This was from my devotional today on YouVersion. I am doing the Lifetime Daily Devotions Plan and it is great. It is a year long plan and I am almost at the end. You should check it out. This goes along with what I read a few days ago.
No More Time to Pray
Seeking answers . . . needing answers . . . crying for answers . . . when action now is essential, unavoidable. There's no more time for prayer.
What do I do, Lord?
We must study all the teachings and examples of the Lord. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was facing the most difficult experience of His walk on planet Earth. He prayed passionately, entreating the heavenly Father three times to change the circumstances that were before Him. Not six. Not twelve. THREE (Matthew 26:36-46).
He had no more time to pray.
The circumstance was upon Him.
He believed He had Gods answer, so...
He arose and pursued the course of action open to Him.
When you are faced with your own "most difficult" experience, you may pray passionately, entreating God to change the circumstances that are before you. But when there is no more time for prayer and action is absolutely essential, you must arise and pursue the course of action open to you.
Remember, Jesus knew the plan (Luke 18:31-33) but still pleaded with God about it in the Garden. And why not? He was facing intense suffering, rejection, pain, humiliating abuse, and death. He received "no" for His answer, but also received grace to meet the coming conflict. So when it came time for action, He was ready: "Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!"
Remember . . .
We too receive GRACE when God says "no."
Thursday, December 22, 2011
His Ways Are So Much Better Than Ours
Have there been times in your life when you wanted and prayed so hard for something to happen or change? And it seems like it is just not going to happen? That God has pretty much given you a "no" and you really don't understand why? I have. There have been a few big times in my life that I can remember where I have prayed wholeheartedly for something and just could not understand why it wasn't happening. I couldn't understand why because it seemed like something so good for me or someone I loved and it just didn't make sense why something so good wouldn't happen. Eventually, like me, we usually let go of that dream and move on. Sometimes we will still look back and wonder over time why it never happened for us and other times, God blesses us by actually revealing to us why it didn't happen in the first place. I realized this as I read this verse the other day:
"At the time I have decided, my words will come true.
You can trust what I say about the future.
It may take a long time, but keep on waiting— it will happen!"
Habakkuk 2:3 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
At the very instant I read that verse, I immediately called to mind a circumstance that I was literally miserable over, just knowing in my heart that it had to be right. But God just showed me, "Jessica, see? I had something so much better for you. It didn't happen the way you thought it should or how quickly you wanted it to, but look how wonderful it is!" I really wish that I could remember this every time I get discouraged about the way I feel like something is going in life. God's ways are soooo much better than mine.
This verse also had meaning to me for something that is happening now. As I have mentioned before, Brian had been diagnosed as having a mild speech delay back in July. We had a HORRIBLE experience with so-called "experts" trying to pin a lot of unnecessary things on my child. As a mother it hurt me and shook me up big time. Thankfully, from that point on, God brought wonderful people in to our lives who put all of those nightmares to rest for good. But unfortunately, I couldn't let go completely (as usual for me in a lot of situations) and I just kept worrying and bringing to mind every negative experience we had. What I did was put WAY too much thought into what PEOPLE thought instead of what GOD thought about it. I know that God sent those people into our lives after the bad experience to show me that "I've got this. Don't worry. And don't you worry about Brian. He is mine and I will take care of him." What I (again) failed to see was that God was working in Brian in HIS TIME. How stupid of me to take other people's comments to heart instead of knowing that with our efforts and God, Brian would get through this. How stupid of me to let myself compare my child to every other child I ever saw that could speak a little clearer or do things a little differently than Brian did. If ONLY I had saved myself the heartache and listened:
"At the time I have decided, my words will come true.
You can trust what I say about the future.
It may take a long time, but keep on waiting— it will happen!"
Habakkuk 2:3 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
So here we are, less than 5 months later and my little boy has made so many leaps and bounds that I could not even begin to tell you about them. He has a wonderful Pre-k teacher and assistants, he loves school, and he is happy. God IS taking care of Brian and I am asking His forgiveness for failing to put it completely in His hands and I'm learning to trust Him more. As I look back I can see how He wanted me to just trust in Him completely. I am learning everyday that if I do my job as Brian's mom to the best of my ability that God is going to do the rest. He is God's child first and will always work things out for his good- but in His time. Because His ways are always, always, always better than mine.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Misery loves company...or just blogging about it.
