Church Update: Blessing Others

⁴⁴ And all that believed were together, and had all things common; ⁴⁵ And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. ⁴⁶ And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, ⁴⁷ Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. - Acts chapter 2.

I told you that I would keep you posted on how our church experience was going. So far I've been pretty impressed. I know that it doesn't matter how I feel about it, but I'm certain that it is a body that truly glorifies God by it's actions and love. It makes me think of the above passage. Not that it fits them perfectly, because it doesn't. This group (in the Acts passage) was there because Peter and the apostles led them to Christ. They probably had very similar doctrinal beliefs. The church we have been attending all came together after they had been saved. They had their faith/belief established prior to coming. It's not a huge fellowship: maybe 10 to 12 families. Each one with a different church background.

The thing is that they all respect each others background. They follow biblical guidelines where things are clearly spelled out in scripture. Things that are gray, they go the route of least offense. Example: communion is a touchy subject from denomination to denomination. Some insist that it's taken every week. Other groups take it once a month. Some take it quarterly and some annually. With having families from every denominational background, we probably have some that believe in each of these scenarios. The men got together and decided to offer it once a month. If you want to take it more often (every week) you could do it at home. If you didn't want to take it every month, don't take it. Nobody is offended if a family doesn't partake in the “passing of the elements”. This is the procedure agreed upon by the men of the congregation and confirmed by the elder. The path of least offense. Every man takes a turn preaching, usually leaving hot, gray topics alone. Each family respects each other families belief.

Another area is the help they provide. What really led me to this passage was verse 45. To my knowledge, no one from the congregation has sold all of their possessions, but they certainly see to it that every man that has need, the need is met. We had meals provided to our family for a week after the baby was born. People traveled from Michigan (probably 60 miles or more) Ohio and Indiana to make sure we had a supper meal (usually hot) every night last week. What a blessing! Someone even called on Saturday to ask if we wanted meals for the following week also. We also had friends and family from the area provide meals to us that was a huge blessing. I have also heard story after story of families helping out other families. We have a testimony time at church when people share what the Lord has done for them in the previous week. It's anything from someone tilling someones new yard while the family was away to working concrete for someone who needs a barn floor poured. The person tilling the yard just stopped by, tilled the yard and left without leaving a note or message or anything. They saw a need and met it. God truly receives the glory.

We have been having water pressure problems in our house. Water just trickled out of the faucets some days. I called a plumber and he said it sounded like a well problem. He gave me the name and number of a well digger. He told me before he hung up the phone that “it would probably be expensive”. I was perplexed. I know so little about wells, pressure tanks and plumbing that I was afraid to try to look into it myself. I mentioned this at church at prayer time. I asked that the church pray for God to grant me wisdom on how to deal with this. After the service was over, I was approached by six men asking me the symptoms of the problem. I explained. Two of the men asked if I was going to be home later. “Sure” I said. They stopped in and found the problem. I don't think we ever had as much water pressure as we do now. It was a simple fix and very inexpensive. I told them that I felt bad the one had to come from Michigan to fix such a simple problem (I would have never figured it out on my own). They blew it off and said they were happy they could help us save some money. Most of the men there are either farmers or construction workers. I'm convinced that between those two professions, anything can get fixed that's needs fixed. Families have loaned vehicles to other families for indefinite amounts of time. One family left the Amish belief. They were getting persecuted by friends and family. They were actually getting death threats from some. This body of believers helped to move them out of their house in the middle of the night to help protect this family. One of the other families let them move into an empty house they had until they could get themselves established.

I don't mention these stories to brag or puff anyone up. To my knowledge (unless my wife has given this web-site to them) none of this church knows that I write this. I say this because: 1) I promised to keep you updated on our church experience, and 2) to encourage that there are churches who still believe in the old fashion ways. Neighbors helping neighbors. Families encouraging families. One of the families offered their 21 year old daughter to stay with us for a week or so after the baby came to cook, clean and help with the other children. I have been pleasantly surprised by this fellowship. Not just because we have benefited from it. I could just sit back and watch and listen to the testimonies given about how God has used a certain family or how someone was anonymously blessed by someone else. Without getting too sappy, I'll just say that it truly warms the heart, and the glory goes to God!!

God bless!!

Where You Came From

My sister-in-law was here visiting yesterday and before she left, she said something that has stuck with me. She was commenting on the baby and my wifes delivery and she said (paraphrased): “Don't ever forget how God has delivered you. Don't be like the Israelites and forget where God has brought you.”

First of all, I could not forget God's goodness and mercy towards us. When you have a need and ask in faith for God to meet that need, He does. Even if it's not a need. He has filled so many “wants” in our life. What my sister-in-law said applies to each Christian. We should never forget where God brought us out of or how He did it. At this time, being so close to Susanna's birth, it means so much more to us.

We had Ross, our first child, about a year and a month after we were married. Pregnancy was great. Eshell (my wife) did wonderfully through it all. We went through Lamaze and learned the breathing and everything. The doctor induced her two days after her due date because her blood pressure was high. It's amazing that was ten years ago! He is such a big help to me!

