Another stellar day...

This week has blessed my socks off & today just topped the icing on the cake! This past weekend Bryan asked for people to volunteer to make goodie bags for the employees of the Fredericktown & Arcadia Valley schools as our Community MPACT day is this weekend & let me tell you what...the people of Meadow Heights represented today as we met to put them all together! It was like an amazing swarm of bees. Mac & I were allowing the whole week for people to come in & work on the 300 bags we needed to be completed. We didn't need any stinkin' week, all we needed was 30 minutes and the job was done! God's people continue to bless my heart more & more, which I didn't think was possible because they are already stinkin' awesome! Not only did that go awesome, but Penny had went to get all the supplies yesterday & all that was left after stuffing each bag was maybe 10 candy bars. Talk about another stellar job!

Then, to top that off, I got a call from Ashtyn's doctors and her PET scan has been moved from December 18 to THIS Thursday. God totally rocks! I had submitted a prayer request this weekend at church that we pray that Ashtyn's scan be in God's timing, not mine, or the anesthesiologists and God blessed our lives due to the humble, faithful and fervent prayers of some amazing people in our lives! Wow! I am still overwhelmed by His goodness and amazing grace!!

Have you felt God's presence lately? If not, is there something I can join you in prayer about, because like Ephesians 3:20 says, "God CAN do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine, guess or request in your wildest dreams!" I have witnessed this so much lately, in our lives and lives around us! So, if you just aren't feeling it lately, please feel free to email me or place a comment.

God, I come before You totally humbled and in awe of Your magnificent presence in our lives. I thank You for Your timing and for Your will and I thank You for the amazing brothers & sisters in Christ you have blessed us with. I lift Ashtyn up to You today, bless her with a peace and strength that passes all understanding, bless the medical staff who will take care of Ashtyn, may their hands & lives reflect a love, wisdom and knowledge that flows directly from You. I pray for MPACT day Lord, I pray that You will bless each person who is taking part & I pray that You may be glorified in and through our efforts! Remind us Lord to never take our hearts off the people and the lives that can be changed and impacted through Your calling for each of us. Your truly amazing God & I am forever thankful for Your presence in my life.

Amazing times...

Wow! It's hard to believe that it has been almost 1 week since my last blog! Time has truly flown! The pictures I posted were of this past weekend at our Fall Festival, which was great! The upper left corner is of Hannah with her escort Hagen and Suzie, the Senior Queen candidate she walked for and her escort Cody. Is that not the cutest picture! And to top those off, look how cute Hannah was the night of coronation! She looked so beautifully precious. As you can see Ashtyn was quite proud to be "Hannah's sister" and I also had one that said "Hannah's mom". And my favorite picture is the one here to the left of Greg & Hannah. Hannah glowed! She loved being the center of all the attention!

Today we had the opportunity to meet with Ashtyn's Rheumatology doctors and they have decided to have her undergo a PET scan, to determine if there truly is no inflammation in her aorta & major vessels. If there is none, they are going to perform an angioplasty (insertion & inflation of a balloon to prayerfully widen her narrowings) in three different places of her aorta that are severely narrowed. The left ventricle of her heart has become enlarged because it is having to work so hard to push the blood through her vessels, so that is what they are wanting to help her heart with through the angioplasties. If inflammation is found, they plan on another 6 months of chemotherapy. All in all, Greg and I are very much at peace with this, we are going to cover her with continuous prayers and ask that His protection continue to flood over her precious body. The major concern with the angioplasty is that her aorta could actually tear during inflation causing emergency surgery to replace that section of her aorta. So we are praying for strong, yet flexible artery walls during this.

