Dog Gone Surprises

The title says it all. Our dogs took off again this weekend. We were all having fun in the back yard on Saturday when the lawn guy showed up to do his thing. We cleared on into the house and began the nightly routine of shuffling the kids to bed. We had already fed the dogs so they were set for the night. Our lawn guy finished and took off. He didn't come to the door to collect his money. That was a bit strange. Maybe he had some place to be. Sunday morning rolled around, and we were pressed for time. Our schedule was different today because I had nursery duty in the second service so we were in two cars. When I got home, David was grilling lunch and the kids were playing. No one was paying attention to the sleeping dogs because you can't when you're watching both kids by yourself. Later in the day we took out the garbage and found that the dogs were gone. How long, we don't know. I hopped in the car - not pleased to be looking for them AGAIN. I was mad at Matty. I was mad at the lawn guy (probably for no reason). I was mad that I wasn't heartbroken that they were gone. By the time I got back home it was too late to get signs. I posted a lost and found for them on the neighborhood web site and we headed off to bed frustrated. Monday I got up and went about the business of finding lost dogs. I put out some signs and within an hour we had the dogs back! That was a great surprise in this whole surprise me experiment. Thank goodness God concerns Himself with the little things!

Maria Chapman

I have been so sad about the Chapman's loss of their little girl.  I went to a blog that is set up for her and watched some video footage that was taken on a recent vacation and at home.  breaks my heart.  I tried to post this poem on their blog, but for some reason it didn't go thru.  So I thought I'd post it here.  

I've used this format for several poems.  It comes from a story that I heard from a Sunday School teacher a long time ago.  She told how her little 6 year old daughter was killed in a car wreck and how her husband, at the funeral said that even if God had said, "you can have this little girl for only 6 years" he still would have said yes.  That stuck with me all this time.  I have written several poems for my own kids and others using that phrase...."I would have said yes".  Not because they died, but just thru the hurdles we all go thru with our kids.  What if God told us about those before he gave us those children, would we have still said yes?  hmmm???  Anyway, here's the poem for Maria Chapman

I WOULD HAVE SAID YES!

Looking back

on 5 short years

Thru all the joys

And all the tears

I thought about

How life might’ve been

Had God not brought you

To us back then,

My reflections of

All the “what ifs….”

Filled my mind

With thoughts of this….

What if God asked

Our permission

To give us this child

he had envisioned

To be our child

To have and hold

To teach his ways

As they grow old

If God had said,

“knowing your child

as you know her

would you have said “yes”

If I had conferred?

If God had said

I’ve got a girl

Who came from 2 people

Somewhere in the world

Though not from your womb

But still from my hand

Do you want her to love

Do you think that you can

Love her so much

There’ll be no division

Between those you’ve birthed

And the one you’ve been given?

Will you love her when

She jumps on the bed

splashes around

And dresses up instead

Of going to sleep

When night becomes late

Can you show her my love

While you patiently wait

For her bedtime prayers

That turn into songs

And you’re tired

but you stay

cause it’s where you belong

And when she is five

And outside to play

As I’m watching and knowing

That this is the day

That she’ll come home

Just as I planned

Do you still want her

For such a short span

Yes, God,

you know what’s best

If  that is the cost

I would still say yes

Knowing Maria

For such a short time

was still worth it all

to watch her light shine

and even though

we cry with pain

We know  in our hearts

Maria remains.

Yes, Maria, we would have said “yes”.

 

 

Even Job knew about surprises

For God speaks again and again though people do not recognize it.  Job 33:14

Julie Sparks-Results

The sono went great. The baby looked perfect(as perfect as they can tell you based on a sono). The perinatologist felt very confident that we fall into the "false positive" range on the AFP test. 3 main indicators are often associated with Spina Bifida(at least 1 typically will show) in the brain, and none of those were there. The baby's spine looked fantastic, as well as everything else. Baby was measuring about a week ahead of schedule, again another wonderful indicator that leads them to believe the baby is healthy normal baby. Of course there is always the unknown, but both the specialist and my ob(after seeing him today as well) felt that we are no more at risk than anyone who came back with "normal" range results from the AFP test. 
We are thankful. He is faithful! Thank you for praying for us!

What Matters Most

Sometimes we look at ourselves

And wonder why we’re here

We see the image in the glass

And wish it were more clear

What did God think on the day

That He created me?

Here is a child, a boy, a girl

What are they meant to be?

Or did He say, “I just got bored

And had time on my hands

So I made this one

For no reason at all

I hope they understand.

Is the image I see the same for Him?

Does He wish I had been more

Have I fulfilled His creation plan

Is this what He had in store?

And though I try to do it all

I don’t seem to have a clue

All I know is that with Christ

My life comes into view.

When I look in the mirror

The reflection I see

Shows nothing I can boast

Not I but Christ and Him alone

Is what matters most.

From Julie Sparks

I wasn't going to say anything until Monday, but I just need to find peace about this. I was pretty peaceful yesterday, but woke up this morning feeling like train had hit me. I know there are such worse things in life....
but...
I'll start with this:
First, PT(praise the Lord), he is so good to me..
My sister recently sent me an email that had this in it, 
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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

I love that verse and it is so true. I prayed this more in about 5 minutes yesterday then I have in a long time...

So, Corbin and I get to the girls school, yesterday, around 1:45, about 15 minutes early today.
We play, get the girls, play some more.. I didn't take my phone in, just one more thing to loose with all the kids running around.

