God is Gracious
It has been about 8 months since our last post. Our family is doing well and continuing to experience God's love in so many ways. The highlight of our family is the new addition that arrived on September 3rd, Clayton Hans Sweerin. Being 6lbs 9.8oz's and perfectly healthy our hearts were overjoyed. Melanie is also doing well and was very strong through the delivery. As I have been soaking in the experience, I want to reflect on the lessons God has been teaching us. As many of you know, losing Elijah in September last year has changed our view of God in many ways. As Christians, we need to understand how when tragedies happen it isn't necessarily God punishing us, forgetting us, or a result of our own mistakes, but a result of the curse man brought upon itself. Now September 3rd, 1 year later we have experienced God's grace in a new way. Clayton (meaning "from the clay") is an image that comes to our mind as we think of how God created us from the dust of