I have to just say that I am pretty miserable. I am not complaining because I am not grateful to be having this baby, because I AM! I am just baffled at how different 2 pregnancies can be!!! Seriously!! Being pregnant with Brian was the best I have ever felt in my life!! This time, not so much...
With Brian, I had sooo much energy.
With Baby Powell, I am lucky if I wash my hair once a week.
Speaking of hair...
With Brian, my hair was so shiny and my skin was so pretty!
With Baby Powell, I need an extreme makeover on a daily basis.
With Brian, by 15 weeks I had no more sickness whatsoever.
With Baby Powell, I was sicker than a dog this morning. And as I type this.
With Brian, I walked everyday in the heat of the summer and felt great.
With Baby Powell, my gym membership has remained untouched for the past 6 weeks or so and I get short of breath walking to the kitchen to get something sweet.
With Brian, I slept great!
With Baby Powell, I toss and turn all night and my tailbone and lower back feel like they have been stabbed. Repeatedly.
With Brian I had mildly sensitive gums.
With Baby Powell, I can't even smile without my gums bleeding it seems.
I could go on and on, but I won't. Because I truly am blessed to be pregnant. I honestly wasn't sure that I would be able to have another baby after Brian because of my health issues. So the fact that I am healthy and having a baby is such a blessing. I just am amazed at the human body and how it can turn on you in an instant! :)
Everyone who has a guess on the gender of Baby Powell says girl. Every single one. Wes wants a girl, Brian says "sister", etc.. I am not saying a word. Because I was wrong with my "gut" feeling with Brian so I would just say "boy" for Baby Powell because it is the opposite of what the general consensus seems to be. I just want a happy, healthy baby that gets here safely.
I'm not gonna lie- I am a little nervous that I am only 15 weeks into this and already feel miserable. Not to mention that last night while watching "New Girl" Wes pointed out what my life would be like if i were the only woman in a house of 3 boys. I have to say, folks, it wasn't pretty.
With Brian, I had sooo much energy.
With Baby Powell, I am lucky if I wash my hair once a week.
Speaking of hair...
With Brian, my hair was so shiny and my skin was so pretty!
With Baby Powell, I need an extreme makeover on a daily basis.
With Brian, by 15 weeks I had no more sickness whatsoever.
With Baby Powell, I was sicker than a dog this morning. And as I type this.
With Brian, I walked everyday in the heat of the summer and felt great.
With Baby Powell, my gym membership has remained untouched for the past 6 weeks or so and I get short of breath walking to the kitchen to get something sweet.
With Brian, I slept great!
With Baby Powell, I toss and turn all night and my tailbone and lower back feel like they have been stabbed. Repeatedly.
With Brian I had mildly sensitive gums.
With Baby Powell, I can't even smile without my gums bleeding it seems.
I could go on and on, but I won't. Because I truly am blessed to be pregnant. I honestly wasn't sure that I would be able to have another baby after Brian because of my health issues. So the fact that I am healthy and having a baby is such a blessing. I just am amazed at the human body and how it can turn on you in an instant! :)
Everyone who has a guess on the gender of Baby Powell says girl. Every single one. Wes wants a girl, Brian says "sister", etc.. I am not saying a word. Because I was wrong with my "gut" feeling with Brian so I would just say "boy" for Baby Powell because it is the opposite of what the general consensus seems to be. I just want a happy, healthy baby that gets here safely.
I'm not gonna lie- I am a little nervous that I am only 15 weeks into this and already feel miserable. Not to mention that last night while watching "New Girl" Wes pointed out what my life would be like if i were the only woman in a house of 3 boys. I have to say, folks, it wasn't pretty.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
So Many Changes
Well, here I have abandoned my blog again. Seems to happen every time. I do well for a while, and then I start to slack. So much has been going on in my life lately -wonderful things- that God has blessed my family with and I need to take the time to truly reflect on those things.
