One baby, 5 stitches and the love of God

Last night as our youngest daughter was taking a bath I sat on the floor next to her reading one of the 4 books I'm reading at the moment.  It was rather peaceful.  As I sat enjoying the few minutes of uninterrupted reading time Lexi happily played and splashed in the water.  I glanced at the clock and decided I would get her out in 5 minutes, 6:45 p.m.

About two minutes after my decision something horrible happened.  Lexi stood up to reach for a toy and before I could even open my mouth to tell her to sit back down she slipped and smacked her chin on the side of the tub.  She stood back up crying and just as I got to the tub to comfort her, blood started running out of her now gapping cut on her chin down her chest.  I quickly swooped her up and wrapped her in the first bath towel I could get my hands on.

I carried her, craddled in my arms, to the kitchen and yelled for Scott to come help me.  We examined her chin and decided she needed to go the Emergency Room to see if she needed stitches.  We bandaged her up and dressed her in some warm comfy pjs for her trip to the doctor.

As Lexi and I sat in the waiting room waiting for the nurse to call us back my stomach was in knots.  I was pretty sure she needed stitches but was hoping she didn't. I prayed for God to bring me some peace and calm my nerves.  How was I going to hold her still while they stitched her up?  What would they give her so it didn't hurt?  How much would she cry?

All I can say is the nurses at St. Mary's Hospital are awesome.  The first nurse quickly came in with some numbing stuff for Lexi's chin after deciding she would in fact need stitches.  Then she came back with the cutest little stuffed toys for Lexi to have and take home.  The gentleness and warmth they showed both Lexi and myself was very comforting.  I know that the nurses are trained to deal with frightened children and distraught mothers.  But this was exceptional care.  You could tell that they truly love what they do.  When it came time to stitch up Lexi's chin a second nurse joined us who was just as wonderful as the first.  They quickly swaddled Lexi up in a sheet to keep her still and her arms down.  One nurse held her shoulders down and the other held her head still.  Leaving me free to just comfort and talk to Lexi, all the while trying to not Lexi see me crying for her. (I just wanted to take her place as she was so scared.)  The doctor was as gentle as the nurses.  Taking great care to go slow and be precise.

When we were all done and Lexi was discharged we left knowing that God had worked through the wonderful people at St. Mary's.  He showed us His love and comfort with the caring staff He sent into our ER room last night.  It's important to remember that God shows us His love through the people He puts in our lives.  Whether it's our long time friends or wonderful nurses and doctor in an Emergency Room.

Until next time~

Humbling myself before God and the result.

The beginning of this week started with me writing in my prayer journal.  I was humbling myself before God.  I know that the only way anything is going to happen in my life is if I rely on God to do it.  I’ve thought it in my head before.  But there is something powerful about putting it on paper.  For some reason it made it seem more real, more authentic.  Here is the result…   

Some people will tell you that it is impossible to feel God’s love.  And until recently I would of agreed with them.  I’ve always known that God loves us, that He loves me.  But I have never experienced it.  I thought that it would come as a form of feeling coming over me at random or a thought in my head.  Oh, who am I kidding, I had no idea how I was going to experience it.

If you ask my husband he will tell you that I would rather be serving then to be served and he would be right.  This week I didn’t know that God’s love was going to come in the form of “Jesus with skin on” (AKA someone serving us).  Let me explain; God showed me just how much He cares about my family and I through the acts of complete strangers.  I never knew that God could fill a building with such love and joy before. Without going into detail just know this- it is possible to feel God’s love and comforting arms around you.


Until next time ~

Trust

I realized today that it's been a month since my last post.  I often have ideas and thoughts through out the day that I think would be a great post.  And then life happens.  The girls get me distracted and being a mom takes over.  The thing is God doesn't do that to us.  He never gets distracted from taking care of us.  He never puts off what needs to be done.

With that being said this week is about trust.  I've always struggled with trusting those around me and letting them in.  But with Gods help I've been letting new people into my life.  And this past week I opened up to them and it scared me to death.  I knew that God was with me and it was what needed to be done.  The support and love I received overwhelmed me.  I wasn't shamed or looked down upon, just loved.

Now, God is asking me to trust Him that he is going to take care of us.  On our bathroom mirror is written "We need to trust, we need to trust, we need to trust!"  We have to trust that he will take care of us, his children.  We need to know that we are loved.

Until next time~

What I didn't do last week.

It been a very different week here at the Philipps' house.  One that I admit hasn't been focused on God.  With Scott and I starting our lifestyle change I was focused on that.  Reading books and cookbooks about it.  Thinking about it; what I'm going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Cruising the Atkins website for tips, recipes and encouragement.  I spent a lot of time talking to Scott about it.  How I'm feeling both mentally and physically, what we are going to have for dinner that night.  

What I didn't do this week I realized Thursday with Life Group the next morning. I realized that I didn't spend time with just God.  I didn't read my bible.  I didn't ask God what he wants from me.  I didn't pray to Him like I usually do.  I didn't seek the wisdom and encouragement that only my Father in heaven can provide.  And you know what, I felt something was missing.  But I am grateful that God always takes me back with open arms.

