Filed under: FaithFULL
Jimmy and I have been working very diligently with Taylor on prayer. Months ago, we were having a hard time getting her to sit still and act respectful during our nightly prayers. We tried several different “techniques” and explanations as to what it means to pray. She’s really made huge progress on praying prayers now that actually make sense, that seem like they are truly coming from her heart. Don’t get me wrong, she has her moments where she prays for things that may seem silly to us. But, more often than not, her prayers are amazing. So simple, yet so powerful. She’s getting it. She identifies opportunities to pray (other than at nighttime), people to pray for, and things to give thanks for. It’s so refreshing to see this little heart understand a Man that took me 30 years to “get”. Prayer answered for me, for sure.
So for the past few nights, she has been saying something during her prayers that has resonated with me and Jimmy. She’s said, every night, something to the effect of “God, I don’t know what to pray for tonight but I know that I love you and I want to be in your heart and in the angels heart and in the hearts of everybody.” She says it with such passion, I wish you could hear it. It’s precious, convincing. So, tonight, Jimmy said that it wouldn’t hurt to give her words to think about, words that say what we think she is trying to say. We feel that you can never be too young to ask Jesus into your heart. And so she did.
Filed under: FaithFULL
It’s about time I did this. I am officially telling all of the demons in my head to take a hike with this post. Until now, I was too scared to photograph my baby bump, or to chronicle it anywhere. I still have the weekly photos of my bump from Poppy. I finally filed them away on my computer so they didn’t pop up every time my photo editor opened. It was just too hard to see. To painful to remember those moments. Even after two years. No matter how healed I feel. It might sound dramatic to some, but it’s not to me.
I’m healing emotionally. (Of course, the renewed hope of my current pregnancy helps a lot.) I’m learning a ton about trusting Him. About forgiving myself for my past, and accepting that He forgives me too. That my infertility is not a punishment for my sins, but only an opportunity to learn who He is through struggles and triumphs. That He knows best. All the time, every time.
Today, I have something amazing to show for His ability to produce miracles. A miracle that came after two years of learning to lose myself and gain my God. So, today, I am showing those demons in my mind who’s King. He is.
He is to thank for this beautiful baby bump. No matter what happens, I trust Him. He has carried me through the most difficult time of my life, and I trust that He will continue to do so.
And, for now, I will celebrate this baby girl growing in my belly. This is 19 weeks of sweet sweet life (and Taylor loving on her fellow miracle):
And, for the record, baby girl is doing back handsprings in my belly as I type this. Pretty sure she’s throwing her hands up and praising her Maker.
Filed under: FaithFULL
I woke up this morning feeling good. Last time (on the day of Poppy’s last ultrasound), it was pouring rain. Dreary. Sad. Although I didn’t admit it, I knew in my gut that something was not good. It was that ultrasound where we found out that we would lose Poppy. We became aware of his sickness when the ultrasound tech’s face went blank. The measurements taken showed serious problems, and we were rushed to the fetal medicine office. We found out that day that Poppy would not survive. We were in shock, we prayed, we cried. Days later, as we were being tested to see what could have caused this fatal complication, Jimmy fainted and had a minor seizure.
It was a hard time for us. We had lost our baby, and, in that moment, I thought I had lost my husband.
That was in March of 2008.
We tried to get pregnant again for nearly two years. Lost countless pregnancies, some that made it fairly far. But none had made it to the 16-20 week mark like Poppy. Until this baby. So, as we approached this appointment, where the detailed ultrasound would be done and the measurements taken, we grew fearful. Scared that we would find the same issues, or something — anything — different, and fatal. I knew I was nervous. My mind had been going to that dark place of Poppy’s loss; my temper short, and my emotions cranked to the max. But I had held it together.
This morning, with the appointment lingering, I drove Taylor to school. The first song that came on the radio was That’s What Faith Can Do by Kutless. The sun was shining brightly through the windshield, Taylor was talking about Heaven, and these lyrics rang in my ears:
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new…
That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
I felt good. I remembered the gloominess of Poppy’s ultrasound day, and thought how different this was. I believed the words of that song. God was reassuring me that nothing is impossible through Him.
