Update on Jackson and What God has taught us This Week:

The above pictures are taken at the many trips to the doctor’s office. I was trying to take a picture of his rash.

• Wednesday he broke out in a rash all over his body and the doctor said I had to come in so he could examine it. Of course Charlie and I try to be doctors online and we read on WebMd that if your child breaks out in a rash after he has the flu that can mean that he has toxic syndrome and certain organs could be shutting down and he could die (but that it is rare and only 5 percent means this)
• The doctor did do a complete examination on him, but he did not take blood work (they did blood work on Monday) Jackson has not had a fever since Monday night and his ears are not infected and they did a Strep test Monday and it was negative. He was actually laughing at the doctors yesterday, and yesterday afternoon he did not sneeze or cough that much. The doctor said at first it looked like the Strep rash. But he concluded that it was just Jackson's reaction to the flu (but that this type of reaction is rare). He is doing so much better, just real tired.
• Jackson being extremely tired and bored is a bad combination. I did everything I could today to keep him entertained. We watched 2 episodes of the Doodlebops, watched a Cedarmont Kids DVD, and watched Mickey Mouse. We went outside and played…we even played kitchen and he made eggs. But, he normally gets out of the house a couple times a day, and I think he is going stir crazy. He even threw himself on the floor at one point!
• Jackson can say “cracker” now when he wants a cracker…yeah!
• He loves to say “boo” and “moo” and tries to make a barking sound when he sees a dog or even a picture of a dog. Every day he communicates to me more what he wants and he is a great helper. He even helps me unload the dishes, put up his toys, and put his diapers in the trash. I learned after sitting in Rene’s Sunday School class that if you expect a lot out of your 1 year old….they will most of the time rise up to those expectations. They understand a lot more than we think they do. I will have to blog about Rene’s Sunday School class. It was unbelievable, and I am hoping that she will teach a seminar on what she does (she teaches the older 1’s).

Two new great discoveries:

1. Cup/Bottle id tags. Go to http://www.inchbug.com/ Have y’all heard of these tags? This is so great especially when your little ones go off to the nursery. They are $11.95 for 4 of them
2. If you need Diaper Bag ID tags e-mail Katherine and tell her what your diaper bag colors are and she will make you a very cute ID tag, and if you are in SC you will get it the next day. They are $4 each and her e-mail is sinclair_t@bellsouth.net.

What God has been teaching us:

1. I guess I have been wrongly dwelling on some people’s weaknesses in churches in general. Well, God spoke to me yesterday through His Word - unbelievable. I had not been reading the last four days because of Jackson’s high fever…but God knew what I needed to read and when.
2. My reading for yesterday was 1 Corinthians 10-13. In Chapter 12, Paul is explaining how the church is one body but many parts. Paul states, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body…..If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” Do we really as church members believe that? Do we believe that God has arranged the parts of the body just as he wanted them to be? Some people have gifts of teaching, some have the gifts of encouraging, some administration….but it seems to be that I want everyone to have the gift of teaching or encouraging. But, that is not how God wants it to be!
3. It is interesting that right after Paul speaks about how everyone in the church has different gifts and different roles he speaks about how important love is. I had never really tied the two together. I had made the connection of the use of spiritual gifts and using them in love….but not loving every person in the body of Christ. Do you think I am way off?
4. Paul basically says that if he has faith that can move mountains, BUT IF HE HAS NOT LOVED, HE IS NOTHING. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to flames, but have not loved, I gain NOTHING. It seems that Paul is saying if you have all of these spiritual gifts in the church but do not love you have nothing and gain nothing. If you do not love all the different members in the church in ministry you gain nothing. Instead of focusing on what is wrong with the members of the bride of Christ maybe we should focus on loving them….doesn’t that mean we need to love all of them?…even their weaknesses? Are we, as ladies, really loving everyone in the church? Or are we trying to “fix” everyone? Are we “loving” them when we slander them? I think if we try to help people without loving them we gain nothing. Again, God has arranged the parts of the body just as he wanted them to be./

Jackson has the Flu....Sad!

