Women of Faith - Imagine in Pittsburgh!

So, I was able to go to the Women of Faith Imagine conference in Pittsburgh this past weekend. I have never been and was a bit skeptical at first. When I walked in Friday morning, I wasn't sure it was going to be super relevant to me. After listening to the speakers on Friday morning, I actually wasn't planning on coming back for the evening. It was neat, informative and GOOD information...but nothing special and a little boring. Plus, I was COLD. FREEZING. The conference was in a hockey arena, so I should have expected that. Anyway.

I did decide to come back Friday night, to see if it would be different AND I got my friend Nikki to come with me, so I was happier. I am so glad I went back. First thing back Friday night, the MC introduced all the ladies involved with the conference. Everyone that speaks and participated sits right off the stage on a "Porch" and they provide commentary in between speakers. The Porch did it for me. All the speakers and such feel like they are really close to each other. They provide community and a family feel to the conference, which made their talks all the more impacting They make you feel like part of the family...which is what made me love it.

My favorite speaker was Angie Smith. She was the one that I had been dying to hear talk all weekend and she did not disappoint. My cousin and I cried througout her story as she talked about losing her two hour old daughter after her birth. She also talked about having faith, stepping out of the boat and trusting Jesus. She ended with this: "He is everything". And He is. So nice to have a reminder.

The other speaker that has stayed with me is Nicole Johnson. She talked about anger as a woman and rooting it out of your life. I have always struggled with anger....although it may not seem like it to most. Just ask my sister....she's seen it, unfortunately. I feel like I've really dealt with a lot of the anger I had as a kid and young adult, but it rears up now and again. Especially when I am not feeling well, headache, hormonal, etc. Sigh. So much to work on. So thankful for my Savior who gives GRACE.

GRACE GRACE GRACE.
We all need it.

I really enjoyed the conference and would love to go back next year. You should check it out!! They are actually coming back to Pittsburgh next September!! Wanna go with me?

I Have the Best Church Family EVER

We are very blessed with the little church we've found here, Bible Christian Fellowship in South Butler. Its a small church plant, filled with people who love the Lord. Namely, people who love the Lord and love to have large families. Many families in our church have 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 kiddos! That was a huge pull for us when we were choosing a church, as we want to have a large family and want to learn how to raise them to love the Lord. Many of the families homeschool, which we might want to do. AND, the best part for me right now, is that many of them love gardening, canning, eating healthy and cooking with whole foods.

Amazing.

It is amazing how the Lord puts us in strategic places for just the right season in our lives. Perfect. Just when I need to learn how to cook with whole, healthy foods, the Lord puts me smack dab in the middle of ladies who know how to do that. (!!!) I am so blessed.

So, all of that leads up to what I really wanted to say. Two ladies from my church, Sally and Heather, bought me birthday gifts for my birthday two weeks ago. I told them both that they didn't need to do that, but they both did anyway! Sally bought me an amazing cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, and gave me all the her gluten-free flours/recipes that she didn't need anymore. LOTS of them. Heather put together a little cookbook of whole-food recipes and gave me a big bag full of the ingredients from Trader Joe's to make them! Made me feel really loved.

 

Here is my table full of all the flours, food and spices Sally and Heather gave me! I feel really blessed. Seriously, I could cry. This is amazing!

I am especially excited about the three ingredients above. Almonds, natural peanut butter and cous cous! YUM!

And lastly, the amazing Nourishing Traditions cookbook. If you look really hard, you can see all my cute little bean/pea sprouts growing and getting more leaves! Yay, grow little sprouts, grow. My tomatoes on the other hand, are so not worth photographing. In fact, I might I have killed some. I tried to revive some today, so we will see.

Getting into the mood for babies

Seeing everyone and their cute little babies on Facebook puts me in a mood to have one of my own. I lay awake at night sometimes and wonder just how she/he will look. Our first baby. I wonder and hope if they'll have Justin's lips and beautiful eyes, if they'll have my hair but his color. I wonder if they'll be cute or dorky. Either way, I know we'll love them just the same.

Getting into the mood.


It also scares the bee-jee-bers out of me. That the Lord would entrust one of His precious beautiful children to us. To raise, to love, nurture and teach all about Him. How good He is, how He loves them, the difference between right and wrong, rebellion and obedience. I want our kids to know Him and know what it feels like to be known by Him. I want them to love Him, to feel His love, grace, approval and mercy for their lives. I want them to know that they matter to Him, that they are special, just as ALL of His children are special.