I parked illegally right in front bc I was so darn tired from a crazy busy yesterday and today. All the moms have left and we head to the car. I about have everyone in the car and Fred comes walking up. Ok, he works far away form here. I don't notice that he is whiter then normal or that he is not smiling..I simply say, "What are you doing here? Did the house sell?" Kids are screaming bc they see daddy! So happy they are.
Then he says, "Teresa called." I said, "Teresa who?" He said, "From the dr's office." Duh, this is my nurse I adore and am close to. I said, "Why". He said, "She said their might be something wrong with the baby." I say, "Very matter of factly, "What baby, I have the babies" as I wave my hand toward my small daycare center of children in the car.

He said, "The test you took yesterday came back and shows there maybe some type of spinal problems." Finally I clue in. I did the AFP blood test yesterday. I had already forgotten about it. It was a standard 16 week blood test on me, I did it with all the kids. I always forget about the test results....
So, he goes on to say they want us in for a sono asap. Sounds pretty serious to me. I look at him like, what about the kids. He said Teresa said she would watch the kids. Ok, are you kidding. We are on a starburst high bc that was the bribe of choice to get everyone in the car, and we are about to have a seriously drop in energy bc it is nap time. I call mom and she races over to the drs to sit with the kids. Then I look at him and say, "Well what do they want ME to do about it. I can't change it or do anything about it." Poor Fred and his overly practical wife!
You have to understand, it is all but a 5 minute drive from the school to the drs. That 5 minutes it hit me. What that might mean. I call Emily and ask her to pray and cry. Apparently the score we got back put us in a 1 in 15 chance of this diagnosis. 

I realize in that first 2 minutes of thinking of the baby and my family and trying to understand from Emily what it even is(She has a friend who's son was born with this) that I need to stop thinking and be praying. So that is what I did. So, fred waits for mom, about 7 minutes, while I go on in the office. I get my nurse and am so...bottom line with her. She had been crying, I could tell. She was honest with me. The Dr. comes in and we are waiting on Fred. I make him talk bottom line with me as well. I finally start crying. I think that was the 4th time he ever saw me cry, first 3 when we had the other kids(L&A are a package cry) 4th with my miscarriage. He was concerned and didn't soften the situation, but also said it could easily be a false +. Fred gets in there...Finally we do a sono, the dr stays in there during the sono. All actually, by the grace of God looks normal. 
The grace of God. I will come back to that. 

We go into his office, and he goes through all the 30 things it could mean. Some really bad, some not. One was un diagnosied twins! No worries...they looked:)
Some things he knew off the bat from the sono where not the case.. Others it could be...but like I could with the lottery kind of thing.

He is having us go to a specialist on Mon just to feel better. But was very reassuring that all was ok.

So, we leave there, lots of hugs and kisses. But still sick to my stomach.
I feel very at ease that this baby is ok. In the end it is how God designed this baby. I will feel better on Monday. But I am not stressed about it. Like I said, If something is wrong, what can I do. Nothing, but pray.

So, please pray for us as well. My appt is at 2:15 mon. 

The Grace of God...
Chloe is dancing to Amazing Grace in her ballet recital. We have been learning the words, verse by verse every night. Then we talk about what they mean. Explaining Grace to a 5 year old has been challenging. But now I understand it better today, then yesterday. The Grace of God. We don't deserve it, we shouldn't ask for it, but He gives it to us. For me, the Grace of God has been Him allowing me to hear such good news after such a sickening scare, allowing me to rely on Him before I knew anything other then the worst, allowing me to have faith that no matter what Monday brings, it is in His hands and not mine.
The Grace of God. Can you have a better gift? 



Thanks,
Julie T. Sparks 

rotated your crops lately?

  As I was listening to our Bible teacher Sunday talk about doing things, like evangelizing outside of our comfort zones, I thought about how incredibly smart God is.  Now I know that’s no big surprise to most of you, but I’m always amazed at really how simple God tries to make things for us. 

I know that probably none of us were/are farmers, but some of our parents or grandparents may have been.  So maybe we’ve never used the terms fallow ground or crop rotation in our everyday conversations.  A quick explanation, fallow ground is land that is usable but is left to lie dormant for a period of time to give it a chance to build the nutritional value back into the soil.  Crop rotation is another way that farmers do this but just planting different plants in the same soil.  They found that planting the same plants over and over in the same soil causes the plants to eventually become weak or not grow at all.  Just by changing the crop, say from corn to beans, it causes the soil to re-energize, if you will. 

As David was teaching yesterday, I thought about how God lets us go “fallow” or “rotates our crops” sometimes.  Things that used to get us fired up aren’t as exciting.  Things that used to work every time we witnessed to someone, don’t work quite as well.  We may feel like we’re just not being used like we were before.  Or that God isn’t listening to us anymore.  Or even that we’re past our prime and unusable.  No, I think that sometimes we get so used to planting the same seed in the same soil that God is trying to shake us up a bit.  So things that used to work don’t work anymore.  Maybe it’s time to give it a rest. This is when we perhaps move out of one type of service to another. Or we just begin to soak in the word for a while without “giving it all back out”.  

Your fallow or rotation and mine may be different.  I may need to take a year sabbatical to recharge.  You may just need a weekend retreat to get alone with God and see where he’s taking you.  Or maybe it’s not rest that you need but a change of service.   You may decide that foreign mission work is your new soil.  I may feel that teaching 3 year olds is mine. 

Now of course, we can take this concept to an extreme and never get back into service, but if your heart is right, you’ll be looking for the next place that God wants you. We must be careful about how long we lie fallow, because weeds love fallow ground.  Also fallow ground can become hardened.  We don’t want to have to do a lot of “tilling” or hoeing to get back into service.

The point is that fallow ground is usable.  It’s just a matter of using the rest and/or being willing to accept a new “crop” so that the value God has instilled in you is used again for His purposes.