Today marks 31 months since God brought Johnny and I together in marriage.  It has been quite the journey, not always easy, but definitely a growing process.  I am so thankful that I waited for God's timing and His perfect one!

Life has been very busy here.  Johnny has been having much back pain caused by bulging discs and needing a new wheelchair more suited to his needs.  He is out on short term disability from work and going to therapy three times a week.  We are praying that God will heal him and give us wisdom about the future, because we don't know how long he will be able to continue to work.  We have been praying that God will open up the door for us to go full time in the ministry and are just waiting for His timing.

JD is growing so quickly.  He will be 7 months old on Monday.  Where did the time go?  He has two teeth, is sitting up, rolling and beginning to crawl all over.  He is such a good, happy baby (for the most part) and I thank the Lord every day for him. 

This week as I was reading I Corinthians 13 God reminded me that the only way I can be a success as a wife/mother and in the ministry is by letting His love shine through me.  I was reminded again that I can do many things, but if I don't do them with love they are nothing.  Just a little thought.  I am going to try to stop by here every week to just share a few things going on in our lives.  I hope it will be a help to someone.
Rachel

I just looked at my last post and realized how long it has been since I have posted on here.  I am going to try to be more faithful in keeping up with this.  Since my last post our little baby boy was born on July 20, 2011 at 6:11pm weighting 6 lbs. 15 oz.  It was a rough labor and delivery but he is well worth the pain.  He truly is our joy and when he smiles he melts my heart.  I am so thankful God gave him to us.  On those rough days when it seems all he does is cry I look at the quote we have placed on his door (for this child I prayed) and I remember once again what a miracle and blessing he is.

Life has been very different the past two and a half months as we adjust to having a baby.  There are many days when my whole day has been filled with nothing but feeding and taking care of my little guy and I look around my house and say, "oh, my, what a mess!"  My Obessive Compulsive clean side starts freaking out about the unorganized closets, the dirty floors, and the dust piling up.  It is then that I think of this poem.

Babies Don't Keep
by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button, and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo,
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shoppings not done and their's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

I am beginning to realize that people are the most important "things" in my life.  You may say what does any of this have to do with the title of this post "A Cheerful Giver".  It does all go together.  The other night I was at our missions conference and our missionary intern was preaching out of II Corinthians 9.  As soon as I read verses 6-8 God began to work on my heart and (sorry, Matt) I didn't hear much of what the preacher was saying.  Here are the verses, "But this I say, He with soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"  I believe this is not only talking about our money, but our time and what we give to others.  God began to convict me that I haven't always been a cheerful giver of my time to my family.  With a newborn, there have been times that all I have wanted to do is sleep or just have a moment to sit down and relax, but my husband has needed something.  I regret to say that I haven't always given to him cheerfully.  God clearly says that He will give us large amounts of grace if we cheerfully give to Him not only our money, but also our time and talents.  I don't have the strength to cheerfully give all day, but I know that God does and He can do it through me.  Just something for you to think about.  Are you cheerfully giving to those God has placed in your life or are you selfishly holding back?  When we realize they won't always be there it should help us keep our priorities straight.  I don't want my son to remember me for always having to have the house spotless and have perfect meals, but for the love that I gave to him and his father.  Well here is a parting picture of my handsome man.  Hope you enjoy!

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.  My glucose test came back fine, Praise the Lord!  I just have a shot to get next week and then I think I will be home free until JD shows up!  Only 89 more days, I can't believe it!  Time is flying!

Johnny goes this Friday to get one of his tests done.  They will be checking to see if he has bile stones.  Thankfully this test doesn't require an IV so he won't have to have a central line put in.  Praying the results are good and we won't have another surgery in the future.  Thank you all so much for your prayers.

It is a rainy, miserable day outside and every time I use my umbrella I think of a principle that I have learned that I have wanted to pass on to you.  I have been meaning to write this blog post for weeks and just never got "around to it"!  All you woman out there know what I mean, there is always something else that is more important that needs to be done! :0)  The Lord has been impressing me to write this though so hopefully it will be a help to someone.

