Keeping Up With The Johns': They will know we are Christians by our love...

Does that title sound a little trite to anyone? It used to sound that way to me. But not anymore.

Here's a just a few out of so many reasons why that phrase is really special to me now.

Last night I was up until 5am with painful false labor contractions that came at least every 10 minutes. Ellis was off to work before 6am, and he will not be home until some time tomorrow morning. Then he will need to sleep for several hours. When I "woke up" this morning, the thought of getting through the next couple days on just an hour or so of sleep was pretty overwhelming.

We have been house-bound for a couple of weeks due to sickness, and even though the thought of trying to go to church sounded hard, staying stuck at home for another entire day sounded even harder. We somehow got to church, and one of the ladies who saw me "walking" (I use that term loosely!) came over to me and said, "let me take Mac and Corrie for you to Sunday school and the nursery." She was so kind and loving to them and they were so cute holding her hands as they walked down the hallway. I sighed with relief when I sat down and rested on my chair.

We had a guest speaker who spoke with such brokenness and humility during the sermon...it was all I could do keep from bawling right there in my chair. I decided to try and sneak out early so I wouldn't have to try and talk to anyone. I knew I would just start crying and there would be no stopping it.

Thankfully, my best attempt to avoid human interaction was foiled. One woman saw me and stopped me. She looked me in the eye and said: "Can I help you? Tell me how." I looked in her eyes and I knew she meant it: she really wanted to help. "Yes. You can. Would you help me with Corrie and Mac this afternoon after naps?"

At 3pm this woman came to my door and played with Mac and Corrie, got me water (or whatever she could think that I needed) and got them ready to go to AWANA at 5pm. Even though Corrie is too young, she took her along too. "No problem! I will keep her with me and we will have fun. What can I get you at the store? Please tell me."

When the kids came back, they had dinner from McDonald's in-hand, and the groceries were delivered right to the kitchen table. I had almost the whole afternoon to rest (and even watch the most exciting Redskins game in years).

I so enjoyed having this Christian woman spend the afternoon with us today. It blessed my heart in such a special way to laugh with a friend and rest.

In my wildest dreams, I did not imagine provision like that for today...

This past Monday we were also blessed with the kindness of some Christians that we have gotten to know. Mac and Corrie have been so excited about Christimas trees this year, and Mac has kept asking, "Is it time yet? Is there going to be a Christmas tree yet?" I really wanted to get our tree up and decorated, but I could not imagine how I would have the energy to do it.

Around 6pm on Monday, some friends came over and we had pizza, decorated cookies and got the Christmas tree up and decorated. I did not have to lift a finger, and believe me, all of those activities took a lot of energy with Mac and Corrie! I loved seeing them having so much fun. It was my heart's desire for them to get to enjoy those things...it was such a gift to have our friends come and serve us like that.