He is Good

I am having a difficult time navigating this season of my life. My little precious baby boy turns one today. What an amazing year this has been! God is so good to us! Levi has brought us more joy than we ever thought we would experience. He is walking and learning and growing every day. We are excited to spend tomorrow celebrating his birthday with family and friends who love him so much!

But my heart is also heavy with deep sadness for my friend Cristin. Her sweet baby girl Ruby Jean, won't be able to celebrate her first birthday. Cristin is pregnant with Ruby, but her little girl won't make it. She has Trisomy 18 and her heart rate is declining every day. They are preparing (as much as you ever could prepare for something like this) to lose her anyday. How can I celebrate life when my dear friend is preparing for death? When I think of how blessed I feel being Levi's mom, I have to remember that I serve and love the same God who created Ruby Jean. I have to remember that He is not only good to us because we have our son, but he is good to John and Cristin who will be losing a daughter.

Here is a glimpse at what they are processing through... (written by John)
"And because we live in a broken world it makes sense that Ruby's body would be broken. This world is full of sin, brokenness, and sorrow BUT "RUBY JEAN" is perfect! God did not make any mistakes with "RUBY JEAN". So this body may fail her. She may never get the chance to use it to explore this broken world, but the Lord who makes no mistakes will take His RUBY JEAN back to PERFECTION. And that sounds better to me by far!"

HE IS GOOD NO MATTER WHAT

Would you please pray for this family? Please visit their blog and send them the love and encouragement they desperately need right now. Thanks, friends.

Marley

I am linking up with Kelly's Korner!

We LOVE our puppy Marley. She is a 4 1/2 year old Golden Retriever and we have had her since we have been married. Actually, we picked her out before we were married and the day we got home from our honeymoon, we picked her up! She is a gentle, smart and loving dog. She communicates her needs and wants well, including shaking her collar in the morning when she wants to get up, or hanging around the garage door when she's ready to eat. (We keep her food in there) She is super patient with Levi and we couldn't be more thankful for a great dog.

Revolution in World Missions

When K.P. Yohannan first spoke at Cornerstone about Gospel for Asia, Randy and I were instantly convicted to sponsor native missionaries. On our recent camping trip, I was able to finish his book Revolution in World Missions. I love the heart and ministry of this man. God has used him in amazing ways. In reading his book, I was able to understand more and more how DESPERATELY billions (yes, billions) of people need the Lord! K.P. explains that with every beat of our hearts, there is one person dying and going to hell and being separated from God for all of eternity. Billions of these people are in Asia. Many of them are from unreached people groups who have never heard of Jesus. Westerners would never be able to minister to these people due to cultural issues and the fact that many countries ban western missionaries altogether. How can we help, then? We can sponsor NATIVE MISSIONARIES from Asia who will bring the saving message of Jesus Christ to their own people. I could never explain it as well as K.P., so please click on this LINK for your free copy of this book. Then visit the GOSPEL FOR ASIA website to sign up to sponsor a native missionary because as they say on their website, Partnering with a National Missionary is one of the most efficient and effective ways of reaching the lost world with Christ. 100% of our sponsorship money goes to the mission field. K.P. painted an amazing picture of going to heaven and having many families thank you and praise God for your support of a native missionary who brought them the gospel. Imagine meeting these people in heaven. Imagine knowing that they would not be there if it weren't for your obedience to make disciples of all nations! This brings so much joy to my heart. Please pray about how you could sacrifice in order to give.

Sweet Ruby Girl

Please join me in praying for my sweet friend Cristin and her unborn baby girl, Ruby. Cristin and her husband John don't know if they will get to hold Ruby in their arms on earth or if she will be waiting for them in Heaven. Their faith and hope has brought me to tears and then to my knees. What an honor to serve such a a powerful God; a God who has given them peace that surpasses ALL understanding. They have choses to trust Him and follow Him no matter what. No matter how life goes. No matter how much grief, sorrow or pain they endure. Whether or not He performs a miracle and heals their baby girl, they choose to follow. All glory be to God! You can read about Cristin and John's journey of trial and faith at their blog Rubies.

