Author Archives: angie wirthlin

faith is not a four letter word

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I am REALLY not being disrespectful. Laughter is the medicine that works best for me. Isaiah got a stomach virus the 2nd week of school, it lasted 10 days and made its way through all of us, add it up people. Thats a months worth of sick. We had a couple of good days after that and then, Isaiah got a throat infection/cold and Thomas had ear/sinus infection. Anti-biotics to the rescue. Another week of our lives gone. They finish their meds like good little boys and WHAM 3 days later, Thomas has pneumonia. That was 2 weeks ago. Flash to this past sunday…Isaiah went to bed with a cold and woke up with his eye crusted over. Back to the dr. more anti-biotics. Hello….pink-eye. He is recovering well, really a trooper. Picked Adam up at school, he said his eye was hurting, and within an hour I knew…he has it too. The dr. was wise enough to give us extra meds.

                The moral of the story is that even though these have been little bitty struggles in the scheme of the world, they have really gotten me down. It feels like we can’t catch a break. Instead of saying #%$@, I guess I should try a little faith. Pray for us.

lucky # 13

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13 years ago today….Thomas and I got married, and began the comedy of errors that has been our life. If I had to describe our marriage in a word it would be…..wasabi. Its a hot and spicy kind of love.After all this time, you are still my favorite mistake honey. I love you.

Would you ??

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If you had the opprotunity to have a sit down, cry it out, work it out, chat with GOD…would you ? The thought of revisiting some of the choices from my past and having God, my father, put his 2 cents in, is terrifying to me. But why ? I know he loves me, I know he forgives me, I know he already knows every one of my transgressions. I guess the idea that he has hidden his face, and turned his back on my iniquities…makes me not want to remind him of those things all over again. Here’s the rub….I, me (not him), need to be reminded. And I need to be guided…some of those things are still growing in me every day, and I am still reaping the pain that they bring. I don’t walk in the fullness of my identity, not because Abba hasn’t forgiven me, but because I haven’t forgiven me.

 SOZO??? Is that how you spell it ? HERE I COME.

               barely hanging on…human flesh and dry bones

                 raise the dead in me…call me free

               call me yours, call me free…raise the dead in me, call me free

               thought I was alone, but you breathed life into me.

                I was the only one who could not see the YOU in me, my  true identity…and i am free. Whom the son sets free is free indeed !

relaxing weekend in Brevard…yeah right !

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We had the best of intentions. Meet up with friends at a charming bed and breakfast, do a little antique shopping, eat dinner at our favorite spot, sounds easy enough. And it would have been if Thomas had not felt like crap, but he did. He was a hot mess. He just finished 10 days of anti-biotics, in fact, but it was too late. Saturday morning, we got up, had a traditional english breaffast (dont ask), and headed out for our annual hike. We packed a feast of unusual things to eat…bread, fruit, nuts, pesto, lemon curd, and cheese, lots of cheese…and wine.

                   We were at about 6000 feet when we started the hike, needless to say, Thomas’ chest was already hurting but he did not let on. We got to our favorite spot, layed out the blankets and the food, we reconciled ourselves to the Lord, and took communion. That was the last we heard of Thomas. He layed down and fell asleep. We came back into town and went to the ER. We stayed there for the next 4 hours without ever seeing a dr. NOT GOOD.

                  Long, long story, short…..Thomas has pneumonia. He is down, way down. So you have my apologies for not writing, but I am taking care of my man. Im actually enjoying it, too. So, wash your hands people….dont forget, its the only thing that really kills germs. Wash your hands. Shalom

simple question…simple answer

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What kid has not asked, at one time or another,”what does JESUS look like?” I think it is a simple question. I have given a variety of answers over the years ranging from the bare minimum of information all the way to reading exactly what the Bible says about it. Well, when Isaiah ( my youngest ) asked the other night (why do all the questions come when you are laying in bed?) I was tired frankly, and so I said, “why don’t you just ask him to show you what he looks like ?” So, he turned over, head in the pillow for just a second, and said….”he showed me his  LION FACE” I guess I didn’t answer quickly enough, cause then he leaned over and said “you know mom, the LION OF JUDAH “.  As if to say “DUH!”  Ask a simple question, get a simple answer.   Have a good night.

