Zoe is crying well, and sounds NOTHING like Faith. Earlier, we could barely hear a funny little piggy cry. Today, we’ve heard her voice, so she seems to have recovered from the intubation well enough to use her throat a little more. It’s music to our ears.

Cathing is down to only every 8 hours. Her residual (urine left in that she didn’t or couldn’t pee out herself) is still very low, so she’s urinating well enough to reduce the need to manually empty her bladder.

Head circumference is still at 32 cm, so it’s completely unchanged from when she was born. If at increases very much, it may indicate the need for a shunt. But as of right now, we may be ok. She had a head ultrasound today to check a little more thoroughly if she needs it or not.

Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy came by this morning and said her movement is pretty good. She is doing perfect above the waist, doing well from the ankles up, but she still doesn’t seem to have much control of her feet. She can move them a little, but doesn’t do her reflexes well enough for them. They gave us some massages and exercises to do with her to help her straighten her feet and get them stronger.

She has some swelling above her surgical site, which is normal for a couple of days afterwards. It should go down on it’s own. If not, they’ll look at draining it.

We still have no idea when we might go home, but we’re staying optimistic. God knows how long He wants her here, and we love the peace of mind that someone is watching her at all times. But we are anxious to have Faith get to see her, and for us to all be home together. Continue to pray for us as we manage all of Zoe’s doctors’ names and try to remember everything that they tell us. We love you all and appreciate all of the support!

• Zoe was born on Thursday, October 7th at 3:52pm at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with myelomeningocele (Spina Bifida)
• The lesion is mostly sacral (low), although an x-ray will determine the specific level
• Before surgery, her legs were moving, and she was urinating well, with little need for a catheter.
• Her surgery was done on Friday, October 8th at 11:30am at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
• The surgery went well, with no complications.  The closure was done horizontally, instead of vertically because of the size, location and orientation of the lesion. It runs across the majority of the width of her back, right around the waist line.
• She was able to have the ventilator from surgery taken away immediately after surgery, and remained in the recovery room for about 30 minutes.
• Zoe was kept sedated until that night, when they weaned her off of that IV, and began giving her bottle feedings for the first time.
• The feedings went well, taking about 1/2 on an ounce every 3 hours. She’s has had very few issues with feedings since.
• Her head circumference remains unchanged since she was born.
• Movement in her legs is somewhat limited, but is steadily increasing.
• The order for using a catheter started at every 4 hours the day of surgery, and has decreased to only every 6 hours today. She has very little urine in the catheter, meaning she is urinating some on her own.
• Hillary was able to hold Zoe for the first time today, and even tried nursing her.
• She will get a head ultrasound on Monday, October 11th to check on the need for a shunt.

Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you…
I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.

Tomorrow, more than any other day in my life, I am praying that God continues to be faithful to His word. He says that it does not return void. He has done it in the past, and we pray that He continues the good work that He has begun in our family. Zoe is being born under circumstances that are both out of our control, and not in our plan. We are trusting His plan for us and for her.

So many of you who are reading this right now have supported us throughout our lives in various ways. And many of you have prayed already this week for us, and we are so thankful for that. But, I’d like to ask you to do it again. I’m begging you to not just “think” about us, or “hope” for us. Take time today, and especially in the morning tomorrow, to say a prayer for our family. That may sound selfish, and maybe it is. But we believe that God responds to the prayers of His people. When Abraham prayed, God changed His plans to destroy. When Daniel prayed, lions were calmed. When the Hebrew people prayed and fasted, Ester was spared.

We know that there are so many people who love us, and care about our family enough to take a few minutes and pray. Even if you’ve been praying for us all along, tomorrow morning is going to be a very vulnerable time for us. We need His strength in our weakness. We need his peace in our confusion. How confident we will be going in tomorrow, knowing that there are people all over who are praying for us. As a matter of fact, you can even write your prayer out, email or Facebook it to me or Hillary, and we would love to print it and post it in her NICU room. Feel free to even add scripture that is a truth you would speak into her life. How amazing to have the prayers of faithful believers, right there in the room with her at all times!

