Adventure x2

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.”   Philippians 2:14-15

Jordan is enjoying daddy-daughter nights on Tuesdays, freeing me up to attend women’s Bible study. I love his willingness to spend this time with his girls, as well as give his wife extra time to dig into God’s Word and grow in her spiritual journey. And grow I think I will from this study, “Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It’s Too Late,” by James MacDonald.

Our first session covered complaining, hence the verse from Philippians, “Do all things without grumbling…” As I started to evaluate my thoughts/attitudes throughout the day, I realized how often I was met with a decision to grumble or respond with a thankful heart.  Complaining is not pleasing to God. As a matter of fact it angers Him. Check out Numbers 11:1…

I am memorizing Philippians 2:14-15 for this week. Claire and Emma received a lesson on the passage during meal time today. They were “grumbling” about what was on the menu. Everyday is filled with teachable moments. Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity to share with my daughters what You were teaching me this week.

Choosing a thankful heart…we are thankful for the girls’ latest milestones: Emma is officially walking and Claire is gaining confidence as she walks holding onto something/someone and standing on her own.

We are also thankful that we are slowly getting healthy after the RSV bug made its way between the girls. Emma got it six days after Claire, but again the symptoms were relatively mild. We have another two weeks before our “contagious window” passes by. Until then, we get to continue being hermits.

This week we:

• praise God for His Word that teaches and guides us.
• pray that we will respond in all things with a grateful heart because of who Christ is in our lives!
• pray that Claire and Emma continue to heal after being sick.

Claire went to bed Sunday evening with a fever of 102 degrees. The next morning we woke to a fever and a barky cough. Poor darling. The doctor confirmed that she had RSV. So, far her symptoms have been relatively mild and Emma has yet to show any symptoms four days later. That is God at work if I must say, since the girls typically share their germs better than they share their toys.

I was thinking through our prior week to where we would have been exposed to RSV. We had two outings at the middle of last week….the doctor’s office for our 12 month check-up and a large shopping center…Hmmmm.

For the “Clark adventure” RSV was not enough. The girls thought they should include teething to the week as well. Someone asked me how the girls were doing today and my response was, “other than not sleeping much and being super cranky, they are good.” We have been creative at the Clark house this week with some novel activities for the girls. I am grateful that they enjoy books. It is a quiet activity that they both like to do. Thanks to Uncle Matt and Aunt Amberly’s birthday surprise, we filled a tent with 300 plastic balls. The girls were so giddy sliding around all the balls. Bath time has also been a reliever. The crankiness is washed away at bath time and the giggles and splashes come out!

This week we:

• pray that Claire’s body will heal soon from the virus.
• pray that Emma stays healthy.
• pray that teeth will come through quickly.
• praise God for book time and bath time that brings smiles and laughter.

I sit here, almost in disbelief, that a year has now passed us by. God is so faithful! Claire and Emma are a year old!

Emma has been so excited that she is turning ONE that she decided to cut some teeth. Yes, you read that correctly, we finally have a pearly white poking through and another one on its way. Although we were super excited about the teeth, we were not excited about the process…I think we averaged 4-5 hours of sleep (not consecutive) both Sunday and Monday nights. Not only was Emma awake, she was not happy. It seems like just a few months ago, the sleep-deprived nights weren’t such a big deal.

The timing has been ironic. My “to do” list is a long one this week (getting caught up on everything from being gone for two weeks and preparing for company this weekend). I think maybe God was offering me a lesson in priorities…cleaning the bathrooms can wait because I need to snuggle with my daughter, one of two very special gifts He so faithfully provided a year ago!

“while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:18

The girls were so precious during afternoon nap today. Emma was again complaining about her mouth. As I was rocking her in the nursery to calm her, her screams alarmed Claire. So now Claire also wanted out of her crib. After Claire joined us in the chair, Emma snuggled into her and fell asleep. Both girls slept so peacefully. Nap time is usually my productive cleaning time, but today it was good to sit back, snuggle with my girls and say “Thank You Lord.”

I think if Emma wakes tonight, I will just put her in with Claire.

This week we:

• praise God for His marvelous designs in Claire and Emma.
• thank God for Emma’s tooth that poked through.
• pray that the remaining teething process would go quickly…
• praise God for His provision.

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”   Zephaniah 3:17

We consider it a great privilege to be able to travel and spend time with family this Christmas. Last year’s Christmas in the hospital was quite memorable to say the least. Our time with family and friends is just that much sweeter this year.

The words from the book of Zephaniah brought great encouragement to the long hospital days away from family at Christmas time. Warren Wiersbe says this about this passage in Zephaniah, “Like a loving Father, He takes His fearful children in His arms and quiets them with His love.” I was, and am so thankful for the way God quiets me with His love. Moments of anxiousness and doubtful thoughts subside as I rest in God’s love and knowing that He, the victorious warrior is in my midst. Amidst the chaos of getting everything ready, the words from Zephaniah came back to remind me that I do not need to be anxious. My focus was taken from the hustle and bustle and back to the humbleness of Christ’s birth.

Claire and Emma added a new and fun dynamic to Christmas this year. They are quite enthralled with the paper, the bags, the boxes and tissue. The tree has remained standing ever since the first crash. It is such a blessing to have them with us at Christmas this year. It will be a joy to teach the girls about the birth of their Savior, the very reason we rejoice and celebrate Christmas!

This week we pray:

for journey mercies.
that our time with family and friends would be rich.
thank God for sending His Son Jesus.

So, I step into the kitchen for a moment while Emma and Claire play in the living room. They have done a fantastic job staying away from the little Christmas tree we put up. While in the kitchen I notice that the living room becomes unusually quiet. I peek around the corner in time to see the tree crashing down, terror on Emma’s face and Claire clapping her hands as if to say, “sweet.” I’m praying for more wisdom….

What a difference a year makes! Last year we were enjoying our eighth day of bed rest in the hospital (there was peace about the circumstances, but yes, that was sarcasm). My journal entry that day went something like this: “Thank You, Lord, for capturing my heart and my attention. Bed rest has definitely given me the opportunity to give You my attention and the journey has prompted me to seek You in ways I didn’t before. Your grace abounds and exceeds my every thought. The girls weighed in at 2 lbs 14 oz and 2 lbs 11 oz at our morning ultrasound.” The entry ended with “Continue to glorify Yourself through the journey.”

“So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and supplications,” Daniel 9:3a

And look at us now…the girls are 16-17 lbs, wearing size three diapers, voicing their opinions,  on the verge of walking and knocking down Christmas trees. God is so faithful and His works are so magnificent, the glory is His! I am so thankful to experience this stage of the journey and I pray that our journey continues to bring Him glory.

This week we:

• pray for teeth.
• thank God for grabbing our attention to seek after Him like never before.
• pray that Claire and Emma continue to learn and choose obedience.
• praise God for healthy, growing girls.