When I lived in Brooklyn, NY God gave me the privilege of working in the RU (Reformers Unanimous) program.  It is a wonderful program that helps disciple people and draw them closer to God.  Many people think this program is only for people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, but it is not.  The definition of an addiction is anything that you keep on doing even though you know you shouldn't.  That makes everyone of us an addict because we all take just one more piece of chocolate , just one more game on facebook, just one more critical word.  Ouch, that hurts!  Anyways to get back to the umbrella, while working in RU I read a wonderful book called "The Umbrella Fella" by Steven Currington.  In it he taught a principle that has helped me many times in my life.  The principle is this, when we stay under our God ordained authority there is protection and freedom, when we stray from that our life will be full of misery.  He explained it like this, God is our ultimate authority, then our husband (if you are married), pastor, teacher, government officials etc.  Each one of them has an umbrella of protection over us.  If we reject the authority of that leader and do it our own way we no longer have that protection.  Here is an illustration.  In my life the top umbrella is God, under that is my husband and then under that is me.  If I decide that what my husband is doing isn't right (and it may not be) and decide to not listen to my husband I then have stepped out of the umbrella of his protection and am now directly answerable to God.  If I decide that what my husband is doing isn't right (at least I don't think so, and you know we woman are always right!) and CHOSE to yield to his authority in my life then God will deal with my husband about it and not me.  I hope this is making sense!  This is one of the best principles I have implemented in my marriage!  It has saved many fights when I have applied it!  I can't say that it is easy though.  It is one of the hardest things in the world for me to shut my mouth about a situation and just leave it in God's hands when I think I am right, but I have seen it work over and over again.  It happened again just recently.  My husband made a choice that I didn't think was right and instead of rebelling against him and doing what I thought was right no matter what he thought I gave it to the Lord.  A few months pasted and I continued to give the situation to the Lord until one day my husband came to me and said, we are going to do such and such which is what I had thought was right all along.  The joy and peace that flooded my soul at that moment was amazing.  You see I didn't need to nag him about that thing, God took care of it for me!  It is freeing to know that I am not responsible for my husband's actions.  He will give account to God for what he does and how he raises our family.  I will give account for my obedience and submission to my God ordained authority, my husband.  "So then every one of us shall give account of HIMSELF to God."  Romans 14:12  I so wish every wife could grasp this principle, because it is when I live by it that I am happy.  When I stray away from it (and I do that more than I would like to say) that I am a miserable, worried, bitter person.  I hope this makes sense and was a blessing to someone.

Now on to other news.  JD is becoming a great kick-boxer and is growing quickly which is evidenced by my growing stomach.  Today will be 100 days until he is supposed to be born and I can't believe how quickly time has flown.  There is so much still to do!  I would appreciate your prayers as I go on Tuesday to get my glucose screening done.  I have been having a little problem with my sugar and am hoping it isn't gestational diabetes.

Also Johnny has been having pains similar to before his gallbladder surgery.  After a trip to the doctor, we are scheduling to have some tests run to determine what the cause of the pain is.  Please pray that it is something that can be corrected without surgery and for grace as Johnny has to have a central line put in to get the tests done, which is far from pleasant.  Well, I would love to chat more, but this epistle has been long enough.  Thank you all for reading this and for your prayers on behalf of our ministry.

I just wanted to share with you all an awesome thing that God has done for us.  About a month ago Johnny was looking at some automatic door openers that would make it a whole lot easier for him to get into the house.  We found a nice one for only $1,000 (you may think this is expensive, but actually it is very cheap).  He prayed and asked God to give him the money to get one.  A couple hours later someone called and asked for our address and said that God laid on their heart to give us some money.  Johnny said it wouldn't surprise him if it was exactly what we needed to get the door opener.  A couple of weeks went by and the check hadn't come and so we just assumed that is wasn't coming.  During that time we set up an appointment with DORS (a group that helps disabled people in Maryland) to see if they could help us get a door opener and remodel the bathroom to make it more handicap accessible.  We really didn't think they would help us because we weren't on disability and would be "making to much money".  After the meeting we found out that they would do the modifications that we needed and we would only have to pay $245 for a job that will cost a few $1,000!  WHAT A HUGE BLESSING AND ANSWER TO PRAYER THAT WAS!  Today we were getting ready to go out and the mail person was just coming to the mailbox.  Johnny said why don't we wait and get the mail now because then we can put the check in the bank today.  I thought he was joking and just played along with him.  When I got the mail do you want to guess what was there?  You're right.......A CHECK!!!!  The person who told us about a month ago that they were going to send us a check did and it was for $500.....$250 more than what we needed to get the automatic door opener and other remodeling done!  God just continues to amaze me with how he provides our needs AND a little bit more!!!!  My husband's faith in believing that God would provide is a challenge to me to trust God a little more than I have before. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

