The Latest Decision

In Luke 5, Jesus commanded "Follow me" and we noticed in Bible study how obedient the response was...simple directions (without a lot of information) and an unquestioning response of action without asking for details. It really struck me that God asks that of me at times too (and I don't like it!). And I sensed that this was also His response to a decision that I was pondering. On Monday, I had told a friend about how I've been convicted to be less busy, to try to give God my time and not fill it too much, even with things that are "good". That night, I received an e-mail from my previous employer offering me a decent amount of money to do some contract work at home. There was a fairly short deadline, but I could take on part or all. The earlier conversation with my friend (and how it promoted accountability to what has been on my mind), and I started to pray about it. I was leaning toward "no" when Bob responded to the forwarded e-mail in a "go for it" kind of way (not as I expected). I started to second-guess my thoughts toward "no" and continued to pray. I began to wonder if I was chickening out of using that part of my brain/taking on that kind of challenge, or just trying to keep my life simple. (Yea, I know. Who said "simple" is a bad thing?) Thoughts came to me that maybe God was providing this opportunity for me to keep me from losing all connection with my academic/professional side. Then I remembered my Dad and my earlier conversation about how adding anything to a schedule (we were talking about painting the house) means you have to take something out. As I discussed this with Bob, I started to realize that if I wasn't careful, I would be replacing things like sleep, exercise, and time with God to do this work. I wondered if that contract work has any lasting value as far as what's important to God. It could provide income for some friends who have tight finances (childcare, using some of the money toward hiring a friend out of work to paint, friends in Saudi Arabia). I prayed that God would give me clarity...and then Jesus's words, "follow me". At that point, it seemed clear. I just knew what I needed to do. It still was hard to send off that e-mail declining the offer though!

Oh, and 1 more detail!! I can't believe I forgot! The day after I declined, I received a beautifully written paper to hang up containing Jeremiah 29:11-13. I don't know who it was from, but the timing was incredible!! This is one of my favorite passages, but besides that, it's about how God knows the plans He has for me (and you!), plans to prosper and not to harm, to give a future and a hope. Isn't that cool?! It definitely was affirmation of the decision I made. 8)

Interesting...

Ethan loves to look at photos and name people, particularly Daddy, Anderson, and Mollie. He was going through everybody in our Disney picture that's on the refrigerator, and when I put him in his highchair for lunch, he began naming people in our family photo hanging on the wall. The family photo is from when he was 3 weeks old. He could name everybody (I informed him of "Baby Ethan"), but when I would point to me, he wouldn't answer. I'd go back around and he'd name the others but have nothing to say when I pointed to me. He didn't know who I was! This was very interesting to me since he has seen me with all variations of hair - wig, no hair, hats, curly hair. When he was quite little, I'd walk into the room, and he'd never even look at what I did or did not have on my head (which surprised me then as most little ones look at you funny when something changes like hats or glasses). So, at this point, he doesn't recognize photos of me with long, lighter colored hair. Interesting...

Christmas Letter 2010

I realized that some people might like to read our Christmas letter as it is a synopsis of 2010. Here it is.

Merry Christmas! We hope this letter finds you enjoying the holiday season. Would you like to hear about the Levasseur craziness in 2010? Never boring with us - we always have a few stories to tell. From losing weight and a bet to running through airports with ALL our luggage, 3 kids, and a cane; from Ethan’s trip to the emergency room as well as x-rays for everybody except Bob to the fun of camping with family (in spite of Anderson throwing up in the tent BOTH times!) and a 6-mile Levasseur family bike ride to Lone Oak for ice-cream, we’ve been busy!
While Sarah was trying to gain weight after chemo, Bob was trying to lose weight after all those yummy meals provided in 2009. While watching “The Biggest Loser”, I (Bob) proclaimed, “I bet I could lose 10lbs in a week.” Sarah promptly replied, “That’s impossible...If you lost 10 lbs in a week, I would buy you a Wii.” I lost 12. I started biking to work (~20mi) as well as running on the off days. I ran my first race since high school, a 10.7-mile leg of a relay race around Lake Winnipesaukee (those hills hurt!). Sarah has bounced back to a healthy weight and is able to work out again. Her strength and stamina have improved greatly, even allowing her to wrestle with Anderson. She also has to tame her “curly ‘fro” every morning! Can you believe we are approaching 2 years of being cancer-free?! Praise God!
As for Anderson, Lyndsey, and Ethan, they have all grown so much. Anderson is “all” schoolboy. He has lost most of his baby teeth with the adult teeth nearly filling all the gaps. He loves any sport and enjoyed playing baseball on a team last spring. (Bob coached.) Lyndsey continues to be tall for her age. She still loves to sing (loudly), dance, and play the piano - sometimes all at the same time! She loves to “help”, serenading the sad/lonely (even Sadie, Grammie’s dog). Ethan is walking and running. He loves to explore on his own. One night while putting the kids to bed, I (Bob) noticed Ethan was no longer in the room. In less than 5 minutes Ethan was off, down the stairs, out the sliding glass door, and half-way to the neighbor's house. If it is weren’t for the fact that he was barefoot on a rock path, he might have escaped totally. His favorite past-time lately is wrestling, hugging, or anything to be close.
Last spring, we took a much-needed family vacation to Florida for 3 weeks. The kids were so excited to go on a plane for the first time. Bob answered Anderson’s questions about knowing if the plane were going to crash by telling him that if he saw Jesus walking down the aisle, he would know. “And if you see Jesus, you won’t care about crashing.” Bob didn’t think about the all the potential Jesus look-a-likes out there. Lyndsey was less nervous; she was just excited to go “as fast as Daddy’s car” during take-off. While in Florida, we enjoyed Disney and Sea World with Sarah’s parents and grandmother as well as Courtney, Erik, and Mollie (their 1yr old daughter). We also celebrated Lyndsey’s 4th birthday with Papa John! The days we spent with him were great as it had been over a year since we had seen him.
God has been so faithful to us through all of this year’s highs and lows. We continue to grow and learn...for more about that, visit the blog as Sarah still updates it.