Problem resolved

Last week as I read to the boys about Daniel being taken away to Babylon, I tried to make it more personal.  "Can you imagine how sad Daniel and his friends were when they had to leave their family and never see them again? What would you do if you were taken away from Mommy and Daddy and would never see us again? Would you believe that God wasn't loving, and listen to Satan's lies? Or would you always resolve to follow God?"

"I would resolve to follow God!" Seth assured me.

"I would wesolve to follow God, too," Skyler declared, "whatever wesolve is!"

Lesson learned

A chronic complaining habit has been plaguing our house lately, so during yet another paroxysm of "the blues," I decided a little parable was in order on the way home from church.

"Anaya," I began, "have you ever heard the story of the woman whose house was too small?" As the story unfolded and the woman's complaints to her husband escalated, the boys stopped their backseat chatter.

"So the woman went to her pastor and told him about her problem. And do you know what the pastor told her?"

"No, what?"

"He told her to bring the goat in the house for the week."

As the goat walked all over the woman's toes and interfered with her work all week, everyone in the back seat was quiet (oh miracle of miracles in itself!). Then when the woman returned to church a week later, she told the pastor what a terrible week it had been with the goat in the house. I asked, "And what do you think the pastor said?"

"To take the goat out?"

"Nope. The pastor said, 'Now bring the chickens in the house too!"

The kids giggled as the chickens spread feathers in the soup all week and pecked at the woman's hands as she chopped vegetables, while the goat stepped on her feet. "And when she went back to church the next week, she told the pastor what a terrible week it had been! And he said, 'How big is your bedroom?' And what do you think the pastor told her to do?"

Anaya was ready. "Bring in the cow!"

So another week passed rapidly in our story, with the cow lowing beside the bed all night, the chickens pecking all week and the goat eating out of the trash can.

At the end of the final week, of course, the pastor told the woman to take the animals back to the barnyard, and predictably, the woman was thrilled at the spaciousness of her house.

"Anaya," I queried, "did you learn anything from this story?"

"Well, Mommy..." she demurred, "I would rather just think about it and not say."

"No problem," I agreed. "Boys, did you learn anything?"

"I did!" Skyler blurted. "Don't tell the pastor anyfing!"

In everything give thanks?

Last night was the final meeting in a three-day series of meetings with Doug Batchelor, and after three late nights, the kids were uber-hyper by bedtime. I couldn't stop the boys from giggling, and exasperated, I finally had to spank them to get them to quiet down. Finally I instructed them all to stay in their beds at all costs, and closed the bedroom door to muffle the howling.

Since we have a guest this week (So glad Randy Siebold could squeeze in a stop at our house!), Anaya was sleeping in the boys' room. Within a few minutes of putting them to bed, she crept out of the room to me.

"Mommy?"

"This better be good. What are you doing out of bed?"

"Mommy, I just wanted to encourage you. Remember, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'"

A few minutes later she was back. "Mommy, I just wanted to let you know something. I heard Skyler making noise in his bed, and I thought he was talking. But then I listened and he was singing, "Rejoice in the Lord always."

Well, at least something is sticking.

Weally sweet

I overheard the boys in casual conversation this morning and it warmed my heart.

Seth: "Skyler, do you wonder if God is real?"
Skyler: "No. I just know He is weal."
Seth: "Yeah. Me too."

Blessings and miracles

Two weeks ago today Alan was anointed by several close friends within his pastoral circle. We all prayed together for God's will, and if it be for the glory of God, for Alan's healing. Many of you joined us from afar, and we sensed the presence of the Lord with us powerfully.

I am delighted to report that while we have evidences that Alan is not completely healed, he does have significantly more energy than he had for some months prior to the anointing. We observed this immediately. Alan has not needed a nap every day when he came home for lunch, something that has been nearly indispensable for some time. And he has been able to get by on 8 hours of sleep or less per night. This was an immediate answer to prayer, and nothing short of miraculous.

I have total faith that God can heal my husband, and that if He does not, it is because He has something better in store through this situation. But it has been a great boost of faith even for me, to see that God has done something miraculous to intervene in our situation already.

Whether this is a temporary miracle to enable Alan to accomplish the many extra responsibilities heaped upon him right now, or a permanent blessing, we do not know. We are simply grateful for the blessings as they come.

We are also very grateful for the prayers that so many are sending up in our behalf. Thank you all, so much! We know that prayer does not change the heart of God, but it changes us. It enables Him to pour out blessings that will make a difference for good in our lives and the lives of others in our support network. If we do not pray, we are likely to take for granted whatever blessings are given to us.

Please pray for us specifically this week, that our appointment with the specialist on Wednesday the 17th will go well. If possible, we hope that Alan can qualify for a new drug combination that may have a trial in Atlanta starting in January. We are afraid to get our hopes up, but if he qualifies, it would make it possible for Alan to finish treatment in only 24 weeks, instead of 48. He also might escape some of the terrible side effects of other drugs, and have a higher likelihood of recovery.

Thank you all again. We are so, so grateful for all of you, and most of all, grateful to God for sustaining us through everything.

Anointing service

We are having a small, private anointing service for Alan this evening at 6:30 pm EST. Wherever you are, feel free to join us in prayer. We are praying that God's purpose be fulfilled in our situation, and surrendering everything to Him.

For those who are unfamiliar with the ceremony, anointing is not a demand that God use His power to heal. Rather, it is a ritual demonstrating our surrender to His plan. Scripture tells us to anoint anyone who is sick, and have the elders of the church pray for him or her.

While we pray for healing and express our complete confidence that God can heal Alan, we are surrendered and at peace with whatever God chooses to do in our situation. The anointing service will be an expression of this faith.

Echoes of faith

And despite everything else going on in our lives, our children remain the personification of joy and fun.

The other night, when my sister was staying with the kids (date night! Yay!), Seth prayed an interesting prayer. "Dear Jesus, please help us to be like echoes. Amen." After his prayer, he looked up at Valerie and asked, "You know how we can be like echoes? When we tell other people about Jesus, they will tell other people, and they will tell other people. Like ripples in the water."

Sweet little guy, he's so right. May the echoes of our faith ring until Jesus comes!