Mouse-kins! A world Turned Upside Down

Chronic Illness, everyday miracles, Family, Uncategorized
Isaiah 40:28 ESV

It was meant to be a season of retirement for him. And I was called to join him there. We had heard the call of the Lord in our lives.

Day after day, he huddled away in the basement corner, editing and re-editing the words from a long-ago story held tight to his heart. It began to feel like I was the retired one, and he had found another job. I wasn’t sure where I fit in any longer.

I had forgotten the long-ago hope planted deep in my heart for him.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

Decades ago when we had left all that was familiar, and moved our family to a new city, he found a job that seemed to close off his creativity. I prayed for that creativity to stay breathing. The Lord reminded me of HIS calling in my praying:

“Don’t let the dream die.”

I knew the dream’s focus concerned God’s desire for all to come to know HIM. But was it possible that God had something more personal in mind, for my husband’s heart of dreaming too?

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:34 ESV

So I took up the call to pray for that dream of creativity to stay alive.

Stories were birthed, discarded, shared, and even expanded upon. The years came and went. There were times when it felt like the creativity had to die before it could be reborn.

Always, one story refused to die. The family of mice and the family of people kept interjecting themselves into our lives. Shouldn’t I help him find ways to express that story? After all, we were meant to be together. However, with this story, we couldn’t agree on the layout, the art, or even the details of the plot.

So when the call to retirement came, I thought perhaps I was finally meant to join in.

Except that I couldn’t. It seemed that the call to retirement was a literal one for me. My hands and my strength gave out, just at the time I thought I was most needed.

I forgot that my call was to hope. I forgot that my call was to prayer.

And then the name of a dear artist sister came to our mind. Was it possible that she was meant to share the work? Could it be that my praying was meant to see God’s breathing into another’s creativity?

Amazingly, she said yes to the invitation, and the story came to life with pictures! Hours of discussion, artwork, and digital editing consumed the summer for both of them. But from the ashes of doubt, God resurrected a story of redemption.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

John 12:24

So today, we are very excited to offer this hardcover illustrated children’s book for sale. My husband, Barry Gilbert, wrote the story, and our son-in-law’s mother, Mary Rose Lila, created the artwork. Mouse-kins! tells the story of a family of mice and a family of people from an upside-down perspective.  Here we find a story of redemption that can open our hearts to see the world through new eyes.

Click here to purchase Mouse-kins!

A favorite of ours from over 30 years ago.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.“

Matthew 18:2-3 ESV

As is so often the case when we pray for another, God changes our heart in the process too. I couldn’t see what He would do in me as I prayed for this book, but He knew.

He was about to turn my thinking upside down again.

As the summer began, I found myself in the hospital overnight with a severe medication reaction, and one more medication failure to add to my list. But as the summer drew to a close, I heard my new rheumatologist asking if I would be willing to retry the first medication given to me, almost nine years ago.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing:

  • Go back to those first months, and remember all my painful misunderstandings?
  • Acknowledge those days of emotional abuse from prior Doctors who refused to give information or compassion?
  • Acknowledge those days of coming down from an over-stressed lifestyle?
  • And then look for the gift of His presence in the midst of those wounds?

Yes, that is precisely what God was asking of me, because in His presence the view turns upside down and His forgiveness transforms everything.

As I prayed for my husband and my dear friend to be able to see the story from God’s point of view, to be able to listen and communicate well, I did not realize God was transforming those same areas in me.

  • Could I see those early Doctors  and my misunderstood heart from His perspective?
  • Could I pray to forgive them for all of those miscommunications?
  • Could I acknowledge God’s gift of creativity in me, weak as I have felt these past nine years?

But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8 ESV

I wept as His convictions and compassions burrowed into the deep places of my heart. In every waiting, in every weakness, He has always been working.

He is my potter, molding the clay of my life.

And He is the potter of your life also.

Are there deep furrows in your life where misunderstandings and wounds have been covered over?

Is there a creativity that you have thought long gone?

Would you pray with me as we allow God to turn our worlds upside down?

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being our true potter. We are so grateful that You would choose us and desire us to be Your vessel. Will You forgive us for the times that we have resisted Your molding and shaping? We so long to be transformed with Your healing. We are willing to let You turn our thinking upside down, and to help us forgive those who have wronged us. We rejoice over the gifts of Your handiwork and creativity that You have set free in us. May You be glorified in our every offering today.

In the name of Your son, Jesus, we pray, amen.

