More Miracles!

There he is!! Kyle. My forever child. Some of you know that Kyle had a grand mal seizure last December. It was a horrible time. My "mother" worry level was through the roof. My faith was not as big as a mustard seed. Why? For those of you who do not know, or do not remember, Kyle suffered from more than 100 petit mal seizures a day for the first 12 years of his life. He had one grand mal at age 10. He was born completely normal, but at 2 months old, received a bad pertussis shot. MANY children who received this "lot" were affected. Some not as severe, others, even worse. It was a sad thing. Here is another thing about Kyle. He had a degenerative hearing loss. By age 8 he had a 87% hearing loss, classifying him as legally deaf. I went to a local college and became prolific in American Sign Language. I even translated the Sunday morning services in my church to the deaf congregation for a time. Kyle wore a hearing apparatus in the classroom and functioned well. He continued to seizure 100+ times a day. Each seizure would cause more and more damage to his brain, and with each passing year, he was becoming more developmentally delayed. Now let me tell you something (I am being very careful about what I share here...it is a personal thing, but I feel led to share some of it), I have a faith for healing, based completely on the written Word of God. I believe healing is for everyone and I in no way, shape or form, believe that God "chooses" who He heals and who He does not. If that is your belief, that is fine, but mine is not there. I am certain you are wondering then, why Kyle is not "mentally healed"...I will explain that in a moment. Bear with me, please. It sure does bring back all the emotion from that time...

I was in a Thursday night church meeting and my Pastor was teaching on healing. Another church member asked the question, "Then why is Kyle not healed?" My head shot up from the verse I had been looking at in my Bible. I was nervous about what he would say. Here was his words...."Kyle will receive his healing through his mother's faith." What????!!!! I was SO offended. How dare he!! Kyle was not seizing because of my lack of faith!! Was he? All eyes were on me at that moment and I felt about an inch tall. All those eyes had such sympathy in them. Afterwards, a man and his wife came up to me and told me that every Tuesday they would fast and pray for me and Kyle, that God would give me the wisdom to know what to do. Are you thinking my Pastor was a jerk? He was not. He was a kind loving man who was gifted in the area of teaching. His teaching changed my life. I began to seek God as to what I could or should do. I prayed and fasted and prayed some more. Now, I do not care if you do not believe any of this...it is ok...but I hear God's voice and record it often. Remember how He gave me Charlotte's full name before she was ever born? So I heard him say to me..."If you take Kyle to see (insert name here) I will heal him." It was a well known Evangelist. I found out after this "conversation" with God, that this person was coming to Rosemont in Chicago the next week. Now Sweetheart despised this man!!! I was not allowed to have him on the television. He would never allow me to take Kyle there! I approached him and he gave the ok. That was a miracle in it's self! So I take Kyle and he seized walking in the doors. His seizures escalated to the point that he pretty much seized through the whole entire thing. This man was known to call people out of the audience and pray over them. I held my breath the whole time. He never called Kyle up. We left that place and as we crossed the threshold of the door Kyle was having a seizure...just as he had when we entered. I had heard wrong. I felt terrible and thought I was "losing it". Kyle's seizures picked up over the next week to a place they had never been before. And to top it all off he was having major trouble with his hearing apparatus. My mother and I took Kyle to Mayo Clinic, 5 hours away. We stayed there a week as test after test was run. While there, Kyle had a hearing test in their big silver booth. He had one every 6 months and was due anyway. The hearing tech, came out after the test and said, "Kyle's hearing is perfect. In fact it is too perfect. It is like that of an infant." I guess we all suffer some hearing loss (minimal) as we use our eardrums over the years. Kyle's hearing was back!!! Right then I heard God say, "I told you I would heal him." I think He chuckled too! My faith soared! This was the reason his equipment was causing him trouble. Everything was too loud! I prayed and fasted again along with others in my church. 2 Years past and Kyle still seizured. I remember doing a study in that Thursday night group on the spoken Word of God. A light went on in my soul! That was it! I would SPEAK the Word every time Kyle had a seizure. I picked verses and, I am not kidding, I spoke one of those verses every time Kyle seizured and I saw it! Pretty soon, Kyle would say them too. I taught him some of them and when he would come out of the seizure, I would say "Kyle, speak the Word." He would say, "By His stripes I am healed". 2 more years people. Another 2 YEARS and Kyle had 100 seizures a day. Then one day he woke up and had NONE! No med changes, no diet changes. NOTHING. 4 weeks later I took Kyle to his neurologist. The man looked at me with grave sympathy and said, "I am sorry to tell you this Mrs. H, but Kyle will never be seizure-free. It is impossible. He may, however, have 3 months of no seizures that you can see, but believe me they are still there." I felt sorry for him. He had no hope. Still, his words played with the back of my thinking. 3 months to the day that Kyle stopped seizing, he had a seizure. Not a normal 60 second one for him, but it was there none the less. It lasted a mere 2 seconds, but I SAW it. Fear rose up in me. Then an hour or so later he had another one...this time it lasted 10 seconds or so. I cried out to God. I heard it...not God's voice but my own. "Who do you believe? The doctor or God's Word?" GOD"S WORD!!! I SPOKE the Word again, using Nahum 1:9b "Affliction will not rise up a second time!" Yet another seizure a few minutes later...2 seconds again. I got MAD. I shouted it out with authority. God is a Man of His Word. Kyle was seizure free from that day in June of 98 until December of 07.

