We are continuing to see God's Hand on our lives. The journey has been hard but so worth it. We have overcome some pretty big obstacles and God continues to Renew our lives. He continues to grow us.
I look back about 9 months, I see a time of desperation. A time of struggle. I never want to forget that God is in the valleys and on the mountain tops.
In Oct 2016, I cried out to God. I was concerned. We needed community. We needed emotional, physical and financial support. I am quite proud of being totally self sufficient. But I realized that I needed a community, I needed more than what I had. I couldn't do it alone.
First of all, my dear friend who has always been my rock, my support, my listening ear, one who ahs never abandoned us, no matter the choices I have made.. No matter that we do life differently.. that friend insisted that I seek some medical attention for my pain.
Answered Prayer #1. I started seeing a holistic chiropractor. MY very first visit it was clear that God can use anyone anywhere.. I had an incredible divine appointment and this Chiropractor has been used by God to totally change my life, both physically and emotionally. I have regained so much health, so much of my personality. I praise God every day for this.
Answered Prayer # 2. We made some new friends. As my health improved I made efforts to connect with various people. I prayed specifically for friends for my girls and for friends for myself, friend who have teens. I have connected with 2 very different groups of people who meet those needs. We actually have a very active social life again. (active for us, who are introverts. )
Answered prayer #3 Out of the blue, randomly but totally God ordained, people from my past, from my time as a young bride with a sick husband.. those people who I have had little to no contact with for 10 or so years... those people started contacting me, telling me they felt led to give.. family members too, for the first time.. we received food,a blender, money, getaways, more food, a used fridge.. It was truly shocking to me. God was telling me, no matter where I go. No matter what I do,He has got me in the palm of His hand. He cares and he can use anyone.. He doesn't need me to plan out every moment of my life, but He does need dme to simply obey and wait on Him.
Answered Prayer #4 We found a church. For the past 3 years, we had done home church. It was just easier. It was to hard top juggle the kids, Nesiah and Bubbie were so disruptive that I rarely enjoyed a message. Every once in a while when the guilt of not taking my kids to church would overwhelm me.. or when I had a really good week healthwise, we would visit churches.. but the kids hated it...
Finally, as my health improved, and my energy improved I felt like God was nudging me to step out in faith. My children were very resistant at first, they loved homechurch.. So in order to motivate them and myself, I promised them that every time we went to church, I would buy them pizza. Now they love pizza and it is a rare treat.. Suddenly my children were highly motivated to go to church. (Don't judge me. I am only human!)
We connected with a local church. We found it to be perfect for what we need right now. we made connections and doors opened.. We are now plugged in again. We have a church home. This has been a 3 year long journey, of healing and growing. (and no I don't buy the kids pizza anymore. They like church now)
Answered Prayer #4 I was invited to join an adoptive mom's support group. A group of mommas deep in the trenches of strong and hard parenting. It has been such an encouragement for me.
Answered Prayer #5 In my pursuit for health, dealing with the fact that 2 of my children have pretty aggressive lyme disease, Nesiah is having a lot of seizure activity and switching to homemade foods vs commercial formula, dealing with my own lyme (and other health issues), dealing with my son who is prediabetic and all the food allergies and asthma issues we have dealt with.. I have decided to use all the knowledge I have gained over the years and put it to good use. I am working on getting certified as a natural health consultant. I hope to educate people on the use of whole foods, herbs and other holistic methods of getting healthy and staying healthy. While helping stabilize my financial situation.
We have found community. We have connected to so many different groups of people, our homeschooled friends, our adoption group friends and our church friends. We are babysitting/doing respite alot which allows us to reach out and serve others. We spend a lot of time praying for the burdens that so many of our friends carry. Because being plugged in, is not just about taking.... it is about giving, continuing the cycle of being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
I Need An Intervention
It is baby season...
This was our view to the birthing pen.. we spend a lot of time hanging out here waiting and watching.
This year has been a lot of fun, because the kids can handle most of the animals. They keep after everything for me. I go to the barn to help milk and keep tabs on the babies once a day.
The one momma totally rejected her baby. She refused to lick her etc.. so Elizabeth got to bottle fed her.
Another momma was unable to feed her babies, but she supplies us with an abundance of milk, so we are bottle feeding her babies. The first week, they need round the clock feedings, so Elizabeth kept the babies in a box by her bed.
We were rather disappointed that our 6 mommas only gave us 8 babies. Many were new moms so it was not a big surprise, but it was still disappointing. So I found a couple goats on craigslist and somehow.. still not sure how.. I ended up buying 6 more goats. So now we have a total of 14 baby goats, 9 which are bottle fed. I think I need an intervention... cause if my counts are right, we somehow ended up with 20 goats on the farm.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Valentines Day
Ten years.. Ten years ago, I celebrated my last valentine's day with my love.
Sometimes God just blows your socks off..
Later that same day, I got a call from the local pool. Someone had send in money and was paying for a family membership for us! I had just been praying about finding a way to fund a pool membership this year! Another wonderful little God hug.
The week BEFORE Valentine's Day a good friend of mine had blessed me with 40 lbs of chicken, some spinach and 2 doz beautiful pink roses.
This kind of thing totally blesses us beyond measure. Two things are so clear here. 1. God loves us and cares about the things that make us feel loved and special. 2. We have no idea who blessed us with these two special gifts. But it is very obvious that someone was obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit and allowed themselves to be used to carry out God's message to us.
Several weeks later, I had a birthday. This season of healing and regrouping has been so amazing. God is doing good things. I don't always understand the how and the why... but God is always good.
Several days before my birthday, a sweet friend brought us all the above pictured meat. My children eat an incredible amount of food. So this is an incredibly much appreciated gift. We canned 23 quarts of chicken breasts. We made the ribs for a birthday lunch. We popped the rest of the food into the freezer for later! This friend also brought us subs, soft pretzels and a ton of cheese! My kids love food and this was such a wonderful gift!
My birthday was a wonderful day. I had Nesiah stay in respite for a couple days prior as I really needed to do some thrift shop runs to get summer clothes for the kiddoes. We made it to a number of thrift shops and discovered a GoodWill where you buy clothes by the lb. I bought 30 lbs of clothing! My day did not go quite like I had planned but we had a lot of success in finding nice summer clothing for all 6 kids!
The morning of my birthday, the kiddoes presented my gifts. Lee had made a bird feeder, the other 3 kiddoes bought me a necklace, bracelet and an umbrella. My in laws brought us a yummy dinner and spend the evening with us.
I feel incredibly blessed to savor these gifts, these blessings from my Father, the God of the Universe. The God who cares about the smallest details of my life.
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