Noah, was he crazy or what?!

One of the reasons that I didn't blog for several months is because I was knee deep in a study of healing. I was learning so much and taking in so much information - but couldn't form a complete sentence on exactly what it was that God was teaching me. So, one tiny book about healing and countless nights of me reading the word to discover what God had to say about healing - here is where my heart is.

I could talk for hours about why I believe my son will be healed - but it boils down to this piece of scripture.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (NIV)

and my favorite version (NLT)...

Faith is the confidence of what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance of things we cannot see.

I don't know when we will see Jet fully healed. I wish I did, but I don't. My hearts desire is to see my son blossom and to hear his sweet voice. God's word says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, that He will give us the desires of heart (Psalm 37:4). And you what, I believe His word is the truth and I know that my God will not disappoint.

In all honesty - it is difficult to believe that our son will be healed. But His word says that it has already happened (Isaiah 53:5 - But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed) and even though we can not see it with our eyes - one day we will. One day I will hear Jet's voice. One day, things will not be as challenging as they are for him right now. One day to the amazement of all us - his body will be whole.

I don't believe that Jet's "current condition" is God's perfect will. We live in a fallen world and crap happens. Satan came to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus came to give us life in abundance. However, because our God is so good and because He loves us so much - to all of evil's dismay - He will use Jet's chromosome duplication and cerebral palsy to show all of us that He is still a God that Heals!!! 

Can I hear an Amen!!!???

Confident of His Goodness,

Lela

Merry Christmas... Oh No, wait a second... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

First of all, I'm sorry I bailed on blogging. I found Pinterest and have been stuck there for the past 3 months. Second of all, thank you very kindly to all my friends that asked, "why haven't you been blogging?" That makes me feel very special.

I'll do both of us a favor and not recap the past 3 months. Quite frankly, I don't remember it anyway. Ha!

However, there is something that has been life changing and I will dive deeper in another post. A few weeks before Christmas we had one of our pastors and a few others in our amazing church lay hands on Jet. We are believing that God is going to heal him. Pastor Linda said to be watching for his healing to take place. One of the first areas that has been healed is his gluten intolerance. That's right... Jet has been eating Gluten for a couple of months now. You have no idea how huge this is for our family. It's beyond words.

Let's talk about today.

Jet and Will both had their first soccer games. And it was such a bittersweet afternoon. Will did awesome, of course. He had a tremendous amount of fun and we all had a lot of fun cheering him on from the side lines.

Jet's practices have been difficult on so many levels. Once again, too deep to go there this very minute.
I knew the game would be hard for him because he's NEVER been in that type of situation. The coach and I had a discussion about what I thought the first game would like for Jet and I honestly told him that I had no idea because this was so new for him.

He was terrified. He didn't know what to do. He was crying. He was confused. It was awful and heartbreaking to say the very least. Will tried telling him he'd do okay. Anabella was bringing him his water bottle to try to make his tears go away. And then finally, God showed His Grace once again. The coach from the opposite team said "come on in with him." Thank you so very much coach that I don't know. You made a very difficult situation bearable. I didn't want to go in with him, so I sent my first born in with him.

I can not put into words how proud of Will I was. He held his hand and took him up and down the field. He showed restraint in not kicking the ball when it landed right in front of him but encouraged his brother to kick the ball. He let go of his hand to give him independence when he found it necessary, but took it back when his brother wasn't sure which direction to go.

Will showed a tremendous depth of character today. He saved the day!!! I love you Will.

Confident of His Goodness,

Lela

A moment of Truth.

Jet, I know the plans I have for you. I have Plans to Prosper you and not to Harm you. Plans to give you a Hope and a Future.  ~  Jesus (Jeremiah 29:11)

That is a promise for Jet from Jesus. I am clinging close to that verse at this moment in time. I titled my blog Confident of His Goodness because I am confident that I will see God's goodness in the midst of heartache. 

One thing that I will promise you as a follower of my blog, is that - I will always be transparent. Sometimes, I am in good spirits and the presence of the Holy Spirit if felt all around me and I am bathing in Peace. And then there are times, that I am really really sad. And to be honest, now is one of those days when I am really really sad.

First of all - I know things could be worse and are for a lot of families. I know that. But I also know, that things could be better.

Jet just turned 4 and it was a bitter-sweet birthday. I am happy that I have a healthy 4-year-old to love on. But - if you would have asked me 3 even 2 years ago where Jet would be on his 4th birthday, I would have have told you "caught up to his peers or at least getting really close." And the fact of the matter is, that's not where Jet is. Not even close. And that hurts.

Please pray for Jet this year. Please pray that this will be his year to blossom. Please pray for me. My heart aches for Jet. As a mama,  you want to be able to "fix" things and there are some things that just can't be "fixed". 

I am praying for a miracle this year. A year that says "only God could have done that" - not therapy, not a special diet, not school - only God. Will you join me in praying that for Jet?

Happy Birthday Will and Jet!!!

Will is an amazing little boy. He really is. His heart is so tender. He is sweet from the core. He is ornery and strong willed (I learned that on December 4, 2005 after 100 million hours of labor). He loves the idea of hunting. He enjoys art and is very creative. He likes stuffed animals and guns. He is THE BEST big brother EVER. He is going to be a great dad one of these days.
Happy 6th Birthday Will.

Will had asked for a remote control helicopter. This one is 14+, but he does a really good job flying it.

