We had such a lovely visit with our family this past week and are slowly adjusting to the quiet house. I’m always a little lonesome when everyone leaves but as we clean up and rearrange, I relive the happy memories all over again. At the height of our fun, we had 20 house guests and beds scattered here and yon to accommodate anyone who wanted to stay. I had ten pages of handwritten notes (about menu planning and to-do lists) that I followed to a ‘T’ until the last day, when I decided that ‘farmer’s salad with grilled salmon and cheesy garlic bread’ just wasn’t happening. We ordered fried chicken, take-out style, from our favorite gas station and called it a day.
My motto is (borrowed from my mother), “the more you eat, the better I feel.” I do love to entertain and feed people and love on them while they’re here. It will go down in the history books as the best staycation ever. More pics and stories to follow when I can form more than 2 coherent thoughts in a row !
During our Fourth of July festivities, we received the most tragic and horrifying news that two of our friends lost their boys to a freak lake accident. It’s been hard to think of anything else, as we go to bed and wake up every morning with these precious families in our thoughts and prayers. Many of you may know my blog and real life friends, Denise and her daughter Kelly. One of the boys killed was Kelly’s son, (Denise’s grandson), and his best friend Noah. My little Elea was in Noah’s kindergarten class back before we started homeschooling. They were both such great kids and will be missed terribly. Please keep all these friends in your prayers in the coming days as they grieve and try to somehow make it through this loss. God is so faithful to us and has joyfully received these boys to Himself. He knows the depth of our heartache and He will not leave us to grieve as they we had no hope. He is our Father and His grace and mercy will sustain us against all odds. I sit here today heartbroken for my friends, wishing there were something to do or say that would ease the suffering. I cry out to Jesus, whose death and resurrection gives us the blessed assurance that one day, with Noah and Nate, we too will rise with Him. You can read about the story here and donate to the fund for the families here.
Prayer for these impossible days:
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Merciful Father, You know how difficult these days are for me. In Your holy Word, You have promised to hear those who cry unto You in the day of trouble. Listen to my cries for mercy and send help from the sanctuary of Your grace.
Preserve me from bitterness of spirit, and rescue me from every temptation to despair. Calm my frustrations with the knowledge that my life and the eternal life of all my children is secure in Your redeeming love, for we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Your Son. Draw me out of crippling worry and heartache, which stifles faith, and cause me to take comfort in the Gospel. Sustain and strengthen me under every cross and affliction, that Your grace might be made perfect in my weakness.
Give me confidence to pray without losing heart and to trust in Your mighty deliverance according to Your good and gracious will.
Father, into Your hands I commend myself. Hear me, for the sake of Your Son, who alone is my Brother and Savior.
Amen.
My heart aches for these families. I pray along with you and your beloved community for
The ministry of The Holy Spirit to these hurting families.
Blessings to you and yours Edie.
I was sooo sad after reading about Noah & Nate. One of my boys is the same age as Nate. Your prayer was beautiful Edie & they are blessed to have you as a friend to pray for them & be there for them during this very difficult time. May God’s hands comfort them & hold them & may He fill them with His peace that only He can give. I am praying too!
as some of us cared for the young children from the church during the funeral, we could see the hearses from the window. i can’t tell you what that is like to see 2 hearses and 2 small caskets placed in them and then driving away. how unspeakably difficult, it is for those families. our community’s heart is broken for them and we have to believe their faith is the only thing that will heal them.
This life is such a roller coaster of happiness and sadness, isn’t it? I was so saddened to hear this on my local news and then two teenagers from our county were killed in a car accident yesterday. The joy I felt while my daughter was home visiting this weekend was tempered with the sadness I felt for the families who lost their loved ones. And not only the sadness but the realization that these teenagers may not have known Christ as savior. 🙁
What a terrible loss! My heart breaks for those families.
I just want to thank you for your faithful prayer. I’ve had a very hard year, losing my mom to cancer and having a miscarriage within a month. God is so good and has sustained me through this time, but I bookmarked your words to pray through when I can’t fine the words myself. Thank you.
I heard this story over in Nashville and was horrified. Now putting a face and a family to it–I am overwhelmed once again with sadness. I appreciate your prayer and will include Noah and Nate and their friends and families in our prayers.
Praying for these families. Grace, Mercy and Peace . . . .
what sad news….i have no idea how a family survives this kind of tragedy, i don’t think i would have the strength, my thoughts and prayers are with these families and there loved ones.
praying for those boys and their families… thank you for letting us know
Edie, I’ve read your blog for over a year now without commenting. Call me a blog stalker but I have not been able to verbalize what encouragement I have gained from reading what you have written. (It has been a very difficult few years for me – colored over with multiple deaths, losses and much sadness.) My husband read the news article to me from a CNN website on Thursday. As a mom of three, I can’t imagine losing a child. These families have been in my heart and prayers since last week. Thank you for sharing about them and making their faith known. As my aunt told me after my cousin suddenly passed away, “Hug your babies. Hold them even when they are too old and too big. Because God doesn’t give them to us to keep forever.” Oh Lord have mercy on these families.
My son is 11. My heart aches with you and your friends. May God be glorified through this tragedy.
Edie, sending prayers from here. In our area there were 2 young men who drowned. My first thought was that you were referring to them, but these were brothers. One went in to save the other. Neither one made it. Praying for all struggling to cope with loss of loved ones.
Sometimes life is just hard! Praying for these families to have the peace that passes understanding and hope in eternal life.
Oh, Edie! I’m so saddened to hear about the boys. I can’t imagine how their families must feel. Thank you for keeping the faith through tragedy in a public forum. Praying with you.
I heard the sad news about the boys on the Johnson City news last week. My heart goes out to those sweet families. I am praying for them and the community as they deal with this impossible to understand reality. Thank you for the reminder of the greatness and comfort of our Heavenly Father.
Makes your heart just ache, such a tragedy for these families and those who love them.
Will be praying for them all.
Joy and heartache says it all. Your comforting words are very touching and true. I am hosting 10 girlfriends after I make my big move to Knoxville TN at the end of the month…will be closely watching your event. LOVE that you ditched the salmon plan (though it sounded excellent) and went with fried chicken. To me, that separates the weak from the strong…knowing when to punt, when to take a break, and when to leave the dishes in the sink and go outside and soak up a summer evening or go to bed with a book.
I have read a few of the articles on your webtise now, and I really like your style of blogging. I added it to my favorites blog site list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my site as well and let me know what you think.
Reading about Noah and Nate makes me so terribly sad for their families. I have a son around their age and I couldn’t imagine the day, that I wouldn’t be able to kiss his face. Praying hard for their families. Thank you for sharing your prayer as well.
These are trying times for many. Families out west are losing all their possessions to massive wildfires, my area, southern West Virginia, suffered an unprecedented wind storm 12 days ago. Many are still without power with high temperatures of 100+. While we suffer discomfort, personal, and financial loss, nothing compares to this. I pray that the peace of God cover these families.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
I saw this story on the local news while visiting my own family in southwest Virginia. It’s heartbreaking. Those families are in my prayers.
Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really loved browsing your weblog posts.
In any case I will be subscribing for your feed and I am hoping you write again very
soon!
Love the shoe!