tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92066998425720204042024-03-08T02:46:25.202-08:00Marty's Moose Tracks...finding joy in the UPside of DOWN...Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.comBlogger1247125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-72017465646504209822019-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:002019-09-07T18:30:00.746-07:00CHOOSE JOY!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We had a great Sunday at church last week. Great message from the Word...great music from our worship team. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Our choir sang, “Lay It All Down,” a song that talks about bringing all of our worries, doubts, and cares to Jesus...and laying them at His feet. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We all have things that are heavy on our hearts, right? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>“Bring your worry, grief and pain, every cause you have for shame...lay it all down, lay it all down.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">This morning, in another church in our st</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">ate, our youngest son, Clark, was teaching on the difference between happiness and joy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b>“When your cares have buried you, and there's nothing left to do...lay it all down, lay it all down, at the feet of Jesus, at the feet of Jesus.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I don’t know Clark’s talking points, but, in my experience, it seems like happiness depends a lot on our circumstances...whether or not our life is good, our family is good, our health is good, our finances are good; and JOY, to me, is more of an inward resolve...a peace, a choice to trust God no matter what is going on in my life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b>“Carried on, but your heart was tired; feared the worst, and felt the fire...lay it all down, lay it all down.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Is that always easy? <i>Nope. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Thirty-three years ago, I gave birth to a -chromosomally-enhanced" child. All that has come with that has not always been “happy,” but God has given me great joy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">GREAT JOY. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><i>And great peace. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Having our 4th child (Clark) so very prematurely...then getting his cancer diagnosis...none of that was “happy.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b>“Filled with all those anxious thoughts, all your doubts became your god...lay it all down, lay it all down, at the feet of Jesus.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I was able to have joy in the middle of these difficult circumstances, because of the very real presence of God, the gift of supportive friends, and the power of prayer, offered from an amazing community on our behalf. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b>“When we've given up on better days, there are memories we can't erase...lay it all down, lay it all down.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I’ve had my weak moments...don’t get me wrong. Losing my Mom, my Dad’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, burdens I have for family and friends...if I’m not careful, these things can quickly steal my joy. But when things come up, I try...I TRY...to “lay it all down.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">More times than I’d like to admit, I pick it all back up again, and try to carry it all on my own. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Don’t be like me. Lay it ALL down, and LEAVE IT with Jesus. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b>“We've come to fear what we can't explain, there's nothing here that can ease the pain...lay it all down, lay it all down...at the feet of Jesus.” </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I had great joy today. That tiny, tiny baby of mine...that so sick-with-cancer toddler...by the grace and power and provision of God, was standing strong this morning, teaching from God’s word. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I pray that the name of Jesus was high and lifted up. Blessed be the name of the Lord.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b><i>"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!" Psalm 126:3</i></b></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-30126308786995467902019-07-13T16:41:00.000-07:002019-07-13T16:41:48.799-07:00A Good, Good Father (Who is Watching YOU?)Been thinking a lot about my Dad, and the example he has set for me and my siblings.<br />
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He's not perfect, and neither are we...and so I know there had to have been times when he was frustrated, upset, sad, and disappointed with us. Or just with the things that can happen in life.<br />
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It's funny, tho, because all I remember getting from him my whole life is unconditional love and support...his strong and quiet spirit, the humble way he lived his life, the kindness he showed to us and to others.<br />
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<i>So much kindness.</i><br />
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It got me thinking about all the fathers, and the "father figures" in our lives...as well as all the mothers...of the examples we set, and the legacies we leave, and the importance of recognizing that someone is always watching: a child, teacher, co-worker, friend, parent...and strangers.<br />
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Even tho three of ours are out-of-our-home, we still want to be an example for them. We don't want them to question our commitment to God, each other, our family...or to the values we've tried to teach and model for them.<br />
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Sadly, there have been many times when we were probably more of an example of what NOT to do. Joshua said that Jim and I "go at it" every Sunday morning, on the way to church (I'll post that video later).<br />
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Now we have a little one (and two more coming behind him) who watches our every move; a little one who will follow us anywhere, and do whatever we do.<br />
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When I climbed a step-ladder to reach the top of the Christmas tree, he did, too...right behind me...unaware of any possible danger. All he knew was that I was up there, and he wanted to "crime up," too. He wants to walk in the street and get in the pool and open doors that are locked to keep him safe...because he's a curious little boy, and because he's watched us do these things.<br />
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There are precepts and values and information we desperately want to teach our children, grandchildren...or other children in our lives...but what we SAY has to match up with how we ACT, and what we DO. Right? Because kids are smart, and they can spot fake in a New York minute. They can tell by our actions what things are important to us.<br />
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In college, I majored in Sociology and Psychology. I had no idea what I would do with that major after graduation. But, watching people, and studying their behavior, has always been so interesting to me. What's scary is that there are people out there watching and studying ME.<br />
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<i>Don't laugh. They are studying and watching YOU, too.</i><br />
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This should fill us with a deep sense of <strike>dread</strike> responsibility. I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone to base what they do or think or say by how I am observed on my worst day.<br />
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I mean, right? We all have those days.<br />
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Because, as much as I want to set a good example for my children and grandchildren, I'm flawed, and I'm going to continue to mess up. A LOT.<br />
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<i>How do imperfect people ever hope to teach or model any of the goodness of a perfect God?</i><br />
