Prayers.

I know that I say this a lot, but I cannot express enough how THANKFUL we are for your prayers. The Lord uses your faithfulness to keep our hearts from becoming overwhelmed.
Psalm 61:1-2
"O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer!
From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart
is overwhelmed. "

The Lord is growing our prayer lives significantly through this trial. He is conforming our hearts to depend on and be near to Him in our times of trouble. Recently, though, we have been convicted that we are in desperate need of Him all the time. If our prayer life is consistent, our hearts are near the Lord, and we are dependent upon Him during joyous times, then our initial response during trials will be to cling to Him as well.

This seems simple enough, huh?
But, why is it so hard? Why is my initial response to trial is to call upon my husband, my parents, or my friends? We are thankful for this trial for many reasons, one being that the Lord is using it to transform our hearts to realize our need to remain steadfast in our prayer life, regardless of circumstance.

Wes, Bri, Wesley Adam and I traveled to Arkansas this past weekend. We visited family and friends and used the Razorback tickets my parents gave me for my birthday. It was encouraging to spend time with fellow believers who love the Lord and our family. We also had a wonderful time taking Wesley Adam to his first Razorback football game!


As much as I loathe the 5 hour drive to Arkansas, I am grateful for the uninterrupted conversation that I have with Wes. We share our hearts, we talk about what the Lord is doing in our lives, we talk about our uncertain future, we joke, and we laugh. It makes the drive fun.
On this particular trip, we were talking about all of your prayers. Our hearts were encouraged, but also became burdened for you. We want to return the blessing and intercede before the throne of grace on your behalf.
If you have a prayer request that you would like to share or even an "unspoken", please post a comment or email me at jmills1104@yahoo.com and allow us to pray for you.
It would bring us great joy.

James 5

James 5:14-15
"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up."

In accordance with James 5, the elders of our church asked us if they could pray for healing over Wesley Adam. So, today, after church we met with them to pray.
They placed oil on my forehead, while acknowledging that it has no healing power but the power rests with the Lord.
They each said a prayer asking for miraculous healing. Healing that would take place, not for pride in our prayers, not for our comfort, but for the power of God to be displayed.
All Glory To God.

I had text messaged my mom and dad yesterday, letting them know about our scheduled meeting with the elders. Today, my mom called as we were headed home from church to tell us that my dad had sent our text message to family and friends. He asked them to pray at 12:15 today, knowing that would be about the time we were meeting with the elders. This is just another example of how so many people are daily praying for the healing of Wesley Adam. The testimony of believers across the country praying specifically for the healing of our son is humbling. We are so blessed and thankful for each and every prayer.

Update on my little ones.

I was a bit anxious Thursday morning as I was getting ready to go to the doctor because I had yet to feel Wesley Adam kick. I was comforted through so many emails, prayers, and the Lord's Word, that by God's amazing grace, I was able to overcome the anxiety before we got to the doctor. That is my desire- to not put my hope in Wesley Adam's kicks but in our Sovereign Lord Jesus.

The Lord has given us a great nurse/doctor team. We are so thankful for them. They, both, love the Lord and are very supportive in our decision to carry to term. They told us over and over at our appointment that they are on board with all our decisions from this point on- whether that be c-section v. vbac, the manual breaking of my water, certain medications, how to handle pre-term labor, ect. It is wonderful to have the freedom to follow the will of the Lord without having to worry if that contradicts doctor's orders.

Our doctor gave us a few scenarios to think and pray through. He wants us to be prepared so that if these scenarios come to fruition, we don't have to panic but will know our decision beforehand. Please pray that we would be sensitive and have discernment to follow the Lord's guidance.

Wesley Adams's heartbeat continues to be strong and I am measuring right on target. We are so thankful that our little guy continues to grow and seems to be doing well. We long for the day we see him face to face. We love him more with each passing moment. Thank you Lord for our precious son.

23 weeks

Now on to the big sis. Aubri is doing very well. She loves her bubba very much and talks about him and prays for him daily. She continues to be a blessing as she pushes us to stay focused on the tasks the Lord has given us to raise her according to His will and to teach her His Word.


Aubri's newest thing is changing her doll babies' diapers. I can't tell you how many diapers those babies go through in a day. But, just like any good mother, Aubri doesn't seem too bothered by all the dirty diapers and goes ahead and changes her babies over, and over, and over again.

Bri is still seeing ECI twice a month and we are very encouraged by her speech development. She is in the fun copy cat stage, where she tries to say just about anything we ask her to. By her doing this she has started saying so many more words consistently. Our newest favorite is "God". It is so precious to hear her talk about our Savior. Also, she has started putting a few 2 word phrases together-"Big Sis", "Bye-bye Da-da", and "New Shoes".

Thank you for continuing to pray for our family.

Guaranteed victory.

We will proceed with seeing our original ob/gyn on a normal schedule. This month's appointment is scheduled for Thursday. That means it has been almost one month since we found out about Wesley Adam's diagnosis.

How have we managed to endure and live each day
for an entire month?

By ourselves...
We couldn't.

But, by God's grace...
We have and will continue.
He is with us every step.
He is pouring out His promises on us every morning.
Thank you, precious Lord Jesus.
We are so undeserving.

Please pray for me.
I am battling fear.
At times during my pregnancy with Aubri, I battled this same thing. This pregnancy, it has escalated. Is he moving today? Is he ok? What will the doctor tell us?

I am praying for my thoughts to be taken captive. Wes and I have are posting Scriptures around our home to encourage us to "not to worry" and "fear not". We ask you to join in prayer as we battle.

We are in Christ. We will boast in Him. He has guaranteed victory in this war.
Pray that through His power, we will win this battle.

Joy.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

Wes and I have been talking about these verses for years. Recently, they have taken on a whole new meaning. I have never faced any sort of trial or tragedy that caused me to really search for the Lord's joy. I am searching now. I admit, that these verses are very hard for me to really understand. Pure joy? Really? I have some joy but I also have so much heartache and pain. Pure joy has not yet been found. I trust the Lord. I trust His word and I am longing for pure joy.

Each day that I spend in God's word, He gives me joy. Each day I have been able to experience His joy in a little different way than the day before.

Today it looked like this:

-I woke up to drizzling rain. It was a beautiful sound that was accompanied shortly, by my sweet girl's call for "Ma-ma" on the monitor.

-My husband was an encouragement to me as he prayed for me before he went to work.

-I enjoyed a morning with Wes's sister, Erica, and our niece, Blake. Erica is on her maternity leave and has come to stay with us. We are loving their company.

-I reread several encouraging cards that we have received the past few weeks. It is so comforting to have these. I am planning on making a scrapbook of Wesley Adam's life to record all the people that have touched our lives and all the lives that he has touched.

- As I was rereading the cards, Wesley Adam started loving on his mommy by giving me some kicks! This must be the absolute best feeling. It brings a smile to my face every time.

-Erica and I enjoyed the sunshine this afternoon and took our babies on a walk around the seminary campus. We checked the mail and I received 3 more encouraging cards. Thank you so much for continuing to petition to our great God on our behalf.

-Aubri has started saying "Bub-ba" and she loves to kiss and point to my belly.

I look forward to the new joys the Lord will bring tomorrow.
I trust in His promises and know that through Him pure joy will come.