Andrea O. Freeman

  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  -Ephesians 3:20 NLT The Christmas season is upon us and we are just one week away from the day we celebrate the coming of Christ to this world.  God knew what He was doing when He planned this entire happening.  Joseph and Mary had no idea this was coming, but through scripture we read how God prepared and informed them of His plan as the earthly caretakers for His Son Jesus.  God provided an angel to both of them to tell them precisely what they needed to know, but I can only imagine how absolutely terrified they both must have been.  This is a situation that in and of itself, its format if you will, plays out in one way or another in our own lives.  Not exactly the same scenario, but a version of it in terms of its play by play.  I can recall several situations that played out in my own life, but I was not prepared and I certainly was not 100% al

 As I write this entry, just hours from now my son Bailey will be returning from a 12 day experience touring Spain with his collegiate choir.  I had a beautiful writing come across my social media feed from Ann Voskamp this morning about the beautiful opportunity we have every single day with Father God to thank Him for who He is and what He has provided to us.   When we struggle to find and know our God, on what seems to be the worst of days or maybe just a brief moment in a day we are experiencing.....what is the grounding here?  We need Him, every hour of every day and we need to spend more time with our hands lifted to Him in a posture of thanksgiving rather than raising our fists and our voices in anger and frustration, or pounding our chests and crying out in anguish because He's not who we need right now or He's not doing precisely what we expected in our greatest hour of need. "I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord No tender voice like Thine can peace afford I

 I was thinking a few days ago, there are blocks of time since my Mom's diagnosis and since her beginning full time care in a memory care facility, that I am living in a new rhythm of life-a new 'normal'.  It's not a 'normal' I would have expected about 9 years ago.  2012 was a year our family did not fully understand the direction we would be going in life.  A job transition we didn't plan for hit us in 2011, and so we put our prayers, hopes, blood, sweat, and tears into doing whatever we could to ride it out.  Entering 2012, we learned quickly the job market was not as healthy where we resided at the time, and as our parents were aging and facing health challenges, we found ourselves exploring the possibility of moving to the Springfield area.  I'll be honest:  we had dreams early on in our marriage to live and work and thrive outside of Missouri and didn't have an interest in coming back here.  We are thankful, and we have been stretched and chall

  Dry spells in writing can last what feels like an eternity, and honestly I struggle to write this now.  I have been putting it off for several days, and my daughter actually inspired me to finally stop and just do it.  She reminded me just last week of the welcome release and the therapy that comes with pouring out what we are experiencing in this life into writing.   I went with Dad to visit Mom on Sunday afternoon.  The last few days have been burdensome for me.  My heart is aching for my Mom all over again.  I go through days of significant and just very heavy grief.  It is like a haze has drifted over me and I struggle to just make small talk, to keep a happy face, to appear 'just fine' to everyone around me including my immediate family.  I struggle to focus on conversations of just catching up with friends around me who are busy with their own lives/children/church/work/vacation/etc.  I get tired of having to explain why, and when people ask how Mom is, the dreaded resp

Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace... Spring is here, another beautiful Easter holiday has come and gone and I should have some enlightening, joy-filled quote, saying, blessing, statement to share here that fits the focus our faith is founded upon.  I'm instead closing out another Monday following a tiring, emotional rollercoaster of a weekend as we press on and my Mom's condition worsens.  The day you receive the news that your loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's/Dementia marks the beginning of a very ugly and painful season of the human existence.  It is one of the most difficult things I have every experienced, and quite honestly I find it to be nearly an undoing of my faith walk with God.  I have not lost hope, but I have questioned the purpose my God has for this to linger for my Mom.  In recent weeks, my brother and I and our families, and some very dea