After 3 trips to the doctor this week, we have finally found out what is wrong with Jackson...he has the flu (they actually have a flu test that they did up his nose). This morning he had a high fever again (over 102) and just looked completely dazed. It really scared me....he could not even hold his head up or keep his eyes opened. He is highly contagious so we will all probably have it, so pray that we have enough strength to take care of him. He sometimes looks so sad and sick, and he wants me to hold him constantly and reaches up for my neck many times during the day. My doctor was not comfortable giving us tamiflu because of the side effect of hallucinations is high with children under 2 years old, and it only helps them get over it faster by like 1 day. So pray for Jackson. Children under the age of 2 can have complications with the flu such as getting pneumonia. He did not get his flu shot, but believe me we will all have the flu shot at the beginning of October next year. However, the nurse said that they have had many children come in with the flu who had the flu shot this year (so they are not sure if they predicted the right strain of the virus this year). We are not sure where he got it from but we will be here at the house for the rest of the week trying to get better. So keep us on your prayer list. Thank y'all!

How I am treating the Flu:
1. Like any other virus, with a fever, I am giving him children motrin every 6 hours. Tonight I am going to wake up at 3 am to give him his motrin so he does not have such a high fever in the morning.
2. With saline solution up his nose when his really congested and then we blow the mucus out with a blue suction instrument that they gave us when he was born at the hospital.
3. When he is coughing or real congested we go to the guest bathroom and turn the shower on real hot and let the steam break up the mucus.
4. Let him take some naps in our bed with me propped up on pillows
5. I am feeding him with his bottles and formula at night. He is not eating much of anything and he has already lost 1 pound and the doctor said he could loose another one before the flu is out of his system. Last Wednesday he was 22 pounds and 10 oz, today he was 21 pounds and 7 ozs. Today, he only ate 12 ozs of whole milk, and then 6 ozs of formula and 1/2 cup of grits. I even offered him rainbow sherbet and he wanted no part of it.

If anyone has any more suggestions, I am all ears!

Lots of Thanksgiving Weekend Pictures!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend until today. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Mimi's here in Columbia, and Jake and Jackson had a fun time playing together. Then, my parents came Friday and we went shopping on black Friday (Gigi got Jackson a little broom) and then of course on Saturday we all went and watched the Gamecocks lose again....I cannot even write about it. Remind me never ever to go to a Clemson/Carolina game ever again. I just get way too upset about us losing to Clemson, and it is just a game. Anyway, our good friend Carol (from Sumter) came to stay with us and Jackson ran a little bit of a fever with her last night so we left the game early. Well, this morning Jackson wakes up and he was on fire. His temp. under the arm was 102.4! Ah! Carol is such a great friend and God knew that I needed her this morning. We immediately gave him Motrin and the fever went down to about 100 within 30 minutes. We did go to the doctor and the doctor said his throat was red, and they did a strep test, but it was negative and his ears had a little fluid but no infection. The doctor said he just has a virus combined with teething. It was so scary his temp being that high...he was shaking all over. Pray that we glorify God in our actions even when Jackson gets sick through these winter months!

We Got a New Digital Camera!

They called me Monday and told me it would be $330 to fix my camera and that it would only cost half of that to get a new camera. So Happy early Christmas to me....we got a new camera! They have come a long way just in a few years in the quality of the camera (we got a two year warranty on it). Last night, we had the Family Thanksgiving dinner/program last night at the church that both the children's ministry and the music ministry do. It went really well. We were expecting 300 people and ended up with at least 400 maybe 450. The children did a great job singing and the pictures above are from this event. Happy Thanksgiving!

Video of Jackson Brushing His Teeth!

What God has Been Teaching Us:

Update on Jackson: 14 months old now!