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Spoiler: we can't. Dads, on this Father's Day, and Moms...in our own strength, we can't.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>“...My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 2 Corinthians 12:9</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">This is what we need to tell our children..."I'm weak...HE is strong; I can't...HE can; I fall...HE lifts up; I sin...HE forgives." </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">And this is why we must remind ourselves, and our children, not to measure our "goodness" against the "goodness" of someone else.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">GOD is our "plumb-line." HE is the standard. HE is the good. HE has set right and wrong, and we cannot change it to fit our circumstances , or the culture of the world. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i><b>"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2</b></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-18847126692173029212019-04-16T19:32:00.000-07:002019-04-16T19:32:30.824-07:00What Makes a Fire?<span style="font-family: inherit;">The other day, I watched and listened as a friend shared her secret for making the perfect fire in her fireplace. She showed how she stacked 3 pieces of wood along the bottom. Then she stacked 2 pieces of wood on top of those, in the opposite direction. Then she stacked 2 more pieces of wood on top of those.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When she lit it, she said it made the best and prettiest fire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">She shared that, during the day, as the fire burned down, she would continue to add wood to it...across and down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The caption on her picture was, "how I build my fire," but in my mind, when I read it, I heard it to the tune of "this is how I fight my battles." Have y'all heard the song, "Surrounded," by Michael W. Smith?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the lyrics are: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"It may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by You. This is how I fight my battles..."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So I started singing, "this is how I build my fy-yah...this is how I build my fy-yah."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I know, I'm weird.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then I started singing, <i>"It may look like I'm on fire, but I'm on fire for You."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Catchy, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I started thinking about how to build a good fire...and then I started wondering, "what things do I need to have or do in my life, in order to build a good and lasting fire <b>for the Lord</b>?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What is the foundation of the fire in my life? My salvation? Yes. The Holy Spirit? Yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But how do I keep that fire burning?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reading my Bible? Yes. Getting into God's Word is a major way I fuel my fire for the Lord. When I am not disciplined or diligent about reading and studying God's Word, I feel unfocused. Sluggish. Joyless. Start to finish...I believe the Bible. The Bible tells us that God's Word is alive. "</span><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">two-edge</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">d </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">sword</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." (Hebrews 4:12) </span></span></b></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I read it, I feel His words come alive in my heart! God's Word gives me comfort, strength, direction, encouragement, peace. His words also convict and reprove me at times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Prayer is another big way I can fuel my fire for the Lord. Prayer is not me listing all the things I want God to do for me...like a list for Santa to fill. No! Prayer is a conversation between me and God. I confess my sins. I also pray for my needs, and the needs of others around me. And I ask God for direction and discernment in my daily life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Praise is another way I fuel my fire for the Lord. In my prayer time, I try to spend time praising God for who He is. And I praise Him for the things He has done or is doing in my life. Or in the lives of others. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love music, and I love to sing, so that's another way I can praise the Lord. I don't sing well, but I sing all.the.time. in our home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Being thankful is another piece of the wood on my fire. Sometimes life is just hard, amiright? We try to do the right things and live the right way...but still there are hard times. Believers are not immune from hardship and suffering. But I've found that if I just start thanking God for everything...for waking up, for a safe place to live, for a car to drive, for the ability to pay bills, and put gas in the car, for a close parking spot on a rainy day, for my church, for friends who call or text encouragement, for thinking I was out of cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning...but finding that lassssssssst can in the back behind the juice. Being thankful might not change my circumstances, but it changes the way I LOOK at my circumstances.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I mean, none of us really have to look too far to find things to be thankful for...we just need to make it a habit in our lives to be grateful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are other things that keep my fire for the Lord burning bright. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Going to church. I get refueled each week, as I sing and listen and serve at my local church. Friends and family...they can be the best at encouraging me on my walk with Christ. Lunch with a friend. Going to a women's conference. Attending a Bible Study. Even writing, like I'm doing now...keeping a journal of our lives, and chronicling God's faithfulness over the years...helps me to see all the places where His hand has held us. </span><br />
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Build your fire from the cornerstones and disciplines of your faith. Don't let it go out! Keep stacking...reading, prayer, Bible Study, praise, thanksgiving...REPEAT.<br />
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And don't just tend to your OWN fire...be the person who encourages someone else to, as the group "Point of Grace" used to sing, "keep the fire burning."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Okay, I just looked it up, and their lyrics are "keep the <i>candle</i> burning," BUT BASICALLY THE SAME THING. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25</span></i></b></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-61649620612554675372019-04-15T20:25:00.000-07:002019-04-15T20:25:44.236-07:00The Time I Laid My Bible Down<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a long time ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was overwhelmed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was weary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I got distracted.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And, even tho I believed that my relationship with Jesus was the most important thing in the world to me...and even tho I told others of His great love and mercy and forgiveness, of the peace He has provided in every situation (when I've asked for it)...and even tho I believed in and trusted His promises, and believed that reading His word was essential in my every day life...<i>I laid my Bible down.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, it wasn't a conscious decision. There wasn't a certain day that I remember doing it...but it happened none-the-less.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And all of a sudden, I wasn't picking up my Bible first thing in the morning...or last thing at night. I wasn't studying it, savoring the words, looking for answers and direction and wisdom and discernment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you had asked me, I would've told you that I believe with all my heart that it is the SOURCE of all of those things, and more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Was I a fake?