My biggest praises right now:
Brian - He is doing SO GREAT in school. I was so torn at the thought of putting him in school so soon. I just felt like he was too young (barely 4 when school started) and just wanted to do the right thing by him. I wanted to make sure he was ready so he could be successful. But when he was diagnosed with a speech delay, all I kept hearing was how going to school everyday would probably correct the problem in a short time, better than any kind of therapy. So that was my deciding factor. Thankfully, we have been blessed with a great teacher and assistant teachers and it has truly shown. He loves going to school and has met many new friends. And boy, is he learning! And the biggest blessing of all is how much his speech has improved. He is getting speech therapy at school and is learning how to speak slower. He tends to get excited and speak very fast which can cause him to be harder to understand. But now he is just talking like such a grown up. We are so proud of him and thankful that God has worked in the way he has in his life.
Our new baby- Wes and I are so excited to have a baby together. This is going to be the only baby we have together, so it is even extra special. With me having high risk pregnancies and getting older (ha!) we just feel like this is where we should stop. We don't want to put a baby or me in a dangerous situation and we feel like this is exactly where our family should be. We are due on June 16th, so that makes me right at 12 weeks. So far, everything is going great. This pregnancy has been a lot harder on me physically than Brian. Maybe it is because I already have a 4 year old :) But I seem to have to been watching a lot more. My blood pressure obviously, some issues that I did not have with Brian that can be worrying, and having Celiac disease too. I have tended to be very slack at times on my gluten-free diet since being diagnosed. Because I am not "severely damaged" by it yet, sometimes the yummy food is worth the stomach ache. But after a lot of research, I have found out that it isn't good for the baby. So I have really cracked down on no gluten. I know it will be impossible to never accidentally have any gluten, but I am being very diligent. I even had my first gluten free thanksgiving dinner thanks to my mama! It was good and I didn't feel like I was missing out at all.
Wes- Pregnancy is very hard on a woman, but it also affects everyone else. I am so grateful to have a husband who has really stepped up to help me when I am feeling exhausted or sick. I know I am on an emotional rollercoaster a lot right now, but he has been so supportive of the changes I am going through and I am thankful for that.
Monday is our 2nd doctor appointment, so I am praying that I will get some questions answered and a lot of extra stress that I have been carrying around will be relieved. Pregnancy is scary and it seems even scarier this time. I struggle with feeling 100% responsible for this baby since I am the only one "in charge" of it right now. But I'm really not. God is. So I am learning to pry open my grip on worry and put it in His hands instead.
My biggest praises right now:
Brian - He is doing SO GREAT in school. I was so torn at the thought of putting him in school so soon. I just felt like he was too young (barely 4 when school started) and just wanted to do the right thing by him. I wanted to make sure he was ready so he could be successful. But when he was diagnosed with a speech delay, all I kept hearing was how going to school everyday would probably correct the problem in a short time, better than any kind of therapy. So that was my deciding factor. Thankfully, we have been blessed with a great teacher and assistant teachers and it has truly shown. He loves going to school and has met many new friends. And boy, is he learning! And the biggest blessing of all is how much his speech has improved. He is getting speech therapy at school and is learning how to speak slower. He tends to get excited and speak very fast which can cause him to be harder to understand. But now he is just talking like such a grown up. We are so proud of him and thankful that God has worked in the way he has in his life.
Our new baby- Wes and I are so excited to have a baby together. This is going to be the only baby we have together, so it is even extra special. With me having high risk pregnancies and getting older (ha!) we just feel like this is where we should stop. We don't want to put a baby or me in a dangerous situation and we feel like this is exactly where our family should be. We are due on June 16th, so that makes me right at 12 weeks. So far, everything is going great. This pregnancy has been a lot harder on me physically than Brian. Maybe it is because I already have a 4 year old :) But I seem to have to been watching a lot more. My blood pressure obviously, some issues that I did not have with Brian that can be worrying, and having Celiac disease too. I have tended to be very slack at times on my gluten-free diet since being diagnosed. Because I am not "severely damaged" by it yet, sometimes the yummy food is worth the stomach ache. But after a lot of research, I have found out that it isn't good for the baby. So I have really cracked down on no gluten. I know it will be impossible to never accidentally have any gluten, but I am being very diligent. I even had my first gluten free thanksgiving dinner thanks to my mama! It was good and I didn't feel like I was missing out at all.
