Praise & Update

Well, today was the day. My beloved went to the DHS office to talk to
them about the complaint made against us. When he got there, they soon
were reassuring him that they realized that the complaint had no merit.
Praise the Lord! They went ahead and interviewed him anyways, but by
the time it was all said and done, they are ready to close the report as
having been false. Here are the issues that they addressed.

#1 We do not have electricity. In our state, you are not required by
law to have electricity. There was no law broken in this. We let them
know about our solar panel to give me the ability to charge up the cell
phone battery. Other than that, we have no use for electricity.

#2 Our son got a heat rash over the summer. This one was true, but it
is not even a medical issue. Many children and adults get a heat rash
if they spend time outdoors in the summer heat.

#3 Our son is thin. Okay, true but not a medical concern since he is
built like beloved's side of the family. His youngest sister is still
very thin build.

#4 No running water in the house. This was one of 2 lies spoken about
us. We do have running water, however in our state it is not required
by law. In some rural areas, families have to haul in all water they use.

#5 A floor in the house was collapsing. This was the second outright
lie. Our home is old, but there are no collapsing floor. We were able
to let them see for themselves that the floor is intact.

While the first 3 items were true, they were not things that could
constitute abuse or neglect. The issue about water was a non-issue due
to the fact that as long as you have access to clean water, there is no
law to require that you have running water in the home. The only item
on the list that was even remotely an issue was the lie about the
"collapsed" floor. Due to Micah's being special needs, the state law
is requiring DHS (child protection services) to assess any reports that
come in. The good news now is that the report is being closed and we
are fine. They now know that we are knowledgeable about this lifestyle
and how to manage heat and other issues in a healthy way.

So, what do we do now? We first and foremost is to forgive the one who
filed the complaint & pray that their heart be softened. Just as we
would wish to be forgiven of our wrong doings, we must be willing to
forgive others. To not forgive would bring about pain and bitterness
into our lives. The Lord doesn't want that for us. He is generous with
His forgiveness in our own lives. How can we call ourselves Christians
and not be willing to forgive as the Lord would have us do?

There have been some who have had concerns about not only the situation
but whether or not it would cause us to quit blogging and sharing our
lives. Rest assured, that we will only close down our blogs when the
Lord leads us to do so. Until that time, we will continue to share just
as we always have. We will not allow this attack against our family to
silence us. We must continue for as long as the Lord leads us to write
and share. There is a purpose in it and the Lord is helping many
through our blogs and facebook.

I am so grateful to the Lord for seeing our family through this
challenge. I am especially grateful for His influence and helping me to
set aside my human-ness to find the desire to forgive the one who lied
about us. I am grateful to the Lord for having a husband who is so
supportive and strong throughout this whole ordeal. And finally, I am
grateful to all those who have written emails and shown support to our
family.

Blessings,
Paula