14 Miraculous Months

Lyla Jane is 14 months old today--thank you Lord! Oh, how the time has flown.

Belly laugh :)

She's getting better at sitting independently--she can do this on the couch for about a minute.

Trooper Status...

...continues. Lyla had her eye procedure (to get her tear ducts opened) done last Wednesday and came through like a trooper as usual. Daddy was with her all day as I was working a 12 hour shift. As of today, her left eye does not water at all any more (yay!) but her right eye is still pretty watery, with slight improvement. We're hoping it will clear up soon! Here's some cute pics of Lyla and Joel snuggling the other morning. :)

Kisses from Lulu too!

Bella & Lyla

Progress Report

It occurred to me today that I have not given a progress report on Lyla for a very long time! So here goes--

• On Dec. 28th she had another ultrasound to check how her kidneys/bladder are doing. It was encouraging--the hydronephrosis (swelling) of her right kidney has gone down, but is still not gone. Her right kidney will probably never be fully functional, which is okay because her left kidney is still in perfect working condition and is compensating for the right one. Also, the dilation of the right ureter has gone down. We are praying that both the right kidney and right ureter will continue to improve. You can join us in that if you want! She will have another ultrasound in May.

• She recently had her eyes checked and the opthalmologist still thinks her vision is fine and doesn't think her occasional eye-crossing warrents any intervention. Also, next Wednesday (1/20) Lyla will be having a small procedure done to open up her tear ducts so her eyes won't be watering all the time--I am looking forward to not having to always be wiping gunk out of them! She will be sedated for the (10 min) procedure, so after it's done he's going to do a thorough eye exam and the audiologist will be doing a hearing exam also--we're going to get as much done while she's sedated as possible! Please pray that all goes well that day. I'll be working so Daddy gets to take her in.

• As far as physical development goes, Lyla is still not sitting up on her own. She is inching closer and closer though. I'm trying to work extra hard on her sitting up with a goal in mind--I'm hoping she'll be able to sit up by May 1st because this is the day of Josh (Joel's brother) and Bryana's wedding and she is going to be in it! Bryana's friend's son will be pulling her down the aisle in a wagon--cuteness! Lyla's arms and legs are getting stronger--you can tell if you watched the jumparoo video--she really likes to jump. :) A few days ago the physical therapist from the Birth to 3 program gave us a stander for Lyla. We put her in it for about 20 minutes a few times a day. This will help her hip and knee joints to develop correctly. She looks SO tall in it! She will also soon be getting a neoprene (like wet suit material) onesie to help her posture--should be interesting. Joel just laughed and laughed when I told him about it (Lyla's orthopaedist prescribed it)--Joel said we should take her scuba diving. :)

• Lyla's personality is starting to come out more and more. She's beginning to realize that she can make people laugh by making silly noises and faces. She likes to give super corny smiles once in awhile too. So funny! She still is not saying any words but likes to have funny sound conversations back and forth. I think she will be starting to work with a speech therapist pretty soon. She also likes to play gimme five. :)

• Lyla has been eating really well lately. She basically eats all things Gerber and about 2 or 3 bottles a day. We are starting to give her table food too--she loves little pieces of meat--she's our little carnivore. You'd think she could eat a steak with all the teeth she has! We think she's getting a molar on the bottom already.

• I am back to a scheduled position at the hospital. I'll be working two 12-hour shifts a week. On days when both Joel and I are working, Joel's mom will be taking care of Lyla--what a blessing! Also, we are strongly considering moving to Arizona this summer or fall. Now that Lyla is so stable and doing so well, we would like to give it a try. It would be so nice to be able to live close to my family, but there is also so much that we would miss here. I often feel very torn. But we are working toward moving there. Many pieces would need to fall into place--we would need to sell our house, and of course Joel would need to find a job with comparable pay in AZ. Then we would need to find a place to live there! (Though we could live with my parents in the mean time.) Anyway, we would covet your prayers in this area too-we are praying for wisdom in our decision-making. It is shaping up to be a very big year for us!

Anyway, here are some cute pics of Lyla Jane...

Lyla's stander

Mommy & Lyla being silly (and staring at the lighted fan)

Lyla and I with our friends Michele and Bella :)

Thank you in advance for your prayers for Lyla and for us. And while you're at it--send up a prayer for my dad--they found a spot on his lung when he had a chest x-ray done--he'll be getting a CT done on the 25th to investigate further. Thanks and love to you!

Another Grandma's Birthday!

Dear Grandma,

From the day I was born,

and every day since,

you're always loving, caring,

and seeing the best in me.

Always willing to hold me, rock me, play with me, feed me, sing to me, read me books.

You delight in my every accomplishment, every milestone, every smile.

Thank you Grandma for being wonderful in every way.

