A sweet friend of mine wrote on her Facebook on New Years Day: "Ever wondered what raising an Ebenezer has to do with New Years? Ebenezer is a Hebrew word for, "thus far has The Lord helped us." In the OT the Jews would pile up stones of remembrance. A marker for what God had done.For me He has sustained, challenged and given grace in places I didn't know existed. If I had a stone marker for 2012 I would show my kids and say "this is how much He loves us."
This Blog is the Heflin's Ebenezer for the year 2012.
J was born on September 3rd, Labor Day! Weighing in at 4 pounds 10oz and 19 inches long, he was a big guy for being born 2.5 months early (at about 30 weeks gestation. ) We are thankful for the miracle of his precious life. What an amazing Creator God to design me in such a way that my body forced itself into labor after the placenta ruptured giving Josiah a chance for life outside the womb. We are so grateful for modern medicine and the care of many experienced doctors and nurses in the NICU where J spent his first 5 weeks of life. It was a long and hard 5 weeks going back and forth to the NICU daily while caring for one-year old S at home. God gave us such sweet people in our lives to help us through. Our family, our friends, and our church took such good care of us with meals, housework, and babysitting. We are overwhelmingly thankful. Through it all, even while in labor, I never once feared for J’s life. I had a peace that surpasses understanding from the Lord. I knew his precious life was in HIS hands. God reassured us with a Scripture that just happened to be on the flip calendar on the day Josiah was born: “The child grew and the Lord blessed him.” Judges 13:24 And J continues to grow and be blessed. He is now a chubby cheeked 4 month old whose sweet smile will make your heart melt. He eats like a champ, sleeps through the night, kicks, coos, and is loved by all, especially by his big brother who smothers him with hugs and kisses daily.
(Click here to read to Full Birth Story)
Our Sweet S went from Little Baby to Little Boy this year. It has been amazing to watch this little person develop right before our very eyes. Our little baby who used to travel around by army crawl and was spoon fed mushed up peas is now running around in miniature tennis shoes and feeding himself big chunks of chicken with a fork! He has got such a personality as he looks up with his big blue eyes and signs “more” when he’s hungry, when he growls and jumps on you tickling and wrestling, and when he gives sweet opened mouth kisses on command. A typical boy, his favorite thing in the world to play with is a ball. And it so happens that his favorite word to say is also “Ball.” He is learning all about Jesus and God at church and at home. He enjoys singing Jesus loves me and having his Bible read to him at dinner time. He brings so much joy and fun into our lives. What a sweet Blessing from the Lord.
Over the summer we moved into a new home just right for our growing family. It has 4 bedrooms, a huge backyard with a nice covered porch, and is only 1500 sq feet so its not too overwhelming to clean! It came at just the right price, helping us keep to our goal of being in as little debt at possible. We are located close to two major highways giving us easy access to almost anywhere in Fort Worth. We’re about 20 min from Brodie’s work and 15 minutes from church. My favorite part of our new house is how close it is to a beautiful city park with walking trails and an exemplary elementary school in a smaller ISD. We take that 5 minute walk to the park almost daily! We decided to move even before selling our old condo for the sake of getting settled in before baby J came. I couldn’t imagine trying to climb to the our second story condo with two babies and fitting us all into that one bedroom! Thankfully God has blessed our finances in such a way that we were able to afford purchasing our new home just in time for baby's arrival! We spent the month of July updating our new home with a touch of paint and popcorn ceiling scraping. We moved in late July, unpacked through all of August, then J surprised us coming on September 3rd! I’m so thankful the timing worked out like it did!
This year at Brodie’s engineering firm has brought about many new challenges. He has been given more responsibilities and has had to learn new management skills as he has been placed over some younger engineers. Though it has been rough, he has learned a lot while leaning on the Lord for wisdom. What keeps him motivated there are his relationships with his co-workers. There is a great since of “family” amongst the employees. Many of them are Christians, in fact many of them go to the same church as us! When working alongside others with the same goal of honoring Christ in the workplace, work can be a very uplifting place to be even through the challenges. (And another big milestone: Brodie turned 30 this year!)
