When Discouragement Attacks Your Marriage

- Posted on July 31, 2019August 2, 2019 by Elisabeth / -

It was one of those mornings. I was tired and I just wanted a smooth morning with no crying or whining. To have the ability to get these morning smoothies out to everyone in a peaceful, calm manner, Kerwin’s lunch to him and possibly sneak in a morning nap.

NOPE! That wasn’t the case. I had Nehemiah still passed out in bed as if he worked 3rd shift. He should be up.

Jeremiah was standing on one side of me watching as if I would forget he was there waiting for his smoothie.

Eli on my other side crying because he was impatiently waiting for me to finish the smoothies and pick him up.

I didn’t have a good night, so I was extremely tired and sleepy. Here I am, pregnant feeling achy and sore and waking up all throughout the night not because of that! but because for some odd reason Eli decided it was a great night to protest getting sleep.

The morning couldn’t get anymore nerve wrecking.

I WAS WRONG!

Kerwin decided to jump in on the fun. He was standing there looking at a trade he just took (he’s a forex trader). It seemed to not be going in his favor. This would be the third trade this week that would end badly, if this wouldn’t turn around.

He started giving in to discouragement and hopelessness. As the words of doubt, worry and hopelessness came out of his mouth, I immediately felt a wave of weakness come over me. I was just finishing his lunch at this point. I handed it to him.

“I need a min” I said as I walked out the kitchen and went towards the bedroom. I got back in bed to collect my thoughts and get myself together.

I asked for Eli because I knew Kerwin was having to get ready to go. He brought him to me as he leaving for the day. I honestly can’t remember if we even kissed each other bye. I was so over it.

I finally got myself together and sent him a text so when he got to work he would read it and be encouraged.

It didn’t work. As we were texting back and forth, I could tell he was out for the count it seemed. I pushed and pushed to encourage him in the Lord, but he wasn’t hearing it. He said he had to go, he was about to drive.

Now normally when this sort of thing would happen I would call and push further hoping something I would say will make an impact or the light bulb would go off. And as usual I would have to back off and let him and God work it out.

So today I said to myself, I’m not calling. I need to get my own strength back up. I’m not gonna have this pull on me all day. I’m going to go on with what I need to do which is REST and prepare for my morning Bible study with the boys.

As the boys and I read our book about praying to God, at the end it had the following scripture:

“Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
Philippians 4:6

And even though I was reading to them, it applied to me. It was my right now word. I don’t need to give myself a headache trying to make sure Kerwin is okay. I need to not be anxious over this. I need to do what this scripture said. Take this into prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my request be made known to God.

I know what to do. I laid Eli down for his morning nap and went into prayer.

It was at this moment, it was obvious I was stronger in Spirit. I wasn’t down by discouragement and instead of getting aggravated that he was discouraged, I needed to go into warfare on his behalf.

He didn’t need me to talk him into feeling better. He needed me to go and pray over his mind and declare and speak to his spirit man. Let it go and go about my day.

As I sat, Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” came to mind.

My fight was not with Kerwin or trying to convince him of anything, my fight was the spirit behind all of this and that is who I needed to go and confront. It was obvious by the way he was speaking, it wasn’t Kerwin, but the enemy speaking through Kerwin.

The Prayer

went something like this..

I begin by praying, thanking God for allowing me to see it for what it was and not to give in to discouragement myself.

I then declared the enemy to leave his mind. Allow Kerwin to see that this was the enemy . Remind him of your love Father. The thoughts of failure and hopeless was not of You Father. He feels abandoned, but allow him to remember that you will never leave him nor forsake him. Instead of having negative thoughts, Father I speak to Kerwin’s spirit to hear hope and prosperity. Where Kerwin hears God will not help in this area, remind him that You supply all our needs according to Your riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

3 John 1:2 says Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

You delight in our prosperity not our lack. Take back every thought that come to exalt itself against the knowledge of God .

I prayed the Word of God.

