So proud!!!

I am SO PROUD of my brother!!!!
Yesterday, he graduated from paramedic school.


He and his wife have made some really hard choices for him to get to this point.
And he finally made it.


A few years ago, I sat with my brother at the mall at 5am on the day after Thanksgiving, listening to him tell me how he was taking this step to change careers.

About how he knew he had missed his calling and had to follow God's lead in this.

How every time he passed an accident on the road he had the urge to stop his car and get out and help.

He would be giving up a very successful career, in a job that he excelled at and made very good money in. Not the worldly choice to make, but he had a calling.

He knew the cost and was asking me to be praying for him as he and his wife prayed about this decision.

Congratulations Derek!!!!

Have I told you yet how PROUD I am of you?

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Christmas Cards for a 5 year old boy - Meet Noah Biorkman

Hi friends. I'm posting once again with a plea for prayer.
I don't know this family or anyone involved, but read about it here and felt compelled to share it with you too.

This is directly from the blog post I read...

A dear friend sent this to me, and I’ve done some digging to see if this situation is really true. I wish it wasn’t. This is what she wrote: Dr Tom Curran is a radio personality, and he is in the process of setting up a 24 hour live) online Rosary where people around the world can meet together online and pray. One of the prayer requests last night was for a family in Michigan where 5 year Noah is in the final stages of his 2.5 year battle with Neuroblastoma…a particularly vicious form of childhood cancer with a 0% chance of survival. (If you’ve read the amazing book Gloria’s Miracle you know how ruthless this disease really is.) Well, Noah is probably not going to make it to Christmas so the family is going to celebrate the holiday this coming weekend. Apparently, Noah likes Christmas Cards and receiving things in the mail. The request was sent out to have people flood their mailbox with Christmas Cards encouraging Noah in his final struggle! If you could take a moment to send him a Christmas Card in the next few days, it would really be appreciated!
The news about Noah’s early Christmas has spread through a number of radio stations. This is Noah.

Noah’s address is below.
Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, MI 48178

There is also a radio station collecting cards for the family.
I have read a few entries on the care page his family has set up for him.
The latest update was posted yesterday. He gets to see Santa on Friday and Sunday is his family celebration. His prognosis is 1-3 weeks at best. He is on A LOT of pain medication to help him be able to walk and play. He lives with his mom and grandma, but dad lives nearby and he gets to go to his dad's whenever he wants.

If you want to pray for them specifically, or send cards to his parents, his mom's name is Diana and his dad's name is Scott. The above address is mom's. On the care page she gives dad's address as well:
Scott Biorkman
3480 Petoskey Way
Milford, Michigan 48380

I don't ever want to know what it feels like to be in their position or Angel's parent's position. My heart is breaking for these families, but God is using the outpouring of love that is coming in to help this family get through this. Here is a quote from their most recent update:

This is the hardest thing that we have had to deal with on a daily basis and the packages and cards and messages have been a great distraction for all four of us (my mom is included in this group as she lives with me). Noah's spirit is undeniable and you can see it in his eyes and smile. He has a way about him that is both unique and special. Yeah, yeah I know, I'm biased, but it has been amazing to watch.

Praise God for the opportunity to come together as His body in unity to pray for and minister to this family. From my reading, I'm not sure where they stand with God - all the more reason to pray for their family.

Here is a news report about Noah.
I have some letter writing to do today!

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Prayer request

Hi friends,

I am passing on a prayer request from a dear friend.

You can read the request here.

Not only does Angel and his family need prayer, but so do the families of the friends of Angel's.

My friend specifically needs to know how to help her 8 year old daughter who loves Angel dearly understand the seriousness of Angel's condition.

He truly needs a miracle.

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As Promised...

Halloween pictures!

Meet Captain Hook, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell!

My kids were pretty funny about this this year.

Molly was adamant about calling everyone by their character name, but Mason was adamant about being Mason. Merritt went along with both of them.

Molly was soooo incredibly cute.

