Blessed be the Name

This is Joel's favorite pose:)

At this time we are finding that the Lord's name is truly to be blessed. In Job chapter 1, after God had taken away all that was precious to Job (wealth, family, and health), the Bible tells us that Job fell on his knees and worshiped God. As he worshiped, he said, "the Lord gives & the Lord takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord." We are realizing more than ever that the Lord is worthy of our praise regardless of the circumstances. Today we were not able to gather with the believers and worship our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. However, in our hearts we are adoring Him for the many ways in which we have seen His grace. This may sound strange, but we have even been able to know God's grace through Joel's struggles. God's grace is not only that which provides us with good things, but His grace brings us through many trials that cause us to see Jesus Christ more wonderfully. For this we are grateful and worshiping.

Early this morning (Sunday), Joel began eating out of a bottle. He is not eating much since his tummy is still pretty small. However, this is still a tremendous answer to prayer. His breathing has slowed down enough to allow him to eat orally because his lungs have continued to develop. For all of these things we are grateful to our loving Heavenly Father! We realize that our God is the Great Physician that created our bodies and is able to heal them, and we are grateful that He has been working in little Joel.

Again, we thank you for praying for Him. God is gracious to hear and answer our prayers. Not because we are good people that deserve His listening, but because Jesus Christ has atoned for our sin and therefore we are able to approach the Throne of Grace. Thank you for interceding for Joel.

We are still unsure when he is coming home, but that is okay. The Lord knows all things and we rest in His sovereign care. As I shared earlier, he is off the ventilator. They have also removed the lines that were running into his umbilical cord. Now he just has one I.V. that is in his hand. Also, they took him off the Billi Rubin light this morning, which means he is no longer jaundice. Below are pictures of our precious little boy. He is looking so much better!

Joel & Uncle Scott