Giving God Glory
God's great provision for a missionary friend's medical ministry - And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 One of our friends, Elyze Wermel, has been serving the Lord in Old Fangak in Sudan the past few months using her medical skills while serving alongside an excellent doctor, Dr. Jill Seaman - who was recently featured in National Geographic - to help people in need of medicine, surgery, and more. There is a new clinic there that was 4 years in the making due to it being located in a hard, desolate place and additional various challenges. A month ago there was a roaring fire that destroyed all the hospital supplies and tens of thousands of dollars worth of medications and also caused significant damage to the clinic building. Without these medicines, lives were going to be lost. In the midst of this tragedy, Elyze and the locals saw God's goodness, grace, and provision:
- the building was empty at the time of the fire - no people were killed or harmed
- no one was hurt while putting the fire out - even though many of them were barefoot or in flip flops
- the tools were salvaged
- a refrigerator with meds was spared
- Samaritan's Purse & World Health Organization heard about these troubles and sent a lot of medical supplies
- in only a few weeks they were able to rebuild and restore this building that had taken four years to build, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and years of labor
God will supply ALL your needs... Philippians 4:19
What's on the Harrisons' Hearts
Glorifying God in eating, exercising, & my perspective of my body - Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (Preface - This is specifically something the Lord has been doing personally in my heart - not necessarily something He is presently working out in Wes' heart.) Apparently the Lord is wanting to grow me in pursuing a more biblical perspective and practice in eating, exercising, and how I view and care for the body He has given me because He has been bringing people, books, audio messages, articles, and Scriptures into my life lately that He has been using to grow me in these areas.
Short testimony of my journey of the Lord growing me in these areas - In jr. high and the beginning of high school, I bought into the world's lies that being thin and looking like the media/magazine models would lead to (fill in the blank). My goal was to have as low of a body fat percentage as possible, and my friends and I had an unspoken contest of seeking who could be the "best at it" - our gym teacher would test us whenever we asked. I did not necessarily have an eating disorder, but I definitely had tendencies and thinking along the lines of anorexia. At the age of 16, the Lord convicted me that my obsessive way of eating, exercising, and viewing my body was sinful. I confessed and repented and asked the Lord to help me. My new goal became to be healthy. My junior year of high school I discovered that one of my best friends was struggling with bulimia, and the Lord encouraged me to come alongside of her (and her mom after my friend told her) in supporting her to grow in having a biblical perspective, to seek healing, and to get the help she needed. Now recently, the Lord is growing me to change my goal from being healthy to glorifying Him in my eating, exercise, and perspective of my body because I still have aspects of these areas that allow me to be healthy in a general sense but do not glorify the Lord. I am thankful for the Lord's patience and faithfulness in sanctifying me. - ...He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Here are the "Top 7" ways the Lord has been convicting me and growing me recently in these areas:
- taking my goal of being healthy even further to focusing on glorifying God ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31 & 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- "letting it go" and not trying to compensate when I am not able to workout as often as I desire ~ 1 John 5:21
- turning to the Lord for strength when I have a lot going on that can cause stress rather than turning to sweets for energy or with the mentality of "I deserve this" ~ Philippians 4:11, 13
- seeking to have self-control and discipline with cravings & to stop eating when I am full ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 & Galatians 5:22-23
- engaging in eating as worship - ex. thanking God for delicious tastes and textures, appreciating His creation and creativity in food - rather than eating quickly and not really tasting what I am eating (With being a teacher in the past with a short lunch break and now having little ones, I tend to speed through meals without even taking time to enjoy them.) ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
- living in light of how God has designed our bodies and the season of life I am in - ex. our metabolism slows down approximately 3% each decade, so eating age-appropriate portions (I was often eating the same portion size that I did when I was in my teens - oops!) ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1
- enjoying splurging but not getting extreme to the point of doing harm to my body with extreme sugar overload, etc. ~ Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, 3:12-14, 5:18-20, 9:7
Here are some of the other resources the Lord has been using to grow me in case they may be beneficial for you or someone else you know (disclaimer - all 3 of these books have helpful truths, but I do not agree with everything in them):
Life Inside the "Thin" Cage by Constance Rhodes - Frustrated by the often unrealistic standards of beauty presented by today’s media, many women have become trapped in a never-ending pattern of chronic dieting... Chronic dieters may be any shape or size but they have one thing in common: They are often left to suffer alone with an undiagnosed “sub-clinical” eating disorder. Such sub-clinical disorders include eating habits that are unusual, even unhealthy, but do not fit the technical classifications of anorexia or bulimia. Addressing the many dimension of “chronic dieting,” Life Inside the “Thin” Cage offers a wake-up call and practical steps to those who need healing. Readers will find personal stories, insights into their secret patterns and habits, reassurance that they are not alone, checklists, self-tests, and, best of all, a new road to emotional, physical, mental and spiritual freedom. - Condensed summary from Amazon
Constanace Rhodes targets those who are chronic dieters, but the truths in her book would also apply to more serious eating disorders. She has more of a personal approach / personal testimony of her own struggle and touches on various factors that impact people's eating and body image such as a fallen world, the past, media, trying life events, etc. She also bases a lot of her book on biblical truths.
