Answered Prayer

This week has been a whirlwind of emotions. Sorry I haven't written sooner, but it's been crazy!

Tuesday, my mom was bonded out of jail. It was a crazy event in and of itself. The last time I saw her in jail was on the 7th. We were there for 30 minutes and she wasn't responding at all. She maybe talked for 2 minutes total and had a number of anxiety attacks while I was there. She said she had no hope and that she would never see the light of day again. It was heartbreaking - probably the hardest it's been since this all happened.

So that was Sunday afternoon. Monday, my dad talked with the attorney and they decided it was time to try and get my mom out. We started the paperwork on Tuesday and were told that it was going to take at least 6 - 8 hours to get the paperwork started and it looked like she would be ready by 9am on Wednesday. At 6:30 p.m. that night, my friend Ryan and I were driving to Orland to do a little shopping and I got a phone call. It was my mom asking who posted her bond and was anyone there to pick her up. I was in shock. No one called like they said and it was only 3 hours after we started the paperwork. I immediately called my dad and he was on his way. They ended up kicking her out because they said they were closing. So there was my mom - wandering around downtown Joliet in her jail garb with her plastic bag full of a Bible and all the sweet cards people sent her. When Jarrett, my dad, & Dean got there they found her walking with a strange man. She said he was bringing her to his car so she could use his phone. That's when they found her. Thank you Lord.

I had so many emotions running through my head. I was SO grateful, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I thought I had 12 more hours to prepare for everything, but God's timing is perfect. She was home and so grateful. Still a bit numb - you could tell she was not herself, but rightly so. Once we got her showered and settled, she wanted a BBQ Chicken Pizza from Chicago Dough Company, a Hansen's Root Beer, & a Venti Soy Chai Tea Latte.

We had dinner as a family. Eden couldn't have been happier to see my mom. She was attached from the moment she first saw her again. It almost brought me to tears because I felt it was the Lord's way of saying, "Gaye, I love you more than this."

The following day we took her to a rehab clinic where she is now. The first night was really hard. She had a lot of anxiety. My dad ended up staying with her until 10:30p.m. when she fell asleep.

The first 2 1/2 days were really hard on her. She was not wanting to participate and was making mention of wanting her life to be over. She was/ is having a hard time with hope. forgiveness and the Lord's unending, unswerving love.

We feel there are A TON of attacks/oppression from the enemy on her thoughts and mind. Please pray for protection over her mind and that she would just claim the name and blood of Jesus over herself. I ask that you pray that for her as well.

The last 2 days we have seen a small improvement. Thank you Lord. She has been working a bit more with her therapist. And that's all that it is going to take - A small step each day.

We have been able to see her every day since she's been there. My dad has been so loyal and loving towards my mom.

Tomorrow is Monday - the new work week. Please be praying that my mom will make some good improvements this week, but most of all pray that she would find her strength in Jesus.

I'm sorry if this is all over the place. I'm sure there are some things/ details I have left out. If you think of anything and want to ask, feel free.

I hope you find comfort like I have in the lyrics of a song by Brooke Frasier.

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness, or trial, or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on it's way
I am a conquerer and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life in every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship


I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here


This is my prayer in the harvest
Where favour and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've recieved I will sow

I cannot say it enough how much I appreciate all the prayers, love, & support everyone has shown. If I could give each one of you a hug, I would!

Clinging to the Cross,

Erin

A Bump In The Road

My 3 year old babe!

As some of you know our life has taken an unexpected turn... please bear with me as I try to pen some of my thoughts/ journey. Let this be my journal...

Monday, February 15, 2010... I hadn't heard from my mom all day. I had called lots - both her cell and my grams house... I called around 1:00 seeing if she wanted to run to Target with me... the kids were napping and Jarrett was home so I thought we could have some mother - daughter time. I was just going to drive by my grandma's to get her, but since she didn't answer, I figured they had gone out somewhere. Thank you Lord for causing me to keep on driving.

I continued to call because she was supposed to be over first thing in the morning to stay with the kids for the day and overnight. Jarrett and I had an overnight trip planned for sometime now. We were going to the city for some Switchfoot and a night in the city. The Lord had other plans.

By 8:30p.m. still no answer. Dean was home from school for some odd reason that night and I said, "I haven't heard from mom all day and I think something's wrong. Can you ride with me to grandma's?" We got in the car and went over. For some of you who don't know, my grandma broke her femur in September. She had a 1 month stay in the hospital and she was out. She almost passed twice while in there, but the Lord had other plans.

When it was time to leave my mom decided to move in with my grams. Grams was one who was set in her ways so moving in with my mom wasn't an option! My mom packed some things and gladly moved in with her mom. She was an only child so she carried the full responsibility.

When we arrived at my grams, her parking lot was blocked off with yellow crime scene tape and I saw in the distance my grandma's garage door open... WHAT??? I was instantly sick. Dean asked me what was going on.... I asked an officer, what's going on and he told me there was a homicide. I told him that is my grandma's house and my mom lived there. He waved us through.

