I once again ask for your prayers...

This evening I got a call at 6 pm from Paul's mom. She has some issues with dementia and it was a miracle that she even called me at home. Often she calls for Paul but dials my cell - Which at the time was off... and shows that she did not even try my cell. She said that, "Dad had collasped and was not talking to her." I told her to take the phone over to him and see if he will talk to me." He did not and I told her I was going to call 911 and get ahold of Paul and for her to stay by Dad until they got there. She did exactly as I told her and they took Paul's dad to the ER. Just as I got this call our social worker was walking in the door to do our last visit with us for our homestudy.... She knows us well and is also a Christian... She fits right into the "normal" kaos around here...I gathered all the children to pray and then she watched as they all came together to make it happen so I could leave for the hospital. She talked to the kids while I called family to let them all know... It so happened that our daughter, Molly who works at the ER was working tonite as well.... She called me to get Dad's information since he had just gotten there in the ambulance before Paul and Mom.

Just a few hrs. before Jenn called me to let me know that Ella was throwing up- this just after 3 days of Ezra being sick. If you also remember I shared a few post down about 3 prayer request on last Friday... our next door neighbor, Mike died, our dear family's "Grandma Johnson" fell and broke her hip and an unspoken one...It seems that this heaviness keeps coming to us.

This am as I was doing my devotions the Lord gave me this: The story about David and Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:37 The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine Giant. We all face giants in our lives- worry, doubt, fear, sin and guilt. But with limited an unlikely resources and unswerving confidence in our all-powerful God, we too can triump over them. God gives us courage to challenge our giants.

When I came home from the hospital we came together as a family to do Bible. I shared with the kids that Wed. will be a year since Grandad died. Even though the time has passed I still miss my daddy very much. I told the children that when I visited grandad the last nite he was aware of things before his coma... I was holding his hand and stroking his big and loving arms. I was remembering holding his hand as a little girl and I ached to be able to do that again...I can not go down to many memories of my daddy without still crying and feeling a deep loss. The Lord knows this and encouraged me greatly tonite... in all of the saddness and uncertainty that our family is experiencing just in the last few days I am not really sad but instead feel a heaviness about it all. I remember when I told the kids that our neighbor had died I shared that we can be sad today but there is always tomorrow and life does go on- no matter the pain we are going thru, the challenges we face or an illness or even death... there always is the next morning and thank God there is...

The encourgement the Lord gave me especially tonite was when I opened our devotional... the title was He's Alive- It was about when Lazarus was sick and Mary and Martha called for Jesus to come. When Jesus got there Lazarus was already dead and buried. Martha told Jesus that if He had been there her brother would not have died. She knew God would give Jesus whatever He asked. Jesus said her brother would rise again. " I am resurrection and the life." He said," People who believe in Jesus would live even though their bodies die." How encouraging this was to my heart... I know the Lord was telling me that my daddy lives even though his body died. I know this because my daddy believed in Jesus like I do and I will get to hold my daddy's hand again in Heaven.

I got an email from a blog friend who asked for prayers also for her grandmother who was going to the hospital.

Thank you for praying... sometimes it is all we can do and sometimes it is all we ever need to do...

Tonite Ella is feeling better and sleeping now, Paul's dad was admitted and we do not know much yet, Grandma Johnson had her surgery Sat. and is doing well, our neighbor, Mike's family is grieving deeply but fondly remembering him and the unspoken is alive but still needs much prayer as does the family of her who desperately also needs to know Jesus.