Elijah:(Hebrew), The Lord is My God

      As  a child I can remember thinking how cool it was to look back at pictures and souvenirs from times past whether they were my own experiences or of someone else. In my mind questions like, 'what was I thinking when I saw this?' or 'how did we get to do that?' would come up while searching through the treasures of the past. Now, having my own family to make memories with and keep memories for I so enjoy times like Birthdays and have made it a tradition to look at baby pictures of that child the day before their birthday. Elijah will turn 3 years old on Saturday, October 1st. We will have a Lightening McQueen Birthday with Flo's V-8 Cafe, Luigi's Tires, and Sally's Cozy Cone motel, but most of all we will be making memories, taking pictures, and reminiscing on times past. So, here's a few thoughts about my almost 3 year old.
     Elijah was not a surprise to our family in the least bit. From the time Noah was about 6 months old I knew that I wanted to have another child, and that I wanted them to be close in age. I have nieces that are about 19 months apart and saw how well they got along and played well together so, naturally I thought it was a great idea. I found out I was pregnant February 2, 2008. Noah's first birthday was February 25th so they would be about 19 months apart! I had just moved jobs as we had just moved from Mountain Home to Casscoe so that Cody could go to Seminary (we thought it would be easier).  I didn't have very much morning sickness and things were going great. We wanted to find out in May if we were having a girl/boy, and we didn't find out until June because he was a little squirmy! The funny thing about Elijah is that he was the most wiggly child in my tummy out of the 3 kids. Noah was about "normal" i guess. Ellie Kate was very quiet (not a lot of movement). With Elijah I worked in the Prairie Couty DHS office and I ate good! I ordered chicken strips, honey mustard, baked potato for lunch nearly everyday from the Pizza Parlor.
     My pregnancy was going pretty good. I hated being on call and being pregnant. Leaving the house at 2:30 in the morning to find placement for foster kids when you are 7 months pregnant is NOT fun! But, he and I did it all together. We went to court (at least every month, sometimes more) for work, we went to VBS together at New Salem (Outrigger Island), we played the piano together. Then, in August Cody went in view of a call to Bethel in Morrilton. In my 8th Month of pregnancy we moved 2 hours away from family and my favorite job I'd ever had! One awesome thing was that the hospital was only 40 minutes instead of an hour and a half! In September only 3 days of being in Morrilton I started having contractions. It was still too soon for Elijah to be born (36 weeks) so Dr. Selby who had been my OB-GYN since I was 17 ( and I trusted alot) put me on Brethine to stop the contractions and I had to take the next month off work for bed rest. I had FMLA time for work which was great but it would mean that I would only get to spend 2 months after Eli was born at home with him instead of 3! I was heartbroken, but relieved all at the same time. It would save me from having to drive an hour and a half to DeValls Bluff until my transfer happened for work, but I wanted 3 full months with my new little baby!
   September passed quickly with Mid South Youth Conference, Fireproof, and other activities through the Youth Group at Bethel. Then, when Bethel was in Revival with Bro. Terry Simmons as evangelist I started having worse contractions and I was off my brethine for good by this time. So, I called my Dr. who said to lie down, take 2 tylenol and drink a large glass of water because sometimes contractions can be due to being slightly dehydrated. So, I did all of those things and they didn't really help. My mom and Daddy had come for Revival that night. I couldn't go and my mom stayed home with me. She helped me pack my hospital bag, Noah's bag, and get stuff ready just in case. Well, they went home and we figured I still wouldn't have him until the surgery date (like the 7th?). So, I just tried to go to sleep. Well, I couldn't, so i got up and got in the internet to get my mind off of things, and it just got worse and worse. Finally, I woke Cody up and said, we have to go to the hospital! He groggily got up, got ready and we got Noah ready, bless his little heart. I grabbed a blanket from the house and he kept covering his face in the car on the way there because I was yelling!! We got to St. Vincent's and had the C-Section within 1 hour of getting there! It was quick, and easy! In fact, Cody's mom and dad didn't get there from Jonesboro until about an hour and a half after he was born! I remember right after the surgery when I got to really hold him I thought it was the best day of my life up until that point. I had my little toddler, my wonderful husband, and now my New beautiful baby Eli. I had never been happier.
   The last 3 years have been an adventure with Eli. We've seen him fall, laugh, walk, cry, smile,roll over, flip over, scoot, crawl, and everything in between. We've seen him go to class for the first time in Discovery, Sunday School, and Children's Church, VBS! We've fallen in Love with Elijah Garrett Simpson, and can't imagine a day without his adorable smile and personality. When I named my Elijah, I wanted him to be reminded of the prophet Elijah who was such a Godly man! He prayed for a drought, God gave it. He prayed for rain, God granted it. He prayed fire down on the Baals, and God provided! I desire that my Elijah would Pray and God would grant him the things not because he's some great person, but because in his inward self he truly desires to seek and honor Christ no matter the cost. Garrett is my Elijah's middle name. It is a family name to remind him of the importance that family is to have in one's life, and Simpson is the last name to remind him that although we don't know who Cody's real parents are that we are blessed to have grandparents on both sides that  love and care for our family. It also reminds us that God has and will "adopt" us all into his family if we will accept. Lord, please help my Eli to grow physically, and spiritually. Most of all I pray that one day he will accept you as his personal Savior. I pray not only that he'll accept you as his Savior, but he will LIVE out loud for you, Just as Elijah did in the Old Testament. Thank You God, for the 3 years of life you have blessed us with in Elijah.
Your Girl,
Jamie

