baby girl.....

With the exception of Joel and Josiah's, all of our other children's newborn pictures are terrible!! The reason theirs are the exception is because my midwife took some right after with her neat camera!! All of our cameras have been the pits when it comes to taking photos inside!! When Anna got her first, now on her 2nd, Nikon camera two years ago, we both said we could not wait for a new baby so we could get great pictures, but so far nothing has happened :) In the meanwhile I guess she has not had the opportunity to take any newborn pictures. But yesterday Anna and I both had a desire fulfilled in getting to take pictures of a new baby. My friend Rita is the wonderful mother of this precious girl!! This little girl is so beautiful, dark, pudgy and tons of dark hair. She was born Tuesday morning before many of you all got up. A homebirth and all went well and the dad got to deliver her as the midwife barely missed the delivery. She does not have a name as of this afternoon, but I wil call her "Boo-ti-ful Baby Girl!!" Thank you Rita for letting us come over and cuddle, hold, prop and play with your new baby!!











I read a verse yesterday morning and I pondered it briefly as it caught my attention, but I did not know exactly what it was meant for at that moment. Father, glorify thy name. Then came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John. 12:28. I recieved an e-mail yesterday from my friend Katie in Bulgaria, they are a missionary family there doing a work for the Lord. There is a paragraph in her e-mail that I want to share because it answers my pondering to the verse that caught my attention;

"We met an English couple many months ago named Lawrence and Rachel. Since we just started English services at our church, they have been coming. The first Sunday Lawrence got saved; Rachel was saved as a child, but had gotten away from the Lord. We've been to their home, and had them over, and every time have wonderful talks about God and the Bible. Last night they came over here for several hours, and we showed them your DVD of Joel. Rachel had to get up half-way through crying, she was just such a wreck, and she came back again near the end. After we were talking about it, and she just can't fathom how God would allow that, mostly because Joel was just a little child. Nick used the opportunity to explain that that is exactly what faith is, unexplainable to the world. We talked about how no unsaved person could ever get through something like that because they have no hope, but your family knew God was in control before and is now, and He is getting you through, because He trusted you with such a trial. He knew that you would keep trusting Him. Rachel agreed that it was unexplainable, the way your children spoke, the peace that you and your husband so obviously have. It was such a wonderful opportunity to show God to them, through little Joel's life. Just another life touched, way over in Bulgaria, by Joel's life and death. Thank you again for the DVD's. We will be using them to help others every chance we get."

After I read this, I could barely finish reading the entire e-mail because I was about to burst with tears of joy that the Lord would grant Joel's story to keep going forth. I believe that every jot and tittle of Joel's life an death was under His control and thatHe really was glorified in it all and then now two years later God is still getting the glory, just like the verse I read!! Most every morning I pray that the Lord would allow Joel's story to go forth and that others would hear truths from God's word, that the message of life would go forth and that others would find hope in their trials as well! I was overcome with gratefulness to the Lord for allowing me to "see" His work as Katie shared this opportunity they had. It will always be a longing of my heart to "see," yet I don't believe I will see and know all the story of this trial until the "One Day", but when the Lord does things like this, it brings such a comfort that God does not loose or waste His plans, even years later!! Glory to God!!

It is amazing to think that our family met Rita (above) and now Katie (above) and her family and also David (and Kate) through Joel's Journey. There are so many more that I fellowship with via this blog and e-mails. Just today I got an e-mail from a mom who said they watched the DVD and they have a two year old little boy diagnosed with Neuroblastom in May. I pray the Lord would allow our family to encourage and pray for them as countless others did for us. His ways are certainly past finding. He works and brings to pass His plans and providences allowing our paths to cross with others according to his will.