Wonders Too Many to Declare {World Prematurity Day 2013}

Today is World Prematurity Day.  I can't let the opportunity go by to share again our gratefulness for God's healing in the life of our preemie almost 10 years ago, and His faithfulness to our family always.

The night that my water broke at 30 weeks, my friend Kathy shared these verses with me:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
   He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
 He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
   and put their trust in Him.
  Blessed is the one
   who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
   to those who turn aside to false gods.
 Many, LORD my God,
   are the wonders You have done,
   the things You planned for us.
None can compare with You;
   were I to speak and tell of Your deeds,
   they would be too many to declare.
~Psalm 40:1-5

I clung to those verses for dear life during the time I was in the hospital before Ammah Grace was born and during the time that she was in NICU.  God was so gracious to us in giving us wonders too many to declare with Ammah Grace!

As often as I feel I've shared Ammah Grace's story, there are always people who haven't heard it. You can read more here, here, and here. We were cautioned by her neonatologists that she might never walk or talk, and that she could be blind and/or deaf.  I still marvel, almost 10 years later, at our running, laughing, always-talking, bright and healthy reminder of God's faithfulness and glory.

Prematurity is such a scary thing.  The NICU is a world unto itself that no one wants to enter.  What a blessing, though, to have the technology and medical advances that we have today, and to have the highly-skilled, compassionate doctors and nurses who work with these tiny little ones and their families.

God taught us so much through those days that I don't know if we could have learned any other way, and I am so thankful for that.  I am also so thankful for the many people who helped our families in so many ways during that time, and for the many, many who prayed for her.  The "Ammah" in Ammah Grace was my great-grandmother's name.  We discovered after she came home from the hospital that "Ammah" is a Biblical place name that means, "God's people".  What a perfect name for our little preemie, in whose life God's people played such a huge part.

Ammah Grace with Bayley at Taekwondo. 

Ammah Grace recently learned to shoot, and she is hooked!  Being coached by Bro. Gary at Mrs. Rhonda and Mr. Calvin's house a few weeks ago. :) 

She loved it!

Ammah Grace at church.

A little Sunday afternoon pitch and catch with Dad.

A Long Overdue Road Trip Adventure {Claremore Gordon Mote Concert}

Last night and in the wee hours of the morning, proposed opening sentences and other content for this blog post kept popping into my head soundbite style.

This morning, I got up, took care of a few odds and ends that needed to be completed before starting this post, lightly edited some photos, and opened a new post window.

And my mind promptly went completely blank.

Arrrgggggggggghhhh!! 

I hate that!

Sometimes the really important posts just fly off my fingers.  Other times, they are the ones I struggle with most.  I want so much to get across what is in my heart that it completely paralyzes me.

That would be the case today. Sigh.

Here's what I posted on Facebook last night:

Spur of the moment road trip to see Gordon Mote in Claremore. Laughed until we couldn't breathe, cried a bit, and had some serious worship. Loved seeing the amazing Mrs. Shirley again, really enjoyed Sound Decision Quartet, and were blown away by Gordon Mote's music and message. It had been over a year since we'd done a real road trip, so we were way overdue.

My friend the Concert Fairy and I had talked months ago about going to this concert. As the time drew nearer, though, it just didn't seem there was any way it was going to work into either of our hectic schedules.  We regretfully decided that despite the fact that we really wanted to see Gordon Mote in person, we were just going to have to let this opportunity pass us by.

Then the phone call: "I know it's the last minute, but want to go to Claremore??"  Our road trip adventures often happen that way.  And almost quicker than you can say, "Gordon Mote at Claremore Naz", we were headed over the Garrison Avenue bridge.

It only took Jodie until we got to Sallisaw to ask, "OH! Do you have your camera battery??"  On this memorable trip to Claremore last year, with the promise of 2nd row seats to see Guy Penrod, I pulled out my camera to take a few shots of downtown Claremore and realized that my camera battery was charging away at my desk in Fort Smith.  I had been very careful to make sure that the battery was safely inside the camera, with the camera safely inside my bag, before leaving the house this time!

We chatted about first one thing and then another until we arrived at the Muskogee Turnpike McDonalds.  It's our standard Oklahoma roadtrip food-and-bathroom break stop.  The trip had been pretty uneventful to that point...as uneventful as things get for Jodie and I, anyway. :)

Things began to take a different turn at that point, however.

First, there was a little parking issue when Jodie tried to pull into this space:

(In case you can't tell from the odd angle of the photo, that's a walkway.  It's about 2/3 as wide as the car. I might have given her a teeny, tiny bit of a hard time about this. She insists that from her vantage point, it looked wider.  That's her story and she's sticking to it. :-D  She's one of the best drivers I know, though, so I'm mostly giving her the benefit of the doubt...along with the hard time. :))

By this time, the uncontrollable laughter had begun.  Once that starts, we're pretty much doomed.  All it takes is a glance and we can both be dissolved in laughter for no apparent reason to anyone but us.