I love you! Lyla

Happy birthday Carol! Hope you have a blessed year--we love you! Joel & Jenny

Pics from Suz!

Our dear friends Luke & Susan came for a visit, so Auntie Suz took a few pics...

Lyla's tsunami hair :)

All three girls had their owl outfits on

little hoot-hoot

Gimme Five!

Here's our silly little girl having some fun...

yogurt mustache :)

We went for a winter walk...

...it was nice to get a bit of sunshine. :)

Some of Lyla's favorites...

Grandma & Grandpa

and her jumparoo!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Dear Grandma,

I know that you have loved me since before we even met.

Always coming to visit, on that great big jet.

You're always loving, giving, sharing

Helping, hugging, kissing, caring.

Your love has helped me all along

To keep me growing big and strong.

So today I want to say,

Not just now but every day--

I love you soooo much Grandma--Happy Birthday!

Love, Lyla :)







Hope you have a wonderful day Mom! We love you and thank you for being such a loving mom and grandma, and for being an inspiration to us all.

Happy Birthday! Love, Jenny & Joel

Family

Some of my favorite people in the whole wide world...

Melt my heart--I miss you guys!

Lyla's big girl bath chair--I think she likes it!

Having fun with Uncle Faz in a silly hat :)

Lukewarm

Joel and I are in a small group at church that meets every Sunday evening. It's really awesome--we study the Bible and fellowship and pray together. Right now we are studying the book of Revelation and this week we are looking specifically at the church of Laodicea. Let me tell you, this study has been CONVICTING for me. The members of the church of Laodicea were considered lukewarm to Jesus. Jesus saw straight into their hearts, as he does mine. Their lukewarmness made him sick. He called them wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Yet, Jesus still loved them enough to scold hem, showing that he hadn't given up on them yet!

I call myself a Christian, but as I think about my life, I can see much lukewarmness. In my head I am burdened for those I love to come to know Christ, but do I do anything about it? Do I spark conversations about Jesus? Rarely. Do I hunger for the Word of God every day? Not really. Do I think about how much I need Jesus moment by moment? Not often. But do I know that Jesus is full of grace and forgiveness? Yes. Do I know that he can change my heart and give me zeal for Him? Yes. Do I have love for Jesus deep in my heart? Absolutely. I will strive to become a Christian who is not characterized by complacency, indifference and compromise. Whew.

C-O-N-V-I-C-T-E-D. Thank you Lord.

Here is a part of the commentary on Revelation 3:14-22 (Church of Laodicea) by David Guzik. It is so good. God's Word is so rich. It pierces the heart.

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

a. You are neither cold nor hot: This picture of lukewarmness would immediately strike the Christians of Laodicea because the water they drank every day was lukewarm. Jesus says “Just as the water you drink is disgustingly lukewarm, you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot.” In this spiritual sense, lukewarmness is a picture of indifference and compromise. It tries to play the middle, too hot to be cold and too cold to be hot. But in trying to be both things, it ends up being nothing - except to hear the words, “I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

i. Does Jesus mean to say that these Christians are intrinsically cold, but warmed up by their religious trappings? Or, that they are essentially hot, but cooled down by their apathy and self-reliance? Both are possible, but since He is talking to His church, there is an emphasis on the later.

ii. Has there been a greater curse upon the earth than emptyreligion? Is there any soul harder to reach than the one who has just enough of Jesus to think they have enough? The church of Laodicea exemplifies empty religion, and tax collectors and harlots were more open to Jesus than the scribes and Pharisees.

iii. Satan will have us any way he can get us, but he prizes a lukewarm religionist far above a cold-hearted sinner.

b. I could wish that you were cold or hot: What Jesus wants to change in us as much as anything is the deceptive playing of the middle, trying to please both the world and Jesus.

i. I could wish that you were cold or hot also points to another aspect of lukewarmness, as a picture of uselessness. “Hot water heals, cold water refreshes, but lukewarm water is useless for either purpose.” (Morris) It’s as if Jesus says, “If you were hot or cold I could do something with you. But because you are neither, I will do nothing.” The lukewarm Christian has enough of Jesus to satisfy a craving for religion, but not enough for eternal life.

ii. The thief on the cross was cold towards Jesus and clearly saw his need. The Apostle John was hot towards Jesus and enjoyed an intimate relationship of love. But Judas was lukewarm, following Jesus enough to be considered a disciple, but not giving his heart over to Jesus in fullness.

iii. Deep down, there is no one more miserable than the lukewarm Christian is. They have too much of the world to be happy in Jesus, but too much of Jesus to be happy in the world.