And then an hour before the appointment, my emotional wall finally crumbled and the waves of fear I had held inside for two years washed through my heart and out my eyes.
I wiped my face and drove to the doctor’s office to meet Jimmy. The radio personalities were talking to a woman that was telling her life story — a story about how God had transformed her. And then they played this new song by Tenth Avenue North called Healing Begins. Once again, God was reaching out to me. These lyrics resonated in my heart and repeated themselves over and over in my mind until I pulled into the parking lot.
This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark
Jimmy met me in the parking lot and said “did you just hear that song on the radio, Healing Begins? This is it, Hilary, this is where the healing begins.”
We sat in the waiting room and I filled the minutes with endless talking (normal, I know). But, this time, it was just words that would fill the air so that my mind wouldn’t be allowed to wander back to that dark place. Finally I was called back and the ultrasound began.
The baby’s belly popped up on the screen first and we saw the flutter of its heartbeat. The ultrasound tech nodded and smiled as she measured each organ, watched blood flow through the right places, counted all five fingers and toes, and wrestled with the baby to pose accordingly so that we could see if it was a he or she. Our active little nugget finally settled for a mere second, long enough for us to confirm that it is a GIRL. The tech finished up, smiled and sent us along our way to consult with the doctor. As soon as she entered the room, I grilled her. “So, everything looks good, right? NO concerns whatsoever. Not even a tiny little concern? Are you sure?” The doctor smiled and reassured us that our baby girl looks beautiful. I sighed. Jimmy sighed. And we just sat speechless, and smiling.
God was right.
This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark
Taylor cracks me up. Her spunky silliness continues to make me giggle, and offers respite from the stresses of selling our house, the financial fears of our dwindling income, the painful emotions of wanting/trying for another baby, and the quivering from the artic blast that we’re unfortunately experiencing. She helps me to see the sunshine through the storm. And for that light, I thank God. Because I know that He placed this sweet and silly girl in my life to show me His mercy. His grace. His goodness, and His love. I am so grateful for my 3-foot, blonde blessing because, some days, I just don’t know how I’d smile without her.
Two recent examples:
In the car the other day, I asked Taylor to stop acting like a baby (the tantrums and whining were driving me bazerk). Her response was a long-winded, one-way conversation (very typical for this super chatty child). “I don’t want to be a baby because when I am a baby I am soooooooo tiny and when I am tiny someone will step on me and then there will be no more Taylor.”
Such intelligence shining through her developing noggin.
Second, we all know that Taylor is a toddler-by-day. But a super hero by night. Lately, she has been fine-tuning her flying skills. I don’t know if I captured the sheer hilariousness on camera. But the way she quickly propels her body with such ease makes my belly hurt in laughter. And, yes, this stylin’ super hero is wearing a pink tutu over her Tinkerbell PJs.
I love my silly, Super T. The world just wouldn’t be quite as sunny (or safe) without her.
Filed under: FaithFULL
Our child enjoys a variety of fashions.
And utilizes a variety of facial expressions to communicate.
The variety of styles that she pairs together while dressing herself makes me smile. A winter vest with hot pink heels? Only works for a 3-year old.
The variety of head tilts and crooked smile combinations make me giggle. Once she enters her teens, those eye rolls won’t be considered sweet. Only works for a 3-year old.
And, because of her and the many things she does that make me smile, melt, giggle and cry tears of gratitude comes the reason we are undergoing some major changes in our home.
We are selling our home.
Just like Taylor’s fashion and faces, variety is the spice of life. Right? Well, add God to the recipe and you have quite a flavorful, only-gets-better with time, never gets stale, life. The kind of concoction only God can make. Spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time, but all-in-all delicious. Kind of like the everlasting gobstopper that just keeps changing colors and flavors. OK, I’m rambling. You get the point. God uses variety to spice up our life.
I have learned so many things since I was laid off from my job earlier this year. It has become so vividly clear to me what ingredients are important to my life, and what ingredients are not important.
What is important is family. Being home with Taylor over the past few months revealed something to me that I never ever thought I’d see. I am meant to be a stay-at-home Mommy. That’s what I want, that’s what Taylor wants, and I am pretty sure that’s what God wants for me. So in order to make that a reality, we have to make some changes. And in contemplating how we can make this work financially, we’ve realized something huge.