This year we gained a new since of belonging with our church family. We developed many new friendships and truly feel like a part of the body of believers here. Brodie and I were a part of a very small group at the beginning of the year-just us and one other couple, but we enjoyed studying the Bible with them very much. The second half of this year, we joined a larger small group and have really enjoyed getting to know these new friends of all ages and life stages. Studying the Bible once a week with our group has helped us to focus on God throughout the week and has been a source of encouragement as we share personal prayer requests. I have also found sweet friendships though my “Mom’s Group” where I have been encouraged greatly as I enter into this part of my life called Motherhood. I am a part of the Woman’s Bible Study which helps keep my reading the Bible throughout the week as I complete my “homework” study questions. Attending on Thursday mornings in the highlight of my week as I discuss with my small group and get to hear a lecture that digs deeper into the Bible with free childcare included! This year I got to study the book of Mark and the book of Proverbs. We also developed some wonderful relationships with those we went to El Salvador with…more about that below.
We took our first family mission trip this year to El Salvador! This was a trip designed for families with young kids with a flexible schedule so it was a perfect fit for us. There were 26 people in our group, and over half of them were kids. We had so much fun getting to know these families. It was not an easy trip with 11 month old S and J 20 weeks along in my womb but the Lord gave us strength to persevere and we found much reward in sharing the good news of Jesus with the people of El Salvador. We were able to share about Jesus openly in the public schools as well as at block parties in the evenings. It was amazing to see how receptive people were and how willing they were to talk about their religion. Many many people that week turned their lives over to the control of Christ and will be followed up with by the local church.
We got invloved in the international student ministry at TCU this year. It has been difficult to figure out where to serve in a ministry now that we have two young children but this one seems to be a good fit. We can bring the kids to big events they hold, such as Easter & Christmas parties and barbeques. We also have a friendship partner we are supposed to keep up with on a more frequent basis. We haven't done too well keeping up with her, but she is such a sweetheart from Vietnam who adores the kids! We've enjoyed getting to know these students from around the globe and hope to become more involved with them in the upcoming year.
New Family Members
Our extended family multiplied this year with two big weddings! In March, my Dad got married to Lori, a great lady that is a perfect fit for my Dad. In October, my sister married Brandon, who is the love of her life and great father to my nephew. I was a bridesmaid in each wedding and S with a cute little ring bearer in each. It was fun getting to be a part of all the showers and planning. We are so happy to welcome Lori and Brandon to our family.
This Blog is the Heflin's Ebenezer for the year 2012.
A New Life
J was born on September 3rd, Labor Day! Weighing in at 4 pounds 10oz and 19 inches long, he was a big guy for being born 2.5 months early (at about 30 weeks gestation. ) We are thankful for the miracle of his precious life. What an amazing Creator God to design me in such a way that my body forced itself into labor after the placenta ruptured giving Josiah a chance for life outside the womb. We are so grateful for modern medicine and the care of many experienced doctors and nurses in the NICU where J spent his first 5 weeks of life. It was a long and hard 5 weeks going back and forth to the NICU daily while caring for one-year old S at home. God gave us such sweet people in our lives to help us through. Our family, our friends, and our church took such good care of us with meals, housework, and babysitting. We are overwhelmingly thankful. Through it all, even while in labor, I never once feared for J’s life. I had a peace that surpasses understanding from the Lord. I knew his precious life was in HIS hands. God reassured us with a Scripture that just happened to be on the flip calendar on the day Josiah was born: “The child grew and the Lord blessed him.” Judges 13:24 And J continues to grow and be blessed. He is now a chubby cheeked 4 month old whose sweet smile will make your heart melt. He eats like a champ, sleeps through the night, kicks, coos, and is loved by all, especially by his big brother who smothers him with hugs and kisses daily.
(Click here to read to Full Birth Story)
A Growing Young Boy
Our Sweet S went from Little Baby to Little Boy this year. It has been amazing to watch this little person develop right before our very eyes. Our little baby who used to travel around by army crawl and was spoon fed mushed up peas is now running around in miniature tennis shoes and feeding himself big chunks of chicken with a fork! He has got such a personality as he looks up with his big blue eyes and signs “more” when he’s hungry, when he growls and jumps on you tickling and wrestling, and when he gives sweet opened mouth kisses on command. A typical boy, his favorite thing in the world to play with is a ball. And it so happens that his favorite word to say is also “Ball.” He is learning all about Jesus and God at church and at home. He enjoys singing Jesus loves me and having his Bible read to him at dinner time. He brings so much joy and fun into our lives. What a sweet Blessing from the Lord.
