I hope they never grow up

My youngest two are at that really fun age right now. Isabel is 4 will be 5 in Nov. Ebeth is 2 and will be 3 in July. I have always thought I would want my children to grow up quickly and be in dependant and not need that much care. In fact I have heard that guys want there kids to grow up quicker and women don't want their kids to grow up that fast. I gotta tell you I am having a lot of fun. They are so precious and just melt my heart. Regularly they will say or do something that is just amazing or just surprising for there age. Ebeth is so articulate and wiser than her age. Isabel just continues to go against all the odds with her struggles. She is so amazing.

I have always been someone that looks ahead to tomorrow sometimes at the sacrifice of the day. I tend to wish time away all to often to get to something in the future. I pray that I continue to soak up as much as I can with these two little ones. I guess it is such a huge deal to me with Ebeth in particular because in the 5 children we do have she is the only one that we have had the chance to fully enjoy the first 3 years of her life. When Hailey Austin and Tawna came to live with us they were 3, 5, and 7. Isabel had so many struggles and surgeries it was hard to simply just enjoy the time we had. She was and continues to be regularly in casts and other things that have tended to rob her of these early moments of life. With Ebeth we get to cram all our young child enjoyment into one.

I am totally in love with all my kids. There is nothing I look forward to more at the end of a day than to come home and have them great me at the door with a "Daddy!" "Daddy's home!" Thank you Lord for all of the gifts you give big and small. Thank you for the struggles that come our way...because they force me to rely on you and cry out to you with greater passion. God I see you in my children and ask you to continue to grow them, mold them, and shape them into Godly men and women after your own heart. Thanks God! Amen... What little joys and big joys does God bring into your life? Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor

Prayer & Crying out to Jesus

God has really been convicting my heart lately about prayer. He has reminded me how important it is and that I don't spend enough time talking to Him. Recently Isabel and her surgeries has had me on my knees. I recall about 6-7 nights in a row I would find myself in her room at her bedside late at night just praying for her...crying out to Jesus to protect her and provide for her. I remember last week we we got news of yet another surgery just breaking into tears and crying our to Jesus. I emailed a friend and asked him to pray for me and he did. It seems lately God has put me in some positions that my only response has been to pray about it. Even though they have been difficult circumstances i have realized that God has been drawing me nearer.

I would say in the past few months I have encountered more people who are struggling with illness, surgeries, loss of jobs, loved ones, pending surgeries, legal issues, financial troubles, broken relationships, marriages that are falling apart...the list goes on and on. My only response has been prayer. Not only in suggesting it to them but also falling on my knees and crying out to Jesus for them. There have been circumstances at church that continue to be an opportunity for me to go to God because I have no control over them. In all these cases I have found God pursuing me to talk with him more...to gather people together to cry out to Him and pray. He wants us to ask Him to heal our world, our country, our communities, our church, our families, our own lives. How has God been pursuing you to talk with Him more.

Maybe for you the pain you are feeling is God asking you to turn to Him for trust and faith. Maybe your struggle or hurt is a chance to cry out to Jesus in a way that you haven't in a long time. I encourage you to take the opportunity to turn your thoughts and concerns upward and to look at your life and honestly evaluate your circumstances. It could be God trying to get your attention. God may not move in our life in a big way or in the way we need Him to or He intends to if we are not on our knees crying out to him. Let's go to Him today. Lord, I thank you for the challenges you bring into my life, for drawing me closer to you. Thank you for wanting in on my life and seeking control. Thank you for not letting me go and being wrapped up in my own little world. Thank you that you are someone I can go to who has all the power I need for living. You are an awesome and faithful God. Amen... Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor