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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thankfulness
I have sat back today and just marveled at our Lord - in seeing His purpose in all things. To be able to see the way that Valerie Grace has touched peoples lives and then to be touched by those people - it just really amazes me. We are just really really happy and really thankful and it just feels super good. Today has been one of those really cool days of seeing prayer answered (well, the way I expected too).
We had great news from Ecuador (Maria now has a computer back up and running in Ecuador and we are able to Skype). Huge prayer answered there in Ecuador. My prayer to be able to see things from other people's perspectives today was clearly answered and it felt so great. Our girls are doing well, our marriage is fantastic, we are hearing of the good fruit from our ministry involvement in Ecuador, and our Valerie Grace is feeling wonderful (dancing and singing and laughing all day).
We have been so blessed to catch up with so many people from back home. We had a wonderful meal with our good friends the Sarajedinis this past weekend. Our girls loved playing with their two boys. We have received so many sweet notes and gifts....things that just seemed like such supernaturally unexplainable things that really have reminded us that God's hand is in our lives - that He is working in and through us (by us, I mean the big us - not just our family).
My parents are coming into town tomorrow and we will all head over to Craig's parents home for a Thanksgiving dinner. We sure have a lot to be thankful for.
Thank you for your continued prayers - we feel them and we thank you and know that we see them being answered and we pray you see that too.
Much love,
Celeste
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We had great news from Ecuador (Maria now has a computer back up and running in Ecuador and we are able to Skype). Huge prayer answered there in Ecuador. My prayer to be able to see things from other people's perspectives today was clearly answered and it felt so great. Our girls are doing well, our marriage is fantastic, we are hearing of the good fruit from our ministry involvement in Ecuador, and our Valerie Grace is feeling wonderful (dancing and singing and laughing all day).
We have been so blessed to catch up with so many people from back home. We had a wonderful meal with our good friends the Sarajedinis this past weekend. Our girls loved playing with their two boys. We have received so many sweet notes and gifts....things that just seemed like such supernaturally unexplainable things that really have reminded us that God's hand is in our lives - that He is working in and through us (by us, I mean the big us - not just our family).
My parents are coming into town tomorrow and we will all head over to Craig's parents home for a Thanksgiving dinner. We sure have a lot to be thankful for.
Thank you for your continued prayers - we feel them and we thank you and know that we see them being answered and we pray you see that too.
Much love,
Celeste
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Road Trip
Q: What do you get when you cross a pair of missionaries, 4 little girls and a minivan on the road for two weeks?
A: We'll let you know when we get back.
We're packing our bags and heading to Mars. I thought about making a joke about our destination, but that was just too easy. We had a group come down and visit us from a church in Mars, Pennsylvania and they invited us up for a visit. Along the way we're going to stop and see some old friends and family. We're planning on leaving a day or two after Valerie's chemo treatment on December 2nd and getting back before her next appointment two weeks later. We don't have our itinerary worked out all the way yet, but we are thinking about visiting folks in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, and of course, Pennsylvania - so if you're on or near that drive path, and would like us to drop by, send us an email and we'll try to work it in. The girls are all excited about it and it has been a very effective tool in getting them to eat new foods. (Girls, if you want to go to Mars, you need to show us that you will be good guests and eat all your [insert food here]) The girls (and us) really fell in love with this group and can hardly wait to see them again.
Valerie has been doing very well through her chemo (thank you for all your prayers). I guess if she weren't, we wouldn't be able to take such a long trip. Brooke, Courtney, and Natalie have all been doing their school work and enjoying playing outside in the cold weather, even though Celeste and I feel like it's the Antarctic here in Florida (what will PA hold?).
Craig
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A: We'll let you know when we get back.
We're packing our bags and heading to Mars. I thought about making a joke about our destination, but that was just too easy. We had a group come down and visit us from a church in Mars, Pennsylvania and they invited us up for a visit. Along the way we're going to stop and see some old friends and family. We're planning on leaving a day or two after Valerie's chemo treatment on December 2nd and getting back before her next appointment two weeks later. We don't have our itinerary worked out all the way yet, but we are thinking about visiting folks in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, and of course, Pennsylvania - so if you're on or near that drive path, and would like us to drop by, send us an email and we'll try to work it in. The girls are all excited about it and it has been a very effective tool in getting them to eat new foods. (Girls, if you want to go to Mars, you need to show us that you will be good guests and eat all your [insert food here]) The girls (and us) really fell in love with this group and can hardly wait to see them again.
Valerie has been doing very well through her chemo (thank you for all your prayers). I guess if she weren't, we wouldn't be able to take such a long trip. Brooke, Courtney, and Natalie have all been doing their school work and enjoying playing outside in the cold weather, even though Celeste and I feel like it's the Antarctic here in Florida (what will PA hold?).
Craig
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Saturday, November 22, 2008
A Very Special Package
Tony made our Valerie Grace feel very special. The girls have had a blast throwing the pizza dough (okay, I have been throwing it too as it is really fun). We are so touched that there are people out there that take the time to really touch the life of a child in such a special way. Thank you Tony!
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Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Valerie's MRI
Valerie Grace had a quick MRI today. She jumped on the table and was very good for the MRI. It was only about 2 minutes (the purpose being to make sure the tumor is not bleeding from the Avastin). Valerie's doctor was able to take a quick look and there was nothing that she noticed that would be of concern - so that is good news. Again, Valerie had no diarrhea after chemo, no stomach cramping - totally fine.
We are talking about taking a big road trip up the east coast up to Mars (Pennsylvania that is) and stopping along the way to see friends and family. Hopefully, we will be able to do that and see many of our friends along the way
Thanks for you prayers
Celeste
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We are talking about taking a big road trip up the east coast up to Mars (Pennsylvania that is) and stopping along the way to see friends and family. Hopefully, we will be able to do that and see many of our friends along the way
Thanks for you prayers
Celeste
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Visit to Dr Pincus
Valerie Grace taking her own blood pressure while waiting. She took everyone's blood pressure and looked in almost everyone's eyes.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Our day yesterday
Valerie Grace did well again for chemo. She was a little better about the whole port accessing thing. Ms Jenna came by and let Valerie do the whole routine with Betty (the doll) before it was Valerie's turn.
Craig's visit was quick, painless, and revealed nothing cancerous (big praise) and he joined us for the whole 7+ hours we were at the MedPlaza. We had a special visit from our friend Bill Woodbury, from our family group at church, who hung out with us for the last couple of hours. Having an extra person around seemed to really take Valerie's mind off of that "string" she complained so much about the first time (the IV tubing). Everyone at Shands really helps to make the whole experience enjoyable and fun.
Craig's mom and dad came and watched the other girls while we were at Shands and made a great lunch and even helped with some of the housework. Thank you!