Tomorrow, God will deliver Zoe from the place that He has been knitting her for these 9 months. She will continue to be in His arms as she has surgery on her back, and as she continues to grow into the woman He has planned for her to be. Thank you all for everything that you have done for our family throughout our lives. We will continue to need you as our family adds a member, and we experience the normal “growing pains” of a family of four. We love all of you so much, and thank you for your prayers!

This Wednesday night we will be going to Nashville to stay in a hotel and get some rest before the big day. That means that on Thursday, October 7th, Zoe will finally be in our arms! We’re supposed to be at Vanderbilt between 6:00 am and 7:00 am on Thursday to get things started, and then about 2 hours after that, we’ll have her here! Then she’ll go to the NICU, and 24 hours later, she’ll have her closure surgery on the spina bifida lesion. The surgery only takes about an hour, and they told us to expect that about 3 hours would pass from when they take her back for pre-op, til when she’s back in her NICU room, no extra cords attached. From that point on, it’s basically a waiting/monitoring/testing game until we make it home.

Now for some of the more personal details…

Hillary was/is a little nervous about the C-section, but I think she’s feeling a lot better about it. Immediately after Zoe is here, they’ll wrap her back to cover her lesion, so we will still be able to hold her, which is totally exciting for me. When we had Faith, Hillary got to hold her first, and hogged all the time with her. Now, it’s Daddy’s turn! I’ll get to hold her for quite a while in the O.R., and then carry her (1/3 of a mile to the Children’s Hospital, no joke!) to the NICU and show her off to all of our family and friends who will be waiting to catch a glimpse. The nurses there will clean her up, do some assessments, and then bring me back to debrief me on everything. Once Hillary gets some feeling in her legs again, she’ll be wheeled to the NICU to check things out. Once we get the “All Clear”, our family and friends will be able to take turns visiting Zoe as well.

As for what to expect for Zoe. We’ve gotten many questions as to what we’re expecting with her condition. This is not a “feel good” post. I’m going to try to be objective with what we know. We have VERY high hopes for Zoe, and plan on doing everything in our power to help her overcome as many obstacles as she can. We are simply going on the average expectation for similar cases. Feel free to skip that part if you want to. There’s totally no judgement here!

The next day is when Zoe will have surgery to close up the opening. We’ve been told that it won’t be very complicated, since most of her spinal nerves have remained within the spinal column. After that, Zoe won’t be able to lay on her back for some time, until it heals up enough.

During our stay, we’ll be looking at her head circumference, to see if she’ll need a shunt. It’s very common for babies with spina bifida to need one. Hydrocephalus will probably occur, especially after her closure surgery, since the cerebrospinal fluid has been “leaking” from the lesion, and now has nowhere to go. A shunt is a small valve that allows the excess fluid to drain into her abdomen to then be absorbed by the body. Most people with shunts have no visible signs on the shunt. It is something that she would have for the rest of her life, but most likely would have very few consequences.

Besides that, we are expecting to deal with bowel and bladder issues, like perhaps Zoe needing a catheter fairly often, something very common for children with her level of spina bifida. We hope that she’ll be able to learn to control her bladder some as she grows up. If not, she will learn to cath herself around the time she starts school. I had a few students who had to do the same thing when I was teaching, and very few people ever even knew. It becomes normal and routine for them.

As far as mobility goes, we’ve been given a fairly positive outlook for Zoe. The nerves at the location of her lesion are low enough to probably limit her functioning, but not much. Some children with this level lose feeling from their shins down, others may only lose from their ankles, or even less. She will likely be late on most of her major physical milestones, but with physical therapy, we hope that she meets them in her time.

Sorry if that was overwhelming. It has been that way for us very often. We still have mini-breakdowns, but they’re getting fewer and farther between. We feel good about what God is doing, and we’re glad He’s doing it.

