Monday, June 11, 2012

Quarterly Update Part 3 - Easter


Here is the 3rd part of my quarterly update of the Henderson home. Most of the updates we write are about our children, but today I am going to share a little of what the Lord has been doing the past few months in not only my heart but Austin’s as well. The Lord is always refining His children, teaching us, encouraging us, growing and stretching us to look more and more like His son; therefore I see more and more that our walk as Christians with our Father is never dull or boring. God put us on earth for a purpose. He has a plan each day for us if we will submit and trust Him with it- and our God is not dull! He longs for abundant life for us- a life full of meaning. And that kind of life takes us out of our comfort zone. Like Peter,  He has been asking me to step out of the boat (my comfort zone) and trust Him, yet again, over the last several months.

Back in January I felt the Lord asking me to take off my makeup for a week. I know, for some of you that might seem like no big deal, but this was really hard for me. I finally submitted. Many people noticed throughout the week, of course, and that wasn’t easy. It was a very humbling experience. One of the many things I pondered however during this time was obedience. Was I willing to obey when God asked me to do something? I tell my children almost every day, “Obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings consequences.” Did I really believe that trusting Him (even when I wasn’t sure why he was asking me to do this) and obeying would reap a blessing? The answer was yes; however I still reluctantly obeyed.

God was faithful to refine me during this week- to expose some “junk” in my own heart- but to also bless me. Looking back, I believe the main reason God asked and the blessing I received was to give me more confidence to trust Him the next time He wanted me to step out of my comfort zone.
Ironically, the next time He asked was just days later…we were asked by our worship pastor to share a piece of our journey with Caleb, and then I was asked to dance- to dance a dance of worship before the Lord  at church on Easter Sunday –What? No! that is/was WAY out of my comfort zone! Austin and I pretty much decided that we both weren’t ready for something like that…but God kept whispering, “Do you trust me?” Well, yes I trust you Lord BUT…and I had 8 VERY GOOD reasons for saying no- EIGHT!  1) I haven’t dance in 16 years! ; 2) I have NEVER danced in a worship setting; 3) I have no background of this kind of worship- I don’t know where to begin; 4) I’m not a choreographer! I can’t make up the dance! 5) I have really bad knees. 6) What will my friends and family think? 7) Is our church body ready for this kind of worship? 8) Are we ready to be this vulnerable with our story?....do these sound like good enough reasons to say no? We thought so! Honestly, every time I thought about dancing I could hardly catch my breath. I wanted to run away, for the Lord to come back, for anything but to face this feat ahead. I would even shake with fear.-- Isn’t that just like God, though, to put me such a place of neediness! Well, I decided that I would take the next step as it came to me- I could not commit fully to saying yes, but I would move forward as the Lord made a way…and the amazing thing was just how the LORD made a way for us- remember this was a huge step of faith for Austin as well.

Austin and I prayed for the Lord’s provision. I needed help. I felt alone not having experience with this kind of worship. We prayed for someone to come alongside and support us. For a few weeks we just listened to the song over and over. Then one day at Kroger I ran into a lady that I hardly new. Her daughter went to a Home School Tutorial with Caleb- I didn’t even know the mom’s name. We exchanged a few words, and in the midst she said she taught dance to children at her church’s studio in Smyrna. I thought that was neat considering I danced for so many years, but we parted quickly and that was it. Later that afternoon it dawned on me that maybe that interaction was a provision from the Lord! It seemed like a really long shot; however, I ended up getting her email and contacting her. I explained my situation and asked if she could help in any way. In the meantime (she actually wasn’t able to help me for another 3 weeks), I was utterly amazed as I listened to the song- the Lord gave me little by little 8 count after 8 count of the dance! I was truly stunned! Then after 3 weeks, she contacted me and said this was right up her alley- that she would love to help me! I couldn’t believe it; I cried at the Lord’s provision. She turned out to be the most amazing gift- sweetest, most humble, Spirit- lead woman! She not only helped me complete the dance, but she validated the dance I already had; she gave me confidence to follow the Lord’s calling; she exposed me for the 1st time to a body who embraces this kind of worship, and she became a prayer warrior for me during this time.

