"He gives. He takes away."

So..sometimes when I am bored, I blog hop and read intresting articles and blogs, and I came across one by a lady. I dont know her, I dont know the circumstances in her life, so some of the people she is talking about doesnt make complete sense to me, but you can get the gist of it. Never did I think of this verse this way until now, but it makes complete sense. I thought this was kind of a cool post, so I copied it and pasted it to share...

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

-Job 1:21

"He gives and takes away. How many times have you heard this verse quoted? Or misquoted? I thought about this verse today as I contemplated that perhaps God was "taking away" something precious in my life. But I don't necessarily know if that is what Job had in mind when He said these powerful words. God is good. He doesn't take things from us to hurt us. I believe He allows sacred and precious things to be ripped from our lives at times. Take Todd and Angie, for instance. The most precious thing in their world was taken from them this week when they lost sweet baby Audrey to death after just two hours of life. Did God "take Audrey" away from them? Why would He do that?

On the same token, did God "take away" our current ministry? If He called us here, is He now "taking away" the opportunity to love these people and serve them? Is he "taking away" a pulpit where Josh could be proclaiming His word? Is he "taking away" our home, just to uproot us? Would He "take away" these things, even if it would make us stronger? NO. NO. NO. And again I say NO. I will never credit my good God with "taking away" good things such as this. Instead, I will give credit where it is due. Satan and his evil armies have grabbed hold of what God has given and they have "taken away". Satan is to be blamed, but God is to be given praise. For He has indeed taken some things away...

God has taken away our fear.
"For the Lord your God is living among you.He is a mighty savior.He will take delight in you with gladness.With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
-Zephaniah 3:17

God has taken away our sin.
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
-1 John 1:9

God has taken away our tears.
"He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears."
-Isaiah 25:8

God has taken away our ashes.
"He will give a crown of beauty for ashes"
-Isaiah 61:3

God has taken away our weakness.
"Yet it was our weaknesses He carried."
-Isaiah 53:4

God has taken away our sickness.
"He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases."
-Matthew 8:17

God has taken away our exhaustion.
"Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength."
-Isaiah 40:30-31

God has taken away our hunger.
" You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies."
-Psalm 23:5

God has taken away our darkness.
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid?"
-Psalm 27:1

God has taken away our defeat.
"I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me."
-Psalm 30:1

God has taken away our mourning.
"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing."
-Psalm 30:11

I praise God tonight for all He has taken away. I can rest secure in knowing that He Gives and Takes Away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Livvy's Stats

Just thought I would post Alivia stats. She was 10lbs 14 oz and 22 1/4 inches. She is in the 50th precentile for both height and weight. By far bigger then Evan ever was. He was always 25th precentile for weight until he was almost a year. Anyways, we are currently retesting for intolerance to milk because she had one postive the last time. I am hoping it is a fluke because she is doing really well with the formula she is on. Anyways...Thats about all. I'm husbandless this weekend and enjoying my CLEAN house. It is so nice to leave the house, and come home to exactly how you left it. :-) Still looking forward to when he comes home on Monday. I am sure by then I will be anxious and ready for him to be home!

Oh yeah...forgot to post this, even tho it is pretty big news. Ryan got called back to Tiara. This time it should be for good. If not, it will at least be until mid January. Praise God!

Pictures!!

I have been slacking big time with the pics. Here are a few of when we went up north to my Grandpas cabin on drummond island the begining of October.





We have been potty training for a while now, and Evan is doing AWESOME! He tells us when he has to go and gets so excited about his potty chair. We are so proud of him! I came home the other day and found him modeling his new undies! Daddy thought it was time he had some, so he made the trip to meijers with both kiddos and got Evan his very own Handy Manny undies. Evan is so proud of them and doing great! He has only had one accident so far and if he has to go...he makes sure to tell us. He doesnt want to get Handy Manny wet!



And finally here are some recents of my babes. They both are getting so big! I cant believe Evan will be two in January already! Time flies. And little miss Alivia is definatly packin on the pounds! Already in some 3 month outfits...:-( We go monday for her 2 month check up. Hopefully we will have better news about her formula situation.

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