Will made his own Angry Bird Birthday Cake. 

Will also wanted a Pee-Wee Penguin Pillow Pet to match his "Daddy Penguin Pillow Pet" and a Bomb Angry Bird. He loves Angry Birds if you haven't noticed.

Singing Happy Birthday to Will. Once again, Jet's favorite moment in the Birthday Party.

Jet loved his Birthday. He was sooooooo excited. He went through Ani's and Will's birthdays and FINALLY it was his and he was thrilled to say the least.
Jet is the sweetest and happiest boy that you will ever meet. He loves Curious George and Mickey Mouse. He enjoys all kinds of music from Wheels on the bus to Jason Aldean. If I let him he would play iPad or Computer Games all day. He loves to make people smile and he gives the best hugs. He loves his brother and sister so much.
Happy 4th Birthday Jet.

Nana and Da (my parents) got Jet this farm set from Atwoods. He loved it!!! Oh my goodness, you should have seen his reaction to it. Priceless. Will also thought it was a pretty cool gift (notice open mouth, "AHHHHH".)

He was so happy that it was finally his Birthday.

To say that I am blessed to be the mom of these two boys is an under statement. I love them with all that I am.

Confident of His Goodness,
Lela

Happy Thanksgiving.

Anabella made this at school today. She is thankful for her Mommy and Daddy.

Jet brought this home from school today too. His sweet little foot is a tiny turkey. Too Precious!

And lastly, Will made this at school a couple of weeks ago. First of all, I am so impressed with his penmanship and that he is so close to spelling 'feast' correctly - all on his own.

However, what really pulls at my heart strings is what this picture represents. It's an intricate look inside our family and what Will's idea of "feast" looks like. Please notice what's on the table: Pumpkin Pie, Turkey (still intact with feathers and feet), Rolls and Mashed Potatoes. Take a close look at what is under the table, this is the part that brings me so much joy - From Right to Left - Zeke, Spike, Loti and Lexi all waiting patiently for a feast of their own. I'm not exactly sure why this piece of art brings a tear to my eye - but it does. 

Thank you Jesus for 3 Beautiful, Healthy, Loving, Kind, Sweet, Smart and Amazing Children that I can call my own.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends and Family!!!

Confident of His Goodness,

Lela

A lesson in love...

I'm sure most of you have heard the term, "love language'. But you may not know exactly what it means. So if you don't mind, I'll take a minute and explain.

Understanding love language is HUGE in having a functional family. I think that a lot of controversy and miscommunication would be avoided if everyone in each family understood what "love" meant to each person in that family.

So here goes... Love Language 101.

We'll start by getting a little personal. My love language is WORDS OF AFFIRMATION. What does that mean? I love compliments. I don't just want to hear them, I need to hear them. I want to hear those three little words, "I love you." Tell me why you love me, tell me why you think I'm a good mom, tell me that you think I'm beautiful. And at the same time, if you yell at me or criticize me - It leaves me broken.

Next on the List, PHYSICAL TOUCH. This language belongs to my little Jet man. He loves giving hugs and kisses. He's 40lbs, but he still longs to be carried. He's quick to grab a hand when you're walking with him. He'll come up to me and just put his hand in my lap. One thing to remember with this language is that "spanking" can be devastating. So that is something that we try not to do with Jet. And withholding physical touch from your spouse can leave them feeling lonely and unloved.  And on a side note, Jared also speaks this language.

QUALITY TIME is up next. This one goes to Will. He is constantly asking us to play with him. He doesn't care what we do; watch a movie, play a game, play cars, go outside, whatever - doesn't matter to him as long as he's with you. He loves to just sit and talk. And if he thinks you're distracted, he's quick to add, "you're ignoring me." And that really hurts him.

RECEIVING GIFTS is number 4. I don't think that anyone in my immediate family falls into this category. This particular love language says that person loves the kindness and thoughtfulness behind gifts. They aren't materialistic because the gifts don't need to grand. They simply enjoy that they were remembered and thought of. So, if this is your child or spouse - don't forget a birthday or anniversary because that would crush them.

And lastly we have, ACTS OF SERVICE. This person likes to hear, "Let me do that for you." If you're a child you feel loved when mom goes and gets a drink for you or picks up your room. If you're a wife nothing says I love you more than running the vacuum. Or if you're a husband, you know you're loved when your wife has dinner ready for you when you get home. Please, please, please don't make your significant other feel like you're adding to their work load if they speak this language. And always be very willing to lend a helping hand.

So what language are you?

You may have noticed that I didn't add Anabella to this list - she's too young to tell at this point. If I had to guess - I'd say she's receiving gifts.

One thing that needs to be emphasized is that in order to feel loved, people need to speak to you in your language. On that same note, in order to make those around you feel loved, you need to speak their language. And quite frankly, nothing could be more foreign and it takes conscious effort to make that happen.

I'm quick to tell Jared I love him and to tell my children how important they are and how beautiful I think they are - because that's my language. It flows easily out of me. It's not natural for me to give a rub on the back or to give Will my undivided attention when I have 100 million other things that I need to do. I struggle with speaking other languages. However, I know that in order for my family to know deep down how much I love and adore them - I have to communicate that to them through their own language.

To discover your love language go here:
http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

Confident of His Goodness,
Lela

Two Word Wednesday

Creative Play