We're Having A Baby!!!

I know I'm blogged all day,
three posts.
Since I'll be sitting with my little lady tomorrow,
I can't wait to share our news!

Surprise Reveal

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!

The journey has been a long one.

This mama's heart has ached with pain so intense that 

I felt it would tear out of my chest.

It's what mamas do. 

We hope, we pray, we believe

and when God doesn't answer like we pray He will, 

we cry for the pain of our children.

But now we celebrate NEW LIFE!

I saw our little one today on sonogram.

She's beautiful or HE.

She's 11 weeks and our baby is moving it's little arms and legs

and all is well. 

You can read more about their journey here...

IVF Journey
and here
Infertility

Our tears have turned to joy and we are thankful.

Troy and Christy share their news...

We’ve thought long and hard about how to announce that we are expecting, and our words have fallen short. We are thankful for the friendships, prayers, counsel, and support that have sustained us through these last few years of infertility. We are thankful that God is not good because we got good news; rather, He is good because of His love and grace in our lives, even when we couldn’t feel it. We are thankful for doctors who are skilled and research that has led to amazing p...rocedures like IVF which was the right step for our family. We are thankful that we have something to celebrate today when we have found it difficult to hope for a long time. We are thankful for the opportunity to breathe in the good news of today while breathing out the worries and fears that sometimes creep in. Yet, even when we forget to breathe, we are thankful that it’s ok to question sometimes too. We are thankful that we can open ourselves up to the joys of parenthood without forgetting our journey up to this point. We are thankful for many of you - thank you for walking this path with us.
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Flowers Amid the Cracks

I'm such a emotional person.

I love feelings.

I love it when I'm flying high with joy

and hate it when I'm in the depths of despair.

There is usually no in-between, 

the words are strong or soft, 

love or hate, 

life or death.

This is a process with me. 

I'm trying-really trying-to accept the in-between.

The moments of no emotion.

Because there is still emotion in the quiet-

there is peace,

there is calm,

there is trust-yes, quiet trust.

Somewhere in His Word, 

I remember a verse, 

"In quiet trust is our salvation."

It's most unusual for me to choose a pitcher with a print. 

I usually prefer white.

I walked around the shop three times

and kept going back to the same place, 

the same piece, the same pitcher.

I was drawn to it.

Almost like it was saying, 

"Choose me, oh please choose me."

And I did.

I'm most often drawn to the one with cracks

and chips and flaws.

That's what Easter is all about anyway, right?

Redemption, buying back (not without price)

what is broken.

And Resurrection, 

NEW LIFE!

Maybe that's why so many of us like to restore and reclaim-

because like these pieces we too are broken, marred, scarred 

and in need of a Savior!

Thank you, Jesus, that it is because of 

your brokenness that I am healed.

This has been a week of brokenness for me.
Pain in the midst of joy.
Joy in the midst of pain.

On second glimpse, 

I noticed flowers, amid the cracks.

Ever noticed how a flower will burst 

forth from a crack in the sidewalk?

That's

Resurrection Life!

Happy Holy Week!

Bonnie:)

Daddy's Legacy

The project in this post is not new.

Since I have made new followers and friends, 

I thought I'd share one that I treasure. 

I call it, "Daddy's Legacy."

Daddy kept many of his sermons in hopes

that one of his grandchildren would be 

a preacher-boy.

(Didn't happen!)

Although, he may have a great-grand who will!

There were notebooks and notebooks

and pages after pages of 

sermons that absolutely no one 

who decipher.  

So the idea came to me to find a way to preserve them.

I took a canvas and brushed on mod podge

and sermon notes.

I chose sermons from each decade of his service,

from 1950-1997.

I found the cross on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

I chose this one because it was broken.

It represents what the cross symbolizes, 

the broken body of Jesus.

As Jesus was broken and spilled out, 

so was my daddy's life.

He lived and loved and exemplified a life of service. 

That is truly a legacy.

Thank you Daddy for Leaving a Legacy, 

An Inheritance More than Money

Bonnie:)

Today I Saw the Face of God in His Creation

Ever looked at the clouds

and found images that

you felt came straight from the hand of God,

pinned or painted just for you?

This photo was taken by a friend of mine
who lost her brother a few months
ago in a tragic accident.

Cles was a godly man who walked with God.
A youth director, a coach,
he made a difference in the lives
of those he touched.

Searching for answers
and needing God to speak
and make himself known,
she asked for a sign.

Don't we all need that sometimes?

She snapped this awesome and powerful
picture of God's perfect creation.

She found her brother's name
written in the clouds.

God put it there just for her.

