Josiah- A Blessing from Heaven

Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
-Psalm 96

Finally! Our sweet baby is here. After 9 1/2 months of pregnancy, 25 hours of tiring contractions and 4 1/2 more hours of hard labor, our baby boy, Josiah, is here. He was born at home on March 21st at 3:30 a.m. On the lower end of the scale(compared to our other babies)he weighed 8 lbs. and 5 oz. and was 20 inches long. The labor was hard work and much longer than I had hoped for, but everything was perfect in the end. I couldn't have done it without the help of Kenny- he was such a great coach. He did everything from getting me food and drinks during the labor to holding me up when I was too tired to stand. The midwives were invaluable as well. I'm so grateful to have had them be a part of this with us. Thanks Michelle and Kristen! Our great friend, Keri B helped out with the other kids, which was also a great help. I'm so glad she was here to share in the birth of our son.

All of Josiah's big sisters and especially his big brother were so excited he has finally arrived. Yesterday, I overheard Phoebe telling a friend of ours that sometimes she thinks it is a dream that he's actually here.

Kenny and I are just overwhelmed with joy about another baby, and even a son, in our home. We love the name Josiah because of the testimony in the Bible of how King Josiah restored the kingdom of Israel back to serving their God. Kenny and I have both experienced this same sort of restoration in our own lives, as we lost sight, for a time, of who Jesus was and who He was asking us to be, only to see Jesus bring us back to Himself. We are deeply grateful for His work in our life! We pray that our son, Josiah, will be one who turns others to the living God that can heal and restore.

HERE is Kenny's side of the story, written the day Josiah was born, before he had a name.

Thank you everyone who prayed for us and served us during this time. We are so thankful for your help!

A New Season

This is outside the building where we meet on Sunday evenings.
During worship...
Just hanging out...

Recently Kenny was hired as the part-time pastor of a new church. The church that we have been members of for the past 2 or 3 years, Northwest Baptist, is sponsoring this new church, which is called Campus Church. It is a church specifically geared towards reaching the college community of Oklahoma City and the surrounding cities. We are very excited about this new endeavor for many reasons. One of which is that we are eager for young people to see the power and hope a life with Jesus Christ can offer them. Also, there is a large number of international students that are very interested in Jesus and His teachings- which is a blessing to us because we want to be missionaries when we grow up :o), so this is a great oppurtunity for us to get to know people from many different cultures. Another reason that we are excited about this new oppurtunity is that Kenny and I have been involved in ministry together for the nearly 12 years that we have been married and it is something that we absolutely love and are committed to. This just helps us, especially Kenny, to be able to spend more time doing what we are passionate about. We also have quite a number of great people (which are also great friends of ours) that are just as excited about this new work, that are also working together with us at Campus Church. This will eventually be full time work for Kenny, though we are not certain when that will be exactly. In the mean time, we would value your prayers to manage family, work, ministry, etc., as well as your continued prayers as we continue in what God has asked us to do.

A Very Special Day

This past Sunday, on May 4th, our sweet Abbiyah was baptized. She made a decision to become Jesus' disciple about 3 weeks ago. The morning of her baptism, we spent some time praying for her. I shared with her that, as a disciple of Jesus, He will reveal to her the secrets of His kingdom. After the service we went to lunch with friends to celebrate. I am so excited to see Jesus continue His work in her life. And to see Him grow her in the gifts that He has given her. One of the things that I have seen in her for some time now is an honest heart- I've never really had to deal with her about lying, for which I am greatful. She also has such an interest in what is happening in people's lives. Thank you Father for calling her to your side and inclining her ears to hear you calling to her, "Come to me and I will give you good things!"

Don't Be Afraid

Something from the Word that I have been thinking about a lot this past week or so is when it says that we have not been given a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind. Jesus first spoke this to me when Abbigail, my first-born, was 1 or 2 days old. I was so scared that He was going to take her back, though there was no basis for that fear. She was totally healthy(and so beautiful, i might add). He showed me how fear is the opposite of love and power and a sound mind. If I am afraid, then I cannot love as Jesus has loved, and I will shrink back when I should have courage. If I am afraid, then I will not see that I have been given the power to overcome the world- I will be blinded to the truth that through Jesus I will not be destroyed by anything that would happen to me. If I am afraid I cannot think clearly and make decisions with a clear and sober mind, but my judgment would be clouded and I would not be trusting in Jesus to take care of the things that would make me fearful. I realized my whole life I had been afraid of everything. Of all the what if's and might be's. And for the first time, I was able to receive from Him courage to love(even if i lose what i love), He gave me faith to begin seeing that I don't have to be crushed by my circumstances(even if the worst does happen), He began teaching me to push fear aside and make decisions based on reality and not my exaggerated concerns of the catasrophies that could happen (but most likely never would.) Not to say, that I am not afraid at times, but He is freeing me. And I am grateful.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.-John 14.27

Baptism Pictures

Here are pictures from my Abbigail's big day!
Before Abbigail was baptized this morning, Kenny and I spent some time talking and praying with her in the courtyard at our church. I reminded her of the verses of Proverbs 3.5-8, as this has been a special scripture just for her since before she was born. We celebrated the day by going to lunch with a group of friends and then to Grandma and Papa's house for swimming and dinner. I hope that Abbigail will remember this day. It has truly been special!

A Big Day For Our Family!

Today, our oldest daughter is getting baptized. Abbigail is 8 years old and has been asking questions for at least 3 or 4 years about being born again and getting baptized. Finally she is ready. On Friday night of this week, she apparently was having a hard time getting to sleep so she started praying and spent much of the night in prayer. Saturday morning, with tears of excitement, she told me how she had told Jesus about the bad things she had been doing and asked Him to take away her sin and that she wanted to be with Him. When she told Kenny about it, he asked her if she ready to be baptized. She said yes. Later that day she told me "This is the happiest day of my whole life!" I am so excited to see Jesus' love and power at work in her life. I am grateful to all of our friends who have set a wonderful example for her to see Jesus at work in their lives. And to everyone who has had a part in teaching her of His love.

Thank you, Jesus, for hearing our prayers for our daughter. Make her strong in You. Grant her grace to become more and more like You. Deepen her love for those that are far away from You. Use her as an instrument of Your love in their lives. And just as her name means "My Father's Joy" let her feel and know Your delight in her.

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.

2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."

4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning-

6 though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.

10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11 Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

This is the prayer of my heart today. I read it this morning and God just keeps bringing me back to it. Yes, Lord, let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children!!!

A Good Word

I was very encouraged by this today...

And [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

What might seem like such a long time to me, when I am waiting for God to come through on my behalf, is really not a long delay nor is it a slow response. God promises me that He will answer speedily and He won't delay. God is seeing everything in His perspective of time- in the perspective of ETERNITY. I see things in the perspective of the short 80 or so years that I might live on this earth. When He is ready to avenge me of my adversary, will He find faith in me? I pray that He does find me faithfully waiting, confident in His care for me.

First Time

My first post...ever. Today I am full of expectation for what God will do. Not every day is like that, though I strive for it to be. But today, I feel excited about what God is working out in my life. I feel very, very rich, though not in material things. I have such a great husband who has been a huge strength to me in this life. I have 4 amazing kids that have taught me so much about who I am and who I need to be. I have the best friends that can be found. They have also, in many different ways and at various times, been a source of strength to me. And, in Jesus, I have an unending supply of strength and hope.