We didn't even show her her costume until it was time to get her dressed (even though we'd had it for over a month) because we knew she'd want to wear it all the time, and I didn't want to have to clean it or repair it. So when I got it out, she was ecstatic.

I got her dressed and then sat her on the bathroom counter to put her hair up (because she had to have Tinkerbell hair.)

When she saw herself in the mirror she said to me, "Oh mommy, I Mollyrooscay no more. I Tinkerbell. See? I have Tinkerbell eyes."

And when we were out and about in the neighborhood, she would run and tell me, "Mommy, I FLY!"

Merritt played it up as Hook. He loved every minute of it.

Mason loved his dagger.

Can't you just hear her telling me about her Tinkerbellness?

I love this picture. See the mask Bruce is wearing?

That goes to Mason's Mr. Incredible costume and he wore it all evening as he passed out candy.

The kids in our neighborhood think Bruce is the coolest.

(Most of them have had him as a substitute.)

Here she is flying...

(Aren't those wings great? They even light up.)

Molly almost didn't make it home before sleep overtook her.
And in the middle of the night that night, she woke Bruce up talking in her sleep.
She was saying, "I fly. I fly."

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Soccer

The last time I posted about Soccer was 2 years ago.
And it was about Merritt.
This year Mason is playing.
Merritt opted out this year - and last year (and maybe forever?).
2 years of soccer was enough for him.
You see, he's not too keen on running for an hour straight, so soccer isn't really that high on his list.
Mason, on the other hand, doesn't mind the running and is loving soccer.
And he's doing really well.
His head is constantly "in the game".
Check it out for yourself:
(Warning: glowing uniforms - you may want your sunglasses for these pictures.)



















I hope you all had a nice Halloween.
We did.
You can check back tomorrow for pictures of the kids all dressed up and ready for sugar comas.

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Finally!!!

I am finally done with this...

This book was supposed to be last year's Christmas gift to all my in-laws.
This is yet one more excuse why I have been so scarce here. But my Wednesdays (when my mom has Molly) have been sacred in getting this done.
I feel like I can breathe more deeply now.
And I am so excited to actually get the finished product in the mail.
I should have it in about 10 days (maybe less?)

Here are a few of the pages from the book...
(which ended up being 35 pages with 112 photos)

Yay for one more completed project!
And by the way, if you click on the picture you can see it bigger.

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The third commandment

I've never really studied the 10 commandments in depth before, but we are doing that in our lifegroup and I am loving it.

This last week was about the 3rd commandment:

"You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain."

This commandment has always been about cursing to me.

That's what I learned in Sunday School.

I had never really thought about what "in vain" means beyond that.

Here's what my bible dictionary says...

"To take His “name in vain” means to consider the name empty or meaningless: to deny or doubt His presence and power."

The Hebrew word translated as "in vain" here is often also translated as emptiness, nothingness, worthlessness, to no good purpose. It is a word used for idols. It also connotates using the Lord's name lightly, unthinkable or by rote. Or using God's name for selfish gain.

(Does that last part remind anyone else of the Pharisees?)

Of course that means to not use His name in cursing, but it means soooo much more.

I love John Stott's commentary on this. He says:

"What kind of misuse of God's name is envisaged? The commandment certainly forbids blasphemy and profanity. It will also include false swearing, that is, taking an oath and breaking it. It is better, Jesus taught, not to swear at all. Honest people do not need to make promises by oath; a simple yes or no should be enough (Matt. 5:33-37). Then there is a yet more serious misuse of God's name. It arises from the fact that a name is more than a word; it is a person and that person's character. We then misuse God's name whenever our behavior is incompatible with his character. To call God "Father" and mistrust him or to call Jesus "Lord" and disobey him: this is to misuse his name."

Wow. This goes hand in hand for me with what I said in my last post about words and actions. If I say I trust God and don't represent that in my actions, then I am definitely misrepresenting who God really is.

Forgive me Lord where I fall short here.

Help me to be more aware of my actions and what they truly say.

Am I the only one who never learned the depth of what "taking the Lord's name in vain" means?

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