What is not important is money. Three years ago, we lived in our first home. A cute, comfortable, neat home in town. We both worked good jobs, and led a comfortable life financially. Fast forward three years. Jimmy and I both changed jobs to careers promising big dollar signs, resulting in many other changes, including the purchase of a bigger home, bigger cars, and well, lots of stuff.
Hello, God. Nice to meet you. Hilary is Saved. Family is impacted by the loss of pregnancies. Life changes. Perspectives do a 180. Jimmy gets laid off. Hilary gets laid off. Jimmy takes new job. Hilary does what she can to makes ends meet while staying home with Taylor.
And here we are today. Life is much different than it was. On the other hand, it’s quite familiar.
Jimmy sold his “big” car only to purchase the same exact car he had 3 years ago. Jimmy is re-hired by the same exact company he worked for 3 years ago. Now, we are selling our home and have been led to look for a new place in…you guessed it, the same exact area we lived 3 years ago.
It’s as if God is saying, “Hey you. Life wasn’t so bad before, was it? In fact, life was great before money took over your mind. It’s good to have you back.”
The only thing different between now and 3 years ago is that we didn’t know God then. But He knew us. And He was just preparing to add a bit of that aforementioned spice to our lives. I can see the recipe now: add 1 cup money, standby as allergic reaction follows.
For us, a life with money was not tolerated well. A life with money was a life without God. I’m not saying that you can’t be rich and have God in your life. But, for us, having money (or promises of money) gave Satan an open door to our hearts. When we had money, we weren’t on our knees praying that our bills would be paid. We were looking for Him in other areas of our life, but not in everything. Satan was showing us big pretty toys and dreams of luxurious homes with oceanfront views…all the while he was clouding our view of God.
We are realizing that our simple life was a happy life. Without Satan doing his money dance, we are able to lead a life where we fully rely on God, and appreciate everything as a blessing. We look to Him for guidance in everything. We praise Him for everything. Money-related issues and otherwise.
So we are selling our home. Going back from whence we came. And glad that, this time, we have God by our side. (Well, He has always been by our side, but this time, we know that.)
Finally, we will be able to focus on God and our family, and not our wallets…or lack thereof. And I will be blessed to stay home long-term with the gift that no amount of money can buy.
I can tell you that I have never been so excited about our next course. And I can’t thank you enough, Chef God, for this beautiful and tasty life. (You knew all along that, due to my experience, I could handle the spice.)
Filed under: FaithFULL
OK, so the church has posted the video of Sunday’s service online here. It is not the service that I participated in, so you will not see my smiling/sobbing face. BUT, you still need to watch the video. Towards the end, when there is about 15 minutes left, the cardboard stories take place. This is what Jimmy and I participated in during our service.
Ya’ll.
I can not even begin to explain the magnitude of power that I felt on Sunday in that church.
The moments leading up to our public testimony were brutal. A war was being waged. It was SO ridiculously clear that satan was doing everything in his power to break us before we broke him. Taylor was having an extremely hard morning. Tantrums all the way to church left our nerves frazzled. As we walked into the church and saw the hallways fill with people, fear of what others would think of us seeped into our brains. Finally, we headed back stage and waited in line with our fellow brothers and sisters that were there to also share their testimony. Nerves kicked in, making my heart race and my palms sweat. “What if this” and “what if that” and “maybe we shouldn’t” ran through my brain. And then the stagehand nudged Jimmy and I onto stage for our cardboard moment. No turning back now.
This is the darkness that once held us hostage.
Flip.
And, THIS, is what God has done with our lives.
Exit stage.
The war ended as soon as our cardboard flipped. That was it. God’s victory over satan was displayed for thousands of people to see. I felt the battle come to an abrupt halt, and a smile creep over my once frightened frown as we enthusiastically shook our boards for everyone to see.
As we stood at the bottom of the stage and watched the others shut satan down and raise God up, it hit me. All of the emotions that were once silenced by guilt flooded through my heart and out my eyes in crashing waves. I can not even describe the intensity of the cry that came out of my lungs. It was a sob. A relieving, freeing sob. It was over. All of the guilt and embarrassment that I have carried as baggage over the past several years were gone. My heart was healed. I was alive.