We are going to meet with the neurosurgeon here on Friday to discuss things with Valerie.
We are really very thankful for all of the love and support we have received and we know that all of that is a gift from the Lord.
I took Valerie Grace to family group last night and had a wonderful evening in the presence of Love. Each person in there is so special to us. I didn't talk much, but just marveled at how special the Lord made each individual. On the way home from family group last night, I was really feeling tired, just tired of walking this path. Most of the time I am really thankful that this is our life and I can clearly see and rejoice in how perfect our life has been - but other times, I feel tired. The song playing was by one of my favorite singers who sings in Spanish and over and over he was singing "Te adoro" (I love You). I was singing along and just really thankful for having the Lord in my life and just overwhelmed with how much I do love Him even when things are difficult. Several times I stopped and just marveled at the stars in the sky. I was sobbing. Then I felt a hand on my head. I really feel like it was a touch from the Lord. I then clearly heard "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of being compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Love,
Celeste
Monday, November 17, 2008
Another day of chemo tomorrow, more thankfulness, and lots of good news from Ecuador
Craig and I will be taking Valerie Grace into Shands together tomorrow for her second round of chemo. Craig has an appointment to have some spots on his arm looked at that have been growing. It works out well because his appointment will be just 2 floors above where Valerie has chemo and since we have one vehicle. Craig will then get to experience the whole chemo stuff after his appointment. I think this will be his first time seeing what all goes on. It will be nice to have him there.
The three older girls all have a cough and runny nose. So far, Valerie Grace is doing really well and no cold symptoms. We are praying that it stays that way as to not delay chemo. The girls missed out on going to church this week because they were sick, but hopefully everyone will be better by next weekend. They have enjoyed going to church and being able to understand everything, as it is in English. We have been speaking some Spanish in the house in hopes of not only not losing what we have, but to even use this time to build our vocabulary and hopefully I can improve in all areas.
We had a wonderful dinner last night with a family group from our church. It was so nice to be able to talk about our ministry and what has been going on with Valerie Grace. We had a wonderful meal and prayer time as well, then on top of that, they blessed us with food to take home so we can have it to eat after we get home from chemo tomorrow night and with a gift basket full of our favorite treats. What a rich evening of fellowship and love. I think they showered out blessings from every love language on to our family last night. Marge, Dick, Vivian, Horace, Vonya, Phil, Margaret, Don and Judy, JoJo, and Joe - Thank you so much for an evening full of fellowship, encouragement, blessings, and love!
Last week, I was blessed to visit the highschool ladies prayer time. It was so sweet to see familiar face and meet new people. Thank you Danielle for inviting me to come.
There are so many opportunities here for fellowship - it has really been a good time of refreshment for me. And tonight, I get to go visit with Sue, who I consider to be my spiritual mom.
When I look at everything over the past couple of weeks, I am so thankful that we were able to come back here at this time.
We called Ecuador again today and are always so delighted to hear Maria's voice and talk together about everything that has been going on. Things in Ecuador are going well. Maria and Alcibar are working on the audio Bible translation in Quechua. They have a group coming down from an Ecuadorian church in Quito the third week of January to help with the church. We heard other news about the ministry going on in Ecuador too. It is so neat to see how the Lord has interweaved everything. It just amazes me. We kept asking how everyone was doing, and Maria said everyone is fine, but they are all praying that Valerie is okay. She was so thrilled to be able to talk with Valerie. We are all continuing to pray for Valerie's vision and health.
We have been putting together pictures from all of the groups that volunteered to help in Sacha Runa. The people of Sacha Runa want them to hang in the walls of the church along with photos of people in the community helping. They always tell us how thankful they are to the Lord, for He heard their prayers. And we are so thankful that they see that it is the Lord who was the one that answered their prayers. When we give them photos of the groups, they see the Lord in each one. The Lord is so good - so faithful, and we feel so blessed to be a small part of what He is doing.
Love,
Celeste
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The three older girls all have a cough and runny nose. So far, Valerie Grace is doing really well and no cold symptoms. We are praying that it stays that way as to not delay chemo. The girls missed out on going to church this week because they were sick, but hopefully everyone will be better by next weekend. They have enjoyed going to church and being able to understand everything, as it is in English. We have been speaking some Spanish in the house in hopes of not only not losing what we have, but to even use this time to build our vocabulary and hopefully I can improve in all areas.
We had a wonderful dinner last night with a family group from our church. It was so nice to be able to talk about our ministry and what has been going on with Valerie Grace. We had a wonderful meal and prayer time as well, then on top of that, they blessed us with food to take home so we can have it to eat after we get home from chemo tomorrow night and with a gift basket full of our favorite treats. What a rich evening of fellowship and love. I think they showered out blessings from every love language on to our family last night. Marge, Dick, Vivian, Horace, Vonya, Phil, Margaret, Don and Judy, JoJo, and Joe - Thank you so much for an evening full of fellowship, encouragement, blessings, and love!
Last week, I was blessed to visit the highschool ladies prayer time. It was so sweet to see familiar face and meet new people. Thank you Danielle for inviting me to come.
There are so many opportunities here for fellowship - it has really been a good time of refreshment for me. And tonight, I get to go visit with Sue, who I consider to be my spiritual mom.
When I look at everything over the past couple of weeks, I am so thankful that we were able to come back here at this time.
We called Ecuador again today and are always so delighted to hear Maria's voice and talk together about everything that has been going on. Things in Ecuador are going well. Maria and Alcibar are working on the audio Bible translation in Quechua. They have a group coming down from an Ecuadorian church in Quito the third week of January to help with the church. We heard other news about the ministry going on in Ecuador too. It is so neat to see how the Lord has interweaved everything. It just amazes me. We kept asking how everyone was doing, and Maria said everyone is fine, but they are all praying that Valerie is okay. She was so thrilled to be able to talk with Valerie. We are all continuing to pray for Valerie's vision and health.
We have been putting together pictures from all of the groups that volunteered to help in Sacha Runa. The people of Sacha Runa want them to hang in the walls of the church along with photos of people in the community helping. They always tell us how thankful they are to the Lord, for He heard their prayers. And we are so thankful that they see that it is the Lord who was the one that answered their prayers. When we give them photos of the groups, they see the Lord in each one. The Lord is so good - so faithful, and we feel so blessed to be a small part of what He is doing.
Love,
Celeste
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
It's so easy
What a convinient time for us to come back. Our passports need new pages, and here in the US, we can just mail them in and they will put in new pages and mail them back free. Also, our drivers licenses need to be renewed. No, we won't be going back to the police station for months being told we need more papers, need to take another test, or need to come back when the system is up.... we can just click a few buttons online and voila.
