God's strength is made perfect in my weakness....

1 Corinthians 12:9-10
 ^"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I know I just posted yesterday, but had many people asking me different questions, so I thought I'd answer them here today....

First of all, I am going to change the name of this blog to "Fletcher Family Matters"... because family does matter and we talk about the things that matter to our family here. 

Also, For those of you asking if my kids can read this blog, the answer is yes. I have not made it a secret nor have I tried to hide it... they all have their own FB accounts and I'm sure if they wanted to, they could read this blog. JC has some learning disabilities and truly hates to read, so I doubt he would even want to read this and my other two.... well, they are old enough to know the truth and we are fairly open with them about these things. I would hope that it would be an encouragement to them as well. I am going to change the name though, because, although this blog does focus on my oldest son and his needs, it really is about our whole family :) So.... when you see the name change, that is why! 

Just a side note... I drove "A" to school this morning (she was sick yesterday) for the first time since JC has been gone. Our usual routine was taking A to school, then having 5-10 minutes or so with just JC to chat before dropping him off at school next. It really hit me hard this morning. I really missed that time with him...but was thankful to have my dogs with me on the ride and that it was such a beautiful morning!  I think I'll call him today while the rest of the family is at work and school, since he is on his spring break this week... then we can just take a few minutes to talk together with no interruptions (well at least on my side, lol!!!) 

Lastly, and probably most importantly.... for those of you stating that I am strong... the verse above is my response to you. I am NOT strong, in fact, I am probably one of the weakest people I know... but I do and will boast in my "infirmities" because it means that His strength is made perfect in my weakness! Wow! So all glory and honor and power and praise belong to Him alone. Please don't take this the wrong way... I know most of you are just being encouraging, but please stop saying I am strong and that  you could not do some of the things I have had to do.  I could not do some of the things that you have had to do in your life either! That is why God is in control and on the throne. If there's one thing thats happened with this move for JC to go to the therapeutic center, its certainly strengthened my faith and relationship with the Lord. I've always had a close relationship with Jesus and tried to walk in His ways, but in life, we have times when we are up and times when we are down....times when we fail, and times when we succeed... times where we've backslidden and  grateful times when He draws us closer to Him.  I love that song by Toby Mac where he sings about falling down and losing our way, but we get back up again.... its never too late to GET BACK UP AGAIN :) So.... if you've lost your way or maybe never found your way to Jesus.... it's never too late! Contact me if you want more information!

How great is the Father's love towards us!

1 John 4:7-16
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.  No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (NLT)

Missing him.... JC has been living in the residential treatment home for almost 2 weeks now! It's been a little over a week since I've actually seen him and hugged him :( and this is only the beginning. 

Going there was JC's very first plane ride, which he absolutely loved and had no hesitation before during or after the flights!! No fear of flying, this kiddo of mine :) In honor of him and his first plane ride, I have posted the few pics below...

Both Devon and I have had confirmation of his placement in some way or another before making the decision, but it was after I arrived back home from So Cal that we realized that the Lord had the same message for both of us while we were apart and that is that He loves JC even more than we do and to trust Him in this. I got these words from the Lord through various friends and family in So Cal while I was there and Devon was telling me this very thing as we were driving back from the airport at 1:30 a.m. that Sunday morning.... I'm so glad God didn't wait to confirm the message that we already knew in our hearts but that was given to us by other people as well.... just to strengthen us and carry us through this trial. 

I have been "not all here" at various times throughout the past two weeks, just missing my boy. "A" misses arguing with JC (lol) and "E" misses telling him about his friends, jumping on the trampoline with him and playing video games with him. He even misses some things that he used to complain about on a regular basis with JC!! Poor Buddy and Bella miss JC because he was their fun "human"... He fed them, loved them and let them kiss him all over his face!!!  Most of all I think we all miss JC's humor!!! So glad he can call us and we can call him :) 

There is so much more I could say, but will save for next time....  In the mean time, please be praying for us!

Some prayer requests for JC (I've been asked by several for this):

-He is experiencing  theft of his personal property and having to learn how to safeguard his things. This is a tough lesson for  a kid who has been over-protected his whole life!

- For his continued protection, both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

- For him to learn more about himself and the things he will have to manage in himself for the rest of his life. 

- That he would be able to get "on level 1" to be able to earn things and outings in the center. This will help him emotionally and physically, I believe. 


Some requests for us, his family:

- That we would grow together, have fun together, be at peace and not feel guilty while doing it without our oldest son... while remembering this is part of God's perfect plan. 

- That we would be able to put aside some money to be able to go visit him this summer as a family.

- That our other two children and Devon and I too, would be refreshed and restored and learn more about JC's various illnesses, etc so they will be able to get along with JC better when he does come back home.