Count "My" Blessings. M Huster

Do you remember the song, "Count Your Blessings"....name them one by one.... I suppose I should start with my blessings but this week has had its challenges. Let me list a few.

1. I was denied by my health provider Growth Hormone that I desperately need.

2. My double ear infection returned with an upper respiratory infection, so back to the doc and more antibiotics and rest, rest, rest.

3. Isaac came down with a fever and now is complaining of an ear ache.

4. My dishwasher is broken with it full of dirty dishes and I can't get my landlord on the phone. We are having our Monday Night Bible study over for a party tomorrow night. (without a dishwasher) 30+ folks

5. Our babysitter went home on Christmas break.

Now for the blessings

1. My Father is the Creator of the world.
2. I have the most wonderful husband.
3. Isaac and I have been bed buddies and snuggled the past 2 days.
4. Faith has read books to me and we have worked on homework in my bed with all the fluffy pillows around us.
5. My cleaning lady is coming tomorrow.
6. Jim did six loads of laundry and I folded.
7. I have a great "sister" in Katrina (Nana) and a precious "daughter" in Kahli.
8. My neighbors don't think I am strange sitting outside in my pj's soaking up my vitamin D.
9. I am blessed with a wonderful dad (Allen), step mom (Shirley), Mother in law (Nancy), Father in law (Richard) Mother in law (Pen) and all my brother and sisters in laws and step brothers and sisters, my brother Phillip and all my nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents.
10. Faith never ceases to amaze me with her love and creativity.
11. Harbor Church has much grace for me and I think they don't regret hiring us with all my issues.
12. The Harbor wives are my sisters and I can share my trials and triumphs with them.
13. Lois Swagerty is as twisted as I am, and you too Liz.
14. I live in the most beautiful place in the world.
15. My sweet Caroline is waiting to come home and working hard on her English.
16. Benjamin is safe and healthy and will be visiting in January.
17. God knows me and loves me anyway.
18. My extended family of the Connor's make me laugh so hard and have passed down a legacy of family and Christ.
19. My Grandfather Connor planted over 40 churches in his lifetime.
20. My mother was the most Godly woman I ever knew. She taught me so much.
She has a homecoming birthday on December 22.
21. My mother's family the Mills are so precious to me. Her sisters take good care of "little Michelle."
22. My cousin David lives 2 miles away!
23. I live in an age of medical technology that has allowed me to live.
24. My house is decorated for Christmas!
25. Our home church Covenant has been so good to us.
26. I got up this morning and got dressed.
27. Jim preached in an inner city section of San Diego today.
28. I am a part of an incredible family of God.
29. My kids think I can fix anything.
30. Our partners in ministry. We could not be here without you!
31. For our friends and family.
32. Uncle Greg lives only 15 minutes away!
33. Both of our cars are paid for.
34. I can't make God love me anymore or any less than He already does.
35. I don't control anything. Thank goodness!
36. I did all my Christmas shopping online.
37. Half of my Christmas cards are addressed.

I think you get the message....I could go on and on.

God is good all the time!

From the wise words of King Solomon, "The End is better than the Beginning."

December Already? by M. Huster

Wow! I can't believe it is already December. We have been here for almost 6 months and up until now it has felt like summer. The temperature is dropping and we have actually had rain! We have no heat, don't feel sorry for us, nobody on the coast does. But we have been using our fireplace and it has been so cozy. The kids are really excited about Christmas. They have seen parades and the lights around the city are incredible. You can go skating downtown, or sledding at Petco park where the Padres play. Everyone is out shopping and going to parties, concerts, special services, etc...

As for me, I have been watching my family come and go as I have been at home a lot! I had the flu before Thanksgiving then after flying home, I go a double ear infection, a sinus infection, and bronchitis. Wow! I am on the mend now but with low energy levels. Going to church tonight was so good. Even though I was tired and weary, my heart was filled with joy worshiping the Lord with my fellow believers. The time I have spent lying in bed has not been in vain. I pray for many of you and the Lord brings folks to my mind to intercede on their behalf. I don't know why my health continues to be a struggle but I know I could not make it without my Heavenly Father and a wonderful husband.

I want to share a huge note of praise. Many of you know that I have a rare pituitary disease which has changed my life completely for the past 6 years. Karen Kline is the wife of Bob Kline and they are church planters with Harbor. Karen is a pediatric endocrinologist. She called me about a month ago in tears knowing about all my struggles. She asked is she could come over and go through my medical records. She had been talking with her colleagues about my condition and they all felt that another function of the pituitary was in decline or full failure. She just wanted to see if my records proved their hypothesis. So, she came over and Karen, myself, and Jim sat in the living room discussing my struggles since 1999. Karen picked up quickly that my Growth Hormone was low and had been declining every time they had taken blood work. She asked if she could call my new doctor and have the test done again. If it showed a rapid decline again, then she said she felt that was the missing piece of my pituitary problems.

The test was done and sure enough the numbers had dropped dramatically!! I am now waiting for my insurance to approve getting GH injections which cost around $1000 a month. I was just blown away that Karen cared enough about me, a person she really didn't know, and took the time to help me. She has such a huge heart and has become a great friend.

I will keep you posted on how things turn out. But in the meantime, I am so thankful that I am a part of the family of God. My sweet sisters here and back east continue to lift me up and the Lord Jesus uses you all in so many ways. I give thanks and praise to the Lord for He is good no matter what my circumstances may be. I serve a great and glorious God! Thank you Jesus for sending your Son to us to give us new life!!

