What's in a Name...

Naming kids has always been a difficult thing for John and I. You would think by number 7, we would have a system or something, but no! As of last week, we still didn't have a middle name. One of the things that made it hard on this baby is that God has already spoken so much over this baby. We wanted what had been spoken to be part of his name. I have wondered if we weren't putting a lot of expectation on this baby with the things that have been spoken....is that fair? But God has taken me to many scriptures over the past few months. I have never really thought about babies and children in scripture until God started speaking so much about this pregnancy. But if you look through the Bible, there are plenty of instances where God used babies and children to fulfill promises or talked to women who were pregnant. In Luke 1 God tells of His plans and the big assignment for John the Baptist while Elizabeth was still pregnant. He talks to Mary about Jesus and then send her to Elizabeth who feels her baby leap in her womb at the entrance of his Savior...who is also still in the womb. In the Old Testament there are plenty of children who fulfilled promises of God like Isaac for Sarah and Abraham and Samuel for Hannah. When we first announced our pregnancy, God told a dear friend that this baby would bring about healing to our family. This was so encouraging! This friend knew the battles John and I have faced in our marriage for the entire 13 years. Hearing that God was doing a work that would bring healing from these was a breath of fresh air! John and I both are ready to have the healed marriage we have been working toward all these years!

Through the journey of the past 9 months, we have clung to this Word from God! When we had our first doctor's appointment and we couldn't see a heart beat, John felt God assure him that the baby was fine and it was a boy! There were some personal things that John was dealing with that made having a biological son a challenge. I rested in the fact that John knew everything was ok while we waited that entire week before the next appointment when we saw and heard a healthy heartbeat!

John also had dreams that he was confident had spiritual meaning. Most of them involved rain and refreshing. Then I had the night that I posted about after Paizley's finazlization when we had the only rain storm we have had in the past year! We have clung to these moments over the past few months! And as these moments have happened, I felt confident that they needed to be reflected in Baby Boy's name!

I feel like we have lived a lifetime in the last nine months! Paizley has come to live with us, we had and lost B-man, Baby Girl's parents' rights have been terminated and we are moving forward with adoption, John's job has changed drastically, God is calling me to more hours at the agency, the list goes on and on. I have been in what I have heard described by others as a dark night of the soul. I have felt farther away from God than ever before in my life. My faith and trust in Him have been challenged and I have been more tempted to walk away than maybe ever, or at least since Eden's adoption failed. But still there was this promise...this Word that God would bring healing through this baby. I had given up on it. I had decided God had failed me again (yes, I realize the theology in that is totally faulty! God does NOT fail us!). Then I went and spoke to a very wise man at our church and he encouraged me to hang on until the birth. He felt certain when this baby was born, the healing would come. I have had moments in the past three to four weeks where I can taste the victory! I can see what life on the other side of the revelation of the Word is going to look like...but just as quickly the enemy comes and steals it away! It has been battle like never before in our home!

During some of the roughest parts of the last few months, I was reading Mandisa's biography. This quote is in it, and it sums up what we have felt over our entire marriage: "Victory lies in the journey and the lessons we learn along the way". And it sums up why we picked Baby Boy's first name....

And the middle name had to have some sort of meaning with healing, new beginnings, refreshment or something like that. We searched and searched baby name books and sights. I prayed and prayed for a name to come to us. I had one I felt like fit, but John wasn't crazy about it. So I kept praying and looking. I just knew when I found it, it would settle in our spirit...and it did! I found a website that had Biblical names and meanings. And that's where we found it! His middle name will be Josiah...it means "healed by God" and fits perfectly with the Journey God has had us no this entire pregnancy!

Journey Josiah

a journey of healing by God....exactly what we have been on and are looking to be completely fulfilled when he is born.

My Baby Boy

It's almost midnight. The house is quiet. I don't seem to have the house to myself when all are asleep and all is quiet much these days. Since I have some quiet moments and I don't think I could sleep if I laid my head down, I figured I would sit and reflect on some things that were shared with me today. Not anything new, but words that have been resonating in my head and need to move them to my heart. Even though I am almost to week 34 and only 5 weeks and 2 days away from scheduled delivery, I have not had time (nor taken the time) to process and truly connect with this baby like I did the girls. Obviously life was a little different with my first two births. But regardless of what life is like right now, this baby deserves the same celebration, reflection and attention that was given to the girls...and to the adoptions of the others! So I'm going to trust God to replace my sleep tonight and spend some time with my Baby Boy!

