Roadtripping with the Carrolls

Thank you all for the prayers- we are feeling it! We arrived in Arizona this past Monday. The organization was very accommodating to our situation and actually let us drive out to Arizona together with our car. We left Alabama early and made the 6 hour drive back to Jackson last Friday. Then left the next day for the 3 day trip to Arizona. Despite the circumstances, we had an amazing time. I attached a video we made along the journey. God has been really speaking to us clearly already and we are feeling so much peace. I'm sure we will have our moments, but there is truly so much peace in knowing we are in the Hands of the God of the universe. I believe we will be restored for our troubles and I still do believe God has a good plan. What the enemy is trying to use for bad, I believe with my whole heart that God can and WILL use it for His glory! Keep the prayers coming. Daniel has surgery this upcoming Tuesday at 8:30am.

Xray of Daniel's broken hamate bone

Our Roadtrip Video:: CHECK IT OUT! :)

In other news, I got a new "due"! I dyed my hair dark again and cut off about 4 inches. Going back the natural route :) I'm still getting used to it- but Daniel loves it so I guess its a success :) Here's a pic:

Battlefield

Ephesians 6:10-13

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God,so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground"

I have no doubts that we are constantly surrounded by a super natural battle field around us. I know that may seem weird and creepy to some, but how can we deny it? We hear it so often & can feel it time to time, but many times we don't acknowledge or grasp what is truly taking place. If we don't acknowledge it, then we won't have the power to fight properly against it. 

I can personally say, most recently, that we have definitely been right in the center of an intense battle. Although I may feel weary, even as I write this, I know in the end that we have the upper hand and will come out victorious through this all through Christ. From our last blog, you know that Daniel was put on the DL for a labrum tear. That was mid May and actually happened the day I flew out from California. Although it wasn't the greeting I was hoping for, I was thankful to have been there for Daniel when it happened.

Even before that first injury, Daniel was having a slow start baseball wise just getting into a groove & getting over some mental aspects of the game. That was the first tough thing we had to face. Every baseball player wants to do well. He finally started getting into the swing of things again going 4 for 7 in the game that he got hurt the first time. Although we felt discouraged initially, we both felt an unexplainable peace in the midst of it. Little did we know how much God would use it and move through that situation. Like Daniel shared in the last blog, the Lord's really been taking us on a journey with Him. Through that first injury, we saw multiple miracles take place. We saw potentially life threatening spots disappear on a liver after praying. We saw a guy that just got out of jail who had a broken hand be healed and give his life to the Lord. We saw Daniel experience accelerated healing in his labrum...we were seeing things and the power of God moving in a way we have never experienced in our Christian walks before. Our faith was being strengthened.

Daniel was re-activated back on the roster a couple weeks ago and has been doing really well on the field. He was seeing and hitting the ball real good and really getting into his groove again. We thought all was good and that we were back on track to getting things going in baseball again. Then our faith would be put to the test again. Daniel had been feeling some pain in his left wrist the past week and was diagnosed with some tendinitis. The trainer had been taking good care of it and Daniel was on some meds to help with the pain. We thought it'd only be a minor thing that would go away in time and would be something he could play through. Well last night, as Daniel swung during an at bat he started feeling extreme pain right away. He had to be taken out of the game and at that point, I knew something was wrong. I could see the disappointment in his face as he was sitting in the dugout with his hand on his wrist. We went to doctors today and have found out that it is a broken hamate bone and Daniel will need surgery in the coming week. It is a common injury amongst baseball players and the recovery process is 4 to 6 weeks.

It breaks my heart more then anything for Daniel. Even after seeing God work in such big ways thru that first injury, I feel like my faith doesn't feel as strong this time around. I honestly feel drained spiritually and emotionally. I know Daniel just wants to be playing. I want to see his dreams come true for him. This is Daniel's 9th time going on the DL since starting pro ball in 2007. Never in our wildest thoughts would we have thought this journey to the big leagues would be such a roller coaster. I can truly say though that we have always seen God's provision through each and everyone of those setbacks. And I want to believe that He has a bigger plan in it all. Although I don't fully understand these setbacks, I do believe it is spiritual warfare and I don't want to give the enemy any type of victory in this. I know it will be a journey of emotions as we rehab now, but I will counteract this battle and fight back as best as I can- and that is through prayer. Please join me in praying. I want to see God glorified through this. 

Faith (By:Daniel)

Hey Everyone! Daniel here! 


Lets dive right into it. So I dislocated my left shoulder sliding into second base this past Sunday and was told I have a small labrum tear in my left shoulder. Im now on the 7 Day DL. 