Merry Christmas Friends!
Michelle

Big Wednesday

Today, the largest the swell of the year started filling in. It was a solid 10' to 15', which translates in some huge bombs. I did not venture out this time. Too much water moving around and I am not in the swimming/paddle shape that I need to be with a family depending on me. Tomorrow will be a few feet smaller so I plan to be charging. Enjoy a few photos:

Has it Been A Year?

One year ago, Michelle and I traveled out to San Diego to spend a few days with the folks at Harbor Presbyterian Church. We knew the amazing vision and impact Harbor was having in San Diego, but came seeking God's clarification of his call. It was at there bi-annual staff retreat at Polamar Mountain that we became convinced of our call to church planting with these men in San Diego. These men are a band of brothers, who in messy ways have lives marked by grace.

This week marks our anniversary of sorts. I just got back today from Polamar Mt. It is pretty crazy to think about all of the things that have happened to get to this point. Being a part of the Harbor staff for the past six months has been one of the greatest blessing of my life. Stepping out in this new faith journey has had some tough moments for sure but it has been so good. I am most thankful to the people who have sacrificially partnered with us to enable us to fulfill our calling. The OB Wave should be hitting the net by the end of the week.

Tim Tebow for Heisman!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well it's Thanksgiving evening and I am stuffed. I had to unbutton my jeans because they were too tight around my waist. Always a good sign of a nice Thanksgiving. We have all been visiting back east for the past eight days. We were able to visit with lots of family and friends in North and South Carolina. A highlight was surprising Michelle's Aunt Suzy at the school where she teaches. We arrived about thirty minutes before school dismissed and checked in at the office. The office secretary wanted to lead us herself to Suzy's class to see her reaction. She knocked on the door and peaked her head in and said, "Suzanne, you have a visitor." With that, Isaac impatiently busted in and we heard Suzy shriek, "Isaac!". We quickly followed witnessing Aunt Suzy's priceless reaction. She ran to the door and we were able to hold her as she melted and cried in our arms.

You see Aunt Suzy was the only family we had close to us while we lived in Easley, South Carolina. She walked with us through many ups (birthdays, Thanksgivings, Christmases) and lots of downs (Michelle's health problems). So to say it was painful to leave Aunt Suzy to move to San Diego would be an understatement. And because of scheduling we had not be able to visit with her for the three days we were in Easley. She thought we had left town without seeing her. It was so much fun to surprise her! WE LOVE YOU AUNT SUZY!!!!

Abba, "Daddy"

Right now I am up at 1am with my heart rate going 130bpm and I just can't sleep. Maybe because I get to go home to NC in the morning. Whatever the reason, I wanted to share a special moment I had with Caroline on the phone the other day.

As many of you know, Caroline is from Rwanda and Benjamin's sister. They are both survivors of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Anyway, we have been trying to get Caroline here to us for almost a year and a half. She suffered a horrible fate in June of 2006 that I could never begin to explain in a blog.

So I finally got word of how I could contact her personally by phone and check on her. We have been writing letters and missionaries have tried to make contact but communication has been very difficult. It was such a joy to hear her sweet voice on the other end of the line. I was so excited and had so much to say but controlled myself. The horrible event that took place last June has left physical, spiritual, and psychological scars. When I would speak with Ben, he said she had no joy in her life anymore. What a blessing it was to hear "joy" in her voice as we connected over a telephone wire!!

She asked how I was doing and all about San Diego. I told her we lived near the ocean and about how big and beautiful it is. She was so excited and told me she was taking tests to see how she would place in our system. She just started learning English a year ago but you would never know it. She spoke so clearly. She asked how Faith and Isaac were doing and to tell them how much she loved and missed them. Then the most incredible thing happened. Something we or Ben could have never imagined. She didn't ask how Jim was doing but instead she said, "How is Daddy?" You see this is quite a miracle from God because it was men who did such horrible things to her and we never knew if she would ever trust a man again. For her to call Jim "Daddy" made my heart leap and tears flowed. Nothing has been more difficult for Jim and me than to know how she is in so much pain and we just can't get to her and make it better. She is like our daughter and we love her so much.

For a brief moment, God let me feel what it must be like when we come to Him and say "Abba" Father, or "Daddy" for He is our Daddy who loves us so much. My prayer for Caroline is that she will allow herself to crawl upon her Heavenly Daddy's lap and let Him hold her, love her, and heal her wounds.

5 Days til Take Off! M. Huster

In five days our family will board a plane and fly across this beautiful country to NC. I must admit that I am so thankful we are not in my minivan following a huge Penske truck! We have been marking off the days on our calendar. This has been Faith's #1 priority. We will go and stay with my folks in Hickory and then spend the weekend in Easley/Anderson. Jim is going to preach at Covenant and it will be so good to see all of our friends and family. We will return to Hickory to celebrate Thanksgiving.

However, one problem exists right now. Faith has an ear infection and then had an allergic reaction to the medication. Isaac started running a fever last night and Jim just left to take them back to the doctor. I have been feeling pretty well but today I began to feel achy and cold. For those of you who know me well, I am never COLD! I took my temp and it was 101.

So this morning I bought travelers insurance just in case we are all too sick to travel. This would be devastating to us but one thing we've learned is that things can change at any moment. We ask for your prayers for healing and safe travel. We have some friends coming in on Monday who are Church Planters in Las Vegas. I hope we don't pass on the crud.