And guess what? Afterwards, I felt better and was able to release it. Not only that, God allowed me to get some sleep after because I was really sleepy, but I needed to press through on my husband’s behalf because it affects our family. My husband needed me. I’m not sure how long I slept, but I woke up refreshed and no longer tired.

I guess God is still showing me that when we put Him first He will take care of our needs.

Now I can resume my day. I trust that as I’m going about my day and Kerwin his, God is doing a work. And once we talk again there will be a difference. Either way God is in control.

I want to encourage you if and when your husband’s mind or even yours is under attack, remind yourself and the enemy who is in control.

Does your husband go through battles of the mind? When these episodes happen, how do you deal?

Is fighting in the spirit something you need to work on?
Share your thoughts! Let’s encourage one another.

3 Miraculous Ways God Delivered Our Family

- Posted on July 24, 2019August 2, 2019 by Elisabeth / -

I think if we all look at our lives, we can say we are not where we want to be.
I know we certainly can, but I can testify we are definitely not where we used to be.

It was only 2 years ago, things were so different for us. Overwhelmingly difficult. A time of hardship for sure.

The Hardship

Kerwin was an over the road truck driver. He was gone most of the time. He tried to come home monthly, but that wasn’t guaranteed , especially in the early days when they didn’t pay enough for him to be able to take off.

It was extremely hard. We had somewhat prepared for the long distance marriage relationship, but was not prepared for the low pay and the carelessness of the truck driving industry, who didn’t care if truck drivers had families they wanted to get home to.

The pay eventually, got better, but it didn’t take the place of Kerwin’s presence. The boys missed him, I missed him. We were used to being around each other every available moment possible.

To top it off, when Nehemiah was 14 months, he had developed acute eczema, but a few days after Kerwin left, Nehemiah’s eczema got worse. It went from acute to severe eczema in a matter of days!

It was the beginning of a very dark time. Nehemiah’s eczema consumed our life. Finding the cause and curing it was all I could think of. You name it, we most likely tried it.

There was no such thing as sleep. Nehemiah was tortured all night long, scratching, itching and bleeding terribly. Staying up all night with him and waking up to start the day with, Jeremiah, it became too easy to become sleep deprived.

I wouldn’t be honest to say that I never felt lonely, resentful and abandoned. Our family was very young. Nehemiah was 1 and Jeremiah only 6 months at the time Kerwin went on the road. I felt like a single parent. I went from having a partner to having to handle the boys and everything else totally on my own.

It was always stressful and overwhelming. I finally hit a breaking point and started suffering from panic attacks. At one point I would have them multiple times a day.

I felt like a mess and ashamed that my mind and body had turned against me. I viewed myself as a strong person but overnight became weak and I hated it. It opened the door to new fears that I had to eventually learn to overcome.

We were living with my mother at the time because we wanted to save up for getting our own home and Kerwin didn’t want me to be alone while he was gone. His intentions were good and my mother graciously allowed the boys and I to stay, but I definitely felt alone despite living in a house full of family.

The lonliness of being over the road started to affect Kerwin. It took it’s toll on him mentally, emotionally and physically.

He started to experience some anxiety and I became extremely worried concerning his health and his state of mind.

It was the beginning of 2017 when Kerwin came home to visit. We shared how we both were fed up with this situation. This lifestyle was becoming unbearable and putting a strain on our marriage and family.

We had discussed the fact that we never took a family vacation with just us and the boys. We decided then our goal that year was to take a family vacation, no excuses! This led to setting even more goals, such as him getting off the road and getting our own place. At that point, we didn’t care if it was an apt, a rental or purchasing our own home. We just knew it was time to get back together as afamily.

I remember saying “Lord, I don’t know how all this can be accomplished.” (But, it’s not for us to know, we just have to believe.) We decided to believe it could be done.

A True Miracle..

Since deciding to walk by faith that our family would be restored back together, I started to notice Nehemiah’s skin was clearing up. It was such a miracle to witness. The illness that stole my baby’s skin, hair and zapped his once lively and happy personality was now leaving. He was being restored to what God had originated him to be.

