Celebrations and the True Gardener

Here are some pictures taken from last week...we had some significant celebrations worth pulling out the camera for! Below is Betsy and me, celebrating her birthday! Her friendship has been a joy and I loved celebrating her!

Here she is, adorably pregnant, making sure her little one enjoys a taste of her birthday brownies!

On Sunday evening, we were able to dedicate Caleb to the Lord, at our church. This was kind of a big deal in my heart, because I'd seriously been putting off Caleb's dedication for a LONG time, thinking that I would do it at a time when my family was here or I was there...but God had also been putting on my heart that He, through the body of Christ, has designated a new "eternal" family, that goes even beyond the strong bonds that I have enjoyed through my blood relatives, and that I should begin treating them as such. Whew. And so, we decided to dedicate Caleb here, amongst our church family. I had forgotten, though, that it was to be last Sunday, and thus hadn't invited any of the people who God has graciously brought into our lives. I was kind of bummed when I discovered this, but just figured that it wasn't a big deal and I shouldn't worry about it. But God did provide, and Betsy cancelled her plans that evening so she could come celebrate Caleb and bless him (and us, too!). I felt so loved and blessed that evening, and Pastor Tavio, pictured alongside Josh below, prayed some blessings over Caleb that were pretty exciting. The most exciting of all was that he believed that God was going to pour out a "double-portion" of the prophetic gifting in Caleb. Needless to say, I am eager to see how this unfolds and treasure these things in my heart.

Here are the kiddos, I just had to make sure I got one picture of Caleb in his "sports coat"!

Here's me, so proud of my boy!

And here's a picture of my rose bush, as I saw it this afternoon.

I was sad as I looked at it because I hadn’t watered it for a day and the bush withered quickly and lost many leaves. I was also sad because I’d been doing such a great job of taking care of it for so long, and had enjoyed it so much, but just forgetting the water for one day had had such a detrimental effect. I was pulling off the dead leaves and cleaning it off, when I decided to turn it around, so both sides of the bush could get even amounts of sunshine. I was amazed.

How beautiful the plant looked from the other side! It was flourishing and the signs of my inconsistent watering weren’t even visible! One bud had just begun to bloom and another bud was growing, getting ready to show itself. As I looked upon this, it was as if the Spirit of God whispered to me,“See. You see yourself and the withered, empty, dying places. You see the effects of going without My living water—even for just a day or two, but don’t loose heart. This is what I see when I look at you. Even apart from your efforts, I am making you beautiful. I am the True Gardener.”

I praise You, Loving Father, for Your masterful ways. Thank You for Your faithfulness.

And lastly, here's some cuteness from the C man. Grandma and Grandpa, I hope you feel loved!!! :)