Favorite Bible Studies- Free Book!

I have been involved with some fantastic Bible/book studies in the past. Since Francis Chan was my pastor for 8+ years, AND because the books are so life-changing, convicting and powerful, I love Crazy Love and Forgotten God. If you haven't read these, I would highly recommend them. They are even better to study in a group.


Right now I am reading Revolution in World Missions (click here for a free copy!) by K.P Yohannan and The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Both have been challenging me and changing me.

I am reading through Jeremiah in the Bible right now. I am really looking forward to starting Chelsea Cameron's study based on Shepherding a Child's Heart in early October.

I'm planning on reading Big God by Britt Merrick soon.

Big God from Reality on Vimeo.

What Bible studies and books do you recommend?

Could You Do Me a Favor?

The blog world is pretty incredible. I read a few blogs that are super encouraging and I feel like I know these women. The ones I love most are:

http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

http://angiesmithonline.com/

If you don't already read these blogs, you should stop by and check them out. They are ordinary women that God is using in extraordinary ways.

I am amazed to see how many visitors I get from so many different places. Could you do me a favor? Could you leave me a comment and tell me how you found this blog and where you are from? I would love to read your blog. I'm sure there are a lot more blogs out there I could be encouraged by!

Love,
Lindsey

11 Months

Levi, you are 11 months and you are keeping your mama on her toes! Here is what you are up to a month shy of your first birthday...

You are a total rascal. You climb on the bookcase, bench, and anything else you possibly can. You get into drawers and pull everything out of them- this just happens to be one of your favorite things right now. You have figured out how to unplug your baby bathtub so all the water comes right out. It's time to graduate to the big tub! You take all of my shoes out of my shoe organizer. You unroll the toilet paper and have climbed into the bathtub (head first-ouch!). You LOVE the fan in your room and can hardly fall asleep while it's on. You just want to touch it and pull at the cord. You are into everything. You are so curious about the world around you, and it is impossible to hide anything from you. The remote is always found, the bag of cheerios discovered, and my cell phone is never safe! Ha! You are such a character! We love the stage you are in right now. You dance with any music that comes on and it's the cutest thing ever. You try to copy what we say and since I have been saying, "no" a lot, you have started to repeat it to me. Almost every time you are done with eating or doing anything else where you might be confined, you say "all done," but it isn't super clear. You even repeated us telling you, "love you!" the other day. You have the biggest front teeth coming in. Poor guy! Everyone thinks you look just like your daddy, but now with these big teeth coming in, you will look more like me! :) I thought your adult teeth would be big, but I had no idea your baby teeth would be. You sleep through the night for about 10 hours, then I feed you and you often go back to sleep for a bit. One morning you might wake up at 8 and the next it might be more like 6:30. Each day is different. That goes for napping too. I think the pain you have been in from teething is messing with your sleep a bit. You are the sweetest baby. You often snuggle and hug me when you wake up. You love it when I sing to you. You could take or leave your pacifier. Last night I couldn't find one when I was putting you to bed, so you didn't have one at all and did just fine. You are about 21 pounds and are wearing size 12-18 month clothes. You wear a size 4 diaper. I'm not sure what size shoes you would wear, but I have to start thinking about that because you are about to walk! You are so close! You barely hold on to anything when you cruise around the hoouse. I can give you one finger to hold onto and that is enough now. Sometimes you stand on your own and then are surprised that you aren't holding on to anything so you'll sit down really quickly or grab for something to hold onto. You smile all the time and also have super cute curious and serious looks. You are full of personality! I chase after you and play with you all day long, and it makes me happier than doing anything else in the whole world! We love you our sweet baby boy! We are busy planning your 1st birthday cowboy party. We praise God for you!