I know, it has been a long time since I have posted anything, sorry for the delay.  Since it is the thought that counts, I should be fine because I have thought about it quite a lot, it just didn't make it to the top of my priority list. :0)

Life has been very busy in the Hudson household.  We had the privilege of being out ministering the last two weeks in February and the first week in March.  I love being able to minister, but it comes at a price.  Many people do not realize how the devil attacks those who serve Christ.  Every time we go out we know that something will happen the week before and even after the meeting.  As an example in the past few weeks Johnny's wheelchair died and would not move, the van broke down and cost over $200 to fix and various other small things happened.  The devil fights on all fronts, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually.  It is great to know that we don't have to fight him alone, God will fight for us! So next time your church has an evangelist in take a minute to pray for them even before the meeting starts, you never know what they are facing. Praise the Lord we had great meetings and lives were changed!  We really enjoyed getting to know Pastor Lavallee and his family at New Life Baptist in Milford, DE.  The time they invested to make sure we were comfortable was greatly appreciated.  God did a work in the lives of the people there and that makes it worth it all.  As of right now we only have one more meeting scheduled for the end of May and a few weeks later JD will be here.  We aren't sure how soon we will travel after his birth and are leaving our schedule in God's hands.

On the home-front I have been getting ready for our bundle of joy to arrive.  I have been working diligently to get the spare bedroom/junk room cleaned out so we can get it painted the beginning of April.  It is amazing all the stuff you collect in a year and a half!  As I feel JD moving more and more each day I am so thankful for the miracle that God has given us and pray that we will raise him to live up to his name, Joseph Daniel, two men who lived for God no matter what the cost.  Well, as much as I would like to write more laundry calls.  I am hoping soon to post about some of the things that God has taught me in the last year.  I hope it will be a blessing to you.  Until then, have a great day and remember no matter what you are going through God loves you!

Through circumstances today I was reminded once again what my ministry is......Johnny and our child.  When I was single God gave me the privilege of working in many different ministries of the church and I truly enjoyed it.  When I got married, because of Johnny's unique situation I wasn't able to be involved as much and it bothered me.  That was until I realized that now my ministry was my husband.  "There is difference also between a wife and a virgin.  The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband."  I Corinthians 7:34 God hadn't stopped using me He was just using me in a different way, a way that is mostly unseen.  My ministry now includes a variety of things, such as, gardening, sewing, secretary, handywoman and working a secular job when necessary.  There are times when things may get out of proportion and I have to sit down and reevaluate what my priorities are.   If they aren't my FIRST ministry,my husband, than things need to change.   At a church we were at recently a pastor said something about Johnny being great because of the one behind him.  My eyes filled with tears and I said, "Lord, thank you for the ministry you have given me.  Help me always to remember how important it is."  May I never think of my ministry as small for it is the biggest ministry of them all!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Yesterday we had the wonderful priviledge of seeing our little boy.  He is so sweet!  His name is Joseph Daniel or JD for short.  It is funny how knowing the sex of the baby makes such a big difference, now he isn't the baby anymore, but JD.  As we watched them check all of his organs it was amazing to see how a baby weighing only 10 oz. could be so fully and perfectly developed.  It reminded me again of Psalm 139:14, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works ; and that my soul knoweth right well."  We are so thankful for the precious miracle that God has given us, and are praying that he will live up to his name, Joseph, a great and Godly man.

Well, I am finally part of the blogging world.  I have been wanting to do this for a while and just haven't gotten around to it.  I am so thankful to my hubby for setting it all up for me!  He did a great job! 

I am hoping to use this blog to keep our friends and family all over the country updated on our ministry and current events.  Also I want to share things that God has taught me that I am hoping may be a help to someone.  In the past almost 19 months God has taught me much about being a wife and more importantly a helpmeet for my husband.  He has also taught me more about trusting Him and consistently praying until God answers.  God is a great God and I am so thankful that He is in my life and that I don't have to live life on my own.

I'm sure that He has many more lessons ahead for me as we become parents in about 4 months.  We are hoping to find out the sex of the baby tomorrow and will try to post soon after that.  We are both so excited that God has blessed us with this precious gift to raise for Him.

There is so much I would like to write, but much of that will be covered in my testimony page on the website which I am hoping to complete in the near future.  I pray that everything that I say in this blog will bring glory to God because that is my main goal.  Let me leave you with a verse, "For I determine not to kow anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."  II Corinithians 2:2  Sorry for the jumbled thoughts, hopefully the next post will be a little better as I get used to this blogging thing.