And I want to cuddle them.....but maybe that's just because I'm a girl.

I'm so content and happy where we are, and honestly don't want to speed this time up for anything. I have an amazing hot husband and I'm not ready to share. But that time is coming sometime and we are preparing our hearts. Someday this family will we ready for a child and we'll welcome him/her with open arms.

Thank you Jesus.

FAIL

Today, I attempted to re-do a tank top I own just like Jessica did here.

I failed.

Not because the tutorial wasn't good or because the idea is impossible. It's a good tute and the idea is awesome. I just lack the sewing coordination to pull it off. In short, knit fabrics hate me and I hate them. I spent the better part of the day trying to make this work.

It didn't.

Normally, this would really bum me out. REALLY bum me out. But you know what? This time, I just sat back with the little ugly cut up tank top in my hand and just breathed. And I sat. And breathed. And then the Lord tapped me on the shoulder.

"Good thing I didn't ask you to re-do your waredrobe for Me, huh?" 

Yup. That's right. Good thing re-doing tank tops is not something He's asked of me. Making quilts so we can wrap people in His Word and Presence? Yup. That He's shown me how to do and given me the inspiration and gifts for. Tank-tops. Not so much.

So, instead of feeling like a failure, I feel like me. Right where I should be. Doing exactly what I should be doing. Making quilts and playing with horrible knit fabrics on the side. Being able to laugh at my own mistakes.

Thank you Jesus.
He is good.

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galations 5:1

This has been running through my mind a lot lately. I'm finding freedom in my life in a bunch of small and new ways. Or perhaps just ways that I've forgotten lately and am recommitting to.

Freedom to not blog for days when I don't want to.
Freedom to try new things and not be afraid of failure.
Freedom to trust the Lord with all the little things.
Freedom to take a break when I need to.
Freedom to trust the Lord with all the big things.
Freedom not to worry.

I've been working on a yellow quilt lately. It's been fun. I've never made a quilt before. I've done some research and am now taking my first attempt at it. I love working on it, surprisingly, as I don't much really like to sew. It's not just any quilt. It's the first quilt of many that the Lord has given me ideas for and asked me to make. That makes it a slightly bigger deal. Okay, a much bigger deal to me.

I feel okay when I am working on it, but convincing myself to sit down and start working on it is hard.

Thoughts run through my head like, "I'm going to mess it up." and "What am I thinking? I can't do this." and "Oh, guess I'm not really good at this after all." All lies and we know from where. I've really been having to stand on HIS truth lately, that I am His, that He equips, that if He's called me to do it, He'll help and it will probably take some failures to get to a really well-built quilt, but that's ok. And in standing on that, I've found freedom lately. It's a beautiful thing.

The doing is always harder than the imagining.

As for new hard things, I am making Justin a double chocolate 14 layer cake today for his birthday dinner tonight from a recipe I found on Bakerella.com. Pictures will come.

Hi again.

Anyone know how it feels to have a hot cup of tea in your hands on a cold winter day? How therapeutic it is just to close your eyes, lean over the cup and let the warm steam waft by your face?

I do. And I consider it a small piece of heaven on some days. Like today.

The house is messy, we have mail that needs mailed, Christmas boxes are clogging up our living room, we JUST got out of our PJ's two hours ago, we have nothing defrosted for dinner or for lunch the next two days, wet laundry in the washer and dry laundry in the dryer, full dishwasher already filled with soap.

The house is nothing that we haven't created and are aware of. We are just not motivated today!

And on those days, at the end of them, we are usually wracked with crabbiness and guilt for having not been productive. But you know what? We've been going for a while now. Sometimes, it's ok to rest and relax. Spend time with Jesus. Read a book. Make a hair appointment. Stay in your PJ's all day. Sometimes it's good and when it's not, grace abounds.

"Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and it also interceding for us." Romans 8:34

Learning to Trust

A few weeks ago, Justin and I had a large fight and I ended up crying on the floor in our bedroom.

[Don't be too alarmed, I always end up crying on the floor. It makes me feel dramatically justified when I sit on the floor. Makes me feel more pathetic or something, I don't know. It's a quirk. Don't you love those?]

As I was sitting there with my Kleenex, I tried to figure out why I was crying so hard. Why was I reacting so emotionally to, truthfully, a small disagreement? The truth came out when Justin and I talked a little bit later. I was trying to explain why I was so upset when flying out of my mouth came, "How many fights can we have before you don't want to come home anymore?"

