Full of Joy

Shelly and Bobby were on Nightline last night! Their story had me in tears. Wow! Amazed by God's grace in their lives, and the courage He has given them.  http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/couples-decision-undergo-risky-prenatal-surgery-30022563?from=related The whole story airs TONIGHT on PBS at 8pm Eastern.

Our great friends Ben and Jess came over for my birthday back in January. I noticed Jess had really cute nails! Of course I complimented her on them, and she got really excited because...She got them for me as my birthday gift! I had never heard of Jamberry Nail Wraps, but it didn't take me long to get hooked. Jess let me pick out any two wraps I wanted, and then came back over to help me put them on. I was surprised at how simple it was to apply the wraps. We had so much fun chatting away while we did our nails. Then once the wraps where all on I felt so GOOD about myself. Anything I can do to treat myself as a woman these days is a joy! I loved looking down and seeing my nails done. The best part is, the nails do not chip or smudge . Amazing, especially considering how many baths I give and how much I wash my hands. They stay on for about 10 days. Mine never did peal, but as my nails grew I was ready for them to be off, and they were really easy to remove. I should sell these...

I'm SO excited to share this with you all! This Tuesday at 8PM (I guess that's Eastern time) there is a series starting called Twice Born on PBS. It's about couples who have undergone fetal surgery, which is surgery on the baby while the Mom is still pregnant! A friend of mine from VA (she grew up at Reston Bible Church) is going to be in the documentary. Her name is Shelly Ross (husband Bobby). Her daughter, Lu has spina bifida and was supposed to be paralyzed. Her daughter is now 1 and is crawling, pulling up, and expected to walk! The couple have an amazing testimony! Here is a link to preview episode one: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365442719/ Also, her blog is listed on my blog roll- Shelly & Bobby's Blog , but here it is for easy access: https://shobbyross.wordpress.com/  I appreciate her openness, honesty, and vulnerability as she shares about this journey God has her family on.

I just wanted to end this series of posts by saying I really don't have it all together nor do I have all the answers. My heart behind these posts is simply to share my own experiences and hopefully encourage others on the same journey. I could write a whole other series on "When My Fears Actually Happen". But the funny thing is, the things I have lived in fear about that have actually happened have never been as bad as I had imagined. God has ALWAYS used those things to some how bring me joy. And He has always healed. The bottom line is, the goodness of God abounds. I am starting a new writing project, and will hopefully be "published" next Fall. It's a project through my writer's group, and my piece will be printed as part of an art exhibit at our church. Those who have taken on the challenge are going to create a piece of art that has to do with one of the names of God. (There are so MANY!) I haven't picked which  name I am going to write about ...

So I wonder if anyone out there can relate to struggling with fear- whether rational or not? Obviously I know my three friends and I are not the only ones. I have been feeling so burdened to write these posts on fear, even though there are many other things I could be doing right now. (Don't worry, both babies are asleep.) I've been learning a lot and just want to share some things that have been helpful to me. Chuck and I read the book, "Love and Respect" not too long ago, which is a good book on marriage. In his book the author talks about "the crazy cycle". His version of "the crazy cycle" has to do with fighting and arguing, but I liked the phrase so I'm going to borrow it. The way I described being consumed with fear in my last post is my own version of the crazy cycle. I do feel like I'm going crazy sometimes when I'm consumed with fear.  The thing about fear is that I believe it's one of those pardonable sins. It'...

I've shared pretty openly on this blog about how afraid I can be of things. I've asked for prayer over my fears, and I've even admitted some of those fears. Because they've read my posts, I've had a few friends share with  me recently about their own battles with fear, anxiety, and worry. Struggling with fear is like living in a nightmare hundreds of times a day. And then at night, actually having nightmares. When a person is afraid, there is no place to hide. No place feels safe. Fear is all-consuming. It's a dark cloud hanging over one's head. It robs people of joy making their days long, exhausting, and well, terrifying. As I mentioned, three friends shared with me recently about their struggles with fear. Each friend shared in a different way. One shared in person, the other shared over the phone, and the third shared via email. This has got me thinking a lot about the topic, and I want to help others put an end to this battle. I want to see my own ba...

Well, my big toe is THROBBING and a little someone is fussing because he's stuck in his crib and it's time for dinner, so I'll be brief. (If you're wondering about my toe, there was some sordof pedicure-gone-wrong incident. I still don't know what happened, but I am going to soak my toe in epsom salt for a couple days and hope that helps! The triple antibiotic ointment doesn't seem to be doing the trick.) Today is verse six for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team . I have chosen 2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT: " We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.   This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. " A missionary from Thailand spoke at our church this morning and he ended with this verse. It was a great, practical message and I want to dwell on this verse for the next two weeks. Chuck actually had to remind me last night that our new verse was due. Th...

After 7 weeks, we finally got a picture of all four of us together! Chuck's parents were visiting so they took some pictures for us. I'm way too tired to write much more. Both babies should be napping right now, but one won't settle down enough for  me  to take a nap. I can barely keep my eyes open. It's the perfect day for a nap, too- raining and WARM! 

Chuck took the high school students on a retreat last weekend. Since I'm the biggest chicken on the planet when it comes to staying home alone at night, and taking care of two babies alone all weekend sounded way too overwhelming, Chuck drove the babies and me up to my parent's for a few days. There were many special moments while I was there- as always. Visiting my parents is probably one of my most favorite things to do. I am always refreshed, renewed, and revived while I am there.  Jase and I were both able to get hair cuts. He is TERRIFIED of getting his hair cut (I believe it stems from his last experience at the doctor when he got 5 shots AND blood work- awful.) But my Mom gave him her phone and he was eventually distracted by videos of himself. ;) I got to introduce Basye to Sharon (my hair dresser/mentor) for the first time- I'm upset that I didn't get a picture of them together. Sharon has been doing my hair since I was in middle school! She even did my ha...