A "Fixer" And The Sovereignty Of God

What happens when you have a Tinker Bell personality and a Sovereign God? Well let me tell you my story, a story that continues today.

...He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ...

Philippians 1:6 

I find this to be so true in my life. I see Him working in me through so many different situations.
There was a time when if even a mouse (I enjoyed saving the little mice from our kitties when I was younger) died I would cry. When our first lamb died I was crushed, then our family milk cow died - crushed, then 4 kid goats died - you got it - crushed. Each time it was a lesson. I had such a hard time when each animal died because I couldn't control the situation. I wasn't in charge. God was NOT obeying me! How unfair, right? Haha..well I learned. Slowly, but I did. I finally learned that all I could do was my best and my best needed to start with God. I learned that each injured chicken and sick goat belonged to God and that He loved them too. I learned I could trust Him with the life of HIS creations.

...Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 

Luke 12:6

He wasn't done though. Life involves a lot more than sick and injured livestock. As a lot of you know, Daniel Justice Wood came into our lives. You could say Daniel is the apple of my eye. God did some amazing things to bring Daniel into our lives. I am not sure if it is possible to  properly convey to you how much I love him...He is my little brother, he dances with me through the kitchen as I prepare meals, he hugs my neck as he slowly drifts to sleep, he smiles and waits for me to kiss his forehead before nap time, when I call his name his blue eyes light up and sparkle...I know he loves me too. He does this with each of my family members.
Daniel was born with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy though. We knew this when we brought Daniel into our home but I don't think I really understood how DMD would make such an impact. Well, DMD didn't change anything - Daniel changed EVERYTHING. How could God create a child that would change my life so completely and then give that same little boy a deadly thing like DMD? What was I going to do if/when Daniel went back to Jesus? How was I going to react when Daniel could no longer walk? What was I going to do? Questions like this bothered me...haunted me. Each day God has chiseled at my heart, slowly, carefully, lovingly. He was being faithful even when doubt surrounded me.
He reminded me of Joy (our milk cow), the wounded livestock, the goats, and every other little animal that I had ever cared for. He was faithful then, why would I question Him now?

 ...Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 

Matthew 10:29-31

Is this not true? I found myself looking through the Bible and actually looking for God not for pretty sounding words. Not for what I wanted to hear but for what He wanted to tell me. I started looking for a relationship with Christ. As I did this, I found God showing me that He had a plan for everyone's life. Just because there is a diagnosis doesn't mean He isn't still the same sovereign God he was before the diagnosis. I learned that everyone's life is numbered. He opened my eyes. I was being selfish and prideful.
I am happy to say that nearly 2 years later I can say "thy will be done", and mean it. Daniel hasn't gotten healthier, but God hasn't changed either. God is a sovereign God who we can trust with the simplest and most urgent matters. Nothing is too big for our God.
God doesn't have to heal Daniel. God's plans are better than mine. I may not understand them completely but I can confidently say that I don't have to fix this. This situation doesn't need pixie dust or a fairy tale ending because God already has it under control. I know He will let me know when I need to move.

Thank God we do not have to "fix" things ourselves! Thank God that He is sovereign! Thank God that He is God!

To God be the Glory.

Bethany Joy

Spring Lambs and Beginnings

We had our first surprise lambs this week! Such cuties..
Elisha, my older brother, is their shepherd. He cares for all our sheep and recently decided to start selling them to the company our family hauls for (Azure Standard). We are excited about this for him! Although this new business adventure is all Elisha's, he has allowed me to work along side him in search for pastures, equipment, and livestock. It is such an honor to help my big brother as he gets started with this work. He is a wonderful caretaker of all our livestock.
When I returned from California last fall he informed me he had found a herd of sheep he was considering purchasing. Because he was going to leave to California that next week I needed to help make sure the sheep were of good breeding quality and that sort of thing. My mother and I went out to visit the farmer who had raised this herd and he shared with us about his livestock and how he raised them. It was very nice getting to know him a little! He was very helpful and after several phone calls we decided to purchase the sheep.
Elisha was pleased with them when he returned home. We both agreed he needed a border collie to help herd the sheep though so we started that search. My sister actually found out about a breeder that had a couple pups for sale. We were excited and after visiting the man we brought home a fluffy fur ball of energy. Cara loves Elisha! It is so sweet to watch the little pup and her master work with the sheep.
Like I said, this week we had our first lambs born. Although they needed a little help at first, momma and ramling are now doing well. We were surprised at how early they were born and are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the lambs. If Elisha and I are right we should have 40 lambs this spring! How exciting...I can hardly wait! Cara (Elisha's pup) is watching that momma and lamb like a hawk. She loves he job and I would be surprised if she let those two out of her sight for more than a minute. ;-)