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A liar?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What I DO know is that I was a poor representation of Christ...because it's not what you are when you are out in front...up on a stage...teaching a class...singing a song...that matters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">No, it's what you are behind closed doors that reflects the true intentions and desires of your heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's super easy to do the comparison thing, and make yourself sound and look better than you are. We look at others, and think that because we haven't traveled down that particular road of bad choices...we are okay. Better than <i>that.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Better than THEM.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But that's because we have taken our eyes off the actual plumb line, which is Jesus and His Word...and we start looking to others to judge our worth, <i>or justify our behavior,</i> as a follower of God. And then we kind of mentally "rank" ourselves against them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Truth be told, I've found that it's more common than not to go through these "seasons."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b><i>"Common" does not equal "RIGHT."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is not right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, I'll go a step further to say that I believe it's sin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There was that one day...where I was too tired, too spent, to pick up my Bible. And the next day...and the next day...and the next day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I felt bad about it at first...but even that dulled as the days and weeks went by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then, do you know what ELSE I laid down? <i>My prayer life.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">MY PRAYER LIFE.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My very life-line to the Father, and the path to intercession for myself and others that is so precious to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, I kept praying at meal-time...I'm not a communist or anything. It wasn't like I completely <i>stopped </i>praying. It was just very sporadic, and not intentional or consistent at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the time, we were dealing with a very sick child. My prayers were mostly those "arrow" prayers, shot up to God in desperation: "please heal my boy...and give me strength if You don't." By laying down my Bible, and a consistent prayer life, I had cut off the very Source of the power and strength I needed...the power and strength I was begging God to give me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But this is how the devil works, ladies (and gentlemen). He gets you when you're down. When you are physically exhausted from taking care of kids and home and work and life. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">He gets you when you are emotionally exhausted from the sadness we see on the daily...the stories on the news, the reality of how hard life is for some people...or maybe for yourself; the political unrest that is all around us; the feeling of sadness you have when your dreams don't come true...or when your prayers seem to go unanswered; and social media...oh my word, don't even get me started with the people who have it all, who are doing well...their picture-perfect lives on display in little squares for all to see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then there are the people who are suffering. Those stories get me right in the heart. There were days when I couldn't shake the feeling of sadness...<i>for the circumstances of others</i>. So much hurt and suffering and loss in the lives of family, friends, and even strangers. It can be O.VER.WHEL.MING.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If this has happened to you, no judgment here. None at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How do you get back on track?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, make sure you are doing okay health-wise. Are you depressed? Is your diet affecting your mood? Have you experienced any significant changes in your life, like a move or a new job or a new baby? Or maybe your "baby" just left for college. Are you caring for a child with special needs, or an aging parent (their needs are specific to their individual situations, and can affect a care-giver in many ways). I think it's important to try and see what is going on around you...so that you can maybe make some changes, if necessary. Or go see a doctor, if necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Secondly, look inward. Do you have unconfessed sin? Confess it to God. Any bitterness? Confess that, too. Are you fearful or anxious over something? Don't push these things under the rug...deal with them. Get professional help if you need it. Talk to a friend or a mentor or someone you trust.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Third, PRAY...and seek God's help. Actually, you should probably pray before, during, and after this whole process. Can't pray enough, amiright? In fact,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I think it's so important to pray for others. Because maybe they were like me...and they didn't know how or what to pray. Maybe they were in such a hard place, they couldn't get the words out. You never know how God will use your prayers to carry someone through a difficult time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And fourth, do the next right thing. Pick up your Bible. Make yourself do it, if you have to. Start reading in Psalms, or Proverbs, or the book of John. Force yourself to concentrate. Take notes. Pray and ask God to speak to you. I promise, He will.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He will meet you right where you are. Like the story of the prodigal son who returns to his home, He is waiting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus is waiting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">groanings</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> that cannot be expressed in words." Romans 8:26</span></b></i></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-62152386949125365752019-04-08T20:30:00.002-07:002019-04-08T20:30:26.424-07:00Logan's Big Test & Praying For Our ChildrenBack in October, on a Monday afternoon, Logan and Morgan came here to spend the night before Logan's big test (Occupational Therapy Boards). His test was going to be in Little Rock, and our house is closer to LR than theirs.<br />
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Logan was up at 5 on Tuesday morning...making coffee, and trying to settle his spirit. He was very patient as Morgan and I tried to fuss over him...wanting to make him breakfast, encouraging him to take snacks.<br />
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And then he was gone.<br />
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He left way too early, in my opinion, but he wanted to avoid the early-morning work traffic.<br />
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Two hours later, I was the one heading into Little Rock...taking Joshua to his Therapeutic Recreation.<br />
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And then, even though I had been praying for over 2 months for Logan, as he prepared and studied for this test; and even though I prayed for him as he left the house that morning; and even tho I was STILL praying for him, as he was taking this 5 hour test...on my way back home, I put on my blinker, and I took an exit.<br />
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I found the testing center, and I rolled my little self up in the parking lot.<br />
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It didn't take me long to find Logan's car. It was about the 4th one from the door. That made me giggle. Yep...I think he got there plenty early!<br />
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Logan was already inside, starting on his 2nd hour of a 5 hour test. I pulled my car up in front of his car, and stopped.<br />
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And I began to pray.<br />
