2.27.2009

A Long Post, A Tough Subject

This is going to be an incredibly wordy post. I'm warning you ahead of time and I'd apologize but...I haven't had much to say recently and this is important to me so...I just hope you stick with me.

I don't know if you are pro-life or pro-choice. If you are pro-choice, I pray you would reconsider after you hear me (read...) out. I was pro-choice, too until I was older (I don't know how old I was, to be honest) and started to really look back over my life and realized I'd lived most of it "on the cuff." I hadn't thought anything through, hadn't made any plans, set any goals, didn't have any real principles I'd lived by - none of that - because my life took a decided left turn on my 18th birthday and I got pregnant. Yes - I'm positive it was my 18th birthday just as I was positive while I carried my son that he was a boy (even though I told everyone I was having a girl).

There is no need to go into every detail but suffice it to say, my getting pregnant two months before I graduated from high school made almost no one happy. Actually? I might need to ditch the word "almost" from that last sentence. By the time my mother found out, though, I was almost 20 weeks along and in the process of going to the doctor and "deciding what to do," it was almost too late to consider abortion. We were in California at the time and there was one clinic who was willing to do it but there was a one day window (Mom - if my details are sketchy, I apologize. This is how I remember it) and so an appointment was scheduled at 7AM on the last possible day the State of California would allow me to abort my baby legally.

The kink in our plan was my father. My father was always an incredibly strict disciplinarian and I think, in the interest of avoiding having his wrath come down on me with this news, my mom tried to figure out a way for my father to never have to know what we were doing. Many years later I could look back at that time and praise God He didn't allow that plan to work. My mother reached a point in the process where she felt we had to tell my father and then...deal with his anger. So - she told him. I wasn't there for the conversation so I have absolutely no idea how it went but I know the next morning there was a lot of arguing going on so I'm assuming it didn't go well.

Here is where my father steps into my memory as a hero. I wish I could say it was the norm for him but it wasn't. However - this isn't a story about who my father is or about growing up with him.

My father tossed and turned that night with what my mother told him. At 3AM he could toss and turn no longer until he came into my room to say something to me. It was a summer night in California almost 24 years ago and what he said to me cemented my decision and gave me the strength to do what I had wanted to do from the moment I knew I was pregnant.

He said: "I love you and I know this is hard for you but I can't let you do this. I will do everything I can, I will help you any way I can if you choose to have this baby but if you do what you plan on doing, you will no longer be my daughter."

Sound harsh? Maybe. I didn't hear it that way, though. I heard support. I heard an ally. I heard someone who would stand with me against those people who were saying and would say this baby would "ruin" my life. "What will do with yourself with a baby?" "How will you go to college?" "How will you live?" I didn't know a single answer to those questions and I knew I had made a mistake - I shouldn't have done the things that got me there in the first place (abstinence is what I should have chosen!) - but it was done and now there was a little life and he was my responsibility. And now I wasn't alone.

Mind you - that was probably the only smart decision I've made in my entire life (before marrying my husband!). Truly. I still lived pretty much "on the cuff," didn't think things through - was always spontaneous and if something sounded like a good idea, I'd run with it. I spent most of my life being incredibly selfish and petty and my son has paid a great deal for my foolishness.

However. My son - who is an "almost wasn't" - is 23 now. His 23rd birthday was January 25, 2009. He is beautiful on the inside, handsome on the outside. His only fault is he's not a follower of Jesus Christ and that's not really a fault - just a decision I pray every day he realizes he needs to make. Ok - I'm sure there are other faults but I'm his mother - I just don't see them. He is deeply attached to his family and considers us the most important people in his life. He went through a rough patch (14 to almost 20) but came through that having learned a lot and with a maturity rarely seen in men his age (although he can still be quite young at times, maturity-wise). He has a work ethic beyond compare - he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, he shows up early and leaves late, works an incredibly physical job that few people want to do and loves what he does. He hangs out with his 9 year old step-brother every opportunity he gets (I have pictures of pumpkin carving, gingerbread house building, snow ball fighting, snowman building...on and on the list goes) and still picks up a game of basketball with friends he's had since he was 7. His cousins (the oldest is 11 years younger than he is, the youngest is 7) flock to him, hanging on him (literally) every chance they get. Small children and animals have always come to him having a sort of sixth sense about him - knowing he's going to love them, play with them and take care of them.