And one more easy thing today - we had no heat in our house and it is getting quite cold tonight. The breaker had gone bad (and hopefully that is as far as the problem goes) - but we just swung by Home Depot, picked up a new breaker, Craig put it in, and instant heat.
Very thankful for all of the things that are making life easier while we are here. And to top it off, it looks like we will be spending the holidays with family!
The downside, is with all of this "easy" stuff, we both feel the pounds packing on.....but I guess that is for extra insulation in case the heater goes out again :)
Love,
Celeste
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And one more easy thing today - we had no heat in our house and it is getting quite cold tonight. The breaker had gone bad (and hopefully that is as far as the problem goes) - but we just swung by Home Depot, picked up a new breaker, Craig put it in, and instant heat.
Very thankful for all of the things that are making life easier while we are here. And to top it off, it looks like we will be spending the holidays with family!
The downside, is with all of this "easy" stuff, we both feel the pounds packing on.....but I guess that is for extra insulation in case the heater goes out again :)
Love,
Celeste
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Love, Joy, and Thankfulness
Brooke and Courtney had a wonderful time at the yard sale, and they made around $100! They plan to buy some toys for a family that lives out where we serve in Ecuador. They had so much fun talking to people and being "in charge" of the sale. We met some sweet people for sure.
Valerie Grace is doing well. She again cracked me up with her cute way of thinking. We were talking about riding on the airplane last month (or the "hairplane" as she calls it). I said we landed in Miami and she said "we landed in yourami?" I have loved all of our girls at 4 years old and it is such a gift to be able to live life with yet another 4 year old.
Natalie Joy is doing well - though she has missed out on every sleepover that has happened with grandparents totally by her choice. She is so much like Craig which is nice because the things I think are a little strange about our NoJo, Craig totally understands. Like how can a child that really wasn't taught all the ins and outs of how to read suddenly be reading for pleasure. This little girl that wasn't taught her math facts is shouting out answers to math problems before Brooke and Courtney (when I think she isn't even listening to us). The other thing that I don't know about is her accent - maybe it is from living in Ecuador....but I am thinking it is just a Natalie Joy thing - she loves to say "condy" for candy. I am sure there are other words she says cute, but candy is the word she says most frequently.
I am just totally blown away by my girls. I love each of them so much. When I see them sleeping, or just sit and stare at them throughout the day - I am so amazed at how blessed I am. This is my life...just amazing. And I am so thankful for Craig - after 13 years and 6 pregnancies, I truly believe his love for me has only grown stronger, as has mine for him.
"What a good God You’ve been to me
Your goodness and Your grace everyday I’ve seen
And what else can I do
But give thanks to You
What a good God You’ve been to me"
(one of Brooke's favorite verses)
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,
Psalm 98:4-8
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Valerie Grace is doing well. She again cracked me up with her cute way of thinking. We were talking about riding on the airplane last month (or the "hairplane" as she calls it). I said we landed in Miami and she said "we landed in yourami?" I have loved all of our girls at 4 years old and it is such a gift to be able to live life with yet another 4 year old.
Natalie Joy is doing well - though she has missed out on every sleepover that has happened with grandparents totally by her choice. She is so much like Craig which is nice because the things I think are a little strange about our NoJo, Craig totally understands. Like how can a child that really wasn't taught all the ins and outs of how to read suddenly be reading for pleasure. This little girl that wasn't taught her math facts is shouting out answers to math problems before Brooke and Courtney (when I think she isn't even listening to us). The other thing that I don't know about is her accent - maybe it is from living in Ecuador....but I am thinking it is just a Natalie Joy thing - she loves to say "condy" for candy. I am sure there are other words she says cute, but candy is the word she says most frequently.
I am just totally blown away by my girls. I love each of them so much. When I see them sleeping, or just sit and stare at them throughout the day - I am so amazed at how blessed I am. This is my life...just amazing. And I am so thankful for Craig - after 13 years and 6 pregnancies, I truly believe his love for me has only grown stronger, as has mine for him.
"What a good God You’ve been to me
Your goodness and Your grace everyday I’ve seen
And what else can I do
But give thanks to You
What a good God You’ve been to me"
(one of Brooke's favorite verses)
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,
Psalm 98:4-8
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I was thinking on Tuesday, after being at our church family group, how thankful I am to be here in Gainesville now - and how clearly I see that this is exactly where the Lord wants us now. I don't know if it is the enemy or just my worldly flesh that will give me doubts when Valerie complains of her vision or fear creeps in, but what a clear vision I had on Tuesday that this is where we are supposed to be. I am so thankful for that, so very thankful. I think of Dr Pincus, her neurosurgeon, walking around in Natalie Joy's shoes over 3 years ago - making all of us crack up - and I know that even if there was a situation where she needed surgery quickly, that we would be in good hands (though we are praying that she will not need any more surgeries other than to remove the port she now has - thank you Dr Kays!)
There is just a lot of laughter here, and the doctors understand our humor that helps to make this all a little brighter.
One thing I have been wanting to have done is to have some good family pictures taken or pictures of the girls playing together. If any one knows of a good photographer in the area who would be willing to take some pictures of our family (without charging a lot), we would love to have their contact information.
Love,
Celeste
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There is just a lot of laughter here, and the doctors understand our humor that helps to make this all a little brighter.
One thing I have been wanting to have done is to have some good family pictures taken or pictures of the girls playing together. If any one knows of a good photographer in the area who would be willing to take some pictures of our family (without charging a lot), we would love to have their contact information.
Love,
Celeste
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Thank you to Joel
We had such a sweet visit from Joel who had taught our girls some Spanish before we left for Ecuador. The girls loved playing with the shih tzu he brought over (which was much closer to a stuffed animal than the dog we are accustomed to in Ecuador).
If you are reading this Joel, I think I might have tracked down your address, but in case it is wrong - thank you so much for sharing so much love, generosity, and thoughtfulness with our family during this time. A real surprise and one for which we are very thankful!
Love,
Celeste
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If you are reading this Joel, I think I might have tracked down your address, but in case it is wrong - thank you so much for sharing so much love, generosity, and thoughtfulness with our family during this time. A real surprise and one for which we are very thankful!
Love,
Celeste
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Valerie's vision
Valerie Grace woke up complaining how she couldn't see well and wanted to see the eye doctor. Once she remembered about the dialating drops, she started having second thoughts, but too late... we got an appointment quickly.