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Why did I feel the need to physically go to where my child...my ADULT child was...to be as close as possible to the situation? I mean, surely my prayers from home were just as "heard" and just as effective...right?<br />
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<b>And to be clear, the outcome of this day (or any day) was never up to me. </b><br />
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But prayer is powerful, y'all. It might not change your circumstances, but it for <i>sure </i>changes your perspective. I am a huge believer in the power and importance of prayer. I<i> pray for others besides my own family, but in this post, I'm focusing on my prayers for them. </i>For all that I forget to do, or neglect in my life...I pray for my kids. I think we should be reckless and lavish and BOLD when it comes to praying for our children.<br />
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Have you ever prayed over your child when they were sick...or nervous...or hurting? </div>
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Have you ever gone into their rooms at night, and put your hands on them, and prayed over them while they slept?<br />
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I have...many times.<br />
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I've prayed for their hearts...that they would see their sin, and realize their need for salvation. I've prayed they would allow God to take root and grow...that they would stay attached to HIM for strength and nourishment.<br />
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I've prayed over them when their hearts were broken, because my heart was broken right along with theirs.<br />
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I've prayed over their clothes, as I took them out of the dryer, and folded them...redeeming this mundane task...thanking God for our washer and dryer, and asking Him to help our kids be thankful for the small things, as well as for the big things; and praying, as they wear those clothes, they will be reminded of how God clothes the grass in the field, that is here one day, and thrown in the furnace the next day...and for them to know that He cares so much more for <i>them.</i><br />
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I've prayed over their shoes...<i>"Lord, may my children bring the message of the Gospel of peace wherever they go...and would You watch over them, even if their feet take them to places they know they aren't supposed to go?"</i><br />
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I've prayed over tests and books and notes for a speech. I've prayed as I packed their lunches for the day...thanking God for the food He provided, and asking Him to use it to sustain them for the day.<br />
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I've prayed over their attitudes, their spirits, that they would use their words to help and encourage others.<br />
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I've pulled up in parking lots at their schools and colleges...and prayed for them, their teachers, their friends, their safety. I've prayed in locker rooms...over pads and helmets and cleats...and I've prayed over swim goggles and dance shoes.<br />
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I've prayed over medicine...<i>"Lord, would You use this to bring healing?"</i><br />
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I've prayed for their cars to make it til graduation...or maybe just to get them home safely "one more time."<br />
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I've got one who is rarely sick, but when he is...I cannot tell you the knot that is in my stomach. And so whenever he is sick, or whenever the others are sick...I pray for healing...and for acceptance, if healing doesn't come in the way we want it. And I've prayed for our young Mommies...for healthy babies, and safe deliveries, and for God to be with all of us if His plan is different from the one we are praying for. And I pray for the sweet little ones who are being added to our family. <i>Lord, find us faithful to teach them in Your ways.</i><br />
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My heart is just so tender toward my kids.<br />
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I made a lot of mistakes in parenting. I still do. I've said the wrong things. I've over-stepped. I've assumed that I always know what is best. I wasted time on things that didn't matter.<br />
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But I believe one of the greatest things we can do for our kids is to pray for them. <i>Truth be told, sometimes it's the ONLY thing we can do.</i><br />
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On this day, I wanted Logan to feel God's presence. I wanted him to know that so many people were praying for him, and believed in him...so I searched my car for a scrap piece of paper, and I wrote down every name of every person who had told me they were praying for Logan that morning. I can't remember for sure, but I think it was around 18-20 people. I put the note under his windshield wiper, and I left.<br />
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I didn't really intend to ever share this story, mainly because there's a fine line between being an encouraging mom...and being a stalker mom. And I don't really know which side this lands on. I don't know if it's weird or right or completely wrong...but I did it, and I don't want any grief about it. <b>YOU DO YOU.</b><br />
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I stressed over sharing this because I'm not perfect, and I don't ever want to pretend that I am. Those closest to me will attest to this fact! I struggle, I fail, I fall. And I don't want to suggest that my children are perfect, either. They are not.<br />
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I'm sharing this story to say this: as parents, our roles change as our children get older. Or they should. We go from being their comforter, encourager, authority figure, disciplinarian, and teacher...to being more of an adviser (if they ask), a friend (if they want it), a confidant, a cheerleader, a sounding board, and a fierce prayer warrior <i>(we should always be fierce prayer warriors for our children).</i><br />
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As parents, we know to step back as our kids get older...and let them learn and grow and succeed and fail on their own.<br />
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We are told to not hold on too long...that it's not good for them, or for us.<br />
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But I want to suggest this as well: <i>don't let (all the way) go too soon.</i><br />
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There are still plenty of ways we can support and encourage our children, even our adult children (and their spouses)...if we keep our eyes and ears open, and act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span class="text Col-1-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">"</span><span class="text Col-1-9" id="en-NLT-29435" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Col-1-10" id="en-NLT-29436" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. </span></i></b></span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="text Col-1-11" id="en-NLT-29437" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,<span style="font-size: 10px;"> </span></span><span class="text Col-1-12" id="en-NLT-29438" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light." Colossians 1:9-12</span></i></b><br />
