A Christmas Message----MORE Pictures and updates in the coming weeks!!~
Wheels for Avery----We have been blessed!~ and are thankful for ALL Of YOU!~
Brothers Keeper this Dec....
Serving others....
This YEAR God has Continued to Bless our family--- There will be an Avery update for the first of the year ...this update is really a Christmas Message/Letter!~
I am reminded that ALL God wants for Christmas is YOU!!!!
This year I am once again humbled....by what God has given me----I am honored that He has trusted me enough to be who I am for HIS Glory ...
I spoke of Mary And Joseph 2 years ago in my Christmas letter; and believe that if it is okay for us to receive things on Christ’s Birthday and talk about OURSELVES and the happenings of our lives each year...than it is certainly okay for me to remind everyone of JUST what was happening to Mary and Joseph at the time of Jesus Birth...
As a mom we are protectors, nurturers and caretakers ,and we love our children before we even meet them …we are often the first face that is seen ….the first heart beat that is heard ….we are who God created us to be for a reason….
While even in the womb we protect our babies by doing whatever we need to do so they will be born healthy and whole…. we nurture our bodies with the food and the proper exercise that is needed for that baby to continue to grow from within ..And we also take care of our homes ; that place in which our babies will come home and share with us and our families…. We love unconditionally…meaning there is NOTHING that child can do to gain OUR love for them….
God’s LOVE for US…HIS children---
1 Corinthians 13:6-8 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails
Thinking About the coming Birthday of Jesus..Reminds me; or should I say makes me go back and really think …… Mary was just a young girl; told by God that she would be birthing the Christ child…Do you think Mary protected her child while she was pregnant….did she nurture the baby that lay within her womb….how about a caretaker ..Did she work to prepare a place to have her child, did she love that baby?
First of ALL God protected Mary and choose Mary ….and she was obedient to God ; by excepting God’s CALL..I believe that he gave Mary the abilities she would need to protect that little baby; while he lay in her womb…..During her pregnancy Mary was ridiculed as was Joseph and their families; she was looked down upon with disgust by many ….She was turned away and talked about….but still she did what God called her to do, and that was carry and protect that baby within her.
Mary was such a young girl(probably NO more than 14-16)…..can you even imagine what it must have been like for her, think back to what you were doing when you were that age…Okay….Now think about how you might respond; if God called you to do what it was God asked of her….To be told that you will Birth the Christ child and call HIM Emmanuel; which means Lord with US…
The responsibility alone of becoming a mother is overwhelming for US all.
I was a young women myself(not 14-16…but still a teenager) when I was pregnant with my first child, whom was not conceived at a time or the way; that was desired by God…I was talked about; I’m sure ridiculed, as was my family… I was looked down upon; but does that mean that my son was not going to be protected, nurtured & cared about by his mother(myself) or by God???…NO
I am in NO way comparing myself and my life to that of Mary…Did God come to me…. did an Angel speak to me like was spoken to Mary???...NO…
The Angel appeared to Mary----
Luke 1:37-39 37For nothing is impossible with God." 38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
He did not come to me physically or as did an Angel, but in many ways YES; God did come to me and continues to in my almost 20 years of motherhood….scratch that my 38 years of life!
You may ask How so?
God has spoken to me through my circumstances…other people and of course the words spoken in” The Good Book (The Bible)“….
Well when I became pregnant at my young age … as you can imagine; this upset my parents, I was not married, and unlike Mary I conceived in the natural way…..My mom’s first response after digesting the thought that I was pregnant was an expected one, coming from a Godley women as my mom is…she said…“I don’t believe in abortion” ....My mom knew that even though this was not the ideal situation…the child I was carrying was still a precious gift from God …I am thankful to God that my mom(& dad) raised me to know the value of life; because even without her saying anything ;abortion would never have entered my mind nor would it have entered Joe’s mind.
Having Andrew at the time in my life that I did …I grew and learned so many life lessons that I otherwise would not have learned…..Was having a child; prior to marriage really what God wanted for ME (US)???…NO….Did he protect and guide me (US) during this time in our lives and through the years???…Absolutely….. Have we since learned anything by doing things our own way and not Gods way???…We certainly have….All of our children have been used by God to help US grow closer to HIM…..
