Enlarging my perspective

This testimony!! Wow!!  It’s been 6 months in the making, but this testimony has enlarged not only my perspective, both earthly and heavenly, but has also enlarged my faith, my idea of the character of God, my listening skills, my obedience...I could go on and on. I pray you get something out of this extraordinary move of the Lord!

Meet Kristiana and Sheila.

It all started in January when Kristiana, pulled me into her room to share a secret. She explained that back in October she was sitting in the HEB parking lot when she heard the Lord ask “would you ever donate a kidney?”  Kristiana has always been an organ donor on her drivers license and brushed off the fleeting thought with a quick “sure I would.”  Two months later she was back at HEB shopping for black eyed peas when she sees a lady from across the way. She remembers she knows her and loves her, but can’t quite place the name. As she walks down a little more the lady recognizes Kristiana and comes up to her. Turns out they both worked together more than a decade ago. They exchange niceties and small talk until the conversation turns to what they are doing these days...the lady, Sheila, says she is no longer teaching because of some kidney problems and she is currently on a list for a kidney. She is a deep woman of faith so she follows her comment with the fact that God is in control and she is at peace with whatever the Lord wants for her.   Kristiana explains that at this point her heart and mind were racing as her thoughts go back to October and what the Lord had asked her in that very parking lot!!  (I love how God is even in the little details!!)  As Kristiana told me all of this in her classroom she kept asking if she was crazy and was this crazy!  Absolutely not!!  This was God moving and we were getting a front row seat!!  She and Sheila said good bye without Kristiana sharing anything with her, but she immediately started researching and praying. She felt like she was supposed to move forward in the kidney donation process.  She called the hospital and got on the list to undergo extensive testing to see if she might be a match. However, in all her research she found that psoriasis could have a negative effect on kidneys and she has had psoriasis on her foot for over 10 years. The Lord asked her to shift her prayers from kidney transplant to healing of her foot, so we did!! We prayed, she fasted and we believed.  Within a month the spot on her foot was gone! GONE!!   Her kids and husband and all of us were just amazed!! 

We immediately changed our large, over arching prayer for Kristiana to be a match with Sheila to small daily prayers for each step of the way.  Here where a few of the prayers we prayed:

-healing of the psoriasis 

-matching blood types 

-one artery, not 3, coming out of her kidney

-all psychological tests would come back normal

-all physical tests would come back normal 

-her family would be open and on board with the surgery

-Sheila would be on board to take the donation

Every. Single. Prayer was answered!! All of them!!  At one point I found myself begging for the Lord to keep moving and a friend shared with us “don’t come to Him begging like a slave, but simply ask like His child.” That was so powerful! We knew this was God’s thing, not ours, but in the midst of it I forgot and started pleading and begging for things. If He is moving, there is no need for that, just stay  humble and connected and listen for the next step.  Kristiana and Sheila are so close a match that they call them a sister match! Only a 9% chance that would happen...but God knew!

Kristiana’s birthday was in March and guess what the Lord revealed to her through all her research?? World Kidney Day is on her birthday!! (God loves the details! ❤️) So we HAD to do something for this!!  Kidney cake it was!!  Along with some cute kidney stickers!

 

In April, the hospital contacted Sheila and told her they found a donor and that is was Kristiana!  I can not imagine the excitement on that phone! Sheila immediately contacted Kristiana and set up a dinner date to visit.  We prayed over that dinner date and Kristiana joked that they were going to have church up in that restaurant! As Kristiana shared with Sheila all the details of God’s hand in this and Sheila also shared some of her own testimony. It was crazy to see how some dates coincided with one another yet Sheila had no idea Kristiana was even pursuing this. As the two began to leave the restaurant they saw Virgil walk in. If you are from Waco you have probably seen this man praying over the city on the newly demolished crossing bridge.  He is a strong man of faith.  He knew Sheila and she called him over to hear the great news and God’s story through them this far.  Kristiana said he then began to pray and prophecy loudly over them right there, the whole restaurant looking on...hands raised, tears streaming!!  As she told me the story the day after we giggled because they sure did have church there, louder and more powerful than she even imagined!!

As the surgery date approached we had to go for pre-surgery pedis!

