Last week, I got to make a trip up to Easley to see my family. I got to see my baby brother, Andrew, play flag football (it’s a big deal in ol’ Etown.) His team is awesome and they won 61-0. The best part: everyone on the team scored…either a touchdown or extra point…they all scored. And there is this younger kid on their team that they kept passing to and he kept scoring. He was on the sidelines at one point and turned around to his mom and did this thumbs up dance that was adorable. He was so excited to get to play with the big guys! It was such a Rudy moment and man, I love Rudy moments.

Also, I got to see some of the sweetest girls on Wednesday! Megan put together a big group of Easley girls and we all went to lunch. It was so fun sitting around, talking about old times and our new (and very different!) lives. Almost every one is married or in serious relationships. A few have kids… some are trying to have kids. It’s just really neat how much life changes so quickly. I’m thankful for that time to hang out with all of them. I miss them a lot!

Have a happy Monday!

Pray for Courtney’s dr. appointment today at 2:30!

see ya, march.

Brandon did quite a number on explaining our March to everyone. March Madness is what we have called it… not because of b-ball though. (Although, Clemson’s game last Thursday was madness. But that’s another story for another day.) I’m glad that March is over. I already tore off March on my desk calendar to reveal April and all its goodness. In April, I see: Missions Orientation Weekend for work, leading break out sessions for a leadership retreat, a long weekend (no work for 4 days straight!) for Easter break, Easter Sunday, VAN night for Midtown, CIU Visit Day, my Peru kids at the house for dinner, Storying in Chapel, and Nashville for the Summit Conference.

April is going to be a much better month. And, Bran and I are kicking it off with a “free-of-anything-to-do-besides-watch-movies-and-read-and-eat-and-sleep-and-listen-to-the-rain” weekend. Perfection.

pray I take my own advice.

I remember when Mallory died, I got to a point where I hated people mentioning it, sending notes, calling to check on me… but, then when all that stopped I hated even more that it seemed people had forgotten. Sometimes still, it makes me sick to think about how I haven’t spoken Mallory’s name in a few days.. or maybe even weeks.

I was thinking about this and how that plays into Court and Allen’s lives right now. Man, it is so easy to go to their house and talk about anything and everything but their current situation. And, maybe that’s what they need. But, I do not want us to stop praying specifically for them. I do not want us to stop caring for them in great ways to make a difference in their day. I do not want us to stop asking how they are and being by their side. Just because the craziness of the last two weeks has come to a halt (at least physically), it has not stopped emotionally for the Tipping’s, nor has it even reached some sort of peak and it’s not on its way down… back to normalcy. They have a long, hard road ahead of them–in grief, in sadness, in the “what ifs.” Courtney’s body is still not 100%. They will have financial burdens to face from the hospital stay. They will miss their children.

So, with all that said, please do not quit praying for Allen and Court. And do not stop encouraging them and loving on them. And pray I take my own advice.

spring is here… to stay, I hope!

I saw Jaybird driving by today in his jeep and I was so jealous of that jeep in this sunshine weather! When I met Brandon, he had this broken down jeep that he had to work on every day. Seriously. Everytime we stopped somewhere and had to start again, he’d get out the WD-40, spray it on something in the engine, then try to crank the car. I had to hold my purse really tight in my lap every time we went on dates because there was a hole under my feet on the passenger-side. Seriously. A big hole that opened up to nothing but the road below us. The top was like 2 tons and the hardest thing in the world to get off. But, man oh man… did I love that jeep. We had so many good times listening to Journey’s “Small Town Girl,” taking off the top for the summer, riding around talking and laughing, and many road trips.  I almost wish he had never sold it. Except when I think about how much money we’d spend on gas for that thing!

Happy Spring… I think it’s finally here!

sunshine.

