Church Friends

When I look at these three ladies in prayer together at church, I am reminded how important the support of our church friends can be as a caregiver.  Our friends at church should be doing exactly what these women are doing.  They should be praying over caregivers asking God to grant them peace, comfort, understanding, stamina, and His presence!  I love the way these women are physically and spiritually joined together.  If you do not have these types of relationships within your church, begin to pray for God to grant them to you today!

Desires of the Heart

This picture is an answer to a prayer that was prayed in August of 2012.  After our 2nd annual Caregivers Conference ended, Mrs. Linda (pictured here), came up to me with tears in her eyes and told me that she wanted me to begin to pray for God to send her someone special to spend the rest of her life with.  I prayed with her right then and there knowing God would answer her prayer.  A few short months later, I saw her and she told me that she had began to run into a sweet man who had lost his wife to cancer much like she had lost her husband.  I was so excited for her.  I could see a sparkle in her eye which I loved!  Well, I was able to witness this amazing couple unite in our home church this weekend in a very personal and very sincere wedding ceremony.  The pastor, the songs, and the message all spoke about a God of second chances.  Both of these caregivers thought life was over for a while but saw that our God really did care about the desires of their hearts! 

Today I felt the presence of God and the blessings of God through my students and my precious parents.  I have received sweet gifts all week as well as amazing food!  The sweet messages and cards have brought tears to my eyes all throughout the week, too.  After being brought a special lunch, of all my favorites, today, I sat at my desk and realized that God was actually the one who was loving me through all these awesome people.  I praise the Lord for the love He has shown me this week and pray that I show that same love on a daily basis to my students.

Generational Caregiving

I talked with a young woman today, only 29 years old, who has moved her husband and two small children into the home of her parents in order to help her father care for her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.  When she shared this with me I immediately asked how old her mother was and she said only 64 years old.  I was shocked.  My parents are 66 and I would never even think of that happening to them at such an early age.  With tears in her eyes she thanked me for what I said while I was speaking and said that she was definitely going to visit our website and email me.  She is taking care of two families under one roof!  I just kept hugging her because in spite of all she faced she had a beautiful smile on her face.  God was shining through this young woman who is facing things some of us never think about at her young age.  She is sacrificing so much in order to care for not only her dad, too!  God has just placed multi-generational caregivers on my heart due to this amazing young woman of God.  My prayers are with her in such a big way.


mother but her dad too

Talk About Trust!

For the first time ever, I went to the circus at the age of 39 years old!  As I tell people all the time, you are never to old to do something you have never done before or something you think is just for kids!  I was amazed at how many adults and couples were there without children!  God adults!  Live life!  Don't worry about what others think is mature or for adults! ha!  I actually took this picture of the large cats and their tamer.  This was amazing to actually watch in person.  The trust this man had for the cats was actually frightening.  I sat there thinking that guy is crazy trusting those large wild animals.  That is too dangerous.  Then it dawned on me that we do that in our Christian walk all the time.  We decide that trusting God is just too dangerous or crazy to actually do.  Trusting God is not much different than what I witnessed this tamer do last night.  Others will look at us and say, "That girl is crazy!  What is she thinking. That is too dangerous!  That doesn't make any sense!"  Do we worry about what others say or what God tells us to do?  Just something to think about!

Unexpected Friendship

 

This picture means more than many will ever know.  When I first met Ryan Jackson last year at WCS I was doing a long term sub for the 4th grade.  He would come by my room and talk to my daughter and I for a few minutes each day and by the end of the year we three were joking and had become fast friends.  As I talked to Ryan I found that even though his father was a pastor and he was in church all the time he was lacking that intimate relationship with Jesus.  He began to ask me questions about my faith and my journey with the Lord.  During this school year, I turned him on to several Christian music artists and he now enjoys Christian music!  He also reads scriptures and he also fasted along with Brian and I this fall for the first time.  His family recently received the call to a church in another town and so the family had to make plans to move.  Ryan had always worked at WCS as the maintenance/janitor and so we began to pray about God finding him a job in his new town.  Well, the first one he went to apply for he received and his pay was three times what he was making!  God is soooooo good!  He believes in our ministry and speaks words of encouragement into it all the time.  God gives us unexpected blessing all the time if we just open our eyes.  Ryan is definitely one of those for our family! 

 

 

 

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