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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

Read An Excerpt: Chapter 1 & 2

My Girl

In August 2011, our daughter Aster was diagnosed with a severe speech disorder, and was recently confirmed as  having Apraxia**. At the age of two and a half she could only say fifteen words. At the age of three she could barely say five, and those five were very hard to understand.

We didn’t know what the future held; we just knew we’d been praying and waiting for two years to hear her precious voice. And now it was diminishing. I was in shock. And honestly my heart broke a little more each day for the first several weeks.

I knew God was in control and that He could completely heal her. But my mommy-heart hopes and dreams for hearing my little girl’s voice were shattered. And my world turned upside down for a while.

When we shared our story on Facebook and at some speaking events, many of you spoke hope, grace and truth over our hearts. You comforted us with your prayers and claimed God’s promises over our little girl.

Aster has been going to speech therapy two times each week for six months. Her progress has been very slow. In January we discovered her two year molars never formed enamel so a little over a week ago she had surgery, and little silver crowns were put on them.

What happened next was almost miraculous! The crowns must have relieved severe pain we didn’t know about because she couldn’t tell us. And she never indicated it either. (Her pain threshold is incredible!) Her progress in the past ten days has been amazing. Then last weekend, when they came to get me from the airport after a speaking event, Aster started babbling a ton.

So, I got out my iPhone, turned it to where she could see herself when it was filming and we witness a break-through on camera!! Here’s a sweet little peak into God’s faithfulness! {Note, she had never done this before!}

I can’t help but celebrate the “good things HE planned long ago” for a little girl who needed a family to help her find her voice – and for a family who needed a little girl to help them experience the depth of God’s love!

Thank you Lord for the gift of our precious little Ethiopian princess!

Comments

  1. Authorine says
    March 12, 2012
    Aster! A beautiful love child. I pray that God will continue to bless her, and that her speech will continue to improve. Renee, thank you for sharing with us this special report of God good work. Joy and peace to you and your family.Give Aster a kiss for me.
    .
    God Bless!

  2. Thank you for Blessing us with his Precious Video.Your Daughter Aster is Heaven sent she is a Specail Gift from Heaven.And I Pray that God uses her in His Kingdom to be a witness for others that need to see the Power of God’s Love for His Children.I read Elizabeth George books.And in her book A Mom After God’s Own Heart it saids The Soul of a child is the loveliest flower that grows in the garden of God.This si sooooooo true,As Moms we have to Pray over our babies and [PSALM 121:5-8]Is a Prayer to Pray over them.I raised a Grandson that was not able to talk when he came to live with us and we had to learn sing Laungage so we could Commuicate.We went through the Babies can’t wait Program with Christopher.He was 1 when we got him and we had to grow together.It takes Prayer God’s Strength His Patience and a Heart after God’s own heart to raise a special Child. Christopher now is 5 and He Loves the Lord he still has speech problems but he has come a long way. Weve had in in school since 3 years old.And I know that God has A Plan A Purpose and A Will for each of our Lives.You are that Parent that God sent this Little Blessing so that some day she can be All God Called her to be.Many Blessed years ahead for you and Your Beautiful Daughter.Praying God’s Love and Peace and Prosperity on your family.Your Friend and Sister in Christ.

  3. Renee, What a precious daughter you have!! AS a former foster parent, this just warms my heart! You were obediant and have opened the world up for Aster. I know how it works, in turn for you blessing Aster’s life, God is blessing yours!!
    As I watched this video, I also had on Pandora. So, as I watched you and Aster interact and work on her speech…I hear the lyrics, ” Like a rose trampled on the ground, you thought of me above all!” Brought tears to me eyes! 🙂
    God bless you and I look forward to more updates on precious Asters progress!
    ~b

  4. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My son’s speech development was slow and he has been going to speech therapy once a week for over a year now. He went from a 3-year-old that spoke one and two-word sentences to babbling on about everything under the sun in 6 months! He is still unable to make the “t” or “g” sounds, and I have worried over this a lot. Through your Confident Heart study, I have officially turned over this issue (and so many others!) to God and am trusting in Him fully to take care of the rest of my little one’s speech difficulties. God is good and faithful, and you will probably be able to hear me YELLING AND SINGING PRAISES all the way from Texas the first time I hear that precious boy say his brother’s name correctly for the first time (my youngest is Carter–and my oldest says his name as “Tarter.”) 🙂

  5. Dear Renee: She is such a precious child of God’s. How blessed she is to have you as you are to have her. May our Great Physician continue to let those sweet sounds ring from her lips. Thank you for all that you do for God’s people by sharing the Word.