Looking forward to many more happy beginnings this year! 

To God be the Glory.

Bethany Joy

Horse training, dog training, and everything else...

Chloe has the habit of running off with no thought for the poor human that will have to try and catch her. Or perhaps she has put a lot of thought into this and enjoys the chase? Hm, I don't know. Either way, it takes a lot of work to catch that fluffy pup! A couple nights ago I decided to just open the gate and willingly let her run around like crazy while I fed the horses. She actually stayed. Didn't run off without me. Just STAYED! It was rather nice for a change. I told her "okay let's go" and she took off like I had expected she would. As I fed the horses Chloe would run around to me and see what I was doing. When I finished I called Chloe and she nearly knocked me over! I can be happy she came though. What a good pup! We plan to take our Good Citizen Test later this year. Our trainer thinks we have a good chance of passing! :-)

Miracle is getting to be a "old" horse. 12 or 13 years old now...Where did the time go?! Well, I haven't been able to ride the silly old horse because his bridle broke in the pasture. I'll be getting that fixed soon so that we can start riding again. I sure can't wait for those summer day horse rides and playing in his water trough!
Promise is also doing good. She insist on covering herself in mud or anything else that she finds any chance that she gets. What an odd little thing! It is fun to see how different my horses are. Miracle is rather spooky when it comes to certain things (like his shadow, the dark, anything that resembles cardboard, haha!) while Promise will gladly play with the tarps and conquer anything she sees as a challenge! This is good and bad. Good, because she doesn't bolt at the sight of a trash bag blowing in the wind. Bad because sometimes she thinks I am a challenge! I often wonder what have I gotten myself into but then she comes up and nuzzles me with her soft nose and I think it is all worth it. ;-)

My trips to VA, KY, TN, and Cincinnati Ohio are coming up. What are your traveling tips? I am so excited about these trips! We will be going to the Derby, several other events, and the creation museum. My mother and I will go to VA for a homeschooling/online marketing conference and then do some touring. I am pretty excited. I'll make sure to keep you all updated on my travels! It is bound to be eventful!

Have a great week.
To God be the Glory.
Bethany Joy

The Big Chair

It's been a really great week. It started with the birth of Emily Constance Yohn (my niece). She is just precious! Bekah and Jacob are so proud of their little girl. I don't think she could be any more perfect! She also has the most adorable pouting face. ;-) 

So that's how our week started . The next morning I woke up to the phone ringing. I then realized that Jacob was at home with his wife and baby girl...then I realized that the phone wasn't going to stop ringing until I either unplugged it or answered the call. I figured answering the call would be the best way to go. ;) Jacob will be out of the office for another week or so which means I get the "big chair" all to myself! I don't have to share. YAY! Well actually, I am really just enjoying getting to know our new customers. They are more like friends than customers (the chair is just like a bonus). My mother says "99% of our customers are the best people America has to offer. The other 1% are people that make us better." It is really true! Lucky for me, I haven't ran into any of that 1%! Everyone has been so happy for Jacob (they kind of like talking to him so I had to explain why he was gone) and really friendly to me. I have even been able to set some of our customers up with new drops. It is always a good day when I can call a customer with good news and let them know their drop was approved! 

I am not sure if I will let Jacob back into the office. He might have to fight for his chair back... and his desk. I really like his desk! ;-) 

My work is calling me back to...well...work.

To God be the Glory. 

