Janni and I had a wonderful talk on the phone Saturday. She told a cute story about Kole getting the idea to entertain guests, in his home, by setting up trip wires and traps. Janni, was his first victim which gave Kole much pleasure! She tripped right over his wire after being groggy from a nap. We are a family (Sprunger side at least), who do not always pay attention to our surroundings. So, we make good "victims"! When Janni was a little girl she was such a live wire. Her feet could hardly keep up with her will to run free. I can remember a friend saying that she tripped over cracks in the sidewalk. Then as she grew those "sickening" long legs, in Jr. High and High School, her "graceful falling" only became much more pronounced and came with more force! She of course made up for it with her beauty, charm, and bubbling kindness! Anyway, God was just preparing her to be a fun mother for Kole someday! It is good to laugh and think of fun! It seems that when things get serious the laughter gets replaced by tears. We are not a family who has it all together! We are not a family who is always happy! We are not a family who knows exactly what to do! We are a very human family, with all kinds of trials and temptations! In fact, if any of you are out there hurting and do not know what to do-- we could cry right with you and pray for you from the heart! Sometimes, it takes pain and failure to really see ourselves for who we are! We can also pour out grace and mercy on others, because that is just what we have required! God does not look for fake perfection, but for brokeness. This song just popped into my head from Micah 6:8 concerning what God requires and looks for in us. It says "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". Walking humbly with God is brokeness before Him. In our humble state, we require much mercy, enjoy much mercy, and feel no choice but to give others mercy. Janni told me that this world no longer has it's hold on her as it once did! To give up striving for perfection in this earth and on it--- to trade it in for fervently seeking a perfect God and His perfect true home. That brings freedom and guaranteed success! It is His image alone that is worthy to be praised. Ours, we work so hard to build, only to have it come crashing down on us in one way or another! Health use to be my "image" which I took pride in. The tower of Babel, in the book of Genesis, was a tower that was built to make a name for man. It was left a failure and unfinished! We will not fail building God's image, which might I say is already complete and built. We can make grandiose claims about the power and might of our Lord and Savior and be confident He can fulfill it! We can not trust in ourselves, but He is completely trustworthy. We are control freaks and sometimes think nobody can do it better than "moi"! That is when the world comes crashing down and we ask ourselves what happened and how did I fail? God never fails! He allows our failures to prove His perfection. Than, he pours out his undeserved grace, mercy, and love. He is great at bailing us out! God's sovereignty prevents us from beating ourselves up with would haves, could haves, and should haves! All this with Kole has a Kingdom purpose that we finite human beings cannot get our minds wrapped around! Someday we will see, we will glorify the Lord , and we will marvel at His plan in complete understanding. We are only required to trust in Him. Trust in what we cannot see, for what we cannot see is eternal. What we see is temporary. This is our call as a family--- to trust, believe, endure and fix our eyes on Jesus. Joy will return to us! God will be glorified! We will take great joy in testifying to His goodness and mercy. May we humbly pray as never before and delight the Lord!

Jodi