Roots that go Deep

The use of juxtaposition in scripture is actually quite common. Here is another example in Jeremiah 17. I've always found this imagery to be very striking as well. I've drawn it as an underground river, to represent the biblical concept of pressing in, seeking, digging deep, etc. The shrub represents a person who neglects to seek the Lord, fear the Lord, and cultivate a close relationship with the Him. The tree represents the person who has chosen to seek the Lord, fear the Lord, and cultivate a close relationship with Him. I am thankful that I chose to do these things since my youth. I am thankful that my roots pressed deep through bedrock to the streams that never run dry. The foundation that has kept me going through flame and loss is not chance, luck, or spontaneous willpower. No. The strength of my faith comes from the last two decades of pressing my roots deep. Seeking the Lord, delighting in Him, choosing humility and diligence and all the little decisions to cultivate the type of character I wanted to become. It's an ongoing process. Each of us are responsible to cultivate our space of co-laboring with the Lord, both in good times and in bad times. I feel like I could point to a 3-year window in which the bulk of my foundation was established, and yet it remains an ongoing process. We are all called to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling", not because we're 'scared', but because we should view with awe the magnificent responsibility entrusted to us.

That's all for today. Blessings.

 

Baby Announcement

Uriel went directly from mine and Jacob's embrace into the arms of Jesus. Violet and River went directly from my womb into the arms of Jesus. Quinn, Autarkeia, and Sparrow went directly from the womb of my friend into the arms of Jesus. None of them are forgotten now, nor will they ever be. I pause in my typing for a moment of silence to honor their memory before I go on to share news of their two little siblings.

Here are pictures of their two little siblings, nicknamed Ocean and Honua. Honua remains in the freezer at this time, awaiting his or her chance to thaw and move forward. Ocean, on the other hand,  has entered that season of life. 

I am happy to announce that we performed an embryo transfer to our new surrogate, and our baby settled in and latched on and as I type is gestating in a nice warm womb.

Little Embryo Ocean has grown arms and legs and everything! Starting from a microscopic bundle of life, our sweet child is a now a happy healthy fetus, having moved forward and left behind the embryonic season of life!

Please join us in prayer for a continuing healthy pregnancy, a smooth birth for Ocean and our sweet surrogate, and successful lactation for myself.

Airport Memories

I will always have my memories of sweet little Uri. One activity he and I tackled together quite a few times was navigating airports and flight to visit friends and family out-of-state. Sometimes we would all go as a family, but quite a few times Uri and I went on our own. It was easier with Jacob, but Uri and I were able to manage on our own as well when Jacob needed to stay home and work. I remember most clearly the trip we took to CA to help with hospice care for my Nana as she was nearing the end of her life, and then the trip we took to CO to visit some friends a few weeks before Uri passed away. We had a long layover and ended up eating at a restaurant and playing with the ice in the water cup for an hour or two. Well, I suppose it wasn't a long layover, but it felt like a significant amount of time to fill with a little guy. But he was a champ. He laughed and smiled and played during the layover. He snuggled and nursed and napped during the flight. My son was such a good travel buddy. Now I must travel through life without him, but at journey's end when I cross over to Heaven, I will pick him up in my arms and never put him down again.

Aistheterion

 G145 is one of my favorite Greek words. Aistheterion... we all have an aistheterion. An "organ of perception". It's like eyes or ears or a nose, except it isn't a physical organ. It's a spiritual organ. Sometimes people talk about having a "sixth sense" or they talk about "intuition" or such. These things refer to the aistheterion. And, as we are told here in Hebrews chapter 5, when we exercise our aistheterion, it matures and we grow in the ability of discernment. At our Bible Study, we often do a "Spiritual Exercise" where everyone is given a pad of paper and the name of a person they've never met. Each person will then ask the Holy Spirit for any words or blessings or scriptures that the Lord would like to give to the that person. Then one quietly listens, and writes down whatever one feels/sees/hears from the Holy Spirit. We call it an "exercise" based on these verses at the end of Hebrews 5. This is just one way of exercising our aistheterions and growing in spiritual awareness. :)

Of course, these verses also speak about growing in maturity in knowing the scripture and being skilled in the scripture. Simply spending time in the word is also a very valuable "exercise" as well! 

Blessings.