Welcome to the family!

What a blessing!!

My husband’s younger brother and his wife had their baby.

A little boy.

This little man is such a blessing to our family.

My husband’s younger sister and her hubby have a little boy as well. He was also born in March.

As I watch my own granddaughter, and all the joy she brings me, I can only imagine the joy my husband’s parents are feeling.

Children are such an incredible blessing.

Yes, they are exhausting at times.

Yes, they can be quite expensive.

But the priceless treasure of children is so far beyond what they cost.

And I really believe my life has been molded and shaped by God through our children.

He has used these sweet people to teach me so much.

And I’m certain He will do the same with this precious little boy for our brother and sister-in-law.

Through this little boy, I am asking God to grow, direct, hone, and bless our brother and sister.

And I’m asking God to do the same thing for him, through his parents and relations.

Because God meant for families to bless, encourage, and love each other.

It isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t live nearby.

But through prayer we can stand before God on behalf of one another.

After all, every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God. James 1:17

This little boy is definitely the perfect gift of God!

Welcome to the family!

He knows every detail…

I was so blessed to get both the baby shower gift and our nephew’s birthday present finished in time!

God truly had every detail of these projects in His hands.

I didn’t realize just how much so, until the phone rang.

Asthma had kept me at home, so I wasn’t able to be there when my sister-in-law opened her gift.

However, she blessed me so much with a phone call after all the work of cleaning up the shower and then getting home and unpacking.

I’m sure she was super tired, but she called me anyway.

She wanted me to know how special the gift was to her.

Her grandmother had always knitted and crocheted things for the family.

She explained that the very same pattern I used on the baby’s sweater was one she remembers her Grandmother using in clothes for her.

It had really touched her heart.

It did mine too.

I only recently learned that specific crochet stitch and I was quite nervous about trying it on a gift.

Yet, I couldn’t get away from the fact that God wanted me to use that specific one.

Of course, He knew it would bless her.

Only God can work through such details.

Only God could have known what would bless my sister-in-law.

I’m so thankful He choose to use me to bless her.

He truly is in everything!

Even the details.

Praise the Lord!

A lesson in perspective

Saturday, I had been putting something in my calendar and had a bit of a shock.

My sister-in-law’s shower is coming up.

“Oh no! Lord, I don’t have anything made for her. What am I going to make in the amount of time I have with my other projects unfinished?”

It’s incredible the gentle way He handles my heart.

Make a sweater,hat, and bag. And don’t worry, you have lots of time.

Because my brain spouts questions and doubting without the slightest hindrance, I responded:

“But Lord, I can’t possibly get all that done. I have these other things I have to do first. To do all that I’d need to stop my other projects.”

It’s alright. I will lead you.

All my concern melted.

“Yes, Lord. I’m sorry for being afraid.”

Later in the day I was busy working on a surprise for our granddaughter, my son-in-law walked in followed by the rest of the family.

Anne quietly removed the gift in progress.

Because I’m always crocheting when not doing anything else, I grabbed out some soft yarn and began working on the sweater.

It’s nearly finished.

It would have been done yesterday, but one piece has been super difficult.

I had to rip it out and restart three times.

The last time was this morning before church.

I couldn’t understand why it was giving me so much trouble.

My prayers turned to inquiry.

“God, why isn’t this working? You told me to make this. What am I doing wrong?”

Little one, you are trying to tackle this like an enemy to be overcome. I gave this to you to enjoy. It’s about the process and the finished result being a blessing. It’s not a challenge to conquer.

I had to apologise.

He’s taught me this lesson before.

There is fun in the doing.

He doesn’t want me to create just as a duty, but as a joy.

If it were only about getting a gift, I could buy something.

It’s so much more.

It’s about praying for the baby who will wear it.

It’s about loving the Creator who created both this baby and me.

It’s about learning more about Jesus as I create.

After all, the care and effort and joy I have in making something pales compared to His in making each of us.

And it’s an opportunity.

Creating something with the abilities God has taught me is a way to praise Him.

And I never want to miss that.

I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to finish it today.

But even if I don’t, I’m going to enjoy the process, not just the finished result.

Because life is so much deeper than the doing, the accomplished.

Life is truly about relationship.

I’m so thankful for my relationship with my Lord Jesus.

How amazing He is!