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Hope, Help, & Healing for Eating Disorders by Gregory L. Jantz, Ph. D - Eating disorders–including anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating–are among the most painful and difficult illnesses a person can face... The truth is, eating disorders affect the whole person. Yet treatments often focus on emotional issues alone. In this powerful book for individuals who suffer from eating disorders and those who love them, Dr. Gregg Jantz fills in the gaps left by traditional treatment programs, tackling not only the emotional, but also the crucial and all-too-often ignored relational, physical, and spiritual dimensions of healing... this book will, with God’s help and grace, lead readers out of their bondage to eating disorders and permanently transform lives. - Condensed summary from Amazon
Gregory Jantz is a certified psychologist and eating disorder specialist, so this book has more of a clinical and psychological approach with a strong emphasis on how the past affects our present struggles. However, he does seek have a holistic approach, including a Christian approach.
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The following resources are all based on the book - Love to Eat Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick. This book focuses on a more Scriptural and spiritual approach in dealing with destructive eating habits. The audios are from Family Life Today and are conversational kind of interviews / messages that are approximately 25 minutes long.
Click here for audio message Part 1 - Is Food Your Idol?
Click here for audio message Part 2 - Understanding Our Motivation for Eating
Click here for audio message Part 3 - Our On-Again, Off-Again Relationship with Food
Click here for an article - Is My Eating Sinful? 12 Words to Help You Decide
Praises & Prayers
Various Loved Ones - Continued prayer for wisdom and for Christ's strength and perspective as they are in the midst of various trials (James 1:2-5).
Adam - Praise for the Lord's provision for him surviving two significant layoffs at his job.
Tami - Continued prayers for the Lord to give my dad and other loved ones His perspective and that God would heal Tami, but ultimately that His will would be done.
Our Family - Praise for God's grace and strength for Wes and Josiah as they got sick for several days and for God protecting Noah and me from getting it.
Wes - Praise for God blessing Wes with the opportunity of sharing the gospel with 2 of his co-workers! Please pray John 6:44 for God to draw these men to Himself in salvation. Continued prayer for Matthew 5:13-16 that the Lord would help Wes to continue to be a strong light and witness for Christ at work in the midst of a very spiritually dark environment and also for spiritual protection (Ephesians 6:10-20). Also continued prayer for the Lord to grow Wes and impact his heart through his classes.
Christina - Praise for the Lord growing me in glorifying Him and edifying others with my speech. Prayer for James 1:5 for wisdom in parenting and for Galatians 5:22-23 for the fruit of the Spirit to abound in parenting and also in all aspects of my life.
Noah - God would graciously save him at a young age and lead him to walk with the Lord all of his days, if that be the Lord's will. Continued praise for the Lord growing Noah in having a tender heart more often than a hard heart. Also, praise for God's protection and grace with Noah's head injury not being more serious. Please pray Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26 that the Lord would help us to teach Noah how to handle his anger in a way that honors God rather than being angry in a way that leads to sin.
Josiah - God would graciously save him at a young age and lead him to walk with the Lord all of his days, if that be the Lord's will. Our main prayer for Josiah continues to be for the Lord to draw Josiah to Himself in salvation (John 6:44). Praise for the Lord giving us wisdom in helping Josiah "drink/eat" the formula he needs nutritionally since he is already strongly weaning himself from the bottle.
Marriage Memories
Diggin' in to Daniel - After taking a break from school since last summer when Josiah was born, Wes was excited to start his Bible classes back up. If the classes offered corresponds with what he needs the next few quarters, Wes could finish his Bachelors of Science in Biblical Studies this year! He began his schooling adventure back in 2007, so having an end in sight is very motivating for him. :) This quarter Wes is taking Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and History of Israel. He has really been enjoying studying Daniel, and together we have been reading through Daniel, listening to sermons about it, and discussing this book. I am thoroughly enjoying gleaning from all that Wes is learning and sharing with me! It is amazing to see all the detailed historical prophecy in Daniel that the Lord fulfilled and will fulfill!
