I Could Never Praise And Thank HIM Enough!

I love the way that God so masterfully weaves beauty in the midst of the hardest trials of life!

On Tuesday we got to meet Mike Huckabee, Thursday was my mom and dad's sentencing, and then early Friday morning my mom and I were on our way to the Ladies Extravaganza in Great Falls. Overall the week was one of joyful anticipation instead of dread. Praise the LORD!

Every aspect of the ladies' meeting, from the meetings in preparation to go, to being in the van on the way home, was a tremendous blessing. Not knowing what all needed to be done after the sentencing kept my mom from being too quick to say she could for sure be there, but when I brought up my mom's interest in the initial meeting the ladies were confident that she would be able to go. One lady even said, "Of course, she's coming. We've been praying, remember? She has to go."

Now that is faith.

Stepping out as if you already have the answer to your prayers.

Thursday dawned appropriately gray and drizzly. But I was at complete peace. I knew with all my heart that my Heavenly Father has been hearing me when I pray, and that He cares. Whatever the day held I knew I could trust Him with it. And I did.

Everything went supernaturally smooth. The kids got up, made themselves breakfast, and got dressed in plenty of time to leave for Amanda's house by 8:00. Everything fell into place right on time with no struggle. How I praise God again and again for His goodness! Even now I feel as though He is carrying me. There is indeed no peace, no joy, no thrill like walking in His will. The Christian life is chock full of excitement and anticipation of what great thing God is going to do next!

How I wish you all could have been there on Thursday. God was there! Every part of the Federal Building was filled with Light despite the dreariness of the day. Unlike the trial, where it seemed the lights were annoyingly dim, and the atmosphere was one of intense oppression. That courtroom was a spiritual battle ground those three days. No doubt about it.

What a blessing we received when we walked in and saw that the wonderful people of our church had so selflessly taken time out of their very busy schedules to show their support for our family! I LOVE OUR CHURCH! I often wonder if these people are real. :) Even the newspaper mentioned the number of supporters there. They will never know this side of heaven how very much it meant to us. When I thanked one lady from the depths of my soul for coming and told her it meant so very much, she said, "I hope so! This is a terrible place." I couldn't agree more. Having to go through all the security and repeatedly having to be checked because the alarms keep going off is nerve wracking. The marshals are very uptight and nervous, too, and that doesn't help.

My parents now have an awesome attorney! He knew how to handle that judge and had him eating out of his hand within 60 seconds. He was as cool as a cucumber up there while the prosecuting attorney was again shaking like a leaf. Several times the judge said he appreciated what our attorney had to say, and that he was going to take it all into consideration! His demeanor was completely different this time. He even said that in all his years as a judge he's never had a more unlikely couple standing before him, and recognized that they have always been intelligent, upstanding citizens in every other respect. Everyone said that they weren't surprised. Hadn't we all been praying that the Lord would soften his heart? LOL!!! Praise the LORD, again!

He is also notorious for giving the maximum recommended sentences. That would have been five years each for the conspiracy count and one year for each count of willful failure to file for my dad. Seven total years for my dad, and five for my mom in federal prison, and who knows how much longer probation would have been.

For the first time we're aware of this judge said that he didn't believe that those recommendations were at all reasonable, and gave my dad three years in prison and three years of probation after that; my mom received two years in federal prison and three years of probation. They also have to pay $204,???.?? back in restitution. We are so unspeakably thrilled! :)

When our attorney asked if my parents could be permitted to turn themselves in on their own recognizance the judge unexpectedly called for a recess in chambers with the attorneys. This was a moment of great anxiety for my dad because he thought it indicated that they were going to take him into custody on the spot which is always a possibility. Josh and my mom and I reassured him that it wasn't going to happen. When our attorney came out he said that he couldn't believe what happened in there. He said that the judge didn't even get around his desk before he turned around and said, "I am inclined to grant a stay pending appeal in this case."

This is exactly what we had been praying for!!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!

An appeal can take several years, and if it is overturned at the appellate level they will not spend one day in prison. Not one.

As Josh said, I wouldn't trade the trials because without them I wouldn't get to experience how great God is, and I would miss out on all the miracles He's capable of performing. And that's a sacrifice I'm no longer willing to make!

"Come praise the LORD with me and let us exalt His name together!"

God is faithful, God is great, His mercies are new every morning, He makes no mistake, He hears and answers prayer, He loves you and me unconditionally, He created everything, He is in control, He is King, He is The Judge, He is all in all! I love Him. With all my heart and soul and might, I love Him.

"O Lord, we pray, "Thy will be done," or "Master, here am I."
We pray You'd do a mighty work that to the flesh we'd die.
And when the answer comes to us in form of trial and test,
We fail to see Your loving hand. Refining fire is best.

God's refining fire, God's refining fire.
May it purge me now and make of me what You require.
O Lord feed the fire; Your refining fire.
Now as gold and silver must be tried,
Lord, may my heart be purified.
Lord, send Your great refining fire.

That I may stand when You appear, abide 'til Your return.
O place the fire perfectly that all the dross be burned.
Whether furnace of affliction, Lord, or unfulfilled desire,
Bring forth a vessel pure and tried by Your refining fire.

~Mac Lynch
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There burns a fire with sacred heat, white-hot with holy flame,
And all who dare pass through its blaze will not return the same.
Some as bronze and some as silver, some as gold,
Then with great skill, all are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will.

The Refiner's fire has now become my soul's desire.
Purged and cleansed and purified, that the Lord be glorified;
He is consuming my soul, refining me, making me whole.
No matter what I may lose, I choose the Refiner's fire.

I'm learning now to trust His touch, to crave the Fire's embrace,
And though my past with sin was etched, His mercies did erase.
Each time His purging cleanses deeper, I'm not sure that I'll survive;
Yet the strength in growing weaker keeps my hungry soul alive.

~ Jon Mohr and Randall Dennis