that’s the thing about God – it’s really not about us.  It’s not about our COMFORT.  What he cares about is our CHARACTER, so we found strength and trust in his promises.  And after all in James 1: 2-4 we are told that “when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing”.  So this was the mindset we considered whenever worry crept into our minds.

  

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).  And so, we prayed and tried as much as humanly possible to leave our worry behind.  And we did. 

So time went on and nearly a year passed and then it happened again.  Shock, disappointment, fright.  Now what to do!?  We again take him back to visit the many specialists, where they run more tests on him (because really, what else are they going to do anyways).  He had 2 more EEGs, blood sugar testing and some other junk and still nothing.  Good, right?!?   Yes, but what’s going on here with our child?  Is he okay?  Again we looked to God (because really what else could we do).  At this point we had to make a choice.  Were we going to be consumed with worry and have anxiety about all the “what-ifs” or were we going to trust our loving God?  Well, God’s way is perfect!  Listen to this: “God’s way is perfect.  All the LORD’s promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to him for protection” (Psalm 18:30).  We fell in love with this verse!  Notice that it’s not necessarily the easiest way or the most comfortable, but it’s perfect, no matter what, and he will be our shield of protection and comfort.  We had to let the worry go and to trust him fully, not making it about us or how we feel.  It’s his plan and it will work out according to his purpose.        

So here we are today, two more “seizures” have occurred and we have gotten through them.  One even happened when he was away from us while he was at preschool, but no matter what, we are still having faith and trusting fully in our Almighty God.   More tests have been run including an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), another EKG, a 24-hour EKG and a 24-hour EEG and all the results have come back clear.  Hudson has been amazing through all these tests and has had a peace about him through it all.  He is truly one special boy! 

So, at this point we have made an appointment with another neurologist to get a second opinion but in the meantime, we are letting 1 Thessalonians 5:16 -18 consume our minds, “Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus”. The word in that verse that always sticks out to us is “ALL” and it is an important word nonetheless, but lets focus in on the word “IN”.  Notice we are not necessarily told to give thanks FOR our circumstances, but rather IN them. We’re not expected to be thankful for problems and hardships that come our way. That sure was refreshing to hear, given all that we have experienced!  The bottom line is that He ultimately does reign and will use ALL circumstances to make us more like him and to bring him greater glory. 

loving the licorice...

 

 

 

disney on ice

Thanks to Leanne (Andrew's sister) and her awesome Christmas gift idea, we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Disney on Ice last night in Cleveland.  It was a spectacular show and the boys had a ball!  They were so mesmerized by the characters and lights.  Their faces lit up with huge smiles when they saw Mickey Mouse for the first time and then when it "snowed" at the end of the show.  It was so much fun and we'll most certainly do it again!  Thanks, Leanne, for a wonderful evening for our family...we love you!

CLICK HERE to see some pictures from the event!  

  

help haiti

are you looking for a way to help in the wake of a terrible disaster?  first and foremost, PRAY!

now, if you're interested in moving beyond prayer, look no further.  

  

this is the wonderful, reputable organization that we work with in sponsoring a child in Equador and they have set up a way for people to help financially.  this is a tangible way to bless families in need immediately.  you can go Compassion's website to see specifically how different dollar donations can be used and where the money would be going.  Compassion has many child development centers/programs located in Haiti and they are clearly in dire need of prayer and support.   

would you consider giving?  

please join us in lifting up prayers for the families that have been affected and all the rescue workers working all day and night in Haiti.

birthday

ok, so normally we don't really make a big deal about birthdays, but i couldn't let this one slip by unacknowledged.  sooooo...  

   

happy birthday, love!  you're amazing, beautiful in every way and have changed my life forever!  you are the most selfless, loving mother I know and you truly make a difference everyday in the lives of our children.  i love you so very much and am blessed beyond words to be on this journey together with you to see what God has in store for us in the days, months and years ahead!  and, by the way, you don't look a day over 29! ;-)

new year, new word

Along with our THRIVE group, we just finished a great bible study called The Tangible Kindgom: Primer.  It sure did put A LOT of things into perspective and made for some good, authentic conversations about how our lives should reflect God's Kingdom in a tangible way. 

The premise of the book is essentially that "God's Kingdom doesn't usually unfold in a nice, neat package or linear progression.  In fact, He is much more likely to show up in unexpected places and in unique experiences that only He can orchestrate.  The hope is that the book will will help you be ready when He does.  This includes listening and being willing to be changed.  It also includes learning to take personal responsibility for your own calling to be "sent" (John 20:19-22) and dealing with those parts of your flesh that keep you from following Jesus as he leads you out into the world." 

One part of the book that really stuck with us was the idea of becoming an "apprentice" of JESUS.  Here are a few quotes that explain what this means...

"When you think of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, what comes to mind?  Typically, when this question is asked in church groups we get the generic responses like studying the Bible, prayer, attending church, or being involved in a small group.  In contrast, if you would have asked some of the first disciples what it was like being one of Jesus' students, they probably would have responded with, "He always tested our faith and our motives.  He always took us to places we wouldn't have gone ourselves.  We became friends with people we would have hated before.  Looking back, it was the most wildly transforming process I could have ever imagined.  I'll never be the same." 

"Discipleship for the disciples was different from our idea in one major way: it actually involved following JESUS where he went and doing what he did.  How do we replicate this process of discipleship?  In our modern era, we have in many instances reduced the "discipleship" process to a passive act of being taught about Jesus or studying other in history that have modeled true discipleship.  This gap between learning and action has handicapped the modern church by producing passive disciples.  We have taken discipleship off the streets and brought it into the classroom and the church pew."  

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says..." (James 1:22)

"While it's good to learn about becoming a disciple, there is significantly more that can only be understood through practice [and action].  In order to re-engage the discipleship process, we need to redefine it in a way that better captures the essence of discipleship today.  That world is apprenticeship."   

"Often people get discouraged in their faith experience.  We complain about church, other Christians, and even gripe to God.  We feel He's let us down, and sometimes we bail on faith altogether.  Here's one thought to consider.  Maybe God hasn't let anyone down.  Maybe the reason we don't see his power or work in our lives is that we've never moved from passive discipleship to apprenticeship. " 

With all this in mind, we desire to be true apprentices of Christ.  We will not be content with being a passive disciples.  We want to know JESUS, really know him...and model our lives after his life (not to mention, model and share JESUS with our children).  This is a huge, life-long journey, we know, but this is right where we want to focus during 2010.  We want to move beyond the norm, the mediocre.  Less talk and more action.  We truly want to be the "hands and feet" of JESUS.  Our lives are intended to be a mission and that takes a whole lot of deliberate practice and action to prepare our hearts for that!  That is why we've finally landed on our new "word" for 2010 being simply...JESUS!!!  

If you have no idea what we mean by our "new word" you'll have to go back and read this post from the beginning of last year.  Anyhow, this seemed like the perfect word for our family for this year.  Our church is teaching through the book of Matthew (an account of JESUS' life) for the entire year (and likely much longer) with this goal as well, in addition to our THRIVE group studying this it too.  We can't wait to listen, hear and obey what God's is calling us to do everyday of our lives!  We are excited to see what this year holds and to hopefully share some of our journey with you.  Oh, Christ be the center of our lives, be the place we fix our eyes, be the center of our lives!