I could rattle off paragraph after paragraph of stories about his sweet, loving and loyal heart. Two of my favorites involve him at 5 months old and again in 5th grade. When he was 5 months old, I had the flu. It was a nasty bug that put me in bed. I was home alone with my son and he woke up from his nap, needing what every baby needs - a diaper change and food. It took me a while but I finally got him cleaned up and his bottle heated up and us back into my bed to feed him. While he was eating, I just looked at his sweet little face and said "Honey, Mommy is sick. I know it's asking a lot but if you could just see your way to being good today, I'd be oh so thankful." When I finished speaking, he reached out with his little hand and caressed my cheek. I can still see it in my mind, such an incredibly loving and gentle gesture. Then - he was absolutely perfect for the rest of that day. I mean - perfect. He didn't try to roll over and crawl away, he didn't cry, he just stayed with me, content to just lay around all day long.

Fast forward to 5th grade. Responsible 5th graders in his school were asked to be "bus buddies" with children who had special needs. I don't recall his buddy's name but I know my son would and his little buddy was a kindergartner with Down Syndrome. That, though, came up only once - when the school asked me if he would be allowed to participate in the buddy system. After that, he was just "my buddy." My son dealt with migraines - severe ones (they started when he was 5) - and they'd keep him home from school on occasion. If I had to keep him home from school, no matter how much pain he was in or even if he was at the throwing up point of the headache, he'd always tell me to make sure I included in my message to the school that his bus buddy was going to need someone for that day. Every. single. time. He worried about that little boy, knowing it was his responsibility to get him on and off that bus and he wasn't going to leave him alone.

I look at this beautiful young man and I think about what I almost did. I think back to that appointment and wonder what my life would look like if I had gone through with it. Truth is - many people toss out the "you can have more kids later" argument often in talking about abortion. If someone had said that to me, I might have believed them - but they would have been wrong. I have never again been able to carry a baby to term. This last September, I had to have surgery that put a complete end to the idea of ever having another baby.
If I hadn't gone through with my pregnancy, I would never have known what it was to carry a child, to give birth to a child and to raise a child from birth to adulthood. I think of the thousands of women in this country alone who can't have children for one reason or another. I read about the hurt and grief they deal with and my heart aches for them. Adoption is as close as some women will ever get to "having" their own baby and don't misunderstand me - I know an adopted child is loved just as a "natural child is loved. When I use the words "as close" and "having," I'm talking about the physical aspects of being pregnant and giving birth. I don't know the pain of never being able to carry and give birth to my own child - I was given that blessing once. I know the joy of adopting a child - my stepson is as much my son as my "natural born" son is. I had an easier time "adopting" than some but my "baby" was 5 when he "became mine." Not many adopted children come with a husband, too, but mine did.

All of this to get to my point. Abortion shouldn't be a choice considered. Organizations and some people in our society push it as the "perfect" solution in the midst of a hellish, scary time but once done, it can't be undone and women live the rest of their lives with guilt and regret. I still have pangs of guilt for even contemplating the idea - I feel like such a selfish failure for even looking at it as an option. And I didn't go through with it! My son deserved better from me than what he started to get at the time. I am still so grateful to God for prompting my father to show me that.

Life is life. From the moment a child is conceived, those cells are moving - doing their job. Intent in their purpose, each one has its job and its role in the life that is being knitted together. A heart cell knows it is a heart cell - it doesn't have to wonder if it's a thigh muscle or a fingernail. It knows where it belongs and it goes there. God designed perfect order in creation, it is we who get in the way. Psalm 139:13-14 reads "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." When we pull a string and unravel God's knitting, how many tears are shed in heaven? The hairs on our head are numbered, He engraves our names in the palm of His hand... God is not a distant, disinterested God. He is in the details and each one of us matters to Him in ways we can't begin to comprehend.