A smiling Jimmy looked to me and whispered, “are you OK?”
To which I could finally, honestly respond with a “yes. I am good.”
OK, so I think this is really cool. And, yes, before I get into it, I realize that not everyone looks at situations as I do. I realize that I get funny looks from some people when I talk about the things that are happening in my life and how I interpret these things to be God-driven. I’m OK with that. Well, most of the time. Should I be? Anyway, I digress.
So, my church — my church that I adore — is turning 10 this Sunday. And you know who else is hitting a milestone this Sunday? Yours truly. This achy breaky body is turning 30. I’ve ignored my birthday, pretending that we’ll go from October 24th to October 26th in the blink of an eye. Instead, focusing all of my emotional and physical attention on the fact that my baby is turning 3 just a week later. It’s been a great avoidance technique.
And then a friend of mine gave me a new perspective on my birthday. She said that it’s the beginning of a new decade. A new decade. A new. Start. Huh? I know. It doesn’t make sense unless you are in my head, or have been by my side non-stop over the past 10 years.
A lot of people know “my story” to be one with the loss of a baby at the core. The loss of a baby that started, and defines, my walk with God. Which is not 100% so.
What my story here addresses is the reason behind my blog. For the people that are new to my life in the past two years, that’s all they know — the part where I discovered my faith right when we lost of our first pregnancy. What this version of my story doesn’t address is what led me to that point. When we lost Poppy, why was I positioned to accept God into my heart? Why was it something that I wanted and not something that I fought?
Because I had spent the previous four years searching for relief. Relief from the pain that I held in connection with the life that I led several years before that. No amount of time or saying that I was over it could make that guilt go away. But promises of love and forgiveness from something higher most certainly could. I had faith that He was who He said He was. For whatever unexplainable reason, I just had faith. And that’s why I welcomed Him with open arms when He appeared to me right before Poppy’s death. Finally, something to love me despite my shortcomings, and take away the sting of death.
Although I finally believe that I am forgiven and no longer carry the guilt of my “previous life”, I’ve continued to keep it hidden in darkness over the past few years. A lot of people know this “secret” because they were a part of my life in some capacity during that season. But when that season was over, I packed up the memories like last year’s clothes and hid them under my bed in a large tupperware container, never to be looked at again. But, my birthday. My birthday that pushes me into the next, new decade of my life, is offering me an opportunity to dig out that box and let those issues come to light. To allow God an opportunity to stop my desire to hide the parts of my life that I have seen as devastating and dark for the past several years.
So, I get an email from my church. An email that asks me to be a part of their 10th anniversary sermon. Without spoiling the program for everyone on Sunday, I’ll just say that the church is offering me an opportunity to publicly unveil this past of mine that has been hidden and collecting dust for so long. Woah. What? Unveil my secret to one person is daunting enough — but to 6,000+? Yikers. So, I bounced back and forth — should I simply stay comfortable and talk about our past two years with the baby and losses? Or do I accept this challenge and jump in with both feet? After much conversation with friends, lots of talking with Jimmy, and hours in personal thought, I chose the path of most resistance. Bringing my dark to light.
And since I made the decision to take this opportunity to attack that dark past head-on, I have been moved in so many ways. I am elated beyond words (rare, I know) about Sunday. I’m still ignoring the fact that I will be leaving my 20s behind and entering the wonderful world of backs that crack when doing somersaults, ankles that snap when they are run on too frequently, and knee skin that sags even when flexed. But I am embracing this birthday as an opportunity to heal an area that has been so sensitive to me for nearly 10 years. To accept His invitation and come out of the darkness. To start a new decade as the 100% exposed, skeleton-free Hilary.
So not only do I think it’s extremely cool that my church is entering a new decade the exact same day as me, and the fact that they are offering me a chance to do something that I have desperately needed for so long, I think it’s amazing that God used my run today to, yet again, encourage me to take this extremely frightening step. Once again, on the cool down lap of my run this morning, a song came on that gave me chill bumps. All. Over. My. Body.
I once was fatherless,
a stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep
Your love it beckons deeply,
a call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.
Sin has lost it’s power,
death has lost it’s sting.
From the grave you’ve risen
VICTORIOUSLY!
