God's gift!

Wow! For the record, I am inputting this paragraph now, AFTER I finished writing this long post. I think the Lord really wanted me to write all this for me. It has sparked the fire in my heart (which I needed badly) and I can’t even describe now my feelings for the awesomeness of our God.

Lord, I worship and I glorify you. Thank you for being in my life, thank you for allowing me to know you, thank you for using me to do your work and be your hands and feet, thank you for giving me the grace to praise you in good times and in bad, but most of all, thank you for dying on that cross and not wanting anything back from me, but my total devotion to you, which you have. You are OUR God and we CHOOSE to serve and honor you ALWAYS!

To my readers….here is where my post originally began:

I wanted to write today about the amazing week we are in. Not because we just went through AJ’s birthday, and not because of Kai’s 1st Forever Family Day, but because we are in the midst of Holy Week. This week is my favorite time of year. There is no more inspiring feeling in the world, than knowing that our Savior, our Lord, the King of Kings, gave His life for us…for you and me, and the fact that we do not have to do anything to get to Heaven. The fact that we cannot "earn" our way there, is just…well, amazing huh? The nails that he took gave us that entry pass into His kingdom. All we need to do is two very simple things. His word tell us that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9

I was reading a friends’ blog tonight and it got me thinking about the transformation that my children are going through, both AJ & Kai, from the lives they may have had. I’ve thought about all of the gifts they’ve received this past year, material gifts and others. Yes, you’d think the most important one would be the gift of a forever family….but it’s not. The most amazing gift they have received is the gift of being able to get to know Jesus Christ, who died and rose for THEM, on a personal level.

I know I’ve said this 1,000 times, but I am so honored that I have again, been entrusted to raise two, soon three, of God’s creations in His name; that the Lord has given me the privilege of introducing Him to my beautiful babies. I pray more than anything in the world that they do develop that personal relationship with God….with God the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. I pray this very special Holy Week as we reflect on the Lord’s passion and His resurrection that they realize the sacrifice that God the Father did for them. He loved us so very much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we could have eternal life. WOW! How do you repay that? You don’t. Jesus did that for us on the cross.

If you can, take a moment to listen to the song on the blog now. It’s called THIS MAN, by Jeremy Camp. The song asks, “Would you take the place of this man? Would you take the nails from his hands?” Pretty powerful. I think it’s pretty safe we’d all say, no….like Peter denied him 3x. His own apostle. But, he doesn’t expect us to take his place. That’s what blows me away. He's already taken care of that for us. OK. I digress. Going back to the kids.

Children learn from what they see. Although I have to admit that sometimes going to church with the two little guys is overwhelming. Many times it is difficult juggling them and keeping them focused long enough for us to take in a few words of the liturgy, but it is something that we continue to do. First, because although we may miss an awful lot of what is said, we are “fed” each week with the Body & Blood of our Savior in the Eucharist. Nothing could replace that. Secondly, because each week that we go, although we think the kids are in their own little world, they are very observant. AJ is only a baby, but I really feel he knows “the routine”. When I see Kai kneeling, little hands with fingers interlaced, it makes up for all the chaos that surrounds my world. He may be just going thru the motions, but I can feel God’s presence surround us during those times, and I am so very thankful for having Christ in my life. He IS my rock and my fortress and I could not and would not want to live my life any other way. When things go bad, I have someone to turn to in which I could say, “Please, take this from me. I can no longer carry this weight.” AND HE DOES! When things are going well, I again, have someone to turn to and say, “Thank you Jesus, it is because of you that I rejoice.” Therefore, good or bad, He is always there for us. That is why he died on that cross, so that we could take our burdens to him and leave them there, at the foot of the cross, and lean on him for strength. He will fill us with that peace that surpasses all understanding, we just need to ask Him to.

The other day leaving church we had a lady and her husband come up to us and say, “Your son (speaking about Kai) is absolutely precious. We watch him all the time and it is amazing how he does the sign of the cross and how he bows and pays reverence as you cross before the altar.” We smiled and thanked her. But, as I was walking away, I had to stop and thank our Lord and His blessed Mother, because it is through them that we are able to teach our children to pay those respects in the Lord’s house. We can only be an example to our children of our own feelings and our respect for our God, but it is God himself, thru the Holy Spirit, that leads them to Him.

Anna Grace’s 2nd birthday is this Saturday, yet another affirmation for me during Holy Week that the Lord is so present in my life. I am completely filled with peace missing her birthday, because I know that our Blessed Mother has her wrapped in her mantle, and that St. Anne & St. Joaquin, our Lord’s grandparents, are surrounding her with love and grace….all this while our Savior himself commands his angels to watch over her with His blessings.

Last year our Holy Week was spent in China. We returned to the U.S. on Good Friday, and we proudly gave thanks, praise and worshipped our Lord while holding our two new sons on Easter Sunday. What an amazing Easter that was!

I pray that each of you reflect this week on all that we have, all that He has given us, and all that He went through for us. As we are led to Good Friday, the Passion of our Lord, may we take the time to thank Him for his sacrifice, but mostly my prayers are that may you all rejoice in His resurrection on Easter Sunday as we glorify Him for keeping His promises and rising from the dead so that we could all have eternal life. The most incredible gift we could ever receive! Thank you, again, Lord, for being the center of my life….of our lives!

Happy Easter, my friends!

In His Name… The Bombardier Family


HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:2-6