Today I'm so thankful to have my friend Kimberley Woodhouse here, sharing from her heart. I recently read her book Woodhouse Family Welcome Home: Our Family's Journey to Extreme Joy and LOVED it. Here's my review: Woodhouse Family Welcome Home is an inspiring, authentic portrayal of a family that dared, by God's strength, to overcome larger-than-life obstacles. Not one prone to tears, I cried through their struggles, their victories, their beautiful togetherness. If you struggle with painful family issues or your faith's been on the back burner far too long, pick up this book and be encouraged and strengthened.
Now, some encouraging words from Kimberley: Times are tough. And in these difficult moments, I want to encourage you. For me, it was in the midst of all the hard circumstances that I truly learned to cling to the Lord. And I wouldn’t trade those instances and trials for easier times, because I know what I learned through them, how I sought the Lord through them, how I clung to His joy. I pray that my story Welcome Home ministers to you, and I hope that we can all learn to encourage and lift one another up even in the darkest of days. And as a reminder to us all that we are never alone, I’d like to share a story today that I wrote several months ago on my blog.

Picking Up The Pieces Last night my daughter, Kayla, was working on a jewelry project. As she carried the boxes of beads back to her room, a small box on the top slid off and tumbled to the ground. "Oh no!" She was very distraught. Beads bounced from one end of the living room to the other across our hardwood floors and down the stairs. Thousands upon thousands of tiny little seed beads, decorative beads, and glittery beads. I placed my arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, honey. These things happen. All we have to do is pick up the pieces." Kayla was really upset with herself, but realized that I wasn't mad at her, I wasn't scolding her, and it just needed to be cleaned up. The task seemed daunting, but Josh, Kayla, Holly, and myself all got down on our hands and knees and began to find the scattered beads. We discovered interesting places the beads had flown and creative ways to pick them up. Pretty soon, our bead-cleanup turned into a laugh-fest. As we were working, I thought about how it was a beautiful illustration of our lives. Sometimes we are hasty in how we handle things, or make a wrong choice, or simply - accidents happen. And as our lives crash into millions of pieces on the hard ground, we wonder if we can ever put things back together again. How can we possibly go on? There's too many pieces to pick up by ourselves. And yet - there's the Master - by our side, picking up piece by itty-bitty piece. Helping us to see that it's okay, we just have to clean up the mess and move on. Sometimes we cause our own messes, and sometimes they are caused by other people or outside circumstances. The pieces may take hours, days, months, or even years to pick up. There may be some cracks, chips, and dents. There may be some dirt, dust, and lint clinging to the pieces. But the mess can always be cleaned up. So next time you drop your box of beads, or life seems to fall apart and shatter into a bazillion pieces - Take a deep breath. Pray about it. And start picking up the pieces. We have a wonderful Savior who is by our side, picking up pieces, wiping them clean, and gluing the cracked and broken ones back together. Don't give up. Keep going. Pick up the pieces. *******

Kimberley Woodhouse is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 600 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family's story have garnered national media attention for many years, but most recently her family was chosen for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, and Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER. Welcome Home: Our Family’s Journey to Extreme Joy, releases from Tyndale House Publishers September first. In addition to her non-fiction, she also writes romantic suspense and children’s books. Kimberley lives, writes, and homeschools in Colorado with her husband and two children in their truly “extreme” home. www.kimberleywoodhouse.com

Overwhelming trials . . . met with overcoming joy.

Kayla Woodhouse is not your typical twelve-year-old. Due to a rare medical disorder, she feels no pain, doesn’t sweat, and needs protective cooling gear just to go outside. With her restrictive lifestyle; countless hospitalizations, including brain surgery; and the resulting mountain of hospital bills, what’s a family to do?

How the Woodhouse family has faced seemingly impossible challenges is a story that has captured the hearts of America. Millions of people have experienced glimpses of their lives on Discovery’s Mystery ER, The Montel Williams Show, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Now Kayla’s mom, Kimberley, takes readers behind the cameras to reveal their family’s journey as never before told. From medical sleuthing to cross-country moves, from freak fires to battles with insurance companies, Welcome Home proves that truth really is stranger than fiction. This candid life story reveals both success and failure and demonstrates how, even during tough circumstances, to shift your life from heartbreak to extreme joy.

Peak inside the Woodhouse family’s life (and their famous house) with a 16-page photo insert. (recently voted one of the show’s all-time best episodes!).