My Dearest Baby Boy,

Wow! Where have the past 8 months gone? Seems like just yesterday I was sitting there staring at a white stick wondering how life would change because of two little lines! So many emotions! So many feelings! Excitement, shock, fear - what will your Daddy say???? - apprehension, awe, love...they were all there! Then we go to the first sonogram not even knowing for sure how old you are yet, and no heart beat. More emotions! More confusion. There has never been a more unplanned baby by two parents. But there has never been a more planned baby by God. I haven't really stopped to think about that, really. I have said it in passing. I've made the comment in order to not make us look stupid or crazy for having baby number seven at such an advanced maternal age...but to really sit and reflect on what it means that even in our unplanning of your life, you were conceived...as I told the details of the total shock of finding out I was pregnant today, I was struck by the person's excitement that I was telling. He smiled from ear to ear and said, "Talk about destiny! You know something big is happening with this baby!" Daddy and I believe EVERY baby born is of God - no matter the circumstances or the means of conception! But it truly is exciting to sit and realize the ways we "prevented" a life and yet God worked through it all to bring you into existence! NOTHING could have been further from our minds than having a baby! We had just committed to Paizley the week before we found out I was pregnant. We were making arrangements to bring in a teenager...not a newborn! We were dreaming of cars and proms not diapers and bottles!

But even as I type this watching my belly move beneath my arms, I am in awe that God would bless us with your life despite our means of prevention! As I heard my friend talk today about the big plans God must have for you, my spirit jumped for joy! I am reminded of Pastor Daniel's talk a few weeks back about Luke 1. We see onesies and nursery decorations, but God sees a life, a man, a destiny! God has every one of your days ordained already! He is knitting you together perfectly in my womb! You are fearfully and wonderfully made already! God has a plan for you in His kingdom calendar that required you to come to earth NOW! Right at this moment...even if Mommy and Daddy were too selfish or worldly or consumed or whatever to know it!

I haven't seen you yet, but I love you! I haven't had time to sing to you like I did the girls, but I know you hear my voice plenty as I talk to all your brothers and sisters! I can't say that I don't have fears Mr. Number Seven! I can't say that I don't worry that you will get lost in the crowd at times, that I don't worry about not having the time to just sit and hold you and relish in your newborn babiness! But I trust that God in His divine wisdom and knowledge knew that when He created you! He knew exactly what our life would be like in June 2011 when you were to arrive!

From the moment we told that we were pregnant, God has been speaking about your life and it's purposes! I am in awe! God has taken me to Luke 1 again and again as Elizabeth and Mary speak of the babies in their wombs. I don't pretend to be carrying the Messiah or even the one to prepare the way for the Messiah, but I know God has used those versus to prepare me to be your mommy! He has used them to help me accept His plan for my life and yours! He has used them to show me that He has huge plans for little bitty babies just like you who are not even breathing air yet!

We aren't sharing your name yet, but I pray you will love it! Your name has come out of all the words spoken about you during my pregnancy! It has significant meaning, and my prayer is that every time it is spoken, you are reminded of the purposes and plans God has for you!

Just a few weeks and I will hold you! Until then I will try not to complain too much about my swollen ankles or aching back! I will press on through the fatigue, and I will relish every kick to the rib and punch to the bladder! I will miss knowing I can fully protect and comfort you in my womb and feeling your ever present presence there! For I know that as soon as I see your face, your journey will have begun in this world! A world that has an enemy that seeks to kill , steal and destroy! But Baby Boy, even in this evil world, there is One who will rescue you and provide you with a life here and for eternity that is like none other - a life that He has already started speaking into even before your heart beat was detected - a life with a perfect plan for hope and a future! And I will spend my life telling you about Him! I am so thankful that God has created you! You may not have been in my plan, but you have always been in His~ never forget that!

Love,
Mommy

A Secret No More!

We got a bit more news at the doctor than we planned last week! As soon as the sono tech put the wand on my abdomen, I was pretty sure I was looking at something telling. I didn't have to wander long because she froze it and started typing on the screen. It was one of those moments where you feel like you are running in slow motion! I was pretty sure what she was typing, but couldn't process it fast enough to say something or even sure I wanted to say something! It came letter by letter - S-T-I-L-L A B-O-Y! I said, "Oh! We didn't know!" She took it off the screen really fast....like that would make me forget!

