Posted in Personal Stories

Helping To Hydrate Haiti…

I started writing this blog on Monday – while Asher was in the hospital and his little kidneys were shutting down….

It’s Monday night and Asher isn’t any better. I don’t understand. I have spent most of the night rocking him while he whimpers. Creak. Creak. Creak. Could this rocking chair make any more noise? He’s hooked up to IV’s and he’s getting medicine around the clock. I’m so exhausted and overwhelmed. I’ve sobbed all day. His little body is just so limp. With his sunken eyes  – his face looks like the poster child of a kid in Haiti. I can’t stand to see my baby so sick and yet I know I’m one of the lucky ones.

In the midst of my tears and the rocking of the chair – I thought about the mother in Haiti. Sitting on her dirt floor – her baby in her arms. Frantically she’s rocking him back and forth. No ambulance to rush her to the nearest hospital. No way of getting her child the care he needs. So she rocks back and forth – pleading to God – full of desperation – and completely exhausted.

No doubt her mind drifts to day he was born – the first time she held him in her arms – the first time he held her finger in his hand – the first time he smiled – the first time he uttered those precious little words – “momma”. Now he’s too weak to speak, too weak to squeeze her finger, and too weak to muster a smile.

In my worst day – in my worst moment – I thank God for the blessings I have.

When your children are sick in Haiti you have to pay for the IV’s and medicine before they even give them to you. You can’t show up at the hospital and just expect to be seen. What hospital in Haiti would ever survive by billing patients in Haiti?

So what do you do when your baby needs IV’s and you have no money? I’ll tell you what you do –you watch them die. That’s the reality. You hold them as they take their last breath and you fall to the ground weeping when they do. And it’s happening every single day.

My brother has written an appeal letter asking you to help us Hydrate Haiti. It touched my heart so much more having just experienced this scary time with Asher. As a mother of a sick child –  all we want is for our prayers to be heard. You could be the answer to a desperate mother’s prayer….

Janeil’s Appeal Letter

Posted in Personal Stories

My Loved One…

“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.” Hosea 2:1 NIV

I wanted to take a few moments to write to you about somebody who has quite an influence on me. It’s my sister, Lori. Some of you who are regular followers of me on my blog or on facebook will often see my sister chime in with some comment that is normally sarcastic or just plain funny. Lori has always had this wit about her that can see humor in just about everything. Her love for her Lord is even more incredible than her humor. He is big inside of her (she would say that he’s so big that she’s had to gain a few pounds just to make room for Him–but I think that’s cause she’s such a good cook for her new husband!). LOL!

I just wanted to let you all know that Lori is now part-time at her church in Columbus and is able to travel and speak at churches on everything from ministry topics like what it’s like to be a woman in the ministry to how to teach just about any age group. She also has many speeches that are designed for women’s groups like: “How to be a Miriam when you really want to be Queen Esther” or “Being the Bride of Christ and the Daughter of a King”.  Probably the best stuff she does is with my Mom. They are hysterical.

My sister is truly my loved one. I know that no matter what is going on that Lori is bathing my family in prayer and has my family on her mind. In fact, if the kids are missing one day–I’ll probably search her house first!

Check out her website–sign up for her blog– and if you have any influence with your church programming or other civic group, give my sister a call to come and speak for you!  You can find her at www.loriconley.com and by clicking on Lori’s blog you can read her writings…