Collin Jackson

I want to introduce to you...Colin Jackson...isn't he just precious!

Precious Colin and his family just got back from the happiest place on earth DISNEY WORLD!  Here is an adorable picture of his family (His daddy is Dale, his mommy is Sarah, and his big sister is Camille).  They said they had a blast and that Colin LOVED the merry-go-round and all of the lights!

Camille is such a great big sister and loves her little brother.

I get the joy of spending time with Colin twice a week for a couple of hours and it didn't even take one hour of spending time with him before he stole my heart.  He is so precious, so loving, and his hugs are one of a kind.  He wraps his cute arms around my neck so tight and I can feel the presence of God hugging me with Colin.  Here is yet another kid who is "In Rhythm" with the heart of God and you just know it when you spend time with him.  His laugh is contagious, he dances so cute to his toys that make music, he loves his oatmeal in the mornings, and he loves anything with lights.  I will share more about Colin later this week after I talk to his mom about Disney World and after I talk to her about his birth story.

I have only spent about 5 or 6 days with Colin but I can tell you right now that I am a better person for knowing him and getting to spend time with another child whose heart is so close to the heart of God.

Lessons God has taught me through Colin already:

1.  He has taught me to BE love to everyone you see.  I said...his hugs feel like the hugs of our amazing God so he has taught me to be as close to God as I can be so that I can pass on God's love to other's through my hugs.

2.  He has taught me to be the LIGHT of the world.  The last few times I have spent time with him...he loves for me to help him walk in the kitchen and then he sits on the floor close to the light switches so that I have to stand by the light switches.  We worked on him saying the word "on" and it did not take him long before he said it with ease.  Everytime Colin would say the word "on" I would turn on the lights.  After a few minutes of him enjoying the lights, I would turn the lights off and it doesn't take him long to say the word "on" again so he can enjoy the lights even more.  I kept wondering why Colin likes lights so much and I believe that Colin loves the lights ON so much because he knows that being the LIGHT of the world is the most important thing to be in a world that is so dark.

So a few questions tonight...If you are a Christian, then you have a light to shine for Jesus, are you hiding your light...or do you, like Colin, constantly want your light to be "ON" for the world to see?

Are you striving to be so close to Jesus that people can feel God in your hugs, actions, and in your everyday daily tasks?

Tonight I pray that we all become more and more like precious Colin Jackson and I pray that every morning you will ask God to allow your light to shine for Him so that you can be a constant witness of God's love for this world just as Colin continues to do everyday.

Handsome Sam Battle's Story, Likes, and Dislikes

Look at how handsome Sam is and look at his smile...I could just watch him smile all day.  He has one of those smiles that God made precisely for Sam so that when Sam smiles...everyone and everything around him fills up with the Glory of God.

As of January 26th Sam has been 2 months without Seizures!

Here is Sam with his family...His incredible parents, Jeff and Leslie and all of his wonderful brother's and sister's.

The Battle family looks like they just have too much fun!  They are so blessed to have Sam to complete their family and Sam is so blessed to have so much love and support surrounding him on a daily basis.

Sam's mommy sent me this e-mail yesterday and I am honored to share Sam's story with you...although, the Sam's story is really "Sam and Charlie's" story...do you know Sam has a twin!  Here is a few pictures of the twins before I share the story Leslie e-mailed me.

Sam and Charlie's Story

At week 6 into our 4th pregnancy, Jeff and I found out we were expecting twins. At week 15, we found out that our twin identical boys were suffering from a rare Twin to Twin syndrome. Sam had vessels passing his nutrients to Charlie. Both boys were in serious danger and given a 5 % chance of survival. Jeff and I were sent to Atlanta to discuss options. Opt. 1 - terminate the pregnancy. Opt. 2- Tie off Sam's vessel sacrificing him to save Charlie. Opt. 3 - undergo experimental surgery in Tampa, FL to laser the vessel and try and save both twin. Without a doubt it was opt. 3 and Sam and Charlie's fight began.
If that was not enough, my membrames ruptured 14 weeks before their due date, and the twins had to be taken emergency c-section 3 months premature. With each having a 3 month NICU stay, Sam suffered the most issues and coded twice to be brought back by his nurses. Twice we were called back to the hospital to say good-bye and many times had to okay treatment that was not "FDA approved" for his age and size. We figured we would fight as hard as he was fighting to be part of this life!
Sam left the hospital 88 days after his early birth (just 6 days after Charlie). 

