365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 289

I created this scrapbook page recently and finished it up yesterday. I titled it Family Love because these photos reminded me so much of my family and how much we have each endured. My own family going through the scary ride of having premature babies, one being 3 months premature. And my brother's family going through adoption and the issuses they have had been confronted with;  Bi-Polar, ADHD, CAPD. Having children is not all the joyful moments you see on birth announcements or on Christmas cards. God has given us our children for a reason, for his purpose. Both my husband and I have grown tremendously in our faith and have developed a strong marriage because of the adversities we have faced. I know my brother and sister-in-law have struggled but I see them coming out of the hardest part of the adversity stronger and am sure their relationship will end up being stronger for it as well. Is the adversity over? No, there will be more things to overcome and endure as we and our children age. That is life in our fallen world but we have the hope found in Jesus of the life to come and the Holy Spirit to help us through our lives now. This verse about love says it all when it comes to family love.
1Corinthians 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 173

This time last year, I was on a mission to discover that my daughter did not have ADD. We were told late in the school year of how Faith was having focusing issues, mostly daydreaming. Because this was the first time that this issue came up, I was pretty sure this was just a phase or something. We went through all the medical stuff with her to rule out anything medical just to be sure. I ended up with a very good book about natural ways to conquer ADD or ADHD. The writer spoke of how a lot of kids are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and medicated but there are many ways to help children that are natural ways. The truth was Faith is a hands-on visual learner, combine that with her love of cats and you can get her to focus. I really think it was just a phase or that she wasn't being taught to her individuality as she has blossomed in this last year and her teacher says she doesn't have any focus issues at all. We are all unique creations and that is to be celebrated. We have to learn what our strengths and weaknesses are and utilize those things that God gave us. Faith is apparently a math whiz. She got that from her Dad for sure but she also has a creativeness that defnintely comes from me. In the end, God has given her some wonderful quirks and strengths that will be with her throughout her life. She is a blessing to us and we thank God for her. Know that what God has given you is to be celebrated!
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmansip, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God perpared in advance for us to do.