Shocking, but it matched what I had said earlier in the month right before Justin's granddad's funeral, when after a fight I looked at him and said, "I just don't know what I would do if I lost you."

I was struggling with trust. It's a difficult thing, not just sometimes, but I think all the time. Especially when people you love are involved. Loving anyone requires trusting the Lord with them. It also requires learning to trust them.

The Lord has really challenged me in this recently. I realized I was carrying a lot of stress, worrying about whether Justin would come home safe, worrying that I might make him really mad and he wouldn't want to be married anymore. The Lord was calling me to lay it all down at His feet. So I started praying, I started reading Matthew 6 and I started talk to Justin about it.

Through it all, the Lord gave me peace overflowing through everything. I remembered that He is good and faithful and above ALL things. That He loves me, and that is the most important thing. He reminded me of just how faithful He's been and how trustworthy He is. Remembering all of this, I felt loved and full of His peace. I can trust Him not only with myself, but now with Justin.

As we talked, Justin reassured me. That he loves me and that he's not going anywhere. His response to my shocking statements mentioned above were perfect. He looked at me, hugged me and said, "Just because we're fighting does not mean that I don't love you. I love you. I am not going anywhere. We're going to be married for a very long time."

I think the two men in my life are amazing and so patient with me. I am so grateful for the Lord AND to the Lord for Justin. Learning to trust now that I'm married has been a beautiful and hard thing, but it's been worth it. SO worth it.

My Heart is BURSTING!

My heart feels heavy, burdened yet so happy and light and it just feels like bursting.
(YES, it can be all of those at the same time! I'm a woman.)

Christmas was just wonderful. We're still celebrating and I am just overjoyed at how everything has turned out. No stress, the Lord has provided for everything, just as He always does! I was able to get my shopping/wrapping done a week PLUS in advance and got to make homemade goodies for other presents. We have been able to see ALL 4 sides of our family and both of our sets of grandparents in just 4 days. It may not sound like great to some of you, but it's amazing to me!! To see that many people in 4 days and have it not feel stressful! AMAZING!

I just love our families and am so thankful for them.

And the Lord. The main reason why my heart feels like bursting. This Christmas I just wanted to cry at how amazing, good, faithful and SWEET our Father is! Just think! Before the world was even FORMED He knew my little frame, my little body, what my life would be like, the choices I would make, good or bad, and he LOVED ME.

HE. LOVED. ME.
(My eyes are welling up here.)
HE. LOVES. YOU!
(ALL of you!)

He loved us enough to create the Earth, even though He knew Adam and Eve would sin and His wonderful creations would be seperated from Him by sin. He KNEW that the people of the Earth would turn away from Him and to evil and He would have to flood the Earth. He KNEW that the Law, the judges and all His miraculous, saving acts of the Old Testament would not free His people, but merely cleanse them. He KNEW He would have to send His ONLY Son as a baby to a filthy manger and a teenager mother in order to redeem and forgive us once and for all. He KNEW His Son would then have to be killed, crucified and He knew how much it would break His father heart. He KNEW He'd have to sacrifice ONE of His children to save His MILLIONS of other children. He thought it was worth it, but it broke His heart.

He knew, and He decided that we were worth all that trouble, pain and suffering just so He could be close to us, speak to us, hold us, rejoice over us, sing over us, bless us, discipline us and LOVE us.

He wanted to know ME, He wanted to know YOU.
He went above and beyond to save us, know us to speak to us, teach us, just to KNOW us intimately.
He goes above and beyond in our lives DAILY, with his grace, mercy and miracles in each of our lives.

Justin and I celebrated that this year. HIS sweet, forgiving, life-saving and redeeming birth. He loves us.

HE LOVES US!
Amen.

That's one thing that makes my heart burst.

The Journey

I am in the process of reading "Dating Delilah" by Judah Smith with our Student Leaders at church. So far, it's been a really great book. Very straightforward, practical and encouraging! It's so amazing to read a book on purity where you walk away feeling convicted not condemned, and encouraged to strive for more of Jesus in your life. I like it.

So, I'm on chapter 3. I absolutely LOVE this one point and just had to share with you all.

He states that we have to realize that purity is a process, not a point or a magical-all-at-once-transformation. It's a decision we have to make daily. "Why? Because purity is not a line we cross, it's a direction we take."

Amen!

It's so easy, when pursuing purity in your life, to mess up and then just want to give up. Because you've prayed again and again, given it over to the Lord again and again, and yet STILL you mess up. It drives you crazy, makes you feel guilty and tells you that you're never going to be "free" of this sin. It defeats you.

