Innocence Lost

I'm sure you know this world is corrupt. I'm sure you know we have an enemy, Satan, who lurks about deceiving people & blinding them to the truth. He also tries to hurt God's children & cause them to fear life & turn from God. Many times our life moves along so smoothly that we forget our enemy is there. But I'm here to tell you that he is real. He wants to destroy families, pervert the innocent & cause us to blame God.

 

But, (I love that word!), God is bigger & stronger & has already won the war! God is truth! And the truth will prevail. Even when we face our biggest fear, God is with us! And if He is with us, who can stand against us? As we face our fear, we can already praise God & thank Him for standing with us through it!

If you saw your children playing like this, wouldn't you be a proud parent. Your kids love each other & are getting along. They even tell each other "I love you."

 

Now, add to that a bad attempt at a wedgie. Totally inappropriate especially in public, but totally innocent, right?

 

But when seen by a man who doesn't know you or your family dynamic, it turns into your worst nightmare. He saw this all as perverted. He called the police!

 

What followed was a very stressful evening of waiting followed by CPS & police interviews. Thanks to prayers, the truth was seen & the case closed. God was so merciful & provided us with very skilled & professional men to deal with who protected our kids' innocence.

 

I'm thankful for this incident because it opened our eyes to how unsafe the world is & how foreign & rare a loving family is these days. It also reaffirmed what an Awesome God we serve who comforts us & answers prayers.

 

I also pray that God will use this situation to bring glory to Himself and use it to maybe help some other family.

 

 

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Things never go as planned

I think God must laugh at me & all my plans a lot! I think He's trying to teach me to let go & just go with life as it happens. So originally, Hubby was to be home the first 2 weeks of this month, 1 of those alone with me. That got changed as he ended up spending the 1st week in Denver (our alone week). Then Hubby was to go to California the last 3 weeks of the month & I was to spend 10 of those days with him. Well, that got changed! He ended up not going & instead spent another week in Denver. And now he is home for 3 weeks. 


I'm learning not to hold on to the plans I've made. I could be mad because plans fell through. I could pout, but what good would that do. So now I'm moving on. It looks like I'm going to get some alone time with Hubby next week thanks to our wonderful parents! And it's even looking like I'll get to go to California with Hubby around my birthday. But if it doesn't work out, I'm ok with it. 


I'm seeing that God's plans are better. We have been having some great family time this week. Having Hubby home has helped the kids alot. I sometimes forget that his travel is as hard on them as it is on me. So this extra time he has at home is very good. 


God's plans are always better than mine. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  I can always trust in God's plans! Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  So even when I can't understand why my plans have changed, I can trust God is leading me where He wants. Even though I make plans, I'm leaving the actual path I travel up to God. Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” 


I've mentioned this song before, but I love the song "I'm Letting Go" by Francesca Battistelli. I think it's because God has been teaching me to let go! Here's the chorus:

I’m letting go

Of the life I planned for me

And my dreams

Losing control

Of my destiny

Feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe

So I’m letting go

I also really like Francesca's song "Unpredictable" as it reminds me that God is bigger than I am & His plans & thoughts are so much bigger & broader than I could ever imagine.

When I know that I know

What You have down the road

When I’m sure that

I’ve figured You out

Help me see that I’m small

That I can’t know it all

‘Cause You’re so unpredictable

So when things don't seem to be going as planned, just let go of your plans & trust God! It is hard at first, but the more you let go & just trust, the easier it gets. This unpredictable life is so exciting. God means for it to be exciting. He wants to lead us on paths we never would have dreamed & wants to stretch us farther than we've ever been stretched. Yes, it is scary sometimes! I so want to cling to the familiar & routine. But when I let go, I've been amazed by what God does through me & for me!

How do you handle stress?

There are times in our life when the stress of life is more than you think you can handle. I just had one of those weeks.

Last Wednesday, my Mamaw fell & got taken to the hospital. I so wanted to be there with her but Jamie had been coughing so I didn't want to get my Mamaw sick.

Then all during the night on Wednesday, Jamie was coughing like crazy. I called the doctor on Thursday morning thinking Jamie just had a respiratory infection. By the time we arrived at the doctor, Jamie didn't look so good. She wasn't very perky & looked a little blue. And she wasn't talking much, which is unheard of with Jamie. To the left is a picture of Jamie when we first got to the doctor's office.