We took her in to have her eyes seen. Her vision is still perfect, but she is not seeing from her right visual field. This might not be new though, because she has just started cooperating with testing for this. She had a blast at the doctor, found a new boy, gave him and hug and left saying how much she loves everyone there - so lots of thanks to Tammy (we love you and everytime I see you, it is confirmation that we are right where the Lord wants us to be), Dr Khuddus and Valerie's newest boy (no need to feel bad Dave, you are still the original "boy")
Love,
Celeste
We took her in to have her eyes seen. Her vision is still perfect, but she is not seeing from her right visual field. This might not be new though, because she has just started cooperating with testing for this. She had a blast at the doctor, found a new boy, gave him and hug and left saying how much she loves everyone there - so lots of thanks to Tammy (we love you and everytime I see you, it is confirmation that we are right where the Lord wants us to be), Dr Khuddus and Valerie's newest boy (no need to feel bad Dave, you are still the original "boy")
Love,
Celeste
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Valerie Grace is continuing to do very well, so well, that it is difficult to believe what the MRI has shown. I am really being brought back to the verse that the Lord put before me when this all began. This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
We have a whole lot to be thankful for (or as Valerie Grace would say - "tons").
We are enjoying all of the nice pampering of the US - consistantly warm showers, convinience foods, being fluent in the language spoken, and access to anything at all we could possibly need or want. It took a little while for me to really be able to appreciate all of these things as a blessing rather than really longing to be back in Ecuador.
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philipians 4:11-13
The Lord has really used this time to refresh us - so thank you for your prayers. It has become so aparent to me that my focus was too much on our ministry outside of the home in Ecuador and not enough on ministry inside the home (our own 4 children). It is neat to see how much good the Lord is bringing out of this trip back, and while I would imagine that most people that know us would say that we are good parents, I have really be redirected since being back and that is a good thing that we can take with us where ever and whenever the Lord leads us.
So, we are allowing ourselves to be refreshed. I am allowing myself to be pampered by having a walmart just down the street that is full of everything material I can think of, a big fenced in back yard to play in, and so many fellowship opportunities (if you have ever lived overseas long term, you will understand what I mean by this). And as an added bonus, gas prices only 60 cents higher than in Ecuador per gallon - about $1.50 less per gallon than when we were here at the beginning of October.
Brooke and Courtney are having a yard sale this weekend - Saturday the 15th around 9am. I think most things are priced very low and they are not looking to make a lot of money, but rather have the experience having a yard sale and interacting with people :)
Love,
Celeste
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We have a whole lot to be thankful for (or as Valerie Grace would say - "tons").
We are enjoying all of the nice pampering of the US - consistantly warm showers, convinience foods, being fluent in the language spoken, and access to anything at all we could possibly need or want. It took a little while for me to really be able to appreciate all of these things as a blessing rather than really longing to be back in Ecuador.
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philipians 4:11-13
The Lord has really used this time to refresh us - so thank you for your prayers. It has become so aparent to me that my focus was too much on our ministry outside of the home in Ecuador and not enough on ministry inside the home (our own 4 children). It is neat to see how much good the Lord is bringing out of this trip back, and while I would imagine that most people that know us would say that we are good parents, I have really be redirected since being back and that is a good thing that we can take with us where ever and whenever the Lord leads us.
So, we are allowing ourselves to be refreshed. I am allowing myself to be pampered by having a walmart just down the street that is full of everything material I can think of, a big fenced in back yard to play in, and so many fellowship opportunities (if you have ever lived overseas long term, you will understand what I mean by this). And as an added bonus, gas prices only 60 cents higher than in Ecuador per gallon - about $1.50 less per gallon than when we were here at the beginning of October.
Brooke and Courtney are having a yard sale this weekend - Saturday the 15th around 9am. I think most things are priced very low and they are not looking to make a lot of money, but rather have the experience having a yard sale and interacting with people :)
Love,
Celeste
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Friday, November 7, 2008
Pond cleaning
The pond at our house in FL has been gunked up and not running for a year now. Craig is wanting to get the house ready to be put on the market, so task one was to get the pond back up and running. He hooked the pump up so that it drained the pond quickly. Then all of the big girls got into the pond with Craig and began throwing out mud. The girls had a great time catching frogs that were in the mud. The old pump worked great and Craig built a new filter for the pond with his dad that I think they made totally out of items that we had in the barn. So, for the price of the water to refill the pond and $4 of feeder goldfish that the pet store owner picked out for us by hand, we have the pump and waterfall up and running and it looks beautiful. Next project will most likely be pressure washing the house.
Owners Manual
This keeps coming back to my mind since Valerie's surgery.
We got in the car after she recovered from surgery and Craig handed me the paperwork they gave him as we were leaving. I looked and realized they gave us an owners manual. An owners manual. Normally, I would expect to receive a juice box, snack or a bag of Valerie's things....but after 6 surgeries, this was the first time we picked up our princess with an owners manual. I opened the manual for the new port that was now inside Valerie and literally had to throw it in the back of the car as I almost threw up.
I can talk gross medical stuff over dinner with the best of them and have a roaring good time, but there is something about receiving that owners manual that triggered some bizzare reaction. Give me giant ants or 4" grubs to eat, lets talk about parasites, worms coming out of people's noses or other places - I can handle all of that, but please Lord, don't let us come home with another owners manual :)
The glue from the surgery is still stuck to her chest - making the incision area looks much worse than I think it actually is (I can deal with that fine :) When she saw my mom, Valerie pulled down her shirt and said "did you see what happened to me in the hospital? " My mom asked if she was okay. She said "yep, I'm great".
Thanks for your continued prayers for our little princess.
Love,
Celeste
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We got in the car after she recovered from surgery and Craig handed me the paperwork they gave him as we were leaving. I looked and realized they gave us an owners manual. An owners manual. Normally, I would expect to receive a juice box, snack or a bag of Valerie's things....but after 6 surgeries, this was the first time we picked up our princess with an owners manual. I opened the manual for the new port that was now inside Valerie and literally had to throw it in the back of the car as I almost threw up.
I can talk gross medical stuff over dinner with the best of them and have a roaring good time, but there is something about receiving that owners manual that triggered some bizzare reaction. Give me giant ants or 4" grubs to eat, lets talk about parasites, worms coming out of people's noses or other places - I can handle all of that, but please Lord, don't let us come home with another owners manual :)
The glue from the surgery is still stuck to her chest - making the incision area looks much worse than I think it actually is (I can deal with that fine :) When she saw my mom, Valerie pulled down her shirt and said "did you see what happened to me in the hospital? " My mom asked if she was okay. She said "yep, I'm great".
Thanks for your continued prayers for our little princess.
Love,
Celeste
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Thursday, November 6, 2008
Valerie Grace continues to do well
Valerie Grace continues to do very well. She had no side effects at all from the 2 drugs she took on Tuesday. One is a chemo drug that can cause diarrhea. The other drug is a newer drug that helps devascularize the tumor (I think :)
My parents are driving down from NC to visit today. My dad is going to rent a small fishing boat to take the big girls and Craig out in at Cedar Key tomorrow as long as the weather stays this nice. Then Saturday, UF has it's free fishing day. Somehow they are always on Saturday's when my dad is here. He loves taking the big girls out and catching lots of fish (then letting them go back in the stocked ponds).