In the months that followed, Sam was given diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, Periventricular Leukamalcia (brain injury), Cortical Visual Impairment, Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome -incurable epilepsy, and infantile spasms. But he continues to fight and win in spite of his disabilities.

I asked Leslie to send me some of the different things that Sam like's and dislike's so that we can all get to know Sam more and more!

Sam's Likes

-Sam loves music. His favorite songs range from 5 Little Monkeys to to techno-disco. He loves listening to his dad's tech pod-casts while waiting for his breakfast in the morning.

-He loves his Brainy-baby piano and his storybook that runs on a switch he can hit with his left hand.
-He can work a adapted joystick-switch to activate computer songs, but he gets really impatient if the technology does not work as fast as he thinks it should :)
-Sam goes to school two mornings a week at a 3 year-old special needs class at WRES. He loves his teachers, therapists, and his one-on-one assistant. He brings home pictures and paintings that we hang on the fridge beside his twin's art work from Montessori.

-Sam has an identical twin and 3 other older siblings who he adores! When he hears them speak, he starts making sounds and fidgeting until they come and pick him up. His first and only word was "hey" when the phone would ring, until he begin calling his 15 year-old sister, Chloe - Bu-ba. 

Chloe has to be the only southern female I know that was thrilled about being nicknamed Bubba!

-Sam loves outdoors, the water, swinging and cuddling. 

-He is very comfortable with people bending to his level and speaking very close to his ear. He has a very acute sense of how comfortable people are with him and in turn, it determines his comfortability with them.

-He does not like riding in the car too long, vacuums, and being surprised by "Happy Birthday" songs at restaurants -oops!

He is the most difficult, yet most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. He is innocent in is purest form. He loves unconditionally and trusts without hesitation. With all his issues, his specialists are constantly amazed at how happy and pleasant he is. Our family would not be complete without Sam. 

What an amazing story and an amazing family.

I think it is more than safe to say that both Sam and Charlie are miracle children.  They are God's miracle children who picked Leslie and Jeff before the beginning of time to care for Sam, to love Sam, to be blessed by Sam, and to be one of the chosen few families to have a child with special needs so that by being close to Sam...they can constantly be close to God because Sam's heart is in perfect rhythm with the God of the Universe.  The God of the Universe who is so big that he sets the stars in place, he not only sets the stars in place but has named them all...Our God is a big God but He is also like you and me and walks beside all of us who call out to Him and longs to have a personal relationship with each one of us who seeks to have a personal relationship with God.  

I can only imagine Sam's personal realtionship with God...oh if I could be with God for just one day the way Sam is with God everyday...I am confident that I would be closer to God in that one day then inthe 11 years I have walked with God.

I love what Sam's mommy says towards the end of her e-mail..."He is innocent in its purest form. He loves unconditionally and trusts without hesitation"...this reminds me of a song I use to listen to when I  was in youth group, I can't remember the name of the song but I can remember some of the words...

"Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts, let us not lift our souls to another"...those are the only words of the song that I remember but they are the only one's I need to remember.  

We are suppose to come to God asking for forgiveness and God most willingly forgives us and makes us pure and clean in heart so that we can be close to Him.  We are suppose to be pure as God is pure and we become pure by asking God for forgiveness but Sweet Sam, he is pure all of the time, he is so innocent and loves and trusts God unconditionally...he doesn't ask questions or lift his soul to the idols of this world...he just trust his family and God completely and without hesitation and this is a lesson we should all learn from Sam.

Do you trust God without hesitation?  Do you love unconditionally?  Do you lift your soul to any other idols?  Do you strive to be pure in heart?

We all have so much to learn from these incredible children whose hearts are "In Rhythm" with God's.  Today I pray that we become more and more like Sam, I pray that we love unconditionally no matter if it is easy or not, I pray that we trust God without hesitation even when things don't make sense, and I pray that we ask God to make us pure in heart so that we are as close to the heart of God as we can be, I pray that today we become more and more like Sam Battle!