Bethany Joy

Dog training, Horse training, and everything else

Since coming home I have gotten back in my routine of training the horses and my playful pup. So, I thought I'd update you on what I've been up to. 

Miracle- Really surprised me and has mellowed out a ton. My feisty Arabian is finally growing up. It is good to see that the work I have put into him has paid off. He does not tolerate my playful pup well so I will be working with him on that but I plan to ride later today! :-)

Promise- ah, where to start... She is a sassy little thing! She has a good heart but that only goes so far. I will be working with her on showing more respect and preparing her for the saddle work I plan to do with her when the spring rolls around. 

Chloe- Still as much a puppy as ever. She is now 65 lbs! The ladies at the vet office love watching her grow but couldn't believe she had grown so much since we were last in there. 

Yesterday, I took her to obedience training. She is totally A.D.D but that's okay.  She knew everything because I had already taught her those basic rules but she was to distracted to actually do what I was asking. So, I will be working on getting her to focus a little more before our class next week. I am super excited to see where this goes! 

Chloe checking out the trainer's supplies while she isn't looking. Smart dog! ;-) 

Yesterday we also found Elisha the border collie he has been looking for! It is so sweet to watch them together. It is a little girl who is currently nameless. He is working on finding her the perfect name. This morning "nameless" helped Elisha do his morning chores and followed him everywhere he went. She is not a fan of Chloe but that is fine because nameless is going to be a working dog and really just needs to bond with Elisha. 

Elisha has started his sheep business and will be selling to Azure. We are all pretty excited for him! I am hoping this dog will be a good help to Elisha as he cares for his flocks. He is a wonderful shepherd!

Elisha and Nameless

Christmas with Family and Our Travels

Hey all!

So, I’ll catch you up on our travels.

First we drove two days straight…no stopping! That was a LONG trip… We arrived at our grandparent’s home late at night, they greeted us on the porch. Their house was decorated in tons of Christmas lights, Santa decor, and everything Christmas. It was beautiful! We all decided to save the tour of the house for later and to instead snuggle up in our beds.

The next morning us ladies cooked breakfast with grandma, but not until we had slept in until an unreasonable hour. ;-) The rest of the day was spent catching up and relaxing.

A few days later grandma, momma, Sarah, and I woke up early to set up for Bekah’s surprise baby shower. It was so much fun! Bekah left with Jacob and momma that morning and by noon the party was set up at Victoria Rose tea house. Many friends and family attended the party so that they could congratulate Bekah and Jacob. Bekah and Jacob were completely clueless to what was going on so we had to explain a little bit. We all laughed about their surprise. It was such a beautiful afternoon!

Under a week to Christmas, we completed our last minute shopping and purchase all the goods needed for our Christmas Dinner. It has become a tradition to celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve. We started doing this because my father (who used to work for various trucking companies) could never get Christmas day off. Plus, my sister’s birthday is on Christmas eve and we wanted him to be there for it. We now own our own trucking company so his schedule is a little more flexible but we have kept the tradition because I am quite sure all the children would start a revolt if they were made to wait a whole 24 hours longer! ;-)

My brother, sister-in-law, and their baby –Gunner, arrived just in time to open gifts. Jed had just finished his route (he drives truck for our company and we didn't have a driver to take his place) and was able to pack and drive to California just in time. We were so glad when they all arrived!

We completed dinner, set the table, and enjoyed a wonderful time sitting together and chatting as we ate the delicious food prepared by our entire family. After we finished we all gathered in the living room. Before opening gifts we sang carols and read the Christmas story. Then my grandpa and brothers handed out gifts.  I loved seeing the surprise on my family member’s faces as they opened their gifts. We are all so blessed!

Just yesterday we visited my auntie Carol. I just love her! I had a little bit of a cold so I stayed in the house while my brothers and sisters ran all over their property. I think after the three hours of driving they had just a wee bit of energy to run off.  We spent and hour or so visiting with her before us children headed to the beach where we would later meet them all for dinner. The beach was great! I was so happy to see that there was not too many people (usually it is VERY crowded). There was a light breeze blowing and the light was reflecting off the coral blue water in the most glorious way! My first response was my goodness this is beautiful!!! Our God has created the most beautiful things for us to enjoy. 

