Tag Archives: trusting God

Depression (Part 5) – Light for each step…

Posted on March 9, 2015 by florencejoy

It’s been a little while since I’ve written about how my journey is unfolding. I think that is, in part, due to those days that I have felt so sapped of energy that there has been little left to put … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged abiding, antidepressants, Cageless Birds, comforter, counselling, counsellor, darkness, depression, enabler, faith, friendship, God's presence, grief, health, Holy Spirit, hope, hypothyroid, Invitation, Jonathan David Helser, journey, levothyroxine, light, love, Melissa Helser, mental health, Molly Skaggs, pain, patience, recovery, resting, SSRI, support, thyroxine, trust, trusting God, under active thyroid | Leave a comment

Depression (Part 4) – Love wants to absorb pain…

Posted on February 22, 2015 by florencejoy

Love wants to absorb pain. On Friday morning my son fell and hit his head against some shelves. I was in the next door room and I could tell from his cry that he was really hurting. I ran to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged Abba, abiding, anti-depressants, blue, community, confused, counselling, demotivated, depressed, depression, faith, fatigue, fear, feeling down, God, God's presence, healing, heartache, heaven, hope, hopelessness, illness, Jesus, joy, longing, low, mental health, mood, motherhood, pain, parenting, past wounds, personality, psychotherapy, sad, sharing, spirituality, stressed, suffering, the cross, tiredness, trusting God, Vulnerability, weakness, weariness, wholeness | Leave a comment

5 February 2015 – A catch up on Toby (& me a little…)

Posted on February 7, 2015 by florencejoy

Hello again friends, Long time – but the expression ‘no news is good news’ is quite right in this case. We are so pleased with – & thankful for – how Toby is doing. If you want to skip straight … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged anti-depressants, children, children's health, cow's milk allergy, cow's milk protein hypersensitivity, depression, developmental delay, faith, feeding difficulties, heart condition, occupational therapy, parenting, physiotherapy, poetry, trust, trusting God, VSD | 1 Comment

The Lord himself goes before you…

Posted on January 2, 2015 by florencejoy

Today… At the gates of a new day I stand He will meet me here; this I do know He will take my hand and He will lead me And I, His child, weak as I am, will follow… Though … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings | Tagged answered prayer, bereavement, death, eternity, faith, God, grief, grieving, heaven, hope, Lilias Trotter, loss, New year, poetry, promises, reality, sadness, song, sorrow, the blossoming soul, Today, tomorrow, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

20 November 2014 – What’s next for Tobi-Wan Kenobi (Toby)…

Posted on November 25, 2014 by florencejoy

Someone, somewhere’s praying for me…because this morning I felt all full of worry and uncertainty again about little Toby and now I am feeling much more of a peace…So thank you, whoever you may be! :-) I didn’t say much … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged answered prayer, anxiety, Asher, baby, blood CK, calcium levels, children's health, chromosome 7, colic, colicky, DDD, Deciphering Developmental Disorders, developmental delay, Downs Syndrome, faith, genes, geneticist, growth problems, happy temperament, healing, homocysteine, medicalised, metabolism, micro-array CGH, miracles, parenting, plasma amino acids, Prader-Willi Syndrome, prayer, prayer request, premature baby, prematurity, thankfulness, thyroid function tests, trust, trusting God, uric acid, urine amino acids, urine organic acids, weight concerns, Williams Syndrome, wisdom, worry | Leave a comment

Message of encouragement from a friend…

Posted on November 25, 2014 by florencejoy

You came on my heart just now and so did this song, so I thought I would send you the words. Take courage, the Lord is on your side and you on His. Much love Alison xx Be still, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged children's health, church family, encouragement, faith, friendship, God's faithfulness, God's goodness, parenting, stillness, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

Fact 25/30 – In 2008 I did a PGCE in Secondary Religious Education…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