New Beginnings

      This week has began our first week of "real homeschool". We got our books in last week and we have been so excited! It has been a blast! I have been so anxious to get started, and it was tough not to started before Monday, but I held off! Monday was a trial day. We started at 9:00 (as suggested), we did our pledges, put the correct date on the calendar, and began our lessons. For the past month I have been very nervous about starting homeschool. I have questioned my ability to stick with it for however many years (until they all graduate), I have questioned my ability to stay at home ALL DAY long with 3 kids by myself, I have questioned Finances whether or not we can afford to homeschool, and I have questioned the room in our house whether or not there is enough room. After all of this questioning, I started on Monday not knowing if I would have peace about it all, and by Monday evening, I had the Peace I had been wanting for the past month. When we finished our lessons on Monday, I was very tired and a little cranky (trying to control all 3 kids and get them to learn at the same time is somewhat challenging). As the night went on, and I began to reflect on the day we had together, I realized that this is what God gave me to do in my life. I have been saying this for about a year now, but it wasn't until I actually started doing it that I realized how much it is a part of being a mommy! God gave me MY children to watch over, to teach, to encourage spiritually, to love, to hold, and to push to learn more! It is so rewarding. I feel as though I am finally doing what God made me to do! All of my insecure feelings were replaced with confidence from God alone! I love in Titus when God's word says that the women should be makers of their home, and in some versions it says "managers" of their home. I feel like I am managing my home, and my children!
     Every night when my kids and my husband go to bed, I get up and go to our "classroom" to work on the next days lesson, then I cut out, color, and get everything ready. It is tiring, but the best part is when I unlock the door the next morning, and Noah sees all that hard work (the posters, the crafts,etc) and he says "oh, mommy I love this!" or "o Mommy, look at this!" It truly makes all of that work worth it. I love seeing that beautiful smile on his face when his Squirrel gets an acorn when he has good behavior! I am exhausted because I have 2 sick babies, but overall, it has been a great week! Excited to see what God has in store.

Jamie

Mourning Comfort

      We have recently had a man in our church that has brain tumor. He went to the ER one day and has not gone home since.  As soon as we found out that he would be moving hospitals, I began looking up scripture used in comforting those that mourn.  One of the first verses I came to was 2 Corinthians1:3-4, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." When I read it I had to read it again! It's one of those verses that you know you've probably read before, but NOW it comes alive to you! Here are some thoughts about comfort. The greek word in these verses is parakaleo which means to call to ones side, to speak to, refreshment, supplication, instruction, and exhortation. The same word that is used here is also used in Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," where Jesus is teaching the Disciples and the multitudes what we know as the "Beatitudes". This same greek word is in Luke 2:25 where an old man, named Simeon came to see the Messiah who was in the flesh of a baby. It says," And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon ; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel ; and the Holy Spirit was upon him." This man was righteous and devout he had been a Jew for a long time! He knew that there was a coming Messiah and that Jesus was him. Verse 25 calls Jesus the 'consolation' of Israel. O, What a joy it must have been for Simeon to have seen the Messiah!
     In going back to 2 Corinithians and the Greek Word Parakaleo which is our word that means Comfort we have a job to do for those who need comfort. There have been times in my life that I have needed comfort and God has swiftly provided someone to come along, maybe even a child and encourage/exhort me that I may continue in the work that I was doing! I believe that through life we can find 3 different types of comfort: instructional comfort, personal comfort, and God's comfort.
       One of the definitions of the word Parakaleo was instruction. There will be times in your life where you will encounter someone that needs comfort that you have NO type of experience in. You might have seen someone go through it, but you have never, personally been through it. This type of comfort is very important because in giving comfort, words of advice you can teach what you know from the Bible as Truth so that they will have that foundation to come back to. For example, let's say that you have a friend who is considering a divorce, but you have never personally been in this situation.  As a friend, it is your job to encourage your friend to do as the Bbile says, and if she/he doesn't know then it is your job to give Instructional comfort to them so that they might make a Godly decision. Since comfort means to instruct, you are Biblically fulfilling God's will in that situation.
      Next, we have Personal comfort, this comes from personal experience. When someone you know is going through a similiar situation and you can reach out your hand and say, 'I've been there' , that often means so much to that person. We have church members who have been in the similar situation as the family I mentioned is going through with this brain cancer. It wasn't the same kind of cancer, but they have BEEN there, and they made it through with the Lord's help. This type of comfort is just beautiful in my eyes, and I believe in the Lord's eyes because he says that there is no temptation that we will go through that he has not already been through! Imagine yourself in an AA, NA meeting. You have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Some of the best testimonies for you to hear are those who have been there, and come out! Take this one seriously. If you see someone in a similiar situation don't just turn away from them when you have the key to help unlock the door of understanding. It might be something small such as dealing with 3 kids under 3; it might be something as big as losing a spouse. Whatever it is, take the time to reach out and care.
    Lastly, we have Godly comfort. This is of couse the best kind you can get! The next verse of 2 Corinthians 1, where we started is this;  "For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ." The pain and agony Jesus Christ suffered on the cross is unimaginable to me! I cannot imagine being so alone, and my Father having to turn his face. Jesus saw a great purpose behind the pain. He saw a person- you, and me behind all the shame! No matter what we are going through our pain and suffering can never compare to Jesus' on the cross. Just like Jesus we can look through the pain, the shame, and see the GAIN at the end of it all. In verse 5, it says that our comfort is abundant in Christ! Not that our pain is abundant in Christ, not that our embarassment is abundant  in Christ, but our COMFORT is abundant. It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20, which says," Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to HIM be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"

Have a Blessed Day!
Jamie