We were excited to see the change. We were in the middle of a fruit detox, but I honestly believe it was God’s grace and mercy that truly healed him. All glory goes to God and nothing I did.

I wish I could say I stood perfectly in faith, but I spent many nights crying out to God why, how do I deal with this and heal my baby!!

He is faithful, He does heal the sick!

A Mini Vacation

As Nehemiah’s eczema was healing, it freed me up to be able to go on the road with Kerwin to a trip to California. He was excited that my mom didn’t mind watching the boys for some much needed time alone.

I absolutely love going on the road with Kerwin. I had only gone with him two other times.
One was an overnight trip and the other was for almost two weeks.

This time was definitely needed, to get away from everything. At the time, my grandma had just passed and we were in the middle of stepping out on faith and shopping for a home loan.

It was also a time to reconnect as a couple, something that was much needed at the time as well.

Our First Family Vacation

A few weeks after Kerwin and I got back from our trip to California, we set off to Galveston, Tx to take the boys to the beach.

I couldn’t believe God had allowed the opportunity for us to really go on our first family vacation. At this time Nehemiah was 3 and Jeremiah 2. This was the first time we were alone as a family EVER!

It was such fun spending time as a family. We all enjoyed it! The boys loved being there at the beach. They had a hard time leaving when it was time to go.

We even spent a day just lounging around in the hotel room. I got much-needed rest which wasn’t easy since I was battling anxiety and having panic attacks like crazy during that time.

It was great seeing the boys getting a chance to play and spend time with daddy.

Finally Off the Road

A month after we came home from our vacation, Kerwin was offered a local position in the DFW area. It was unbelievable!

Finally the day had come that I could see my hubby daily! But before we could truly celebrate, it was time to find a place to call home. He had the position in Dallas-Ft.Worth, but we were still located in Shreveport, La.

It was still a victory that we had! And we were happy for it.

We’re Home!

After months of searching, almost two months after we got back home from vacation we were able to get our preapproval to shop for our home!

We felt like little fish in a big pond. The home buying process was a very intimidating one, but God had blessed us with a realtor who didn’t give up on us and a loan company that smiled and held our hand the entire time.

Next thing we know we are at the closing table closing on our first home.

I can’t explain the feeling. Little us, who were staying with my mom all that time was now moving into our very own home.

This home felt like a reward from God for enduring everything we had to endure over the years.

It was everything we wanted and more.

A true blessing. I still sit in awe, wondering how did we get here?

Just the Beginning

That’s the short version of our story. There is much more to say, but this post gives a bit of a background of what we have had to overcome to get to where we are now.

As we still continue to get settle where we are, we discover there is much more God has for us. This is our journey now. Getting back to being a family, learning how God sees family and walking into the purpose He has called our family to.

He has so much good in store for His families. We want to know what it all entails so we can share as we learn.

What is something God has had your family overcome? He is so faithful! Let’s encourage one another with our story!

Before Meeting My Family, What You Should Know

- Posted on July 17, 2019August 4, 2019 by Elisabeth / -

On our About page, you read about the purpose of the blog, but I wanted to formally introduce you to my family, so we can get to know one of another.

So without further ado let’s get started.

Kerwin

My husband, the leader/King of our household. What can I say about him? He’s known to most as the quiet type and he has a cool, calm and collective personality, but not as quiet as most think. I love his laid-back personality. He’s very easy going and goes with the flow (which I love). It brings balance to our relationship.

He’s a true family man and always puts us first.

He loves his work which is being a truck driver (thankfully local) and forex trading.

In his spare time you will find him drawing, researching and wrestling with his boys.

His secret talent is baking. He makes the best chocolate chip cookies. He is always in the kitchen tryinng to perfect whatever recipe he’s working on.

Elisabeth

Then there’s me! The wife and mommy of our little kingdom. I enjoy being a wife and mother. I have always felt the desire to be such, so God has truly blessed me.