Wes- Pregnancy is very hard on a woman, but it also affects everyone else. I am so grateful to have a husband who has really stepped up to help me when I am feeling exhausted or sick. I know I am on an emotional rollercoaster a lot right now, but he has been so supportive of the changes I am going through and I am thankful for that.
Monday is our 2nd doctor appointment, so I am praying that I will get some questions answered and a lot of extra stress that I have been carrying around will be relieved. Pregnancy is scary and it seems even scarier this time. I struggle with feeling 100% responsible for this baby since I am the only one "in charge" of it right now. But I'm really not. God is. So I am learning to pry open my grip on worry and put it in His hands instead.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Self Absorbed
It's been a while since I have blogged. Not that I don't have anything going on, I just haven't felt like I've had much to say. I've even contemplated just giving up on my little blog totally. But then I realized that even if nobody reads it or would even miss it if it were gone, it is like therapy for me. It is a place that is mine where I have always been able to express myself- good or bad. I can vent here without any judgement, admit my shortcomings and struggles, my hopes, and my faults. So for that reason alone, I will probably keep it.
I have struggled so much with letting go with certain things that at times bring me so much discouragement. Why is it so hard for us to let go of something that hurt us in the past? Something that doesn't matter anymore? And why is it also so hard to just accept that fact that no matter what you do in your life, there are just some things that you will never have control of?
I will admit I have a very hard time with letting a few individuals (that aren't really even an active part of my life anymore) control me too much. And what I mean by control me is actually control my emotions. Have you ever had someone who did something to you to the point where just the mention of their name or seeing them in a crowd made your entire body tense up? That no matter how good of a place you are in, just one look can intimidate you and make you feel like you have been punched in the stomach? Well, I have one. And I haven't seen them in almost 4 years. But I saw them for the first time about a month ago and that is exactly how I felt. And what made it worse for me was the fact that I saw this person in my "safe place". My church.
Yikes. That one hurt. I got the shaky feeling. The fear that I was going to be ridiculed or hurt again. My first instinct was to turn and run as fast as I could out of that church. To be brutally honest, I thought, "Gee, Satan, you sure know my weaknesses." I remember going to sit down with my family before the service started and leaning over and telling my sweet mother in law who I just saw in the lobby. She said something to me that pretty much convicted me immediately, although she probably had no idea that it did. She said, "Hold your head up and smile at her. Because it is probably a good thing she is even here."
Wow. It kinda all made sense to me then. Here I was letting Satan use this situation to make me feel weak and afraid when maybe God was using it to CHANGE things. Instead of focusing on myself, I should have been thankful that God had brought this person to church and was working in their life. Because He sure had worked in mine. Did me realizing this take away all those feelings immediately? No. I wish. But it helped me gain a better perspective that the world doesn't (surprise) revolve around me.
I made a conscious decision to have a better attitude about it and about possibly running into this person again. I felt like I was making progress until I let myself get caught up in it again.
A few weeks later, I was about to sit down and noticed them sitting in the row behind me. I smiled, they smiled but then what happened next made me want to cry and go back into "the zone". They got up and moved. At church. That hurt. I started to give myself a pity party. "Why am I always made out to be the bad guy? What did I ever do to them? How could they do that at CHURCH?" Blah, blah, blah. It took my husband who thankfully is the total opposite of me in dealing with things like that, to knock me back to reality. He lets other people's opinions of him and actions towards him roll of his back like water. He told me that I have to stop letting the past control my present and future. Those people who hurt me can only hurt me because I LET THEM. Not rocket science, but you would think it was with how hard it is for me to get that into my thick skull.
I am trying really hard to let go of the past. I am also trying really hard to pray for the people who have hurt me instead of focusing on myself. I have also tried really hard to right any wrongs that I have done against anyone that I may not even have realized. It isn't easy to love and pray for those who hurt you, but that is exactly what Jesus tells us to do. And that is exactly what He did for us. So I will keep trying.
