Dylan is home!

Thank you to all who prayed for Dylan and me in the past 24 hours.  We are home from surgery.

There is good news and bad.  The good news is that Dylan's ACL is fine.  Praise God.  The bad news also contains a bit of good news.  We were hoping the tear in Dylan's meniscus was repairable.  It was not.  Apparently it's too jagged to suture effectively.  So the doctor trimmed away the ripped part.  This will mean Dylan can't do any long distance running for the rest of his life (without a miracle healing). 

Sadly, this is hard for my husband and Dylan to hear. My husband runs marathons, and half triathlons.  Dylan has run a half marathon and done a quarter triathlon.  This was something they did together, that now they won't be able to do.  (except for a miracle healing!! Can you tell what I'm praying for?)

The small piece of good news for my son is he won't have to be on crutches for six weeks.  Although he was ready to do it, he's really happy he won't have to, especially being a senior and all that entails at the end of the school year. 

There was one concerning bit of news that I really appreciate your prayers about.  In the recovery room, the nurse asked me if Dylan ever had an irregular heart beat.  Interestingly, about five years ago we had taken Dylan to a pediatric cardiologist for an irregularity - I think it was a murmur.  We were told it wasn't unusual for an athletic young person to have this.

But today, the nurse saw something different.  It was something called a PVC (Premature Ventricular Contractions).  She said it could have been because of the anesthesia - but that is was very unusual for a 17 year old to have such a high occurrence of them.  They never went away.

Since everything else was fine, she sent Dylan home with a recommendation that we go back to a cardiologist.  So now that's on my list.

Thank you again for your prayers and notes of encouragement.  They made such a difference.  If you have ever experienced that peace that passes understanding, you know what I'm talking about.  I can honestly say God performed a miracle in my heart - there was no worry, fear or tears.  Just Jesus' peace. 

In His love,

Glynnis

Please pray for Dylan

Tomorrow my 6-foot-tall, 17-year-old "baby" is going in for surgery.

I asked the doctor if I could be in the operating room with him.  He stared at me wide-eyed for a second before admirably composing himself and saying he didn't think that would be okay with the hospital rules.

I would have gone.

I asked if he could do the surgery with just a local anesthesia ... my son and the doctor stared at me on that one.

Uh ....  NO.

Dylan on the left

Just when I thought I'd dealt with all my trust issues with God and my children, along comes this one.  My warrior/wrestling son Dylan tore his meniscus and possibly his ACL at state, and is having knee surgery tomorrow.  The thought of watching them wheel him away makes me feel sick inside. 

I wonder if I can stand outside the operating room door with my ear plastered against it ...

Once again God is asking me if I really trust Him with my children - or do I just say I do.  Here's where I have to rest when feelings of fear start to overwhelm me:  Declaring once again I trust God with the life of my child.  It's where the rubber meets the road for me. 

I trust God more than the anesthesiologist
I trust God more than the surgeon
I trust God more than the nurses

There is no "safe" place in this world for our children.  The only truly safe place is in the will of, and under the wings of an all-powerful God.  At my absolute best, I can't protect my children from everything.  And if I could, I'd steal their chance to experience God's power and protection personally.


 Would you join me in praying for Dylan?   He's scheduled for surgery Thursday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. MST. 

Thank you!

Glynnis

P.S.  I'll post an update on Thursday or Friday.

Why did God tell shepherd's first?

Welcome!   Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  I especially appreciate it given that it's two days before Christmas.  If you are visiting for the first time after reading my Encouragement for Today devotion titled, "Why God Told Shepherd First," I hope you'll spend some time with me today.  Or, if you have to finish last-minute shopping, then check back next week.

My devotion was about being awed by God - specifically how the shepherds in the Christmas story were awed. The shepherds were first afraid, then curious, then awed, and couldn't keep it to themselves.   I want to be awed like that.

Seems like Christmas, the time of year when I should be awed, is often the time when I'm worn out - physically and emotionally.  This year I had a book deadline ... last week.  Although I didn't pull any over-nighters, it consumed my thoughts until I hit "send."  Then I had Christmas-catch-up to do. 

So last week, I started praying for God to help me be amazed and awed at Him.  Partly because I knew this devotion was running and I promised to tell you how to cultivate amazement in your heart.  But also because I don't want to miss the majesty of Christ with my eyes focused on the mundane. 

God did just that.  He amazed me.  In the most surprising of ways.  I didn't see a heavenly host, nor hear an angel speak. But I did experience the power and majesty of God in three ways, and like the shepherds I want to tell you about it.

1.  First, God gave me the most unbelievable peace as I finished my book.  With my past books, as I approached the deadline, I woke up each morning with a sick feeling.  It's a heavy burden knowing a publisher has invested a lot in your writing.  I carry it willingly, but it's always there.  This time, I asked for prayer from my friends at Proverbs 31, and it was truly, overwhelmingly, beyond expectation amazing.  God gave me peace and inspiration. 

