Life Out of Death

About two weeks ago, I received word that my grandmother was probably dying. My sister, my oldest daughter and I left within a hour of the news and drove all night to Michigan to try to see her one last time. She was a phenomenal woman and I plan to write a post just about her soon. But something very exciting came out of the trip and I know she would have preferred for his news to take precedence over her own story.

Even though we didn't make it in time to see Grandma, we had a wonderful opportunity to see one of my younger brothers, Judah. He asked to come home with us for a visit, feeling that he had a real need in his life and feeling that coming home with us would set him on the path to filling that need. The ten hour trip home never seemed so fast! We talked the whole way, laughing at family stories and also serious conversations about life with God and the Body of Christ. We did take one break from talking to play a Jeremy Camp CD for him and he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

It just so happened that our church was in the middle of our Feast of Tabernacles celebration which means we were camping out and having meetings every night. This is always a very special time of year for us but this year Judah being with us made it extra special. The first night home Judah asked for prayer and surrounded by many caring people, he was moved to tears of repentance. The second night he announced he wanted to rededicate his life to God and the third night he asked to be baptized in the creek on our church property!

Since then he's made a trip to his home state to tie up loose ends and now he is living with us and planning on starting a new business with my brother-in-law. He is teaching AdventureQueen how to play the guitar and they are having special times talking and worshipping together.

There is so much to this story but I want to share about the meaning of his name. I have always been told Judah means praise. I wanted to research a little further so I consulted my Strong's Concordance and here's what I found:

• (Judah) Yehuwdah comes from a primary root Yadah which means literally to use (ie. hold out) the hand; especially to revere or worship with extended hands

I was amazed because I had already loaded these pictures onto this post before I looked this up!







I am so thrilled to have been a part of all of this and so thankful to have my brother with us!!!!