"Wait and See"

Monday night was the most exciting encounter that I've had with Mrs. Schreiner (a-hem, Diane! I'm trying!) since her accident.  Just like anyone else, this optimistic Diane fan was hoping that her seeming abilities to recognize, to express emotions, and to be aware of her surroundings were sure signs towards a good- and maybe complete- recovery.  But when Paul, Luke, and I left the room, Paul, attempting to bring me down from Cloud 9, looked at me with a serious face.  Before he could say a word, I read his mind and responded to him, saying, "I know, I know.  Don't get too encouraged or too discouraged.  It's still just 'wait and see'."  He responded with a confident, "Exactly." And I've been so encouraged that her family is following the same advice from her doctors and nurses by waiting patiently for Diane's progress.

And apparently the doctors and nurses aren't the only ones who advise that we "wait and see" in faith-stretching situations such as recovering from a traumatic bike accident. Charles Spurgeon has something to say about it as well.  Luke and I have developed a new breakfast routine which consists of reading from Charles Spurgeon's Morning By Morning (which really includes me reading aloud to myself as Luke shoves bananas and Cheerios into his mouth and joins with me in talking, though his volume is about 10 decibels higher than mine and his language is certainly not English).  Today's read was providentially relevant, as Charles Spurgeon exposits Psalm 27:14 which commands, "Wait on the Lord."  The quote below is lengthy but certainly worth the read:


"It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures that a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching.  Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still.  There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take.  Then what shall it do?  Vex itself by despair?  Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption?  No, but simply wait.  Wait in prayer, however.  Call upon God and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid.  In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord.  It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God.  But wait in faith.  Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting is but an insult to the Lord.  Believe that if He keeps you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry.  Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it.  Never murmur against the second cause as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, 'Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done.  I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes.  I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower'." 

After reading this, two thoughts crossed my mind: 1) I'm not the only one who is bad about using run-on sentences, and 2) I was convicted about the object of my wait in this situation.  Though I've been telling myself to wait on the Lord, I have actually been waiting on doctors' reports and even updates of new developments and occurrences of Diane's responses.  But I am so thankful to be reminded to wait on the Lord, knowing that He has providentially arranged all circumstances for His glory and for the sanctification of all of His children- both Diane and all of her Christian brothers and sisters who are alongside her, bearing this burden.  May God receive great glory as He helps me "wait on the Lord" and see how He proves his faithfulness in all of life's trials.

A Plea for Prayer

If you're one of the few who are reading this blog, then you have likely heard about the traumatic bike accident that Diane Schreiner experienced 3 days ago, leaving her with multiple fractures and more importantly, causing bruising to her brain.  For those who do not know Diane personally, this post is an attempt to allow you to know of this woman of God so that you will be compelled to pray for God's miraculous and complete healing over her fragile body.  For those who are blessed to know her, nothing below will come as a surprise to you.

Since her accident, I have felt a strange guilt for hurting so bad, and after discussing this with my friend, Mary Ellen, last night I have realized the reason:  the thought of her suffering has brought about a grief that I would assume only family could feel.  And I feel so guilty for this grief (which, Schreiner family, is why I stayed home on the day of the accident- I was a mess!  I'm glad Paul could represent us both), because I know her immediate family has to be hurting so much more!  Then I concluded that though she is not an immediate family member of mine, she has become a spiritual mother to me, exemplifying Titus 2 more than anyone else in my life.  

By the grace of God, I have met with Diane every other week for the past 5 out of 6 years.  When Paul and I were dating 6 years ago, she kindly initiated intentional weekly discipleship time (an answered prayer, as I was too shy to ask her for this!).  She and her husband met with Paul and me for premarital advice, and they even invited medical students and physicians to their house once while we were dating so that we could receive guidance about maintaining a strong, Christ-centered marriage in the busy world of medicine.  The following year I moved away to marry Paul and live in Memphis for his final year of medical school.  Throughout that first year of marriage, her e-mails and phone calls of wisdom and advice to an immature wife served as highlights of my day, and I know that Paul has benefited from the encouragements and rebukes she gave me during that year.  So it's no surprise that the influence of the Schreiners in our lives was one of the most compelling reasons for Paul to try to match in Louisville for ENT residency.  And by God's kindness, we did.  I've often told Mrs. Schreiner that we are in Louisville because she prayed so fervently that God would bring us here. And during the 5 years that we have been in Louisville, we have met every other week.  

Let me tell you about this incomparable woman.  Aside from her unwavering devotion to Christ, this woman loves her family more than anything else in the world.  This is the woman who, after being married for I'm assuming at least 30 years, still skips to her cell phone when she hears her husband's Johnny Cash ring tone and answers with a flirty, "Hi, Tommy!"- to which Mary Ellen and I consistently laugh out loud- to which she always grins back. This is the woman who has raised her children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and who couldn't be happier with the godly wives that all three of her sons have chosen.  This is the woman who can't talk about her daughter without grinning from ear to ear with pride.  This is the woman who truly loves her neighbors and knows their names, as she intentionally seeks to meet them during regular walks.  This is the woman who smiles with embarrassment when she is late to our meetings, but it's only because she has been painting the toe nails of sweet, blind, elderly women.  