Today we also received a huge blessing! Our beagle & yellow lab have been missing since Friday afternoon, and as you can imagine we have been heartbroken with a 6 year old who has been way more heartbroken than us. Well, today Ash & I were on our way out the door to pick up Hannah school and here came Sparky (our lab) walking to the door. He looked horrible! So being the "calm" person I am, I freaked out crying and called the vet! So off we went to get Hannah and tell her the good news and to hurry home to be with him until his appointment. But the greatest, most awesome blessing of it all.....Hannah had the opportunity to witness an answered prayer, God's Omnipotent power and the power of faith! She has been praying faithfully day in and day out and today as we were on our way to the vet I asked her if she had thanked God for answering her prayers and she looked at me with the most precious smile as she petted her dog and said, "I already did!". Which then turned into a wonderful conversation of how amazing God is and that He hears our every prayer, no matter what it may be. I was able to remind her that we prayed it according to His will, not ours, and she said she was so glad that it was His will to bring Sparky home and said that if it isn't His will to bring Baby (the beagle) home to us, that He would keep her safe and provide her with a great home like ours! PRECIOUS and one of those amazing God moments for Hannah & I!

As I put the girls to bed tonight their prayers resounded with praise to Him for bringing Sparky home and prayed that he would be better real soon. (He has double pneumonia with a fever of 104) They also prayed that He would bring their daddy safely home from the Group Fellowship tonight! My heart is overflowing in awe of the precious, most amazing hearts that God has given them!

Father, I come to you in awe of Your love, strength & knowledge. Only a God like You could bless my heart the way You do day in and day out! Thank You for the precious angels you have blessed my life with, continue to guard their hearts with a love and compassion just like You. Bless Greg & Bryan as they are away from their families and I pray that You would be with us and Brenda as they are away. May we see with new clarity the mission and vision you have for us and our spouses! Your love amazes me! Thank You for answered prayers and child-like faith that You allowed to be restored in Hannah today! And as the girls say, God bless Sparky!

Nothing but pure blessing....

This week has been full of busyness, running here & there with the kids to dress fittings, Dr.'s appointments, float building, but best of all demolition on the Meadow Heights Arcadia Valley site! AWESOME!

Yesterday Ashtyn & I had the wonderful and amazing privilege of "going to work" work with Greg and let me tell you what it blessed my heart so much! We started out early heading to Lowe's and a few other places to gather some supplies for the site. Once that was completed it was off to work, and I mean real dirty, hard work!!

We rented a tile "puller upper", which I was blessed to be able to operate! It was great! It was hard, but it truly was a blessing! As we were there all day, and church family members would come and volunteer their time (and work their tails off), it literally brought tears to my eyes! I could look around that building and IMAGINE hundreds of people there celebrating life & their relationship with Christ. I could picture hundreds of new people beginning their relationship with Him. It was overwhelming & I am truly SO thankful for the awesome opportunity to be part of such an amazing ministry. One that honors God, loves people and leads them into a life changing relationship with Christ. My heart truly was in a total state of thanksgiving and praise yesterday! WONDERFUL!!

As the day ended our bodies were tired, but I honestly could have probably worked throughout the night on pure adrenaline! Out of all the things I could have been doing yesterday, I would not have wanted to miss this for the world!

A scripture that keeps resounding in my heart this week is from Psalm 139:23-24, it says Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Lead me in the way everlasting O Lord, search me Father and keep me in line with Your will for my life. Thank you for this amazing life and opportunity to reach out to others and lead them into a life changing relationship with You. Thank You for that amazing challenge. May I always be humble before You and celebrate and cherish each and every breath You all me to breathe. I love You Lord & will praise You forever and ever.

On cloud 15 and climbing...

Whew! What an absolutely, positively, amazing weekend at Meadow Heights! I am so incredibly excited!! God is so on the move and I am so humbled by the opportunity to watch His vision being unfolded! It's like a huge Christmas gift that you've been waiting to open for years! Yet still only have a tiny piece of the paper torn so you can catch just a tiny glimpse of the AWESOME gift that is waiting to be unwrapped!

Like Mel, I find it very hard to express all the emotions that have been running through my body over the course of this weekend! Bryan's message blessed my heart, AGAIN! The new digs at the church are down right SWEEEEET and only added to the phenomenal presence of MH's!

The Imagine video that included the Virtual tour of MHAV brought so much excitement to me that my heart pounded and pounded and pounded! As the virtual tour flew through the auditorium I could honestly see people seated in the chairs! People I love so much and long for them to experience the love that God provides through MH and people that already bring so much to the family of God! Man! Talk about clarity! God keeps amazing me with His Omnipotent presence!