What we fail to realize is that we don't become like Jesus all at once.
We don't become sin-free all at once.
It's a process.

So, instead of crying defeat when you mess up, you go to Jesus, admit your disobedience and rejoice that He has grace for you and forgives you. "When you understand the work of God however, you will recognize that stuff coming up is a natural part of the process...you are being given an opportunity to decrease so that God can increase in you."

"He must increase, but I must decrease" -John 3:30

I just think that it's awesome.

Hallelujah that life with Jesus is a journey. An exciting adventurous journey where He's constantly showing you new things, loving you, forgiving you and making you more like Him. Amen.

Too busy

Kristen is too busy enjoying her life, resting with Jesus, hanging out with Justin and being loved on to post any sort of update on this here blog.

BUT, I do think you all should head over to Alison's blog or Ungrind to read her newest article. It's awesome.

Enjoy Memorial Day!

Psalm 119

verses 169-176

"May my cry come before you, O Lord
Give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you
deliver me according to your promise.

May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees,
May my tongue sing of your word,
for al your commands are righteous.

May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for you salvation, o Lord,
and your law is my delight.

Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.

I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands."

beautiful.

He is

Today is pretty much perfect.

Windows open, breeze flowing through the house, warm grass smell and soft rays of light bouncing off the walls.

I am wearing a sundress.

Justin and I texted back and forth for almost 5 minutes.
(and I was oh so grateful....if you haven't noticed, I miss him!)

The Lord is still on the throne and still good, no matter where in the world you are.

He is still just as mighty as He was in Daniel's time.

I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end.
²⁷He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions."

Daniel 6:26-27

He is the same.
Then, now, eternally for infinity, father than our minds can fathom.

Hallelujah.
Amen.

Now if only I could put all this into a logical sermon flow....

#Hewillprovide

He is

He is so much bigger than me.

Just sitting here in my little cool, cute, comfy apartment here in Pittsburgh letting the realization of just how blessed I am wash over me.

I don't even know what to write.

This is do know.
He is bigger than just me.

Yes, He made me, created me, loves me and cherishes all the silly wonderful things about me that makes me, me. He cares for me, cares about me, loves me, intercedes for me and is gracious enough to open my eyes bit by bit and change me. Everything that I am, He loves.

But tonight I realize that it is NOT JUST ME that He loves.
It's everyone in the world.
It's every man, woman and child who are exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide in their lungs tonight.
It's the rich, the poor, the smart, the ignorant, the young, the old and everyone in between.
Those who believe, those who don't, and those who've never heard.

What am I even trying to say?

I'm trying to say that everyone should know! Everyone should know how great Jesus is, what He did for us, and how much HE WANTS US! How much He loves us. Everyone should know. Shame on me for not standing on every rooftop and signpost and proclaiming His name. (!!!) He's that good.

I don't know what else to say, but that I feel challenged by the Lord in such a good, loving, gentle way. He loves me so so very much. It's what I was made for...His Love. No wonder it feels so great.

Here are some things that lead me down this path tonight:

Message from Chris Davis at West Ridge this am. Check it out here.
This 20 year old American living in Africa taking care of 250+ orphan children
Luke 18:22

Yeah.

He is

I just wanted to take a moment and say that the Lord is good. We all know this, but today, I can just feel it.

I got off of night shift this morning, slept a few hours, went to a doctors appt, slept again, went to Awaken, came home, talked to Faith and Justin and just through it all, He is good.

I don't know how to explain it to you any other way than the Lord's presence is like a hot mug of coffee on a rainy day, a huge warm fluffy blanket wrapped tight around you in the cold, the first warm day of spring where the sun hits you right on the face and warms you up, an unexpected nice note on your desk or just the absolute certainty that everything is going to be just fine even when everything before you looks like chaos.

He is.

He is good, because that's who HE IS.

He is so many things, but tonight, I just wanted to say that He is good.

I'm gonna rest in that tonight and go close my little eyes.
Yay for sleep. Yay for Jesus. Good night.

True Obedience

I had thoughts this week on obedience. Or rather, the Lord gently reminded me about some thoughts.

Tuesday was a great day. I got home from night shift, slept a little bit, then got lots of stuff done around the house. People were coming over at 6:45pm to carpool to a concert and I was ready on time. Yeah!