Brookelyn came along 22 months after Ross. 11 weeks into the pregnancy, Eshell started bleeding heavily. The doctor told us that she was carrying twins and that she had lost one. He told her to stop nursing Ross as this was possibly adding to the complications she was having (which we now don't think had anything to do with it). She ended up delivering Brookelyn seven weeks early. She spent some time (I think seven days) in the NICU at Parkview hospital. That was difficult. Not only seeing our baby in the incubator, not being able to hold her, but seeing some of the atrocities in the NICU. I saw another preemie in there who was (thanks to the mother) addicted to crack-cocaine. The poor thing just constantly shook as it was withdrawing from the poison the mother polluted it with. Of all the time we spent at the hospital while she was in (we practically lived there) no one ever came to see that baby. The nurses or doctors were not supposed to disclose information about the other babies in there, but most of them shared pretty openly with us. Some mothers would go home after delivering prematurely and say “Just let me know when I can come an pick up the baby” and the staff would not see the mother until they called. Sometimes it would be days or weeks. We got Brookelyn home and she is developing into a beautiful young lady.

Dylan was another 22 months after Brookelyn. He was a surprise. Some of the same complications came. Heavy bleeding which led to bed rest and many visits to the ER for ultrasounds. I believe it was with Dylan that Eshell had a condition called placenta previa (the placenta is situated over the cervix). Dylan was born six weeks early and was in NICU for 11 days (I believe). Dylan now has two speeds: sleeping and 140mph. 100% boy! I love it!

Between Dylan and Abigail was another 22 months. Same old routine. We were seeing a specialist this time. Eshell developed a placental abruption (tear) with this pregnancy which caused more bleeding and more bed rest. The doctor kept telling us that with the last two babies being premature and the high possibility that this would be also, our odds of ever having a full term baby in the future were nearly impossible. It was recommended by any medical professional and most others (friends/family) that we stop having children. The delivery was not a good one. One nurse tried to “help” with our other children by offering to call social services to have them pick our children up. That wasn't much help in the midst of a terrible labor. They tried to turn Eshell's labor off by giving her magnesium sulfate. She had a terrible and unexpected reaction to it. First, it made her hallucinate. Next, it's effects were delayed. Her labor showed no signs of slowing down. She continued to have contractions for several hours. After they realized that it wasn't working, they thought they would just speed up the labor by giving her pitocin to increase contractions. Just about as soon as they gave it to her the magnesium sulfate kicked in. Her body was now trying to stop the labor. No need to worry, though. Then the pitocin started working and her body slowly started laboring again. It was miserable. She delivered Abigail seven weeks early. Abigail spent 13 days in NICU. Another lovely young lady.

We had been talking a lot about having a baby at home using a midwife. I didn't have much faith that that would ever happen. Given our history in childbearing, the future of home-birth looked pretty bleak. By this time, we were committed to letting God plan our family size. We had listened to all of the risks and had taken it into consideration, but like I've said in the past, I really felt that God was to be in control of every area of our lives. All of our children and Eshell were healthy. Early deliveries and hospital stays were inconvenient, but the blessing far out-weighed this. Needless to say, Eshell got pregnant again. We were going to a different family doctor at this time. A very godly man whom we respect very much. I may be wrong, but I think the first time we met him was with this first prenatal visit. We expressed to him our desire to have the baby at home if she could make it to full term. I was expecting a negative response. He had her file. He was looking through our past deliveries. Instead, he was very supportive of us. In fact, he prayed for us before we left the office. He laid his hand on Eshell's shoulder and prayed that God would heal her womb; that she might carry the baby full term, and that God would honor our desire to have the baby at home. Eshell's early pregnancy was pretty rough. A lot of sickness. She would wake up in the night to throw up. We made contact with a midwife and explained our situation. She was very informative. She explained her situation. She would not be able to deliver a baby any earlier than 37 weeks. That was our goal to shoot for. Several nights I would lay in bed with my hand on Eshell's belly and pray for healing and that we could meet the required 37 weeks. 37 weeks came and went. We had Grace at 39 weeks; 30 months after Abigail! What an amazing experience. The midwife let me deliver Grace as she coached me. Very moving. Needless to say, we praised God! We're still praising God. Grace is now 2 and a half and has four older siblings that wait on her hand and foot. They all get along great.

After such a positive experience with Grace, when we found out that we were pregnant again, we didn't even consult the doctor. We went right to the midwife. From the beginning of the pregnancy I felt so strongly that God had healed Eshell, I may have gotten arrogant. Her pregnancy went very well with Susanna. At around 32 or 33 weeks, the devil started planting some fear and doubt in my mind. This is when Eshell labored with our preemies. God strengthened us through this time and brought us to (almost) 39 weeks; another 28 months after Grace. Praise Him for His goodness!! Susanna and Eshell are both doing wonderfully. I know Susanna will bring us as much joy as the others have!

We have not forgotten where we came from or how we got here. We do remember God's mercy to us. He knows our needs and is mindful, but he also blesses according to our desires. I pray that God is blessed and glorified by this family. I thank Him for giving us the strength to press on when the trip looked dark and painful. He was with us each inch of the journey.

I know this post got a bit long. If you stuck it out till the end, I appreciate it. It's a peek into our personal (and usually private) lives, but it's a story that is worth telling. I hope somebody else may be blessed by it and, once again, God might be glorified by it. All praise to HIM!!

God Bless!!

Baby Knapp

My wife gave birth to Susanna Joy on friday afternoon. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and measured 20 inches long. What a blessing she is. The children are adjusting well. They can't hold and kiss her enough. She has other ideas. She would rather nurse and sleep. Rough life, I know. Baby and mom are both doing very well. I took this week off of work. I hope to be able to post a bit more than what I have been. Please keep us in your prayers as we are still adjusting.

God bless!