So what happened in December of 07? I have no idea. I know things here had not been good spiritually. Still God is not like that. He does not take back His blessings, and He would certainly not do that to Kyle. I do know that Kyle had been spending alot of time with a new neighbor. They are "Christians" and one day (one week to the day before Kyle had his seizure) the 20 year old boy in that home had a grand mal. He had never had a seizure before. One week later Kyle had one. Now I had told the woman that Kyle could not be around video games. Yes, he was healed, but an EEG showed "risk" with strobe lights. I am not a fool and know that God heals in a natural way too. It takes time for the brain to heal it's self. God made our bodies to heal themselves. Well, come to find out, Kyle had been watching that boy play a game...the same game he was playing when he had his own seizure. If it could make a person who had no seizure history have a seizure, well.... You get the idea. Kyle has not been back to that house. Since then things have surfaced that say it was God's protection. That is all I will say on that! Here is the newest miracle. We went for a check up at the new neurologist yesterday. Remember how hard it was to get him into a neurologist? Yeesh! Anyway, she declared Kyle "seizure-free" and his EEG was NORMAL. Those words have never been uttered before. Kyle has a NORMAL EEG! She said the seizure was a fluke and from the description it was mild. He will remain on meds for a little longer, but those will be discontinued too. I am in awe of how our God moves.

Now back to my thoughts on healing...Kyle still has significant developmental delays. He has not gotten worse since the seizures have stopped, and actually has matured in many areas. Still I continued to believe Kyle would be made "whole". I was at a special service at a neighboring church about 10 years ago. The speaker, a man from Nebraska, called all the young people forward. Bud and Kyle went up and stood while the man prayed over all the young people. He did not know us AT ALL. Kyle "looks" normal and many times, unless you talk to him, you would never know. In this instance Kyle stood looking very "normal" next to his brother. What he said to Bud was profound, but what he said to Kyle blew me away. He put his hand on Kyle's shoulder, and like he had been "shocked" he removed it. He looked at Kyle with his head tilted a little and said, "You can be pretty goofy sometimes. In fact you are quite the character." Then he turned to the congregation and said, "Mom. Whoever you are, God wants you to stop asking him to change what He Himself created. He has plans to use this boy for His own Glory. His healing is complete." I have never, since, asked God to make Kyle, my ideal of "whole". Those of you with special needs kids understand what I am saying. So how then can I say I believe healing is for everyone and that God does not pick and choose? I believe that when His people are SUFFERING, He HAS already provided healing...on that tree, over 2000 years ago. We just need to "receive" it. Sometimes it takes a while, but there is always a purpose to the timing. Kyle is no longer "suffering". He is happy and healthy and "whole". I have seen God use him for His Glory when it would have been impossible for Kyle to have the impact he did, if he were not "Kyle". Remember, it was said, "Kyle will receive his healing through his mother's faith." I am a slow learner at times, but oh the lessons are so worth the wait!!!
Blessings, Bren