Into marvelous light I’m running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way
My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I’m free. now I’m free!
Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that i have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light
Lift my hands and spin
See the light within…
I’ll post the video of Sunday’s service early next week when it’s available. And let me just say that I realize, to some, my “secret” is insignificant. Silly to a few, and serious to others. But, sin is sin. Whatever you think of my particular darkness, or if you think of it at all, is not the point. I need it out from under my bed for me. For my relationship with Him. For my healing. And, maybe (hopefully) to help others bring their own darkness out, enjoying the marvelous light for themselves. I cannot wait to take Satan’s power away so that he has nothing left to dangle over my heart. Goodbye, guilt. Hello, forgiveness. Now I’m free. Now. I’m. Free.
“When your faith endures many conflicts and your spirit sinks low, do not condemn yourself. There is a reason for your season of heaviness. Great soldiers are not made without war. Skillful sailors are not trained on the shore. It appears that if you are to become a great believer you will be greatly tested. If you are to be a great helper to others, you must pass through their trials. The uncut diamond has little brilliance, the unthreshed corn feeds no one, and the untried believer is of little use or beauty. There are great benefits to come from your trials and depression.
From all your afflictions His glory shall spring,
And the deeper your sorrows the louder you’ll sing.”
— Charles Spurgeon
Filed under: FaithFULL
I apologize for the length on this. I told you it was unhealthy for me to hold stuff in for too long.
When we decided to take some time off from what had become our recognizably unhealthy “baby project”, the intention was to allow our minds and bodies some time to heal. Multiple miscarriages have both the obvious physical effects on the body, but can cause some immense emotional and spiritual damage as well.
We told ourselves that it was obviously not the right time for us to have another baby. Why that’s the case when we want it so badly is something that we may not fully understand until we stand beside our Maker. Then, as we watch the lessons of our whole life unfold in front of our eyes, we will become aware of the beautiful masterpiece that God created from the many colors of our life’s events.
Hopefully, our time in Heaven is still a good ways away. But, I feel like small pieces of the truth behind the past several months are already being revealed to me. I’m starting to think that we weren’t ready for another baby because we have a lot of work to do on ourselves. God blessed us with Taylor. And, before we are blessed with another miracle (if we will be blessed with one), we have to take some time to focus on our walk. Yes, I have learned an enormous amount about myself and my relationship with God over the past two years, but I know that there is SO much more that I haven’t yet absorbed. And, with a two-year old and the constant focus on our “mission” to get pregnant, everything unrelated to toddlers and pregnancy took the backseat. And, honestly, that’s not fair to the One that blessed us with so much already.
I don’t think that God is making us wait (or not providing us with additional children) because He wants all of the attention all of the time. But, I do think that He deserves a lot more than I’ve given Him. It’s not about only celebrating Him when things are great. Or running to Him in times of tragedy. Yes, He wants both of those things, but He also wants a relationship with us on a daily basis. Just like we want a relationship with our children at all times, not just for suckers or scrapes. We want them to come to us for everything big and small. To know us and to love us no matter the occasion.
My walk with God over the past two years has been an extreme one. Learning about who He is at warp-speed, running to Him when I am sad, and praising Him when I am pleased. Thanking Him for Taylor, while also begging for another one just like her. It’s been about getting through the current storm, then tackling the next mission. Have a house? Check. Have good health? Check. Paying the bills? Check. Have a baby? Check. Have baby number two? “Ummm, God? I’m ready for that baby now please. Oh, and can you make it happen like yesterday? And healthy would be great too. Thanks.”
I’m not saying that my faith has been circumstantial. By no means. But, I am saying that I am still learning how to truly walk. I’m learning how to live in Him. How to worship Him. How to trust Him (and really mean it). It’s a process. And in that process, I’m changing a lot. I’m learning a lot.
I’m becoming quite confident that God orchestrated this place in our life — this fork in our walking path — because He wanted us to have time to stop and make a decision. To choose if we would continue to walk near Him, or with Him.
If we continue to live our life praying that our plan be fulfilled, that’s walking near Him. In that case, when would we ever be satisfied? Because when you live like that, there will ALWAYS be another “project.” Check “x” off the list, thank God, and move on to the next desire. Nothing is enough when you only see your plan. But when you see the beauty in His plan, you realize that He is enough. He is far more than projects x, y and z combined.