And then came a little episode involving an alarm, hysterical laughter in the restroom, faucet (or faucet user) malfunction, and the sudden terrifying realization that we couldn't find the car keys.


I'm going to say that the alarm episode might not have gotten so out of control if we hadn't already hit the point of no return, although frankly, I can't be sure. Here's what's important to know from this part of the adventure:

• We did nothing illegal, immoral, or otherwise wrong. 
• We didn't get kicked out of the place, although we did get some funny looks from those around us. 
• Jodie's keys were not locked in the car. Our hearts stopped for less than a minute before she finally found them. 
• The remainder of the trip to Claremore was relatively uneventful.

 

We arrived in Claremore with plenty of time to spare, pulled into a parking space in front of the church, and I hopped out to take a picture or two while we were waiting.

I was once again amazed at the thought of the amazing concert ministry this unassuming little church has had for years.  It appears on the calendar of many of the Southern Gospel greats who regularly perform in much larger and more famous venues.  And yet it is obvious that they all love Claremore Naz and Mrs. Shirley, the amazing lady who has brought these concerts to Claremore all these years.

 

Then came the obligatory photo of the bus.  I don't know why, but I always have to get a picture of the bus.  As we said over and over again last night, it doesn't take much to excite us!

A stop by the product table, a quick word with Mrs. Shirley, and then we found our spots in the second row. Ready and waiting!
 

 We loved this verse during the pre-concert video.  How appropriate and timely!

We had an unexpected treat in the appearance of Sound Decision Quartet as the opening act.  I'm  a real sucker for good tight barbershop quartet harmony anyway, and these guys truly delivered!  Besides, how can you not like a group with such a fab sense of style?!  (Wish I'd gotten a better picture of the shoes, but maybe you can get an idea here. :))

And finally...Gordon Mote.  Jodie and I were practically having to pinch ourselves to believe that we were actually sitting 25ish feet away from this incredibly gifted pianist we'd watched so many times on Gaither dvds! 

He started off the concert with a tribute to the veterans, singing "I'm Proud to Be An American".  Intensely beautiful and emotional.  Here's my Veterans' Day Facebook cover photo with my thoughts:

"I started my Veterans' Day early last night when Gordon Mote opened his concert by singing/playing "I'm Proud to Be An American" as a tribute to the veterans. I would give anything to have a video.  Chills down my spine and tears in my eyes...it was amazing. Even more poignant sitting by my friend whose husband's cousin [the original said nephew...I'm operating on too little sleep and my fingers were moving faster than my brain. :)] was killed in action in Afghanistan last year, in a church in his hometown...brought it home in a whole new way.  Thankful for all those who have sacrificed much...both those who have served and serving, and their families."

 

"Don't Let Me Miss The Glory" was next.  I would have loved this song regardless...it's just my kind of song about the wonders of Creation and God's Glory.  But to hear it sung with such passion by a man who has never seen a bird or flower or fall color or sunset or the view from a mountaintop with his eyes...that was incredible.  I sat and thought about how much I depend on seeing God's glory in Creation, realizing that even if I could only hear, smell, and feel there would still be amazing evidence of it. Wow.   

I had no idea that in addition to his keyboard and vocal talent, Gordon is also a gifted song writer.  He shared that the song "I Want to Have Faith Like That" was inspired by friends who had lost a child.    Gave me goosebumps last night, and it has as I've listened over and over again today.

I want to have faith like that
Let it be who I am
I want to see the bigger picture 
And trust it's in God's hands
I want to have faith
I want to have faith like that
I want to walk the walk
Not just talk the talk
I want to make it who I am

 

I kept trying to get good pictures of his hands.  They were moving so fast it was a challenge, even from the second row!  

Other songs I loved (and which I plan to add to my playlist soon!):

Through It All (a wonderful old Andre Crouch fave)
Meanwhile Back at the Cross
The Sound a Dream Makes 

 

And then there was "God of Second Chances".  Wow.  Jodie and I have talked about the fact that every concert we go to, God seems to have a particular reason for us to be there...something specific He has for us in it that goes way above loving the music and worship.

I told her last night that as the concert was nearing a close, I had loved every bit, but I didn't feel like there had been that "Aha!" moment when I realized, "THIS is why God brought me here!"

Then came "God of Second Chances", Gordon's words that followed, and Pastor Mark Hiehle's prayer, all of which God used to hit me right between the eyes about something I least expected.  It was such a convicting jolt that I'm still processing through it...maybe I'll share a bit at some point.  There was no doubt in my mind that God had spoken to my heart in a huge way, and that we were supposed to be exactly where we were last night.