So looks like we are having a baby boy! All the kids were thrilled as they all wanted a boy..except Ava. She said she was ok with it if we would name him Justin Beiber! Guess she won't be ok with it!

I am not thrilled that we know, but making the best of it and getting clothes and such ready! I am thrilled that we are having another boy! We were getting a little heavy on the pink side, so this will help us be a little blue-er around here!

We have a name picked out. It has significant meaning. But we are not sharing the name yet. Still working on the middle name. But at least now we know what name to focus on!

My Monday

Ok, I should be in bed, but, well, that is how my day has gone!

For my blog readers who aren't my friends on Facebook, let me just apologize for my lack of updates! Life has been quite insane at the P-tree house! Yes, we met Princess M! I described it like living in a Hallmark movie...all the way down to John asking her what she wanted for Christmas and her response being, "I already got it" and me in my not so stellar moment asking, "What?!" and her shy reply, "A family!" I did hold it together and not burst into tears right there at Olive Garden! But there were so many moments like that! I will cherish those first moments with her forever!

We did get the foster placement approved, so last Tuesday, Princess M came to live with us forever! Praise God! The last week has been a dream come true! I hopefully will have time to share more in detail later, but let me just say,

WE
ARE
BLESSED!!!!

She is an amazing young lady! After all she has been through, well, she just amazes me! Yes, I know, for those of you who have been there done this, we are in the "honeymoon" phase! But you know what, I am going to enjoy every second of it! And I will tuck each of these amazing moments in the back of my mind so IF the challenges come, I will remember this and keep walking with her! I am not going to ruin the good time looking for the bad! It never came with Toben! He never had the "other shoe fall" so to speak, so I am not going to look for it with her either. We are realistic. We know what we can be facing, and IF it comes, we will face it! We have already had a couple of hiccups, but they went amazingly well and God provided wisdom and comfort for all of us! I will trust Him to do the same with any future hiccups!

Now, back to my Monday!

Addy's Hope is doing a tour of homes to raise money for foster families. We have an amazing friend named Leigh-Anne who sets up our publicity for the event. We were in one paper Sunday and another this morning. Now, the stage is set!

So my Monday really began at 12:00 am...I was still up! I was rocking a baby who didn't want to go to sleep and talking to a teen who wanted to share her heart! After I got the baby down, the teen and I snuggled under a blanket on the couch enjoying some one on one time! It was an amazing time, but that meant I didn't get to bed until after 1 am...have I mentioned I am pregnant? The nausea this pregnancy has been almost debilitating! A mother of 7 really does not have time for nausea...and lack of sleep tends to aggravate it! But I wouldn't have missed my time with Princess M for anything, so I prayed that God would replace my sleep and set my alarm for a mere 4 and a half hours later. Didn't have to do that because before mentioned baby was awake again before the alarm was allowed to wake me!

That was the start.

So of course, I'm running late and working on less than full brain power! Have to be at a birth mom visit by 10 with a full day scheduled after that. The agency phone rings. I answer it. First mistake of many today!

The voice on the other end introduces himself as a pastor of a local church and proceeds to tell me he wants to visit with me about a quote in the paper. The article is not up on line yet, but here is the quote: “We have too many churches in Midland-Odessa to have kids living in orphanages,” HollyAnn Petree said. “I don’t think people know there’s a need and that it’s as drastic as it is.” He proceeds to tell me that he doesn't appreciate me saying that churches need to do more because they are already being asked to pay for hotel rooms and electric bills and all this takes money and parishioners are not giving more. I'm still not totally understanding where he is going, so I just proceed with my jolly attitude and tell him that he is in luck because that is the purpose of the tour of homes is to help offset the initial cost for foster families so that money is not an obstacle! He said he understood that but that he is tired of churches being asked by the government and everyone else to do more. I shared our testimony how we continued our work in Liberia after adoptions shut down for 18 months only because God supplied. I told him I would be more than happy to come talk to his congregation if he liked. I would issue them the challenge if he felt he had already asked them to give more than he should. He still wasn't happy. I then told him I would encourage him to go visit our local emergency shelter where 20-25 children under the age of five call "home" and look in their eyes and then we could continue this conversation. I don't remember all his comebacks. I just remember telling him that he must not read the same gospel I do because James 1:27 clearly states that we are to care for the orphans and widows in their distress and as long as 60% of our kids are having to be sent out of region and we have children in an emergency shelter, the local Body of Christ is not doing enough! He then talked about how they just couldn't do anymore and I should not be making such statements. I then told him I couldn't believe that a pastor of all people was attacking me for restating a challenge to the Body of Christ that was clear in scripture. He took great offense that I thought it was an attack (not sure what else you call it when he won't listen to anything I have to say!) He then went on to say that it was just not possible for the church to meet all these needs. I once again told him we must be studying different Bibles because mine says ALL things are possible for God....at that he said, I've had enough, good-bye and HUNG UP ON ME! My immediate reaction was anger, but very shortly it turned to heartbreak! Heartbreak that a man who calls himself a Christian and is LEADING a group of Christians would have such unBiblical character and thinking! I could go on and on about that...but I must get to the rest of my day!