God has spoken to me by answering my husband’s prayer of giving him(US) a special needs child, God has spoken to me by answering my son Andrew’s prayer and giving us another child like Andrew(with special needs )…God has spoken to me through my son Tyler; and his continued learning challenges, God has used Tyler’s challenges and his life to teach me MANY things that I otherwise would not have learned; God has spoken to me through my daughter Devynn; whom is like me in so many ways(but much wiser than I was at her age)…but yet so different ;that I sit in wonder at what a gift she is to our family…. God has spoken to me throughout ALL my years. ….. It just took a little while for me to take my ear plugs out and listen, and take off the blinders that were blocking my vision.
Gods timing is perfect …..We just need to throw our plan books away and not just carry HIS book around, but actually open it….that book would be the Bible!
What is it God has been saying to you this year or in ALL your years …..DO you have things in your life that you have no control over …Is there things you would like to see different???
Have you ever thought about the fact that Mary …DID NOT plan to have a child at her young age, she did not plan to have doors closed on her ….She did not plan to give Birth to the Christ child…. Nor did she plan to have HIM in a place most of you wouldn’t even put your house pets …..It’s called a Stable in a Manger….
Mary was obedient to God and HIS plans for her life and she Walked by Faith …NOT by Sight!
It’s not just Mary in this story …Joseph received many things because of Mary’s pregnancy and it was not a cigar and a pat on the back from others ….
Like Mary & Joseph; God has protected Andrew, Tyler, Devynn, Avery, Joe and IWe have had losses and many storms in our life ;does that mean that God was not there and does that mean he was not protecting us …NO… …
As many o f you know; I would say OUR kids are truly a gift from God and as my husband Joseph would say .....and a gift right back to God …and I can’t say I would argue with that statement…
When Mary and her husband Joseph brought in to the world the baby Christ Child....Can you imagine how scared and frightened they must have felt….eating meals on a regular bases, was probably a challenge …I bet there were so many emotions and things going through their minds ….I imagine Joseph even went without food to make sure Mary ate in order to nurture that body of hers and the one within her womb …
Luke 1:29-31 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Through all my pregnancies eating was never an issue…but thinking back just 29 months ago ,when I was pregnant; and awaiting the early delivery of Avery…..this delivery was not in a stable or a manger and it was not just Joe and I …it was in this high tech Boston Hospital with all the technology one would need, want or hope for….I have to say I was scared; and this was not my first pregnancy ….it was my ninth in fact …why was I scared you may ask ….Well because there was talk that I may not make it through the delivery …. I was scared of leaving my husband ,my kids, and family…..I understood and knew where I would be going if God had chosen to call me home, so that was not what I was scared of …BUT…I bet Mary was scared ….and Ohh man Joseph …I wonder how he must have felt….
And can you be scared and have a sense of comfort all at once??....
Although I was scared I also had a great sense of Peace ….it was God that gave me that Peace; it was through the Flash of lightning and Thunder of a Strom moments before my delivery ….it was God speaking to me, showing me that I need to continue to Walk by Faith and not by sight…it was Peace that I will never forget.
I wonder if that is how Mary and Joseph felt….
It is my thought that if you are obedient to God and his calling in your life; he will give you EVERYTHING you need to get through whatever it may be….Will it always be what you want or think you need….probably not….
At this Christmas Season I just wanted to give you something to think about….DO you have that reassurance of knowing where you are going when your time comes to leave OUR Earthly home??? Do you know what it is God really wants for Christmas???
Well ….If you don’t know …..you can ask anyone of my family members (although I don’t think Avery can verbally tell you) …In this BIG thing we call life on Earth there is always a beginning, middle and end….what you do with the time in the middle will decide where you go in the end….
Please…Keep reading to see what it is I am saying….
So God has protected Mary and Joseph through there many storms and provides them with the food needed to keep Mary strong through her pregnancy ….
God obviously choose Mary & Joseph because he believed she would be the caretaker, nurturer, protector needed to birth and raise the Christ child….God wanted them ….God called them …and they answered!