Craig is getting our van fixed right now (part 2) - horray for getting back right before the extended warranty ended.
We talked with Maria yesterday. Things are going well in Ecuador. She received a phone call from a family member saying that they saw a cat like our cat that had disappeared the day before we left (it is an unusually beautiful kitten that was first stolen from Maria's house the week before she was going to give it to us - then it was gifted to us by a local restaurant that said it wandered up to their place one day - then either ran away or was stollen from our house before we left). Anyway, Maria said she ran to the other side of town, saw Michu (the cat), and carried it back to our house. We never even mentioned anything about the cat - I mean, it is just a cat - but Maria loves our girls so much and I guess she knew how much it would mean to them.
Each time we call, Maria is so excited to hear Valerie Grace's voice. Valerie Grace normally asks for privacy so she can talk to Maria alone. We call from our computer, so she gets to talk as long as she wants :)
Thank you for all of your prayers.
Love,
Celeste
leave a message in our guestbook
My parents are driving down from NC to visit today. My dad is going to rent a small fishing boat to take the big girls and Craig out in at Cedar Key tomorrow as long as the weather stays this nice. Then Saturday, UF has it's free fishing day. Somehow they are always on Saturday's when my dad is here. He loves taking the big girls out and catching lots of fish (then letting them go back in the stocked ponds).
Craig is getting our van fixed right now (part 2) - horray for getting back right before the extended warranty ended.
We talked with Maria yesterday. Things are going well in Ecuador. She received a phone call from a family member saying that they saw a cat like our cat that had disappeared the day before we left (it is an unusually beautiful kitten that was first stolen from Maria's house the week before she was going to give it to us - then it was gifted to us by a local restaurant that said it wandered up to their place one day - then either ran away or was stollen from our house before we left). Anyway, Maria said she ran to the other side of town, saw Michu (the cat), and carried it back to our house. We never even mentioned anything about the cat - I mean, it is just a cat - but Maria loves our girls so much and I guess she knew how much it would mean to them.
Each time we call, Maria is so excited to hear Valerie Grace's voice. Valerie Grace normally asks for privacy so she can talk to Maria alone. We call from our computer, so she gets to talk as long as she wants :)
Thank you for all of your prayers.
Love,
Celeste
leave a message in our guestbook
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Home from first day of chemo
We arrived at the hospital around 10am and back home around 5:30pm. The infusion time was long and there was quite a bit of traffic. It went well overall. The best part was getting to see Xiaohong, a friend I met online a few years ago who's daughter has a tumor like Valerie's. Valerie Grace loved spending time with her and it really helped her keep her mind off of what was going on medically. Valerie was awake the whole time at Shands and had some moments of fussing about all the strings (the IV tubing). She did enjoy being around so many people (the infusion room normally has about 12 people in it) and there is nothing Valerie Grace loves more on this earth than people. So far, Valerie hasn't had any side effects from the two drugs. Craig is going out now to pick up a prescription for some anti-diarrhea medication to have on hand for Valerie.
Craig's mom brought us lunch at Shands today and Belinda from our family brought us by dinner. Thank you to everyone who offered to bring us a meal tonight - what a blessing to have so many people wanting to help make today less hectic.
Pastor Dan from the church in Mars, PA emailed us and let us know that there are going to be churches from 3 countries and 6 US states praying for our Valerie Grace tomorrow night at 7pm. We agree with them in the power of prayer. Thank you Pastor Dan for your love for our family and for your efforts in planning this for our sweet Valerie Grace.
Love,
Celeste
leave a message in our guestbook
Craig's mom brought us lunch at Shands today and Belinda from our family brought us by dinner. Thank you to everyone who offered to bring us a meal tonight - what a blessing to have so many people wanting to help make today less hectic.
Pastor Dan from the church in Mars, PA emailed us and let us know that there are going to be churches from 3 countries and 6 US states praying for our Valerie Grace tomorrow night at 7pm. We agree with them in the power of prayer. Thank you Pastor Dan for your love for our family and for your efforts in planning this for our sweet Valerie Grace.
Love,
Celeste
leave a message in our guestbook
Monday, November 3, 2008
Chemo starts tomorrow
We took the bandage off of Valerie's port area today. It still looks bad, but I think it is from the surgical glue more than anything else. Each day she is a little more comfortable moving around.
Tomorrow I will take her into Shands Medplaza for the first day of chemo. I have heard it can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. Hoping that is not the case for our Valerie. I have no clue how long we will be there, though I am guessing a few hours. Please keep us in your prayers for tomorrow. I don't know how Valerie will feel about all of the port accessing and hubub around getting chemo. I think it will be good that we are in a familiar setting as she always enjoyed going before. We will then have two weeks off and another treatment after that. One of the side effects can be bleeding from the tumor (which could be life threatening).
Valerie has been getting up each night around 2pm and staying up for a few hours, so I am very tired. Praying for a good nights rest tonight.
Right after coming home from surgery Thursday. The funny part of this picture is noticing what we will do when our little girl is in pain and has eyes bigger than her stomach (trip to BK, lemon chips brought all the way from Ecuador in the bed, OJ, and a breakfast sandwich from Wendy's)
Tomorrow I will take her into Shands Medplaza for the first day of chemo. I have heard it can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. Hoping that is not the case for our Valerie. I have no clue how long we will be there, though I am guessing a few hours. Please keep us in your prayers for tomorrow. I don't know how Valerie will feel about all of the port accessing and hubub around getting chemo. I think it will be good that we are in a familiar setting as she always enjoyed going before. We will then have two weeks off and another treatment after that. One of the side effects can be bleeding from the tumor (which could be life threatening).
Valerie has been getting up each night around 2pm and staying up for a few hours, so I am very tired. Praying for a good nights rest tonight.
We hadn't heard from Maria since early last week. We called our home phone in Ecuador today and Valerie Grace was able to talk with Maria, Agusto, Brain and David. I think Maria was more excited than Valerie even. The old laptop we left them with broke last week, so they have not had internet access or Skype. It was so awesome to hear everyone's voice there and to hear Valerie Grace speaking Spanish to them all.