Family Fun
Having fun at Cottonwood Creek Park
CO Springs hit a record high of 67 degrees
Smiling & snuggling while big bro played
Noah made a new friend, Charlotte - Running around together * Showing off their muscles ;)
Daddy & sons reading - Josiah trying to bite the book * Kisses
Josiah is a huge fan of books!
Shoveling ice with Daddy to use to water the grass * Hard at work & having fun * Taking Daddy for a spin - one of Noah's friends outgrew his jeep & gave it to Noah
Noah's 1st Trophy - AWANA Grand Prix
Preparing for the AWANA Grand Prix - painting Noah's truck
Noah getting ready for competition & showing off his "Holy Roller" hot rod
Race track * Noah watching at the finish line
Kyrie & Noah "on deck" waiting to race * Getting lined up & ready to go
This is what we came home with - Participation ribbon - we left after Noah raced in order for Josiah to be able to take a nap. We were convinced that Noah was not going to win any awards after seeing many very creative cars such as a baby buggy, mouse in cheese, Mater Truck, etc., and his was a precut truck. * We got a text during the awards ceremony that Noah's "Holy Roller" won 1st place for design. We were shocked! Wes thought that they were playing a cruel joke. We later found out that the judges liked how they could tell that Noah designed his "car," which was the reason for winning 1st place. Noah's response - "What's a trophy?" :)
Noah News
Age - 3 years old
Cute Communication -
*"I've been working out my muscles to wrestle Josiah when he gets older."
*"Keep it down over there you little stinker!" - said to his little bro in a silly / laughing tone of voice
*And so it begins...
N - "Mommy, I like girls better than boys." said with a huge smile on his face
Me - "Why?"
N - "Because I do."
*We had some friends over for a Packer playoff game, and Noah asks them around the 3rd quarter after they had been there awhile, "When do you leave?" Our friend thought this was quite entertaining and laughed. Noah and I had a "teachable moment" conversation. ;)
Latest Loves
Painting
Making forts
Playing in the basement
Chewing - and not swallowing! - gum
Sneakily playing hide-&-seek with items ex. waterbottle, Josiah's burpcloth, a baby-sitter's shoes, etc. - without my knowing so that I'll realize something is missing and have no idea where it is. I finally figured out that Noah was hiding them in random places as a game for me to try to find them. ;) Sometimes I will stumble upon these items, but usually I have to ask Noah for a hint. He gets the biggest kick out of showing me where they are since he has not learned how to give a hint yet.
Sound asleep - we started letting Noah "read" 2 books during "quiet time" since he does not always need a nap but still needs to rest * Painting his truck for the AWANA Grand Prix
Big Daddy / Son Fort with Sierra standing guard ;)
Noah's 1st ER Visit
Getting admitted * Noah was SUPER excited to get the dr.'s approval to eat his blueberry fig bar :)
Getting admitted * Noah was SUPER excited to get the dr.'s approval to eat his blueberry fig bar :)
Noah was playing on his fort - see the 2 pics below. Wes had secured the top cushions previously, but Noah must have moved them around because he accidentally went head first off the back of the couch. :( He basically landed on concrete with only a little carpet square to buffer his head plant. Wes was in the basement with him at the time, but it happened too quickly to intervene. We were concerned about a possible concussion and looked up symptoms - one of which was vomiting - and sure enough, soon after Noah threw up big time. So, we called our pediatrician who recommended going to the ER. Fortunately after 3 hours of waiting, the doctor determined Noah did not appear to have any signs of bleeding. We thank the Lord for His protection and grace that this was not more serious! Also, a thanks to Adam & Wendy for coming over at the last minute to watch Josiah.
On top of his fort * Jumping off
This photo pretty much says it all!