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<br />Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-87462969966262907552019-03-30T10:04:00.001-07:002019-03-30T10:04:29.749-07:00Leanne's Update on Our Dad: "It's All Going to be Okay."<span style="background-color: white;"><b>I am so thankful for my family. Good times, bad times, hard times...even tho we live in different states, we are there for each other. My sister, Leanne, posted this update, after spending part of her Spring Break getting my Dad settled in his new digs at the nursing home.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">"I have returned home from my spring break trip to the Veteran’s Center in Claremore, Oklahoma with a very full heart and a sense of peace with the facility that</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"> my dad will now call home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">My family dreaded the day he was to be transferred to the VA Center. He had been at the rehab place for 100 days after his fall and his time was up there. Almost every day he asked about going home and our fear was that when they loaded him up in the transport van, he would think he was going home and would be devastated when he realized where he was going. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">My family prayed, and we asked our friends to pray, and we decided to turn all of that over to God in prayer. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Except we didn’t. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">We prayed, and then took it all back – all of the stress and worry and fear and dread – we took it all back. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">And then when our prayers were answered in a HUGE way with the seamless and EASY transition to the VA Center, we still questioned when the other shoe would drop. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Maybe it just didn’t sink in with Dad that this was his home now. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Maybe Day 2 would be bad? Maybe Day 3? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">And because we are human and flawed, it is still so unbelievable to us that after almost a week at his new home, Dad is happy and content and more alert and lucid than he has been in a long time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">At first glance and first visit to the facility, it doesn’t look like much. It is a somewhat cold and functional military facility. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">But the more time I spent there, the more familiar it felt. It was every office building, hospital, doctor’s office or commissary we frequented during our life spent living on military bases. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Maybe Dad feels this sense of familiarity and comfort there too. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Dad was the first to notice the airplanes hanging from the ceiling <b>only</b> in his wing of the unit. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">If you know my dad, you know he loves God, his family his country and then AIRPLANES, in that order. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The dining hall is amazing and the food is good. Dad has been eating so well. The dessert bar with unlimited soft-serve ice cream is his favorite spot in the whole place! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Everyone we have come in contact with has been so kind and they tend to dad in such a loving, caring and respectful way. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">And the most amazing thing is that all of it; the nursing care, the physical therapy and the occupational therapy, the medications, the food and unlimited ice cream are all 100% covered for my dad because of his service to our country. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This makes me so proud. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I’m proud of him and I’m proud of us, as a country, for honoring and respecting our Veterans in this way. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The very first night at the VA Center, Dad took my sister-in-law Shelley’s hand and told her, <i>“It’s all going to be OK. I am going to be just fine here.” </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Today, we are thanking God for answered prayer and thanking our friends for following along and supporting us on this journey."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Thank you, Leanne, for this awesome update on our Dad. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it." Habakkuk 1:5 </span></b></i></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-85514138084839026262019-03-19T07:44:00.003-07:002019-03-19T07:44:49.319-07:00Honoring My Dad<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>*This post somehow got out-of-order. It should've been posted before the one about him moving to a nursing home. But it's okay. Everything is okay.</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not everyone has a Dad like mine, and that makes me very sad. Because I’ve known nothing but his unconditional love and support. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He’s never once uttered a word of criticism to me, even when I probably deserved it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So when I came to the point in my life where I was ready to make a decision to follow Jesus, it was an easy transition for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn’t have the fear or mistrust many have when it comes to relinquishing control of their lives to a loving God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A life dependent on Jes</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">us was consistently modeled by my Dad in our home, at his work...and in our church and community. </span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">For my whole life, my Dad has been an earthly example of our Heavenly Father. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">This week, we are facing changes with his care that have been expected, but changes none of us wanted. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">We are all united in the decisions that are being made, but it’s still so very hard. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Your prayers on behalf of my Dad and his wife, Clara, and for the rest our family, would be so appreciated. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise)..." Ephesians 6:2</i></span></b><br />
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Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-57758792703970832342019-03-18T08:26:00.000-07:002019-03-18T08:26:12.943-07:00International Women's Day: Doing the Hard<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Widowed, remarried, she now lives with great challenges. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Spent 100 days waking up, <i>alone, </i>in her home.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">She gets up, gets ready, and drives 30 minutes to a rehab facility...where she spends up to 12 hours a day with her husband: pushing him, feeding him, washing him, dressing him, shaving him, monitoring his care, checking his meds. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Hours of no response to her conversation. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">She tucked him in every night, and drove over 30 minutes to their home...<i>alone.</i>..where she washed his clothes</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">, paid the bills, ate a meal...<i>alone. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">She tries to sleep...because she knows that, in the morning, she will have to do it all again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">More than anything, she wants to be able to care for her husband in their home...but she wants the best for him...<i>even if she isn’t the one who can provide it. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">So yesterday, she moved him into a nursing home. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">And, again, she went home <i>alone. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Lots of chatter on social media about strong women today...and what we’re told that looks like. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I’m here to suggest that sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what we thought would be or could be...because we are deep in the reality of what IS...head down, plowing ahead, seeking God, serving others, doing that next right thing. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Sometimes the difference we make on this earth is in our every day lives...in our homes, with our people, and with others along our path who bear witness to the lives we live. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">She would be the first to tell you that she is not enough...<b>but Jesus is;</b> that she doesn’t have the energy, the strength, the discipline, the wisdom, or the internal fortitude to do all she does on a daily basis...<b>but Jesus does. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">On this day, with people acknowledging famous women who have and are making a difference in our world...I choose this ordinary wife, mother, grandmother, friend: <i>my Dad's wife. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Doing the hard, inspiring others. Every day. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">"But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name." 1 Peter 4:16</span></b></i></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-2332167192390489662019-02-26T07:55:00.001-08:002019-02-26T07:55:24.059-08:00"Comparison is the Thief of Joy"<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[12.22.2018] </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">You’ve probably read or heard the phrase, “comparison is the thief of joy.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"> It’s a phrase that is all over social media. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I’ve always thought of it as it pertains to comparing your home decor to someone else’s, or your clothes to someone else’s...and not as much about comparing your life to someone else’s. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">But my sister told a story about my Dad the other day: he’s been in rehab since he fell in his home on Thanksgiving Day; how confused he is, how stubborn and gr</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">umpy he sometimes acts now...<i>which is completely and totally not his character at all. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">And she told his caretakers and therapists how he is, and has always been, the kindest, most gentle person we’ve ever known. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><i>She says they act like they believe her. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">She said they are all touched by his love for Clara...and hers for him. And by the way his face lights up when he sees her. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">They say <i>they want what my Dad and Clara have. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I think it’s interesting that people see the two of them, and want what they have...but <b>they have no idea of the heartbreak and loss that brought them to each other. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">We see a slice of a person’s life, and we assume that what we see has always been: that there has always been joy, love, and hope. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Or that there’s always been criticism, frustration, and sadness. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">And then we compare what we have to what we *see* in others...and sometimes we wish for that life...when we have no idea what it has taken for them to get to that place. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Such a great reminder to me that everyone has a story...and it might not be the one we make up in our heads.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"...'Should we accept only good from God and not </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">adversity</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">?' </span></i></b></span><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> Job 2:10</span></span></b></i>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-32101080076947264712019-02-20T11:38:00.000-08:002019-02-20T11:38:52.825-08:00Fighting for LoveWe shouldn't be friends, she and I.<br />
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Hurt feelings and change and circumstances and memories and broken dreams...all could've divided us.<br />
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Too much...what is it they say..."water under the bridge."<br />
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<i>And, yet, here we are.</i><br />
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Friends. Sisters in Christ. Forgiven...and forgiv<i>ING</i>.<br />
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Bound together by a deep love for each other, and trusting in the promise that God will work all things out for our good.<br />
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In HIS plan...<i>and not our own.</i><br />
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This looks crazy to people on the outside looking in, but, honestly, we should not have a problem showing extravagant love to others...because that is exactly the way Jesus loves us.<br />
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Oh, it's not always easy. It hasn't always been easy for us.<br />
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<i>But</i> <i>we fought for this.</i><br />
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And I'm so thankful we did.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"Above all, clothe yourselves with </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">love</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, which binds us all together in </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">perfect</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> harmony." Colossisans 3:14</span></span></b></i>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-37418251358526230552019-02-11T09:21:00.001-08:002019-02-11T09:21:04.084-08:00On Raising Strong Girls<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Everyone wants to raise strong boys, but you can receive mixed reactions when you talk about raising strong girls. People are either like, “YEAH! Girl power!” Or they’re like, “slow your roll, Norma Rae.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Here’s the thing: we do need to raise strong girls. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">And here’s the other thing: We ARE raising strong girls, and we ARE already strong. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to befriend the lonely, not worried about what others will say. I’m lookin’ at you, Lindsey Walker (Joshua's friend from K-12). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to encourage our friends, <i>because we know that their successes don’t take away from ours. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to grow a life, birth a baby, and nourish them from our bodies. We’re also strong enough to love a child who was born from another, to raise them as equally as the ones who came from our bodies. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to take criticism: from family, friends, and even from strangers...who have opinions about everything in our lives. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to be in a marriage, without losing ourselves...and strong enough to go on alone, if we happen to lose our husbands. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We are strong enough to hold our tongues when we should...<i>and sometimes when we shouldn’t. </i>We are strong enough to speak our minds on a subject, to voice our opinions, to own our emotions. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Sometimes, we doubt ourselves, our abilities, our motives. We are still learning. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not every woman or girl has to be a sign-holding activist, altho there may be times when we feel so strongly about a situation or a cause that that’s what we do. Sometimes bringing awareness to a situation brings change. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">But I want to gently offer this for consideration: there are strong women who work quietly every day in their homes...raising their children (or other peoples’ children), and stretching their budgets. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Some strong women are caring for their elderly parents. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A strong woman close to my heart has added “caregiver” to her role as a wife, spending her days driving to and from a facility...where she daily visits, supports, and encourages her husband; daily laying down her life, her will, her time, her preferences, and her dreams...for him; daily living “in sickness and in health.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">One of the strongest women I know lives with great challenges, parenting two daughters who have delicate and complex medical needs every day. EVERY DAY, y’all. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another strong woman I know advocates fiercely for the children in foster care in our state. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another strong woman I know is fighting cancer, and not for the first time...and is boldly committed to serving God “all the way to the gates.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are strong women in the workplace...fighting against stereotypes and expectations, and shattering those glass ceilings. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are strong women who are single-handedly taking care of their families, by choice or because of loss or circumstances. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are strong women who teach our children in school every day. There are strong women who care for us and our loved ones in the hospital; strong women who work at Kroger, your bank, the post office; strong women who serve and protect our country. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I want to suggest that we stop thinking women are “strong” only if they act or look a certain way, or believe a certain way, or have a certain profession, or belong to a certain political party. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Strong women support other women instead of tearing them down. </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">And here’s another thought: I’m confused as to why one gender needs to be superior to the other. And why we feel it’s necessary to put down one gender...in order to raise the other? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><b>Why can’t we celebrate BOTH? </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">What I wanted, what I still want, was to raise a strong girl, of course. But also to raise strong BOYS...who would grow into strong men: men strong in faith, compassion, and character; who respect authority, and obey their parents; who love Jesus; who value the role of a husband and father; who partner with their wives to love God and each other, who teach their children, with words and by example, about Jesus; who serve God, their wives, their families, their church, and others; who see worth in a person, no matter their age, skin color, or if they are differently-abled; who respect the thoughts and opinions of women; who believe that women are capable, intelligent, and valuable; who cheer on and support the women in their lives, and encourage them to be all God has created them to be. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I have a girl and 3 boys. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">This time, next year...Lord willing...our family will look much different, as we add two precious, new grandbabies to the sweet one we already have. My desire and my prayer is the same for all of our kids and grandkids, no matter their gender: simply put, to love God, and love others; to serve God, and serve others; and to share God...WITH others. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">And for each one to tend carefully to their own spiritual life. Because, to borrow this quote, “you cannot impart what you do not possess.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Let’s do better. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">STRONG GIRLS. STRONG BOYS. STRONG HUMANS.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth." 3 John 1:4</i></b></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-57390933791457319822019-02-09T18:21:00.002-08:002019-02-09T18:21:40.044-08:00Making Room at Your Church for New People<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Earlier this month, I went to a women’s event at our church. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">We have a new pastor, and God is using him and his wife to breathe new life and energy into our church, and into our women’s ministry...and I’m so excited about that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">But as excited as I was, I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as we drove to the church. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I think we tend to base future events on past experiences. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Anyone else? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I’m an Air Force Brat. I’ve lived all over the United States, and in 2 foreign countries. By </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">the time I graduated from high school, I had already moved 16 times. SIXTEEN! I was ALWAYS the new kid...at church, at school, everywhere. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">It’s been a lonnnng time since I rode with Pa in the covered wagon to school. And even tho I know a lot of people at my church now, as I walked in this morning, I could still remember that sick feeling in my stomach. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><i>Will I know anyone? </i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Will anyone talk to me? </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Where will I sit? </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Will they like me? </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Years ago, I went to a women’s event at church...by myself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I was new. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I walked in alone. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I went because I believe new people have to do some of the work...they have to put themselves out there, and try to meet people. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">But they should never, ever have to do ALL the work. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">So, several people spoke to me. I put on a name tag, and walked into the room. The tables were covered with white tablecloths. They were beautifully decorated. Candles flickered on each table. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">But do you know what else I saw? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Chairs folded and leaned up around each table...the universal sign for <b>“YOU CAN’T SIT HERE.” </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Nearly every table had one or two people seated at it, with all the rest of the seats “saved.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">All of a sudden, I was back in school...the little new girl with no friends, and no place to sit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">UGH. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I never want anyone to feel like that! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Today, I walked into a women’s event at my church. I wasn’t by myself...my daughter, Holly, was with me. Many people spoke to us as we walked in. The women’s ministry members were greeting everyone, and making sure that each person felt welcome. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Holly and I walked into the sanctuary to see tables covered with white tablecloths. They were beautifully decorated. Candles flickered on each table. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">What we heard: “hey, sit with us!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">All over the room, women were reaching out to each other saying, “hey, sit with us,” making sure no one had to stand awkwardly at the back, wondering if there was a place for them. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">My church isn't perfect. Yours probably isn't, either. But we are doing our best to welcome, include, and care for each other. We are trying our best to point everyone to Jesus.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Let's do better. There are people all around us that need a friendly word of encouragement.</span></span><br />