Love,
Celeste
Love,
Celeste
Right after coming home from surgery Thursday. The funny part of this picture is noticing what we will do when our little girl is in pain and has eyes bigger than her stomach (trip to BK, lemon chips brought all the way from Ecuador in the bed, OJ, and a breakfast sandwich from Wendy's)
5 minutes ago eating mac and cheese and bandaid free
Our princess
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Trust
It really hit me a today what went on last week. I really realized that Craig and I prayed and decided to come to FL for chemo before radiation instead of St Jude for surgery. We planned all of this without even hearing back from her oncologist here that this was okay, or having a date for pre-surgery or surgery. I mean, what were we thinking, right? Well, Craig felt this was what the Lord wanted us to do, and I prayed that the Lord would show Craig what to do, so that I could really learn more about trust - trusting and loving my wonderful husband. And what happened? Everything worked out with the doctors effortlessly. Did I fully trust - no, I stressed, sent emails, listened to my voice mail from sweet Hillary at Shands as soon as we landed in Miami. I am a really slow learner, but the Lord is really teaching me a lot about letting go, about loving my husband and trusting Him through trusting Craig. We are still a bit out there in a worldly sense - as some other doctors have laughed about the drug combo we are choosing. But here we are, trusting in Him - following not for healing, but following because we are lost in this world without Him. I have been praying for this time - praying for a time of renewed closeness with the Lord.
Every once in a while, Craig and I go back and read through old things we wrote when Valerie Grace was first diagnosed. I am always amazed to see how soon I forget great lessons we have learned. But more amazed at how big our Lord is. I copied below what I read tonight.
Thank you all for your prayers for our family.
Love,
Celeste
From 3 years ago - I can't believe it has been that long!
July 13th 2005
We found out today that Valerie's tumor grew some, but the cyst grew 40%. She is doing fantastic though - God is blessing us! We took her in for her well child check up and she is ahead of where she should be (expect for height and weight - but she is in the 25%). I am going to take her in today to talk to the neurosurgeon about the cyst.My dreams (desires) a year ago were to have 4 healthy beautiful girls - and we felt like we had done it - like life was perfect because our dream was a reality. But we have learned so much - that it is only about seeking God and not the dream of what we expect life to be. We are to seek the rewarder and not the reward. We have cried out to God - "we are willing to lose it all (children, spouse...)- you will be enough" but I felt God saying - "that would be too easy, you would not learn what I have for you, you would not experience what I want you to experience". I am really enjoying the challenge, enjoying the seeking (and finding)...enjoying the faith that is only experienced on this earth... the faith that is such foolishness to the world."For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Craig is really enjoying the girls (he always has though)...I joke about how he acts like he is still 12 years old (running and leaping over the couch, spilling a whole trash can full of water on the kitchen floor and just staring at it with his mouth open like a law of physics was just violated - (that is a long story, but he is so cute).Craig's parents have been helping us so much. Our general rule about summer is "don't bother weeding, just live in a jungle until winter comes". But Bob and Sara can be seen several days a week (sweating and smiling) in our yard (weeding, mowing, etc)- Just honk if you drive by...I am sure they will wave and welcome you to stay for a while. What a blessing! Thank you all for your prayers - we feel them!
Love,
Celeste
"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13
__________________________________________________
Hello all,I just wanted to throw in my $.02 worth and to defend myself against the potentially libelous statement that my wife made. That trash can full of water CLEARLY defied Newtonian laws. Trust me, I'm a scientist, I know these things.
I have been struggling since February to see what my place in Valerie's situation was. I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out what the right way to pray was, or what the right treatment was, or whatever else I was supposed to do to get Valerie healed. I was continually frustrated by each MRI result that showed that everything was only getting worse, not better. I haven't been angry or anything, I just kept thinking that God wasn't ready to heal her yet, that He had another plan and it was my job to continue to wait in faith. Waiting is something I do well. Waiting doesn't require me to do anything more than nothing, and I'm good at doing nothing.
I had a talk with Celeste last night and had a good self realization. I've spent most of my life waiting for God. Ever since I was a child, I have been waiting on the day when I will get to be in Heaven. Now it's a good thing to set your eyes on things above and to know that this world is not our home, but it's not a good thing to view life as a doctor's waiting room. I have used the example of life being like waiting in line for an amusement park ride. I felt bad for the people in line who thought that the line was what it was all about, many of whom would only get to the front of the line only to find out that they weren't tall enough for this ride. But I missed something in all of that. I missed that there was a purpose in the line. I listen to people like Michael Pearl talk about how he would like to live for another 40 years in order to become more Christ-like, and I just didn't understand (He's already well over 40). I always thought that it would be a cruel joke for God to play on me to make me live to be 100. So I started focusing on the angle that the time we have here on Earth is valuable because it is here that we build up our reward for eternity. That always seemed a little selfish to me, but it has Biblical support. But that's not the whole picture either.
Celeste has it figured out. I keep seeking wisdom, or healing, or knowledge, or reward, or peace, or joy, or comfort, or rest, or some other aspect that I know comes as a result of knowing Jesus Christ, and it just doesn't work that way. All those things are good, but they are no more findable by looking than salvation is by trying to be good. All these things are a result of seeking God. And seeking Him not so that you can obtain these things, but because He is worthy of being sought.Valerie is not going to be healed because I prayed the right prayer, or fasted long enough, or because I just wanted it bad enough; her being healed isn't even the right question to ask. By releasing myself fully into my relationship with Jesus Christ, I have all I need. If you ask yourself what I mean by that, I can tell you because I've been there before. It means that I'm no longer waiting in line for something to come, but that I'm experiencing it right now. It means that all the knowledge and wisdom and peace and joy that I need are automatic and do not need to be sought after. It means that if Valerie is healed, I will know what to do about it and when. It means that if Valerie isn't healed, I will be able to enjoy the time I have with her and rejoice while the world mourns.
So if I was there before, why didn't I stay? Good question, and one that I have asked myself many times. The answer is that it is so easy (especially in this country) to lose sight of Jesus and get your eyes turned towards the world. It's so easy to get sidetracked by your career, your family, television, politics, church, ministries, shopping, playing, talking, world events, global warming, Hollywood, sports, terrorism, books, money, watermelon, birthdays, and taxes. And when you tend to be analytical, as I am, getting back into full relationship with Jesus becomes a series of steps backtracking where you went wrong in damaging that relationship. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It's all about letting all those things go and enjoying your Creator. David Feather said it best when he was over at our house a few weeks ago, "Jesus is saying, 'Just let me love you' ". What a simple message that gets brushed aside amongst all the philosophy and theology that pass for Christianity today.
So I encourage all of you, if your relationship with Jesus has stagnated or was never very vivid, let go of the world and let Him love you. If you don't know Jesus at all, get to know Him - He's better than you can imagine.