Today's Lesson For Me

For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

This was a scripture passage I read today in Proverbs 30. It is verse 33. I was "struck" by it and felt the impact of it's words hit me hard. I parent a difficult child. A child who was unloved the first 3 1/2 years of her life. She is untrusting, distant, rebellious, untrustworthy, superficial, dishonest, and a plethora of other negatives that keep me at arms length. It is the resume of unattached children. Included in that resume is a parent who is hostel and full of wrath. That would be me (incase you never noticed). In reading this scripture, God did not point out her resume, but mine. Though she is all those negatives, she is also innocent. Innocent because this was "done" to her. Is that an excuse? Of course not, but my wrath is not producing in her a trusting spirit, a closeness, an obedience, a trustworthiness, a realness, and honesty and all the other polars to her resume. It is however, producing strife!!
I commit today to rid myself of the wrath built up toward my circumstances, toward the Womb and Vampire, toward others who have turned their backs on this child, and toward her personally, who is innocent, and an empty vessel to be filled with peace. Forgive me, Lord.

A Homemaking Post

I thought I would share on the topic of kitchen's today. Now I don't know about you, but my kitchen is the one room that, if I am not watchful, will collect the most clutter. Also, there is NOTHING that will make a room look "unclean" more than clutter. In taking part in the "Need This?" challenge, I decided I would take the concept used to do a drawer, or cupboard, and use it on my entire kitchen. My mother and I are polar opposites in this area. I prefer not to have lots of pretties and decor out in my kitchen, and my mom will "decorate" to the extreme. Her kitchen is now sunflowers, and she has purchased every sunflower thing-a-ma-bob there is! She is happy with it, and that is what is important. If you are the same, then please, decorate to your heart's content, but just humor me as I ask you to look around your own kitchen and ask yourself if you.....Of course, I could NOT begin to do anything to my kitchen until I shined my sink, proper, like! I pulled out my Mrs. Meyer powder scrub in lemon verbena. Cat sent it to me and I just LOVE it. I use this now but still do my other method once a month...I do the Mrs. Meyer once a week. I think I had missed a week as the water spots were awful!!!I used the scrubby side of a scotch sponge (used for sink scrubbing only). I also made sure to do the faucets and behind the sink. I rinsed it good and then wiped dry with a clean dry towel. That is the key to the "shine".Ohhhh, the smell is wonderful. I want to add, for those who may not know, that Lemon Verbena does not smell like lemons. Look at this faucet! There was NO windex, or other spray added. Just Mrs. Meyer scrub and the sponge followed by the dry clean towel to shine it up. THAT is shiny!!!!
Now that the sink is clean, I can move onto the counters. I moved everything and cleaned them with Holy Cow cleaner and a wet dishcloth. Each counter was left with the following....

The counter where I bake and do other food prep has a candle warmer, my hen butter dish, and cloth napkins. It was hard for me to leave the candle warmer there. Remember, I like flat surfaces to be clean and clutter-free. Still the candle warmer gets used everyday, so I "need this".

The beverage counter contains the coffee pot, cream and sugar containers, and a spoon rest. Also, a cookie jar...I think I do not "need this" and may move it. Salt and pepper shakers, garlic powder, and a "As For Me and My House We will Serve The Lord" plaque sit on top of the stove. The S&P and garlic powder are used everyday, and the plaque has been in my kitchen for 29 years, so I "need this".The counter between the frig and stove holds a plant, my spice rack and a spoon rest. The plant is not needed, but I love him, so he stays. A live plant is a wonderful addition to a kitchen counter...just make it small. Now here is my biggest hurdle in decluttering the kitchen. The frig. Not what is inside the frig, but what is ON the frig. Both the top and the front and sides. Now this is "after" the declutter...The top holds blue ball jars, a colander, a bean pot my Aunt Pete made me when I got married (I use it), and a rooster container which holds GameBoy games out of reach of little hands.The front of the frig holds things that are "special" to me. Pictures, my"birdies", TJ's latest art work, my menu planner.....you know. Still it has a cluttered look to me. Now the side is even worse....What a mess, and that is "after" I cleaned it off. I need to go look at it all and ask myself again "Do I need this?" Now, needing something means it has a purpose. My calendar is needed. TJ's art work may not seem needed, but it has a purpose. It shows him Grandma values him. It is the same with the kids pictures. When they see them on the frig, they know they are valued. Here is what happens though...they are there so long you don't even recognize them anymore. You look right past them. I need to re-visit the outside of the frig I think.There it is...decluttered, but still maybe holding too much. Forgive the glare off that shiny sink!!!!