iv. But how could Jesus say, I could wish that you were cold? We know His deepest desire is that they be hot, with an on-fire love for Him (Revelation 3:19, where the wordzealous is associated with this same word hot). Yet if they would not be hot, Jesus prefers cold rather than lukewarm. “So the Lord is saying, ‘If instead of being lukewarm, you were so cold that should feel that coldness, then the very feeling of your need might drive you to the true warmth, but now in your lukewarmness, you have just enough to protect yourselves against a feeling of need.’” (Barnhouse)

c. Lukewarm prayers mock God. “O my brethren and sisters, have you ever really thought what an insult it is to God when we come before him with lukewarm prayers? There stands the heavenly mercy-seat; the road to it is sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus, yet we come to it with hearts that are cold, or we approach it leaving our hearts behind us. We kneel in the attitude of prayer, yet we do not pray. We prattle out certain words, we express thoughts, which are not our real desires, we feign wants that we do not feel. Do we not thus degrade the mercy-seat? We make it, as it were, a common lounging-place, rather than an awful wrestling-place, once besprinkled with blood, and often to be besprinkled with the sweat of our fervent supplication.” (Spurgeon)

d. Lukewarm lives turn people away from Jesus. “Now, lukewarm professor, what do worldlings see in you? They see a man, who says he is going to heaven, but who is only travelling at a snail’s pace. He professes to believe that there is a hell, yet he has tearless eyes, and never seeks to snatch souls from going down into the pit. They see before them one who has to deal with eternal realities, yet he is but half awake; one who professes to have passed through a transformation so mysterious and wonderful that there must be, if it is true, a vast change in the outward life as the result of it; yet they see him as much like themselves as can be. He may be morally consistent in his general behavior, but they see no energy in his religious character.” (Spurgeon)

i. “The careless worldling is lulled to sleep by the lukewarm professor ("Christian"), who, in this respect, acts the part of the syren to the sinner, playing sweet music in his ears, and even helping to lure him to the rocks where he will be destroyed. This is a solemn matter, beloved. In this way, great damage is done to the cause of truth; and God’s name and God’s honor are compromised by inconsistent professors. I pray you either to give up your profession, or to be true to it. If you really are God’s people, then serve him with all your might; but if Baal be your god, then serve him. If the flesh be worth pleasing, then serve the flesh; but if God be Lord paramount, then cleave to him.” (Spurgeon)

f. The name Laodicea means “rule of the people.” This church well represents a church run by majority rule instead of God. “Its name designates it as the Church of mob rule, the democratic Church, in which everything is swayed and decided by popular opinion, clamour and voting.” (Seiss)

i. This is reflected in Jesus’ address to the church: the church of the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14). For the other churches, it was the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1) or the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:8) or the church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1). But here, it is the church of the Laodiceans.

ii. We might even say that lukewarmness is the natural tendency of our fallen natures. “Alas, this state of lukewarmness is so congenial with human nature that it is hard to fetch men from it. Cold makes us shiver, and great heat causes us pain, but a tepid hath is comfort itself. Such a temperature suits human nature. The world is always at peace with a lukewarm church, and such a church is always pleased with itself.” (Spurgeon)

“If they did so, then they could be convinced of their error and brought to repentance; but on the other hand they are neither hot for the truth, nor hot for conversions, nor hot for holiness, they are not fiery enough to burn the stubble of sin, nor zealous enough to make Satan angry, nor fervent enough to make a living sacrifice of themselves upon the altar of their God. They are ‘neither cold nor hot.’” (Spurgeon)

h. I will vomit you out of My mouth: How are churches in the mouth of Jesus?

• They are in His mouth because they spread His Word
• They are in His mouth because He prays for them constantly

What a terrible thing - in either of these ways - to be expelled from the mouth of Jesus!

Therefore be zealous and repent: He commands them to make a decision to repent, and to continue in zeal. “Turn your way,” Jesus says. “Don’t look to your own riches and resources, because they are really bankrupt. Turn around and look to Me.”

i. The ancient Greek word zealous comes from the same word as hot in Revelation 3:16. Though Jesus detests their lukewarmness, He would really have them be hot with zeal rather than cold.

ii. “When you and I shall be stretched upon our dying beds, I think we shall have to regret, above everything else, our coldness of heart. Among the many sins . . . perhaps this will lie the heaviest upon our heart and conscience, ‘I did not live as I ought to have done; I was not as earnest in my Lord’s cause as I should have been.’ Then will our cold sermons, like sheeted ghosts, march before our eyes in dread array. Then will our neglected days start up, each one seeming to wave its hair as though it were one of the seven furies, and to look right into our hearts, and make our very blood curdle in our veins.” (Spurgeon)

iii. We need to make our life following Jesus, not just a hobby or an occasional activity. This goes against the spirit of our age, which was long ago expressed by a famous Englishman when he read a sermon by G.W.E. Russell: “Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade the sphere of private life.” (English statesman William Lamb [1779-1848])