It's time - it's time to stop trying to bring God down to our level and realize He is far above who we are and where we are. It's time to worship Him as we were created to worship Him. We have strayed too far into "me" and "I" that He has become a blur. How long until we have pushed Him completely out of the picture? In Romans 1 Paul speaks of God giving men over to their sinful desires when knowing God, they still turn to idols. An idol is anything that keeps us from putting God first in our lives. How many idols do we have?

President Barack Obama has, practically from the moment he took office, made decisions and signed legislation to reverse years of pro-life work. He has made more federal funding available for organizations like Planned Parenthood and overturned the "Mexico City Policy." There is more but I'm going to leave it here - President Obama has made his position on abortion perfectly clear and feels its ok for taxpayer money to fund it.

I disagree. As a taxpayer, I do not wish to contribute to the killing of innocent babies. I do not want my money used for something that forces an innocent to suffer because the man and woman who created that innocent does not wish to take responsibility for the decision they made.

I urge you to check out The Red Envelope Project. I truly love grassroots movements - an average, every day type of person gets an idea, shares it with a few people and then...snowball. I love it even more when it's a cause with which I agree (of course...). If you agree, pick up some red envelopes and mail them to the President. I have fifty to start filling out. It's a lot of postage (and yes - I'm going to pay postage on each one) and I pray the message hits its target.
Additionally, I have learned there is a "Red Envelope Day" movement. The idea is to mail as many red envelopes as possible on March 31st. I'm debating - mail some now AND on the 31st or just start writing them out now and mail as many as I possibly can on the 31st.
Anyhow... the hope is, the dream is, to have 50 million (or more) red envelopes reach the White House before this Project ends. 50 million represents the number of abortions performed in the United States alone. Everyone has strong opinions about this issue. I have shared mine. My son should never have been an "almost wasn't." I hope to help keep others from dropping the "almost."

2.26.2009

Thankful Thursday - Basics

This week, Iris has chosen "Basics" as the topic for Thankful Thursday. After spending so many days in the last few months feeling miserable due to one bug after another, I have found there are so many basics I rely on to help me get through. If my list is a bit long I apologize ahead of time - there is just so much to be thankful about these days.

1. I am thankful that the Lord never leaves my side - sick or well.

2. I am thankful for a wonderful husband who, when I am sick, steps in and does not only his work but mine. I started to list it out but it is just such a long list and I would forget something so I'm just going to say I love that man dearly and am oh so thankful he does so much for me without complaint.

3. I am thankful for a comfy bed, big blankets and lots of pillows.

4. I am thankful for ginger ale and English muffins.

5. I am thankful for a dog who knows when I'm ill and stands guard, not satisfied until I can play with him again that I am ok.

6. I am thankful for a wonderful wood insert in our fireplace that keeps our house cozy and warm without the need for a heater.

7. I am thankful for a job that I've had for 16 years, a boss who has been more understanding than I can believe and co-workers who step in to help when I've been too ill to carry on.

8. I am thankful for my mom and my older son - both of whom picked up my younger son from school when I had no idea how I would be able to get him.

9. I am thankful for caring friends who check up on me to make sure I'm doing ok and to see if I need anything.

10. I am thankful for my study on Revelation - it has pulled me deeper into God's Word than I have been in a very long time.

11. I am also incredibly thankful for the blogs I read - most of you don't have a clue I read you but you have brightened my days, given me more ideas than I know what to do with and cheered me up more than I'll ever get to say, I'm sure.

12. Above all - I'll reference back to #1. I am so grateful to God for all that He has done for me through these months of feeling crummy. His timing is always perfect and while I've had to cancel on some things, I believe it's all been within His purpose. What an awesome God I serve.

Hop on over to Grace Alone... and check out other Thankful Thursday posts and above all... be blessed!

2.20.2009

I've Been Sporadic...

In my posting. I've missed three Thankful Thursdays and any writing I start ends up as a "draft" and never finished.

I'm hoping that changes soon... It's been another brutal three days - this time a stomach bug - and I just pray it's over soon.

