Changes!

Later this week, we'll be moving to a new website. When you come to prayforian, you will automatically be redirected to the new site - www.ianandlarissa.com.

Thank you for praying/supporting/loving Ian.

the post i hoped i'd someday write

i snuck away from work today, just to visit his session and see how things were going.

this face of his has been  making me smile so much lately, and i wanted to see his progress.

the progress he had made last week, when i found him here, in the basement of the therapy office, walking with the parallel bars.

"the bars gave him the confidence he needed," the therapist said today.

the confidence to do this.

to take steps on his own.

for the first time in eight years.

she didn't think he was ready, to have her let go and let him slowly work it on his own.

i had told her months ago that if he was closing to taking even one step without support, i needed to know. i wanted to be there.

we didn't think that would be today.

but it was.

and i was there.

and his caregiver who has been with him for seven years.

and after eight years of hard work and not giving up and not letting discouragement take over, he's broken through something that has been holding him back.

"it gives me hope for my future," he said, as we sat on the couch waiting for our 15 and then some guests to arrive at our spontaneous party, because everything needs a celebration.

his niece and nephew have been praying for him, and when they heard the news, even their little hearts knew.

"uncle ian," his four year old voice said. "god answered our prayers and you're walking on your own without falling down."

"uncle ian," her voice cracked, three years of happiness breaking through. "He (God) saved our message. and i'm grateful because you're walking."

God did save our message, our prayers, and He hasn't forgotten them. He was not dependent on our faith.

he fell into sleep easily tonight, his tired muscles needing their rest and his brain needing silence.

he fell asleep as a good man who hasn't given up and who has known all along, deep in his heart, that His God is for him - always.

thank you, for praying for ian,

when words are few

words to share have not been many on here this year, yet God is keeping us, as we finish our book and search for a house to buy and wait for the breaking of spring.

ian continues to see God's help in therapy, progressing to walking with just the help of parallel bars and not his therapist. he's not giving up.

we're thankful that joy in our marriage is not granted because of our merit but because God loves us and treats us as His children.

thank you for sharing in His work with us.
L

the measure

i've been waiting for her book, since she mentioned the thesis in a philadelphia restaurant last spring.

she wanted to share the biblical perspective on women's work, that it's not defined by location or geography. it's not defined by diapers or conference calls.

thank you, friend, for writing this.

"as Christians, we are to be grounded in this identity (...a follower of Christ...) even as we add other roles and ways to express that identity in relationship to others. we might have an interesting job for a season. we might be married for a season. we might have children at home for a season.  

but those things can be taken away from us or never given to us at all. they are gifts for this life only.

Jesus has promised that if we choose to sit at his feet, we have made the best choice of all. we will inherit the better portion, that which will never be taken away; a relationship with God, his word and the promise of eternal rewards and life with him in heaven. in one simple sentence, Jesus shifts our earthbound perspective and takes us high above our daily lives to see the importance of being His disciple."

-larissa

invest

 this weekend was for flying south, far away from the below zero temps and white flakes.

to reward the work of writing 75,000 words

 and to invest in our marriage all that this coming year may drain from it.

and peace and rest met us, an answer to many prayers, and in the ways we wouldn't have thought possible.

and his dad might not have ever imagined we could have done it.

but we did. because God has done much.