2.  On the day my book was due (12/15), my son was planning on driving all night from Phoenix to Texas to deliver a vehicle for his boss.  Josh is only 19, and my husband had actually planned to go with him for safety.  But at noon that day, Josh told me he was going alone.  My husband was coming back from Tucson, but Josh wanted to get on the road.  To say I wasn't happy was an understatement.  I immediately put out a prayer request on Facebook for Josh's safety. 

Then, I called my husband to let him know what was brewing.  My husband was actually heading home, and I called Josh back to say "Wait, Dad will be here in an hour and a half."  By the time I reached Josh, the office manager had already arranged for someone else to go with Josh. 

Within 30 minutes God had spoken through a woman I don't know, and sent an older, very honorable and trustworthy man to go with Josh.  They made the drive and arrived home safely.

3.  Sunday morning I woke up to an email from a woman named Monica Hawkins, an author I met through She Speaks.  Monica had written the email in the middle of the night from a hospital in Alabama.  Less than 48 hours earlier, her son had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and was facing surgery that morning to relieve the pressure on his brain - not remove the tumor.  Monica was calling everyone to worship God and watch as God fought the battle.  I immediately turned on praise music and started worshipping. 

The surgery was successful, the tumor was not malignant, and Monica's son is doing very well.  Earlier this week, Monica outlined all the little ways the God stepped in, starting with a doctor ordering an MRI for a headache, and an immediate opening for the MRI.  It truly is an amazing story.  Visit Monica's blog and read for yourself.  That was a link to an overview of the story.  Click on "Home" to read more recent updates. 


In less than a week, God amazed me with divine intervention and what I see as miracles.  Some may say my peace came from experience, Josh's driving buddy was a coincidences, and Matthew's brain tumor is still there.  But, like the shepherds, I choose to be believe and be amazed. 

God hears prayers and orchestrates everyday events on behalf of His children.  So, how to cultivate amazement?  Pray about every need.  Ask others to pray too.  Then watch for answers.

When our eyes are watching for God's involvement in our world, we see it.  The more we see it, the more amazing it is because God cares about details.  Even when God says "No," it's amazing to see how we benefited from that no.  (Usually it takes awhile to see it though).

If you are feeling a little worn out, take some time to review your prayers from the past year.  Consider how God answered them:  the "yeses" and the "nos".    I'm confident you'll start to cultivate some amazement at how He has worked in your life.

I pray you have a wonderful next few days. 

Merry Christmas!

In His Love,
Glynnis

When hard threatens to overwhelm

If you are visiting today for the first time after reading my Proverbs 31 Devotion, welcome. If you are a regular bloggy friend, thanks so much for stopping by.  I'm deeply touched you would spend a few of your precious minutes today with me.  I'm praying God has a gift for you, packaged in His Word. 

I imagine many, if not all of you, are dealing with something  hard in your life.  Actually, most women face hard challenges.  I'm no exception. I've been overwhelmed by my circumstances in the past.  Once, I was so trapped in fear I couldn't eat or sleep.  Many times worry pesters me like a thirsty mosquito.  I've got five teenagers ... need I say more?

Yet in His mercy, God has brought me through some tough times. Today, perhaps I can share some hope and practical tips with you.  In fact, I want to look at a familiar Bible story for some of both:  the feeding of the 5,000.  As I was praying about what to write, God used Scripture to clarify something that He has taught me in my own life.  Let's look at the Mark 6: 30-44 version.

To set the scene, Jesus and the disciples were exhausted.  They had been ministering all day and wanted to rest.  In fact, they were trying to get away for some peace and quiet.  However, people were so desperate they ran after them, and actually got to the other side of a lake before Jesus did.

Have you ever felt exhausted by the demands on you?  Have you felt emotionally bankrupt, with relentless needs chasing after you?  Have you been at the end of your resources with nothing left to give?

That's probably how the disciples felt that day.  Empty.  Just when they wanted to curl up and rest, Jesus started to minister to the people.  Didn't He notice they were exhuasted? 

In fact, the disciples tried to stop Him.  They said, "This is a remote place ... and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

So not only were the disciples exhausted, they were in a barren place with NO resources.

Have you every felt like that?  Have you ever been in a "desert" place, isolated and alone, with no resources and yet people expect you to do something for them?  In fact, Jesus expected the disciples to do something too.

"But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.'"

Can you picture the scene here?  Exhausted disciples ... remote place ... no resources.  Sounds a lot like me at times.  The good news for all of us today is that Jesus has a plan for our hard times.  One of them is found in this familiar story.  I think we can apply a 5-step principle from this passage to dealing with hard times.

