Our Fourth Baby

After Brenton was born we were living the American dream. I was managing an ambulance service and making good money. We had the 2.5 kids (actually 3), owned our own home on 2 acres, drove two cars, and we took vacations at least twice a year. Carri did not have to work and we were not living check to check. Things were looking up for us. We were truly blessed. Overall, everyone was healthy and happy.

Just when we thought we were blessed to the max, we found out Carri was pregnant again. We were so excited. We absolutely loved having our children and being able to raise them in a Christian home. God must have thought a lot of us as parents. He was allowing us to have 4 children, and all the means we needed to provide for them.

Christmas 1998, we decided it was time to share the awesome news with family. Carri's mom Sandy and her dad were visiting from Colorado. We thought that the timing was perfect; there could be no better gift than to announce another grand-baby was on he way. We bought Sandy a necklace with four children on it as a gift and to surprise her. That was going to be our special way of letting her know. We just knew she was going to be excited. Sandy loved babies.

Christmas day 1998, we gave Carri's mom her present, that special surprise necklace. We were all gathered around the tree just waiting for the surprise on her face. We could hardly stand it, we were so excited. Sandy opened the box and was speechless. One of us said "surprise! You are getting another grand-baby." The look on her face quickly turned to anger. Sandy was furious.

You are probably wondering why she was so upset. She was upset, because Sandy had a genetic disease called Huntington's chorea. Huntington's is one of the most monstrous of all diseases. It literally ruins lives and destroys families. The children of Huntington's victims have a 50% Chance of having the disease themselves. I will tell more about Huntington's disease later in another story. Understand this; Sandy knew statistically two of her four grandchildren would most likely have the disease that was now plaguing her body. In her mind, we were fools for bringing children into this world only to have such a high risk of suffering such a devastating and monstrous disease.

Cassidy was born in august of 1999. Not without complication though. To make a long story short, there were problems with the labor because Cassidy was breach. We prayed, and she was delivered by an emergency c-section. She was healthy but a rather cranky baby to say the least.

As time went on, Sandy fell quickly and madly in love with her newest grandchild. Like I said, Sandy loved babies. We quickly learned that God used Cassidy to keep Sandy going. She loved all her grandchildren and even said she could not have imagined life with any of them not being there.

I shared this part of our lives for a couple reasons. We have a genetic disease hanging over our heads. This disease ruins lives and destroys families. If we had lived in fear, we would not have had the four amazing children that we have today. In fact, the doctor of our first pregnancy suggested that we have genetic testing done. If the testing came back positive, then he suggested that we have an abortion. Abortion was never, I repeat never an option for us. God does not make mistakes.

It has been very evident that God brought each one of our children into this world for very special reasons. Each one has made an impact for God in their lives and the lives of others. I believe that our children are the proof and evidence of God's love. If we had surrendered to fear, then we would have missed some of God's greatest blessings.

The picture is of our children from 2004. They are much bigger now. They are on the beach of the Pacific Coast of Northern California.

Matthew 6:27, 34 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!

She Was Pregnant and Said We Will Go To Church!

Before Carri and I married, we did stray away from the church. Part of it was school and part of it was lack of motivation. Carri was in RN school and I was in paramedic school. We were busy. Honestly, we were not living the best of lives either. I still did not have a healthy respect for God’s word or His church. My language was not the best, and neither was my perspective on who Christ really was. We had become what the Bible describes as luke warm. We were neither hot nor cold; we were just doing our thing. I was pretty much clueless.

Three months after Carri and I had been married we discovered we were going to have a baby. We were very excited! Bringing a child into this world has a way of changing the way you look at things and view life. You are no longer responsible for just yourself; you are now responsible for the innocent life of an unborn child. When that child enters this world, it is your responsibility to raise and nurture them. A parent’s greatest desire is to have a healthy baby that grows into a successful adult. Have you ever heard a parent express desire to have a sick baby, and hope that they will grow and become a failure in life? Of course not.

After the initial shock and excitement was over, Carri decided we needed to take a closer look at our spiritual life. At this point in my life I did not care much about spiritual stuff. Besides I got what I wanted, I was married to the girl of my dreams. Out of respect for my wife, I listened and did not argue. Here is what she said: “This child is God’s gift to us and we will raise this child as His. We will go to church.” No problem with me in that statement, going to church got me what I wanted. I wanted Carri, I went to church, and I got Carri. So yea, going to church and raising our child in church could not be a bad thing.

Now it was time to get serious and do what was right. We wanted to give our child the best chance she could have in life. Having God on your side was a good thing. So obviously in my mind going to church was a great way to do that, especially on Christmas and Easter. I was sure that is when He paid the most attention to who was actually in church. Well guess what? Carri meant every Sunday. She got out a phone book, twirled her finger around with her eyes closed and randomly chose a church. Her finger landed on “The Church of The Cross, in Coral Springs Florida”. This Church just happened to be 2 blocks from our home.

Within a few short weeks of attending church, an older couple introduced themselves to us. Larry and Susan were their names. They were such an amazing couple. When they introduced themselves to us Larry simply stated, “We just want to be here for you guys, if you ever need anything we want to help”. Larry and Susan took us in as their kids kind of. They would pray with us, offer us advice when we asked, and they even spent time with us. Frequently we went to their home for dinner and just a friendly visits.

I remember so clearly one day, Larry said to me, “Bill you are going to make a good deacon someday.” I had no idea what he meant, but I had this vision of me wearing a religious gown with royal colors holding a candle on a stick and chanting religious chants. I thought to myself, “OK, I think not. If Larry only knew who I really was”. I ‘m pretty sure I just smiled and said thanks Larry. What I did not know at that time is that God was about to use Larry to open my eyes to who He really was.

As I close this story, I want to leave you with some advice. Get in a Church where God’s true word is preached. There you will find encouragement, inspiration, God’s presence, and God’s people. I’m not just talking about any church; I’m talking about God’s church. You will recognize it by the affirmation you feel within your heart. You will know it is the right place, because you will know in your heart, “This is where I belong.” I knew it, the first time we attended the Church of the Cross. We were welcomed and accepted immediately without hesitation, and we felt God’s word speaking to our hearts as it was being preached. That feeling I got when I first met Carri, and that feeling I got the first time I went to a Christian church, well it was back and it was even more powerful than before. Do you want to offer the best for your family, then get God involved.

Raising our children in church was the best thing we ever did for them. Not only did we become grounded in our faith, so did our children as well. All four of our kids had drug problems, we drug everyone of them to church their entire lives. Even when they did not want to be there. Ask them and they will tell you they were glad we did it.

The picture is of a night time revival in Nicaragua during one of our many mission trips.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ love!