Month: May 2011

A Holy Confidence

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Just My Thoughts

I have wondered at times about my reluctance to speak up for Christ in certain situations.  Do you ever feel the need to witness of Him, but feel embarrassed or timid or hesitant to do so?

I read this quote this morning in a free Kindle book I downloaded –The Art of Soul-Winning by J. W. Mahood.  He says,

"The witness of the Spirit will give a holy confidence to the soul-winner…

Much of the timidity and reluctance shown by Christians toward personal work may be traced to a refusal or neglect to live the surrendered life and have the clear assurance of acceptance with God."

Wow!  That is so true!

If I am living my life in an unGodly way, unsure of my own salvation due to sin I am harboring against my Saviour, I am not going to be willing to witness of Him.

Also, if I am indulging my flesh, refusing to submit my will to His in any area, I am going to be hesitant to speak of Him in loving, inviting words to someone who doesn't know Him. 

I feel embarrassed to be recommending a Christ Who I am not wholeheartedly following.

  • Do we want others to know our Christ?
  • Do we long for our loved ones to be saved?
  • Do we dream of being in Heaven with those we have lived with here on earth?

Just another compelling reason to live our lives in accordance with His Word and His precepts.

Our sin robs us of our confidence in witnessing of our Christ! 

May we be obedient to His leading so that we can, in turn, lead others to Him.

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Uncategorized

Cell Phone Clock Issues

Anybody else having trouble with their android cell phone clocks? Mine keeps gaining 11 minutes! That is just too weird!!! I have to power it down, then back on, for it to correct itself. Any ideas on how to fix this problem would be greatly appreciated. 🙂

IsaacPalooza 2011

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Foto Friday, What's Happening

We tend to drag out the birthday celebrations around here…they sort of go from weekend to weekend.  Isaac had a great week!

Bdcake

Homemade red velvet cake from Grammy

Bdcake2

11 bright candles

Bdcake3

You can be VERY sure that I didn't hold this close enough for him to reach it!

Isaac + Fire = {shudder}

😉

Bdcake4

We sang, Isaac tasted…it was all GOOD!

Isaacpalooza

Later in the week, Elmo and Purple Sock Monkey showed up to extend the celebration.

All in all, Ike had a great birthday, I think.

~~~~~~~~~~

On a side note, I was diagnosed with costochondritis this week.  While it has been extremely painful, I am just truly grateful that it wasn't something more serious.  I'm following my doctors recommendations and hope to be feeling better soon.

For those who read my earlier post about Benjamin, thank you for praying.  The MRI showed nothing, and they are thinking it was a cerebral migraine.  They are also going to take the MRI results to an American doctor there in Romania for a second opinion.  The last update I saw on Facebook said that Benjamin was doing fine and feeling much better.

Praise the Lord for the privilege of prayer, amen?  Amen!

Hoping you have a great weekend,

Alesha

 

 

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Uncategorized

Please pray with me for little Benjamin, son of missionaries to Romania. He has been taken to the hospital in Bucharest for slurred speech, violent headache and vomiting. His dad is here in the States, so please pray for Mom while she waits for tests to be done.

Come Celebrate God’s Goodness

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Uncategorized

 

Isaac turns 11 years old today!

  Cartoonike
Isn't that just incredible?*

We are overjoyed and filled to the brim with excitement for his birthday this year.

Maybe, technically, last year's birthdate should have been just as wonderful – hitting those double digits for the first time.  I guess, however, I was still a little bit wary of what the year would bring forth, and I just didn't have the heart to celebrate very much.

This year, though, has shown us such progress.  The seizures have lessened.  Some days we don't even see one seizure!  Other days, we see one or two staring seizures, but that is all.  No grand mals, no rolling seizures that just go on and on, one after the other.  It has been miraculous.

With the seizures abating, we are starting to SEE Isaac again.  He is communicating.  He is interested in life around him.  He is looking at us – right at our faces, seeking our eyes when we talk to him.  That is SO huge, my friends!!!

We are also beginning to see his personality emerge.  Some days, he is grumpy, beligerant, willful and disobedient.  Can you bear with me when I say, "I just love it!"  The boy that we always believed was shrouded by those seizures is still in there, and apparently is a little ticked that he couldn't get out.

So, now, I guess it's "Look out world, here I come!"

Yep – today Isaac turns 11. 

And to that we say…

"Happy Birthday, Isaac!"

and

"Yay, God!!!"

I Samuel 1:27-28a

"For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:  Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD…"

 

*to read the story of how Isaac came to be in our family, you can read here, or click the "All About Isaac" tab above.

 

 

Cousinly Company

by ObtainingMercy, posted in What's Happening

I had a little visitor at my house yesterday, while Doug and Isaac were at therapy.

IMAG0102b

Of course, he did not come by himself.  His mommy, Joy of Case Crossings, brought him over.

This little man, J, is my first cousin, twice removed. 

And yes, I DID have to look that up!!!  Joy is my first cousin, once removed.  Her father and I share grandparents. :)  It's interesting how that all works, I think. 

(I'm just hoping the information I got from Wikipedia is correct!) 

J had a fun time at my house.  Isaac's toys were interesting, the videos and "dbds" (as he calls them) were amazing, and Poppet the bird was exciting! 

The picture above is brought to you courtesy of Elmo – still mesmerizing toddlers after all these years. 🙂

Well, "mesmerizing" might be a bit of an overstatement – the above pose only lasted about 20 seconds before he was off to explore other regions of the house.

I just love this age!  Everything is NEW!  The most common object can bring them utter delight.  They want to know everything right now, too!  It's so exciting!

And I'm really treasuring the way he says my name right now:  "'Esha"!  So sweet…and it won't last very long, either…sigh…

Yep, my cousinly company was super fun!  Can't wait to do it again!

I firmly believe that Family makes the best Friends! 

Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful family you have blessed me with…may I never take them for granted.