November

Yes, I know once again I haven't written in eons but again so much has happened that sometimes you just want to soak it up. God has been working in amazing ways that I cannot put into words what I'm feeling. Things are slowly progressing but a day doesn't go by where I see God's finger prints. Aiva is doing well in school...actually her teacher says that she's doing better than some of the other kids. She should really be in Kindergarten! I knew there was a reason we didn't send her on ahead! She loves school and loves that her teacher and her husband has the same name as Mamaw & Papaw. She thinks it's so funny. She amazes me how much older she seems every day. Tonight we cut her hair and I could hardly believe how much older she looked. She kept telling me not to cut it like her cousin's. She said that's way too short and kept me on track with keeping it long. Ana is doing great. Talking up a storm and acting like her sis everyday. A little more stubborn than Aiva so I know we'll have our hands full. It's so fun to sit and watch the girls communicate and play together. WOW...does time fly or what? I am so blessed to have two wonderful girls who are growing to be more like God every day. It's so funny to see them fight to see who is going to pray first for our meals. Nate is doing well. He's trying to figure out a routine for the girls during the day and he's looking forward to the day when he'll have some Nate time when he can do something that he would like. His disability kicks in in December so he's looking forward to having a couple days to himself. We recently started a couple's small group which we love. We're studying the book of Song of Songs. We're really enjoying digging into the word and meeting other couples our age! Just in October I got to meet my favorite author Karen Kingsbury and it was such a shining moment. But at the same time it was such a reality check. I came to realize that I put her so high up on a pedestal that when I actually met her she was just like me. Normal...married, mom, Christian, friend...the list goes on. Don't get me wrong...it was a surreal moment but I had to remove myself from my body and look at the big picture. God has been working in me in great ways since that encounter! I'm in this bible study and we're studying the book "Can We Talk" by Priscilla Schrier and it has been such a God thing. God has wanted me to open my eyes to so many things but it wasn't until a few things happened that it was actually able to happen. I wrote a story for our Women's Newsletter about our Journey of Faith and I know I wouldn't have been ready had it not been God shoving me to do it. It was like it was His way of saying that I've had time to move on...now it's time to heal and help others. It was so much like God. Since then, I've been able to share and encourage others who are living in the valley. I can now tell them that they need to put their trust in God and that He will give them the strength that they need to get to the mountain top. That they need to choose JOY instead of sorrow. For some reason...actually I know the reason. God has laid a verse on my heart for the past week. It was one of the verses in Can We Talk. Habakkuk 3:17-19..."Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! Yahweh my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!" Isn't this amazing! Even though we have times that are rough...there's the unknown...the heart ache - we can praise the Lord for he is our strength. We don't have to carry our load alone! He lets us stand on mountaintops! Not only was this verse in Can We Talk but Thelma Wells talked about it at the conference I went to where my fav author was at AND in Today's Christian Women, Thelma has an article about choosing Joy where she quotes this verse AND I just got reading a blog of an acquaintance and she listed the verse as well. Can it be any clearer??? We need to find joy in knowing that God is too wise to err and too good to be unkind! Praise God!