Here's a little taste of what Gordon said at the end of the concert.  (You'll be seeing more of this in another post to come soon...it went right along with a post that's been percolating for a while.  Since both Bro. Gary's sermon yesterday morning, and Gordon's words last night worked right into what I was already working on, I decided perhaps it's time to finish and post it. :))

The challenge is to take the love we feel right now and take it out into our community and love like Jesus.  If we loved better, maybe we wouldn't have to beg people to come to church...they might be beating down our doors.

 

 
As I've shared in the past about Guy Penrod, Gordon Mote is another whose love for the Lord and for people just radiates.  He stood and visited with every. single. person. who waited to meet with him last night, talking about kids, physical disabilities and healing, loss and grieving, and the Arkansas Razorbacks. :)

(Yes, that last conversation was with Yours Truly. Gordon is from Gadsden, AL, and is a die hard Crimson Tide fan.  I shared with him about coming home from the hospital in Birmingham as a newborn in my handknit Razorback sweater and booties the day after Arkansas beat Alabama in a bowl game. We had a good laugh about our respective sports loyalties. :))

There were about 6 people trying to get this photo.  I was not in a good spot, as you can see, but still thought it was fun. :)

I think this is my favorite shot of the whole night.  I love the expression on Mrs. Shirley's face as she is chatting with Gordon.  Seeing how much these musicians love and admire Mrs. Shirley is just a precious thing.  We have come to love her dearly in our brief encounters with her.  She has blessed so many in such huge ways in bringing these concerts to Claremore.  

We had to laugh when we came out to the car.  When we pulled in there before the concert, I had joked that Jodie would have to let everyone else parked on that side of the church leave before she would pull out of this spot.  We came out and immediately realized that we were almost the last people who weren't directly involved with working the concert to leave the church.  No worries about waiting for the traffic to clear!

(And the good news, for those who remember the story of our first Claremore road trip adventure, is that we did not drive around lost in Jenks, Oklahoma, in the dark of night for hours. ;-)) 

There is just no way to adequately express the blessing and ministry of concerts like last night's in words and pictures.  As Jodie always says, "You just have to be there."  And you do.  And if you ever get a chance, I encourage you to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Huge, huge thanks to Jodie (aka Concert Fairy/Chauffeur/Chief Adventure Architect) for going with and driving last night. Her friendship is such a blessing! Another status from today says this:

Reminded today how richly blessed I am with friends. Had my monthly lunch date with one friend Friday, annual family bonfire with another on Saturday, and then the last minute road trip with another yesterday. So thankful for those and other iron-sharpens-iron, laughing, crying, praying friendships!

Huge thanks also to Mrs. Shirley for providing the opportunities for these concerts for so many who wouldn't be able to experience them otherwise.  

And more huge thanks to Billy and the kids, who are always as excited about these adventures as we are, and who held down the fort at home while we were gone!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interested in reading more?  The concert/southern gospel posts are not only some of my favorites on the blog, but also some of the most-read of all time. 

More on previous Claremore Road Trip Adventures:

The Original Claremore Road Trip Adventure {Steve Ladd, Jonathan Martin, and Michael English}

Another Road Trip {Claremore Guy Penrod Concert}

Links to the Penrod Posts, All in One Place:

The Penrod Posts {Guy Penrod} 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for stopping by! If you're new here, welcome! I'd love to hear from you in the comments or via the email option in the sidebar. If you'd like to keep up with future posts,  it's easy to follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.  You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. I'm also on Instagram at jenbh68. Thanks! 

In Which I Play a Bit of Catch-Up...

Soooooo...in early October I posted that I wanted to try to post an average of 5 days a week for the month.  Not only did I not post 5 days a week...I didn't manage to post even 5 days total in October!  It turned out to be one of my worst blogging months ever.  

 

October always looks like it's going to be a relatively calm month here, but always somehow ends up being a wild month, and always for different reasons.  This year it was my adding an almost-full-time temporary  job to our normally full schedule while my mom was out of town for three weeks.  Whew!  This was no new revelation, but I do not know how working moms do it.  What a challenge.

I had a whole list of planned blog posts for the month, which I'm pretty sure has now grown long enough to last to the end of the year.  Most of those posts are not in any way time-sensitive; however, one is now officially "late". 

October was pastor appreciation month.  I had planned to do a pastor appreciation month post early on, but I never made it that far.  It may be late, but I cannot let this opportunity go by without expressing my appreciation for our pastor. 

 

 

We first met Bro. Gary and Becky when they joined our {old} church 6 years or so ago.  They were new grandparents, and I was a teacher in the Bed Babies department in Sunday School.   I spent hours rocking little Brandon in Sunday School, and always enjoyed visiting with his doting grandparents. 