Hopefully I can get back on track... Or... maybe I'm not supposed to. I wish I could figure it out.

Hope all is well with you.

2.16.2009

My Valentine's Day

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. Not the way the big card, candy, flower and nonsensical gift-pushing corporations would have us do it, anyhow. I figure if God wanted us to dedicate only one day a year to loving one another He would have put the command for it in the Old Testament somewhere. Called it the Fest of Loving or some such thing. Instead, He's pretty clear with His commands regarding love. John 15:17 Jesus says "This I command: Love each another." No caveat, no conditions beyond it being His command. Just - love one another.


Don't get me wrong. I'm not a complete anti-Valentine-ite. I made a wreath for my front door - it had a heart in the center of it. I made little mailboxes for each of us at home and we "sent" love notes to each other or fun little gifts. I gave my oldest son a couple of strawberry plants. He's looking to move out in a few months (I still can't believe he's a grown-up!) and absolutely loves strawberries. I pray they produce a lot of fruit for him! I made an "xoxo" and a "love" banner but that's just because I would so rather make something crafty than watch TV. I don't want to start reading a book too early in the evening. Something about reading relaxes me right off to sleep - no matter how good the book.


However. As usual, I digress. This year, Valentine's Day had me thinking. I was reminded of a conversation my husband and I had a few years back in regard to what we would like to do on that day and one train of thought had us serving the single people in our church an elegant dinner. It would be an evening of socializing with one another where they were served - lifting a finger to work would not only not be required but would be severely frowned upon (in love, of course). So - that's what I set out to do. I contacted a wonderful friend of mine who runs the singles group in our church for 35-49 year olds (yes, we have age limits and the logic makes complete sense) to ask her if this was something I could do for them. I found out she had already started planning something in the home of a couple we know (a beautiful home (and I mean 1/2 million dollar-type home...) and they just...turned it over to us for the night. Generous or what???) In my eagerness to share my idea, though, I didn't start out by lining up folks to serve with me. Nope...I just assumed my husband would love to do the cooking (he had, after all, expressed a positive response to the idea about 3 years ago...) and my Lifegroup would be able to step in a fill the gaping holes left in my plan.


Yeah... ummmm... it's Valentine's Day.

Turned out, my husband had to work (first day of the Home Show. Which brilliant mind was behind THAT idea???) and so did another couple in our group. The other two couples had already made plans and the other two are singles (and therefore invited to be served, not servants!).


hmmmm... a kink in my plan. So, I start emailing every single married couple I know and my good friend who leads that older singles group does the same thing. I come up with a big ol' goose egg. She doesn't find anyone able to serve but another Lifegroup donates gift bags and still another couple donated cash and dessert. What awesome gifts! I so love how a body comes together, even when it's not a "need." Oh - and my list of volunteers for NEXT year is actually a couple of couples long...


This year. There are 19 RSVP's in the affirmative and I'm serving them on my own. I'm an organized woman. A hard worker. I can do this. HA!!!! It's Friday morning and I'm starting to get a bit worried. I've already done most of the shopping (I'm still trying to figure out the final cost of dinner) and Friday night I'm getting together with that friend (who, by the way, as a single and in leadership was supposed to be totally served by this, not working but....) and we're going to mix up the marinade for the chicken and leave it sit.

Then... my mom. How I love mothers. I know I can say this because I think of my own son (home today with a touch of food poisoning...and all I want is to go home and be there for him if he were to need ANYTHING) and I know I would drop my life to help him if he needed me...


My mom is the same.


So, on Friday morning when I said I still hadn't found a couple to help me serve these 19 people dinner (salad, main course, dessert, plus keep drinks up and whatever else they needed...) and that I was going to dive in and trust God completely with the details, she says she can help me. Before she can say definitely, though, she's going to chat with my father (see, she was going to keep my youngest for the night so I could do this...) and see if he'll watch my young'un for a few hours while she's slaving away with me in another kitchen.


He said yes!!!!