Please watch this link that the Battle family posted for the twins 3rd Birthday...it is precious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV-rrMBb4LY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Sam and Charlie 3rd Birthday Announcement

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Sam and Charlie 3rd Birthday Announcement

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Beautiful Gabby Sandridge

This is beautiful Gabby Sandridge!  She is the daughter of David and Cassey, which were two of my friends in college.  I also went to church with David and Cassey.  They are two of the coolest people you will ever meet in your life and although I have yet to meet Gabby...I know this kid has to be double awesome because she gets a dose of awesomeness from mommy and daddy!  I can't wait to meet her very soon.  I asked David and Cassey if I could have the honor of having Gabby be one of the faces of this foundation and they said "YES"...this baby girl is in Rhythm too!  Look at her playing that piano already...she can even look at the camera for a photo shoot and play the piano at the same time...she must be a music prodigy...just like her daddy!

This e-mail came to me today from Gabby's mommy so that we can all know her story and get to know Gabby better:

 David and I found out at 16 weeks pregnant that our beautiful baby was going to have some difficulties. We went in for our ultrasound/normal appointment and came out confused. Once the ultrasound tech noticed there was something not right she went to talk to the dr. The dr OVERreacted! She came in the room, hugged me, and it looked like she was going to cry! We were at peace from the moment we found out there was something wrong. I really believe that Gabby was created the way she needed to be. After that appointment we started going to a Paranatologist...the beginning of specialist we never thought we would see. Our first appointment was a little scarry because we didn't know what to expect. After another ultrasound and confirmation that Gabby was not "normal" the dr came in and gave us our options. To keep the baby or not. Our choice was obvious. They weren't exactly sure what was causing her to have problems but knew that she wasn't fitting in the normal spectrum of things. Even if they were sure, we still wouldn't have considered the alternative. Our visits from that point on were pleasant. No other talk of terminating the pregnancy. Only focusing on Gabby. We found out she was a girl and the rest of the pregnancy was great. No problems...

The day Gabby was born was great! A long day for sure but great! She was taken to the NICU where she stayed for 5 days. She was poked, tube fed (for no reason I might add), and warmed for days. Gabby was born with a diagnosis of hydrocephaly (hydrocephalus-fluid on the brain). It is seen in a lot in kids with down syndrome or with other chromosome disorders. We also found out that the corpus collosum wasn't there and her left/right occipital lobe are missing parts. Of course there was that long drawn out conversation about what all this means...it turns out that no one knows! Basically we were told by her Neurologist that they aren't exactly sure what those parts do but he knows that there is a possibility that she could be delayed-developmentally and may have learning disabilities. We were able to go home after 5 days and begin the journey of parenthood. And Gabby began being Gabby...

She has been in and out of doctors offices (Neurologist, Neurosurgeon, Pediatrician, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Opthamologist) since birth. She has had two surgeries for her shunt placement and replacement. And another visit to fix the leaking from her stitches! After each surgery we can tell that there has been a huge change. She is able to do more, laugh more, etc. She is doing great now. She has come to 'like' her doctors, especially her PT and OT. She just started walking and she can say a few words. We have been lucky b/c we have had a lot of preventive care for her. She really is doing well even though she is technically behind other kids her age. But, she has the best personality and the best attitude. She is always laughing and likes to see who can be the silliest. She's SO funny!  She loves other babies and wants to make everyone smile. 

When I was pregnant, someone gave me a prophetic word about Gabby. They said that Gabby would see through the eyes of the Lord. Now that she is here, I can say that I really believe that. She knows who needs love and gives it. She knows who needs to laugh and gets silly.

I can't wait to meet this precious girl!  I love what her mom says at the end about Gabby..."seeing through God's eyes".  I love that Gabby just knows that..."when people need love, she gives them love" and "when people need to laugh, she makes them laugh".

Are you seeing the pattern here because I sure am...these children are In Rhythm with the heart of God...Gabby has God's eyes to see where He is working and she just goes along side of Him to help people smile, laugh, and bring joy to their lives.  Smiling and laughing is the best medicine!