I have struggled so much with letting go with certain things that at times bring me so much discouragement. Why is it so hard for us to let go of something that hurt us in the past? Something that doesn't matter anymore? And why is it also so hard to just accept that fact that no matter what you do in your life, there are just some things that you will never have control of?
I will admit I have a very hard time with letting a few individuals (that aren't really even an active part of my life anymore) control me too much. And what I mean by control me is actually control my emotions. Have you ever had someone who did something to you to the point where just the mention of their name or seeing them in a crowd made your entire body tense up? That no matter how good of a place you are in, just one look can intimidate you and make you feel like you have been punched in the stomach? Well, I have one. And I haven't seen them in almost 4 years. But I saw them for the first time about a month ago and that is exactly how I felt. And what made it worse for me was the fact that I saw this person in my "safe place". My church.
Yikes. That one hurt. I got the shaky feeling. The fear that I was going to be ridiculed or hurt again. My first instinct was to turn and run as fast as I could out of that church. To be brutally honest, I thought, "Gee, Satan, you sure know my weaknesses." I remember going to sit down with my family before the service started and leaning over and telling my sweet mother in law who I just saw in the lobby. She said something to me that pretty much convicted me immediately, although she probably had no idea that it did. She said, "Hold your head up and smile at her. Because it is probably a good thing she is even here."
Wow. It kinda all made sense to me then. Here I was letting Satan use this situation to make me feel weak and afraid when maybe God was using it to CHANGE things. Instead of focusing on myself, I should have been thankful that God had brought this person to church and was working in their life. Because He sure had worked in mine. Did me realizing this take away all those feelings immediately? No. I wish. But it helped me gain a better perspective that the world doesn't (surprise) revolve around me.
I made a conscious decision to have a better attitude about it and about possibly running into this person again. I felt like I was making progress until I let myself get caught up in it again.
A few weeks later, I was about to sit down and noticed them sitting in the row behind me. I smiled, they smiled but then what happened next made me want to cry and go back into "the zone". They got up and moved. At church. That hurt. I started to give myself a pity party. "Why am I always made out to be the bad guy? What did I ever do to them? How could they do that at CHURCH?" Blah, blah, blah. It took my husband who thankfully is the total opposite of me in dealing with things like that, to knock me back to reality. He lets other people's opinions of him and actions towards him roll of his back like water. He told me that I have to stop letting the past control my present and future. Those people who hurt me can only hurt me because I LET THEM. Not rocket science, but you would think it was with how hard it is for me to get that into my thick skull.
I am trying really hard to let go of the past. I am also trying really hard to pray for the people who have hurt me instead of focusing on myself. I have also tried really hard to right any wrongs that I have done against anyone that I may not even have realized. It isn't easy to love and pray for those who hurt you, but that is exactly what Jesus tells us to do. And that is exactly what He did for us. So I will keep trying.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Just Checking In...
Instead of having so much free time here at work doing absolutely nothing (but blogging!) I am so happy to be able to use that time to spend with my son. It has been a wonderful month getting to spend most of my days with him. The only downside to that is my blog is suffering because with only working 2 days now, I actually have work to do when I am there :)
Things are continuing to go so well for our family. We have adjusted quite well to our newly reduced income actually! I have found some ways to cut corners on groceries and with me only commuting to work 2 days a week, it has saved on gas too. I really want to be one of those super couponing mom's but I get so overwhelmed just reading about other people couponing. I wish I could afford to hire someone to do it for me! Ha ha! We also just sold our extra car this week so that was definitely a blessing! Not only do we have the much needed money from the sale, but our car insurance dropped about $35 a month! Now we just pray our cars last ;)
Brian had a WONDERFUL speech evaluation on Monday, too. It was definitely an answered prayer for me. We found a therapist who made him feel comfortable which was the biggest plus in my opinion. She told us that a child Brian's age has an attention span of FOUR MINUTES at a time!! She was amazed that the last "evaluation" had Brian in a room for over 2 hours without any breaks. She even stopped midway when she saw his attention start to fade and gave him some juice and crackers. That was just what he needed since he had eaten such a light breakfast. Funny how a little snack can change everything. Anyway, her findings were so positive and she gave us some ideas for some extra help for him. He even showed off a little and corrected her a few times. It made me so happy that he was acting like himself and developed such a good rapport with her. By the end of the session, he was making jokes with her. When I left, I literally felt the weight lift off my shoulders. It is frustrating when all you want is what is best for your child and it seems other people have alterior agendas.
