These are but personal reflections about my family life at the start of this new year. I would write the summary of our AFC meeting today, but I was so ill I cannot remember what was discussed! I trust the Lord spoke and it was good. But the past two weeks have been monumental for my family. I remember coming home from work and had just finished the first entry in my new One Year Bible, when Katy woke up, sat on my lap, and asked me about the Lord again. She had already asked many questions and learned much from us and church. She had already showed interest in God and knew what love was about. So again, I asked her to tell me about Jesus, God, heaven, salvation, baptism, etc. This time she was able to verbalize it from the heart and make sense of it all. Indeed, she wanted to be a disciple of Christ, accept Him as her Saviour, and follow Him in public baptism. She prayed to God and asked Him to come live inside her. I was pretty emotional. She said she felt different afterwards and had a brilliant joy to her face. Wow. What a morning. What a way to start the year. Side note: I have really enjoyed the One Year Bible. The Old Testament is not work to get through. It is just little bites of it at a time so it doesnt' take much effort. The Psalms and Proverbs are nice little morsels, like dessert after the main course. But more than that, I am more interested in reading and listening for what God wants to tell me. I am looking for Him. I am wanting to be connected to Him. I am free from just going through the motions and checking it off a list. I am not looking for pride of accomplishment that I read through the Bible in a year. Now, back to the story...later that Sunday, things got tough. So much for rainbows and butterflies. So much for everything being perfect. I say that in jest, because I know better. I've been following the Lord long enough to know that we are in a war and we will not measure our success by the world's standards. Anyway, Josh had a very bad day after Katy's decision. Probably his worst meltdown ever. Interesting timing. We were well into our application for his placement to Boys Ranch, waiting for his acceptance and admittance, unsure if he would get in. But I had faith. God had brought this idea to me, complete with plenty of hints and divine meetings with BR staff, friends, and counselors. A tough decision? Maybe. But I found the Lord growing my faith, making room for wisdom to prevail. I found room in my faith to let go of control and allow other adults and a program to help "parent" my son. I found hope in a new environment and challenges to help him mature. My gut feeling was that he needed equine therapy along with regular counseling. He could stay busy with many good, positive activities, including sports teams, adventure teams, ski team, rodeo, clubs, etc. He could live and play with boys. He could find himself and gain a solid identity. My hope soared. I could be the parent he always wanted and deserved, planning regular visits and attending his activities. I would stay involved and connected. So he was accepted and was placed on Jan 10. He is very excited about it all. I hope the best for him and thank the Lord for bringing this resource to my family. So these are but personal reflections of an amazing start to the new year. May God receive the glory.
