Happy Spring!
Exciting things have been happening around our house! It is official: John’s school will be opening
a campus near us in Buckhead (Atlanta)!
This is a dream come true and we have felt truly honored to get to work
on this project with the amazing staff at Jacob’s Ladder.
Additionally, John has just begun making many new sounds
(consonant sounds for the first time ever) in the past few weeks. This encourages us greatly and we pray that
God continues to develop his verbal abilities.
It is also a gift to see John, Daniel, and Andrew grow in their relationship as
brothers.
I also felt very humbled and grateful to get to share a bit of
our story last week at a Bible study for young mothers I attend at The Church
of The Apostles. The last 6 or so months
have been a time of questioning, wrestling, and ultimately deepening with the
Lord. I felt that He has been nudging
me, indicating it is time to share again… and He was faithful to give me this message:
Only if you have time, go to this
link and then click on the March 17 date to the right/middle of the
screen. My testimony is at the beginning
of the recording and is about 17 minutes long. Then at the end of my talk, my mom and Meade join me, and we had the privilege of sharing a little about our dear friend,
Jody Noland, and her amazing work, Leave Nothing Unsaid. She will also be speaking at this Bible study
in a few weeks, and I encourage you to check out her mission!
Back to my talk... I realize my perspective may rub
some the wrong way or may be outside of your comfort zone… However, my hope is that
this talk is honest, comforting, freeing, and, most importantly, honoring to
God. It is where the Lord has brought us
over the past 6 plus years and I am grateful for the journey and how it continues to unfold. Beauty does come from ashes.
Questions I address in this brief
talk in light of all we have experienced:
-Are you at
the place yet where you can say you wouldn't change your story?
-It was all worth it, right? …because in the trials
the Lord drew close to you and you relied on Him like never before?
Follow up questions/food for
thought:
-Does God ordain/cause suffering? Or does he allow it and ultimately use it for
His good purposes? Or does the answer to
this question depend on each individual situation?
-It is possible to both have a testimony/ministry
because of the pain and ups and down and yet also speak out against the
brokenness in this fallen world? Or is
that unfaithful as we strive to acknowledge God is directing our every step?
-Does God really bring life from death? What reigns in this world: Christ or the
brokenness?
-Where do we find hope in light of suffering?
-Where do we find hope in light of suffering?