Originally, Noah was playing outside (fully clothed) in the backyard and conversing with a neighbor friend (girl) through the fence. I glanced out to see how he was doing. I saw that his shirt was off, and his pants looked like they were soon to follow. I tried to catch this on camera, but Noah took off running and then tripped and mildly hurt his shin, which needed a little TLC. I did get one quick shot off, though. I can't help but wonder what was going through his head... he couldn't have been hot since it was a chilly January afternoon. Who knows... :)
*Video - Noah singing (softly) "10,000 Reasons" - he was belting it out but got quiet for the camera
Bless the Lord, O my soul... O my soul... Worship His holy name... Sing like never before... O my soul... Worship Your holy name
Josiah Joys
Age - 7 months
1sts - first word!! "mama" he made me proud! ;)
Latest Loves
Reading books - he gets super excited & tries to eat them :)
Rolling over
Baths - he especially likes to kick his legs & splash Noah
"Whapping" = swinging his arm out straight to whap anything & everything
Putting everything in his mouth
Hanging out in his jumper * Josiah is big into putting everything in his mouth these days
Sleeping sillies - Josiah scoots back into one of the corners during the night * He frequently rolls onto his back in his crib now and will occasionally fall asleep on his back
Josiah likes to raise his eyebrows at us at times when we are "conversing" with him ;)
Josiah's rolling over in pics - Step #1 Starting position * Step #2 Pausing on his side * Step #3 The final flip
*Video - Josiah rolling over
Bro Bonding
Noah playing with Josiah in his little jumper
Josiah wasn't too excited about the laundry fort Noah made for (I mean on) him ;) * Josiah in his fort still deciding if he likes it or not
One of Noah's favorite activities to do with his little bro lately - feeding him cheerios or puffs
Bro wrestling * Josiah man-handling aka. "raking" Noah's face
Homeschool Highlights
*I started intentionally homeschooling Noah about a year ago, and it has been a joy! I want to start including some fun memories of our homeschool adventures. So, each month I plan to share a glimpse into some of the concepts we were working on and a few of the memorable activities that we enjoyed.
The beginning of our homeschool area - located in part of our unfinished basement
Noah was very excited to have a school area, and he often asks if we can go do school (little does he know that I am often teaching him learning concepts in the midst of playing and everyday life). :)
We did a unit study on Martin Luther King Jr. which included a coloring picture, a 3D MLK craft, a unity hands craft, and reading books about him. It was powerful to discuss biblical concepts with Noah about how we are all made in God's image, God's view of equality, loving others, and more.
Click on this link for a kid-friendly video put together by a 5 year old - Martin Luther King Jr. Video for Kids - Noah wanted to watch it over and over again :)
Musical Numbers Game * Painting numbers (Noah really enjoys any learning activities involving paint!)
Shapes snowmen - incorporating circles, squares, triangles, hearts, rectangle & also cutting & gluing skills
Calendar & Schedule Skills
The basic format of these calendars and schedules are laminated. Noah and I write on these with wet-erase markers. The little images are also laminated and stick on the charts with ticky-tac, so they can be manipulated.
Memorable Moment of the Month
Josiah's infamous throwing up - At one point this month, Josiah got a significant cold that involved a lot of congestion and mucus coming out his nose as well as going down his throat, which would trigger his gag reflex = throwing up. This was no little throw up either. It would be a series of continuous throwing ups back-to-back until (we think) his stomach had nothing left in it, and he is a great eater so he would regurgitate a significant amount of food/liquidized baby mush! We had many throwing up episodes as a result of this cold. So many that I lost count... in the bathtub (with Noah), in his crib (he sleeps on his tummy so his face was covered in his vomit when we went in to check on him after he kept fussing - he looked like he had just be born with all the "gunk" on him), in his high chair, on me... but his best or worst depending on how you look at it was at Chick-Fil-A. We had fed Josiah at home before going out to eat, and I thought he would enjoy having a very little, itty-bitty, piece of french fry (which he has had before). Bad decision! That backfired - literally! Sure enough - up all his dinner came, and came, and came some more. Everyone around us - including kids with eewww reactions - just watched along in somewhat horror with us as it kept coming - all over Josiah and his car seat. :( Initially, Wes and I both froze and just stared not knowing where to start in cleaning him up... A kind woman next to us offered to get napkins, and we finally snapped into action. Fortunately, Josiah was just as happy as can be, and you wouldn't have known that he just puked all over himself unless you had witnessed it. The photo is of him smiling away right after we cleaned him up from his infamous incident. You can kind of see evidence on his right leg where his right pant leg is darker than the left.
More Memories
Fun times with a good friend across the street
Noah dressed up as a firefighter & Dylan dressed up as a policeman - wanting to be just like their dads! :)
Ladies Dinner In - Fiesta! - The women's ministry at our church organized a Ladies Dinner In night in which one lady hosted several other ladies coming over to her home for a "potluck style" dinner. I was blessed with the opportunity to welcome 10 women in our home, and the theme of our dinner was Fiesta - Taco/Burrito Bar. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, fun, and a little get-to-know-you mixer game called "On the Line" that led to lots of laughter. I think Noah may have had the most fun of all since a sweet 12-year-old girl, Brea, (one of the lady's daughters) played with him the entire night. One memorable moment... Noah came up from the basement, and his pjs were completely unzipped with his underwear exposed. Brea was right behind him, unaware of what he had just done. Noah started strutting around all the ladies proudly (since he did not know that underwear is a more personal article of clothing - he is now aware after having a pull-to-the-side "teachable moment" conversation with me). Ole`! :)
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