I proceed to take Baby Girl to her visit with Princess M going with me as the plan was to register her for school this afternoon so she would be ready to start fresh tomorrow morning. The school she will go to wears uniforms, so we left today to finish getting what she needed for her uniform and school.

Then went to my parents for a short break before heading back to pick up Baby Girl. Was told when I picked her up that she had been put on one of the children's size picnic tables, left unattended and fell off head first. That would explain the bright red whelp on her forehead! I'll save my remarks about that for another day!

Went back to mom and dads to inhale a bite of lunch before heading off to my first "real" dr appointment of this pregnancy. They said it would take awhile, but I didn't know it would take ALL afternoon! I really didn't wait a long time for any part of it, they just put me through the ringer! I got there at 1:00 and left at 3:45. In that time frame, I had to decide what hospital to have the baby at, whether I would do a repeat c-section or try vaginal (although after two c-sections, they really don't give you much of an option - again a topic for another post!), what to do about some medication I am taking, and all without my husband! That alone nearly put me in tears...have I mentioned that it still has not sunk in that I am having a baby?! Really! I'm too busy to have a baby!

So if all that wasn't heavy enough, every other comment was about my "advanced maternal age"! By the time I left, I was thinking I needed to be rolled out in a wheelchair! It's nuts! I'm only four years older than that last time I gave birth, but you would think I am knocking on deaths door by the way they talk about you when you are 36 (but they go by 37 because that is how old I'll be when the baby arrives) and having a baby! I don't usually feel old, but today, well, call me Granny, I guess!

In the course of my appointment I find out that they are doing a glucose test (I am only 9 weeks, but due to my age and all :) they do one now AND later!). So I immediately know that I am not going to make it back to the house by 3 for the visit from our Buckner worker. I also worry if I will make it to the TV interview I am supposed to do at 4....did I mention I didn't know about the TV interview when I got ready this morning?????? Nough said!!! Just one more way God has reminded me that It. Is. Not. About. Me.

I would love to call these people to let them know, but Ava has played her counting game on my phone and it has died!

I realize that they are going to do a sono, so I go to the waiting room and get Princess M who I left in the waiting room happy as a lark with her new phone texting away! But thought she would want to see the baby...which she did. So she came back and I used her phone to call John to tell him to call all the other people.

Then we went into the sono room. As I told Princess M, if you didn't feel like family before, you should now! Nothing like bonding over a gyno exam! Geeze!!! Anyway, we finally got to the sono, and I was amazed! My last sono was only a little over two weeks ago. We saw two circles with a little flitter in one. When the image popped up this time, there was a baby waiving at me and kicking his two little legs as fast as he could! I gasped out loud! Needless to say, that was the highlight of my day! I couldn't believe it! There is a baby inside of me! I know that sounds crazy, but really, I don't sit and dwell on it like I did with the other two pregnancies! I don't have time! So to see that life, kicking and waving, well, there are no words!

I would love to share the picture of "Our Little It" as Princess M now lovingly refers to the baby, but as has been par for my day, the disc is presently no where to be found. Upon its recovery, I will share with you!