Now for the Jesus-y stuff to go with it…  ;)

We’ve been in a series called “StormWatch” with stuCo this past month. I’ve been amazing to talk openly and honestly about the pain that we all experience and what to do with it. A truth that we’ve discussed is the idea that without pain, God is hindered. Think about it. Joy cannot be appreciated without pain. If things were always perfect, we’d be numb to the beauty. We couldn’t appreciate the triumph. The pain is what causes us to look for the wonder. We only appreciate our vacation after we’ve worked hard. Dessert tastes sweeter when we make it ourselves. We love to show off the grade in a class that worked all semester on. We NEED the pain to appreciate the joy. Look at what Ecclesiastes says…

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

We know that God is doing more in our story right now than He even could have if things had gone the way that we’d planned. I can say the same thing for so many situations in my life up to this point. He never seems to go with my plan, and for that, I am ultimately thankful.

What pain are you working through that God wants to use for His glory? What plan might He have that is “immeasurably more” than you would have asked for? I am excited to see how God continues to be active in our lives as our family goes through some changes. Thanks for being a part of it with us!

Our “Simple” series at MCC and in stuCo is striking a chord with people, and it’s definitely affecting me and my family. I ran across this scripture last week as I was preparing for Sunday’s message about finances and stewardship. It’s a prayer from Proverbs 30 that I need in my life, and I think many others do too…

7 O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

WOW! Now, you may be asking, why would you even think something like this? What’s wrong with wealth?  The scripture continues with an explanation.

9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Neither of those options sound like what I want to describe my life.  Although it doesn’t condemn wealth or poverty, it is clear that they complicate things a bit.

Can you imagine if people were serious about this kind of request? How would the world change if we kept this kind of attitude?  The needs that could be met if we really pursued this kind of stewardship would be life changing. IT WOULD BE WORLD CHANGING!

But it’s easy to look at this as something that would help if “people” would live like this. But, what if you prayed this?  Are you really prepared to make this kind of commitment? AM I? There are parts of our lives that would change dramatically if we really stopped pursuing wealth and possessions. What if God started to take away the sources of income until we were only making “enough to satisfy our needs”? What if you needs started to dictate our income, instead of our wants?

There’s a great quote that our pastor showed me this week that is a perfect statement to this idea. It’s from Donald Miller, a favorite author of mine for his book “To Own A Dragon“. This quote, from “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” is another great example of why I don’t want to be rich.

“If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.”

It’s a very scary place to be when we start surrendering our budget to what God wants to do. But, the truth that He wants to teach us is not that being wealthy is a sin. But that forgetting that we are only stewards of what He has given to us, is simply pride, that root of sin. He wants to teach us that clinging to the stuff that He has entrusted to us is wrong, and it doesn’t cultivate a heart that is devoted to Him.

I have put this scripture up in front of me so I read it everyday and make it my prayer.I don’t want to “need” the stuff that I have. I want to use every tool that I have to show people around me that God is actively pursuing them.  What if we all committed to this together? Consider making this your prayer as well, and let’s see what God does to mold us into His people.

“I’ve got good news, and bad news. Which one do you want first?”

How many times have we heard that one? I can promise that Hillary has heard it way too many times during the remodeling of our house, keeping Faith on her long work days, and through our almost 8 years of marriage. So often the bad news that I share is actually only bad news to her. To me, it was just fine!

“We ended having to buy that new drill that I wanted, because my old one broke!”
“Faith said her first word… DADA!”
“That dramatic comedy movie is sold out, but the geeky one has LOTS of tickets left!”

In the end, the value of the news is all based on the recipient’s expectations.

Think about that again. Whether news is good or bad, is really only based on what we had planed for the news to be.

Let’s say Hillary wanted to eat at a certain restaurant, and I wanted a different one. My choice happened to be closed today. Bad news for me; good news for Hillary. It’s only bad news for me, because what I had planned didn’t happen the way I wanted. Is Hillary’s restaurant good? Sure. But I had my plans already. I knew what I wanted. Even if I end up liking her choice better than I would have liked my own, at least initially, it’s bad news.