Let's be like Gabby...the kind of person to love others without hesitation, to make people smile when they are down, to make people laugh when all they feel like doing is to cry.  Let's be like Gabby...to look for the people who need a touch from God and let's carry God's touch to the people who need it the most.  My prayer tonight is that we all become more like Gabby and that we make the effort to see through God's eyes instead of the eyes of the world.

Thank you David and Cassey for your amazing faith in Christ and for raising and loving this beautiful girl and sharing her story to bring strength and lessons to others.

 

Piggie Bank Challenge

Alright...so the first challenge for the foundation is underway!  It's called the Piggie Bank Challenge and for whoever may want to be involved...I ask that you put a piggie bank in your house, office, etc...and if you have any lose change...just feed the pig.  I am going to take the Piggie Banks up on May 1st and whoever raises the most money will get a prize.  There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes.  Here are our first contestants....

We have the amazing Iron Man Fuller twins (Dixon and Crawford) and their little sister Channing:

My best friend...Jenna Cleaveland

The Keeth Cousins...Cody, Andrew, Kaylee, and Hanna

Who will be the next to take on the...PIGGIE BANK CHALLENGE?!?!

Hide and Seek

This is Olivia Jordan...isn't she beautiful!  She is the incredible big sister of Abigail and has one of the best personalities of any kid I have ever met.  She is funny, she is strong, she is smart, and one of my favorite things about her is that she sleeps with her bible.  Did you hear me people...THIS INCREDIBLE 4 YEAR OLD SLEEPS WITH HER BIBLE!  Here is a picture her daddy took one night when he found her sleeping with her bible...precious!

The top 3 things I have learned and love about Olivia:

1. She sleeps with her bible.  A question that comes to my mind is...what if we were all that close to the word of the living God, that we all love our bible that much that we can't put it down...even for the night.  Olivia doesn't take her bible for granted, she doesn't take what our God has written to us and let it sit on a shelf and collect dust.

How many of our bibles are collecting dust?  Do you think it's time for us to dust it off?  Do we read our bible as if it gives us the breath of life or do we let the teachings of God's word go in one ear and out the other?

(Let's take a break for a minute)...I lived with this family so Olivia and I had our share of sibling rivalry and we know exactly how to push each other's buttons to make one another mad.  We even got put in time-out plenty of times and let me tell you...it is hard to sit in a kitchen chair and stair at a wall for 5 minutes...it seemed like a lifetime!  Ok ok, I know what you are thinking, "Brooke, you are 25 and Olivia is 4, how in the world did ya'll manage to have sibling rivalry?" but I am an only child and Olivia and Abigail are the closest things I have to little sisters so give me a break here people...the sibling rivalry was fun!  There were many days were she starred at me like this...

And asked me or more like yelled, "Brookie, WHY ARE YOU STARRING AT ME!" Or "Brookie, STOP LAUGHING AT ME" Or "Brookie, DON'T SIT BY ME AT DINNER"...HA!

But we also had our sweet moment...such as this picture above and comments such as..."I want Brookie to read me a bedtime story?" or "Brookie, will you please take me bowling?" or "Brookie, can I pretend like you are a jungle gym and jump all over you?"...and if you know me, then you know I said yes everytime.

Cont'd The top 3 things I have learned and love about Olivia:

2.  The second thing I love about Olivia is her energy and that she loves to be on the go.  She never wants to go to sleep at night because she is scared she is going to miss something fun...now that's my kinda kid!  One of her favorite games to play is hide-and-go-seek.  Her parents, Matt and Gentry, have a perfect house for this game so we played it a lot.  However, Olivia and I always seemed to get frustrated when we couldn't find the other person...we would NOT look hard enough and we both relied on Gentry or Matt to point us in the direction that the other person was hiding so we didn't have to look as hard but I remember this one time that stands out in my mind.  I was hiding in the shower and Olivia never asked for help or got frustrated during her time being "it"...she just kept searching...she kept searching like finding me was the only thing that would keep her alive and she finally found me.  She was so excited that she found me on her own that she treated herself with a popsicle...one of her favorite snacks.  

This day of hide-and-go-seek reminded me of the verse in Proverbs 8:17...