I did not intend on getting wet. Maybe splash my feet in the water but I wanted to stay warm and dry. My brother-in-law decided it would be more fun to push me in though so my plans changed quickly. ;-) I then proceeded to splash through the water and race the waves with my brothers and sisters. By the time we packed in the car to head to dinner I was thoroughly soaked and we had a nice collection of sea shells.

 This evening finds me with a stuffy nose and a merry heart. The playing in the ocean was worth the stuffy nose though.

 Looking over the past couple of weeks I find myself saying “Thank you”. The Lord truly has blessed our trip! We still have a few more days before heading back to Kansas so I look forward to the memories we will make with my grandparents before heading home.

Have a blessed evening!

To God be the Glory.

Bethany Joy 

NICU Journey

My mother and I drove to the hospital to visit a dear friend who had recently given birth to two of the most darling little girls. They were SO small! I loved visiting with my momma's friend and holding those sweet babies. It was that visit that made me want to visit the NICU again. I realized how many babies were in there that had no one to pray for them. It might seem silly but that is really the reason I wanted to work in the NICU. I wanted to hold the babies, love on them and tell them how much God loved them too. So I set my dream before the Lord and told Him that if it was His will I would LOVE to work in the NICU and pray for those little babies.
When my momma and papa announced that for our Christmas project this year each of us children would be given 100 dollars to donate to any organization of company of our choice. We also had to donate our time and then at Christmas time share about what we learned. My grandma doubled the amount and donated some of her money too so that gave me 200 dollars to give.
With my first $100 I got two gift cards and wrote a note to the mothers. I told the director of the unit that she could give them to who ever she wanted but I suggested two people that I thought could use it.
The first mother- I had seen her every single day I came in. I loved seeing her love for her child. It was so sweet.
The second mother- looked rather rough and maybe even a little unfriendly but as I was cuddling another baby I learned more about her. She LOVED her baby for starters and she was doing everything she could to give her baby a better life than the one she previously lived. It was so special to witness that.
The other $100 went to the director to spend on any supplies that the unit might need.

What did I learn?
Lots of things! I learned that there is always work to be done so set clear goals for yourself and take one bite at a time.
I learned that the people who work on that unit have formed a sort of family and it is amazing to be a part of that.
I learned that the hospital has a lot of code words for things...It was really neat to learn those! I will never hear a hospital speaker and think the same. Everything has a meaning and purpose! Haha..even if it sounds silly..
I learned that my grandma has a very hard job but she is one of the most loved people at the hospital.
I learned the importance of working as a team. Something we do as a family but I never realized how important it is to do in a work place too. When people were working as a team things just seemed to glide along smoothly but when people got grumpy or selfish it is all stop and go. Luckily, I didn't see to much of that though. Like I said, the people in that unit love each other! ;-)

So here are some pictures! I was allowed to take pictures of anything I wanted as long as it did not show anything confidential...made taking pictures of the babies hard (you can't clearly see any of their faces) but I still had a lot of fun!

I learned how the hospital warms the baby's milk too!

The nurses are constantly caring for these babies. They make sure each baby is as comfortable as possible.

I LOVED it when the babies would hold my hand...it was so sweet.

This baby is getting some "photo" therapy...no it still means I can't take photos of it's face. haha!

I would sit and watch this screen each day I worked. I never was able to figure out what all of the different ones meant!

Baby!!!

Time to eat! No body mess with these babies when they are hungry..not if you value your life anyways...they don't mess around when it come to food! haha..

Toes! So so so small! The smallest baby I held was roughly 3 lbs. She felt like a feather!

What does a cupcake have to do with the hospital? Well a lot! I found out that some of the world's best chefs reside in that hospital...well I don't know if they are the best but they sure now how to make good food! If I get sick, I am totally going to that hospital. ;-) I think this is a gingerbread cupcake.

So that's everything. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the NICU.
Have a beautiful day!

To God be the glory.
Bethany Joy