So.... my very beautiful and wonderful mother and I mix together punch, put the chicken in the oven, mix red peppers with olive oil & a few other ingredients and get those ready to start baking after we've baked the hors d'ouvres, fill a large jar with water & lemons, set the table (beautifully, I might add) (and the table and hors d'ouvres were done with a lot of help from that same leader friend who was supposed to be being served...). Everyone begins to arrive, the hors d'ouvres come out of the oven and the party begins.

I know for an absolute certainty that God showed up that night. How I pray He enjoyed the dinner as much as those men and women who were our guests seemed to. There was a lot of laughter and 16 out of the 17 who showed up seemed to enjoy the food. After they finished eating dinner, I passed around a basket that held rocks I had written on (silver sharpie - black rock. Cool project!). One side said 'Fix...Fill...Guard..." and the other side said "Guard." I shared with the group how our pastor had talked in his sermon the week before about fixing our mind on the truth, filling our mind with the truth and guarding our mind with the truth and how it had struck me. On days like Valentine's Day when our culture has a tendency to try to tell a certain group of people (in this case, single people who do not currently have a "significant other") that there is something wrong with them for where they are in their life, Jesus reminds us there is nothing "wrong" with us. That "where" we are is not "who" we are. That He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no amount of chocolate, mushy cards or lack thereof is going to make us better or worse in His eyes.


We are His beloved.

What other Valentine do we need?

After I shared my rocks with the group, they adjourned for dessert and more conversation. The party that was to end about 9PM broke up completely about 10PM. It was an amazing evening and serving people on Valentine's Day, those people who are struggling to stand up under the pressure of a society that tells them they are "wrong" for not being married "by now" was a complete honor. It was not out of pity - please do not mistake anything I write as that. It is love, pure and simple. I was there. There are plenty of Valentine memories from my single days. I don't miss them, that's for sure. However - I also know that God had my husband chosen for me from before I was born and when my husband showed up in my life was also God's timing. The cards, candy, flowers and nonsensical gifts were not required.

Instead...I offer my love to God and I pray it is a fragrant offering.

2.08.2009

An Impressionable Day

Please forgive me today. I will probably ramble and write for quite a while. I feel a little long-winded and it's a bit emotional. This isn't supposed to make too much sense, it's just for me, I think. Write it down now (typing is so much faster than actually writing) and then try to sort it out in the weeks ahead.

Today I went to a memorial service for a man I have worked with for the last ten years. It wasn't a close relationship - he was the head of one of our affiliate offices so I didn't work with him on a day to day basis but in ten years I dealt with him and worked with him enough to say he was a friend.

The memorial service itself wasn't a surprise. It wasn't a religious-type service but a "celebration of life." Pictures of the deceased with various friends and family, plenty of people speaking about what a good man he was, etc. One of those friends, though, spoke and his words hit me like a punch in a gut. Nothing else at the service touched me, made me cry, like the conviction those words left behind.

Let me say that I work for an incredibly liberal office. They are deeply Democrat-minded people and consider anyone who likes or respects what conservatives, Repulicans, George W. Bush, etc. stand for to be on the "wrong" side and that's all there is to it. They are pro-choice, pro-labor, pro-liberal. Gay marriage gives 'em pause but while they won't support it, they would never come out and say they're against it. If it works for you...

What gave me a heavy heart today was one of the gentlemen sharing a conversation he had with the deceased when he knew his time was short. They talked about what comes after...and the man who has passed away shared that he's pretty sure he'll be ok in heaven because when gets before "The Big Guy" he's going to argue that he "fought on the side of right and that will be enough." My quotes are not word for word but pretty close to what was said.

That's when I could hear thunder. Literally. In my head only, mind you but...my head started ringing, my ears felt like they had cotton in them and all I could hear was the Holy Spirit telling me I did not say enough. I have not said enough. I do not say enough. What I do say falls on deaf ears and they don't get it but that part isn't my responsibility. I do not say enough. I do not represent Christ in my workplace. I believe, with all I know about the character of God and my faith that my only way to be right before God is to repent and believe that Jesus is His Only Son, that the man whose life we were celebrating today will not be in heaven.

