It Is Well: November 2012

What causes you to feel anxiety or fear? For me, it is public speaking. I can sit down and write and write and write, but the moment I have to share something out loud, with a group of people, I stumble over my words, my voice shakes and my palms sweat. I've heard that it is a common fear among Americans. Unfortunately, I often have to face my fear on the job. A big part of my job is sitting in meetings and sharing information about students with parents and colleagues. So, when I look at my calendar and see an upcoming meeting, I begin to have lots of anxiety. Days before the meeting, my nerves will begin to affect how I react to my husband and children...I will be cranky and "on edge". And, shortly before the meeting, I will feel the butterflies in my stomach. So, one day when I read my daily devotional book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, and she addressed the issue of anxiety, I felt like she was speaking directly to me. She mentioned envisioning anxiety-provoking events and picturing Jesus being the center of those events. Picture Him right there in the midst of your fearful circumstance....picture Him sitting next to you...picture Him holding your hand...picture Him holding you up! He is there...always has been and always will be! Today, I was speaking with a friend about her anxiety and some upcoming meetings for her job. I was sharing Sarah Young's wise words about anxiety and picturing Jesus in those meetings. She told me that she was going to leave a chair empty at the meeting table and reserve it for Jesus. What a cool idea! I think I might start doing the same thing and not just at work...in my home, in my car...wherever I go, I will reserve a seat for Jesus and I will make him the center of my anxiety-provoking event. Because he will be sitting in his "Jesus Chair", I will not stumble over my words, my voice will not shake, my palms will not sweat and I will not fear!

At least once a day my kids do something that makes me reach for my camera to record it in a video or picture. The other day I tried to take a picture and my camera said, "Memory Card Full"...a polite reminder to upload some pictures and update my blog :) So, here's what's new with us:

Leah:

Oh my! She is so sweet, but so sassy! She is constantly on the go. She crawls all over and she is into everything. Leah loves to laugh, squeal and "talk". She loves her taggy blanket and she sucks her thumb to calm herself down and fall asleep (just like her brother). She smiles CONSTANTLY! We love her so much and we can't wait to see how she develops.

Logan:

Logan just turned 4 and he loves to inform us of that fact. Over the summer we noticed that he was crossing his eyes when looking at things close up. We took him to the eye doctor and we were informed of the fact that he is far-sighted. He has been wearing glasses for about a month now and we are only on the second pair (Can you sense my sarcasm?). He loves going to daycare and church to play with friends. His teacher at church thinks he is going to be a preacher when he grows up and I believe it. He loves reading his Bible and last week he said he wanted to ride in a rocket ship to go to Heaven to meet Jesus. He also loves playing games, reading books, and playing with trains and cars. He has a great sense of humor and he makes us laugh on a daily basis. He also loves his sister and loves to make her laugh. Sometimes I look at him and I wonder to myself, "Who is this little boy? It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby!" I couldn't ask for a better son!

Jesse:

Jesse is busy, busy, busy! In April, he was promoted to manager of the service department at the dealership where he works. He is also very busy playing the drums in his band, Last Call. They have been playing in and around our town three or four times a month. He also serves at church by playing the drums with the worship team a couple times a month. We have season tickets to University of Illinois football again this year and Jesse has been to several games. He is still an Illini fan despite their terrible performance this year. He LOVES his children and they light up when they see him. He is an incredible father and we are all blessed to have him in our lives.

Erin:

I have also been quite busy with work, small group and just keeping up with my kids and home. I am enjoying my job and some extra responsibilities this year. I often feel like I go to work to get a break :) The kids keep me busy and I'm usually worn out by lunch time on days when I am with them all day, but I love them more than words and I am honored to be their mother. I have been blessed with an amazing small group at church and I love getting together with them and growing together with them. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with Jesse, but I guess that makes our time together even more special. I have enjoyed going to football games with him this year, but some of my favorite moments are spent sitting on the couch with him and watching something on TV that makes both of us laugh. I feel incredibly blessed and...

LIFE IS GOOD!