I can’t get motivated to do much of anything today. I am not good at separating huge things in my life from the small, daily tasks. I can’t shake what happened this past week, even when I am checking my daily emails, answering phone calls, and planning for events. It doesn’t leave my mind. I don’t think I have ever hurt for a friend like I have in the past week. I am learning so much about myself, my faith, and my heart. I have learned what it means to pray without ceasing and pray prayers with faith I didn’t know was in me. I’ve learned the importance of focusing on the Truth, even if it isn’t what we wanted to hear.
Please keep praying for my sweet friends, Allen and Courtney. I must say, they are the strongest (physically and spiritually) couple I know.

tippings.

all 6 of the babies passed away. please pray for Allen and Court.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?…But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I kept their blog updated through the whole process. Go here to read and pray through their story: Allen and Courtney

My sweet friend Courtney had to go through so much trauma last night in having her second child, who didn’t even have a chance to make it. Please pray for the rest of the babies and for Court and Allen… this week has been the hardest week of their lives and they still have many weeks ahead until the babies are even viable. I got to sit up most of the night and watch Courtney sleep while her family slept…it was a great time of prayer and seeking God on her behalf. But, man, it’s hard to even think about what she’s going through right now. Imagine having two babies both die in the span of four days and still have four more to fight for, having no time to even grieve. But, God is the same yesterday and today. He’s fighting for Courtney, too. I know that.
I did get to see Baby C-F on the ultrasound today and they all look great! They are growing and have plenty of fluids around them, etc. Lucy was waving at us while we watched them flip around. That made a huge difference in all of our hearts, especially Courtney’s. She’s such a trooper! Pray for my sweet friends. Pray for us to remember God is still God, no matter what. And that He is still so good.

thursday.

Update on the Tippings: Last night was a good night for Court, but today has been a bit harder. I just talked to Allen at about 11:45ish and Baby B is on his way. I haven’t heard any other news, but please be in prayer for Courtney. Yesterday was so terrible because she couldn’t even have time to mourn the loss of her first child because she was fighting to keep the others safe. And, now, she’s having to fight for her second child’s life. It’s heartbreaking and terrible. Courtney Gibson just summed up Truth to me, though: “remember that the Lord created six souls and both of these babies will get to enjoy him and glorify him forever.”

 

quote for today: “If we only give up something to God because we want more back, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment; it is miserable commercial self-interest. That we gain heaven, that we are delivered from sin, that we are made useful to God – these things never enter as considerations into real abandonment, which is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself…The test of abandonment is always over the neck of natural devotion. Go over it, and God’s own abandonment will embrace all those you had to hurt in abandoning. Beware of stopping short of abandonment to God. Most of us know abandonment in vision only.”  -Oswald Chambers

quick update.

Courtney and Allen lost Baby A, Will, last night. Please pray for Court as she fights for the other babies.

It’s Tuesday?

It feels like it should be Friday. I wish! And, if you live in Columbia, June is already here! The air is hot and thick and… glorious. Already!
Brandon is gone to Washington DC to speak at Midtown’s College Spring Break Missions Trip. I miss him and can’t wait for him to back on Thursday! Okay, enough wimpy wife talk…

News on the Tippings: I just went by there during lunch & Court wasn’t doing too great. I never know when to say she is doing “well” versus “bad” because she’s much better than Saturday night! But yesterday was a much better day than today. She’s just having a lot of contractions (seemed to be about every 1-2 minutes while I was there) and they are super painful. Please pray for my sweet friend to be able to calm down and relax and be contraction-less! I will try to update here, but make sure to check out www.thetippingfamily.com where Daddy Allen will be updating the blog!

While I was there today, Courtney said, “This is just so hard… it’s going to be such a long time going through this.” And I just kept telling her to focus on the babies and think about holding them. It put a lot of things in to perspective for me, too. Those 6 itty bitty things in her stomach are her children… already. She loves them so much and is fighting for them every second of every day. So, please pray for: Will, Rob, Addy, Luke, West & Lucy. & Pray that we will get to see them running around when they are 5 and be able to praise God for everything He did through these next few weeks of Courtney hurting, worrying, but trusting in Him.