Saturday, September 3rd, 2011
Today was such a wonderful day for our precious little Caroline!!!!! We continue to be overwhelmed by the amazing powers and love of our Lord and Father. He is indeed an awesome God and we are completely awestricken by this wonderful journey that He has placed us on. The scriptures for our little miracle baby’s devotion for today were so calming and reaffirming that God is completely guiding this journey. Caroline’s scriptures for today are Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth.” Luke 10:39-42: “She had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered by much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost though not care for my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”, and 1 Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
Today was such a wonderful day for our precious little Caroline!!!!! We continue to be overwhelmed by the amazing powers and love of our Lord and Father. He is indeed an awesome God and we are completely awestricken by this wonderful journey that He has placed us on. The scriptures for our little miracle baby’s devotion for today were so calming and reaffirming that God is completely guiding this journey. Caroline’s scriptures for today are Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth.” Luke 10:39-42: “She had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered by much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost though not care for my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”, and 1 Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
We have so many praises to thank God for. First, we continue to praise all of the incredible staff at the NICU of the Henry Medical Center. Again, we cannot express how thankful we are and feel 100% positive that the Lord planned every single event in each of our lives to lead us to this amazing hospital. Over the past two nights, we have been so blessed to become very close with Teri, who is one of Caroline’s nurses “angels”. She is our sister in Christ and the love and care that she is giving our daughter is truly unbelievable. She is extremely comforting and explains all of the details about Caroline’s care so thoroughly to us. She does an amazing job at patiently answering each and every one of Mary Beth's numerous questions. For those of you who know MB, you know that the word “numerous” is such an understatement. Teri is truly an angel and we will be forever grateful to her for nursing our sweet baby girl back to life.
Another wonderful praise and thank you that we so appreciate is Mary Beth’s best friend, Beth Kusar. MB and Beth have been best friends since they were 12 years old. Beth is the most selfless, caring, sincere, dedicated, and loving friend. Throughout this entire pregnancy, she has been extremely supportive and caring. She and her husband Mike are also blessed with a precious little girl, Maggie, and Beth continuously provides MB with helpful tips on mothering. While MB was in the hospital with preterm labor, Beth made two round trips of 3 hours each to visit her on both Saturday and Sunday. Then, she did the same thing again and took the day off from school on Monday so that she could be present for our sweet Caroline’s birth. Today, Beth drove up here for the fourth time this week and spent the entire day comforting MB, running errands for us, and creating a schedule for MB to follow so that she can get the adequate rest that she needs while adjusting to her wonderful new life as a mother. We will forever be grateful to Beth for serving us when we so desperately need it. We love you so much!
We have so many more praises. Caroline gained 3 ounces and now weighs 2.5 ounces. Teri said that she was very impressed by her weight gain. Another praise is that Caroline’s episodes with sleep apnea are beginning to decrease. We should have the results back from her cultures this afternoon that will let us know if these episodes are due to an infection or simply the result of her being born at 29 weeks.
We had an awesome night tonight with our sweet baby. Daddy took her temperature, changed her diaper, and bathed her while mommy watched and took pictures. Mommy was so amazed at what an unbelievable daddy God has blessed Caroline with. Daddy is so calm and fearless as he cares for our precious daughter. Daddy’s calming and caring nature is just what mommy needs to ease her very intense anxiety.
We have both been overwhelmed by the indescribable love that we have for our precious Caroline. As we said in yesterday’s post, we have never felt the unselfish and truly unconditional love that we have for our precious miracle. We would do anything in the world to keep her alive. Yesterday, on our drive home from the hospital, we talked about how we now finally understand God’s truly unconditional love that He has for us. We are amazed that God would allow his ONLY son to die for us to have eternal life, when we are all so undeserving. This is truly unbelievable. It was not until the birth of our precious Caroline that we now can fully grasp the true meaning of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” One of our favorite songs is Love Song by Third Day. Now, when we sing the lyrics to this song, it has a whole new meaning to us. We encourage you to read the words to this song and then watch the video.
Again, we continue to thank each and every one of you for lifting our sweet Caroline up to our Father in prayer. We feel all of your prayers and we will be forever grateful. We look forward to the awesome day when we can introduce you to the incredible miracle that you all helped to bring into this world.