Within 15 minutes of arriving at the doctor's, I went from slightly concerned to very concerned. Jamie had 3 breathing treatments, a nose swab for flu (negative) & a chest x-ray for pneumonia (negative). Then we were told she HAD to go to the hospital. She was not moving air through her lungs. We were held at the doctor's office until the hospital had a room ready for us as the doctors where afraid Jamie would get in trouble. After almost 5 hours at the doctor's, a room was ready & we headed to the hospital.

On arrival at the hospital, Jamie was put on monitors & her oxygen was at 89%. Jamie was put on constant Albuterol breathing treatment. She ended up being on it for 3 1/2 hours. I felt so sorry for her as she went almost 24 hours without eating. During this time, Jamie was very quiet & hardly talked.  When she did talk, she would gasp between words. She was struggling for every breath.

Jeff's wonderful parents came down quickly to take Jess & David for us as they were with us this whole time. Jeff, his parents & Jess & David went to get food as none of us had had lunch.

After they left, the doctor came in to talk to me about Jamie. He told me they were very concerned about her inability to move air through her lungs. If this constant treatment didn't work, she was going to be moved to PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). After he left, my parents arrived. For the first time, I broke down when my dad & I stepped out in the hall. He told me doctors at my Mamaw's hospital wanted to move her to a nursing home. The combination of these 2 bad things just broke me. But I said a quick prayer & pulled myself together as I needed to be strong for Jamie.

Fortunately, the treatment helped & air started moving a little through her upper lobes of her lungs. They took her off continuous breathing treatment & let her eat. She was then put on treatments every 2 hours for the next 24. Slowly she started responding to the treatment.

As you can tell, she looks a little better. It was at this point, I realized we were in for a long, several day process to recovery. I knew that if I was going to handle the stress of Jamie & my Mamaw, I was going to need support. So, besides the twittering & facebooking of requests, I reached out to a handful of friends that I know are great "Prayer Warriors". I messaged them & told them specific things that needed prayed for. Things that needed to happen for my Mamaw & things that needed to happen for Jamie. As I sent out those messages, I rested in the fact that God was in control & I knew I, as well as Jamie & Mamaw, were covered in prayer. What a relief! I just sat back & rested in God's arms. I waited to see how God would work.

And boy, did God work. I was amazed at how God moved in my Mamaw's situation. He changed opinions of family members, He changed opinions of the doctor & He allowed my Mamaw to walk & impress the physical therapist. My Mamaw went home on Friday! It's going to be a long, hard road for my Mamaw & for her kids & grandkids who are taking care of her. BUT she's home, where she wants to be!

And God worked in Jamie's lungs. Slowly, he started opening her lungs. Lungs that sounded like an Asthmatic's in a severe asthma attack soon started moving air. By Friday afternoon, Jamie was talking like crazy & felt up to playing games. Thanks to Child Life services, Jamie spent a lot of Friday night & Saturday morning making bead bracelets. By Saturday night at 8pm, we were coming home! We continued breathing inhaler treatment every 4 hrs for 1st 24 hours we were home. Then only as needed. In the last 24 hours, Jamie has only needed 1 treatment.

Not only has God worked in healing Jamie's lungs, but He has kept me from having a fibromyalgia flare-up. Stress is a big factor in my flare-ups. Also, I was in a cool hospital room & slept in chairs & on hard couches. I also had very little sleep. I should have been in a complete flare with tons of pain. But I wasn't! Why? Prayer!!

So, if anyone wants to know how I handle stress, I'll be glad to tell you! I handle it by praying! And by having wonderful friends who pray for me & with me! By handing it all over to God & trusting He would answer the prayers of His Saints, I was able to relax & not get stressed!

God is good! He promises if we cast our cares on Him that He will give us rest, because He cares for us! (Psalm 55:22 & I Peter 5:7). So when you are stressed, I have a couple of things to do. 1. Pray to God! He will help you! 2. Reach out to friends that you know will pray for you & will encourage you! 3. Then rest in God's arms! It worked for me & I know it will work for you!