"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. 

Do we truly seek God?  Do we give up easily or get frustrated if we can't find God or if God doesn't show up in our lives in the exact place we want Him too?  He has hidden His living word in a book for us...do we seek through His word as though finding Him is the only thing that will keep us alive?  Are we tuned into the realization that seeking and finding Him is the only thing that will keep us alive eternally?  As we seek God and not give up...we find His will for our lives, we find our passions, we find direction, and we find love!  SEEK OUT GOD IN YOUR LIVES!

3.  The third lesson that I have learned from Olivia is my favorite lessons of all and that is...How to love her little sister Abigail.  One way that I learned how to interact with Abigail is watching Olivia interact with Abigail.  You want to know what I learned...TREAT ABIGAIL JUST LIKE ANY OTHER KID!  Olivia is an amazing big sister and truly loves and protects her little sister.  Olivia treats Abigail just like any other person and that is how she should be treated.  Gentry texted me not to long ago and the text said..."Olivia is trying to feed her baby doll through a tube in her baby's tummy because that's how Abigail eats and it's just normal to her."  I pray for the day that people love and accept everyone for who they are and I pray that the more people interact with these amazing children with special needs, that the interaction will become more and more normal, sincere, meaningful, and life-changing.  One of Olivia's favorite quotes is..."Abigail's so cute, I just want to pinch her."

Our Father's love

For me to comment about this video would do nothing but get in the way of how God wants to speak to you through this video.  How amazing is this man's love for his son and I ask us all to meditate on the love that our Heavenly Father has for all of His children.

Simply...copy and paste the below web address into google search and then click on..."My Redeemer Lives- Team Hoyt"

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JMEE1NNU

Grab a tissue before you watch the video and praise God for carrying us through this life!

First Purchase from the foundation!

These headphones for Abigail is the first purchase from In Rhythm Foundation.  They are special headphones that make Abigail smile from ear to ear and they help tremedously in a neurological sense.  This special set of music and headphones will help her as she begins talking and look how happy they make her!  This child has my heart and this picture shows perfectly in one picture the reason for this foundation.

Sam Battle

Handsom Sam Battle has the rhythm too!  Please read his story at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samandcharlie/mystory

Abigail Jayne Jordan

Abigail means "Joy of the Father"

This is what I wrote on Abigail's caring bridge site yesterday...If you don't know Abigail then you are missing out on one of God's greatest gifts. Abigail is 2 years old and was born with the deletion of the 8th chromosome but she is striving and improving everyday. If you have the time...please take the time to read how God has worked in my life through Abigail....

Hey Everyone...My name is Brooke Outland and I am filling in for Gentry today to share with all of you what God has put on my heart about Abigail. Matt and Gentry graciously allowed me to live with them for the past six and a half months while I attended Massage Therapy School...little did I know that my life would be changed for the better by the most amazing 2 year old on the face of the planet. I am a Young Life kid from LaGrange, Ga and Matt and Gentry were my leaders. I am so blessed to still be close to them 8 years later and so blessed that they have allowed me to be a huge part of Olivia and Abigail's life. My life has increased with more love and compassion than I could ever imagine since living in the Jordan home. Matt and Gentry are the most humble people in the world and wouldn't want me bragging on them but I have to for just a second before a share how Abigail has touched and continues to touch my life in incredible ways. There are no words to express the love that Matt and Gentry have for their children and for each other. You really get to know someone when you live with them and my experience here has been one of the best experiences of my life. Their house is full of love, laughter, and doing everything in their power to do what is best for both Abigail and Olivia. They have overcome struggles and trials that only some of us could dream of and they have been able to grow in their faith and become a stronger family through it all. I am sure you all know but the name Abigail means...Joy of the Father! They picked a perfect name for her but "Joy of the Father" describes their family as well. I believe God says everyday to the Jordan family..."well done my good and faithful servants."

Yesterday I came back to visit for a few days and had one of the most amazing nights of my life and am honored to be able to share it with all of you.

-What if the meaning of special needs is not a label for children who are born with difficulties...what if the term special needs is for us people who label ourselves as "normal" so that we realize that we NEED these SPECIAL children.