We were met by a detective. I kept asking was it a double homicide? Did someone break in overnight? Finally he decided to tell me my grandma was killed. Where's my mom? Is she okay? He told us it would be better if we could go down to the station.

There in the small town I grew up in I found out information I thought was impossible. Was I dreaming? Is this real? Why hadn't anyone called us at 2:30p.m. when they found all this out? Why had the media known before us?

Weird, but almost instantaneously I knew the Lord was in control. Maybe that sounds a bit ridiculous, but I did.

Two anti-depressants, one anxiety medication, and one sleep aid - namely Ambien... lack of sleep, stress, and a combination of sin and the enemy... enough to do someone in - that being my mom... someone who I love more than words.

That night only 3 hours of sleep took place on my part. As I tossed and turned, I thought, "Lord if this is how it's going to be, I don't know how I'm going to handle this..." And as I awoke that morning John 8:32 was in my head ..."and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” In that moment I felt the Lord saying to me, by turning herself in, the first step was taken in being "set free." Things could have ended up a lot different, but they didn't. And in those dark moments, the Lord did not leave my mom. He was there and He still is there.

Two days later my sweet princess turned 3. I will never forget her 3rd birthday. Amber and Vernon drove up for less than 1 day just to love us. Thank you sweet friends. And in between those 2 days we planned my grams funeral. Things I never dreamed to be doing. But praise be to God that we were able to get things set so we could take a day and spend it as a family...

Jules was on a flight less than 24 hours later keeping life at home somewhat normal for the kids. Jules, I love you more than I know how to express. Life would be so different without you. Eden was starting to not enjoy all the "meetings" mommy had to go to, but the kids were resilient.

We had a beautiful 2 days remembering the life of my grandma. Over 400 people came to show their love and support for her, my mom, and our family. THANK YOU ALL. I was so overwhelmed by all your love and support. Friends drove in from near and far. One pregnant with a 2 year old who is full of life. Eight hours in 1 day... that is LOVE. Friendship is one of God's greatest gifts. Friends who I haven't seen in over 10 years showed up to give a hug and lend a shoulder to cry on... and through all of this, I had my amazing husband standing by my side strong and sure... unmovable. Unshakable love... overwhelmed by the love of Jesus.

Crazy how the Lord orchestrated all of this before the beginning of time... we buried my grams, had a luncheon provided by an amazing body of believers, and I was 2 hours from seeing my mom for the first time. Nerves... wow... Love...LOve..LOVe...LOVE.... that's all that was going through my head.

A court order went through hours earlier for me to have a contact visit with my mom. I was able to hold her hands, hug her, and look in her eyes and tell her that I/we love her more than ever. People near and far love her and are praying for her and supporting her. She was grateful.

One week went by and Dean and I were able to have another contact visit with her. She was so grateful to see her kids again. She looked better. She missed us and was longing for a Root Beer.

Three days went by and I had my first video conference with her. She was having a hard day. She was visibly sad. They moved her at midnight from the medical side to general population. I think things were setting in. It was awful seeing my mom so sad. My heart was breaking for her, yet I trust this is where the Lord has her.

I immediately called my dad and he set up a video conference for the following day. He saw her Wednesday. She was able to feel his love and support. Thank you Jesus.

This has brought our family closer together than ever and through it all I have fallen deeper in love with Jesus. He is GREATER. He will NEVER fail, and He works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). Friends, He is so much BIGGER. He THRIVES in situations like these. His glory shines all around, brighter than ever before. May people see it and grab a hold of it for the first time. May Jesus be my mom's everything. And may Jesus meet her right where she is.

Please pray for my mom.

Pray for wisdom.

Pray that God would be honored and glorified through it all.

This song has been my hearts song through this all. The lyrics echo the song in my heart - Alleluia, Sing by David Crowder Band

Like calm comes to a sea
Like snowfall quietly
You come to me
Like justice to the weak
Like a flood rising
You come, You come to me

And it feels like it's almost here

Alleluia majesty
Alleluia risen king
Alleluia angels sing
Like springtime to winter's hush
Like laughter to solemnness
Like a sun rising up
You come, You come to us

Alleluia majesty
Alleluia king of kings
Alleluia angels sing
Like a song rising up
In your heart filling up
Like a heart's not enough
For this love, for this love

To sing of love, to sing of love
To sing of love, love, love
Alleluia majesty
Alleluia king of kings
Alleluia angels sing

Alleluia sing!

Thanks for listening.

I honestly love each and every one of you. I pray that I can blog often and share what the Lord is doing and just to get some thoughts out!