Regardless of that, the Lord has been doing a work over here. Over the past couple months a big thing that has been on my heart is divine healing (what the bible says about healing and why we don't see more of it.) This deeper dive in getting to know more of the person of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit has opened opportunities to have really good conversations about it with my teammates.

Then I got hurt. The entire time it was happening the Lord gave me an unexplainable peace in the midst of the pain. What happens next was totally the Lord. Several of my non christian teammates came to me in faith while I was on the training table wanting to pray for healing over me in front of everyone (Quick side note: we prayed for healing over one of the guys who had a pretty bad pulled muscle in his neck and he was 100% healed later that night. He was one of the guys that came in to pray for me after I had got hurt). I wasn't healed on the spot, but it was awesome to see the Lord moving in their hearts and to see the their childlike faith even though they didn't know what to say or pray. 

Two days later I was a little frustrated I hadn't received the full manifestation of my healing yet. I can honestly say that I didn't even want to be healed for baseball, I really wanted to be healed to show Gods power to my teammates and to back up what I had been preaching to them. In the midst of what the enemy was trying to use to discourage me, the Lord allowed something miraculous to happen! The family Chel and I are staying with in Jackson, have a grandmother (Nana) that recently has had health complications. Just last week, she had to stay over night in the emergency room because they found a spot on her liver and didn't know what it was. After an all night stay and no diagnosis they set up an appointment next week. 

Now back to two days after my injury...Nana came over that morning before she went to her doctors appointments. I felt the Lord tugging on my heart to pray for her healing. We all then laid hands on her and prayed. I don't even know what I said, the Holy Spirit literally took over and spoke. It was an awesome prayer time. The next day Nana calls Martha (the woman were living with) so excited saying the Lord has healed her! Apparently the nurse couldn't  find the spot on her liver at all. She had to call the doctor in to try and find the spot. Eventually the doctor told her, we don't know what to tell you or how to explain this, but the spot on your liver is completely gone. PRAISE JESUS!!!!! 

When I heard the news, as you can imagine, I was ecstatic! I still am in awe. I want my situation to be used in any way to bring glory to Jesus. Needless to say, my faith has grown through this experience. I am still claiming healing over my shoulder and have been experiencing accelerated healing! I have almost full range of motion and function. Praise God!

These are my final thoughts. Healing was a mighty display of Gods love and power in the Bible, but why don't we see more of that today? Don't we serve the same God? Yes we do! Where I believe we go wrong, is we seem to be lacking faith. Christians simply don't know or believe the powerhouse of the Holy Spirit that lives inside them. The Bible clearly shows that faith is the key ingredient in so many of the healings Jesus performed. He always said "your your faith has made you well". This isn't a worldly faith like "I hope this works out". Im talking Bible faith "as if it has already happened" "believe as though you have already received". Bible faith like the woman that had a hemorrhage for twelve years and just knew if she only touched the fringe of His robe she would be healed. I know it took even greater faith from me to pray for healing over the Grandma when I hadn't even received my healing fully yet. As followers of Jesus, He has given us all authority over every sickness, disease, problem and situation. Lets do our part always and have great Faith and leave the rest up to our Heavenly Father. God truly is a Healer and wants us to depend on Him completely for everything and in faith receive it. 

As I'm typing this, my shoulder is so much better already than it should be. Im depending on Him to heal me completely. Please add my full healing to your prayer list. But rememberer to pray with authority that God has given you.

Thanks for listening, to Him be ALL the GLORY!

Hello California, Hello Baseball Season

The worst part about baseball is definitely "goodbyes". Early yesterday morning (and I mean 3am early), Daniel and I had to say the dreaded "G" word. I am thankful though that it won't be too long until we are back together again. My countdown is 12 days today. I can handle that! We've done 6 weeks before. Besides, I have to remind myself that there are so many military families out there that have it way harder then us. I am thankful.

Although we anticipated it, Daniel did make the AA roster and is starting the season in Jackson, TN with the Jackson Generals. We are thankful for this promotion and so excited to see what this season has in store. This spring training was a blessed one filled with many opportunities. Daniel finished spring training hitting .439 (18 for 41 with 7 BBs, 6 SBs and 4 HRs). The 4 homeruns were actually hit in the last 4 straight days of spring training. One being in the big league game against the Padres! So that was so fun! God is so GREAT and to Him be all the glory, honor and praise!

Another exciting thing that happened this past week is Daniel was interviewed by MLB reports. I was so blessed by this article and it makes me so happy to see Daniel getting recognition for his hard work. Here is a link to the article:
http://mlbreports.com/2012/04/02/carroll-interview/

Thank you to everyone for the prayers and constant support, we're excited to have you along with us for this 2012 season.