January 10th 2014 Fact 25/30 In 2008 I did a PGCE in Secondary Religious Education… Hang on a minute, what about that man “waiting in the wings” that was mentioned in yesterday’s #30til30 fact?! Oh yes, him. Let’s talk about … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged Argentina, career, challenge, connection, employment, engagement, experience, faith, falling in love, first kiss, friendship, God's timing, Guiness, job, Latin Link, love, NQT, pastoral, PGCE, Post Graduate Certificate of Education, proposal, relationships, Religious Education, romance, RZIM, teaching, Theology, timing, trust, trusting God, Valentine's, wedding, wedding planning, woodchip wallpaper, Zacharias Trust | Leave a comment

Fact 24/30 – I was engaged to be married before Ed and I got together…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

January 9th 2014 Fact 24/30 I was engaged to be married before Ed and I got together… In fact, coming to think of it, so was he! I had met someone whilst working in my role as Student Administrator at … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged broken engagement, Charlotte Bickersteth Ward, dependencies, disappointment, dreams, engagement, faith, falling in love, freedom, God, God's faithfulness, growth, habits, hiding, hopes, identity, Lean Hard, long-distance relationships, love, marriage, relationships, romance, trust, trusting God, whirlwind romance | Leave a comment

Fact 17/30 – I met my first boyfriend when I was 16…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

January 2nd 2014 Fact 17/30 I met my first boyfriend when I was 16… Well, strictly speaking there was Dale, when I was about 11/12, who was the son of my brother, Will’s football manager at Cumnor Minors FC! But … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged boyfriends, faith, falling in love, first boyfriend, healing, heartbreak, identity, infatuation, love, memories, redemption, relationships, self-worth, teenage years, trust, trusting God, young love | Leave a comment

Fact 8/30 – My dad died when I was 7…

Posted on November 4, 2014 by florencejoy

December 24th 2013 Fact 8/30 My dad died when I was 7… Whilst we were in Yorkshire my dad was diagnosed with cancer. It had started in the pancreas but by the time it was discovered it had spread to … Continue reading →

Posted in #30til30 | Tagged cancer, childhood, death, eternity, faith, family life, healing, heaven, hope, Jesus, memories, pancreatic cancer, questioning, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

18 August 2014 – Our bright-eyed boy!…

Posted on October 28, 2014 by florencejoy

Dear friends, The last week and a bit has been nothing but positive on the Toby’s progress front! At our last meeting with the gastroenterologist – at the end of July – it was agreed that, in view of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged answered prayer, Carobel, champion, children's health, chromosomes, cranio-facial, developmental delay, dietician, encouragement, geneticist, gross-motor skill delay, hope, Metopic Synostosis, mild low tone, mother's intuition, neurologist, NG tube, paediatric gastroenterologist, parental instinct, parenting, Prader-Willi Syndrome, prayer request, premature birth, prematurity, thickening agent, trust, trusting God, tube feeding, tube weaning, tube-weaned baby, unifying cause, weaning | Leave a comment

19 June 2014 – Toby’s Update…

Posted on October 28, 2014 by florencejoy

Hello friends, We had an appointment with the gastroenterologist this morning. We are going ahead with the gastroscopy on Monday morning, in order to eliminate the nagging question mark that still lingers as to whether there is anything wrong in … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged 9 month old, baby, children's health, Craniosynostosis, delayed development, developmental delay, developmental milestones, duodentitis, faith, friendship, gastroscopy, God is good, healing, Metopic Synostosis, neck strength, neurological, NNU, oesophagitis, paediatric gastroenterologist, parenting, prayer request, rolling, sitting up, steadfastness, support, Tobias, TOF, tracheoesophageal fistula, trust, trusting God, upper airway secretions, video fluoroscopy | Leave a comment

Letter to my friend, Jean…

Posted on October 28, 2014 by florencejoy

Thank you, dear dear Jean. You have always been so faithful. My GP is wonderfully supportive but tends to defer to the specialist when it comes to talking about Toby’s feeding. We will wait to see the results of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged children's health, faithful, friendship, parenting, prayer, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