1. My digital camera got messed up at the Florida/USC game on Saturday and I will not have it for another week…that is why there has been no pictures posted on the site .Sad. These pictures above our from October when he was 13 months old (we still had not done a lot of unpacking)
   
2. After talking to my friend whose dad is a dentist, we have started to brush Jackson’s teeth. We got toddlers’ toothpaste which they can swallow and it has no fluoride. He actually has been brushing his own…he is so smart! We do it in the morning and at night.
3. He really understands everything I said and now likes to run away from me at stores. Jackson copied Charlie and shouted, “Jesus!” the other day with a smile.
4. When I ask him to hug me…he does!
5. He tries to feed himself by dipping his spoon into his yogurt…but he misses a lot
6. He loves Southern Gospel music…
7. He is super friendly and says “hey” to everyone and waves. People tell me that he is the happiest little boy they have ever seen. The other day we were at the DMV and he tried to give everyone his Cheerios. I pray and know that God will use his friendliness and love of people to reach many people for Christ.
8. It seems like he always has a virus. The other night he kept on swallowing mucus and he was very upset about it. We went in the bathroom and sat in the steam of the shower to try to break up the mucus. It worked well and then I did something I have never done. I laid hands on him and prayed in Jesus’ name that He would heal him. I prayed in faith and he slept through the night and was healed…no more mucus! Was this wrong for me to lay hands on him? I did it in faith and honestly for God’s glory and so we can go to church and do ministry. Doesn’t the Bible say anything that you ask in Jesus name, by faith, and for His glory you will have? What do ya’ll think about this? Has anyone actually laid hands on their little one in prayer?

What God has been teaching me through Bible Reading and Bible Study this week (Acts 3-19)

1. King Herod died because, “Herod did not give praise to God” (Acts 12:23). So, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. Wow.
2. Listening through Acts in the dramatized NIV version really shows how Paul preached. He did not make some nice little suggestions, he preached. He was yelling for people to repent and be saved.
3. Peter also preached very urgently. He clearly explains that God made “no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). God actually purifies our hearts…I guess I have never really dwelled on that phrase.
4. Lord spoke to Paul in one specific vision where he told Paul to “not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” Acts 18:9. Seems like a lot of Christians today are silent about Jesus - me included
5. In the Bible Study I am doing at the church, the author asked us if we have accomplished our goals for this year. Sometimes our goals can be selfish but one of my goals is every year is to reach/disciple 5-10 women a year. Sad to say I think I can name 5 but not 10. Why is it so hard for stay at home moms to evangelize/reach people? Is it because all we are focused on all day long is just surviving our day? Reading through the Gospels, Jesus says to not even go home and tell your family “goodbye.” Just come and follow Him. It seem like some stay at home moms, me included, are only focused on their family and not focused on reaching women for Jesus. Some weeks all I can think about is Jackson’s sickness or how Jackson is doing. I hate to say this but I think that way of thinking and living is sinful and wrong. This is exactly what Satan and his demons want Christian women to do. I do not know about you but I do not want to live like this and neither should you! I do not want to live a life not doing anything for His kingdom. It is a constant fight. Our goal in ministry and life should be reaching people and making disciples (of our making disciples should include your children!). Does anyone else struggle with this or have any suggestions/actions steps on how to fight this battle?

USC Tragedy

The 7 college students that were killed last Monday in the horrifying fire have been on my heart all week. This tragedy hits close to home

1. Because I graduated from USC and was in a sorority (Kappa Delta) and knew many Tri Delts and SAE’s.
2. Because we just had a fire in our house this past June

Seeing this fire and all the suffering it has brought has brought back some hard memories of our fire. What if Jackson had been in his room when it caught on fire? What if Charlie had not heard the smoke detectors (I certainly did not hear them)? What if God had decided to take Jackson? Would I have been strong enough to have endured the tremendous loss of a child? I am praying for these families daily, and Dr. Estep preached a wonderful message on, “When Bad Things Happen” (go to the website and here the ending song…it was unbelievable).

