prayer

Hi everyone,
It's been a while since I posted. I know you've all been on pins and needles just waiting for me to speak (just kidding!)... so here I am. :)

It's been an up and down month. Erik and I have been fasting meats and veggies... not extremely fun, but definitely good for us! Tonight was our break the fast night (although yes, we were a little flexible this past weekend given everything that went on) and we had fun - date night with flowers (yay for a wonderful hubby!), dinner at Red Robin, and movie. We saw Tooth Fairy - a pretty decent family movie. Kinda silly since it's all about the tooth fairy, but fun. :)

My family and I are doing okay. Cristina's birthday was 1/22 and that was emotional, but she has a good support system in place to help bring a spark in her day. All of us definitely have had our moments of missing Brian; it's fun to remember him as we do things he liked.

I do have a prayer request. I mentioned some of Erik's health issues a little while ago. He's been through the first medicine option for his heart and it seems like it fixed the heart part, but did have some side effects. We just started a second medicine option and we believe it will fix the heart things as well, but with limited side effects. I'll keep you posted as we find out results.

My prayer request is for strength for Erik and more than anything, hope. He's been bombarded with physical symptoms and sicknesses over and over, new ways, different things, and he's getting tired because nothing seems to be going away and everything is piling on top of each other. It's hard to watch and I don't know how to help. I'd appreciate prayers for grace, wisdom, and hope to make it through this season and see God's victory of healing manifest in Erik's life.

Thanks. I appreciate it. This is where it's nice to have a blog because I can write out the truth and be reminded of the reality of it: God is good. He is faithful. His healing power is a reality. Erik and his family were prayed over by a great evangelist this past weekend and I fully believe God is working to restore their bodies. God's not going to leave us in the dark on how to access Him. He will provide each step of the way. I know He is with us. I don't always "feel" him, but that doesn't matter. He is still here, present, working in our lives.

I do love Him. Jesus, you are my hope, my life, my love.

cain and abel

Happy Sunday everyone!

How's it going? The New Year is well underway and I hope it's treating you well. Little by little, my family is getting into the swing of things now that the holidays have passed . Cristina and the girls are safely home in Chicago. She was SO excited to be back home, partially because she's been living out of a suitcase for six months or so! From what I know, Angelica and Chloe (the older two) will be heading to pre-school from now until May and Cristina will fully enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. They are definitely quite the little munchkins, so I know she'll have fun (and always have a story!) as she raises them. Oh and my parents are getting some much deserved vacation/relaxation time in Florida - YAY!!!! So happy about that.

Yesterday I was reading Hebrews 11 and finally stopped to ponder something that had been bugging me a long time. It comes from Hebrews 11:4.

"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh"
I've always read this verse and thought what did Abel believe? He simply had a better sacrifice than Cain. So I went back to Genesis 4:3-4.

"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect."
Last night, I came to the conclusion that Abel believed that God deserved his best. I'm not sure if Adam had taught his sons to bring something particular to the Lord or not, but I think whether he had or not, Abel had faith that God was real and that God deserved his best.

You can come to your own conclusions; I just thought I'd share my take on those verses.

Anyway, I'm off to get ready for church and then a day of football and relaxation. Sounds nice. :) And yes, today we'll be cheering for the Green Bay Packers. We're a household with two allegiances right now. And for a moment, let's pretend all is well in our world and the Vikings and Green Bay Packers meet in a head-to-head game in the playoffs? I'm not sure who we would want to win!
I had a nice walk outside with Tucker this morning and God made me smile. That always brightens a day. May He make you smile today as well.

Hugs~

all is well

Hi there.

We had a really good Christmas and New Year's with my family and Erik's family. Lots of blessings and laughs with family. New Year's and Brian's birthday passed smoothly; thanks for your prayers.

If you read Cristina's blog, you'll see we had a nice time remembering Brian on Christmas when the girls all received bears that had recordings of Brian talking to them that they could listen to. Pretty neat. Tear-jerking too. All of us had our times of grieving and crying over the past few weeks as we remembered him; God's grace definitely brought us through.

Hmmm I don't have a whole lot else to say except God is healing our family. Time helps and God is good. All of us are dealing with it differently as we're each healed separately, and we're slowly becoming our family again without the tenseness of the past two years. It is good. Thank you, Lord.

Knowing my husband, dog, and myself, I'll have stories to share next time... right now, I'm ready for bed. Until then, all God's best to you! :)