As we close, we would like to share a reading by Max Lucado called The Choice. Debbie Lotti is a very special sister in Christ who shared this prayer with Mary Beth about a year ago. Debbie is such an amazing woman of God who served at Union Grove's (Mary Beth’s school family) media center paraprofessional for 9 years. She is now spreading Christ’s love by serving at another school in the community. Mary Beth will be forever grateful to Debbie for the amazing influence that she had in her life. Debbie is an unbelievably serving mother to her two daughters and one son. Mary Beth truly knows just what an amazing mother Debbie is, as she taught her eldest daughter, Antonia, in Honors Spanish IV. Both Phillip and Mary Beth were able to see together the Christian impact that Debbie had on both of her daughters, Antonia and Anissa, through forming a relationship with them in the amazing Non-Denominational Christian ministry of Young Life that spreads Christ’s unconditional love to high school students. We were so blessed by our dear friends Jennifer and Tucker Perkerson to be a part of this awesome ministry from 2007-2010. Both Jennifer and Tucker have played a huge role in our walk with Christ and this journey of bringing our precious Caroline into this world.
THE CHOICE
by Max Lucado
He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.
All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.
“You will love me, nature,” God said. “I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”
All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. “It’s called ‘choice.’ The seed of choice.”
Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.
An angel spoke, “But what if he … ”
“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished. “Come, I will show you.”
Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow.
“There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter.”
The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth.
“Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation.”
“Ah, but you’ve only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter.”
A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, “What is it?”
The Creator spoke only one word: “Selfishness.”
The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.
“This is the result of choice?” the angel asked.
“Yes.”
“They will forget you?”
“Yes.”
“They will reject you?”
“Yes.”
“They will never come back?”
“Some will. Most won’t.”
“What will it take to make them listen?”
The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.
With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler of a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it.
He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.
“Will you go down there?” the angel asked.
“I will.”
“Is there no other way?”
“There is not.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn’t it be easier to not give the choice?”
“It would,” the Creator spoke slowly. “But to remove the choice is to remove the love.”
He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.
Men clad in soldiers’ garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.
Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one.
Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn’t leave. “I will stay,” she said softly. “I will stay.”
All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.
“It must be done … ,” he said, and withdrew.
But as he stepped back in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) He wrenched at tomorrow’s agony.
The angel spoke again. “It would be less painful … ”
The Creator interrupted softly. “But it wouldn’t be love.”
They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God’s form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.
Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:
“It looks like … it appears so much like … it is him!”
The angel wasn’t speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside—at the soul.
“It’s eternal!” gasped another.
Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created earth’s mightiest. The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
Now it’s our choice.
________________________________
From In the Eye of the Storm
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1991, 2001)
http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/In_The_Eye_of_the_Storm
by Max Lucado
He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.
All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.
“You will love me, nature,” God said. “I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”
All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. “It’s called ‘choice.’ The seed of choice.”
Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.
An angel spoke, “But what if he … ”
“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished. “Come, I will show you.”
Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow.
“There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter.”
The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth.
“Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation.”
“Ah, but you’ve only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter.”
A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, “What is it?”
The Creator spoke only one word: “Selfishness.”
The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.
“This is the result of choice?” the angel asked.
“Yes.”
“They will forget you?”
“Yes.”
“They will reject you?”
“Yes.”
“They will never come back?”
“Some will. Most won’t.”
“What will it take to make them listen?”
The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.
With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler of a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it.
He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.
“Will you go down there?” the angel asked.
“I will.”
“Is there no other way?”
“There is not.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn’t it be easier to not give the choice?”
“It would,” the Creator spoke slowly. “But to remove the choice is to remove the love.”
He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.
Men clad in soldiers’ garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.
Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one.
Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn’t leave. “I will stay,” she said softly. “I will stay.”
All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.
“It must be done … ,” he said, and withdrew.
But as he stepped back in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) He wrenched at tomorrow’s agony.
The angel spoke again. “It would be less painful … ”
The Creator interrupted softly. “But it wouldn’t be love.”
They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God’s form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.
Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:
“It looks like … it appears so much like … it is him!”
The angel wasn’t speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside—at the soul.
“It’s eternal!” gasped another.
Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created earth’s mightiest. The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
Now it’s our choice.
________________________________
From In the Eye of the Storm
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1991, 2001)
http://www.maxlucado.net/_product_30305/In_The_Eye_of_the_Storm
We love each and every one of you and we thank you so much for embarking on this journey with us.
In Christ’s Love,
The Anderson Family :)
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