After having Jackson, I really did ponder on what was the worst event that could ever happen to us. Jackson is ultimately God’s child not mine. God has given Jackson to us as a wonderful gift. The suffering here on earth is only temporal. The worst event that could happen to our family is not that one of our children died, but rather if one of our children died and we knew 100 percent that they had rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Where we spend eternity is FOREVER! The suffering here one earth is only temporal. Am I daily choosing to live for eternity or am I choosing to live for the temporal things. Is unpacking boxes and having a perfectly clean and organized house more important to me right now than holding my baby and reading to Him God’s Word? I think women especially get so unhappy because they put all their thoughts and energy in temporal things such as baking the perfect meal….is baking the perfect meal really investing in eternity? We were not created to live for the temporal things of this world!

Finally, today in my daily reading of Scripture, I was reading John 9 and 10. In Chapter 9 Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus if this man or his parent had sinned. Jesus clearly states, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Sometimes I believe bad things happen so that the work of God might be displayed in that person’s life. We were not created to worship ourselves, but our Creator. If an event, however hard it might be, helps us grow closely in our relationship with God, as well as to die to ourselves, and depend on God…..will it not then be totally worth all the pain?

Video of Jackson saying "Gamecocks!"

Just in the last week Jackson has really tried to copy whatever I say. He really understands so much more just in the last week. Yesterday, I said, "Lets go get Millie Boo a treat!" He went to the tall table, grabbed the treat bag, and then he tried to get it open. I ended up giving him the treat, and he gave it to Millie Boo! It is amazing how quickly they change and grow up. Enjoy the video!


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Video from the Fall Festival 2007

Fall Festival, First Baptist Columbia 2007!

Yesterday was the Fall Festival...the biggest outreach event FBC's children's ministry has all year! It was a great success, and Jackson had the best time. He obviously was a cow (this was Jake's fist Halloween outfit) and Charlie was a cowboy, and of course I was a cowgirl. Jackson looked so cute and everyone thought he was the Chick-Fil-A cow. It turned out to be chilly and I cannot believe Jackson kept that hood on the entire time! He had to keep the hood on for us to stay because Thursday he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. This is he 2nd major ear infection but he only was real upset on Thursday, and he slept through the night the entire week. We got up black out curtains up in his room and now he sleeps till 8 am! I would strongly recommend black out curtains for anyone who wants their child to take good naps...they have been such a blessing! I have video of Jackson dancing at the Fall Festival that I hope to post soon!

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, ^[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Well, I am trying to memorize this Psalm and with all this unpacking, and I am having a hard time. Any advice on memorizing, I am all ears. I have the Bible on cd so I am listening to that as well. I want Jackson to hide God's Word in his heart as soon as he is able and I think this is going to be our first project. Last Thursday when Jackson was screaming for an hour straight(he ended up having a double ear infection), I started quoting this Psalm....what a blessing it was to have these words to turn to!

Update on the Wallace’s Big Move!

Ok, so it is crazy to move into a new house! A new house does not have a hirby kirby, blinds, etc. Last week we did not have A/C for 2 nights. Normally that would be fine, but for some reason it was like 90 here in Columbia. This week I feel like I can deal with anything because we have A/C. Whenever I have a hard week, I am just so much for thankful for things! Last week also was difficult because it is hard to keep a safe environment for a toddler with 100 boxes and random pictures everywhere. But this week is going great and I am loving getting organized and having a great new house (with this beautiful fence). Pray that I have time to unpack boxes this week. I think we had like 100 boxes and we have only gotten to like 30 of them. This week is crazy for Charlie because the Fall Festival is Sunday and I think there is going to be like 2,000 people there. Jackson is going to be a cow (Jake’s first Halloween outfit) and Charlie and I are going to be matching cowboy and cowgirl outfits that we got at Halloween Express store. We went to a costume Birthday party and that is the cow pants he is going to where for the Fall Festival in the pictures above.