On the day after this book became available for sale, we heard my husband’s new cardiologist proclaim him a “Walking Miracle!” Apparently, when his previous Doctors planted stents over two years ago to clear up artery blockages, it was an extremely dangerous, life-risking procedure. Only a heart-bypass is acceptable for those particular “Widowmaker” blockages! So the new cardiologist is scheduling another angiogram to diagnosis his present state. We are praising God for HIS presence in every victory, every failure!

And we are so very grateful for every prayer offered on our behalf!

If you leave a comment below, we are excited to enter your name in a giveaway for a free copy of Mouse-kins! Come back next week to see who won!

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO LYNN SIMPSON! YOU WON THE FREE COPY OF Mouse-kins! I will be contacting you shortly for mailing instructions.****

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Published by Bettie G

Jesus follower, Wife, Mom, and Grandma, journeying through chronic illness one day at a time

Published

34 thoughts on “Mouse-kins! A world Turned Upside Down”

    1. Oh Lorraine, I have missed being here and the sweet fellowship with friends like you! Thank you so much for your prayers. I may not have been able to visit your site very often, but I have kept you in my prayers too!

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    1. Thank you so much dear Lisa! God has truly been working in the lives of our husbands this past year, hasn’t He? I’m so blessed for all the prayers we’ve shared together through the years. Blessings dear sister!

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    1. Thank you so much dear Lynn. I have so missed being able to connect here! And thank you for all of your encouragement through these years of blogging too. Blessings to you today.

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  8. You already know I’m so excited for you and Barry and David’s mom. I know the whole family is thrilled with this new book. I can hardly wait to read it to my granddaughter! I’m so thankful that you are able to share from your heart, dear Bettie, when you and Barry have struggled with so many health problems. But God is always faithful and you share it beautifully. I love you, dear sister! xoxo

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    1. Thank you dear Gayl for all of your support and love through the years! I am so very grateful for the heart of love for children that we share. And what a joy to be able to pray for each other’s children and grandchildren. Love and hugs to you dear poet/sister/friend!

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  9. It’s such a blessing to see you here again, Bettie. 💕 And congratulations, Barry and Mary! Thank you for sharing this journey of writing, health difficulties, and spiritual growth through the hard places. God is so faithful! Love and blessings of grace and strength to you!

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    1. Thank you so much for all of your love and support and encouragement dear Trudy! You’ve been such a comfort from the Lord for me over all these years of blogging! I’m sorry that your comment somehow ended up in the Spam folder! But I’m glad you mentioned the problem. I hope this takes care of that! Blessings, love, and prayers for you my dear sister! 💕

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  10. I’m absolutely delighted for you & your husband! What a wonderful testimony & encouragement for all of us who live in chronic pain conditions, that God is still working in our lives & has indeed got a plan for us in this season.
    You have both encouraged me & yes, especially your experience Bettie, has challenged me anew today sweet sister.
    Blessings to you both, Jennifer

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    1. Oh dear Jennifer, I am so blessed that you were encouraged and inspired here. So often your story and words have been such a comfort to me! I miss connecting here so much, and I’m thankful when God opens a time to pop in again. Thank you for sharing with me today. Love and blessings to you! ❤️

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    1. Thank you so much dear Lisa! I’ve so missed connecting here, but it’s a blessing to get to pop in now and then. I pray blessing over you and your family! ❤️🤗

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  14. Dear Bettie! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get here to read this. I am SO happy for you and Barry, and I loved this post so much! It is wonderful to see the mighty way God is working and moving in your lives and the way you both stay so surrendered to Him and His plan and way of doing things. The book looks just wonderful! I pray God will bless you and allow the medicine to continue to help you, dear friend. I am so thankful for you and your presence in my life.

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    1. Thank you so much dear Cheryl! I’m so grateful you were blessed here today. Your life and stories are always such a blessing to me too. I appreciate your prayers for the new/old medication. I won’t be starting it till after the New Year, as we are waiting until after Barry has his angiogram next Tuesday, and then after the Holidays. I’m leaning on Jesus so much. Blessings and hugs to you dear sister! ❤️

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  15. I love your heart – and how gently you express powerful truths. I always leave, your words like a balm soothing something within. I believe self-less praying is one of the most powerful ways to pray (not for what we want, but solely, sacrificially for another) – and your story shows the soul beauty of that. Oddly enough, when we pray sacrificially for others, expecting nothing (even in the deep recesses of our soul), God reaches down and touches us in overwhelming generosity. Thank you for your words of refreshing, my friend!

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    1. Oh yes, He really does so often bring that blessing of “overwhelming generosity” when we pray sacrificially for others. I love that phrase, Maryleigh! And isn’t God’s way of generosity so overwhelming! Thank you for all of your encouragement and kind words dear friend. May God bless you with His overwhelming generosity too! ❤️

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