A Letter to Levi

My Dear Baby Levi,
Last night you let me hold you and you weren't trying to squirm, or reach for something, or get down. You just let me cuddle with you while you looked up at me with your curious blue/green eyes. I told you all about Jesus and how much He loves you. I told you how God loves us all so much that He sent His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. I told you that if you believe in Him, you will be in Heaven with Him one day. I told you how much I love you and that it is so hard to understand, but Jesus loves you so much more. As I told you these things, you never took your eyes off of me. You raised your eyebrows and acted so interested and curious. I know it's not possible, but it was almost as if you somehow understood and were excited about what I was telling you. My sweet baby, my little buddy, my precious son- I pray you come to know Jesus one day. I pray you would always be curious, excited and interested in knowing, loving and following your Savior. I pray everyday for you to grow up to be a follower of the King. I love you, Levi. I can't wait to tell you more about Him.
Mama

Did God Really Give Us a Baby?

Our little cowboy will be turning 1 in a little over a month. How does that happen? How does time pass so quickly? Wow!

I am LOVING the stage Levi is in right now. He is a total rascal, but it is so fun to watch him learn, grow and develop. He is climbing on everything and walking quickly along the furniture. He will be walking soon, I'm sure. He chases Marley around the house; that poor dog can't get away from him anymore! He is dancing when music comes on. It is such a crack up! I didn't teach him that, yet all of a sudden, he is movin' and groovin' to the beat! Ha!

More updates on him when he turns 11 months in a few days...

I checked on him last night and came back to our room and told Randy, "Did God really give us a baby?" I have been his mother for almost a year and there are still times I am in shock at the incredible gift God has given us. I am amazed at God's creation of life and am so blessed to be a mom.

Randy and I do that from time to time... Something normal hits us as really strange/weird/crazy/wonderful etc. Like we are always saying, "How crazy is it that we have a big four-legged animal that is tame and lives with us in our house. She even sleeps in our room!" (On her own bed on the floor)

Here is a video of Levi climbing on a bench and one of him dancing a little. He normally moves more than this, but you will get the idea. :)

10 Months

Our little baby is already 10 months and is not looking as much like a baby as he is a boy! Levi, you are a ray of sunshine in our lives. We love you so, so much! Here is what you are up to at 10 months:

You are wearing mostly size 12 month and some size 18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper. You have the longest legs and big feet and are just a big boy! A toddler teacher told me that she thought you were 18 months! ;) You are standing up and taking steps while holding onto things. You have stood on your own a bunch of times and sometimes you even take a step thinking you can walk. You walk pushing the Lion toy and you even know to press its' nose to make it "roar!" You always know how to get out of your "baby jail." You love to cruise around the house and get into everything! You open drawers and I have to rush to make sure you don't slam them on your fingers...maybe mom should baby-proof the house?? :) You love to be outside and do new things. We went to the fair with friends and you loved seeing the animals, all the people, and riding the ferris wheel. You smiled the whole time. You love to swing at the park! You crawl around in the sand and I follow behind you to make sure you don't put anything in your mouth. I have been a little late a few times. Yuck! You love to ride down the slide with me. You laugh every time. You "talk" all the time and say mama, dada, we sort of hear all done and hi and what sounds like oh or go. You high five and are starting to wave bye. You love the variety of foods you get to eat. You eat avocados, carrots, peas, spinach, lentils, chicken, yogurt, cheerios (your favorite), oatmeal, green beans, bananas, peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, blueberries, potatoes, and more I have forgotten. You are sleeping better than ever and I am encouraged it will continue to just get better. I can put you down and most of the time you don't cry or fuss too much at all. You go to bed by 8, wake up around 5am to eat, then you go back to bed until 7 or so. You take 2 naps during the day. One is usually from 8:30-9:30 or 9-10 and the other is around 1:30 and lasts anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. You are such a good baby. You are happy and content most of the time. If I leave you though, you can get a bit cranky. Mom's have to use the restroom sometime!! :) Your dad and I are always telling each other, "He's so cute." We look at you in the monitor and joke about waking you up so we can play with you. You love our walks, reading books, when I sing to you, when your daddy gets home, and when you play with family and friends. You use your daddy as a jungle gym. You climb all over him. He has started to "wrestle" with you and you love it. You laugh the whole time. You love to watch the vacuum and the lawn mower. You are the sweetest, most wonderful baby boy and we love you with all of our hearts!