A New Home
Over the summer we moved into a new home just right for our growing family. It has 4 bedrooms, a huge backyard with a nice covered porch, and is only 1500 sq feet so its not too overwhelming to clean! It came at just the right price, helping us keep to our goal of being in as little debt at possible. We are located close to two major highways giving us easy access to almost anywhere in Fort Worth. We’re about 20 min from Brodie’s work and 15 minutes from church. My favorite part of our new house is how close it is to a beautiful city park with walking trails and an exemplary elementary school in a smaller ISD. We take that 5 minute walk to the park almost daily! We decided to move even before selling our old condo for the sake of getting settled in before baby J came. I couldn’t imagine trying to climb to the our second story condo with two babies and fitting us all into that one bedroom! Thankfully God has blessed our finances in such a way that we were able to afford purchasing our new home just in time for baby's arrival! We spent the month of July updating our new home with a touch of paint and popcorn ceiling scraping. We moved in late July, unpacked through all of August, then J surprised us coming on September 3rd! I’m so thankful the timing worked out like it did!
Brodie’s Work
This year at Brodie’s engineering firm has brought about many new challenges. He has been given more responsibilities and has had to learn new management skills as he has been placed over some younger engineers. Though it has been rough, he has learned a lot while leaning on the Lord for wisdom. What keeps him motivated there are his relationships with his co-workers. There is a great since of “family” amongst the employees. Many of them are Christians, in fact many of them go to the same church as us! When working alongside others with the same goal of honoring Christ in the workplace, work can be a very uplifting place to be even through the challenges. (And another big milestone: Brodie turned 30 this year!)
Our Church Home
This year we gained a new since of belonging with our church family. We developed many new friendships and truly feel like a part of the body of believers here. Brodie and I were a part of a very small group at the beginning of the year-just us and one other couple, but we enjoyed studying the Bible with them very much. The second half of this year, we joined a larger small group and have really enjoyed getting to know these new friends of all ages and life stages. Studying the Bible once a week with our group has helped us to focus on God throughout the week and has been a source of encouragement as we share personal prayer requests. I have also found sweet friendships though my “Mom’s Group” where I have been encouraged greatly as I enter into this part of my life called Motherhood. I am a part of the Woman’s Bible Study which helps keep my reading the Bible throughout the week as I complete my “homework” study questions. Attending on Thursday mornings in the highlight of my week as I discuss with my small group and get to hear a lecture that digs deeper into the Bible with free childcare included! This year I got to study the book of Mark and the book of Proverbs. We also developed some wonderful relationships with those we went to El Salvador with…more about that below.
An Exciting Trip
We took our first family mission trip this year to El Salvador! This was a trip designed for families with young kids with a flexible schedule so it was a perfect fit for us. There were 26 people in our group, and over half of them were kids. We had so much fun getting to know these families. It was not an easy trip with 11 month old S and J 20 weeks along in my womb but the Lord gave us strength to persevere and we found much reward in sharing the good news of Jesus with the people of El Salvador. We were able to share about Jesus openly in the public schools as well as at block parties in the evenings. It was amazing to see how receptive people were and how willing they were to talk about their religion. Many many people that week turned their lives over to the control of Christ and will be followed up with by the local church.
Friends from Around the World
We got invloved in the international student ministry at TCU this year. It has been difficult to figure out where to serve in a ministry now that we have two young children but this one seems to be a good fit. We can bring the kids to big events they hold, such as Easter & Christmas parties and barbeques. We also have a friendship partner we are supposed to keep up with on a more frequent basis. We haven't done too well keeping up with her, but she is such a sweetheart from Vietnam who adores the kids! We've enjoyed getting to know these students from around the globe and hope to become more involved with them in the upcoming year.
New Family Members
Our extended family multiplied this year with two big weddings! In March, my Dad got married to Lori, a great lady that is a perfect fit for my Dad. In October, my sister married Brandon, who is the love of her life and great father to my nephew. I was a bridesmaid in each wedding and S with a cute little ring bearer in each. It was fun getting to be a part of all the showers and planning. We are so happy to welcome Lori and Brandon to our family.
It is a pleasure to be part of the family. So wonderful to read about your "happenings". Hope to see you soon.
ReplyDeleteLori