God spoke to me through His art.

I found the sparrow,
reminding me once again
that if He so loves and cares
for the little birds,
He will take care of me.

I also see a man, kneeling
with his face to the Father.

Oh, how amazing it is to
come before Him in the power of His presence!

I also see the watchful eye of God.

"You discern my going out
and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways."
Psalm 139:3

I feel like today
I saw the face of God.

What do you see?
How does God speak to you?

Bonnie:)

Lessons from an Old Church Pew

I love an old pew.

There are stories
hidden within the wood
of an old pew.

One story goes like this...

Daddy was the preacher man and
Mama played the piano.

Mark Lowry said,
"Mama would be playing and singing,
' Oh, victory in Jesus,
my Savior forever,
then she'd spot me in the balcony'."

Like his mama,
Mama would clear her throat
and you could hear it above the singing.

One particular Sunday, Mama's
watchful eye caught me undressing.

Yes, right there on the
second row, piano side pew.

What can you expect
from a three-year old dressed
 in lace from head to toe?

First, the hat came off,
then the white gloves,
then the socks,
then the shoes.

Before I could finish,
she had snatched me up
and taken me to the dreaded
"back Sunday School room,"
and commenced to "wear me out."

I learned to be quiet in church...

OR

be pinched.

Whew!  Mama didn't just pinch;
she dug her nails in, twisted and pulled.

Can I get a witness???

I guess that was better than
the thump on the back of the head
that my brother got for going
to sleep on the front row pew.


It was under the church pew
that I "spit that gum out."

It was on a church pew that
I learned to talk without being heard,
The pre-cell phone, note-passing trick.

We only got caught once.

In his pulpit voice Daddy said,
"I know two teenagers who
are gonna get it when they get home."

We knew who "they" was
and "get it" we did!

But most importantly,
it was while sitting on a church pew
that I first felt the call of God.

It was from a pew like this that
I walked forward and gave my heart to Jesus.

This pew has eternal significance.

It was from a church pew and a preacher-man daddy

and a piano-playing mama

that I learned to be quiet, not chew gum or

pass notes in church.

More importantly, it was here that 

I accepted and learned to love Jesus.

Blessings in Abundance, 

Bonnie:)

Rebecca at A Gathering Place: A Tribute to Her Father and My Tribute to Mine

My heart is so full tonight.

I've been viewing 

Rebecca Nelson's Tribute to her father 

http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-note-of-thankstribute-video.html 

at A Gathering Place.

It is a heart-wrenching video

of the life of man who loved

His Father, His Faith and His Family.  

Reminded me so much of my dad.

A Fisherman

A Fisher of Men

He loved his family.

(Like Rebecca I have my hand on his shoulder)

His sweetheart for 59 years.

They lacked one month making 60.

Mama went first 

and Daddy was gone six months later.  

I can already see that far away look in his eyes. 

He loved his God.

He loved people.

He loved their babies.

He started out as just a young preacher boy of 17, 

and 60+ years later his legacy continues.

In the video Stronger, 

Angela Thomas tells a story of Charles Spurgeon 

and his preacher grandfather.

Charles who is to speak was a little late for the service

and his grandfather starts preaching.

Charles comes in and his grandfather insists that he preach.

As Charles is preaching his grandfather,

prods him on saying, 

"Tell 'em again, Charles, 

Tell 'em again, Charles, 

Tell 'em about God' grace."

With tears streaming down my face, 

I could hear my daddy saying, 

"Tell 'em again, Bonnie,

Tell 'em again, Bonnie, 

Tell 'em about God's grace.

Rebecca was a Nazarene PK.

There were four children

and she was the second girl.

We've shared our stories of growing up 

in a strict evangelical home,

but we also share the love of our father.

The anniversary of Daddy's death is this month

March 12, 2011

and my brother Brian

March 23, 1975.

Rebecca, my prayers are with you, my sweet friend.

Bonnie

Be good to yourself.

Allow yourself time to grieve.

Grief is different for us all.

God is faithful.

BUT GOD

I'm trying to thaw out.

I don't mean from the cold of ICE, 

but from the cold of LIFE. 

Last night in our Bible study, 

I asked the girls to repeat:

"These worries I carry are legitimate concerns, 

BUT GOD is faithful and good."

"This situation I'm facing is awful and scary, 

BUT GOD is with me and HE promises 

He'll never leave me or forsake me."

BUT GOD...

Those two BIG words are powerful.

God's Word tells us to think on the things that are,

true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

Tonight I choose to think of the things that are lovely (TO ME!)

My list of loves...

