On my Knees before the Lord for Everything Needed to Raise Our
First Born


 And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.                                                                                                                                            
Isaiah
65:24


All parents can relate to the responsibility of having their
“first gift from God” placed solely in their hands. 
Nothing will bring a woman to her knees in prayer faster than that
weighty yet longed for duty. 
Robert Anthony was born on June 6, 1981.  It was a difficult delivery and Bobby
had severe colic for the first six months of life and croup for the next six
  months.  Sleep for me was not
possible.


We were in the process of building our dream home in the country
with my in-laws as neighbors.  When
Bobby was four months old our small city house sold faster than we had
imagined. We moved to a small
apartment attached to my in-law’s house. 
It was not ideal for a family and Bobby’s croup grew worse. 
We managed for eight months until our new home was completed. 
During that time we made two trips to the emergency room, once when Bobby
rolled off a high bed onto the wood floor and once when my exhaustion
  overwhelmed me.


 Bobby suffered no
ill effects but I was diagnosed with exhaustion and osteochrondritis, a
condition of inflammation of both bone and cartilage of the chest. 
I had held Bobby 24/7 on my chest when his colic was severe with only
small “cat naps” and the irritation mimicked a heart attack. 
The physician gave me pain medication that put me to sleep which was
useless! Prayer and the Grace of
God assured improvement in me. 
Shortly before Bobby’s first birthday we moved into our new
home.


Prayer: Teach me that my first cry for help should be to you,
Lord.


Thought:  When
  situations and people fail miserably our Lord never does! 
Our faith is built up in the one and only “I Am”! 
Does God allow difficult situations so that we learn to turn to Him
first?

Persistence and Tenacity in Serving God

 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.  Ephesians 3:16-17

      Mark and I were married on July 11, 1975 and began discovering significant spiritual details, like both receiving our first bible on September 30, 1962, that indicated our destiny to be life partners.  We honeymooned for six years until our first born changed the dynamics of our family.  We attended and served in the church where we married.  I was impressed with Mark’s faithful attendance and service and followed suit.  We were “doers”.  We did anything asked of us.

      We were saved but we did not have a personal relationship with the Lord.  We had no idea of relationship with Jesus and knew nothing of spiritual gifts or what our gifts were.  We simply served as unto the Lord and enjoyed Christian fellowship.  We avoided “church politics” and arguments among the laity.  We had each other and were very fulfilled knowing the Lord would increase our knowledge of Him at the perfect time in His perfect way.

Prayer: Thank you Lord that there is a time and place to simply serve and wait on You to give us wisdom, maturity and reveal specific gifting.

Thought: If you do not know what your spiritual gifts are as in I Corinthians 12; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; I Peter 4, serve in all capacities until you find that area that you are really good in and satisfies a longing to serve God as effectively as possible.  You may have many gifts.  Don’t limit God’s revelation to you!

Healing of Self-Image

 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.                                                                                                            Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV)

 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee…How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.                                                     Psalm 139:14-18

Mark showed me unconditional love and respect for the first time in my life except for my grandparents.  After high school graduation I went to a state college and Mark went to a local one.  During the next two years I was shown respect and consideration from my peers and teachers that began to heal my wounded self-image.  Maybe, I was not as damaged as I previously thought!  All these people could not be wrong.

             My maternal grandmother passed to Glory during my freshman year and I was devastated but college life went rapidly on.  Mark visited frequently and our telephone conversations got so long his father threatened to make him pay the telephone bill!  The physical distance between us made our time together more precious.

Prayer:  Lord, help us to see ourselves as you see us.

Thought:  Have those closest to you convinced you that you are less than what the Lord thinks of you?  Is their “truth” more valuable than the truth (the Bible)?  Read Ephesians chapter one and the prayer in Ephesians 2:14-21 to begin understanding who you are in Christ! He loves you with an everlasting, unconditional love not because of what you do but because He is God and you are His.