And my heart broke. In half. Then fell and shattered into pieces. My failure was only a minute part of that heartbreak because, well, I have time. God has granted me today and if I wake up tomorrow and go to work, He's granted me that as well and I can share Him. I can share Him more than I ever have and I can change my silence.

But...

The man who passed away? His time is done and his final choice has been made. I know it was his choice to not look for or seek the truth. I understand all of the logic, all of the arguments, I know all of the "right words." They do not offer solace to me right now. The cliches "we live in a dying world..." "they do not see the truth right before their eyes..." All of those words that Paul must have uttered with cracking voice and tears...they've all been said before, we know the truth but the sting of them. Oh...the sting doesn't hit us until we are faced with the finality of someone. To know my grief is so small compared to the grief God feels at his loss. God didn't want to lose him. I can't hardly bear up under that today. God grieves when His creation ignores Him, misunderstands Him and worse - doesn't care that they do.

I know the argument - I don't know his heart and God can do anything. I know that to be true, too. Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps he did accept Christ in those quiet hours before he passed away. Our God is an awesome God and nothing, absolutely nothing is out of His reach.

That is a hope I can hold on to, a mystery question to which I will not get an answer until I have passed through death's curtain myself. I can't tell you how much I pray it is true. Today, though, as I looked around the room at all of those who don't know or have humanized the idea of who God truly is and what He wants for us and are therefore missing the truth... I cry out in my head and in my heart, begging God to give me that spirit of power, of love. Not timidity. Open my mouth, fill it with Your words. Show me how to share you more with every single person I come into contact with every day.

People walk around with tatoos, piercings, t-shirts, clothing styles... they walk around and you can't mistake what they think, feel, believe. Why do I not wear Jesus Christ the same way? I'm not talking buying t-shirts to proclaim that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life but... why do I often stay quiet when someone misrepresents Him? Why do I not step in and share what I know to be His truth? Why do I allow myself to speak poorly about others, to lose my temper over nothing?

Why have I become so complacent?

And I have. Oh how I have. We're studying Revelation and I am the church of Laodicea. I have become lukewarm. How I must fester in the mouth of Christ. How long until He spits me out?

I read a blog post the other day and a comment she made in it was in regard to the first words of Jesus' ministry. She wrote that the first word Jesus spoke when He began His public ministry was REPENT. (Matthew 4:17).


I haven't been able to stop thinking about that. He doesn't say "I am the Son of God and I am here with a wonderful plan for your life." Not... "God loves you and wants you to be happy." Not..."Each of you was made unique and I want you to do whatever it is that makes you feel like the best you you can be."

No. He said "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

I have only just begun to flesh this out so I am calling on memory here, what I have learned in the past. It has, apparently, become something that I thought I knew but left my heart and resides solely in my head for now so this will be vague. Repent means to turn from your sin, to turn from what is in your life that keeps you from obeying God, from being in relationship with Him and turning back to God.


Our pastor once described it as "doing a 180." Sin/darkness is the direct opposite of God and anything that takes you from His presence is sin. Whatever it is, whatever your "darkness" may be Jesus says "Repent."

I don't know for sure what that means for me yet. I know my prayer - asking God to break my heart with those things that break His - was answered again today. I know I am surrounded by people who have no idea who He is, who will probably get very short and angry with me if I begin to share things with them they have spent a lifetime arguing against. It will get ugly. I think that's why I've stayed so quiet. The people I love in my workplace truly believe that if they are "good people" they have done all they need to do and will be granted a spot in heaven. I have no idea how I will respond to that now. I can't. God is going to have to because I don't know the words. I don't know the best way to share the truth.

The only thing I know right now is my brokenness, my heartache. My trepidation. I pray to be hot, not lukewarm. May God be glorified in wherever He is leading me with this...and may I be obedient in continuing to go.


*UPDATE: If you have a copy or can get a copy, read February 8th's devotion titled "Instantaneous and Insistent Sanctification" in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest." I didn't read it until this morning (the 9th) but oh how it hit home with what I wrote yesterday...

