Attention: All Prayer Warriors

There he is.  My handsome husband who loves his girls.  I am proud to be called his wife and thankful for this man in my life.

Some of you may know that he has struggled with migraines for the last several years, becoming most prominent now in the last 3.  They have come and gone, we've tried different medications, and different forms of treatment (traditional, chiropractic, etc.).  Some would help for a while, and then the migraines would come back.  We feel we have just not quite figured out the root of them.

We know that migraines are something that many folks deal with.  As many know, the ability to move forward with goals and everyday tasks becomes rather difficult when you are stuck in a dark room unable to hear noise without cringing or see light without throwing up. 

This is not something we've brought up as a prayer request before, because it often goes away as quickly as it has come.  We move on with life and forget about it until the next episode.  But right now we are asking you to stand with us in asking the Father to reveal to us what is causing these.  They have begun to so affect everything we do.  We know it is not beyond the confines of the enemy to try and attack our health, particularly during this time when we are getting ready to go.  Ask the Lord to grant us the wisdom and grace in connecting with the right doctor, trying the right adjustments to diet, routine, etc., running across the right information that might help. 

Please pray for Trevor.  I would really appreciate it, and I know he would, too.

Sarah

What will go, what will stay, what will be given away?

Oh I am excited to be blogging again. It has been so very long. Between crying babies, grad school projects, homeschooling kiddos, traveling, midterms, quizzes, all-nighters in the GIAL lab, and keeping the house in running order, little time was left this past year to send out a lot of updates, much less keep our blog updated. Many tasks await us still, but we are thankful that keeping family, friends, and ministry partners updated can now come back to the top of the list.

Today I just wanted to give you a glimpse into one priority of our lives right now that needs not only brain power and physical strength, but also a bit of emotional hardiness thrown in there, too.

Enter....STUFF.

...we may or may not have chosen to show you the more sparse, orderly side of our attic;)

Most of you, I'm sure, have moved at least once in your life. We certainly have several times (our oldest, Acácia, just turned 6 yesterday, and not counting the small "moves" of the last two months,  has experienced full-on relocation, new bedroom, etc. 5 times in her life).  The most life-changing move has yet to take place as we get ready to make our first international move to Brazil, Lord willing, this year.

And so, we have a bunch of this to go through.

 (Books and more books...piano books, which "carry a lot of weight" in so many ways.)

And a little more of this...

Games, blocks, toys, oh my!

It seems simple when they're not your books and your memories and your toys. This process is good for the soul, but can present its challenges. It isn't just a process of relocating all of our things and calling it good. It is the actual letting go of a whole lot of STUFF that we have to remind ourselves at the end of the day is truly just stuff. Beyond that, we ask this not only of ourselves, but of our girls, too. It is not practical nor helpful to bring all of their toys and all of their clothes and all of their books, but helping kids 6 and under grasp hold of this truth can get a little sticky. We are weeding out and weeding out and then weeding out some more, so that when the time comes, we are able to fit most all (besides a few things left behind in storage of some sort) of our earthly possessions into somewhere under 15-20 bags.

We ask that you joyfully pray with us. The purging of earthly possessions is a process we are thankful for, but we need a lot of help in thinking through it all! Pray that our kids might find fulfillment in passing along some toys and treasures and clothes. May it be a time for growth for all of us, reminding us that our identity in Christ can never be taken away, nor do we ever have to give it up. Thanks for riding this part of the journey with us!

And I leave you with this sweet picture of our newly-turned 6-year-old young lady...

...who was such a good sport when we had to postpone having her friends over for cake because the whole family has been wrought with the stomach flu (in fact, even as i write this, my stomach is still in a horrible mess).  But, Acácia finally decided it was "simply delightful" to be able to have a tea party with the fam even though it wasn't the original plan. I love that girl. And tea parties (mainly because the girls put on their best British accent...along with their fancy clothes of course).

~Sarah