14 May 2014 – Feeling discouraged… Have you any room for further prayers?

Posted on October 28, 2014 by florencejoy

Ah friends, I’m sure it’s a silly question… I know those of you who have been faithful in prayer will continue to be so. However, I feel as though we have had to email so many times – with so … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged barium x-ray, children's health, cow's milk allergy, cow's milk protein hypersensitivity, dietician, discouraged, eating, faith, feeding, feeding aversion, gagging, gags, gratitude, negative feeding associations, NG tube, paediatric gastroenterologist, parenting, peace, prayer, prayer quota, prayer request, prayer requests, prjectile vomit, SALT, solid foods, speech and language therapist, stomach emptying, swallowing, thankfulness, trust, trusting God, tube feeding, tube weaning, weaning | Leave a comment

27 January 2014 – Heading to A&E with Toby…

Posted on October 26, 2014 by florencejoy

The milk protein hypersensitivity is most likely a correct diagnosis, as Toby is not reacting to the milk after feeds (praise God!) However, the problem remains with feeding itself. He still will only take 10-20ml on his own, before he … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged children's health, cow's milk protein hypersensitivity, feeding, feeding aversion, feeding concerns, GORD, motherhood, negative feeding assocations, neurotic mother, NG tube, paediatric gastroenterologist, parenting, prayer request, reflux, refusal to feed, survival feeding, syringe feeding, trust, trusting God, tube feeding | Leave a comment

10 January 2014 – Smiles & news…

Posted on October 26, 2014 by florencejoy

Toby has recovered well from his hernia op last Friday. We think the op has seemed to help his bowel movements, which now seem more regular, so that’s got to be good (even if you’d rather not know about our … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged baby, breathlessness, challenging, children's health, colic, crying, desperate, Dom Perignon, Domperidone, faith, family life, feeding, feeding concerns, friendship, fussiness, Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease, God's faithfulness, GORD, healing, health, hope, pain, parenting, prayer, prayer request, premature baby, prematurity, reflux, refusal to feed, trust, trusting God, wheezing | Leave a comment

23 November 2013 – A letter to our friends, Dick & Jan…

Posted on October 26, 2014 by florencejoy

Hi Dick & Jan, Toby is indeed a beauty, thank you :-) Thanks, too, Jan, for a really WONDERFUL dinner on Thursday, which lasted us two nights – we had one salad and one flatbread to share each night… Perfect … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged church family, community, faithful Father, friendship, God's faithfulness, God's provision, redundancy, support, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

5 November 2013 – Toby’s cardiology review…

Posted on August 13, 2014 by florencejoy

Thank you for your messages/emails this morning, remembering our appointment with the cardiologist. We have just returned from there, with good news… The cardiologist diagnosed Toby with having a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) as opposed to an AVSD (Atrioventricular Septal … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged abdominal pain, amino acid based formula, Atrioventricular Septal Defect, AVSD, baby, blessed, blessing of family, body's natural way of mending itself, cardiologist, cardiology review, children's health, coincidence, congenital heart disease, count your blessings, echocardiogram, encouragement, faith, feeding, God in the details, God in the small things, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's intervention, healing, hernia, inguinal hernia, love, nappy explosion, open heart surgery, parenting, prayer, prayer request, premature baby, premature birth, prematurity, small mercies, trust, trust Him with the bigger things, trusting God, Ventricular Septal Defect, VSD, windy baby | Leave a comment

Phew!

Posted on August 13, 2014 by florencejoy

I am sitting back in ‘our spot’ in the Special Care nursery at our local hospital Neonatal Unit – Toby’s home for the last one month and three days (minus a rather ‘hairy’ two night sleep-over elsewhere!) All the tubes … Continue reading →

Posted in Toby | Tagged baby, children's health, faith, feeding, God's goodness, hernia, hope, horizon, hospital, inguinal hernia, neonatal unit, NNU, operation, oxygen saturation levels, parenting, premature baby, premature birth, prematurity, progress, Special care unit, tongue tie division, tongue-tie, trust, trusting God | Leave a comment

Encouragement…

Posted on August 13, 2014 by florencejoy

A friend from church shared the following Bible verse with me. It has been a favourite of mine, since it first impacted me about 6/7 years ago. It speaks of God fighting on our behalf as we simply take our … Continue reading →