Thursday's Child - A couple things have happened recently...
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Compassion International

 

Okay, so I know it's not Thursday, but as I said, a couple things have happened recently concerning Compassion that I really wanted to tell you about.

The first was that we have gotten three yes THREE letters from Marcelo since last Friday! They are coming fast and we are excited. We really love Marcelo. He is the first Compassion child that we got and the only one that we actually support financially. The others are just correspondence sponsorships. Anyway, we have sponsored Marcelo for over a year now, and he has been nothing but a joy. His letters are so full of love for us that it makes us wonder what we have done to deserve such affection. He is also very encouraging. Of course, I have told him about our ministries, and he recently encouraged us to keep teaching the kids in our area about God because "it is very good for them to know about Him." The most recent letter also tells us that our letters make him very happy. It is such a pleasure to write to our Compassion kids.

The second big Compassion thing was that we received Ismael's sponsorship packet today. It is so much fun and always really interesting to receive the sponsorship packets. They contain all sorts of information on the child, the area where he lives and the country that he lives in. And, of course, it has the valued pictures that we get of our children. Ismael, as I said before, lives in Nicaragua. It has been a real eye opener to read about his country. The average worker in Nicaragua makes only $86 a month. I realize that the cost of living is a lot less there, but $86! Is it any wonder why there is such poverty in our world?

And speaking of sponsorship. I was quite shocked to hear recently that Compassion International is NOT a "child sponsorship program". After getting over my shock I read further...It is a "child development program". I loved it. It was a post on Compassion International's blog, so I can't reprint the whole article here, but I can share the link. Just click here to read the post in its entirety. It's a fascinating look at what Compassion International is all about.

 

Have you ever thought about supporting a child through Compassion International? There are hundreds of kids on their site for you to choose from, or just sign up and Compassion will give you a child and surprise you. It really costs only pennies a day ($38 a month) and your financial help and faithful letters of encouragement and love can make a world of difference to a child. Just click here for more information on how you can sponsor a child. If you decide to check out the website and begin to look at the kids pictures, pray about sponsoring a "red heart" child (the ones with a red heart in the corner). They are the children that have been looking for a sponsor for the longest. Won't you think about sponsoring today?

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What An Awsome First Day of Day Camp 2010!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Ministry

 

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And the Winner is...!!!
Mood:  special
Topic: Giveaways!

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Men's Monday Meme - Dealing with Stress
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Men's Monday Meme

If you read yesterday's post, you will know that we are going through a difficult time with our youngest son, Jacob. I am feeling much better today after sleeping on it, so I'm not as down as I was when I wrote it. That, however, led me to this weeks Men's Monday Meme topic - how to deal with stress.

It would seem that with all of the things that we have gone through with our family, John Allen's cancer, Joshua's autism and now this, that I would be used to the stress. But, I'm not. I may not be as bad as I used to be, but I still get stressed out. As most of you know, just plain old raising kids is hard, let alone having medical problems with the kids. Add that to ministry, jobs (our job just happens to be our ministry but for many folks it's two different things) and just plain old day to day life, and it ends up being very stressful. 

So, here's the question(s) for this week.

How do you deal with stress? Is there really a good way to do it? Is there a Biblical way? Is there a medical way?

Let's get a discussion going! If you know me by now, you know that I am forever late in not getting a new question up. Although it is called the Men's Monday Meme, I usual don't end up posting a new question until mid to late week (or week end as today), so I will give you a few extra days to answer. I won't change the question until Thursday or Friday of next week. 

Let me recap the rules:

1. This is a man's meme, so the answers must be the answers from a man. Either the man can answer on his blog, or a wife can interview her husband for her blog. However, if the wife puts it on her blog, she must stay true to what her husband said.
2. You are encouraged to put one of the Men's Monday Meme buttons found to the left on your blog. Just copy the code below the button of your choice. The more folks who link, the more readers you may have to visit your blog.
3. You may answer the question any time during the week up through next Monday. After you answer the question, add the address to your post to the Mr.Linky below. If you could, please only add the direct link to the post to make it easier for readers to find the entry.
4. My answer along with a new question will be posted next Monday. The new Mr. Linky will be added at midnight Monday night or sometime within the next couple of days after that .

And here's the new Mr. Linky:

 

 

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Sorry. I'm just a little down this evening.
Mood:  down
Topic: The Kids

 

We came in last night and found out that the doctor from Vanderbilt had called yesterday morning to talk to us about Jacob's genetic testing results. By the time we got the message it was too late to call. We got up early this morning only to find out she was in clinicals all day. Finally she called around four this afternoon.

It seems that the testing came back that a part of Jacob's ninth chromosome is missing and that there was an increased level of amino acids. She told us that this was not her specialty, and she was sending us to another genetic specialist that could explain it better and answer our questions. She explained that they would probably want to do genetic testing on Sarah and I as well and that they would call next week to set up an appointment.

So, we continue to wait with mixed emotions. The "I want an answer now" side of me has been searching on the computer trying to figure out what it could all mean. The search has fluctuated between really scary and not quite as scary but still not fun. I really don't know what to think. All I know is that there is something wrong with my little boy and it doesn't look like it's going to be an easy fix. I'm scared and I hurt and I just want it to go away.

I'm fighting the urge to not yell at God and ask "Why? Why again!" When Jacob was born we thought that perhaps we were finally going to have a regular, normal, child. It's not that we don't love John Allen or Joshua, but we have seen what cancer did to John Allen, and what being on the autism spectrum has done to Joshua. We just wanted a child who didn't have to suffer. We wanted a child who didn't have to worry about only having one eye and having no depth perception. We desired a child who wouldn't have problems with social skills. Who wouldn't do something not normal and then cry because he doesn't understand why his friends are rejecting him. We just wanted a normal child.

Now, however, we know that we don't have a normal child and we hurt for him. We have been down this path before I guess, but that doesn't make it any easier on us or on our family.

And so we wait. We wait on yet another phone call and another doctor's visit. We search the internet for answers when we really shouldn't because it really does no good. We blame ourselves even though we don't know why. We cry. And we wait. I hate waiting. I hate seeing my child in pain. I hate feeling helpless. I hate getting mad at God. I hate feeling empty inside. I hate snapping at people because I'm stressed.

I just hate the whole thing. But I know that I have to go through it. For my child, for my family and for myself. I'm not really mad at God. God is my hope and my salvation. I hope soon that we can get back to normal - whatever normal is. Until then, please pray for us and for our family. We'll be OK. It's just one of those days. I'm just feeling a little down this evening.

 

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