Jackson is a lot happier right now since he is used to whole milk and all this food. He loves to dance (I have to get some video of that), he is growing up so fast! He eats scrambled eggs, cheerios, and a slice of raisin bread (with butter) for breakfast and 6 ozs of milk with some juice…yeah he is drinking out of his cup! For lunch he has squash baby food (stage 3) Yoplait yogurt, some goldfish (juice), and 4 ozs of milk. For snack he has 6 ozs of milk, vanilla pudding, and some crackers. For dinner he usually has either some hamburger or frozen breaded chicken breast or a grill cheese (juice), and 4 ozs of whole milk. Finally right before bed he has a 6 oz bottle of formula. He only has about 4 or 6 ozs of juice a day. Food has been a little hard transition so I thought I would share what worked for Jackson. My goal is by 15 months (December) to have him off formula completely and off bottles…he has had no normalcy since June (the fire) and is very attached to his bottles. It is a slow process with Jackson, he just now is starting to really like his cup. Step 1 for me is to get that last formula bottle gone. Step 2 is for him to drink his milk cold from a cup (just changing 1 feeding to strictly a cup and keeping it that way for 3 days). Step 3 is for him to eat more food in general! IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO GET a little toddler to eat more veggies (especially green ones) I am all ears! Jackson is very happy right now but yesterday he was put in the pack in play 5 different times for not listening to me after I said no repeatedly. So that is how Jackson is doing (loving his zebra toy and his little people truck toy).

Today in my devotion I read Luke 6-7 and some of Jesus’ words amaze me more ever time I read them.

Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

Doesn’t Jesus say that we are blessed if we are hungry and weeping? If this is the case why are we women always complaining and stressing out about things that will not matter in eternity. Why do we always complain about things to each other and never talk about things that matter in eternity such what we are learning in our quiet times.

There is so much more I could comment on and post on about these chapters, but I am not going to here (I think this post is long enough) I just wish I could hide God’s word in my heart more, and be completely focused not on myself, but on eternal things!

We Are Home Owners!

Here are pictures of our house that we closed on yesterday in West Columbia (15 minutes away from FBC). This is the first house we have owned and we love it. It is new and has everything that we wanted. The fence will be complete this Tuesday so I will hopefully have a picture of the backyard by the end of the week. We are moving in this Monday October 15th and so we will not have internet for a couple days. God has really blessed us, and our new neighbor is a girl I grew up with at First Baptist Spartanburg.

Fun Times!

Caroline and Jackson are so cute together! Wow, I cannot believe we have kids...it just seems like yesterday me and Katherine were in high school.

(2) Of course he has to play with her hair.

(3) Here is Jackson and Caroline (Katherine Kinard's little girl). It was so good to see them! She is having a little boy due the end of January. He had to wear his Carolina jersey that day because it was the Carolina Kentucky game.

(4) He is a big hugger.

(5) Here's Jackson and Sophie (Meg's daughter) at the park. Is he really playing with her hair?

(6) This is Jackson walking with his new stride rite shoes! Every time I put shoes on Jackson he cried. So we went to Stide-rite (the only certified shoe fitters for children) and we found out that Jackson has an extra wide foot. No wonder he was crying! He is walking really well in his shoes now ,and I would strongly recommend going to Stride-rite for your baby's first pair of shoes (they fit perfectly)! But first let them learn how to walk real well barefoot or with sock (this way the arches on their feet can form well). He also has 6 teeth now. 4 up top and 2 in the botttom .

(7) Here we are on a hay ride with First Baptist Columbia's children's ministry

(8) Here's Jake and Jackson are with their Mimi on her birthday!

Before The Throne

I am really enjoying this hymn and the version Shane Barnard does on their new cd.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great high Priest who's name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me

My name is graven on His hand
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within
upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin

Because a sinless Savior died
my sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah
Praise the One Risen Son of God
Behold Him there, the risen Lamb

My perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of Glory and of grace

One in Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God

How to Have a Devotion with a 1 Year Old

This has been on my mind a lot recently, so I thought I would share.