Think about this…

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Why did the LORD say that we as christ followers would be persecuted ? Why would we be persecuted if, in fact, our lives don’t look any different than the rest of the worlds ? Why did he say “the way is narrow” ? Seems wide open to me. Seems like we (christians) are fat and well-fed, and we do what we please ,when we please, we watch what we please, we buy what we please, wear what we please. KEY PHRASE….what we please. WHAT PLEASES US, WHAT BRINGS US PLEASURE.

                   I guess I am tired of the sound of my voice asking God for more, more power, more of him, more help, more, more, more. When the reality is…the first place I go after a long day , when I need comfort, is my…tv. Where I can watch immorality, and I can covet things, and I can build up a powerful envy for anyone younger, richer, skinnier than me. Well,well. All that being said, I am going on a diet. I don’t want to be so fat and well fed that there is no hunger in me ! I am cutting out some of the junk. I want my spiritual man to be lean and strong, and always a little hungry. Its ok to have hunger pangs. Really, it is. It means your body is working, you are burning fuel. That is what I want…to be burning the fuel that God gives me, pouring it out, worshipping it out, giving it away. So that I can be hungry for more. If I am full of the world, I will never be hungry for the Lord. Period.

Birthday Boy

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Adam is 11 years old. I can’t believe it or stand it. He is suspended between child and teen. It is a time of constant learning and leaning on GOD. Adam can understand concepts that should be over his head, he has a great grasp on politics, although most of what he says comes straight from Thomas. Thats ok…thats how you learn, imitating. I hope and I pray that we are good stewards of this amazing son. I am so grateful to be his mom and frankly, just to know him. He is funny, sweet, still affectionate, compassionate and best of all has a real hunger for knowledge, which makes him very teachable.

                   I wouldn’t tell him this, but Adam is one of my best friends. I can’t believe his foot is bigger than mine now ! Today I will pray that his FAITH will grow bigger than mine, and his HEART will be bigger than mine, and his REACH and UNDERSTANDING will be bigger than mine. Love to all, its a happy day. A happy birthday.

life and death

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My sister almost died. 16 years ago. In the womb. Thinking back its surreal. My mother, who seemed so much older than me, at the time, was 35. I am 2 months away from being 35. She was single, had a busy career, 2 teenage daughters, and a long relationship with depression.  When she found out she was pregnant, it was the last thing she wanted. And then the kicker…the baby would be bi-racial. A fact, at the time that made my mother so ashamed and scared.

              She came to my sister and I, like a child that had done something sneaky, and broke the news. We were shocked. And then we were overjoyed ! A baby, for us to love. A new person for our family that seemed so small and insignificant in this big world. And then the the warning “don’t get excited, I don’t think I’m keeping this baby”. WHAT !!?? Was she kidding us ? It was as if she could not face the truth. The truth of life and love, the consequence of sin. She wanted to run.

                  We begged, we pleaded, we made her deals offering to take care of the baby all the time while she worked. It wasn’t working. She was sure that an abortion was the wise choice, the right choice. We were all in agony for about 2 weeks. Mom went to the abortion clinic for some kind of appointment and came home uneasy, visibly shaken. We didn’t know, but she was having second thoughts. All this time and I don’t think we prayed,even once. It just wasn’t where we were in our lives then. Looking back, I see GOD in so much of it. He was working, in spite of us.

          Anyways…my mom settled into her hot bath, just like every night. Only this time, she heard the voice of God speaking to her. He said, ” What if I decided that you were too much trouble to keep on this earth?” And at that moment, she saw the power in life and death, the power that is God’s. That did it. She now had a knowledge that God was real, that he knew her, and that no matter what…He loved her. She owed the same to her unborn baby, my sister, now almost sweet 16.

                Funny, how God brings things back. I haven’t thought about this story in years, but with the election and all, it just seems….relevant.

This is Andie with my husband, and my  mom. peace.