Psalm 100:3-5

³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

As Thanksgiving draws nearer and nearer, I am struck with the beauty of the "plan" God must have had when He allowed Nick's life to end during this holiday season.

Nick was a child of thankfulness.

He said "thank you" for even the smallest things.

He was content.

He knew he was blessed.

He lived a life of thanksgiving.

So, today as I hear football games coming from the family room and living room and as I smell candles burning with the scents of the holiday season, I have to take a minute to say "thank you" to a Father who knew that this time of year symbolizes Nick perfectly and Who chose to allow us to embrace this time of Thanksgiving in Nick's memory in such a powerful way.

Just as Adrienne's sweet little earthly life blossomed in the spring and then, like a flower petal slipping from its flower, ended so quickly and yet with such grace and beauty, Nick's courageous and thanksgiving-filled life blossomed in the spring and then ended in the crisp, football-filled season of thanks.

Overcome with grief and yet oh, so thankful to be the mother of both Adrienne and Nick.

Missing them both so deeply today and anxious to share Eternity with them,

Psalm 139:14-16

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

Thank you, Lord, for seeing my unformed body.

Thank you for seeing the unformed bodies of all mankind,

and for doing something very special while we were still being made.

Your Word says that while we were being "knit together," You were busy ordaining all of our days - before even one of them came to be.

I believe this and I cling to this, because it gives me courage and hope.

When I lean on this passage just as the little girl above leans on a tall and towering tree, I feel your strength.  I feel your protection knowing that nothing in this world can change Your Almighty Ways!

I can rest, Lord, knowing that NO MATTER WHAT I face or my family faces or my friends face, You are there.  You're not surprised, not rattled, not shaken, not confused.

I can hide in Your sheltering wings, because I have never been hidden from Your presence...ever.

Lord, there are so many things in this world that make us want to run and hide.

Thank you for being with us even in those hiding places.

And, Lord, for me right now as the one-year anniversary of temporarily saying "good bye" to Nick approaches,  I find great comfort in knowing that you ordained every single one of Nick's precious days.

You were not surprised when he had to leave us here.

It is almost as if I can hear you whispering to him when he was still deep within me, "You've got thirteen and a half years, Nick.  Live them strong!  Live them for Me!"

And Nick did!

Lord, help me to remember that my days also are numbered and ordained.

I want to live them all for You in a mighty way.

If it is eighty years or if it is just forty-four, help me, Lord, to live them strong and live them for You and You alone!

In Your Son's Precious Name,

Amen

Words can't even begin to express the joy we felt in our hearts as we delivered eight Nick Nooks to area hospitals and doctor's offices and then watched kids begin to enjoy them!

Nick loved to read!

Nick loved to have things to do while waiting to see his many different doctors.

I just know that he is smiling about this ministry to other little kids who are "waiting."

Thank you to everyone who has helped make these nooks a reality!!  

I'm leaving town tomorrow and heading to Columbus, Ohio, to spend the weekend with the wonderful women at the Genoa Baptist Church!

As I pull together my last-minute preparations, my heart keeps drifting to all of you, my friends, who gather here from time to time to spend a few minutes hopefully drawing just a little closer to God.  I think of all of you as a group, and I think of you as individuals:

You who are waiting for packages in Romania.

You who are entering the holidays in a season of deep grief just like I am.

You who are striving to live for Him in the midst of busy schedules.

You who are dealing with HUGE issues in your personal lives (marriage situations, parenting trials, financial concerns, aging parents, health issues, and so much more).

I just want you to know this:

I will pray for you while I am gone.  I will not wait "until Monday."

I will have my phone with me if a crisis worsens.  You do not have to wait "until Monday."

I will be asking God to walk right beside you in every step of your nights and days......all of those moments "until Monday" and then beyond.

I'm thankful that God has made the world a little smaller through the use of technology, but in this "smallness" that we sometimes feel, I pray that we we don't forget the HUGENESS of our Creator, Sustainer, Comforter, Friend, Provider, Father, and Omnipotent King.

Oh, and for my Sunday school sisters...I will be back in town for Sunday!  I just won't be online "until Monday."  :)

Praying and loving you all,

JOHN 10:9-11

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I received a call this morning from a friend of mine who directs our area Relay for Life organization.  She wondered if I could talk tomorrow night at a regional meeting for about 10 minutes on the topic, "Cancer Can't Take the Holidays."

I decided to jot down a few notes here before I left for our Nick Nook Delivery day, and I'm hoping that any of you who have walked the road of cancer either personally or with a family member might take a minute to share something about what the holidays mean to you and any memory you might have an extra-special Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The verse above popped into my head, because I think that any time we get into a situation where we feel "robbed" of something (joy, life, friends, family, a job...), we can trace our pain right back to the "thief."  He comes to steal.

Jesus came so that "we could have life to the full!"

That means that even in my deep grief throughout this holiday season, I have to look to Jesus to fill me back up with all that I am missing.

He promises to do that!

The devil may try to destroy our lives, but he can't!

He hasn't destroyed our family members who have been taken Home..he has only allowed them to enter the Presence of God earlier than us.

He hasn't destroyed our lives as we may be facing chemo or radiation..he has given us the opportunity to share God's love with nurses and doctors...and he's given our churches and communities and friends and family an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

See, God has a way of taking every one of the devil's oh-so-evil schemes and turning it around for His glory.........

So, yes, our holidays are going to be tough.  I'm not going to lie.

But I want to look straight at the devil and say, "You can't take away our holiday."

Don't allow him to take yours away either!

Jesus stands waiting to offer LIFE!  ABUNDANT LIFE!

That's the offer I don't want to miss.  Nick would expect nothing less from me as he cheers me on in the great cloud of witnesses!!!