  6. I was truly blessed by this video. A precious reminder that nothing is impossible for God and that He is faithful to put those people in our lives to help us achieve the goals He has planned for our lives. He gave Aster a mommy and daddy to love her and to help her find her voice and her place in God’s kingdom. Thanks for sharing!

  7. This touched my heart, Renee. How very precious! Thanks for sharing this. I’m so grateful your family took in this special child to love and to help find her voice.

  8. How precious! I have an adopted sister-in-law and I heard this poem once and loved it:

    “Not flesh of my flesh
    Nor bone of my bone,
    But still miraculously my own.
    Never forget for a single minute,
    You didn’t grow under my heart,
    But in it..”

    I love how God works! His plans are more wonderful than we could ever imagine. So thankful that He brought little Aster into your life and you into her’s. Such a blessing!!

  9. This is so wonderful. I know why you love her so and I am so excited about what God has planned for her life…Thanks for sharing

  10. Thank you for sharing! What a wonderful example of all God is doing in her! It is so good to see God working in our children and answering the prayers we have for them! They each are so special to Him and He has a special purpose and plan for each of them! Praise the Lord for the mighty works He is doing in your beautiful little girl!

  14. Renee, thank you so much for sharing this part of your life with us!! Aster IS a beautiful Princess, as her name says, and God has such wonderful plans for her life!!!! How special that he chose YOU to be her Mamma!!!! My prayers remain with you and your family!!!! Blessings!!!!

  15. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL. I WORKED WITH THE SPECIAL NEEDS ADULTS BEFORE I RETIRED. ONE MAN IN PARTICULAR WAS SUCH A BLESSING (ALL WERE} . HE COULDN’T TALK BUT HIS PARENTS HAD TAKEN SUCH GOOD CARE OF HIM AND TAUGHT HIM SO MUCH. HE IS IN HIS LATE 50’S I THINK. IF HE HAVE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE AND TEACHING METHODS THEY HAVE NOW I AM SURE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TALK.

    YOU ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE A PRECIOUS DAUGHTER LIKE YOUR PRINCENESS SHE WILL TEACH YOU SO MUCH. THANKS FOR SHARING. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS TODAY.

  16. Wow, the beauty and wonders of youth!! Not just Aster but you and the rest of your family. Good to see you enjoying God’s blessings together.

  17. Thank you Renee for sharing this. This just reaffirms that God is awesome and He is worthy to be praised! Aster is so precious and she is doing an amazing job. I am so proud of her! You guys are truly blessed. Thank you again for allowing me to rejoice with Aster and your family!

  18. What a beautiful and sweet little girl Aster is! Good job Aster! Thank you for sharing!

  19. Our mighty God is painting a beautiful rainbow for Aster. Thank you for sharing, Renee!

  20. Priceless!!! That was awesome!!!! Thank you for sharing this with us. I pray I never take for granted another day the voice that my daughter has! Here I thought that sometimes she talks too much and to see your little girl who is trying to find her voice make me so thankful. I pray complete and total healing for her in the name of Jesus!

  21. How precious!!!!! Having a 4yr old boy & 2yr old girl myself I know how wonderful & blessed moments like this are:) Awesome job Aster:) We r all proud of u here:) May God continue His amazing work thru her!!!

  22. Our son, Henry, also has this issue and we now cherish every word that comes from his mouth. I remember when our girls began talking we never could count all the words in their vocabulary. With Henry we knew the exact moment he said I love you for the first time, when he said Jesus and when he spoke our names. God gave us and him this…we have a gift of slow motion.

  24. What a blessing your beautiful daughter is. Thank you for sharing the video. Watching it brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart. As I read your post, something we are doing with our kids came to my mind. Check out this website http://www.brainhighways.com. Blessings!

  25. As I was watching this, one of my dogs, who is also named Daisy, was sitting beside me at the computer. She is used to being hauled up to the screen so that my daughters can see her and talk to her(sometimes I think they miss her more than me!) Anyway, you both got her attention when she heard her name, as her ears pricked up, then she looked at me as if to say, wait a minute, I don’t know those voices, but they are calling me! A cute moment and a wonderful sharing of yours to start my day. As a mom whose daughter went through both speech and physical therapy after an auto accident, I can tell you those people are a gift and their work blesses many lives.

