To explain everything that went on this weekend, let me give you a brief prologue.
Please be in prayer for Blake's grandpa, Paul. He has been diagnosed with liver cancer. This patriarch of our family means so much to us, and has been battling various health issues for almost two years now. For me, personally, all my grandfathers and great-grandfathers have passed away or just simply aren't in the picture. Paul is my grandpa; and anyone who has been close to a grandparent or parent knows how difficult these situations are. Blake's parents, Odus and Paula Kaye, are back in Texas tonight and will find out more about Paul's diagnosis and treatment options tomorrow. We are optimistic that God will do a mighty work in our family through this situation, and that everyone--especially Papa--will come out stronger on the other side. On Sunday, two of Blake's brothers came to stay with us here at the Ranch for a week while Blake's mom and all of his sisters went to stay with his grandparents in Texas to help take care of Paul.
With Blake's two brother's here for a whole week, T got to play with boys closer to his age, and also have a tiny idea of what a bigger family dynamic might look like when we have more boys here. It was neat to watch T get more involved in helping things run smoothly and have more of a "part" to play in the family. He volunteered to help with dishes--twice! In a row!
On Friday, Blake, his two brothers, T, and all the boys and Jon from next door went to the mens retreat at Falls Creek. Blake said it was a lot of fun, but he wasn't so sure how much T got from anything because he was a lot younger than most of the men that went; but, when we were driving to Shawnee on Saturday night, Blake asked T what his favorite part of the retreat was, and T said his favorite part was the worship/tabernacle time. Blake's response was, "You're not just saying that cause you think that's what I want to hear, are you?" and T said, "No, there was lots of cool stuff, but that really was my favorite." You just never know with boys that come through the ranch how guarded they will be, depending on where they are coming from--T is so open to learning, and asks so many questions (some days too many).
On Saturday night, we all stayed in Shawnee with Blake's family to discuss Paul's health. T sat in on our family meeting, and even though his face definitely communicated "I have no idea what's going on here," you could see him trying really hard to understand and be a part of what was going on, and trying to understand the complex combination of the pain that comes with dealing with the reality of sickness in a loved one, and the hope we have that Christ is stronger than that pain. I think that by the end of this weekend, he was starting to feel like he was really part of this family--not just Blake and Adeline and me, but also our extended families.
Today we ALL went to church together, where Blake, two of his sisters, our friend Luke, and I all led worship and his dad preached. At one point today, after it was said several times in church "We are just so glad the Comptons are with us today" and the like, T leans over and whispers to me, "I'm a Compton, too, aren't I?" There's no denying when you get thrown in with all the Comptons, you're going to feel the love; and T really felt the love this weekend, and really saw how being a family is being a team. Even with the undertone of sadness in discovering Papa's cancer, this weekend was such a blessing.
So, after this long story, here's some praise and prayer points for T and for our house:
Please be in prayer for Blake's grandpa, Paul. He has been diagnosed with liver cancer. This patriarch of our family means so much to us, and has been battling various health issues for almost two years now. For me, personally, all my grandfathers and great-grandfathers have passed away or just simply aren't in the picture. Paul is my grandpa; and anyone who has been close to a grandparent or parent knows how difficult these situations are. Blake's parents, Odus and Paula Kaye, are back in Texas tonight and will find out more about Paul's diagnosis and treatment options tomorrow. We are optimistic that God will do a mighty work in our family through this situation, and that everyone--especially Papa--will come out stronger on the other side. On Sunday, two of Blake's brothers came to stay with us here at the Ranch for a week while Blake's mom and all of his sisters went to stay with his grandparents in Texas to help take care of Paul.
With Blake's two brother's here for a whole week, T got to play with boys closer to his age, and also have a tiny idea of what a bigger family dynamic might look like when we have more boys here. It was neat to watch T get more involved in helping things run smoothly and have more of a "part" to play in the family. He volunteered to help with dishes--twice! In a row!
On Friday, Blake, his two brothers, T, and all the boys and Jon from next door went to the mens retreat at Falls Creek. Blake said it was a lot of fun, but he wasn't so sure how much T got from anything because he was a lot younger than most of the men that went; but, when we were driving to Shawnee on Saturday night, Blake asked T what his favorite part of the retreat was, and T said his favorite part was the worship/tabernacle time. Blake's response was, "You're not just saying that cause you think that's what I want to hear, are you?" and T said, "No, there was lots of cool stuff, but that really was my favorite." You just never know with boys that come through the ranch how guarded they will be, depending on where they are coming from--T is so open to learning, and asks so many questions (some days too many).
On Saturday night, we all stayed in Shawnee with Blake's family to discuss Paul's health. T sat in on our family meeting, and even though his face definitely communicated "I have no idea what's going on here," you could see him trying really hard to understand and be a part of what was going on, and trying to understand the complex combination of the pain that comes with dealing with the reality of sickness in a loved one, and the hope we have that Christ is stronger than that pain. I think that by the end of this weekend, he was starting to feel like he was really part of this family--not just Blake and Adeline and me, but also our extended families.
Today we ALL went to church together, where Blake, two of his sisters, our friend Luke, and I all led worship and his dad preached. At one point today, after it was said several times in church "We are just so glad the Comptons are with us today" and the like, T leans over and whispers to me, "I'm a Compton, too, aren't I?" There's no denying when you get thrown in with all the Comptons, you're going to feel the love; and T really felt the love this weekend, and really saw how being a family is being a team. Even with the undertone of sadness in discovering Papa's cancer, this weekend was such a blessing.
So, after this long story, here's some praise and prayer points for T and for our house:
- Praise: T is doing A LOT better in school. He brought one of his grades up TWO LETTER GRADES from the last nine weeks to this nine weeks.
- Prayer Point: Adjusting to Chandler schools still has its challenges. We are hoping that after the summer he will be adjusted enough to be excited to go back to school.
- Praise: As far as I know right now, we are up to four possible new boys to come to our house. These are still in early, early stages, and would wait until after school to come (because why change school's when we have only a few weeks left to go?).
- Prayer Point: for these four boys, please pray that God would bring their parents/guardians wisdom, that God would help these boys to find a home here at the ranch, and that He would prepare our hearts and our home for whoever He brings.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for interceding on behalf of our family and on behalf of WSBR. We so covet your prayers. For more information about our part at WSBR, you can sign up for our monthly email newsletter here. For more information about the ranch as a whole, you can like our Facebook page and check out the link on my blog. :)
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