Brandon's parents moved out of state, Bro. Gary and Becky were called to another church, and we lost contact for a few years.  Then one night Billy and the kids came home from prayer meeting talking about how the new mission church our church was sponsoring.  They had invited our church to a cookout and gospel singing.  It sounded like fun, and we wanted to support our church's new mission, so we went.  What a surprise to arrive and discover that Bro. Gary was the pastor! 

I have told the story of the following year here. You may want to pop over and read about God's work in leading us to a new adventure at Grace Lavaca, if you haven't already. 

God has blessed us in many ways in the 14 months since our move.  Bro. Gary and Becky are high on the list of those blessings.  Bro. Gary preaches the truth of the Word without reservation.  He is committed to our church following God's ways, not man's.  He loves our little flock and he and Becky are quick to see needs and minister to them.  They love people and have a burden for the lost. We love them and are so thankful for them!

And while I'm on the subject of pastors...I have to add how grateful I am for the "long line of godly men" (to borrow Steven Lawson's series title) who have served as my/our pastors in the past.  Each one has taught me much and each one has a special place in my heart: Bill Probasco, David McGowin, David Hatfield, Phil Whitten, and Kent Sweatman.  How blessed we have been!  

 

 

On a completely different note, I have a couple of other items of catching up to do.  First, last month I was privileged to be part of a "31 Days" blog called 31 Days of OpenHearted Living.  This blog was a project of the launch team for Mary DeMuth's new book, The Wall Around Your Heart.  Want to bless me in a big way??  Here are a few things I'd like to invite you to do:

• First...pop over there and read Rip Van Winkle, Wrecking Balls, and the Journey Back to Transparency. (You can also leave a comment there or back here, if you'd like. :))
• Second...If you're on Pinterest, share any or all of the photo quotes there.  You can pin from the post if you have the "Pin It" button in your toolbar; otherwise, you can go to my Wall Around Your Heart board and repin directly from there. 
• Third...feel free to share the post on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites. 
• While you're at the OpenHearted Living blog, hang around a while and read some of the other great posts by my fellow launch team members.  
• Be sure to check out the book itself: The Wall Around Your Heart. If you deal with any type of difficult relationships (and who doesn't??), this book will bless and challenge you! 

 

 One last item of "catch up" for today...a few weeks ago, Crisi at Reserved and Waiting nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award. This came about during the three weeks of utter chaos of working for my mom while she was gone, and I didn't even  discover it until a few days later. However, my lateness in acknowledging the award doesn't in any way reflect my excitement...I am honored and tickled pink!  

Recipients of the award are to do these things:

• Thank the person who gave you this award. That is common courtesy.
• Include a link to their blog. That is also common courtesy – if you can figure out how to do it.
• Next, Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or that you follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award – you might include a link to this site.
• You can not nominate the person who nominated you.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Due to time and space issues with this post, I am going to come back with my own nominations and the 7 things about myself in another post, but I wanted to give a shout out to Crisi asap! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for stopping by! If you're new here, welcome! I'd love to hear from you in the comments or via the email option in the sidebar. If you'd like to keep up with future posts,  it's easy to follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.  You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. I'm also on Instagram at jenbh68. Thanks! 

Simple Things Sunday

After a crazy week of everyone going in different directions, it was wonderful to have a weekend full of simple family fun.  I've been wanting to link up with Simple Things Sunday for a while now, and finally remembered! (And thought this was a great week to do so, since I savored every simple moment. *insert big mushy heart here*)

Daddy's Little Helper Loves Daddy's Big Tools!

Em and AG hanging out "surrounded by taxidermy", as Emlyn said, at the Tackle Box. :)

Em's Cool New Shoes...LOVE 50% Off Clearance Sales at Academy!

All Em Wants For Christmas...Light Up Eiffel Tower. :)

Odd Beauty in the Parking Lot

Not a particularly flattering shot of me...I'd been up since 4 a.m. and had very little sleep for 3 days...but I'm trying to do better about getting an occasional "mom shot" (and besides, my daughter begged! :))

She also begged for this one...aren't we lovely? :)

Had a late lunch date here with Billy this week...so funny, because we used to eat there fairly often in our dating/early married years when it was 3-Pete's, but hadn't been there in a LONG time.  Now it's La Huerta, with new colors and decor, but still very much the same architectural feel as 3-Pete's. 

One of my favorite "simple things"...sitting in the back yard with Billy...talking, reading, taking pictures of the birds and squirrels...today we had a little visitor. :)

Love This Crazy Bunch!!

Thank you for stopping by! If you're new here, welcome! I'd love to hear from you in the comments or via the email option in the sidebar. If you'd like to keep up with future posts,  it's easy to follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.  You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. I'm also on Instagram at jenbh68. Thanks!