I hope you’re getting the analogy already. If not, start reading this again.

Over the next two and a half months, we’ll be getting updates on our daughter, Zoe, and her status with Spina Bifida. We have gotten a lot of good news, and even a little bad news. It is so easy to take what we hear at each of these doctors visits and focus on the good news and the bad news. We tend to take what we hear, and we categorize it as either good or bad. Each update gets the tag as something “we’re thankful for”, or something that we’re “still praying for”.

I can’t help but wonder if this is really the way God wants us to respond to His work. Does He want us to refer to some of what He does as good, and some of His creation as bad?

Should we say that since this seems easier, it’s good? Since we will need to rely on His provision less, it must be great news. Are the situations which line up closer to our own plans actually the blessings that we claim them to be?

But when we hear what requires more faith in Him, when the news seems overwhelming, we call it bad. When the work that He continues to do, the “knitting” that He is carefully creating doesn’t fit into the plan that we had, the hopes that we dreamed of, it’s heartbreaking news.

What terrible news that Abraham got when He was told to sacrifice his only son on the alter, and then be saved and see the provision of God. Moses‘ mother heard the bad news that her child had no chance of life, only later to be saved from slavery by him. Surely when the disciples saw Christ die, they only saw bad news. They couldn’t even begin to comprehend what God was going to do just three days later.

When we, like Peter, see the waves and feel the tide, we lose the very faith that allowed us to move closer to Christ in the first place. What terrible perspective that we have. If we could remember that every good and perfect gift comes from above, and not from our plans, this terminology would probably dissipate from our vocabulary. No longer would we get “good” or “bad” news about the work that Christ himself is seeing to completion.

While it is easy to cling to the words from doctors of Zoe’s condition, we have to remember that our Great Physician has never blinked an eye throughout this pregnancy. He has been fully aware of every part of her body. When we received the news of Spina Bifida for the first time, He was not caught off guard. As a matter of fact, He created the very place that we now refer to as “the defect”. It was His plan all along. And He knows that it is all for our good, for Zoe’s good, and for His glory.

So, when it comes to Zoe, you will no longer hear me talk about good news. You will no longer hear me call things bad news. My creator is creating my child in His image, so, no matter what, and even if, it is all GOOD NEWS. The news of the work of God before our very eyes must be good news. Seeing the completion of something that only God can complete can only be referred to as good news.

So, what’s the “good news” or “bad news” that you need to call “good” for God’s glory?

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to take stuCo back to Jackson, TN for Centrifuge. This is the second year that we’ve experienced Fuge at Union University, the 6th year Hillary and I have been, the 12th year I’ve been going to camp, and the 17th year Hillary has gone! That’s a lot of church camp!

This year, I was in a very different place than I ever have been in my life. So much uncertainty about my family and even my own spiritual life. When we found out the theme for the week was “Kairos – Defining Moments” I decided then that I would wrestle with God this week, and that I wouldn’t let go until He blessed me. I had no idea what He was going to do.

Although each day affected me, one in particular struck a cord with quite a few others as well. It started with the story of three Hebrew boys who refused to bow down, even one time, to an idol.  If you’ve grown up in church, you’ve probably heard the story. Basically, the King swears to kill them by throwing them into a furnace if they don’t bow the way He is to the idol. Obviously they refuse, but they’re saved in the end (sorry to ruin it if you didn’t know!). But the story has some details that get lost, and I think what God is teaching us gets lost with it as well. I think that there is something huge here that we miss.  Something that has completely changed the way I look at why I serve Christ.  Look at their reply to the King as he gives them one last chance before he has them thrown into the fire in Daniel 3:15.

“I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.

Did you get that? Can we even comprehend that kind of faith? To say that they won’t even consider it. Such confidence; such clarity; such resolve.

Wouldn’t we at least consider it? Surely God would rather me make one mistake, so that I can continue His work, right? God would rather me be alive, be safe, instead of end the opportunity that He has with my life. I wouldn’t really mean it. I would just do like everybody else right now, so I can have more influence on their lives later. Surely God doesn’t really mind this one time.