I love reading, studying and obviously writing. If you were to ever go through my phone or laptop you would find over 100 tabs (literally on my phone).

One of my favorite things to do is being in the kitchen perfecting my sourdough baking and taking our health to the next level.

At night when I should be sleep, you will find me on my kindle reading something that I’m currently studying.

I always thought I hated to shop, but since having children, I find I enjoy it LOL.

I love spending time with my family, even if it’s just a car ride somewhere.

Kerwin and I

I love our relationship, we have so much fun together.

Competing in old school games is an all-time favorite. I think we fell in love with each other playing Mario Bros 3 LOL.

Then there are the times we pull out the Wii and it gets real serious. Rearrange the family room because it’s on when we play Wii Sports and the Michael Jackson Experience.

We love studying together, and there are times we just love sitting in the same room, not necessarily interacting with one another, but just knowing we are in the same space.

Then there are the random times listening to prank phone calls.

Sundays when Kerwin is preparing breakfast, we listen to one of our favorite teachers in the Word and have Bible discussions sharing what each of us took from what we’ve learned.

I couldn’t ask for a better marriage partner!

Nehemiah

Nehemiah is our dear oldest. He is such a huge help to me. Smartest 5 year old I know.

He definitely lives up to his name, a builder. He has such a passion for building. He will build you something out of anything. Legos of all sizes, blocks, spare boxes, it doesn’t matter.

He loves all things transportation, especially trains, train tracks, railroad crossings and school buses.

Even when the Texas heat allows us to enjoy outside time, he’s out there alongside his brother Jeremiah exploring, building and creating.

He just has such a fun time exploring his creativity. When he is not building, he enjoys videos on building things and apps such as Lego Creator Island and Blocks World.

He also draws which is a gift he has received from his father and GG. His drawings are of his recent field of study which is the weather, specifically tornados. He is constantly, showing his latest drawings of tornadoes and their destruction.

It has been amazing seeing him mature into boyhood.

Jeremiah-Joel

My precious second child. He is what I like to call our 4th of July surprise! And he is full of them.

While his older brother inherited his fast pace mentally from mommy, Jeremiah has you actually slow down and enjoy the simple things like his father.

He has taught me to be a more intentional parent, learning that parents must teach their children everything.

He is the best babysitter. I can always depend on him to help me with Eli. He has saved me so many mornings by entertaining Eli while I finish mentally preparing for the day.

His favorite activities include playing the old school Super Mario Bros, his play-doh, his bubble machine and reading his Bible.

Eli

Eli is only one, but he has pushed me in ways that have led to a lot of growth within our family and I’m grateful.

He’s such a giggler. We love his laugh.

He likes hanging out with daddy and mommy. He is such a daddy’s boy, but they all are.

He likes to watch his brothers build, just so he can knock it over. I call him Tornado or Godzilla Eli LOL.

As he matures there will be more to write about, but just know he very much enjoys being the baby.

My Big Boys

The boys love being outside seeing what they can get into. Going to the farm chasing the animals. Run around the house chasing each other with their made up games. They look forward to Bible Time and our praise and worship time where we rock out banging on our instruments (that none of us can really play LOL).

They also enjoy learning how to read and write. Even Eli is starting to pick up pens and pencils drawing on the paper. Their favorite letter learning video and book at the moment is Chicka Chicka boom boom.

They are special little guys. I love how they interact with one another and other children, particularly younger ones. They are so gentle and watchful over them.

Our Family

We as a family enjoy our Sunday mornings where daddy makes pancakes and we play the Pancake Manor Pancake song.

Our random trips to Walmart or Target. Hitting up the arcade when we can.

Playing old school video games and finding a movie to watch on Saturdays after daddy gets off and we eat take-out.

In So..

To wrap up, this is our family. It’s a simple life, yet overwhelmingly fulfilling.

We would love to get to know you!

Drop a few lines in the comment box and introduce yourself, join our Family Faith Legacy Facebook page here to interact and have a chance to connect with one another there.

Hope to hear from you!!