Onto the Next Adventure...

It's hard to believe Spring Training is already coming to an end. In 3 days, well be packed up back in suitcases again and headed onto our next adventure. Which as of now, is looking like our next adventure will be in Jackson, TN with the Mariner's AA team (a level up from last season, so we're excited). I am so proud of Daniel and so excited about how well he's done this past month. He's hitting .441 so far this spring (15 for 34 with 7 walks, 6 stolen bases and 2 HRs)! Praise God!

Daniel's parents, sister aunt and uncle also came out to visit this past week, which has kept us extra busy. Daniel's parents headed back to Cali yesterday and Daniel's sister, Meagan, is staying with us until Monday so she can do the drive back to Cali with me. The plan right now is Daniel leaves with the team 3am Monday morning and I'll be flying out to TN the 15th. I'm excited because there will be 4 other wives traveling with their husbands as well this season in AA. Looking forward to all God has in store.

Spring Training:God is our Healer

The smell of pine tar, dirt and sun screen fill the air...which could only mean one thing, it's baseball time!

Spring Training has been super exciting so far. God has continued to show us that His favor, grace and protection are over us.

Our excitement was cut short a couple days after we arrived though. While doing his Performance Training, Daniel tweaked his right groin. He was feeling quite a bit of pain and felt like he would be out close to a week while he rehabbed it back to strength. He said it was close to a 7 on pain scale of 1 thru 10. Our first reaction was disappointment, but Daniel was quick to say "God is in control". As a wife, you try to be strong for them but it's easy to feel frustrated when you have seen your husband experience injuries. You know their desire is to just play and anything that sidelines that breaks your heart for them. In the midst of what we thought would be a setback, we both experienced an extreme sense of peace after praying about it and being reminded that our God was in control.

The Lord has really been showing, teaching and opening our eyes to the fact that He is a Mighty Healer! He is alive, active and relevant. I think so often, myself included, we get in a comfort zone and limit how truly powerful God is. Romans 8:11 says that the "same power that conquered the grave lives in us"! Do you realize how powerful that power truly is? It's beyond our comprehension and natural realm. It means it's a power that is capable of performing the supernatural. We've been really trying to absorb that and have child like faith in believing that.

Well a few days ago, while praying with our good friend Alex over FaceTime (yes, God is not limited to technology but uses even that for His glory) we had an amazing intimate experience with the Holy Spirit, we were overfilled with joy and prayed for complete healing over Daniel. And guess what? That's what the Lord gave us! Daniel was 100% completely healed and even stronger! We are in absolute amazement still! This happened just a day after Daniel experienced his injury. There was no way he would have been able to come back as soon as he did.

He has been doing awesome so far this spring and has been told he looks even faster then last season. Which is without a doubt from the Lord, because with the pain he was experiencing that first day he should be no where near close to looking faster then last year. All Glory to God!

His first game of spring training was awesome! He went 2 for 2 with a single, double, 2 walks, stolen base, run scored off the Mariner's big league #2 projected starter. He also made a crazy running catch in center! (sorry if the stats bore you... I'm just a proud wife!:) Daniel was also invited to play in the big league game today. It was a split squad so he was even able to start. He had a great game and went 1 for 2 (again...more stats,sorry) with a single, stolen base, 2 walks, run scored and an awesome flyout to deep center that was just short of being a home run! He also got invited to the big league games tomorrow and Saturday as well. I'm just so excited for him to be getting opportunities like this. God is SO GREAT and at work constantly. I'm learning that there should be no such thing as a "boring Christian life", God is so exciting and at work- we just need to have faith to believe it and see it.

"Baseball is in the air"

Well.... Here we go again, It's Baseball Season 2012! 


This is Daniel's 6th season as a professional baseball player and my 5th season as a professional packer. I honestly feel like I could get paid to pack for people. I now know how to minimize living essentials for 6 months of the year to a few suitcases, that's a master art! And one I am quite proud of.
         
We are now in Arizona and have been so blessed to have been able to live with the sweet host family we lived with last Spring Training. The setup is great and we are less then a mile from Daniel's stadium. 
         
Yesterday was the annual Spring Training Ladies Luncheon put on by Baseball Chapel and PAO. This was my 4th time attending and it is always such a blessing! I was able to catch up with some sweet friends and meet more incredible ladies who live this crazy life too. It's always so nice to get encouraged and have a support system in these women. I am so excited for all God has in store this season-to Him be ALL the glory!