Well, there were many other provisions along the way for Austin and I as we faced together each of the 8 hurdles. I have thought many times since Easter Sunday, “What if we had said No!?”  We would have missed out on so many blessings! - I ran across a quote I wrote in my Bible that said, “I don’t know what God will do; I only know what He has already done. Therefore, I will stand up and go forward and expect the bridge of His deliverance- this is faith.” Wow, we truly got to see His bridge of deliverance over the past several months! Even when I was honestly scared to death, it felt so good to trust Him!! Isn’t that what we sing…Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus; just to take him at his word….

So, here is the video that was recorded of our story and then the video clip of the dance. Will T so graciously videotaped the dance for us.

There are two videos below. If you click the image it will take you to the video.





Thank you so very much to those of you who journeyed with us through this process and joined us in prayer. You were a sweet blessing!
 
After church we had lunch at our house with some of Austin's family.

 
-Austin's dad, Kevin, his brother, Chase, and his fiance Krystle - which we are thrilled to announce! She is the sweetest, most precious girl and has been a blessing to us over the last year and a half. She loves on our kids, and they adore her!


We of course had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard- it was a beautiful day! My mother made this dress for me when I was Annelise's age- it's one of my favorites. 

smile Caleb!

suckers with KG!

In April we journeyed to Merri Acres Farm for the 5th year in a row with 14 adults and 17 kids!! Wow! We had another year of homemade ice cream, bike riding, fish catching, porch swinging, truck-bed riding, campfire sitting, guitar singing, and cow watching fun!!

We have cows again in our fields! Yay! Here are all 17 kidos jumping in the truck to go see the cows and find the baby calves!

Here are the goofy dads (minus Kevin) who all grew out their whiskers prior to the weekend and then surprised us with silly mustaches and goatees - Ha!

I love this picture of Annelise that Austin captured down by the pond. We just can't get over that she has curly hair! I'm jealous!! ;)

Well, Caleb didn't catch a fish this year like lots did, but he really made good strides on his casting abilities!

lining up for some water fun!

enjoying some ice cream on the porch swing

Here are the moms- 4 of which are pregnant, adding 4 more to the bunch next year at the farm!!

We had another memorable year. Thank you to my family who work hard to keep it running so that we might enjoy this wonderful place. We are truly grateful! 
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Here is Annelise proud as can be to have the rail taken off her bed for the 1st time! Yay! What a big girl she is. The story behind this is funny: we kept the Morrow kids for a weekend and Sarah Beth (who is 4) slept in Annelise's room. After we had gotten them down for the night, out ran the two girls into the living room. I jumped up and said, "Annelise, how did you get out of your crib?" She simply stated, "Sarah Beth showed me how to do it!" We died laughing, and quickly made the transition- it was time anyways!! ;) 

I can't believe the school year is over- here we are at Caleb's performance at Shepherd's Heart. What a blessing this home school tutorial has been!! He has loved his teacher and his friends! 

I had to capture a shot of this to lock it into my memory...Caleb and Annelise have made a habit of waving goodbye to Daddy and blowing kisses as he drives away each morning. It is precious!

We took this shot one night when we went into Annelise's room. We have been finding her in all kinds of weird positions in the bed! The worst, however, is on the floor!  - there is nothing sweeter than watching your child sleep though. 

Caleb soccer ended in May. He has improved since last year and has loved every minute!

His favorite parts of soccer, however, are the snacks and the trophy!! ;) Here we are with Chase and Krystle...KG, Mimi, and Grandaddy all came up for a game as well. 

On a Daddy date this Spring, Austin took Caleb to a climbing wall. He loved it!!

On our last day of Kindergarten, we got our friends together to have a time of sharing and celebration. Caleb shared facts about his favorite study this year- the Solar System! It's been a great 1st year of school. 

eating lunch and chatting about Legos and Star Wars (i'm sure) in the tree house!

And here are some of our pre-schoolers- Timothy, Annelise, and Sarah Beth. They were a delight too this year in school. I was so proud of Annelise this year as she learned right alongside of Caleb. She's as sharp as a tack! ;)

Love to you all - have a happy summer.
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