The comments to my last blog have blessed my heart SO much! It's very humbling to think about the fact that people actually take the time to read what's on my heart! I had no clue that so many people have access to my blog or even knew it exists! Humbling, very humbling! And very encouraging, because my biggest prayer is that God will be glorified and that our lives will point directly to Him! Our strength and faith comes solely from God and God alone and all the awesome people He has placed in our lives, some we have never even met before, that pray for us and encourage us so much! Thanks so much! I love you all!!

God, I come to You now, totally in awe of Your awesome presence in our lives and in our church! Continue to fill us with Your Spirit and lead us in a way that only You can! Thank You for Bryan and the awesome gift and message You have bestowed upon Him! Bless he and our staff as they lead us in a God honoring effort to impact our community and our world! Your love Oh Lord bless me more than I could have ever fathomed. May You be forever glorified in my life.

My hearts desire...

God has been moving so much in and through different things in my life...from different scriptures He places on my heart, or songs that have been influencing me over the last several weeks. Natalie Grant has a song called "In Better Hands" that has just blown me away, this song couldn't have come at a better time. You can check it out here, but be prepared...get some tissue and truly reflect on each word, they couldn't be more true. With God we are all truly in better hands than we can imagine and think about it...is there honestly a safer place than the mighty hands of God to place our lives and the lives of our children? Not a chance!!!



Ashtyn did amazing yesterday! We made a boo-boo yesterday morning and allowed her to have a couple drinks of a protein shake (the child was miserable) so her MRA was delayed for 6 hours. DUH!! I'm a nurse for goodness sake and know all that, but the mommy in me definitely took over! But, I think it was better for her, she was able to chill with us and her grandparents which allowed her to relax. The anesthesia went well and she came out of it wonderfully. We think they had put some sort of "truth serum" in it, she was quite hilarious for the rest of the evening.



We are so thankful for all the prayers that have gone up on Ashtyn and our behalf and we are so incredibly thankful for the faith that stands behind them as well. We serve an amazing God!! One who will heal her and perform a miraculous miracle IF it is His will. I don't mean to sound weird, because believe me, if there is anyone who believes that He can perform miracles and healing, I do, I have witnessed that amazingness on many occasions, in my own life and in this trial itself. But I want to make sure that when we display that faith to "non-believers" or those struggling with their belief, that we are very careful, that we display our trust totally in Him no matter what His will is, and that they understand that everything is in His timing and that there is a purpose for everything. I don't know if it makes sense, but if it isn't His will to perform a miraculous healing, but chooses to use this precious life to lead people into life changing relationships with Him, I don't want them to look at our Lord as one who "failed us". I want them to look at Him in awe for all He has allowed to happen in and through our lives. I want them to see the love and strength He has supplied in our lives and the miracles He has performed in her breaking her leg so we knew she was sick, that He has allowed her body to make such awesome collateral circulation to supply blood to her brain, kidneys and legs, I honestly could go on and on, and I want them to see the healing that has taken place in the lives and hearts of many as they witness the strength of this precious child that can come only from God. God tells us to go boldly to Him with our requests and I can guarantee I have and will continue to go boldly to Him on behalf of Ashtyn, I will continue to pray for a miracle to be performed so all the glory will go directly to Him, and I will also continue to go humbly before Him, thanking Him for all the many gifts He has already given us and pray according to His will, not mine.



As a mom and a Christ follower, this has been my prayer from the very beginning and I pray that you can see what it is my hearts yearns for...for God to be glorified no matter what His plan is for this trial, because honestly, it's all about Him, we wouldn't have this precious life it weren't part of His amazing plan. Philippians 4:13 has been a scripture that through my life I have always held onto and one I have prayed over my children on a daily basis. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength and I thank Him for the strength He has supplied!



Father, I come humbly today, praying that Your will will be done, I pray that if it is Your will, You will heal Ashtyn, I pray that lives are changed through this precious life, that they see the beauty of Your love, grace and strength in our lives. Use us Lord in a way that only You can, may we be the salt and light of the earth as You have called us to be. May the weak say they are strong, the poor say they are rich and the lost seek and find You, and I pray that our lives are used to point them directly to You. Your love amazes me and I thank You for being the Lord of our lives! I thank You for the many prayer warriors in our lives and for the faith You have given us, continue to bind us together and strengthen us as we go boldly in Your name to impact Your world. I love You and give You all the praise and the glory forever!!