So I am going to start this week over.  I'm going to reconnect with God and make sure that I put him first in everything I do.

Until next time~

Our Path

"Direction, not intention determines destination."   - Andy Stanley

In our Friday morning Life Group we are reading the book The Principal of the Path by Andy Stanley .  As my good friend Cherie wrote on her blog. "Each choice we make from the food we put into our mouths, to the books we read, to how we spend our money has brought us to where we are today.  The cool thing is we can change directions at anytime and as a result, change our destination."

When Scott and I met I was 140 lbs and a size 6.  Granted I have had 2 more kids since May 19, 2007.  With the busyness that is our life with the 3 girls our eating habits took a turn for the unhealthy.   I am now 45 heavier and in the double digits for my pants.  Most people would be ashamed to reveal this.  But I look at it this way, it is what it is.  As Dr. Phil says " You can't change what you don't acknowledge."   Now I'm not alone in this.  As our motto is : We are a team and in this together.

So, we have decided to change our path.  We are making a life style change, together.  We are beginning the Atkins Diet, together.  The key word here is together.  Scott has done this twice before with great success.  He has attempted it several times in the past 3 years and hasn't been able to keep up with it.  So this time we are going to use each other as support as we adjust to changing our eating habits.  Life can be tough and we tend to turn to unhealthy things for comfort.  Now we are going to be relying on each other and on God as we slim down, increase our energy and make our bodies nice and healthy.

Until next time~

Connections

As you know I’ve been having difficultly connecting with God lately.  Truth be told I’ve been feeling disconnected from Scott and those around me as well.  I know that you get out of relationships what you put into them.  I also know that Scott and I need to get out on more dates than we actually do.  With having 3 kids, working and our closest family is 35 minutes away; dates are few and far between.

When I found out that the Rock and Worship Roadshow was going to be in Madison on February 5^th I decided that Scott and I were going.  It was an executive decision and I really should have consulted my husband about it first, but I didn’t.  Oops.  I did tell him the day before that if he didn’t want to go then we didn’t have to.  He said that because I was excited about it we could go.  Besides the tickets were only $10 so we didn’t have much to lose.  We had no idea what to expect.  I knew that there were going to be several bands there but that was it. Scott was afraid that it was going to be boring.

We arrived about 15 minutes before the show was set to start.  Tickets were first come first serve and the people were still flooding in.  We found 2 seats in a very good spot where I could easily take some pictures.  We settled in and just took in all the people that were there, must have been thousands.  What I loved the most was seeing all the kids there.  Little kids there with their parents and teenagers there with a group of friends.  Seeing all the kids really gives me some hope for the world.  They are the ones to come after my time here is done; knowing that they are followers of Christ is awesome.

The first band to play was  the Afters. Then Matt Maher.  What really surprised us was the third band, Disciple.  Wow is all we could say.  They are hard. hard rock.  A lot of head banging, jumping around and shouting.  We had no idea what they were saying.  But there were 3 boys a few rows down from us that were really enjoying them, head banging themselves.  Next up, the final act of the night, Mercy Me.  I love this band.  Their songs are on the radio a lot and we sing them in church.  In 2009 when my dear mother-in-law passed away we played the song ‘I can only imagine’ by Mercy Me.  To this day I still tear up and cry upon hearing this song.  That night was no different.  It was one of the last songs they played.  When it started I just joined arms with Scott and let the tears flow.  There is so much that Harla has missed over the last 15 months and the pain of her absence is still present.

The presence of God was truly there that night in the Coliseum.  It’s not something that I know how to put into words but I’ll try.  One could describe it as the good feeling you get after a baby is born or at a wedding.  But it’s different.  This feeling is for something, someone much, much bigger than we can even imagine.  I left the concert feeling incredibly at peace, connected with God and reconnected with Scott.  There is so much that life can throw at us to cause us to take our focus off God.  And when we take the focus off God we end up taking the focus off each other.  When that happens there is only one thing we can do.  Make the effort to put into our relationships what we want to get out of them.


Until next time~

I just can't get it together.

These past few days have been weird.  With the snow coming, most everyone in the house is sick and doing my usual duties around the house I've been feeling very disconnected from God.  I have a couple of books that I'm reading right now.  One on my own and the other one is for Life Group that starts up again on Friday.  I talk to Him almost hourly (raising a 3 year old requires a lot of help) and talk about Him daily. Yet, I still feel far away.

I read once that God with purposefully pull away to test us.  I feel it happening know.  But He won't get rid of me that easily =)  I'll keep plugging along.  We have an exciting weekend coming up.  On Saturday Scott and I are going on date to the Rock and Worship Roadshow here in Madison.  Singing Christian music with others always helps me feel close to God.  And on Sunday we are having a party with family and friends.  Celebrating something reminds me of the blessings He has placed in my life.

Until next time~