Posts

Showing posts from September, 2013

london's birth story

Image
I woke up on September 10th with a bolt of energy.  I was dressed and out the door before any of the kids were awake.  My contractions felt stronger that morning and I was determined to keep them going.  I began to walk/jog down to the end of my street with a mission to push it up the big hill at the end of the road.  About a half mile into my walk the contractions started to feel like they were going to pull me down to the ground.  I began to regret not bringing my phone with me and started making goals to reach the next house that I knew on my walk.  Thankfully I made it home without having to beg a stranger to call my husband to pickup his wife in labor on the side of the road. The breakfast table was full of excitement.  I later found out the kids told everyone at school that day, "Mommy's contractions are stronger, we are having the baby today."  As a side note, having a baby is an excellent lesson in human anatomy and reproduction for children.  After my firs

do something: helping victims of sex trafficking find lasting recovery and freedom

"It is estimated that 240,000 children in the United States are at risk of sexual exploitation."   Let that sit on your brain for a moment and weigh heavy on your heart.  240,000.... in the US.  It makes me feel sick.  And then I look in the eyes of my own children and my heart aches.  Each and every single one of those 240,000 children have a face and a name and a story.  Each one deserving of freedom from the prison they find themselves in.  Children exploited to feed the unquenchable lust of adults filled with evil.   At the end of July, the FBI carried out a successful raid throughout more than 70 cities rescuing over 100 children from sex-trafficking.  The youngest of the victims... only 13 years old.  You can read the whole story here .  159 people were arrested and put out of business.   While the rescue is encouraging, it is just the beginning of the road to true freedom for each of those 100 girls.                 Many of these teens have no real

one family making a difference in Uganda

Image
"He has told you, O Man, what is good and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." ~ Micah 6:8 Today I wanted to tell you about a family that I only met once face to face.   They are good friends of some of our good friends and well, that's how our worlds intersected a few years ago.  They are The Penner Family.  When I met Jenna two years ago, she shared that they were praying about moving their family to Uganda.  Her husband, Keith, is an anesthesiologist and God had given them a vision of using this talent for His kingdom in a place that is desperately under served by proficient medical care.  There are only 100 anesthetics for 2.2 million people in Uganda.... you can compare that to their home state of North Carolina where there are more than 3000 for only 9 million people.   After praying and planning and seeking and selling most of their possessions, they left early August and have begun their

back to school

Image
The road back to school started last Thursday night.  I did very well holding it together through each of the three presentations and also met my own personal goal of completing all the paperwork before leaving the school that evening.... not to hard when you have to listen to the same half hour faculty presentation three times. Friday morning the kids headed out the door with all their school supplies and bouquets of flowers for all of their teachers.  They were all so excited to meet their teacher, see their classroom and find out if they knew anyone in their classes.  Elie has five teachers, Kody has two and Tyler has two.  We were one of the first families to arrive that morning and just finished up as the principal made his announcement that it was time for everyone to exit the building.  Lots of smiling, lots of herding, lots of making sure everyone stayed together and out of trouble, lots of organizing of supplies, lots of encouraging words that everything was going to

thirty - six years ago today

Image
Thirty-six years ago today, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one woman's heart filled with joy as little baby boy entered the world.  Over 500 miles south, in Clarkesville, Tennesee, a woman received the news she had been longing to hear... her season of mourning was over and a baby would once again grow in her womb. The moment Kevin took his first breath, God had just begun knitting me together in my mother's womb, creating me to be his wife and the mother of his children.  As the years go by, I grow increasingly thankful that God wrote this story for my life.  I am blessed to be Kevin Judkins's wife and best friend.  And our children are blessed to call him Daddy.  They have a daily model of what it means to be a husband who loves his wife and a father who makes his children a priority.  A man who loves God, reads and teaches them His Word, prays with them, and desires to live out the gospel.  A man who works hard to provide for his family and who generously gives to an