1)  The disciples speak honestly to Jesus.  They are tired, and it's pretty complainy, but it's HONEST.
2)  Jesus asks them to present what they have. (5 loaves of bread and two fish)
3)  Jesus tells the disciples to have the people sit down in groups.  (v. 39)
4)  Jesus thanks God for the food.  (v. 41)
5)  The disciples are put to work serving the people they didn't think they could serve, as Jesus worked a miracle and expanded their resources.  (v. 41)

Most of this is pretty obvious.  Jesus values honesty and He can take little and expand it. I've read lots about those truths.  But the part that hit me this week was telling the people to sit down in groups.  Why did He do that?  Here's my take.

In the face of an overhelming, potentially desperate, situation, Jesus knew everybody needed order.   Not just the hungry multitudes, but those called to do the work.  What if by breaking the people into groups, the overwhelming situation seemed a little more managable? 

Perhap Jesus sensed that the disciples needed to have control over something. And by organizing what they could, the disciples focused on what was in their control.  While they did that, Jesus did His part ... performed a miracle.


As I face hard in my own life, there is wisdom in this for me.  Sometimes, all I think about is what I CAN'T control.  I focus on the problem and how unfair the situation is.  Even though I've prayed, confessed my needs and presented my resources to Jesus, all I think about is what I gave Him.  Or how little I have to face the problem. It's a pretty myopic view. 

I somehow forget that I'm loved by the One who can feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish ... and have leftovers!!! 

Now I see the wisdom in focusing on what is still within my control, and trusting Jesus with what only He can do - that's the miracle part.  It's not a distraction technique ... it's an act of faith. 

What should you to do today while Jesus is taking care of the rest?

In His Love,

Glynnis

Follow up & a book winner

Yesterday was a sweet-and-sour day for me.  When I have a devotion running, I love to hear from readers.  You see, I sit behind a computer all day.  Unless I make a point to connect with a friend, my days are isolated ... it's just me and my three doggies.  My husband works at home too, but he's in his office most of the day. 

So when I hear from readers, I experience community in a way that only God could orchestrate among His children thousands of miles apart.

And yet it was a heavy day as I read through all the prayer requests.  I prayed for each one.  In the morning, I emailed two friends and asked them to pray too.  God hand picked those two intentionally as I discovered throughout the day with the specific prayer requests that came in.  He's so good like that!

Then, in the evening, my small group met and I asked my friends to go on my blog and pray for each request throughout the next week. 

If you posted a prayer request - please know you are well covered, and will continue to be.

My heart ached for the cycles of pain so many of you experience.  And I want to do more than pray.  Not because that's not enough.  It is the best gift I can offer you.  But I believe there is more God wants me to do.  It's no coincidence that my brother-in-law is a lay counselor at his church and leads a program called "Healing from the Inside Out."  I called him yesterday to talk about emotional healing, and why people cycle through pain.

He said that often there is addiction involved.  It could be co-dependency, which is like an addiction to another person and their problems.  Or it could be the person's own addiction. Not necessarily chemical addiction, but to an emotional release like anger. 

But when people are honest and willing to face their emotional pain, the healing process begins.  It is a process, and it usually takes the help of someone else.  Not always someone professionally trained, but someone mature enough to love you though it, with out offering damaging advice. 

I'm praying about what more to do, and have put a call in to the person who created this program.  If I discover anything helpful resources, I'll pass them along.

This wasn't the only thing happening this week.  On Monday I had a book to give-away, and said I would announce the winner on Wednesday.  Obviously, that wasn't the best plan on my part.  But I do have a book to give away, and  SueBe is the winner.  I'll contact you personally to get your mailing information. 

Can we continue this discussion on emotional healing?

Have you experienced emotional healing?  If so, what helped you?

In His Love,
Glynnis

Is Emotional Healing Part of God's Plan for Us?

Welcome to those of you who are visiting my blog after reading the Proverbs 31 devotion for today, "I'm Not Good as New."

I wrote that devotion after breaking electric clippers.  But there's something else that's "broken" in my life, and I've haven't written about it ... until today.

Recently I've acknowledged I've been hurt and changed by something.  I didn't admit it for years because, honestly, I thought it shouldn't have bothered me.  I thought I should have been strong enough to handle this situation.  Especially being a mature Christian.   I'm now ready to admit I've been damaged, and need healing. 

Five years ago, my husband and I adopted two little girls from Liberia, Africa.  We knew it would be difficult  We expected our daughters to have significant challenges and thought we were ready to deal with them.  We knew our precious girls would be damaged, we just didn't expect we would be too as a result of helping them. 

Our oldest daughter has a cognitive disability.   It took four years of helping her in every way we knew to help.  Finally, with professional testing, we identified that her learning and language challenges went deeper than just needing to "catch up."  That was an uphill climb, and hearing your daughter is mildly retarded was hard.  We never expected to be the parents of a special needs child. 