Yet these guys wouldn’t even consider it. They explain to the King how their powerful God can save them if He wants, but the revolutionary statement they make has changed my outlook on everything.

“But even if He doesn’t…”

I have plans. I have things that I hope happen.  I have back up plans even, for just in case the first one can’t work out. I have what I want for my kids, for my family. My plans include a lot of things for our church and student ministry. I already am prepared for God to do these things.

But sometimes He doesn’t want to work with my plans. As a matter of fact, I’d say He wants nothing to do with my plans. Because they’re just that; my plans. I want my daughter to be able to run across the yard and into my arms. I want her to go to college and get married, and have children of her own. Faith may be able, and Zoe may be able. God may do those very things in their lives.

“But even if He doesn’t…”

I don’t want to find my trust in what my plans hold, because my plans will fail.  I don’t even want to put my trust in hopes, or what I think I can handle.  I want to boldly, and honestly say “My God can manipulate my life into what I can see it being, but even if He doesn’t, I’m still in this.” I want to refuse to make justifications, or have explanations for everything. I want to beg to be burned up in a furnace that purifies my life from excuses and compromise, so that people see that Christ has not only led me into it, but He’s along side me the whole way.

I mentioned this on Sunday at MCC when I spoke to our church, and since then I have gotten so many messages from many of you about where you need to make this same claim to.

“I haven’t had a job in over a year, and I have something that I’m praying works out…”

“I was hoping that God would lead me to a college this summer…”

“I want my friend to come to Christ more than anything…”

“I just wish God would make the pain of losing my son go away…”

“I want to see God heal my daughter, and for her to run and be completely healthy…”

“But even if He doesn’t…”

Now it’s your turn. Where can you say “But even if He doesn’t” to today?

So, a couple of weeks ago we took this picture. I’m a little late posting it, but it’s been a very busy couple of weeks!  Faith got to attend her first Vacation Bible School this year! Last year she was only 2 months old, so we kind of skipped out on VBS (don’t judge me!) for the most part. I still volunteered, but Faith stayed at home with Hillary.

Faith loves VBS

But this year, at 14 months old, she could experience some of the excitement of VBS for herself. We had a really great time, and our leaders did a great job! And a special shout out to Children’s Pastor Teri Curry and VBS Director Teresa Rogers (Best Nana in the world!!). Here’s a little taste of MCC’s Bible School experience. Next year, we’ll have 2 little ones in the mix!

VBS @ MCC 2010

PS – Yes, I made the video, and yes, that’s why Faith is in there twice!

I look so forward to the years of VBS’s that we’ll be attending, and seeing who God molds our children into being for Him.

Did you attend or serve in a VBS or summer program like this? Let’s share our experiences!

I’d like to share with you a little about our lives for the past month.  A month ago, yesterday, we had a glimpse of our baby in an ultrasound. We were asked to come back to a follow-up, since they were having trouble seeing everything on the baby, specifically the back. They couldn’t even get the baby to move to tell if we were having a boy or a girl! So we came back the next week, and here’s what we saw.

Baby's first picture

We were very excited to find out that we were having a little girl. We watched her, as she kicked, and tried to suck her thumb. What a joy it is to start to put a personality to the baby that you have so many questions about!

The doctor came in immediately after and told us what we didn’t want to hear. No parent hopes to hear anything besides “She’s perfect” from a doctor. But instead, he said that without a doubt, our little girl had Spina Bifida.

Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect. If I could over-simplify an explanation, it means that the spinal cord doesn’t close up into the spine all the way. The nerves can start to slip out of the hole that is left from it not closing. If you want a more detailed explanation, you can check out this children’s article.

Since the first ultrasound, we have had 2 additional in-depth ultrasounds. So far, here’s what we know…

• The lesion or “hole” is very low on the baby’s back, which means its sacral and below the waist.
• Because of the low lesion, there is a very good chance that she’ll walk, probably without support eventually.
• She’ll most likely have issues with her bowels and bladder, which are very manageable, and both of which could improve as she gets older.
• We’ll have quite a few more doctor visits in the months before and after she is born.
• Most other things we won’t know for sure about until after she’s born.