1. Jackson loves music, and he especially loves it when children are singing the music. I recommend the Cedarmont Kids cds. They are only $3.99 and kids sing. We just got the cd entitled “Gospel Praise Songs.”and “Bible Songs.” I actually enjoy them and I play them in the car and at home throughout the day

2. Get them a Baby’s Bible. Make it the most important book they have, and get all excited when he reads it. You can even make it a fun game and hide the Bible and try real hard to find it (advice I got from a sheet First Baptist Columbia gave me when he went to nursery there). I got Jackson a Bible entitled Baby’s First Bible (Standard is the company) by Colin and Moira MacLean. This Bible has a handle on it and he likes it. Make it a habit now of reading the Bible to them daily. I try to read him his Bible daily. Charlie has not seen Jackson in 10 days, but will see him Friday and Charlie cannot wait to read him his Bible.

3. Pray with them. The only time I can do this with Jackson is right before he goes to bed, he is real tired here. I read him a night night book (I bought Good Night Boz but I think this book is too old for him) and then we say a quick prayer.

If anyone else has suggestions I would love to hear them!

I know schedules and eating seem like the most important thing in the world now, but in eternity most of that will not make a difference. I would have loved some recommendations before spending hours at the Christian book store, so I thought I would share what has worked for us.

Ps— Lots of moms have asked me which cup works best on Jackson, believe me I have tried them all! The best cup for Jackson is the Playtex-spill proff cup (The First Sipster 7 ozs). I have to fill juice to the top and he actually drinks out of it! Pear juice helps him go to the bathroom (he drinks only like 2 ozs a day). I wish I had started him on this cup at 9 months along with many real food (although my doctor says that they only need 1 tablespoon of "real" food per serving at this age).

Video of Jackson Walking/Trying to Play with Millie Boo

Video of Jackson Laughing/August 2007

When Faith Grows Weary

I have to admit, during all this change in my life right now, my relationship with the Lord has suffered. I have not been reading His beautiful word at all recently. My heart has been on temporal things of this world that are only fading away. Buying the house, being semi homeless, taking care of Jackson is all I have been doing. But, there is no excuse. A wise goldy women in seminary once told me and I will never forget it, YOU HAVE TIME FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO HAVE TIME FOR. Isn’t that the truth? If I really wanted to exercise, I would find time. If my heart was really longing after my Redeemer, I would have found time to spend with Him.

Anyway, today in my daily reading (found here http://www.studythebible.com/daily.htm) I was on track to read the entire book of Malachi (it is only 4 chapters and the Last book of the Old Testament). The first words I read out of the student Bible is “When Faith Grows Weary.” Wow, after all we have been through this year I guess this phrase describes it best. I am just tired of lots of things. Malachi spoke to people who were just going through the motions....God spoke to me today through His Word. However, I do not think that the Bible is all about me. I know 100 percent it is about Jesus Christ and everything points to Him.

Malachi
Some key points:
1. The people of Jerusalem had grown lukewarm....let us fight not to be lukewarm about knowing Christ and making Him know!
2. The second verse the Lord says “I have loved you.” He loves everyone so much. He loves me like a daughter, I am his precious daughter who he wants to carry and help...ladies each of you are his daughter and he died for you. All you have to do is confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, believe that he died, was buried, and rose again, and finally turn from your sins----give your heart to Him (everyone is giving their heart to someone or something)
3. God’s name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun (Ch 1 vs. 10). Am I focusing on making His name great or my name great?
4. In Chapter 2 God is really concerned with the priests setting their hearts to honor His name. Isn’t that the key? Setting our hearts, giving our hearts to the one and only true God. Also, here is where God says that he hates divorce. I knew that but I always forget that He says “Has not the Lord made them one?”
5. Overall, throughout this whole book is a voice of a father pleading with his children....God’s voice dominates Malachi (student Bible study notes)