My new dishcloth from my 4 Season Swap partner, Paula will add to the beauty of that clean sink, too! She did a beautiful job!And what is cookin' in that decluttered kitchen??? Zachary planted, watered, picked, washed, snapped, and prepared fresh green beans!!! Zach the Farmer!!What is next on the housekeeping schedule??? The never ending, revolving mess of the sewing room....will it ever stay clean????

An Update Post

Sewing Update:
The 4 Seasons Summer quilt is quilting up nicely. It will be ready to go to it's new home by the deadline on Thursday! Everyone who sees it, thinks it is "cute", and if I look at it from outside myself, I like it too! I pray it's new owner approves. I think I will take a step back from swaps for a while. I have a couple of baby quilts to finish up, along with a couple of runners. This runner just needs a binding and will soon be on it's way to a newly established home in Alberta!
I love the texture of quilting. The back of this runner is a piece of fabric I love to use for little gift quilts.
It has all kinds of cute sayings on it. "May my stitches be pleasing to you Lord", "Hands to work, Hearts to God", "A stitch for me, a prayer for thee", and " She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands", among others. I am almost out of this fabric. I have had it for YEARS and used it sparingly. I will miss it when it is gone.

Homemaking Update:
This last week of July will find me working on detailing my master bedroom and master bath. I usually only have a few days to do this because the 5th week tends to be short, but this month I have almost the entire week. I will be out on Wednesday and some on Friday, but the plan is to get things, in those rooms, spic and span. My blinds are dusty and the woodwork is showing need of attention. Rugs need to be washed also. Oh, did I ever show you my new entryway rugs??? Ok, I went back and looked, and I didn't. Remember, I am pausing and tend to repeat myself! Here they are.
Now the strange thing about these rugs is, in the daylight, like in the pictures, the background looks green. In the store, and in the evening it looks golden tan. The golden tan is what I was going for. Oh well. They look ok.

Spiritual Update:

The kids and I visited a new church yesterday. We have been unchurched for a while. The last church we attended was one I LOVED. Rachel got saved there, then they married there. It was a huge church with many outreach programs. Lots of resources for any "issue". Well, that was the problem. The biological womb, knows every resource and just how to work them. I found out she used that church on and off to get "help". We could no longer attend comfortably. Can you imagine the trauma to my Charlotte if she saw her? Nope...not happening! It has been a while since we even looked for a church. I had found one last fall. A nice church of about 200 people. Loved the preaching. The music was ok...a little bit Grand Ol Opry style, but it was done well. I know there is no perfect church, but I found this particular church to put people in major leadership positions who should not be there. Who am I to judge? Well in that instance, I am the one to judge. I have the responsibility of looking out for the spiritual well being of my family (until my husband takes that over). I was not invested there, so it was an easy move. Soooo, the church we visited yesterday was the one that hosted the Backyard Bible Club for the kids. I really liked it. Very solid biblically, and the people were sweet. Very small...less than 100 people, but maybe that is what we need. I tend to like to blend in. Maybe that is not what God wants from me any more. Sweetheart asked about the church when we got home. I stay low key in that area with him...if you read "A Wife's Testimony" you know why...that red pen is still engraved on my heart! Anyway, I stayed basic and just let him know I liked it and planned to "visit" again next week. He mentioned that maybe he would go with us. God is so faithful!!

I plan to attend the ladies Bible study on Monday nights. They are doing this book, which they graciously gave to me....

Ladies. I will be with ladies!!! The only time I spend with ladies is reading your blogs!! I am feeling....not overly excited, but a calm serene feeling I can not explain. I need this!

Kids/Family Update:

TJ and that "say cheese" face!! I have dozens of pictures of him that are nothing more than a blur. Now that he will "pose" this is what I get!

My son, Bud, did not make it home a weekend ago, so this weekend we all really enjoyed him. He got his new glasses. He looks so good! I think he said he had been in 16 states in 14 days. It was such a joy to watch him play with his son. They played "pick a hand" and tickle monster!