Music and Harmony

(my girl there in the middle)

Baseball

(that's my boy there!)

A hard-working man

who loves me and wants me to stay.

Candy Kisses

from this little man

Roasting Marshmallows on a Fall night

Sunrise on the Beach

Dusk on the Beach

Freedom

A Flea Market

A toothless grin
from someone who loves me

Memories of the Home place

A Good Belly Laugh

My Pink Room

A Precious Sleeping Baby
(especially this one!)

A Mother in Law
who loves me like one of her own.
(on the right)
Isn't she pretty?

Memories

Memories of Daddy reading the Christmas story

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails
(two of my great nephews)



Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

(two of my great nieces)

My Favorite Time of Year

My Children and Their Life Partners
For These I Prayed

A Mountain Getaway

There's not enough time and space to record all my blessings.

Right now this emotional tunnel that I am in  is dark,
BUT GOD IS THE LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS.

What is your "right now?"

Fill in the blank...

Right now this (blank) is (blank)
BUT GOD is (blank).

BUT GOD IS STRONGER,

Bonnie:)

God is Stronger than Our Loneliness

The Bible study, Stronger

has been awesome.

I've felt for some times that

one of the greatest needs

that we have is

community.

Maybe that's why I blog.

Stephen Marche, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely", writes

We are living in an isolation that would

have been unimaginable to our ancestors,

and yet we have never been more accessible.

Within this world of instant and absolute communication, 
unbounded by limits of time and space, 
we suffer from unprecedented alienation.
We have never been more detached from one another,

or lonelier.

 

FACEBOOK arrived in the middle of a dramatic

increase in the quantity and intensity of human loneliness,

a rise that initially made the site's promise of greater

connection seem deeply attractive... (yet)

Americans are more solitary than ever before.

Angela Thomas says,

Reasons for our loneliness are as diverse as

our personalities and journeys.

In my grief,

I longed for community, connection, and friendships

but they eluded me.

Much of my loneliness was of my own making.

Lonely, but fear of being lonelier.

During this study with another group of ladies,

I asked the question,

"From your experience, how do you connect?

What's the secret?"

The answers varied, but we all agreed,

for the Christian, God is greater, stronger

than our loneliness.

I cling to His promise,

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5

If we translated this from the original

Greek it would read more like this,

"I will not, I will not, I will not,

let you down, leave you in a lurch,

leave you destitute, leave you in straits or helpless,

or abandon you."

In my season of loneliness,

I found connection from unexpected people

in unexpected places. 

I walked in class this week
and this was sitting on my table.
A gift from a new friend.

It will forever remain among my treasures, 

to remind me that
God is stronger than my loneliness.
He is enough.

However,  He also knows that connections,
and friendships and relationships in Him are important
to our being whole.



Thankful that God is Stronger, 

Bonnie:)



God is Stronger than My Broken Relationships

I love the heavy ironstone 

that takes up space in my

every nook and cranny.

I found this platter

at the estate sale.

It wasn't perfect.

Neither I am.

It was chipped and broken.

So, am I.

The natural aging process,

has taken away the shine.

Lord, don't let me lose the shine.

My mama always prayed, 

"Lord, let me age gracefully."

She did.

I am attracted to broken pieces.

Maybe because I have been broken.

Angela Thomas says, 

I have my own journey, but everyone I meet

has been touched by at least one broken relationship.

You know the stories:

Children who haven't spoken to a parent in years

Siblings who are estranged

Distanced relationships

Divorced husbands

Broken friendships

Isolated neighbors

Misunderstanding

Harsh words spoken in a moment of anger

God can heal a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces.

WOW!

How I hold on the my hurt, 

nurse my wounds, 

and

enjoy my pain.

Angela says, 

Sometimes our broken relationships 

involve the healthy decision to leave 

the presence of a fool.

Proverbs 14:7 says

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

However, not without brokenness.

Sometimes a relationship has to be severed, 

especially if it has become toxic, abusive and destructive.

Broken.

I googled "broken heart."

This is what popped up, 

"There are no standard treatment guidelines 

for treating broken heart syndrome.

Treatment is similar to treatment for a heart attack

until the diagnosis is clear."

Can you believe that there is a medical diagnosis

called "Broken Heart Syndrome?"

"Broken Heart Syndrome is a temporary heart

condition brought on by a stressful situation."

We have a Stronger Healer, Jesus 

who has the remedy for a broken heart.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

But He was pieced for our transgressions;  he was crushed for our iniquities; 

upon him was the chastisement that brought our peace, 

and by His wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

God is stronger than my brokenness.

Living Stronger, 

Bonnie:)