In Him and For Him,

Erin

Passionate

I am passionate about a lot of things in life. The first being my Lord and Savior, second, my amazing family of 3, and thirdly health, wellness, & nutrition. A Holistic health - one that's whole. I know it's such a heated topic this day in age - to buy organic or not to buy... is it really better... the questions go on and on. All's I can say is you need to research it for yourself and go to credible sights. Read books. Watch movies. There is a movement happening and I think it's a good one. We are becoming more aware of what we put into our bodies and more importantly what we are putting into our children's bodies.

There is lots I want to say and share, but first I want to post some videos that I have come across. Please take a few minutes and watch these. Once you get to their sites they also have some very helpful links if you are looking for some further information on these topics.

If you haven't seen Food Inc. (click on it and watch the trailer) RENT IT. We saw it in the theatre and it confirmed to us that what we believe is true. Some food is NOT food. I beg you, just watch it just so you can become informed.

Secondly, if you are a McDonald's lover, please love no more and watch THIS and THIS. They are two very short pieces of priceless information. People have kept these hamburgers for years and they still smell, look the same. No mold has grown on them, the fries are still salty, greasy, & appealing to the eye. Oh how looks can deceive. You think you're getting a nice piece of meat but what your really getting is a chemical compound creation.

The last link is about FRESH the movie that came out in 2009. This website is extremely helpful & I recommend you go to your local library and ask if they have a copy on file or see if they can get one. Look at the SICKLY, crippled animals in this movie. This is what we're eating. No wonder we can buy a cheeseburger for $.50 & a chicken sandwich for a $1.

I will never forget a story my father-in -law told me. He traveled a lot for work and he would usually just go to the Golden Arches. One night he got an ice cream cone for dessert but when he got back to his hotel he decided he didn't want it so he threw it in the toilet. When he woke up the next morning it was still there... floating in the toilet water. Hhhmmmm.... only a chemical composed compound can do something like that.

Now I admit, I used to LOVE me an M&M McFlurry or a Triple Thick Chocolate shake, but when I started researching and reading and asking questions my intake of these kids of foods had to stop. I hope you can make the transition too.

What are YOU passionate about?

Let me know any thoughts or questions!!

Love you guys,

Erin

Read More Books

I don't know about you, but every year I start off with good intentions. I want to read through my Bible daily with some sort of agenda and I want to read X amount of books throughout the year. Every year ends up being a big fat FAIL!!!! I may read, but most of the time I'm all over the map. I love using Bible reading plans, but once I get behind, I'm overwhelmed with the catch up and somewhere along the way I give up.

Glory to God that He has lit a fire within me. He has rekindled a fire within my spirit to get in the Word daily and learn from Him. I am using the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan and I absolutely LOVE it. One thing that I really love about it is that D.A. Carson is doing a Daily Devotional Plan on this reading plan to, in his words,"assist the reader in discovering the riches of God's Word." I subscribed to the blog and they send me a daily e mail with his thoughts on the readings for the day. He also has a blog on The Gospel Coalition website called For the Love of God that you can check out.

My other goal is to read 6 books this year. I have tons of books sitting on my bookshelf that I "want" to read, but I just don't make the time. I'm happy to report that I have read 2 books already this year. Praise Him! I've read, Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller which was really good. I thought it was a great book to start the new year with. The second book I read was Don't Make Me Count To Three by Ginger Plowman. This is a MUST READ for any mom. She is extremely wise and very practical. I laughed out loud throughout the whole book!

I hope this gives you some fun resources to check out and I pray that the Lord will keep us faithful to Himself and His Word this year!

Love,

Erin

10 Questions To Ask In The New Year

At the end of December, Justin Taylor posted this on his blog. It's by Don Whitney and I thought it was really good and wanted to share it with you.

It was a blog on 10 questions to ask yourself in the New Year. Jarrett and I are driving down to St. Louis tomorrow so I'm hoping that during the driving time while the kids are napping we can discuss some of these! I also plan to write them down in my journal and reflect on some.

I have good intentions this year to blog more about what the Lord is doing in my life and in our family's life... pray that for me that I am a doer of that intention!

I love you all and pray this first week and a half of the New Year has been great for you. May the Lord meet you where you are and may you be refreshed by His presence!

Below you will find the 10 questions.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Much Love,

Erin

"Help Find Joe Houston"

My friend Amanda posted this blog and my heart was really stirred. Please read and keep this family in your prayers or help out in whatever way you can.

Here is a little of what she said on her blog about Joe Houston.

I have also been praying earnestly for the last week for my friend Jenn and her fiancee Joe. Joe is a Navy pilot based in Corpus Christi, TX, whose plane went missing around the Gulf last Wednesday. The body of his co-pilot was found but there is no sign of Joe. The hope is that his parachute worked and that he is safely awaiting rescue. The official search has now been called off, but other people are continuing to search today. There are many, many people praying for him. Please join us. You can read more about it here.

Here is the website.

findjoehouston.blogspot.com

Love,

Erin

CaLIFORNIA Video!

And here is a short video Amber made from our trip!

California!!!! from Amber Burger on Vimeo.