However, all through the day, I felt the Lord calling me to sit down with him and just read His Word. I'd grab a piece here and there and just really kept putting it off. Finally, here was me sitting down at 6:30pm (almost 6 hours later) putting energy and focus into meeting with the Lord, praying no one arrived early so I could read.

Sad.

As I sat there, realizing how very little time I had left in which to even say hi to the Lord this quote came to mind: "Delayed obedience is not truly obedience at all".

Yeah.
Conviction.

Hearts that are truly submitted to the Lord in everything, including schedules, plans, hopes and desires, wants and needs, react immediately to His command or request. True obedience is loving, immediate and joyful, not delayed or done grudgingly or in anger/discontent. (How often and easily my heart forgets this!)

So, as it ended up, I spent most of those few precious moments repenting of not coming before him sooner. He was still faithful to bless me with an amazing scripture/thought in Acts and a few things for later this month. He's always faithful, even when we are not. It was a good reminder for me.

The End.

Kristen has a full house

And I don't mean like in playing cards. I mean like 4 adults and two babies sleeping under my roof tonight. And I love it. Although, 4 adults = one sick, one on the couch and two feeding/changing a baby every two hours will most likely equal very little sleep. Actually, looking back on that list, the one on the couch is fairly comfortable. That'd be me. :)

I love being used by the Lord.

I haven't been posting a ton on here, but I've been writing a boat load in my journal. I finally finished filling up all the pages. (!!!) That darn thing has lasted me almost a year and a half. Guess I finally have stuff to write about, huh?

I've really been seeking Him lately. He's been working on my heart, like always and just really in the past few weeks has captured my heart all over again. (Isn't it great how He's always wooing you, teaching you, enjoying you, loving you, forgiving you?) I've been convicted of areas in my life, have repented on my face, have cried out to Him, trusted Him and just plain tried to obey Him when He said to relax and trust Him.

I read Psalm 131 for almost a week straight and just sought His heart...or rather, He ran after mine. :) (Isn't it always that way?) I just tried to be, to rest in His presence, to love Him, and it's been amazing. He's always amazing, but some days, times and prayers make you just want to put on a twirly skirt, let your hair down, tilt your head back and twirl with your arms open wide as fast as you can to just collapse in the grass laughing with the sheer joy of the motion. (At least that works well if you're a girl. If you're a guy you could....shoot something???lol.whatever.)
Yup. It's been one of those days today and I am grateful.

He is good. I am full of Him and I want more. He is above and beyond good. He is play-as-loud-and-fast-and-great-as-you-can-on-the-piano-standing-up-good. AUGHH! I could just BURST (if my house wasn't full of sleeping/sick people)! He is good.

Today I prayed to know Him, to know His heart, to be fully known to Him, to love His people, to open my ears, soften my heart and just remove anything that keeps me from Him. I asked Him to prune all the ugly off my branches and to be His in every way. I just want Him.

IwantHimIwantHimIwantHim.

Sometimes, don't you just wish He would come down, scoop you up, hold you and never let go? But then in the same breath you realize how HOLY and AWESOME He is and you worry about dying at just the mere glimpse of His shadow. (Not that dying because of seeing Him would be bad, mind you, just rather inconvenient for all the other people in your life.)Sometimes, you just want Him to be IN you and fill every part of you. I mean, He's already in you, but sometimes don't you just want Him to explode out of you? You know, be REALLY in you?

Ugh, it's late and I know I'm not making much sense, but that's ok, because this is my blog, Jesus is good, it's going to be 50 degrees tomorrow and I have a house full of beautiful people (babies are sleeping under my roof people!!).

He is good.
I want more.

Praise the Lord.
Amen.

Oh, and I made a hat today. Check it out. :)

Cute Hat

2 Thoughts

Numero Uno:

Psalm 131

Read it here and then again here.

Numero Deux:

"The love worth trusting is a commitment to another person and their good that measures itself by how much it is willing to give up for their sake."

Something to think about....something (very) convicting.
::deep sigh::
good stuff.

If you want to read the context, you can read it here. It's also good stuff.

Satisfied

I am just so satisfied/content/happy tonight.

The Lord is good. He is SO good to me and I just don't have enough words to express that to you right now! All I want to do is just get on my piano and just sing to Him. He is beautiful. And were it not 4am and my neighbor wasn't sleeping in the room directly under my loud piano, I would do it. And it would be beautiful. Just Him and me. I might just go sing.

