Courage

One of the most single amazing acts of courage I have ever seen did not come from a man who ran into a burning building to rescue a child, or someone that pushed a woman out of the way from an oncoming car and was hit themselves, or even a father who dodged bullets from an angry person who went on a killing rampage to rescue people in the store he didn't even know. No...oh no, to see real courage, the pure, basic, raw courage, go find someone who has lost everything and then find out to your amazement that they still HOPE. Yes, this is the greatest act of courage I have ever seen. It goes against all their reasoning to HOPE. Their experience may haunt them, but the choice to still go on and HOPE in the Lord completely astonishes me.

It stems from God's Love, covers our hearts and souls and allows us to see beyond pain and suffering and believe in something Greater, Powerful, and Beautiful beyond what words could describe. Hope medicates us and pushes us to persevere towards the unseen. But yet it is unseen- it is by no means un-felt. Sometimes the greatest sense of compassion comes from the One who knows us and can comfort us like no one else could.

And to those who are true Courageous people, keep going because the Lord is pleased with you.

Test Day

Gracey had her test today. It felt so weird not having her around the entire morning as we had to drop her off early this morning and leave her there until afternoon. I kept looking for her and checking on her, but she was not there. Hopefully this test will help us know how to treat this. It will take 7-10 days for results. We'll just wait and see and give her extra love and care in the meantime.

My Trial

How important we feel

going around like we deserve so much

as if we've done something to even permit breath

I plead and hold trials

I judge You for Loving me

as if it were a crime for You to discipline and mold me

Have You not already had Mercy?

Have You not already shown Grace?

I chase myself in circles

Hoping to prove I am there

But it is not what matters

Even when others play too

Are we all missing it?

If not then we drown ourselves in distraction

And we think it is living life

Oh God, that You would somehow pull out the rug from under us all

Am I blessed that You would allow me to struggle TO You?

I've asked for You

When I was a child I knew You beyond what I was taught

I felt You and wanted You

You were my Treasure

Has my spirit been disciplined from a believing Counselor

That painfully pushes me to grow?

Not for the faint of heart

Not simple nonsense

But tough Love

Tougher

Toughest

At times it almost feels like hatred

But You know me

You know I struggle with the Tamer

I go right

You pull me left

I struggle with letting You have the reigns

I must look silly

But You've never left me

Your discipline has allowed my desire for You to increase

And when it increases I find real Joy

God, a contradiction is at stake

But only in the mind of a man

It's fabricated to look as though we are persecuted or targeted

But I've drank

It's You

Give me strength to Love

But I do ask for one thing,...

Just that You would grant me joy in doing so.

Journal Entry from 10/13/2009

What A Nut

Hi! It's me Gracey the Splend-Weenie! Let's go on an adventure together! Scroll down so just the picture shows and what I say! It will be so much fun! Are you ready? Ok....let's GO!!

First we must sniff for the right kind of adventure....the nose always leads to the perfect ones! Oh here we go...I think I'm on to something....

Sniffing is very detrimental to adventuring...we must sniff a lot, and then when you think you might be done sniffing, you must sniff some more...it is only appropriate.

Hey! LOOK! I found something!!!! See!!! This is super cool! I told you about the sniffing,...see we what we found? It always pays off!!!

Alright! Let's play with it! You throw it up in the air and I will catch it...ok, ready????...on the count of three....1....2...3!!!!!!!!

Caught it!

Jeremiah

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you."
Jeremiah 29:13

"I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?"
Jeremiah 31:16

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
Jeremiah 33:3

Praise the Lord for wanting us close to Him, for wanting to be found by our hearts! All we have to do is ask!

Gracey Update

Please pray for Gracey. She has been sick now for nearly 2 months. We noticed lethargic tiredness and no desire to play, and drinking very little water and little urinating back in August and had her checked out. The vet said her Liver Enzymes (ALT) were elevated meaning something was irritating her Liver. We assumed it was either a food we had given her or an allergy and treated it for this for a while, but her levels, particularly her Liver Levels are still significantly elevated. All other counts are normal which shows that it is specific to the Liver. She has had a little more energy and times where she seems herself, but there are also days like yesterday where she barely does anything. She tires easily and if picked up the wrong way yelps in pain. We have not been able to participate much in PETS at the hospital and we miss it so much. Our next plan of action is to have her fast on Monday-Tuesday and bring her to the vet and do a test where they draw blood before she eats and then again 2 hours after she eats. You can only imagine how sad I will be that day without her! After this test, we may have to get an ultrasound to see if there is possibly a shunt in her Liver that could be correctable by surgery. All we know so far is that something is specifically wrong with her Liver that most likely is congenital.

You all know how special Gracey is and we ask that you send prayers up for her to get better and/or that we will find out what is wrong and able to do something to help her.