  26. Thanks! It is also a message for all who are in trouble and feel lonely… that God is always there and He is working the way to get you!

  28. What a beautiful and wonderful blessing Aster is to be part of your family. Thank you for sharing with us.

  31. Thank you for sharing this video of Aster. What a beautiful little girl you have. Aster has been so blessed to be in your love.

  32. She is beyond precious…God Bless Her! We began therapy with our son Chance, he is currently just over 2 yrs..he briefly said a few words…ma, da & uh oh….but those disappearer.. He is a twin and his brother is very vocal & he has a younger brother that turns one in a couple weeks (as well as a 14 yr old brother and 12,yr old sister)…I so look forward to the day that Chance finds his voice…but until then I will praise God for the beautiful boy that he is right now…Thank you for sharing this video, it truly warmed my heart!!

  33. We belong to an amazing God! Small steps but a huge journey, full of a whole lot of blessings. Praise God!

  34. Dear Renee, I feel so blessed that you share your family with us and real life situations. She is so precious. I started reading chapter 9, I was right with you when you went into the 15 year old son’s room and saw the clean laundry mixed with the dirty, what mom hasn’t? My church ladies started Lysa study on a Bible Study girl. My husband has some serious issues and now that my children are all of the age to recognize these things, it is very hard to keep the lip on sometimes. Setting in my study tonight and talking about Worry I recalled Matt.6. I read the 10 or so verses out loud to the group and most of us just said, “That about sizes it up”.
    Thank you for doing this online study. I hope more women in the study will be encourage to start a group in their area, neighborhood, on their facebook…what ever social network they have to have another study after this one.
    ~Shalom~

  35. You have good reason to rejoice Renee! God has blessed Aster abundantly by placing her in such a loving
    family and I have no doubt that He will bless you all greatly through her. I can so identify with what you’re
    experiencing as my little South African princess (just turned 4 in Feb.) has been in speech therapy on and off since she was a little over 2 . Ellie has a mild -moderate speech delay and I know how excited we all get when she’s able to pronounce a new or challenging word correctly.
    Thank you for sharing such an uplifting little video!

  36. Having worked as a speech and language assistant for 21 years I know the hours of hard work the family has to put in to help their child improve. But even more, the hard work it is for the child! It looks and SOUNDS like you both are having fun and doing a wonderful job! And did I hear daddy’s voice reinforcing some speech sounds too!! None of this is a surprise to our Lord. Aster is exactly where He wants her to be!! God Bless you All.

  38. How precious and cute. Yay Astor!!! Praying God will continue his work … Thank you for sharing!!

  39. we love you, little Aster! What a delight! I think it’s no coincidence that God led me to read this/watch this just now…I have been battling that old stronghold of rejection all day & I’d asked Him to remind me who I am…and this is who we are…beloved daughters, loved just as we are & delighted in deeply!

  40. What a blessing she is. My son has learning disabilities and I keep holding on to the promise that God has something more amazing than I can imagine for him. God knows our children and knew them before they were knit together.

  42. No wonder her favorite letter is “o”. Because it is the anchor letter for God and joy! Both of which are evident in aster’s life.

  44. Thank you the wonderful praise report! Aster is beautiful . God is s amazing. She will have an incredible testimony.

    • I totally agree when she said granmama it flowed together soooo cute I think she’s an amazing child and will be fine! Praise Jesus for such a blessing & Renee you are such an amazing Godly woman and I’m so happy your able to share your story and your life with us! By the way her smiling at the end had me smiling and laughing with you both! Made my morning bright! Xoxo blessings, Lindsay

  47. How sweet, Renee! Thanks for sharing your little princess with us. I pray God will continue to restore Aster’s speech processes, and that he’ll also continue to give you patience and peace (and JOY!) as you delight in her progress. I’m so glad you have been able to identify the problem and get her the help she needs.

  50. Awesome! Praise the Lord, she is so cute! Thanks for sharing this wonderful video!
    Blessings,

    • Renée, little Aster is such a wonderful, miraculous work in progress. From what you have shared, it’s obvious she is growing and changing every moment of every day, much as we should be growing and changing through the gift of sanctification. I will put Aster and your family in my book of prayers, and pray that the Lord will continue to grow Aster everyday.

    • Great job Aster! Thanks for sharing. The video touched my heart. Blessings for the future.