Of course, my humanly instincts say that another baby will fill this hole in my heart. But, in reality, it is He that should — and will — fill that void.
So, as we take some time off of this so-called pregnancy project, we are trying to focus as much attention on Him as possible. I have so much to learn. And, I think it’s about time He has me to Himself.
This video was sent to me by my good friend, Witter. It hit home for me, and I hope it does for you too. As I watched, I realized how badly He wants us. How much He does for us every day. How deep His love is for us, yet how we tend to put Him in the backseat as we go about our merry lives. I want to become more aware of His love for us, His availability to us, His protection of us, and His saving grace that is always there even when we are blinded by everyday sin and “projects” of our own. We owe Him our time, our love, and our commitment.
After consulting with my calculator and handy-dandy accordion file of receipts, I have some figures that will likely knock your socks off. I have saved a total of $1,247.08 since I started couponing on June 24th, 2009. I have spent a total of $203.71 in groceries over those TEN weeks. That’s an average expense of $20.37 per week in groceries, as opposed to our average weekly expense of $150.00 in the past. That’s a savings of $130.00 per week! It’s an understatement to say that couponing has paid off significantly for our family.
Now consider a slightly larger family; a family of nine. A family that has endured tremendous tragedy, including a horrible car accident that nearly took the life of the family’s father last year. A family that has survived physical, emotional, and financial turmoil on faith, and faith alone.
He was in a car accident that left him paralyzed. “I could only maybe wiggle my toe very slightly,” said David. He suffered injuries to his neck and spine, and had to have a rod put in his hip. “So many things went through my head. I’m not going to walk again, my kids, my family,” added David. His doctor’s were also doubtful he would walk again. But through hours of intense occupational and physical therapy four days a week for months, he has improved. David said, “Faith. Faith kicks in. My faith in God that kicked in. I’m a true believer and that kicked in. Today I can hold my son that I couldn’t hold when the accident happened.” Now David is walking on a treadmill, lifting weights and eyeing a normal life.” — Star News
Not only has David made miraculous progress in his recovery, but a sweet love story has come of the accident as well.
From the first time they met, David knew he didn’t want to lose sight of Aimee. A total stranger, she helped rescue him from the wreckage of his taxi cab last summer and then talked to him, keeping him awake until an ambulance arrived. The nearly head-on collision on Wrightsville Avenue broke David’s neck and leg, leaving him unable to move, even as his car filled with smoke. Aimee and another woman stopped their car and ordered bystanders to carry David from his cab, across two lanes of traffic to safety. Soon after, David called Aimee an angel who gave him a chance to raise his children. They became friends, and months after the wreck Aimee was there when David’s wife gave birth to the couple’s seventh child. Less than six months after their unlikely meeting, David’s good Samaritan will become family when Aimee marries his younger brother Chris. — Star News
So cool and so beautiful! There is only One that could create such an amazing story of triumph, faith and love.
I was blessed with the opportunity to meet the mother of this family, a connection made by a women from my church that saw a need and a possible way to satisfy that need. I was asked to meet with her in order to share my couponing strategies, something that might make providing for a family of nine just a little bit easier.
Ya’ll, this lady is amazing. I sat there… and interrogated the poor woman! I mean, really. She’s raised SEVEN children. Survived tremendous tragedy only to come out the other side with rock solid faith. I knew that I had a lot I could learn from her. So, I asked her questions about keeping her faith strong during struggle, about parenting, about making time for herself in what has to be a hectic home, even asked advice on how to teach children how to learn particular lessons. She gave me so many ideas. So much inspiration. She just radiated love, strength, and intelligence.
And I shared what I felt like was nothing in comparison to what she had taught me. She already knew a good bit about couponing, but was intrigued by new ideas for organization and additional money-saving tips. Honestly, I don’t feel that I offered her much. Instead, it was me that gained a lifetime of lessons. I look forward to our new friendship, and for what I will learn from this amazing woman of faith.
In the words of my new friend, “Just because your world falls apart doesn’t mean your faith has to. Be encouraged!”
Peanut and Poppy 