We finally leave the doctors appointment. I speed to my parents to pick up the babies and Ava who have caused all kinds of havoc for my parents whose house is on the tour this weekend. I'm apologizing and feel horrible that they had the kids for so long! We load up and head to McDonald's because Princess M is having a french fry craving...amazing how everyone but me is having cravings around here! SO we sit in the mall parking lot eating our french fries waiting for John to come switch cars and take these four children home to meet the other three who are pretty well angry that they had to walk home because I was thirty minutes away when they got out of school (we only live a few blocks from the school and Callie has a cell phone!). Oh, let me explain, we are sitting in the mall parking lot because the tv station that I am about to do the interview with is in the mall! Yes, I said "in the mall"! Only in West Texas does that happen!

So let's recap the day: get up late, don't wash my hair, do a "day 2 do", put on as little make up as possible to get out the door as fast as possible and haven't been home since. And now, right after a gyno appointment, I am interviewed for tv! Vanity has never been a huge issue for me, but today was even a little much for me! None the less, I did the interview and I pray that people will hear the message and buy tickets so that we can get more and more foster homes for these kids! And if the "Church" is doing too much Mr. Terry at Memorial Christian Church, then I guess the WORLD will have to take up the slack?! Give me a break!!!!

So that was my day! Oh, I did forget to mention that at the end of the doctor visit, they gave me the bill for our part of the baby! That caused a mild - ok, I'm fibbing, a major panic attack about the financial part of another baby!

So right now, at 1 am on this last day of November, I listen to one of my seven snoring like a freight train, another one cooing in her sleep, and know the others are resting peacefully. Across the house, my poor husband who I know is probably just as overwhelmed with it all as I am sleeps. I sit here. I know that each of these lives is a blessing. I know without a doubt that God has called us to each and everything that we are doing, but I feel totally and completely overwhelmed! Overwhelmed that He would trust me with this much. Overwhelmed with the battles that I know we will fight each and every day for the children under our roof and those God is calling us to be the voice for who don't have a roof! I feel totally and completely unqualified and honestly a complete failure at the majority of what He has called me to do.

But those are all feelings! I will go to sleep now. I will rest and pray that God replaces the sleep I have once again lost as I needed time to just process it all. I will wake up again in the morning and start my day by digging into the Word for the Truth! I will not walk based on feelings! I will walk by faith and not by sight! I will trust the One who already gave His Son for me! I will not look a Savior in the face who after being beaten and spit upon and called names that crushed him STILL went to the cross for me and say, "I've had enough. I quit." I will not do it! Mr. Pastor, I challenge you to the same! Whatever your church is doing, I challenge you to do more! I may have 7 children under my roof, but as long as there is a child who did not get tucked into bed tonight by her mommy or daddy, I. AM. NOT. DOING. ENOUGH! As long as there is a widow who is cold tonight because she has no heat, I. AM. NOT. DOING. ENOUGH! It was a command, not a suggestion! And God says that I can do greater things than even John the Baptist who was the greatest at that time! I may feel overwhelmed, but the truth: I have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb! Bring it on Tuesday! I'm ready for ya!!!!

Pregnancy Update

I just can't find time to sit down and blog lately! Frustrates me as I would love to take all of you on the amazing journey we are on right now as we learn to trust God on a whole new level! I was thinking about our Christmas letters, and I will be introducing FOUR children to our friends and family this year!!! That is crazy! I can't believe that we have been blessed by four children since December of last year! No wonder I don't have time to blog! :)

We went for the sonogram last Wednesday. We could see the gestation sack which measured 6.5 weeks, but there was no heart beat yet. That is perfectly normal, but raised some fear and concern for me as we lost our first baby to a miscarriage, and that is how that pregnancy started - no heart beat. However, John has great peace about this baby, so I just chilled and have been pretty good to "not go there". We will go back tomorrow for another sono gram and will see that heart beat nice and strong! Oh, and there was only ONE gestational sack! So no twins...at least not from two eggs!

Letters to my Baby

Dear Baby P,

In just a few hours, I will get my first glimpse of you. You will be just a beating heart in a sea of black. How fitting.

