prayer

Can you relate?

The back to school rush is just behind us and we’re moving like a freight train down the tracks towards the holiday season and this week I found myself physically exhausted, emotionally overwhelmed & almost crawling to my porch for rest. How about you? Have you found yourself in crawl-mode lately?

How many times must we recalibrate? The dadgum devil is good at what he does: tempting us with good works, great events, and go-mode until we find ourselves spent, again. Just when I think I’m on to his deceitful tactics I find myself tripped up and give out!

You too?

If so, my steadfast prayer for you and this is online space is to encourage you with real stories, about real life, and a real faith.

May these words from the most recent Facebook Live strengthen the weary as you allow God’s Word to saturate your soul as you seek rest in Jesus name.

much love,

The best way to finish something is to start.

We could start with how many times I’ve started this post in my head, or we could start with the come-apart I had in the car on the day 14 days ago. Thankfully no children were present, and only the passerby in the parking lot saw me ~~screaming~~ talking to myself.

If you’ve seen Summer School when the character, Chainsaw, overwhelmed with stress grabs his head, while taking a test & SCREAMS at the top of his lungs, “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! “Tention breaker. Had to be done.”

Anyone in need of a tension breaker?

Yesterday my oldest son declared, “Tomorrow it will only 27 days until Christmas.” Which is precious and absolutely delightful because it is the most-wonderful-time-of-the-year except that it’s ONLY 27 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!! #forcryingoutloud

October was like two seconds, and now we are two days shy of wrapping November raging full throttle into the holiday season.

Ferris Bueller was right. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Which brings me back to my last post- if you missed the video where I hid on my porch and trapped the cat in the bathroom (who has since been hit by a car and gone on to kitty-cat heaven), you could watch it HERE. The video. Not the cat.

In that post, I shared how we dove head first into foster care and discussed a bit about why I was stepping back from speaking events to tend better to the littles God had placed or allowed to visit our home.

A lot has changed since that post. For the sake of privacy & without going into great detail, I can tell you we savored our months as a family of five but now are back to being a family of four. It’s been eleven days since the little one that left us forever changed had to go. We’ve been cherishing sweet memories, and are re-establishing a new normal.

Just yesterday at church I had someone say, “You’ve walked this road before.” Speaking of years ago & our seasons of grief after we lost our son and then a daughter to preterm labor.

“Yes and no,” was my tearful reply.

Yes, we have experienced loss and sorrow before but none like this.

It’s different.

We, meaning our whole extended family, store family, church family loved hard and fell fast for the little one God sent our way that we were sure would be with us forever until he wasn’t.

Many have said, “Well, this is part of it.” Meaning loving and losing is part of fostering.

To that, yes, it’s very much like standing in the road and then being surprised when you are hit by a car but can anyone ever be ready to be hit by a car?

A recent & frequently asked question,

“Now what?”

WE GIVE THANKS.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet. We dressed as we do on Thanksgiving Day as Pilgrims, Indians and cowboy outlaws.

We hooked the buggy and rode to the feast.

We said the blessing,

ate lots of food, played whiffle ball with family and friends, laughed a lot & then, we cried for the ones who were missing.

“In everything gives thanks” doesn’t happen by accident. When life knocks the breath out of you and our hearts break we have to CHOOSE thanksgiving sometimes even on Thanksgiving.

WE TRUST.

We are trusting God to make it all matter. My nephew told his mother the evening after he heard our news, “Some days are happy. Some days are sad. This day is a sad day.”

Romans 8:28 is one of our go-to verses. We believe God works all things for good for those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purposes. That doesn’t mean all things are good because there are many, many things in this life that are not good but God in His wonder, and amazing grace can use those things too. He can and will use it for our good and His glory.