Craig Welch
__________________________________________________
7-24-05
It's me again (Craig). Celeste said I should write an update about something I was talking to her about today, so here goes.It started out this morning when I found one of our baby tortoises in the back yard. The baby tortoises are kept in a small pen inside the big pen so that if they happen to get out, they are still confined in the big pen. They have dug out of the small pen several times, but have never got out of the big pen before we caught them again and sealed up their escape route. But all day yesterday, Brooke was looking for Grace (her favorite tortoise), and was convinced that it had escaped. I kept telling her to look around the big pen, since I was sure they couldn't get out of there. Anyway, this morning I found Grace in Celeste's garden in the back yard, from which it could have escaped. I told Brooke and she put her back in the baby pen. My first response was, "Thank you God, that was a nice surprise." My second response was the following thought:God, I didn't ask for Your help to find that tortoise. I didn't even know she was actually out of her pen, I thought she was down in a burrow. But You gave me this little blessing without even my asking. You also did it twice before when you brought Brooke's favorite chicken "back from the dead". (If you don't know the story of Pretty Flower the chicken, then that won't make any sense to you, but long story short: had favorite chicken....raccoon killed several chickens....favorite chicken gone....Brooke prayed for chicken.....chicken showed up a few days later....same story happened again later.)
So my thought was, God has poured out blessings on me and my family over so many small things, why not on Valerie? And then it all just started to make sense. I am very careful about putting words into God's mouth, but it seemed as if He was saying, "It is my good pleasure to bless you in all things. I enjoy blessing you more than you enjoy the blessings. Everything I have planned for you is a blessing, and if there was a blessing to be had in healing Valerie already, I would have done it. But there isn't a blessing in her healing yet. Right now the blessing is in her sickness, and I don't think I would put you through this if there wasn't a great blessing to be had in it. If you will rest in me, I will show you the blessing I'm offering to you."
I've often been confused about verses such as Matthew 17:20 when Jesus says that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains. Well I have tried in faith to do smaller things than move mountains, but nothing happens. I have even tried in Jesus' name to get the remote control to move across the room to my hand when I didn't feel like getting up to get it. But it didn't even budge. So I would wonder if my faith wasn't up to the mustard seed size yet, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was: I have asked God to bless me, and He wants to do it. If it would have been a blessing for the remote to fly into my hand (as I thought it would be) than it would have. But God knew that it wouldn't have been a blessing, in fact, it probably would have filled me with pride and made me think I was a Jedi or something. In the same way, the mountain will move when I tell it to if there is a blessing in it for me, but if there is a greater blessing in the mountain not moving (humility?) then it won't move. There is sometimes a greater blessing in not seeing God's hand rather than seeing it.(John 20:29).
So it all comes back to Romans 8:28 (And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.) When we were praying for Pretty Flower, God saw the greatest blessing in the same event that we wanted to see it in. Same with the Grace the tortoise, although I didn't even expect it. And the same is true with Valerie. He has heard every one of our prayers for her to be healed, but it's as if He is just sitting there with a compassionate smile saying, "If I heal her now, you will miss out on such a great blessing, and it would break My heart for you to go without it. So look to Me and let Me bless you. When it's all over, you will look back and thank Me for the blessing and you will be so glad that I didn't answer your prayers the way you wanted Me to."Our God is amazing. Every time I think I have Him figured out, He not only proves me wrong, but opens up a whole new door that leads to a whole new hallway that's full of a thousand more doors that each open up into more hallways and rooms full of the wonder and majesty and love that we have in Christ Jesus.
Craig
a message in our guestbook
Every once in a while, Craig and I go back and read through old things we wrote when Valerie Grace was first diagnosed. I am always amazed to see how soon I forget great lessons we have learned. But more amazed at how big our Lord is. I copied below what I read tonight.
Thank you all for your prayers for our family.
Love,
Celeste
From 3 years ago - I can't believe it has been that long!
July 13th 2005
We found out today that Valerie's tumor grew some, but the cyst grew 40%. She is doing fantastic though - God is blessing us! We took her in for her well child check up and she is ahead of where she should be (expect for height and weight - but she is in the 25%). I am going to take her in today to talk to the neurosurgeon about the cyst.My dreams (desires) a year ago were to have 4 healthy beautiful girls - and we felt like we had done it - like life was perfect because our dream was a reality. But we have learned so much - that it is only about seeking God and not the dream of what we expect life to be. We are to seek the rewarder and not the reward. We have cried out to God - "we are willing to lose it all (children, spouse...)- you will be enough" but I felt God saying - "that would be too easy, you would not learn what I have for you, you would not experience what I want you to experience". I am really enjoying the challenge, enjoying the seeking (and finding)...enjoying the faith that is only experienced on this earth... the faith that is such foolishness to the world."For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Craig is really enjoying the girls (he always has though)...I joke about how he acts like he is still 12 years old (running and leaping over the couch, spilling a whole trash can full of water on the kitchen floor and just staring at it with his mouth open like a law of physics was just violated - (that is a long story, but he is so cute).Craig's parents have been helping us so much. Our general rule about summer is "don't bother weeding, just live in a jungle until winter comes". But Bob and Sara can be seen several days a week (sweating and smiling) in our yard (weeding, mowing, etc)- Just honk if you drive by...I am sure they will wave and welcome you to stay for a while. What a blessing! Thank you all for your prayers - we feel them!
Love,
Celeste
"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13
__________________________________________________
Hello all,I just wanted to throw in my $.02 worth and to defend myself against the potentially libelous statement that my wife made. That trash can full of water CLEARLY defied Newtonian laws. Trust me, I'm a scientist, I know these things.
I have been struggling since February to see what my place in Valerie's situation was. I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out what the right way to pray was, or what the right treatment was, or whatever else I was supposed to do to get Valerie healed. I was continually frustrated by each MRI result that showed that everything was only getting worse, not better. I haven't been angry or anything, I just kept thinking that God wasn't ready to heal her yet, that He had another plan and it was my job to continue to wait in faith. Waiting is something I do well. Waiting doesn't require me to do anything more than nothing, and I'm good at doing nothing.
I had a talk with Celeste last night and had a good self realization. I've spent most of my life waiting for God. Ever since I was a child, I have been waiting on the day when I will get to be in Heaven. Now it's a good thing to set your eyes on things above and to know that this world is not our home, but it's not a good thing to view life as a doctor's waiting room. I have used the example of life being like waiting in line for an amusement park ride. I felt bad for the people in line who thought that the line was what it was all about, many of whom would only get to the front of the line only to find out that they weren't tall enough for this ride. But I missed something in all of that. I missed that there was a purpose in the line. I listen to people like Michael Pearl talk about how he would like to live for another 40 years in order to become more Christ-like, and I just didn't understand (He's already well over 40). I always thought that it would be a cruel joke for God to play on me to make me live to be 100. So I started focusing on the angle that the time we have here on Earth is valuable because it is here that we build up our reward for eternity. That always seemed a little selfish to me, but it has Biblical support. But that's not the whole picture either.
