Just a couple days before Anthony's cancer diagnosis, Loegan came to me and asked me, "Mommy, can you teach me a new song?" I thought for a second, and then the song, The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock, popped into my head. Loegan and I sang it - complete with hand motions (I was a little rusty .J) I hadn't sang that for years, and I had no idea how symbolic that little tune would become!
Back in the beginning of August, God really impressed upon Anthony's heart to become more of a spiritual leader in our household. Don't get me wrong, Jesus has always been central in our family life, but Anthony's heart was being stirred to go even deeper, to disciple his children on a daily basis and to spend more exclusive time together in the Word. From that time on, each member of our family has individual personal Bible and prayer time each and every day (I read a devotion to Loegan), and we also have a Bible study daily as a family. There have been some days that this fits nicely into our schedule, and other times when we have had to "make" time, even if that meant waiting up for Daddy to come home from work @ 11pm! On a number of occasions when children have been sick or tired and cranky, when I had a migraine or desperately needed to get some things done around the house or when Anthony was beyond exhausted after working a 12 hr. shift, we were tempted to skip it just for that day. We had to come to a point that skipping Bible time is not an option. I am not sharing this to say that we have our lives in perfect order, by any means! We still have a LONG way to go in submitting our lives to Him and aligning our lives and hearts to His will. Rather, this is a testimony to God' s greatness because HE prepared us all spiritually before this trial. We were obedient, but it was our loving Father who guided us to firm up our family's foundation so it would be strong enough to withstand this storm. Fathers, committing to grow your family spiritually is a hard task, but God will bless you for it! I am aware that it can be tough (or sometimes nearly impossible) to get the whole family together in one place, but the time you have to carve out of your schedule to spend in the Word NEVER returns void.
We had no inkling that this "Bible" time would become so precious to us. I am crying tears of joy, and of heartache right now because we don't know exactly know how we will manage spending time with God as a family during Anthony's hospitalization. We have no idea how this will work, but we will probably have to get quite creative! The doctors have told us that Anthony will have great difficulty speaking after his surgery – and from that time on. :( This saddens my heart, but I am convinced that God will take all these struggles and use them. We want God to be glorified through our weaknesses – sometimes that is when God can use us best! I challenge you to prayerfully consider shepherding your own little flock too – while you still have breath and while you have a voice! We wish we had made this commitment sooner, but we are grateful to have had this sweet time – you never know when your time here on earth will run out, so be effective and seize the day
6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:6-10
