My house is quiet.

This is not normal. Not. At. All.

God set this all up…I am now realizing that.

I have had time to sit in His Presence, reflect and sing praises!

He continues to amaze me.

Not sure if your family is like this, but sometimes ours may not always see eye to eye on everything. However; I am blown away in the manner that they have rallied around us in some of the toughest and hardest times in our lives. Like in BIG, SERIOUS WAYS! I am beginning to believe, that is the way God intended families to function.

I have had to learn to lean…prop myself up…and totally rely on family and friends. I am not sure there are many other people out there that this comes natural for. {If you do…please send me the manual.}

My brother-in-law is headed to Texas today to be with Kevin as he finishes up round 3 of chemo tonight. He will be with him over the weekend until they come home on Tuesday to rest before beginning round 4 of treatment 2 weeks later.

I am humbled.

My sister has taken all of my girls – {totaling 6 with her’s in tow}, to have a “cousin’s weekend” and to give me more time to rest. As you can see, they will have a blast and make many memories along the way.

I am in awe.

My parents and in-laws have done so much for us… I wouldn’t have enough internet space to even share it all.

I am in a puddle.

God, what you are teaching me goes so deep. I can’t even begin put all the pieces together and I may not be able to for quite some time, but the ways that you are calling me to press into you and your Holy Spirit is just mind-boggling.

Being away from Kevin this week has been heart wrenching! At the same time, I have seen God’s providential hand in it all. {I think Kevin would say the same thing.}

James 2:22-24 says “You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: ‘Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.’ He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

His actions made his faith complete.

In this scripture, I hear that it is more than faith…

It is obedience linked with faith that completes the process.

These days, God is calling us as a family to do some things that are…”out of the box”. There will be those that will think we have gone bonkers, {*smile*} and God tells me that is fine. It won’t be the first time this has happened.

When God takes us through life, there will be times that He calls us to just trust Him. But faith taken to a different level involves obedience to what He is asking us to do.

This is when it gets hard.

Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

Trusting God to heal Kevin from cancer is the first part of me having faith in the Almighty. Being obedient to go out to Texas and walk out this journey is the second.

The words from the hymn, that I learned when I was young, continually plays in my mind over and over this last week of being away from Kevin.

“TRUST AND OBEY”

I think, the two seem to go hand in hand.

I found this song that is helping me walk through today…

The words are so powerful and reveal my heart as we walk through this faith journey of trusting and obeying.

I need you to soften my heart
To break me apart
I need you to open my eyes
To see that You’re shaping my life

All I am,
I surrender

Give me faith to trust what you say
That you’re good and your love is great
I’m broken inside, I give you my life

I need you to soften my heart
To break me apart
I need you pierce through the dark
And cleanse every part of me

Prayer Requests:
* Prayer for Kevin’s strength to increase, white blood cell counts to increase and for him to get plenty of rest.
* Prayer for me as I learn the art of resting.
* Prayer for our girls as they are making memories with cousins.
* Prayer to learn how to trust and obey – in the big things and the small things.

Through Him I gain my strength~