Sometimes I imagine God shaking his head and saying, "Jessica, when are you ever going to learn that I've got this?" I get so frustrated with myself for not 100% always putting things in His hands. He has ALWAYS taken care of me. Even when I felt my world was falling apart, He was STILL working out the details for my good. I want to be able to never give my fears a second thought. I want to be able to look at a challenging situation and say "He's got this" and then leave it alone. But instead, I keep visiting that fear occasionally fully knowing that nothing I can do is going to affect the situation. I am striving for the day when "fear" or "worry" are wiped out of my vocabulary for good.
Thank you for listening to me rattle on about the details of my life. And thank you for praying for us.
Things are continuing to go so well for our family. We have adjusted quite well to our newly reduced income actually! I have found some ways to cut corners on groceries and with me only commuting to work 2 days a week, it has saved on gas too. I really want to be one of those super couponing mom's but I get so overwhelmed just reading about other people couponing. I wish I could afford to hire someone to do it for me! Ha ha! We also just sold our extra car this week so that was definitely a blessing! Not only do we have the much needed money from the sale, but our car insurance dropped about $35 a month! Now we just pray our cars last ;)
Brian had a WONDERFUL speech evaluation on Monday, too. It was definitely an answered prayer for me. We found a therapist who made him feel comfortable which was the biggest plus in my opinion. She told us that a child Brian's age has an attention span of FOUR MINUTES at a time!! She was amazed that the last "evaluation" had Brian in a room for over 2 hours without any breaks. She even stopped midway when she saw his attention start to fade and gave him some juice and crackers. That was just what he needed since he had eaten such a light breakfast. Funny how a little snack can change everything. Anyway, her findings were so positive and she gave us some ideas for some extra help for him. He even showed off a little and corrected her a few times. It made me so happy that he was acting like himself and developed such a good rapport with her. By the end of the session, he was making jokes with her. When I left, I literally felt the weight lift off my shoulders. It is frustrating when all you want is what is best for your child and it seems other people have alterior agendas.
Sometimes I imagine God shaking his head and saying, "Jessica, when are you ever going to learn that I've got this?" I get so frustrated with myself for not 100% always putting things in His hands. He has ALWAYS taken care of me. Even when I felt my world was falling apart, He was STILL working out the details for my good. I want to be able to never give my fears a second thought. I want to be able to look at a challenging situation and say "He's got this" and then leave it alone. But instead, I keep visiting that fear occasionally fully knowing that nothing I can do is going to affect the situation. I am striving for the day when "fear" or "worry" are wiped out of my vocabulary for good.
Thank you for listening to me rattle on about the details of my life. And thank you for praying for us.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Lot Can Happen in Two Months!
Wow, I just noticed that it has been nearly 2 months since my last blog and I am really slacking! The truth is, my blogging time is limited now that I am only working 2 days a week! What a blessing that has been!! God lined everything up just perfectly in order to bless us in this way. Sure, we took a pretty hefty paycut, but the other benefits have been FAR greater than any paycheck could be. It was a big step of faith for Wes and I- we had our own "plan" as to when I would stop working full-time but we both believed that this was important for our family, especially Brian, and that we just needed to step out in faith and let God take care of us. And as always, He has!
One of the reasons that I felt such a burden to start being at home now rather than later is Brian. Not only to spend more time with him, because I felt like he really needed me now. He has been having some minor difficulties in speech and I really felt like with me being able to stay at home, I could help those improve. And, surprisingly, in just about 3 weeks time, he has! Isn't God amazing?? I'm not saying that he still doesn't have some more improving to do, but I believe the time I have been given to work with him has already helped tremendously.
