marriage+child+school+work+church+friends+relaxation=busy

Our life is busy. But we find time to have fun...

This is Noah, Deron's cousin.





Philip is slowly teaching piano to Deron... we figure 2 is early enough, right?

We have a healing!

(I apologize if any of this is gross to anyone... )


Philip has had warts on his hands since his childhood. He's told me that they've always been extremely stubborn.... they had tried freezing them off, topical creams, last Spring he even tried suffocating them by covering them with duct tape, only for them to not work, or grow back a few weeks later. Eventually, his family just decided to liken him to Franz Liszt (a prolific and virtuoso pianist and composer in the 19th century), as he supposedly had warts on his hands as well.

The warts never bothered me... I love my husband with or without warts! :) But I knew they bothered Philip, partly for the reason that they began growing and spreading. He started out with just 3 or so, but they began spreading even to his other hand, totaling around 8 or 9. They began being painful as well.

Anyway, a couple of months ago at Youth for the Nations at CFNI, we decided it was time to get serious about these pesky growths, I mean, why can't God heal warts? He can heal depression, cancer and colds (all which I've seen), so surely just little warts won't be anything, and I know God wants it for Philip too... He wants the BEST for us. So we prayed... we claimed the healing that Jesus bought for us at the cross... we spoke life and God's kingdom to touch and expel the small tumors (that's what they are, in fact) that were not designed to be on him.

Nothing happened. But as we've learned, healing can take place different ways. God can heal instantaneously, which we call a miracle- which is rare, but awesome! Most of the time, however, God chooses to heal a person through a process. You see, if we always got a miracle, we'd come to expect it every time. And if some day we didn't, we'd start to think, "Man, why doesn't God love me anymore?", "Why is He keeping Himself hidden from me?", etc, etc. So many times God chooses for us to go through a process, so we can really rely on Him and grow our faith to a new level... after all, we are being changed from glory to glory! It's a process...

A few weeks ago, we started noticing that Philip's warts were diminishing! They are retreating! We've used absolutely no medication or anything except prayer, and these are the results! This picture was taken on Sept. 4th, after some growth had begun to disappear. I have circled where all the warts are shown or were previously.
This picture was taken Sept. 15th. As you can see, there is still only one major wart left, on Philip's middle finger, but the others are almost faded completely away! The one on his middle finger he says is "flaking off"...so we assume it will be gone in a week or so! Praise God!

Blessed are the...

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Our pastor is doing a series on the beatitudes. Let me interject here that I love my pastor. I love my church. I have never been at a place where I have gotten so much spiritual food in my life. And it's not all about the sermons. It's about a lifestyle. Being submitted to people that are genuinely the most humble, powerful, and loving people you'll ever meet.

The best thing though, is that I have learned more about living a life that is so free and fulfilling... a life that Christ died so that we can have! Rejoice because this is the day the Lord has made! He has such great things for everyone, and I desperately want people to understand that there is LIFE and FUN and HEALING and JOY and FREEDOM in the Kingdom. I'm tired of seeing sad, depressed, lethargic, defeated Christians. It pangs me to see people that bear the name of Jesus Christ and don't know the authority that they walk with. Take hold of the things that God has for you. They really are there! I have come from a life of hopelessness and depression, and I was a sold out Christian! Now, I know a life of joy and freedom! And that is where the Spirit is. Praise you, Father, for your Spirit. Your living, active, and powerful Holy Spirit!

pies and chipmunks

We acquired about 10 pounds of fresh apples last week, so Philip asked me to bake an apple pie.
So I made one... from scratch- including the crust, I might add... not the first time ever, but it sure was yummy! It only took me 2 hours in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove! If you want to take the challenge, here's the recipe: Double Crust Apple Pie

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On another note... since Deron was just under 2, he started this thing where if he had too much in his mouth or if he wasn't particularly excited about what we were eating, he would put it in his mouth and just keep it there and occasionally chew. But for the most part just stuff it to the side and keep it there until the once distinguishable bite becomes a colorless glob of saliva and, well, just yuck. He is much better about it these days and I am quite glad about that.

This picture was taken the other night when he ate about 5 whole bites of steak (I think it was) all at the same time. He liked it a lot, but just got a little ahead of himself.... :)

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On yet another note:

Like father, like son.... I relish these moments when I see them together...