-Abigail knows how to soar on the wind of God's presence...she knows that as she soars, the wind is simply the incredible whisper of the creator of the Universe...who knitted and created Abigail PERFECTLY in Gentry's womb.

A Night I Will Never Forget: Tonight is January 19th or rather it is the morning of January 20th because I am still wide awake at 4:23am and thinking about my conversation I had tonight with Gentry about the greatest kid in the world...Abigail Jayne Jordan. We had a long conversation about a book that is absolutely amazing and everyone should read it...it is called... "Just the Way I Am" by Krista Horning. Gentry and Mat went to bed long before I did and I just went downstairs to take a peep at Abigail sleeping so soundly and peacefully in her crib. As I walked into the room, I felt the presence of God so heavy around her crib, His presence so heavy to where I had to fall on my knees and thank Him for the amazing life that Abigail leads. I started to weep and to beg God to help me to become more and more like Abigail. As I gathered up enough strength to pull myself back on my feet...I gently kissed her soft curly hair and headed back upstairs to my room. I layed in my bed with a peace beyond understanding in my heart and a smile on my face as I continued to wipe tears away.

God reminded me of 1 Corinthians 12 so I looked it up and began to read it, I didn't just read it this time, I took in the breathe of the living God that comes from His word. I saw the scripture in a new light and thanked God for allowing me to be a daughter of the King so that I can have access to His living word....although, I so often take it for granted. You may wonder why I begged God to help me to become more like Abigail and it's a simple answer...as I read 1 Corinthians 12...which explains that we as Christians all work together to form the body of Christ...some the hands of Christ, some the feet of Christ, some the eyes of Christ, etc... It took me a blink of an eye and and a second to wipe off the remaining tears streaming down my face to realize what I have always known and that is that the part of Christ that Abigail makes up is not His hands or His feet...but the very heart of Christ.

Abigail is the heart of Jesus Christ. Oh how I long to beat to the same drum as the heart of Christ. Abigail carries God's presence and I feel closer to God when I am with her. She may not have 20/20 vision or anywhere close to that, she may not be able to walk yet, and her little ears hurt her a lot which makes it hard to hear well but she is closer to God than any of us ever thought of being. Abigail understands that where she is weak...God is strong. I have sang the song "Jesus Loves Me" a million times in my life but as I sang it to her tonight as she slept under the covering, strength, and protection of Christ...it took on a whole new meaning..."Little ones to Him belong, for they are weak but He is strong." I think that we have all gone through plenty of times in our lives where we relied on our own strength, where we purposefully ignored God and went on our merry way only to find ourselves defeated by the world once again. If we would just realize that God is our strength and all we have to do is soar on His wings like eagles then maybe we wouldn't be so tired and weary all of the time.

Abigail knows how to soar on the wind of God's presence...she knows that as she soars, the wind is simply the incredible whisper of the creator of the Universe...who knitted and created Abigail PERFECTLY in Gentry's womb. She is the happiest child, always smiling, always laughing, always loving, always full of joy, and always moving to the beat of God's heart. I know that I can speak for many of us when I say that we as Christians get so caught up in all the noise and busyness of this world. Unlike Abigail...we can see, hear, and walk very well and even though we classify ourselves as "normal" and we think that people with special needs have the issues...I believe with all my heart that Abigail is the "normal" one and that we are the ones with the issues.

Unlike Abigail...we can walk by ourselves and often take the wrong paths to get to where WE think we should be, unlike Abigail...we can see all that is going on around us and often we look to all of the wrong things, people, and places to make us happy, unlike Abigail...we can hear well and this world is just filled with constant noise that blocks out the gentle voice of God. It is easy to wonder why God would make Abigail this way or for people to think that the sins of her ancestors may have made her this way but if you know Abigail personally...you know that God made no mistakes as he created this beautiful child. He used PRECISE knitting and created her for an incredible purpose which she fulfills everyday.

