His Word is Alive!

God's Word has been very precious to me this last week and a half. I've tried to spend a lot of time in it because it's so comforting and it's truth. Many of you have sent scripture that has blessed us so much. But I have to tell you about a passage that I read this morning because it spoke directly to my heart, almost jumped off the page at me! I've been struggling a little bit with getting better, feeling better and moving on. I do feel better, but Satan wants me to think I shouldn't be better. And from a worldly perspective, I should be depressed and bitter and angry. But, praise God, I'm not! The Lord used these verses today to reassure me that He is healing my heart, it's ok to be getting better and that blessings do come in hard times.

Psalm 84:5-7
"What joy comes from those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem."

Oh my goodness! That just sums up this struggle for us! Our strength has come from the Lord. There's no way on our own strength that we could have endured this trial! It has been a time of weeping for us, but it has also been a time of great blessings. As we have walked through the "valley of weeping", the Lord has refreshed our faith and trust in Him. He has renewed our hope in Him and for our future... "a place of refreshing springs". He has also clothed us with blessings. I cannot begin to count the blessings that God has poured out on us through all of this. And we have appeared before God. We have felt His presence like never before.

I'm so very grateful for His Word!!

Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow."

On the Mend

I'm beginning to feel 'normal' again. Everyday has it's ups and downs, but for the most part, each day gets a little better. I know that God is in the process of healing my heart. I feel it on the mend! I'm finding great comfort in knowing that Baby Carpenter will be loved perfectly and completely- forever- by our Heavenly Father. I would have let our sweet baby down, failed him or her many times over. But they will never know that disappointment now. Baby Carpenter is safe in the arms of Jesus. We will miss this baby and what could have been terribly, but we trust that God has worked this all out for His glory. We continue to press on and serve Him and love Him.

Psalm 16:11
"In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Broken but not bitter

I think I've felt more pain the past few days than I ever have. My heart is broken and I've been overwhelmed by sadness. To be completely honest, I feel like it was kinda mean of God to take away the gift He had just given us, the gift we'd prayed for and desired for SO long. But I KNOW God is not mean! HE IS GOOD and His actions are never anything but good. And I don't want to become bitter, so I'm clinging to the truth that God works in all things to bring about good.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28

But even in the pain and sadness, we have so much to be thankful for. God's presence has covered and surrounded us. It has been so real and so sweet. He has poured out His love on us and I have never felt more sure of His love for me. It's been a great comfort to know that He sees each tear we cry (Psalm 56:8) and that He hurts along with us. And He has used you, our sweet friends and family, to minister to us, encourage us and love on us. It's such a comfort to know that you all are praying for us! And the physical needs you have met for us (like really good food!) have been such a blessing! You have been the hands and feet of Jesus to us this week. Oh, how we thank you!

I am also thankful for God's protection over us. He has graciously protected us from anger and bitterness. And He has blessed and protected our marriage. It has been a sweet time for me and Yancy as we have hurt together and loved each other.

Again, we really cannot thank you enough for all you have done for us. We are so grateful and so humbled!

"Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 106:1

"For everything there is a season...

a time to dance and a time to mourn." (Ecclesiastes 3:4) For the last 3 weeks, Yancy and I- along with all of you- have been dancing, celebrating the miracle of our baby. Today we mourn. We went to the doctor today and they found no heartbeat. To say the least, we are heartbroken and we hurt so badly. But we know that God is still good. He is still in control. He still loves us more than we can imagine. He has a plan and a purpose that we cannot see at the moment. We choose to trust Him and praise Him that even in this tragedy, He knows best. I've been thinking about the song "Blessed Be Your Name". Whether He's giving or taking away, blessed be His name! Please continue to lift us up in prayer, especially over the next few days. I know they will be difficult. We love you all!

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Overwhelmed!

Yancy and I have been overwhelmed by your love and support for us! We can't thank you enough for sharing in the joy!! It's all just so exciting!

I wanted to give a little update about our weekend and fill in some blanks that I missed in my last post. I will be 9 weeks on Thursday and our due date is January 21. I'm feeling great, other than being just a little tired. I've been taking it easy and napping if I feel like it! Yancy has been so sweet to me; I already feel a little spoiled!

So on to the big announcement weekend... I wanted to share just a couple of things about it. It was so fun to see how everyone reacted so differently. Yancy's Mom cried, my Dad laughed, and my sister-in-law, Katherine, went off like a firecracker. And when we told Yancy's Mamaw, she didn't believe us! She said, "You ought not do me like that!" Of course, everyone is very excited! It truly is a miracle.

One more little story... Friday after we told Yancy's family, we ate dinner, the excitement had calmed down just a bit, and we had moved on to other topics. Our nephew, Dylan- who's 4, cute as a button with big, brown eyes- came over to me and put his arm around me and said, "I prayed for you to have a baby!" How sweet is that! I've mentioned him before and how he has prayed every night for us to have a baby. I cannot wait for him to actually see this baby that he has faithfully prayed for! I know his faith has already grown!

Again, thank you so much for all the messages and phone calls! We are so blessed to have you all share in this with us! And more importantly, thank you for continuing to lift us up in prayer!

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

A BABY IS ON THE WAY!!!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE! After trying and not trying, after lots of medicines and shots and a 5-day hospital stay, after tons and tons of paperwork trying to adopt, after waiting for 7 YEARS, God has answered our prayers! And He answered them in a way I didn't believe would ever happen! We found out last week that I'm pregnant!! Praise the Lord!!! What a miracle! Now, I have to say that it's not that I thought God couldn't open my womb, I just didn't think that it was in His plan for us. (I mean, we have been waiting to adopt for 2 years! We thought that was God's plan for our family!) But I've been reminded of some verses that I loved while I was waiting and now still treasure...

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

AND

"For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

I can't continue without mentioning that as I was doubtful that I would ever get pregnant, Yancy never quit believing that it would happen. He held on to God's promise in Malachi 2:15 that says, "Didn't the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union."

Who knows why God chose this time or this way, but He is God and in control and we just praise Him for this wonderful gift. He knew all along that this would be the time. We are humbled by His love and faithfulness- as we have been all along this journey. He proved Himself faithful to us, even when He wasn't answering our prayers the way we desired. He has always met our needs and now has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. Our hearts are so full of joy and so very grateful for this unbelievable gift. To say the least, we are COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED!!!

Y'all have been so faithful to pray for us, love us and encourage us, and we can never thank you enough! It's so exciting to me that you all get to share in this joy because it's not just our prayers that have been answered, your prayers have been answered too! So thank you, thank you, thank you for being great friends and prayer warriors for us! We love you! And we have to ask that you please continue to pray for us! Pray that this baby will be healthy and whole and that most of all, he or she grow up to love Jesus with all their hearts!

"Now all GLORY TO GOD, who is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20

A New Song in My Heart!

I've been feeling so blue the last couple of weeks- just sad that I'm still waiting for our sweet baby. Waiting is so difficult!!! I've been talking to God about my feelings and asking Him for some encouragement. Well, we can always count on God to answer our prayers, can't we?!! This morning, my sweet friend Aly told me about a song that I needed to hear. Boy, did I ever need to hear it! It was so encouraging, but also VERY convicting! In this season of waiting- no matter how long it lasts- I DO have a reason to sing! God is STILL God! Oh, how I love this song! I hope it encourages your heart today!!!

All of my life,
In every season,
You are still God!
I have a reason to sing!
I have a reason to worship!

PS... You'll have to pause the Playlist on the right! :)