2.06.2009

Pray for Abby

I know there is a button on my side bar and I know Abby isn't the only little girl out there dealing with leukemia but she has come to represent something to me. It seems to me that every time I ask someone how they're doing, either they've just been diagnosed with cancer or someone close to them has. Perhaps it's just that I am getting older, I know more people, the people I know are getting older...the world is getting smaller. I don't know what it is exactly but the phrase "I have cancer" seems to be almost as common as "I've had a cold."

Abby is 4. She's adorable. I have never met her but from what I've read she's endearing, precocious, sweet, thoughtful and precious. And she's sick. More sick than I can possibly imagine and her little body is struggling to handle it.


The family has an incredible faith in God and they know He has her in His hands. She does not walk this road alone, He is carrying her. The family knows this and they rely on it. They still pray for healing. Miraculous, complete healing.

Would you pray for her, too? You can read about her here: ...where laughter lives... or you can click on the button in my sidebar. You can pray for Abby, the family, send them a note. They would love our encouragment, to know we're standing with them, even if it's from thousands of miles away.

Take a moment to find out about Abby.
Blessings.

2.05.2009

Thankful Thursday - Changes

Iris at Grace Alone... is back to hosting Thankful Thursdays. Welcome back, Iris and it sounds like you've had an eventful month. Thank you, Lori, for allowing us to "click up" at your place and keep Thankful Thursdays going while Iris was away. I didn't participate last week and this week I'm still a little fuzzy but it's amazing how odd I feel when I don't sit down and type out what I'm thankful for each week. I feel like a part of me is missing and I'm not quite as focused as I should be.

Iris has listed Changes for her topic this week. There hasn't been a lot of that going on in my life right now and honestly? That's probably a good thing. I know I've mentioned that I somehow started dealing with a "chronic sinus" problem about a year ago and how I've been more sick more often than I can ever recall being in my life. Well, the problem came back in October (left me alone for about 3 months) and it hasn't left. This time, though, the bug has decided to investigate other parts of my body and my lungs are infected. Joy of joys.

So... this week...

I am thankful for air. For breath. For knowing that at some point in time, this will get figured out and I will be able to breathe normally again.

I am thankful for my husband. This dear, dear, wonderful man who caught a cold, too and needs to rest and sleep, too but somehow knows when I need it more and picks up the slack. He is so incredibly wonderful to me.

I am thankful for my work. For co-workers who care more about my getting well than work falling behind. For being so understanding when I have to take off for emergency x-rays and don't get to come back to the office until the next day.

I am thankful for friends who are praying for me, knowing that it is only in God's timing that I'm going to be well.

I am thankful for my doctor who isn't making me sit around and wait while he decides to get aggressive. This bug isn't reacting in the normal way so he's geting pro-active in killing it off.

I am thankful for God in heaven who protects me when I'm driving (and shouldn't be...), clears my schedule and stays with me as my body is wracked by another round of coughing. It is only with His strength and comfort that I can get up each day.

Now...don't get sick!!!!! :)

Blessings.

2.04.2009

How Do We React?





What does this make you think? What do you do? How do we react to this?

2.02.2009

Scripture Study #3

For Verse #3 I'm memorizing, I have chosen from Revelation:



"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."



~Revelation 1:3



This verse has resonated with me since I read it because it is a rare thing for Scripture to come with a blessing. My facts are at home but I'd share how many times it does actually happen. I'll try to update this post with that information! I believe it really is only in Revelation but my memory likes to play tricks with me.

If you'd like to join in, head over to The LPM Blog and sign up! Scroll down to the post on February 1st and they'll get you all set up.

24 new scriptures memorized in 2009. For me? That's going to require a LOT of help from God and a lot of prayer!

A funny post...

This woman and the way she writes absolutely cracks me up. Had to share a link to this post. When you're done reading this one, try to take a look at a few of her other posts. She writes so well and you can't help but laugh your way through so much of what she writes. She writes the serious stuff well, too. Each time I read her, I'm impressed at her insight and her ability to express it.

Enjoy!

Stretch Marks