Update on Andrew--It has been a While

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 12:32 PM, EDT
As I read over the guestbook entries today, I was so touched to see how much support I have through your prayers. My life, it seems, is a testimony to how God never leaves us. Ever.
There was a point early on in my recovery that I had to deal with the physical and emotional pain of losing my legs. This is normal. What was not normal was that I was never once angry with God for doing this. I know myself, and believe me, I should have been very angry. Why me, right? Well God kept me under his wing of protection and guarded me against all sorts of negative thoughts. I continue to be amazed at how much I was aware that God was with me throughout this entire ordeal.
It might seem strange to some, but whenever I was especially hurting, I would picture Jesus standing behind my wheelchair with his hands on my shoulders. I told myself that He has never, and will never, leave me to handle this on my own. It was those moments when I was hurting the most, when I was trying to sort out my problems, that I drew closest to God and sought His grace.
I cannot describe to all of you how much all of your prayers have meant to me. This was also another way that I stayed so positive. Oftentimes I would think about all of the people that were praying for me. I can't even imagine it! To think that so many people pray for me that might not even know me, there's no way I'm going to let you down. Knowing that I was covered in prayer gave me so much energy to work hard in recovery from surgery and in therapy.
The 27th of October is coming up soon. I'm so excited about coming home to Spartanburg. I think the first thing I'll do is go to one of my favorite restaurants and drink about a gallon of sweet tea. Did you know that there's absolutely no decent sweet tea in the city of Washington? My time is up for writing an entry in my journal. I stay pretty busy with therapy and other engagements. Thank you all again for all of your prayers and support.

Andrew

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007 08:25 PM, EDT
Hello all! Andrew is continuing to do great! I wanted to clarify on my latest post from earlier this month. The city of Spartanburg is hosting a 'Homecoming' event for Andrew--mainly so he has the opportunity to see everyone who's been praying for him and for everyone else to put a face to the person they've been praying for for so long. Any and everyone is invited (Sat. Oct. 27th). He will be returning to Walter Reed the next week though to continue with his physical therapy. With his desire to work on his walking, it will be a while before he's at a point where he can discontinue his therapy. So, he's not officially coming home for good, though he has come so very far this year. This will be a great celebration of what God has done in his life this past year. I have learned more about the power of prayer this year than at any other point in my life. Thank you for loving him in this way!
~Katherine

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2007 10:10 PM, EDT
Put Saturday October 27th on your calendars. Andrew will be officially coming home that day! We're all very excited. I'm not sure now on details (time and location etc to follow). He's looking forward to speaking and thanking everyone personally for their love and support. This homecoming will be just two days shy of the year anniversary of his accident. I honestly can't believe how far we've come. God is so good!
~Katherine

This was on the front of the caringbridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/
“I want people to hear his story. The more people he can touch, the bigger impact he can have.”
—Katherine, Andrew’s sister

Lt. Andrew Kinard
Fighting for freedom

Second Lt. Andrew Kinard of the US Marine Corps knows what it means to hold onto his freedom.

Since sustaining massive injuries in a roadside bombing in Iraq in late October 2006, Andrew’s freedom of mobility has changed. But his freedom and passion to live hasn’t.

Andrew, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, lost both legs in the blast and has experienced complications in virtually every area of his body. Nearly 50 surgeries in the four months following the bombing only began to restore Andrew’s normal body functions.

Thousands of people from around the world have followed Andrew’s story through his CaringBridge website. “CaringBridge has been a huge blessing,” says his older sister, Katherine. Through the website, friends and loved ones can keep up with Andrew’s progress.
Prayers that heal

Katherine also uses the site to share Andrew’s prayer requests with his community of supporters.

Hundreds have posted guestbook entries of encouragement and promises of prayer, including Senator John McCain. Katherine believes that Andrew’s healing is bolstered by the awareness that so many people are following and praying for his recovery.

Holding tightly to his faith, Andrew optimistically looks to the future. He says, “I’m alive. I have my arms, my brain. What’s next?” He plans to go to law school after he’s recovered.

Andrew, Katherine and the whole family have a sense of peace about Andrew’s circumstances. They believe this is God’s plan for Andrew and that God will use Andrew to change and inspire others.