Taking Time To Clean Our Burners

I don't think our stove top has ever been this clean!

Last night as I was cooking dinner, I started to smell a strong burning smell come from the kitchen stove. When I looked close enough, I could see that something was on the bottom of the burner and was burning more and more as the food was cooking. This morning I decided that it was time to take the time to clean the burners on the stove top. I don't know about you, but it's a big enough blessing to have the time to cook dinner...much less, take the time to clean the burners. As I was thinking about this though, it clicked with me that there was a "life analogy" happening right before my very eyes. 

We often go,go,go...tons of great, fun, busy, exciting, positive, life-giving, blessed things going on, people we love to be with, sweet fellowship, wonderful occasions to be celebrated and so forth...but there comes a time when we have to be disciplined enough to step back and take care of ourselves before moving forward. The marriage moment of the week that comes to mind in all of this is the fact that we were planning to go out of town this weekend to one of our favorite places...Nashville! 

At the beginning of the week when we started talking through how busy we've been and how life doesn't look like it's going to be slowing down anytime soon (!!) ... we talked about committing it to prayer this week about whether or not we should go or stay here and have a chill weekend...just the three of us! There was no specific occasion we were going to Nashville for, simply excited about connecting with dear friends and enjoying a fun Fall weekend in one of our favorite spots. Well, the reality is that we need to take a step back and take care of ourselves...make time for those husband and wife moments of quality time on the porch that get lost in the hustle and bustle...have a cozy Saturday morning at the house as we make pumpkin blueberry pancakes and snuggle our baby boy...and take one minute at a time and not have every minute planned out. Whoooo! Much needed! It's hard to do though! 

So bringing it full circle...life is much like the burners on the kitchen stove. Sometimes you have to make the time to stop and clean the burners so that it doesn't smell awful each time  you cook in the future. In the same way, we are putting a halt to "our plans" and choosing to take a weekend to rest in the plans the Lord has for us and "clean our burners" so that we don't run on empty in these days and weeks to come...

This Afternoon

Thought it would be appropriate for Nels to wear his
"Every good and perfect gift is from above" onesie today!
He truly is a gift to us from GOD! 

It is with thankful hearts that we report that all went well this morning with Nelson's procedure. The Lord went before and behind us and made our path straight. After we got called back to a room, Brandon asked the doctor if it would be alright if we prayed over her once we were getting ready to start - she said that would be fine. So when the doctor came in and her team of five people - she said, "Alright Dad, you're up"...meaning, time for you to pray! So Brandon got to pray for the Lord to work through the doctor and team's hands. At the close of the prayer he said, "OK, we'll look forward to you coming to get us when it's over"...(because we had heard that it was common for the doctor to ask the parents to step out since it's hard for the parents, especially the mom, to see the baby so upset)...but our doctor said, "Oh no, y'all stay. And mom, could you go stand by Nelson's head so that he will see you?" WOW! I wasn't planning on that but sure was honored to get to stand there next to my precious son and look into his big blue eyes every step of the way. I held both of his hands and didn't take my eyes off of him the entire time - and yes, it was very, very hard to watch him cry and cry so hard - but I had to keep reminding myself that this was for his good AND he would not remember any of this!! 

The procedure went smoothly and the doctor did what she came to do - thank you, Lord! And then after that they put his fifth set of casts on. That's not ever a fun process for him due to the fact that he is a mover and a shaker and he has to be held down and still for a couple of minutes - but he made it through and was such a warrior! I kept remembering how a dear friend had prayed over me when Nelson was in my belly, that he would be a warrior for the Lord...and that no weapon formed against him would prosper. I was clinging to that today!! As soon as the procedure and castings were over, they put my precious boy right in my arms for me to nurse him. That consoled him immediately and then he went into a peaceful sleep. Not too long ago, he woke up after a three hour nap and ate again and I could tell was a little more fussy than normal which was sad to see, but the Lord blessed me with the most dear little smile from the precious fella, which reminded me that he is OK and that this is all part of the process. He is now back to resting peacefully again and smiling here and there while he sleeps...so cute!! The next step is for him to wear this set of casts for the next three weeks and then we will go back in to check on the status of his feet and more than likely move him into the shoes with the bar. 

Words cannot even express how much the messages, emails, calls, and texts meant this morning. We could feel the army of prayer warriors of dear family and friends surrounding us and lining the walls of the room where the procedure took place. We have had the song "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)" by Matt Redman on our lips all morning and all day long. Brandon and I were singing it in the room before the surgery took place. You can click here to listen to it and read the lyrics. Thank you again to each and every one of you for lifting up our precious Nelson in prayer today and standing beside us throughout this entire journey. I will close by saying, it's amazing how God gives you the strength and grace when you need it. If you had told me even a month ago that I would be looking into the face of my child while he bawls his eyes out, I would have told you that I would bawl my eyes out too. But today...we had to be strong for Nelson...and through the strength that the LORD gave us, it was possible! We'll keep you posted on our little man's progress! 

This Morning

Thank you, Lord, for this happy boy!! We know he is in YOUR HANDS!!! 

Good Morning! We wanted to write you a quick message to let you dear prayer warriors and readers of the blog to know that Nelson's tenotomy procedure will be this morning at 11:30am (CST). Please pray for the Lord to guide the doctor's hands and for the Great Physician to give baby Nelson a peace that can only come from HIM!

As we were praying last night, we remembered how the Lord told us throughout the entire pregnancy and labor and delivery to "WALK BY FAITH" (2 Corinthians 5:7)...and now we are "approaching the throne of grace with confidence" (Hebrews 4:16) and asking the Lord to give us faith that through this procedure, our precious son will be able to WALK in Jesus' name when that time comes. 

We will update you later on today with how the procedure goes...until then, thank you in advance for your prayers. We have already thanked the Lord for how we know He is going to take care of our dear 10 week old son. 

A few of the verses that we are clinging to this morning as we take "ONE STEP AT A TIME"...

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." -Isaiah 26:3

"He will have no fear of bad news, his heart is steadfast trusting in the LORD." -Psalm 112:7

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." -Exodus 14:14

"He makes my FEET like the FEET of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights." -Psalm 18:33

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." -Ephesians 3:20-21

'How beautiful on the mountains are the FEET of those who bring GOOD NEWS, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" ' -Isaiah 52:7

Happy Friday...From Nelson!

Happy Friday from the Nall home! It's been a great week getting readjusted at home after a wonderful week away with family at the beach. So thankful for those rejuvenating times away but it is true that there is no place like home. This week we'd like to ask your prayers for wisdom and direction as we take the next steps forward (literally) with Nelson's club feet progress. 

On Wednesday, he got his fourth set of castings removed and we found out that he will be having the tenotomy procedure in both feet so that will be sometime next week. We'd like to ask you to pray specifically for the doctor's hands when they perform this procedure...and for God's peace to rest on us as his parents before and after this procedure takes place. There's not enough time in the day to tell you about all the times we have seen the fingerprints of God...even this week...as different family, friends, doctors, people we've never even met...have come alongside us with words of wisdom and prayers for our precious son. We are so thankful to the Lord for giving Nelson to us and are humbled to be on this "one step at a time" process towards complete healing in both of his feet. 

As we celebrate two months of Nelson's life, we thank the Lord for many things...including his health, the calm nature that exudes from him day and night, and most recently...his precious smiles. It is true that "new life" brings forth "new life"! We are so thankful for the new life we are experiencing each day in our home and in our hearts. Thank you for your continued prayers as we march through the doors that the Lord has opened for us to walk through this next week. Praying to keep our eyes on Jesus every step of the way!