Pick a hand TJ....He found the hand with the "tickle" in it!!!!
I love those boys!!!!
Well those are my updates. I can not believe it is the last week of July! Time is flying this summer. Fall is just around the corner and I am looking forward to pumpkins and colored leaves. Fall brings with it a desire to hand quilt for me. It also brings a warm feeling of home. Most important for this fall, it will bring our new Granddaughter, Emerson. I hear those Sunbonnet Sue's calling me!!!!!

Zachary Turns Seven!!!!

Zachary Brendan is no longer 6 years old. Last night he stood on the fireplace and measured his height by the bricks. He was 1/2 a brick from the bottom of the mantle. He assured us by morning, when he would be 7, he would be tall enough to reach the mantle with his height. This morning he ran to the fireplace, knowing he grew at precisely midnight. 7 year olds are taller than 6 year olds. (Zach is little by either standard.) I held my breath, but sure enough...with just the right amount of neck craning, he reached the mantle with his height!!! Now he is hopeful that his baby teeth will loosen up. He has yet to lose one and the dentist said, they are not even close. Maybe by 8! Zach came home from backyard Bible Club to find his brand new Birthday Bike!!!It is a tad big for him, but he handled it just fine!Cool, flaming helmet!!!!!!

His McDonald's dinner and a birthday cake, made by Rachel (I was at a late appointment) and his birthday was complete!!!It is hard to believe he is 7 years old already, yet in someways it feels like it has moved in slow motion. I will always remain captivated by those caterpillar eyebrows, and sweet smile. His eyes are pools of love when you look into them. He makes life SO much better around here....even when he is being naughty!
Happy Birthday my sweet baby!!!!
And my BIG boy too!!!!

Love, Mom

4 Season Summer Swap (can you say that 3 times)

I received my 4 Season Summer Quilt in the mail today. It came from Paula, "The Quilter". I just LOVE it. (I took the above picture from her blog, as it looks SO much better than the picture I took...go figure)It has very special meaning in the fabrics. You can read the story of this quilt and it's meaning here. The hand quilting is wonderful!! It fits right in with the display I have planned. I will share it when it is done. Paula also made me a gorgeous knitted dishcloth with yarn from Mexico. I will show a picture soon...my batteries died!

Speaking of 4 Season Swap quilts...I have finally got my top finished and will be quilting it by tomorrow. That gives me 6 days to quilt it, bind it and mail it...I CAN do it...no problem!! Here is a preview. I took the picture in a dark room...otherwise you would need your sunglasses.

It is not crooked in real life...I tilted the camera a little I think. It measures 18x18...the blocks are 6" each. The dark color is actually a bright purple. ALL the colors are bright. I am a huge stickler for points matching up and all, but the large triangles on the "Birds in the Air" blocks, they did not come close. I frogged it once and then did some measurements and they all worked out the same, SOOOOO, I assume it is how it is suppose to be. At least all the bird points match up nicely. Because of the sailboat in the middle, I decided to call this "Birds on the Lake". The whole thing...colors, fabric design, and pattern is so far outside my box, you can not even see my box any more!!! The recipient loves these colors though and since it is for her, I want her to like it. The hand quilting will be the "me" that goes into it!
On the home front I got the bookcase cleaned out and reorganized. I moved my personal books up to my room with the video tapes...we never watch them, as we no longer have a VCR hooked up.Here is the bookcase before....
And here it is after....
Ready to house another year of living books that will be ordered in August. Hopefully the beginning of the month.
Tomorrow is Zachary's 7th birthday. I am dropping him and Charlotte off at Backyard Bible Club, and heading out to pick up his new bike! He will be thrilled. Saturday, Bud, Rachel, and TJ are taking him to the Milwaukee Zoo. He is looking forward to that. They were going as a family, and Zach said "I would love to go to the zoo for my birthday." So they are taking him. He has chosen McDonald's for his birthday meal (YUK!) and cupcakes made by mom. The Backyard Bible Club are taking him to Baskin and Robbins for ice cream after their morning of fun. He should have the birthday all 7 year olds dream of. I will post a couple of Zachary pictures tomorrow or Saturday.