Strength of My Heart

Strength of my heart, I need not fail--
Not mine to fear but to obey;
With such a leader who could quail?
Thou art as Thou wert yesterday!
Strength of my heart, I rest in Thee;
Fulfill Thy purposes through me.

Hope of my heart, though suns burn low,
And fades the green from all the earth,
Thy quenchless hope would fervent glow,
From barren waste would spring to birth.
Hope of my heart, oh cause to be
Renewals of Thy hope in me!

Love of my heart, my streams run dry.
O Fountain of the heavenly hills,
Love, blesse'd Love, to Thee I cry,
Flood all my secret hidden rills.
Waters of love, oh pour through me;
I must have love--I must have Thee!

Lord, give me love; then I have all,
For love casts out tormenting fear;
And love sounds forth a trumpet call
To valiant hope; and sweet and clear
The birds of joy sing in my tree,
Love of my heart, when I have Thee.

-Amy Carmichael

Love these guys

You

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

Tuesday

Broke out the camera for a little bit today. I'm hoping to find myself taking some new-baby pictures sometime soon, but in the meantime, I do have some very fun subject matter.

37 weeks and counting

Thankful that "man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) Because I sureeeeeeeeee feel ready for this baby to come!

hope
definition: noun

1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

I am rejoicing today (as well as many days recently) in hope. Though my son is healthy, my husband is working his stable 8-5 job, and our daughter is preparing for her big entrance into this world, none of these things are the basis of my hope. My son won't always be healthy, my husband may lose his job, our daughter could be born with deformities, etc. No, no-I cannot hope in such fragile things. My hope is in my Lord. He promised me that "the path of the righteous is like the first light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day." Proverbs 4:18 He even calls Himself "the God of hope"! What hope for the religious fanatic who has to blow himself up in order to ensure a place in heaven? None. But for me? "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 Truly, "Christ Jesus...is our hope." 1 Timothy 1:1

Just because...

Our little boy is growing up. This past week or so he learned to say, "Oh wow!" May the Lord mold his heart and life and own him for His own--our greatest prayer.

Sweet home Alabama

Tonight we're missing our family...

35 weeks and counting

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my 35th week of pregnancy. Woo hoo! Almost there! Right now, our tentative plan is to have a repeat C-section the first week of September. We can't wait to hold our little girl!

P.S.In case you were wondering, the picture is a shadow of my pregnant belly against a granite rock in Colorado last week. :)

This is the will of God

"If you think you have come to the mission field because you are a little better than others, or as the cream of your church, or because of your medical degree, or for the service you can render the African church, or even for the souls you may see saved, you will fail. Remember, the Lord has only one purpose ultimately for each one of us, to make us more like Jesus. He is interested in your relationship with Himself. Let Him take you and mold you as He will; all the rest will take its rightful place."

--told to Helen Roseveare, at the start of her missionary days in the Congo

HT: Thoughts on the Way

Wow. I love this quote. I especially love it in light of this verse that Bro. Dick shared at church last Wednesday night, "For this is God's will, your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3 I had to look the verse up for myself just to see that that's really, exactly what it says. More than anything else in my life, God cares about my conformity to the image of His Son. Incredible! Help us, Lord, to not rebel against Your work in our lives.

Happy birthday, Dad

Little Things

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes;
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

-Julia Fletcher Carney

Surely just as the writer of the Psalms could say that "children are a gift of the Lord," we can also return and say, "Parents are a gift of the Lord." I am especially thankful for my parents today as my dad celebrates his 61st birthday. I don't take one of those years for granted, as each one is full of "little minutes" that have shaped and blessed my life, my husband's life, and our son's life in a myriad of ways--known or unknown. Thank you, Lord, for my parents...

Happy birthday, Dad, and we love you very much!

-Rachel, Mason, Charlie, and Bethan

Fabulous Colorado

Though I've been to CO before (just briefly for a wedding), this was our first real trip there. What a shock! The beauty and majesty of the mountains was astounding! The first pic is of Charlie and his favorite dad...or rather of Mason and his favorite son. Charlie didn't want to sit still for this picture. Who cares that it was raining...?

The clearest shot of me with my large pregnant belly was, sadly, corrupted on our memory card. This one will have to do. Little Bethan makes a good seat for her big brother while on Mommy's hip.

The faithful family van made it up (and down) some incredibly steep roads. The 10mph signs were NO JOKE!

Some scenic shots...

And last but certainly not least--MASON at the TOP of 14,000 + ft Mt. Democrat! Charlie and I were SO proud of him. Isn't the view spectacular?!

Better late than never...

After my last post, I never posted any follow-up. . .though the lack of post certainly doesn't represent a lack of something to say. God was truly our "ever-present help" and our "refuge and strength" during the time leading up to Charlie's scheduled surgery. The more details we learned regarding the surgery and post-op time period, the more difficult it became to go forward. Things such as the following: his eyes would swell shut for several days following the surgery, he would have massive amounts of swelling in his head, we would possibly be sharing a room with four other patients, he wouldn't be able to sleep on his side (as he normally does) for quite some time, etc. How our hearts trembled at all that lay ahead. But as I said before, the Lord was wonderfully near, and the prayers of the saints were more than abundant on our behalf. The short story is that we canceled Charlie's scheduled surgery, and scheduled an appointment in St. Louis for two second opinions. On the next day his sniffley cold that he had been battling turned into a fever of 105. We felt the Lord's confirmation of our decision. He was supposed to have had surgery on Friday--the following Monday, we met with the doctors in St. Louis and were told by each that they disagreed with his diagnosis and felt that surgery was certainly not necessary. They gave him the diagnosis of Benign Hydrocephalus, and said they would like neurosurgery to see him back this fall to make sure his head was growing appropriately. Otherwise, they felt this diagnosis was most likely due to simply having a large head and that he should grow into it by the age of 2-3. You can only imagine our joy! Truly, we were (and still are) "like those who dream." The Lord's lovingkindness never fails.
Though we of course do not know the future nor the end of this whole saga, we have experienced the Lord's peace and presence both in the deep waters and out of them. We know He will lead us all the way. And as far as how Charlie is doing right now--he's never been better! At his last well-baby visit, the doctor informed us that his head was in the 90th percentile now. . .previously, it was over 100%. Praise the Lord!