Whew! Made It!

Happenings since the last time I posted: 3 Birthdays, a 30th Anniversary, Mother's day, buying all kinds of stuff for our new house, Kaleb in the hospital :(, closing on our new house, buying all kinds of stuff for Derek and Michelle's wedding and rehearsal, packing, packing, moving, moving, moving some more, opening boxes...closing same boxes because of no where to put stuff, move stuff to garage for garage sale, really fun wedding rehearsal, really fun wedding, thinking I now have 8 kids and 7 grandkids, WOW!, tacos in the new house, Father's day, more tacos in the new house (for Derek and Michelle who were on their honeymoon...see Derek's blog), Willis has a date (waiting for update on that), unpack, unpack, put more stuff in the garage, kidney infection, chillin' because of feeling so rotten, remembering I have a blog, and Whew! Made it! Except for Kaleb's hospital visit and the kidney infection the times have been absolutely wonderful! And I am now thanking God for absolutely everything, good and bad, and thinking of what an interesting and fun life I have. And no I am not on those kind of drugs...just total appreciation of all things and life itself. Think I will go have leftover tacos.....

Take Your Medicine! Now!

Our family, like many others, have "challenges" that have dominated our lives and invaded our space over and over again. The "challenges" I am speaking of are not the common everyday annoyances like traffic jams, ice storms, computer glitches or even lack of electricity for over a week...these are the life threatening kind: Cystic Fibrosis, Clef lip and palate, allergic anaphylactic shock, stroke, blindness... Needless to say my adrenalin can go from zero to 1000 in less than 3 seconds...just the amount of time to hear, "Mom, it's serious...". Our family has found a great response to crisis: total and utterly hysterical laughter...yes you read right...laughter! The family members that are closest to the trouble are the ones that have learned to laugh the quickest and the hardest! Over and over again I am asked if that is alright, usually by the person laughing. My answer is a resounding and unashamed YES! We have found more humor in the hospital than the average person finds in a comic routine! (Kaleb, age 6, will give stickers to the nurses that can draw blood from his little arms on the first try...try imagining that without crying and laughing at the same time!) Others look at us like we are crazy but the ones I like best are the ones who join in!

We are not promised a perfect life with no problems just because we believe in Christ, but we are promised to be made perfect in Him. Being made perfect is not done without suffering...Christ suffered for us on the Cross more than we could ever imagine! "Jesus...for the joy set before Him endured the cross"...So that we could joyfully take up our own cross. Too many times I have focused on the cross I have carried and not on the Savior that had already endured it. Interestingly enough, if you carry a cross it must be behind you, on your back where you cannot see it or focus on it so you must focus on something in front of you...Christ chose to focus on joy. So when the going gets tough, and we question our hysterical laughter in the middle of it, just remember it is Biblical to laugh at trouble...("A cheerful heart is good medicine..."Prov. 17:22). Now, I think I will go find my medicine.

PS: You may honestly say now: "I love my new meds!" PSS: While I was finishing this, my hubby sent these, what a coincidence!

Some of the best HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR 2006
1. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
(No, really?)
2. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
(Now that's taking things a bit far, don't you think?)
3. Is There A Ring of Debris Around Uranus?
(Whaaaaaaat?)
4. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
(What a guy!)
5. Miners Refuse to Work After Death
(Hmmmm)
6. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
(See if that works better than a fair trial!)
7. War Dims Hope for Peace
(I can see where it might have that effect.)
8. If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
(You think?!)
9. Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
(Who would have thought?)
10. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
(You mean there's something stronger than Duct Tape?)
12. Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
(He probably IS the battery charge.)
13. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
(Guess the test group didn't weigh enough.)
14. Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
(EEWWWW!)
15. Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
- Did I read that headline right?! -

It may be a little tongue-in-cheek for a more serious blog...but I will laugh at it anyway!!!

Give Thanks

"God doesn't expect us to be thankful FOR all things, but He does expect us to be thankful IN all things." (Joyce Meyers)

Thanksgiving is tomorrow...currently our family (church) is experiencing great sadness at the loss of a father and a mother, and the decline of a husband, but great joy at the healing of a friend. The force of emotion from extreme to extreme is painful, confusing, and quite unwelcome. It is truly easy to rejoice when God moves the way I want...and thankfulness follows, sometimes overflowing to the point ridiculous. But when He, in His wisdom, goes against what I would will for a person, one of the last things I want to do is get on my knees in thankfulness...but I am learning. In thanks, I learned this week to say "I love you" more often and really mean it because (temporary) separation through death could come at any moment. I have learned to be thankful for the moment, not looking to the future, not focusing on the past, but what moment I am in with whoever I am with...for that moment will not happen again. I am thankful for words and actions that bring life into situations that are full of death...The power of saying "I am here" "I love you" "I am praying for you", and the simple power of a hug, a kiss, a tear. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire....Test everything. Hold on to the good." I Thess. 5:16-21. Satan would like us to read into the scriptures that it is God's will for us to be thankful for anything and everything that happens to us...that is impossible while we are in these bodies. Circumstances hurt, leave scars, change our lives forever. God truly loves us and understands pain and change. And his will for us is only good, thus he has given us Jesus so that we CAN give thanks in all circumstances, not for the circumstance itself but for the overcoming power of Christ in that circumstance. Jesus changes death to life, takes the hurt and covers it with peace and allows our scars to become our trophies testifying to His unfailing love. So for Jesus, His power and love in us, we can always be thankful....Whatever the circumstance.
Dear Father, Cover us with your grace and mercy and thank you for giving us an object of thanks in your only son, Jesus, who gave up everything for us, that we could live in abundance in Him.

Much Ado About Little or Nothing

Well, today marks the beginning of something I have tried many times and quite frankly failed at every time....journaling. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of writing out events and feelings and being able to see growth (or lack thereof) in life. It's just that life seems to overtake the time I have and writing down anything beyond a grocery list is tedious, time consuming, and scary. What if I don't like what I see my life becoming in 1 or 2 years of journaling? What if I have no growth or develop no wisdom? What if people don't like what I write or think I am such a silly goose....what if ....I succeed? And actually DO see something in myself that only time spent searching for words to write could bring out? (darn optimism! I was enjoying the pity party..) So, as I begin I will warn any who venture here that this may also be an ending...but I will vow to try one more time to journal often and try to keep my thoughts coherent. The brain in a blender title is oh so descriptive of my thought process and what splatters onto this screen may not be so pretty but (hopefully) it will be somewhat insightful.
God please bless this effort with your strength and wisdom. Show your power and glory in whatever words are written. I love you! Amen.