Matthew 11:28

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Last night as I lay wrapped strongly in Greg's arms after a long, vigorous day, sobbing like a baby, that still, amazing voice of God whispered this scripture to me time & time again.

As I write this I am weeping immensely, but this time with tears of total thankfulness and praise to the amazing God we love & serve who continues to show up time and time again. As Greg and I laid there last night I could honestly feel God's precious, strong arms gently wrapped around Greg & I both, uniting us as parents, allowing us to grieve for this beautiful child He has given us. I thank God for allowing me to have such an amazing husband. Greg's love & strength continue to amaze me on a daily/hourly basis.

As I woke up this morning and looked over at Ashtyn (who had come in to sleep in our bed during the night) I couldn't help but weep and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for allowing me to be the mother of such beautiful children, and for allowing us this time to really see the blessing He has given us with new clarity. Quickly after my prayer I headed to my Bible to see just where this verse He was giving me was located and I am so thankful I found it. Verse 29-30 goes on to say "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." My study Bible's commentary says that Jesus doesn't offer a life of luxurious ease - the yoke is still an oxen's tool for working hard. But it's a shared yoke, with weight falling on bigger shoulder than yours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping. Suddenly you are participating in life's responsibilities with a great Partner - and now that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song. Wow! God's grace is truly amazing and His direction is always clear if we just be still and allow Him to work in & through us! Amazing!

I have so many things to be thankful for, yesterday we were surrounded by hundreds of prayers and had the blessing of some special people in our lives right there by our side! Kay Lindley, your friendship is a treasure and I thank you for being my support person yesterday (and always) and for taking the time to go with us to Ashtyn's treatment's. Our time of sharing during these trips blesses my heart so much! You truly don't know how much you mean to our family! Bryan & MAC, you guys are stinkin' awesome! Thanks so much for your enduring love & prayers & for being our "earthly rocks", I am so glad Greg was surrounded by you when I couldn't be with him.

My prayer today Father is of utmost praise! You rock my world Lord and I thank you for sharing the yoke, for Your shoulders that are bigger than mine and Your pulling power that is always up in front of me giving me the strength to carry on! Be with Ashtyn Lord, I pray that Your will be done and that she will be filled with Your peace & strength each and every moment of the day! Heal her Lord in accordance to Your will! Thank you Father for all the many prayer warriors that are blessing our lives, bless them in a way that only You can! May you be forever exalted and lifted high!

Go Seniors!!

Here at Arcadia Valley our two biggest events are our Fall Festival and of course our Thanksgiving basketball tournament! Well, the time has come for our Fall Festival and yesterday one candidate from each class was chosen. Each candidate has to chose two 1st grade attendants who accompany her in the parade and at the coronation ceremony at night! AND.......Hannah was chosen to walk for the Senior class! She (and I) are so excited! That may sound so silly, but it is a tradition here. I walked when I was in 1st grade and THANK GOD I have no pictures to post of that! If I did they are probably all so faded due to the length of time since then that they wouldn't show up! HA! Anyway, our festival is on October 20th! And we have lots to look forward to and get done between now and then! On Friday the 19th they have a float viewing so if you get a chance you'll have to head to AV to check them out! Floats here are a big deal and are voted on and they are usually really great!

So, other than that, not a whole lot new here except still trying to unpack and prepare my home for a couple of "Imagine" events that we will be having here! AAAHHH!! I have started a new book called "Glocalization", it is really good so far! I started it on the plane ride home, but haven't gotten back into it since! It is a follow up to a book I read a couple months ago called "Transformation" which was an amazing book! They both talk about how we as a church can impact the local and global world, thus "Glocal"! Another MAC inspiring book!

My prayer today Father is that through these events in our lives that You will be glorified and you would give us new opportunities to walk across the room! That our actions will point directly to You and that You will place new lives before us that we can help impact and lead into life changing relationships with You! Draw us closer to You Lord, help us to live in 3D and help us to Imagine a world that is turning completely upside down and on fire for You! I love you & praise You!