When we took him to be evaluated, we encountered some people who were very upsetting to Brian's dad and me. These professionals were less than that at our meeting and were making some very disturbing observations that were extremely ridiculous. It is funny how someone can meet with your child for 30 minutes and assume they know everything there is to know about them. After praying, crying, and talking with others, we realized this: 1) Not every child is the same 2) Children react in different ways (just like adults) when they are stressed, intimidated, scared, and tired 3) Children also can pick up on negativity QUICK. 4) God gave me the internal knowledge of what is best for my child. 5) Pediatricians do not always agree with these other "professionals" therefore, it is important to get their input on these "evaluations" before jumping to conclusions and getting upset.
Anyway, to make a very long story short, Brian was diagnosed with having a mild expressive language delay. His original diagnosis when from "oh, after getting in an everyday preschool class, this should be corrected by Christmas" to "let's continue to have him evaluated" because, for just one example, when they asked him to draw a person, he said "No, I wanna draw a cat" and drew a cat instead. So, fellow parents, if your child ever does this, beware! They need to be tested!
So I am asking for your prayers as we meet with the speech therapist on Monday. Our prayer is that Brian will be relaxed and in good spirits after his traumatic last experience and that we will have a therapist that is understanding and aware of how children actually function when they are 3 years old.
In other good news, LifeChurch.tv MWC launched 2 weeks ago and is average over 2000 people per Sunday! This is wonderful!!! In fact, starting this Sunday, they have already had to add an additional service to accommodate everyone. Wes and I work in The Ark, the 4 year old room with Brian. He LOVES it! This weekend, however, we will be working in the 1 year old room. I can't wait to see how Wes likes it! Last Sunday I got moved in there due to a teacher shortage and I ended up rocking for an hour with a baby boy in each arm. I loved it!!!
So, a lot has happened in two months. And hopefully I will start having more time to blog!
One of the reasons that I felt such a burden to start being at home now rather than later is Brian. Not only to spend more time with him, because I felt like he really needed me now. He has been having some minor difficulties in speech and I really felt like with me being able to stay at home, I could help those improve. And, surprisingly, in just about 3 weeks time, he has! Isn't God amazing?? I'm not saying that he still doesn't have some more improving to do, but I believe the time I have been given to work with him has already helped tremendously.
When we took him to be evaluated, we encountered some people who were very upsetting to Brian's dad and me. These professionals were less than that at our meeting and were making some very disturbing observations that were extremely ridiculous. It is funny how someone can meet with your child for 30 minutes and assume they know everything there is to know about them. After praying, crying, and talking with others, we realized this: 1) Not every child is the same 2) Children react in different ways (just like adults) when they are stressed, intimidated, scared, and tired 3) Children also can pick up on negativity QUICK. 4) God gave me the internal knowledge of what is best for my child. 5) Pediatricians do not always agree with these other "professionals" therefore, it is important to get their input on these "evaluations" before jumping to conclusions and getting upset.
Anyway, to make a very long story short, Brian was diagnosed with having a mild expressive language delay. His original diagnosis when from "oh, after getting in an everyday preschool class, this should be corrected by Christmas" to "let's continue to have him evaluated" because, for just one example, when they asked him to draw a person, he said "No, I wanna draw a cat" and drew a cat instead. So, fellow parents, if your child ever does this, beware! They need to be tested!
So I am asking for your prayers as we meet with the speech therapist on Monday. Our prayer is that Brian will be relaxed and in good spirits after his traumatic last experience and that we will have a therapist that is understanding and aware of how children actually function when they are 3 years old.
In other good news, LifeChurch.tv MWC launched 2 weeks ago and is average over 2000 people per Sunday! This is wonderful!!! In fact, starting this Sunday, they have already had to add an additional service to accommodate everyone. Wes and I work in The Ark, the 4 year old room with Brian. He LOVES it! This weekend, however, we will be working in the 1 year old room. I can't wait to see how Wes likes it! Last Sunday I got moved in there due to a teacher shortage and I ended up rocking for an hour with a baby boy in each arm. I loved it!!!
So, a lot has happened in two months. And hopefully I will start having more time to blog!
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