 

 

Yesterday was surgery day and the emotions were everywhere!  I’m thankful my BFF is ok after surgery. I pray both her and Sheila’s body adapt to their new normals. But I am most thankful that I was able to watch the Lord move throughout this whole process. His hand was ALL OVER every step of this!! He loves the details, He touched so many through this journey and I bet He is thankful for children who listen for the small whisper of His voice and obey.  I have learned so much about His character and how if we come to Him with open hearts and hands, surrendered to Him, He will blow our expectations away!  Listen for the whisper and hang on for the adventure!

Kristiana with Sheila’s family after both surgeries were a success!

Love you BIG, Kristiana!!

Memorial Day weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake with my sister.  She was kind enough to open up her home for the whole weekend to all of us!  My mom and Sonja and Alicia all joined us on Sunday. Amber's boyfriend, Zach lives right around the corner, so he and his boys joined us also and let us use some of their lake toys, which the boys' loved!  It was a weekend packed full, but also still relaxing!

Zach took us out on his boat one afternoon to a small cove where we had a picnic lunch and played 

ball in the water and just hung out!  The ride was about an hour and we were able to see a lot of the lake and the beautiful houses that are all around it. 

Between everyone there we had a mix of 5 dogs.  You had to be careful when eating because they would love to take it right out of your hands!

We had the jet ski and the kayaks and the slip mat and fishing poles and the paddle board...there was definitely plenty to do!  And most of the time I just floated and read my book and that was fine with me!  Sometimes the best time to be had is by not doing anything at all!  The sun and the water are my happy place and I feel most rejuvenated after spending time at the lake or the beach.  Now to buckle down and finish this last week of school strong! Summer is so close and I look forward to many more weekends just like this one!

Enlarging "family"

Family.  15 years ago I would have given you one definition; a husband and a wife loving their kids with the support of their parents.  10 years ago I would have given you another definition as I prayed for a step family that would merely take care of my boys when they had to be with them. Today, I have yet another definition and it exceeds any prayer I have ever prayed.  

When Richard and I joined families we navigated the muddy waters of a blended family. Neither of us grew up from a blended family and certainly had no plans of raising our children in a blended family, but here we are.  As the years have gone by the days get easier, but what we have found is that it wasn't just he and I in this blended family dynamic.  We saw his late wife's parents join in on loving my boys and both Richard's parents and my parents take all 5 kids in as their own.  Then my ex-husband remarried and we watched his new wife become part of our family and her own family started to integrate with us and now, they too claim us all as their own.  

As I started looking at our family and how the Lord was creating something so different and special I felt like He said to capture it in a picture. I love photography and my home is filled with prints, so this didn't strike me as odd, but I heard Him say to make the picture a visual representation of unity.  No family unit pods, like I've seen in some large group photos, but rather everyone intermingled, so that no lines could be drawn for separation.  As I look back over the images I see a group of people all with one common goal; loving others well.  We all have been adopted into the family of Christ and our earthly family is such a wonderful depiction of that.   Each one in this picture has adopted another in this picture without reservation; whether it be a parent/child relationship or grandparent/grandchild or brother/sister or aunt and uncle/niece and nephew or the in-law dynamic.  We all have opened our hearts and let the Lord do something that we could not have created on our own.

From time to time I'm tempted to grieve the family I never got to experience from my prayers 15 years ago, but then I look at what I have and can't help but to think that what I have now is so much richer than anything I thought I wanted so long ago.  Going through the fire really does refine everything into something so precious that I would not trade for the world!  At any point in all of our stories, we could have let bitterness overtake us or have thrown up walls to one another or let anger win, but we didn't.  All 27 of us...we didn't! It truly is a work of God and I pray that if you are in a hard season that you will know and take comfort in the fact that God will make it all good for His glory if we posture our hearts correctly.  So take courage and be expectant for something that just might surpass your wildest dreams!

Double Digits

10 years old today!!  We had a family celebration at the house with cake and presents. Teague is growing up to be a kind and responsible you g man and we are so proud of him!!

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

9 years old




10 years old

Retirement Party

My dad is finally retiring!!  He’s been saying this for over a year, but this time I think it’s for real. His company put on the sweetest retirement party. Everything was fishing themed and they put so much thought into every detail of the party. He truly worked with a wonderful group. 

Once my dad got there several of the employees roasted him. It was fun to hear all the silly things about my dad, but also all the ways he has touched those in his workplace environment. As a goodbye gift, the company is sending he and my mom on a two week tour of the Holy Land in Israel! They are going to have the best time! 

After the speeches, we ate dinner and dessert and just visited and took pictures. The owners truly did think of everything! What a special night honoring my dad!!