Matthew 1:24:
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
You know last Christmas Season someone said something to me that really struck me…..and it was in a way that made me think…As many of you know I had been living at Children’s Hospital with Avery for several months ...3-4 months in the ICU ….Most of you know me to be a nurturer; even to those that are not my children, caretaker if you will….I enjoy doing it and I think it’s one way God is using me to show his Glory…I work to NOT mope around all day and I’m pretty cheerful….and try to make the best of a not so great situation…Well since it had been the Christmas Season I had been playing LOTS of Christmas music and singing to Avery …and HE loves it….Well …a person I saw rather often at Children's made a comment like…”Oh you’re not listening to that-- Christian Jesus Christmas music are you “???...I was a little taken back, I didn’t know what was meant by that at first ….then I said “Well Yah what do you mean Christian Jesus Christmas music”… and the response that I got was..." that music is getting to be too much Jesus Jesus.. ..I then said “Well it is His Birthday after all and it is about HIM…Nothing more was said after that….
The reason I share this with you is because it really struck me…….
Why are you celebrating Christmas….????NO ....Really WHY??
We all get so hung up on the material aspects of Christmas; and often times ,it is so self focused, we are hung up on …the gifts we have to buy …and ALL the decorations we have to put up and ALL the money we have to spend, the LIST goes on and on …that we tend to lose sight of what Christmas Really is… we lose the meaning of Christmas(not x-mas…CHRIST-mas) ……We forget about that teenage girl that was so unselfish she put Gods call on her life before her own self…Mary knew that ALL God wanted for Christmas was HER….
You might ask yourself similar questions I might ask myself…
Why would God choose me….We(Joe and I)had a child out of wedlock…..we don’t agree on everything; yes; we love each other, but we are NOT perfect…Our son Andrew, he had a stroke as a baby ,he will not be able to manage his own life, due to his challenges …why would God want him…..he’s NOT perfect…What about Tyler his reading is a challenge and he makes uncontrollable sounds often times…he’s NOT perfect…..Oh and what about Devynn….She has some issues with her attention span and her organizational skills are something she works at constantly …so she is NOT perfect …..And then there is sweet Avery …He has more challenges than one can count….and is NOT perfect in the eyes of others anyway….
DO you think Mary & Joseph were perfect????
NO…they were not!
If we were ALL perfect …there would be NO need for a Savior in OUR lives….
Jesus is the Only perfect…HE was without SIN….
Joe and I are not the PERFECT couple; but are we working each day to glorify God with our lives; has God made US just for each other ….YES... I think he has and I think we are doing what God would want…with always room to grow and learn TOGETHER….
Andrew is not PERFECT…but do others light up and smile when they see him, does he brighten others days without even trying, does he have a love for others that is seen in his eyes ..YES he does….
Tyler is not PERFECT… .but is his desire to please God present in his life; does he have a Servants heart …YES…he absolutely does!
Devynn is not PERFECT….but is she caring, compassionate, loving to her family and those around her…she most CERTANILY is….does God USE her for his Glory….I believe he does!
Avery…ohh…little Avery….No he’s not PERFECT…..but, even without words that can NOT be spoken …he has a SMILE and a look of love in his eyes…that comes from God alone…
GOD has and IS using Him right now ….Avery and all his challenges (BLESSINGS) have brought others closer to God ....
Mary and Joseph were not perfect….but did they obediently serve OUR Lord ....did they give everything within them to answer God’s call on their lives….YES they did!!!
My son Andrew said something to one of his uncles….and it really made me smile…and think …even though Andrew has all his Challenges and he is NOT PERFECT …HE gets it, he gets what really matters ….although he might have been silly/fresh to his uncle…..the below comment really GOT to me!!
While driving in the car with Uncle(Kevin) and Tyler, a discussion was taking place and Andrew apparently wanted to say something (I believe he was interrupting) but it was NOT the time and he may have been arguing a little with Uncle …..So Andrew said ‘Uncle…Don’t argue with the Creators Creation”
When you think about Christmas this year ….Think about the Creator…think about how he created you….think about Mary and Joseph and their obedience …Think about the only thing that GOD really wants this Christmas ….
HE Only wants you…YOU…YOU!!!!
John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
With God's Love and Blessings, The Austin's
Grace,Joe,Andrew,Tyler, Devynn and Avery
Our dear friend......visits and prays with us!!