I know that God looks at His daughter Abigail and delights in how perfect and pure and loving she is, I know that He looks at His daughter and delights in the way that she is filled with joy even through multiple surgeries since birth which included hip surgery recently, and I know his heart smiles as He watches her play and talk and sing through the hard times and the good times. How many times do we complain about all of the hard times we are going through or refuse to smile throughout the day because things are not going our way. I have many nicknames for Abigail (some include: Abigabagoo, Gaba, Ba Ba, Swiper) but one that holds true is "Little Trooper". I lived with the Jordan's while Abigail had hip surgery. I have never seen a kid endure so much at such a young age and just keep living life like she always has. She is way stronger and more confident in who she is than I will ever be. I mean if I had hip surgery, I would be crying and complaing every second of everyday but not Little Trooper...she just keeps on keeping on. Seriously...I stumped my toe the other day and complained about it for two days straight.

As I was on my knees in Abigail's room tonight...I believe that God gave me her ears and shut out the world's noise just long enough for me to be able to hear Him the way that she does. I believe that God filled my eyes with so many tears so I could barely see which showed me how to see through Abigail's eyes. I believe He knocked me to my knees so that I could not walk so that I would learn how to surrender to God and be totally dependent on Him.

Those moments in her annointed room tonight brought me to a new place in my faith...I long to be totally dependent on God daily instead of trying to live life my own way. I long for my God to look upon me everyday and delight in me because I have done His will. I long to be pure in heart like Abigail, I long to love unconditionally like Abigail, I long to have discipline and motivation that this 2 year old has so that I can strive to see, hear, and follow God daily, I long to be still and know that He is God and to gaze upon His beauty as Abigail does everyday. I am far from any of this but Abigail gets it and she lives out the will of her Father everyday and that is why I beg to become more and more like Abigail Jordan...the beautiful and perfect child that is in sync with the heart of our amazing God.

The two greatest commandments are to love the Lord God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Can people look at your life and say..."now that person right there lives out the two greatest commandments of all times without question". I can say that about Abigail with no hesitation...she is love and God is love and she is so close to the heart of God that her heart beats along with His. Oh how I long to be like this precious child. I say all this not only to help people to know and understand Abigail but also to bring to our attention that we all should be quick to love and not to judge, we should be quick to listen to God instead of hurry about our day following our own thoughts, we should be quick to allow God to knock us on our knees instead of wobbling on our own two feet until we come crashing down, we should see people and situations through God's eyes and not our own, we should be quick to thank God instead of complaining, we should accept anyone and everyone who is different because quite frankly....no one is the same and judging a book by it's cover is shallow and unacceptable.

Embrace the people around you, embrace people who look different, act different, and think different...God has precisely made each of us just as He would have us to be and you never know what may happen by taking the time to embrace the differences of other people or to form a relationship with someone who you may never have thought to take the time to get to know or to be friends with. I can not imagine my life without staying here at the Jordan's for six and a half months, I can not imagine my life having not been able to watch God work in Abigail's life and in their home daily, and I can not imagine not being loved and touched so deeply by Abigail who is closest to the heart of God than anyone I have ever met.

As I sit here tonight and think, I wonder...What if Gentry would have never taken the time to get to know me in high school? I thank God that she did, I thank God that we stayed best friends through my college years, I thank God that she has always been here for me through the thick and the thin, I thank God for her faith that grows stronger everday, I thank God that Gentry and Matt allowed me to live in their home and to be a part of their lives and the lives of their children, and I thank God that one of my best friends in the whole world is a two year old little girl who has changed my life in ways that I could never imagine. God is going to show off with Abigabagoo...just wait and see...He already has and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for her amazing life.

Tonight at Dinner...Gentry and I were talking about my adoption and I reminded her that I said I would take twins because I don't want to seperate twins and she asked me what I would do if they gave me twins with special needs...I hesitated for a second with my words but in my heart I already knew my answer...YES I would take them! I have heard so many people say before and I used to say it too..."I don't care if it's a boy or a girl just as long as the baby is healthy"....but what if the meaning of special needs is not a label for children who are born with difficulties...what if the term special needs is for us people who label ourselves as "normal" so that we realize that we NEED these SPECIAL children.

Thanks to everyone who cares for Abigail and the Jordan family and thanks for all of your prayers. My prayer for all of you reading this blog is that you get to know Abigail on a personal level or that you get to know amazing children like Abigail because children close to the heart of God will change your life for the better and you will never be the same