Yet that experience was easy compared to what we are going through with our youngest daughter.  After five years of dealing with frustrating behavior that doesn't make sense and symptoms that didn't seem connected, she has just been diagnosed with something called Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD).   She doesn't have some of the most dramatic symptoms, which is why it took so long to diagnose.  The "problem" isn't all with our daughter.  The therapist said that parents of children with RAD show symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

We can understand.  We've had five years of not knowing what she was going to do next, always being on edge, and on top of it all, feeling guilty because of our reactions and our seeming inability to emotionally help this child entrusted to us. 

I understand why people don't talk about what has hurt them.  Although we've shared bits and pieces of our challenges, we never shared the depth.  It's embarrassing to admit you can't handle something on your own. People can be judgemental - especially about parents and children.  I had a friend adopting from Africa and I didn't want her to worry about her adoption.  My reasons for keeping this to myself were varied. 

I'm choosing today to write about it because of this devotion.  And I'm actually happy to say we just started therapy this week.  We'll start with me, my husband and daughter, and expand it to include the rest of the family.  We've also discovered a support group for parents of children with RAD. 

This experience has changed me.  And I know I need help to recover. But in reality, we waited too long to deal with it.  We just kept thinking we could figure it out on our own. We felt overwhelmed by circumstances and unable to think straight at times.  Believe me when I say we've been praying desperate prayers for years.

Even though God hasn't miraculously healed our daugthers (or us), I believe with all my heart that He wants to bring emotional healing to every member of our family. I don't believe we'll be totally healed until heaven, but God will not leave us broken until then.  I'm not sure how He'll do it, but I trust Him.   I'm just at the start of my healing journey and I would appreciate your prayers for both my daughters and my family.

Today, I'd also like to pray for you.  My guess is you've been carrying a burden and a brokenness you've never shared.  Perhaps you've shared a bit of your problem but not the emotional damage it's done to you.  I'm finding freedom in being honest about how hard this is.  And I want to extend that invitation to you.

Please post anonymously if you would rather not share your name, but please leave a prayer request.  How can I pray for you?

I'm standing on James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

In His Love,

Glynnis

Prayer Prompts for Children

Thank you to all those who posted a comments on my blog yesterday, or sent me a private email.  It was a day of highs and lows as I read through your comments about your children.  Some of the ladies who emailed me are in a difficult place, and I am praying the Lord is your peace, confidence and hope. 

I hope I emailed everyone who asked for the copy of the assembled prayer prompts.  Just in case I missed someone, I'm going to TRY to post the list here today.  I've also set up an account at docstoc.com so you can download a PDF from here on out.  

This is all new to me, so we'll learn it together.  I believe if you click on the "menu" button you can "download" the PDF. 


Praying for Children -

Or click here to download the PDF.

If you have any problems, just email me the old-fashioned way (editor@proverbs31.org) and I'll send it directly.

Thank you again for your heart of prayer. 

In His Love,

Glynnis

Praying for our Children

Across the world, children and parents are packing lunches, double-checking backpacks and taking those "First Day of School" photos that record this important milestone. 

For some parents this day is difficult.  You may be reading this through a haze of tears as you've sent your first off to kindergarten.  I pray the Lord brings you peace today.

For some parents this is exciting as you embark on a new year of learning at home.  May the Lord be your inspiration today.

And yet for others, you are fighting the guilt at the relief this day brings.  I pray the Lord steps in and eases you of that guilt, and directs it into a refreshment of the calling He has placed on your life at this time.

For all of us parents with school-aged children, this season of the year is an invitation to revisit, renew and expand our prayer life for our children.   As I mentioned in my devotion today (you can read it at Proverbs 31), I find my prayers tend to narrow to the common denominator of protection.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I will pray for my children's safety my entire life. 

But I know the Lord is calling me to pray for more.  So today, I'm going to start the discussion, but then I hope you'll join in with how you pray for your children. 

Here are some areas I believe the Lord wants me to pray about:

• My child's friends and their family situations
• My child's teachers
• The volunteers that work with my children at church, school and other organizations like Girl Scouts
• Athletic coaches

For all areas of my child's emotional and spiritual life

• Honesty
• Increased faith
• Boldness to speak the truth
• Integrity to do what she/he says she will do
• Peace
• Confidence in Christ
• Wisdom and discernment

For my child's social life

• Patience with other children
• Conversation skills
• Bravery in the face of bullying

Because I know my tendency to focus on concerns, I'm going to type up a list of all of the prayer prompts that get mentioned in this blog and print it out and put it with my daily to-do list.  If you'd like me to send you a copy of my master prayer list, please either leave your email in a post, or send me an email directly at editor@proverbs31.org.

How do you pray for your children?  Please share so we can all learn to pray with more expectation, and link arms to raise up a generation of children who will impact our world for God.  

In His Love,

Glynnis