Author: Dale

On Monday morning when I was having my Quiet time, I was thanking the Lord for the blessings of the day before.  My heart was full of the joy of seeing Andrew continue to follow the Lord’s leading in his life, and then my thoughts went to Alli, his wife, and our daughter.  Yes, I thought about her standing beside him Sunday, tears puddling in her eyes.  I remembered the pride and the awe that glowed from her expressions, but there was something far deeper that came to my heart as I prayed on Monday morning.

My heart and mind went back to Alli’s mid to late teen years.  I have a clear memory of kneeling beside her bed one night, asking her to tell me the assurance of her salvation.  Due to attitudes, actions and heart responses, it was obvious that she was distant from the Lord.  My mother’s…

This past weekend was special, really, really special.  Our son-in-law had been studying for his ordination into the ministry for quite some time, and this past weekend was the time for him to sit before a council of godly men and give a defence for his doctrinal statement.  That was on Saturday.

It was a long, grueling four or so hours as the men asked questions and Andrew gave a bilibical answer about what he believes God’s Word teaches.  But it was even more than just getting the right answer – it was also stating his call from God into the Gospel ministry.  He didn’t just decide one day to “be a preacher.”  No, as a young lad, he had heard God’s Spirit leading him to be a preacher of the Word of God.

For years he has been praying, preparing, preaching, and looking forward to the day when it…

It’s easy to get scared when we lose our focus. We’re trying to keep our thoughts on what we know. The easiest truths we can think about always have to do with God.

Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord‘s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord

I don’t know how to explain this, except to say Jon and I are still human. We are experiencing the real grace of God when it comes to Ellie’s leukemia. While there are things that are confusing (and sometimes frustrating) in the midst of her treatments, we haven’t been angry with God because of this.

But, to be quite honest, I am struggling with my attitude in regards to a lot of other things. I know that there is a lot of stress in my life right now whether I feel stressed or not, but there is never an okay excuse for a bad attitude. I’m very aware of my responses to others currently, and I know that at times I am frustrated with people who are trying to help the best way they know how or with people who love me or with situations that don’t really matter…and of…

When Jon and I were talking about our word for the day, he mentioned possession. As in, we keep saying “our” Ellie or people tell us they are praying for “your” Ellie, etc. But the truth is…Ellie isn’t my possession. She isn’t Jon’s or any other human being’s possession, either. She is God’s. Even though this stings my heart a little, ultimately I know that it’s true and she couldn’t be cared for by anyone better. I’m also thankful that God gave her to Jon and I to raise for Him.

I remember when we dedicated Ellie at church, and the prayer of our heart has always been for God to do His will in Ellie’s life. We have prayed the same prayer for Brooklynn, too. We are responsible for Ellie, but ultimately she belongs to God. We can’t get mad at Him for taking care of her how He sees fit…