Overall, we feel that we’ve gotten some great news. Our doctors have been great so far, giving us all of our options.  We were given the option to terminate the pregnancy when we received the official diagnosis, and we refused. We believe that God has, and continues to knit this little girl together in His image. We know that His plans are not to harm us, or her, but to prosper our family, and to give us all a hope and a future.

We’ve decided to name her Zoe, which is Greek for Life. While we know that termination could have been the easy way out, we also know that God has given her to us for such a time as this. We believe that her life, as well as our family experiences will be something that God uses for His glory.

So, what can you do? We desperately need your prayers during this time. We want to stay strong, as we already have a 1 year old to care for as well as all of the teenagers that we love and care for as well. So, you can pray for us, but also pray for Zoe. Pray that God continues to form her even now, into His image. We are praying that God creates her in the way that HE wants her to be. We would not have chosen any of this, but we believe that God has chosen her for something more than we can ask or imagine.

Hillary and I will be posting basically EVERYTHING that we find out about Zoe on our blogs, plus other things going on in our family. It’s the easiest way to keep all of the family members and friends that we have all over the country informed about what we know, and it saves us from saying the same thing over and over again.

We announced this to our church family today, and we have gotten such a great response. We asked for some space, and our church was so respectful, but loving at the same time. We’ve already been encouraged by the stories that have been shared with us.  We’re excited about bringing Zoe back to a church that will love her and care for her like one of their own.

So now, we need your help to also be excited with us. We are not mourning anything. In October, we will go to Vanderbilt and have a beautiful baby girl who has a few extra issues, but besides that, she will be a normal newborn.  We can already look at so much of this experience and realize all that God is already doing in our situation, and how He’s prepared us for what He is doing in our family. Thank you in advance or praying for us and supporting us through it all.

But I have to admit, as much as I hate to, that some of it is true. All the cheesy talk that you hear from people about how you didn’t know you could love someone so much, really is true. My heart melts for my daughter. I make the dumbest faces and sounds just to get a smile from her, because it makes my day. I miss her when I’m at work, or when Hillary takes her on a girls day out.

While I am not bitter or angry about it, it’s no secret that my relationship with my own father has been less than perfect. I spent a lot of time dealing with that, and trying to figure out what it means to be a dad, without a dad of my own. While it still affects me, I had to become aware of the scar in my life before I could allow God to use it for my good. Several years back, I read To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller, and it changed me dramatically. The premise is that, while having a father to care for me, and be there for me would be great, I have no way of ever really experiencing it now. I have grown up without one. I will never be able to change that. While I see others with fathers in their lives, it is a completely foreign concept in my mind. To me, having a father is as imaginable as owning a dragon of my very own; very cool, magical even, but completely impossible. That realization in my life was something that was almost unbearable, but was a real turning point for my future. Psalm 27:10 gives me a great peace in how to deal with this.

Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.

Today, I have an amazing wife who challenges me and continues to love me when I don’t do ANYTHING the way she thinks I should. And with her, we have a daughter who is the happiest child I have ever seen in my life, and another baby on the way. I can’t begin to express how thankful for everything that God continues to do in my life. He has been a Father to be when I needed one more than anything else. With a child of my own, I can relate to the way He thinks of His children in Pslams 129:15

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

I want nothing more than for Faith to know that I love her with every thought that I have. I want her to know that even when she thinks I’m busy, and not thinking about her, I am. I want her to trust that when she sleeps, Daddy will still be there to hug her when she gets up in the morning. To know that, even when I’m mad at her, my thoughts of her are still precious.

I’d love to hear your “Dad” story. We’ve all had different experiences in our lives, and sharing them helps us ALL to better ourselves, and find where we are in God’s story as our Father. So, come on! Share you’re “Dad” story with the rest of us!