April Recs | That Sin You Still Think About + a Request for Prayer
Many of us have sin in our past that we still feel great shame and sorrow over. We wonder, can God truly forgive me for that? Even _____, Lord? He will. He does.
Brittany Allen | Treasuring Christ
Hey there friend,
Things might look a bit different around here because, like most everyone else in the world, I recently switched my newsletter platform to Substack. It’ll be the same old content, just in a new format. Anyways, whether you’re new to this newsletter or have been around for years, I’m so thankful you’re here, truly. It means so much to me.
I usually share something I’m learning, but this month I’m just sharing an update. Life has been a bit overwhelming as of late. A lot has changed since my last newsletter. I’ve learned a ton about my diagnosis, and what I’ve learned hasn’t been the best of news. It’s all a bit more complex than we originally thought. So complex that I can’t really form the words to share all of the information I’ve learned with you. Here are the basics of what we know:
I have Intestinal Malrotation and it must be fixed.
This condition can cause major complications when not addressed (volvulus, loss of colon function, Gut Immotility, midgut loss).
I’m walking around with the very real possibility of mid-gut volvulus that could happen at any time.
There is a “band-aid” fix that often causes more problems and there is a major surgery where the intestines are placed in the anatomically correct location.
There are risks on every front. No option feels safe.
The Surgeon who specializes in my condition is at Cleveland Clinic and he and his team are the only surgeons who can fix intestinal malrotation. They are not covered under my insurance so I can’t even get on the 4 month waitlist until I switch insurances in January of next year. That feels like a long time to walk around knowing I could have a major bowel obstruction at any moment.
We honestly just aren’t sure what to do.
I’m thankful for those who are in our local context and are walking with us as we navigate all our questions and fears. I share this with you simply as a request for prayer.
Please pray for wisdom. Pray that God would work it out for us to get to Cleveland Clinic sooner than a year from now. I’d love to see God use me to somehow reach other people suffering from this illness with the gospel. You can pray for that, too. And lastly, please pray for peace as we wait.
I’ll update more as needed. I appreciate you guys so much.
Recent Articles:
Earthly Healing is Fickle on the blog
From the Archives:
It Was the Season of the Psalms on the blog
Q: Does God really forgive my worst sin?
Many of us have sin in our past that we still feel great shame and sorrow over. We wonder, can God truly forgive me for that? Even _____, Lord? He will. He does.
On the cross, Jesus took upon himself every single sin of his people, past, present, and future. That sexual immorality from your past? Gone. When you lashed our at your family in anger today? Gone. The sin you’ll commit a year from now? Nailed to the cross. All of it was laid on our Savior’s shoulders and when he died, sin’s power over us died with him. He casts our sin as far as the east is to the west. In Christ, we are forgiven, cleansed, pure. First John 1:9 says, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This includes the worst sin you’ve ever committed. Oh, what amazing grace!
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
Books I Finished:
*Bit of a disclaimer: I love to share what I'm reading with you guys, but please don't take that as an endorsement of every word written in every book I share.
Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo
Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline by Becky A. Bailey
Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer
Current Reads:
You might notice some of these have been on here a while. Mothering two little boys and writing a book has significantly decreased my time to sit down and read. It's a season. I'm embracing it and look forward to being able to read more again soon.
Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein
All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables #3) by L.M. Montgomery
The Message of Romans by John Stott
The Soul in Paraphrase by Leland Ryken
Into His Presence by Tim Chester
Blessed by Nancy Guthrie
Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcey
Freeing Your Child from Anxiety by Tamar Chansky
The Son of David by Nancy Guthrie
Hey, Here's What I Recommend:
Book: If you’re looking for a quick read to encourage you as you raise littles, I really enjoyed UnsuperMommy by my dear friend (and on of my Editors) Maggie Combs.
Playlist: Tune My Heart To Sing Your Praise Playlist
Song: Christ Be Magnified by I Am They
Podcast: Grief 03: Chronic Pain and Disability in Motherhood—An Interview with Vaneetha Risner on Risen Motherhood
Articles I Liked:
Waiting Takes a Village Too by Jenn Hesse
For Funsies:
- I shared about these Button-fly shorts from Old Navy on Instagram the other day. I LOVE them.
- One of my birthday buys from my little B-day shopping spree was this gorgeous floral swimsuit. It’s full coverage and super modest, which I love.
- I also bought this Magnolia propagation vase. It’s so classy.
- I’m trying to prep healthier lunches that my body can tolerate and this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad was pretty good.
Our sweet Theo. He’s our hilarious, intense, anxious, observant, cautious, strong-willed, loving, quirky, sweet boy. To be honest, we’ve been in a hard season for a while with him. His brain seems to work differently than other children his age and it’s been a struggle for our family to navigate. I have kept quiet about this for years, as I want to be careful what I share about his story and life. We believe he has clinical anxiety and that has left me feeling so very ill-equipped as his mama. My heart often hurts for him and how this broken world has effected my kiddo. But I know I’m not alone. God goes before us. I’ve been enjoying much needed one on one time with him outside while his baby brother naps this Spring. It’s been good for both of us.
And then there’s our completely opposite of cautious baby, William. He’s crawling and getting into evvverryyythiingg he knows we don’t want him to. We can already tell he didn’t get the cautious gene his older brother has. Pray for us.
My husband and I finally got to head out on our first date in nine months. I turned 34 and it’s our tradition to go on a little shopping spree at Target and then to dinner. We chose tacos and margs of course. I just can’t stray from tacos. By the way, mid-thirties is where it’s at.
I scattered some random perennial seeds at the end of summer last year (it was a little impulsive, honestly) and it’s been super fun finding out what’s popping up and identifying them. So far, we’ve got Western cornflower (the orange one) and Perennial Flax (the blueish purple). In addition, I’ve started my first raised bed and the lettuce and carrots are starting to spring up! This is so fun.
May you treasure Christ ever more. <3
Brittany Lee