Celeste has it figured out. I keep seeking wisdom, or healing, or knowledge, or reward, or peace, or joy, or comfort, or rest, or some other aspect that I know comes as a result of knowing Jesus Christ, and it just doesn't work that way. All those things are good, but they are no more findable by looking than salvation is by trying to be good. All these things are a result of seeking God. And seeking Him not so that you can obtain these things, but because He is worthy of being sought.Valerie is not going to be healed because I prayed the right prayer, or fasted long enough, or because I just wanted it bad enough; her being healed isn't even the right question to ask. By releasing myself fully into my relationship with Jesus Christ, I have all I need. If you ask yourself what I mean by that, I can tell you because I've been there before. It means that I'm no longer waiting in line for something to come, but that I'm experiencing it right now. It means that all the knowledge and wisdom and peace and joy that I need are automatic and do not need to be sought after. It means that if Valerie is healed, I will know what to do about it and when. It means that if Valerie isn't healed, I will be able to enjoy the time I have with her and rejoice while the world mourns.
So if I was there before, why didn't I stay? Good question, and one that I have asked myself many times. The answer is that it is so easy (especially in this country) to lose sight of Jesus and get your eyes turned towards the world. It's so easy to get sidetracked by your career, your family, television, politics, church, ministries, shopping, playing, talking, world events, global warming, Hollywood, sports, terrorism, books, money, watermelon, birthdays, and taxes. And when you tend to be analytical, as I am, getting back into full relationship with Jesus becomes a series of steps backtracking where you went wrong in damaging that relationship. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It's all about letting all those things go and enjoying your Creator. David Feather said it best when he was over at our house a few weeks ago, "Jesus is saying, 'Just let me love you' ". What a simple message that gets brushed aside amongst all the philosophy and theology that pass for Christianity today.
So I encourage all of you, if your relationship with Jesus has stagnated or was never very vivid, let go of the world and let Him love you. If you don't know Jesus at all, get to know Him - He's better than you can imagine.
Craig Welch
__________________________________________________
7-24-05
It's me again (Craig). Celeste said I should write an update about something I was talking to her about today, so here goes.It started out this morning when I found one of our baby tortoises in the back yard. The baby tortoises are kept in a small pen inside the big pen so that if they happen to get out, they are still confined in the big pen. They have dug out of the small pen several times, but have never got out of the big pen before we caught them again and sealed up their escape route. But all day yesterday, Brooke was looking for Grace (her favorite tortoise), and was convinced that it had escaped. I kept telling her to look around the big pen, since I was sure they couldn't get out of there. Anyway, this morning I found Grace in Celeste's garden in the back yard, from which it could have escaped. I told Brooke and she put her back in the baby pen. My first response was, "Thank you God, that was a nice surprise." My second response was the following thought:God, I didn't ask for Your help to find that tortoise. I didn't even know she was actually out of her pen, I thought she was down in a burrow. But You gave me this little blessing without even my asking. You also did it twice before when you brought Brooke's favorite chicken "back from the dead". (If you don't know the story of Pretty Flower the chicken, then that won't make any sense to you, but long story short: had favorite chicken....raccoon killed several chickens....favorite chicken gone....Brooke prayed for chicken.....chicken showed up a few days later....same story happened again later.)
So my thought was, God has poured out blessings on me and my family over so many small things, why not on Valerie? And then it all just started to make sense. I am very careful about putting words into God's mouth, but it seemed as if He was saying, "It is my good pleasure to bless you in all things. I enjoy blessing you more than you enjoy the blessings. Everything I have planned for you is a blessing, and if there was a blessing to be had in healing Valerie already, I would have done it. But there isn't a blessing in her healing yet. Right now the blessing is in her sickness, and I don't think I would put you through this if there wasn't a great blessing to be had in it. If you will rest in me, I will show you the blessing I'm offering to you."
I've often been confused about verses such as Matthew 17:20 when Jesus says that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains. Well I have tried in faith to do smaller things than move mountains, but nothing happens. I have even tried in Jesus' name to get the remote control to move across the room to my hand when I didn't feel like getting up to get it. But it didn't even budge. So I would wonder if my faith wasn't up to the mustard seed size yet, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was: I have asked God to bless me, and He wants to do it. If it would have been a blessing for the remote to fly into my hand (as I thought it would be) than it would have. But God knew that it wouldn't have been a blessing, in fact, it probably would have filled me with pride and made me think I was a Jedi or something. In the same way, the mountain will move when I tell it to if there is a blessing in it for me, but if there is a greater blessing in the mountain not moving (humility?) then it won't move. There is sometimes a greater blessing in not seeing God's hand rather than seeing it.(John 20:29).
So it all comes back to Romans 8:28 (And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.) When we were praying for Pretty Flower, God saw the greatest blessing in the same event that we wanted to see it in. Same with the Grace the tortoise, although I didn't even expect it. And the same is true with Valerie. He has heard every one of our prayers for her to be healed, but it's as if He is just sitting there with a compassionate smile saying, "If I heal her now, you will miss out on such a great blessing, and it would break My heart for you to go without it. So look to Me and let Me bless you. When it's all over, you will look back and thank Me for the blessing and you will be so glad that I didn't answer your prayers the way you wanted Me to."Our God is amazing. Every time I think I have Him figured out, He not only proves me wrong, but opens up a whole new door that leads to a whole new hallway that's full of a thousand more doors that each open up into more hallways and rooms full of the wonder and majesty and love that we have in Christ Jesus.
Craig
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Fall Festival
Last night, we took the three oldest girls to the fall festival at our church while my dad kept Valerie Grace at home. What a treat for us to see so many people that we know and love. It was so nice and special. The girls had fun eating treats....but their favorite thing was the sack race. Even Natalie Joy had her eyes more on that sack than on the candy (which is saying a lot :). Brooke and Courtney enjoyed taking a hay ride. The funniest part was seeing Natalie Joy stuff a huge wad of pink and blue cotton candy into her mouth and proceed to suck it through the opening cause by her two missing front teeth. I will have to ingrain that one in my mental memory for sure.
It was so nice to once again be part of a bigger family, to get to see Craig's parents who were doing cookie decoration, to receive so many hugs from dear friends and to be able to catch up with each other - it was a special gift from the Lord. Even with all of the stuff that a fall festival includes (lots of people, lots of stuff) it was just the thing I needed to get over the hump of really feeling quite out of place here.
Love,
Celeste
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It was so nice to once again be part of a bigger family, to get to see Craig's parents who were doing cookie decoration, to receive so many hugs from dear friends and to be able to catch up with each other - it was a special gift from the Lord. Even with all of the stuff that a fall festival includes (lots of people, lots of stuff) it was just the thing I needed to get over the hump of really feeling quite out of place here.
Love,
Celeste
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