This is the woman who makes sure our time together is not wasted. She has taught me to live simply  (and Paul absolutely loves her for this!).  She has one of the most empty pantries and refrigerators I have ever seen, yet she somehow manages to have a dessert (and fruit, of course!) on hand at all times.  Just last week I told her that Paul had encouraged us to avoid buying Luke birthday gifts since we assumed that our generous family would be supplying those, and her response was, "That is why I love Paul!"  Then she handed me a gift-wrapped Bible story book for Luke's birthday.  

She has taught me to give, as she would rather give her money, time, and resources than store up treasures here on earth.  If I come home to any random gift on my doorstep (iris flowers, tea, an ESV Bible, and even a printer), I laugh and know exactly who dropped it off.  

She has taught me to love Paul  in a way that Christ has called me to love him, and she has a God-given ability to smile with compassion as she slaps my hand for not loving him as I should.  I will never forget her rebuking me for my selfishness in the middle of SBTS chapel 6 years ago, telling me that I should never put Paul in a box that Jesus doesn't have him in.  I'm so thankful to have taken her advice; I wouldn't want to be married to anyone but Paul Tennant.

But the most important thing that Diane would want you to know about her is that she has been redeemed by the blood of Christ.  As well as she has just been portrayed, she would be a wretch without the love of Christ intervening in her life and saving her from her sin.  Because of God's work in her life, loving and knowing Christ is the most important mission in her life.  If there is anything that Diane Schreiner has imparted to me, it is the truth that God is always good to His children, working in them every second of their lives, and He is worthy of our praise and devotion in all circumstances.  As she laid in her hospital bed 2 days ago, I told her that everyone is trusting in the goodness of God right now, partly because we know she'd whoop us if we were not doing so.   

If Diane could share anything with us right now, I believe that she would say, "God is good.  He is worthy of praise, even now."  And if you don't know Him, she would be thrilled to know that any ounce of her suffering could point you to the saving knowledge of God through Christ.  Then she would undoubtedly give you a Bible to read.

Mrs. Schreiner, you have commented on every single blog post that I have ever written.  I can't wait for you to comment on this one and scold me for making so much of you.  I love you.  Rest well, and come back to us, we pray.  We love you, and He is with you!

Celebrating Luke

If you've worked in the nursery at our church- or if you've ever been to our home- or if you've ever seen him needing to be pacified, you know that Luke's favorite toy is his rubber duck.  This past Saturday many of our loved ones got together at our home to celebrate Luke's first birthday at his rubber duck themed party! We are so blessed to have so many family and friends who delight in our little boy.

No party is a true party without a table full of food!! 

And thanks to Pinterest, how could we have a rubber duck themed party without "duckie punch?"

We also bobbed for ducks... who do you think the winner was?  Matt?

Robbie?

Uncle Van?

Nope!  Luke Tennant won, of course!!

Uncle Adam, you were still in our thoughts- especially every time we looked at this pacifier you gave him.

Do you think Luke was having fun?  As seen from his water-drenched shirt, this boy was loving his party, even after he fell in the water pail.  Thanks to Daddy for swooping him up like a hero!

Here he is soaking all of this fun up as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

And the climax of his evening... banana pudding!  Other than the few times that Daddy has snuck him a spoonfull of ice cream (yes, even at 8 weeks old), this is the first official time that Luke has had a non-fruit sweet. 

And from the looks of this face, he's a little upset with Mommy and Daddy for not sharing this wealth with him before!



Even after having multiple baths since this picture was taken, he still feels sticky...

Happy Birthday, Luke!  We love you so much!

Happy 1st Birthday, Luke!

It does not seem like an entire year has passed since we were at the hospital meeting Luke for the first time, as narrated in this previous post. Describing the joys of this past year seems impossible, and my eyes have become misty at the attempt to do so. God has shown us His kindness in a way that I've never before experienced. Other than what we know of Luke, we know little about babies, so we are unable to compare him to what the "average" baby is like- nor do we see any good purpose in that. We just thank the Lord for a little boy who stays happy; who thrives being around other people yet also enjoys playing by himself when we need him to do so; who rarely whines; who already knows that he is to obey his mommy and daddy (and hopefully he's learning that obedience is a good thing!); who recognizes a green Mazda coming down our street and excitedly giggles and bounces when he sees his daddy in blue scrubs get out of that car every day; and who enjoys almost every moment of his day, whether he is playing, eating, or sleeping! Children truly are a blessing from the Lord, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude to God for giving us Luke. 

 Happy 1st Birthday, little Luke!

Luke, 1 Month

Luke, 2 Months

Luke, 3 Months

Luke, 4 Months 

Luke, 5 Months

Luke, 6 Months

Luke, 7 Months

Luke, 8 Months

Luke, 9 Months

Luke, 10 Months

Luke, 11 Months

Luke, 12 Months