I did not plan you. Daddy did not plan you. But God planned you! Your days have already been ordained by God (Psalm 139:16). God sees you right now. He doesn't need the sonogram machine that I need to see you! He is knitting you together in my womb, forming you in the secret place - you are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are a gift from God! You are a reward! (Psalm 127:3)

As I sat and thought this evening about seeing your beating heart, I couldn't help but think of the significance of your heart. I will not be able to see your arms, your face - which when you are born is how I and those around us will recognize you - we will not be able to tell if you are a little boy or little girl. But we will see your heart. That, my Precious One is how God will always see you! The Lord will not look at your face even when it can be seen, he will always look at your heart (1 Sam 16:7). It's fitting that God would allow us to see the heart before we can see anything else of you! For from your heart flows the springs of life! My prayer already is that you will watch over your heart diligently (Psalm 4:23)! And until you are old enough to do that, I will watch over it for you...starting today! That little beat that I will see will remind me that I have a job to do as your mommy and it started the minute I knew you were growing in me.

The beat that I will see is where God will put the things He has for you so that you will chase after them (Ex 35:34). That beat represents the place where you will search for God and will find Him (Deut 5:29). It is where God will write the things He has for you each day as you commune with Him (Deut 6:5). It is from the heart that you will believe in Him and thus accept Him as your Lord (Romans 10:10). This little beat that I will see represents the treasure box where you, like Mary, will keep the things God reveals to you as you walk with him day by day (Luke 2:51). It is from this beating place that you will do the will of God (Eph 6:6).

God has a plan for you. It was because He needs you at this precise moment on the Kingdom calendar that you are being formed. It is why you being woven together even though Daddy and I had not even a thought of you. The plans and purposes God has for you have already been set my Precious Child. My prayer is that you will always be a man or woman after God's own heart. My prayer is that just as you will appear this afternoon - as a beating heart in a sea of darkness - you will appear always! A heart beating for God among the darkness of this world. When people look at you, they will see the light of Jesus shining through and know that they too need Him as their Savior!

Can't wait to meet you, Baby P! Until then, may God continue to form you and knit you together for His good purpose and will!

With all my love,
Mommy

Double Whamy!

When God moves, He moves! I have been talking about a journey John and I have been on. After telling our families, I can share it with all of you! God placed a 15 year old girl who is relinquished and ready for adoption, but remains in the foster system because there was no family on our hearts! Callie found her! Callie fell in love with her. Callie is 10. She doesn't make the decisions for our family, but part of this journey has been God showing me that when He says come to him as a little child, He means it. Callie didn't analyze bringing a 15 year old into our home like John and I did. She just knew a girl needed a familyand she wanted a big sister and therefore it made sense that we provide this child a family. God has showed me that the unquestioning love that Callie looked at this situation with with are the same eyes He wants me to look at this with....and trust! Trust Him!



Long story short (althought this process has FLOWN compared to most matched adoptions), John and I will go to where Princess M lives on Nov 19 to meet her. We will spend the night and Satuday with her. Then we will go get her on Tuesday and bring her back home with us to spend Thanksgiving week! If she thinks she can handle our crazy family, then she will come to live with us as a part of our family sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.



Although, as you know from my previous posts, I have had some struggles in this journey, I can say without a doubt that I know 100% that this is God's plan! And more than that, I am sooooo excited! God has spoken to me directly and given tangible, real life wisdom through this process like none before.



To say that I have no fears or concerns about parenting a 15 year old whom I will meet for the first time in three weeks would be a lie. But with each fear comes a new opportunity to trust God! And the fact of the matter is, Princess M is worth it! She is worth whatever trials we have in order to make her a part of our family! God has redeemed her situation and we are just the ones who are blessed to be the agents by which He is doing it!



But that is NOT all! I said when God move, He moves!



I went to the doctor this week because many of my symptoms from before that had me run many tests were back with a vengance. The fatigue and foggy thinking were worse and were interfering with life. Well, turns out here is a really good reason for them this time!

Yep! I'm pregnant! Just to save you the questions: NO!!!!! We were NOT trying! Yes, I was on birth control! This just confirms my belief that GOD and ONLY GOD ordains life! He says when it will be breathed into being! No pill or or any other "thing" will stop God when He wants a life to begin. I know that is a huge controversy, and I don't mean to stir it up here, but I LOVE that this life was planned and ordained by GOD and we can honestly way we had nothing to do with it...well, almost nothing! ;-)

Exciting times at the P-trees! Trusting God to take care of all He has called us to do! He is definitly stretching us, BUT he has already provided in miraculous ways just this weekend! So blessed to serve such a faithful and loving God!