Changes

It feels as though life since getting married has consisted of change after change after change. Change that I have at times handled graciously, while other times it happens despite my inward kicking and screaming. Once again, our life seems to be changing. It's scary for me. I have felt comfortable with life as it is, and am not thrilled about these changes. Perhaps that is exactly why God has given us our newest set of challenges.

As we work through the challenges that are presented to our family, I can look back at so many times when God used difficult time to grow my relationship with Him and my relationship with my husband. It's when I look back I am reminded to be grateful for difficult changes.

I love the innocence of children and that they
do not carry the worries of the world on their shoulders.

I lean, first and foremost, on the Lord God as things change, trusting there HE has a plan for our family. I then make the choice to come along side my husband and serve as his helper, his primary encourager and seek to follow his leadership. The unknowns frighten me, but the knowledge of God loves and cares for our family is my comfort.

Proverbs for Daily Living

As I sit down in the mornings to read my Bible, I often times find myself gleaning from Proverbs. The wisdom contained in the thirty-one chapter book often convicts and encourages me. Today I was again struck by how many verses contained in Proverbs speak to, well, our tongue.

Proverbs 16:13 "Righteous lips are a king's delight, and he loves one who speaks honestly."

Proverbs 16:24 "Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body."

Proverbs 17:9 "Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but whoever gossips about it separates friends."

My prayer today is that I, with the power of the Holy Spirit, will keep my tongue in check. I pray that I will speak honestly, with pleasant words. I pray that I will have the strength to conceal an offense in order to promote love.

Meet Gabriel Josiah, our youngest child. Gabriel was born October 23, 2010, exactly nine months from the day my husband returned from his second (and last) deployment to Iraq.



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Elliana Gwynn was born October 4, 2008, the first birth my husband, Josiah, was able to witness. The only girl with three brothers, she is rough and tumble, yet undeniably girly.

 Malachi James was born June 9, 2007. He is an adorable three year old, and full of fire and determination. Malachi, as well shown here, is our animal lover. He makes friends with everything from spiders and beetles to dogs and cows. He believes (and so far it has proven true) that he is immune to stings and bites from bees, snakes, etc.

 

 Simeon James was born February 23, 2006, nine months after we were married. He is a brilliant little boy, and loves the position of "the first baby". He has a very tender heart, and is always thinking. He's holding some variety of chicken on this photo.

Josiah and Janelle (me)

This photo was taken October 2009, while Josiah was home on a two week leave from Iraq. Josiah and I have been married since May 12, 2005. We are high school sweethearts, married less than a year after we graduated at age 19. We are enjoying the process of growing up together, and it is our prayer that we will be giving the opportunity to grow old together.

 In our five years of marriage, we have grown so much while weathering various challenges.We've lived in five different homes, had four babies, Josiah has had three different employers, we've made it  through two deployments and through it all, we seek to continue to become one. God has richly blessed us and we are so grateful to him for the life he has given us.

We have an entertaining sequence of attempted family pictures from Thanksgiving 2010. While none of them are "picture perfect", this photo displays our family well. Our boys think it is great to make faces for photos, and at least everyone is actually IN the photo.