I sat on the floor tonight and cut out paper hearts and rolled wash clothes up into BooBooBunnies. Sounds so silly, and you all probably have no idea what a BooBooBunny is....but it makes me happy.

I had a rough patch in my night at work Sunday night into Monday morning and my manager and I were talking about it Monday morning. She apologized that it was so rough for me. My reply? "It's ok. Someday I'm going to get married, have babies and cut things out of paper and fabric. Cause it makes me happy." ;0)

Life feels perfect. Hard, yes, detailed, yes, confusing, yes, but SO wonderful. Literally, I just want to throw my hands up in the air and dance around my living room in my pajamas. Because it's just that great. I just love doing what I love to do and right now it includes pianos, fabric, google eyes, glue, paper, ribbon and Pslams with Jesus.

(by the way, Bethany I miss you!! We haven't talked in like DAYS! AH! What is wrong with us?)

I. love. it.
thank you Lord.

I'd like you to meet someone very special...

His name is Derrick.

He's a gorgeous, soulful-eyed, little 8 year old boy in Uganda, Africa. He a World Vision child that I recently began to sponsor back in October.

Let me tell you, I feel in love with this little man the first time I saw his picture on the World Vision table. His cute little expression, his big eyes, the seriousness....he is ready to take on the world and I love it.

He just recently had a birthday and I wanted to hop on a plane to Africa, hug him and tell him loved he is from afar.

I am loving sponsoring this guy. I get to write emails, send cards and birthday celebration games. It's so exciting. I get a progress report once a year and when he is able, he will write me back.

If you haven't heard of World Vision and the amazing work they do for children across the globe, I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to check it out. To sponsor a child it costs $35/month. If you can't afford that on a monthly basis, you should take a look at the "gift catalog". You can buy a one time gift for a village, such as a share in a new well they need to dig, a brick for their school house, or a gift of a goat and two chickens for a family.

It's a beautiful thing to share and well worth the effort to impact these little lives for the better. I just love it. I hope you'll check it out and consider sponsoring a child. :)

Baby Crying Stories

Ok, so there are other blogs I read of Christian families who have had medical problems with their family, namely with their small children. They have blogs and they have written about their family's entire struggle with illness. I know several blogs like this.

Everyone thinks I am crazy to read all these sad blogs and cry all the time, but I know better. My tears are not useless silly tears. They are tears of sadness, amazement, and sometimes joy, but mainly, they are tears of worship for our Father. The faith that these families present forth on their blogs is nothing short of amazing. It humbles me and encourages me to read these proclamations of faith when in dire situations. It reminds me how fragile we are and how fleeting our life here on earth is. It teaches me about the One I love, the Lord....and for that, I wouldn't trade any of those tears.

Here are some of the blogs I read.

Noah Steven - Crowned in Peace - Adrienne and Jason are Noah's parents. He has a sister named Emily. Noah was sick for most of his life and spent almost all of it in Denver Children's Hospital. According to his mom, he received his miracle- He's cuddling with Jesus now.

Confessions of a CF Husband - Nate and Tricia have only been married for a few years, but have spent their fair share of time in the hospital. Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis and almost died last year due to complications from her pregnancy with little miss Gwyneth. Gwyneth herself was born at 24 weeks and had a slim chance of survival. Due to some pretty amazing miracles, Tricia received her much needed double lung transplant and Gwyneth just turned one.

MckMama and the crew - This is a beautiful family that is made up of MckMama, Prince Charming, Big Mac, MckNuggest, Small Fry and MckMuffin. MckMuffin was given a fatal pretnatal diagnosis when he was 24 weeks along. By 32 weeks, he his heart was enlarged. His parents were told numerous times that he would die. However, this family plead the blood of Jesus and told thousands of people their story. All those people prayed and their prayers were answered. MckMuffin was born right on time with absolutely no heart complications at all. In fact, he's a perfectly beautiful HEALTHY little newborn who gets the occasional bout of RSV. So normal, it's amazing.

Audrey Caroline - This woman's name is Angie and her husband Todd, is one of the members of
the band Selah. Angie and Todd were told at their 20 week ultrasound that little Audrey would not survive outside of the womb. They decided not to abort the pregnancy and to spend all the time Jesus would give them with Audrey that they could. They loved this beautiful little girl for 2 1/2 hours before Jesus took her home.

It's an amazing story in itself, but today I read one of the first posts that Angie posted when she found out about Audrey. I want you to read it. Read it and pay attention to what Angie tells the doctor...I think it will amaze and encourage you.

Enjoy.