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Let's make sure everyone has a seat at the table.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near." Hebrews 10:25</span></b></i></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-43935221733588919582019-02-03T04:55:00.000-08:002019-02-03T04:55:52.024-08:00Century Bob<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A couple of years ago, our middle son, Logan, asked for a “<a href="https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=jXpQXKr1L43CjgTgmaRQ&q=century+bob+torso+training+bag&oq=century+bob&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i131j0l9.186.1833..5229...0.0..0.314.1721.4j6j1j1....2..0....1..gws-wiz.....0.ktat1MWi33s">Century Bob</a>” for his birthday. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">First of all, I had never heard of such a thing. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Second of all, I had to google it. Or, as my boys say, “GOOOOOOOGLE IT, Mom...GOOOOOOOGLE IT!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I’m pretty sure I asked the nice man at the sporting goods store for a “fake man that you kick.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I stand by the fact that’s it’s probably one of the most unusual gifts I’ve ever bought for my kids, or for anyone, but if you have boys...they will think it’s AWESOM</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">E! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I didn’t, and still don’t, understand the fascination with the fake man...but he was on sale, so I bought him. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Logan was so tickled with it, and spent the next few days scaring Morgan half-to-death, by moving it all over their house. He would put different clothes on him from time to time...a hat, a scarf, a jacket. He even brought Century Bob with him when he stayed several weeks with his grandparents. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">On the days when my husband was there for work, Logan would hide Century Bob in the shower, or move him around in the room to scare Jim when he came in. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Century Bob can be raised to over 6 feet tall, and I’m not joking when I tell you: if you walk into a dark room, and turn on the light...assuming you don’t have a heart attack and die on the spot...it will take you a minute to realize it’s just a fake man from the sporting goods store. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">So when we were visiting Logan and Morgan this past weekend, we got to see Century Bob, loud and proud, in their living room. But this Momma was on her game, and I gave him a big dose of my foot in his mouth. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Uhhh...neck. I mean, high-chest area. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-size: x-small;"><b>Because I'm 5'3".</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">I know I should be more embarrassed by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213165357708831&set=pcb.10213165362828959&type=3&theater">this picture</a> than I am, but I’m just sayin. A real mugger might’ve killed me dead, but I legit put the beat-down on ol’ Bob. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Also? DO NOT SNEAK UP ON ME.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><i><b>“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him." Daniel 2:22</b></i></span></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-18235971917847264482019-01-29T08:29:00.001-08:002019-01-29T08:29:38.706-08:00The Gift of Time<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">So here’s how it usually goes down when you see someone you know: “hey, how are you?” “I’m good...you?” Usually we don’t even stop walking. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Amiright? </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Well, here’s how it went down last month: person walks into the bakery, sees me and Joshua, and says to Joshua, “hey...I know YOU!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Joshua: “you <i>do?”</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Person: “yes! I read about you all the time on your mom’s Facebook and Instagram. <i>Y</i>ou’re kind of famous!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Joshua: </span><span style="background-color: white;"> "I <i>am!"</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">And then, she gave him (and me) the biggest gift...SHE</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"> SAT DOWN. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">She sat down at the table with him, and visited with him while I ordered. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">She sat with him like she had all the time in the world JUST FOR HIM...even tho I know she didn’t. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><i>We’re all busy, right? </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">It was the best thing ever, and such a great reminder that the gift of your time...the gift of being interested in someone...the gift of listening to what they have to say...is a gift that will be remembered forever. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><i><b>“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.’" Matthew 25:40</b></i></span></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-42138095967934620312019-01-28T12:35:00.000-08:002019-01-28T12:35:11.748-08:00On the Other Side of the Unknown...He is There<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">When we headed home from Tulsa a couple of weeks ago, my mind was racing in a hundred different ways, trying to figure out things for my Dad...wondering what is the next step for him. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>But what if we can’t see the next step? </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">What then? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Well, <i>we trust God to show us. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Bible tells us that God’s Word is “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">He will light our way...but He doesn’t always light up the WHOLE way from the very beginning. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">A flashlight will light your path, when you’re</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"> on a trail, but it doesn’t light up the WHOLE path all at once. It doesn’t show you what’s around the corner, or how steep the hill is, or if there are things ahead that might trip you up. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">No, it lights your next step...and you take it..and then it lights the step after that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Running ahead of God can cause you to stumble. You can go the wrong way. You can get lost in the dark. Just like running ahead of the light on a trail can cause you to stumble, get hurt, or get lost. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Today, we are unsure of the path before us, but we are holding tight to the hand of the One who holds our future. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">On the other side of the unknown...He is there.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy." Psalm 94:19</span></i></b></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-88686355770545943962019-01-27T05:02:00.000-08:002019-01-27T05:02:06.276-08:00Sanctity of Life: 2019<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think that, as Christians, when it comes to Sanctity of Life, we spend a lot of talking about all of the babies whose lives are intentionally ended before birth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And we should, because it’s heartbreaking on so many levels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a subject close to my heart, not only because I’m a mom. But also because, over 25 years ago, a young woman with an unplanned pregnancy chose life...and our family has been profoundly blessed by her decision. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And because that one choice will impact my family for generations to come. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I’d like to gently suggest that pro-life goes way beyond abortion...to the ones born into situations that are unhealthy or unsafe; to the orphan; to the abandoned; to the abused and neglected; to the children and teens in foster care; to children and teenagers languishing in institutions all over the world...deemed unlovable and unwanted...because of genetic or chromosomal conditions; to the chronically ill, mentally ill, terminally ill; to our elderly...once vibrant, independent, and healthy...now completely dependent on others for their care. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How “pro-life” are we? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My mind goes to a precious toddler, born into a situation most of us cannot comprehend. Hospitalized, in a coma...her body broken by abuse. I think of the day my friend was made aware of her case...how she made her way to the hospital, how she held that tiny body, and promised her that her death would not be in vain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How did we fail this child? Did we judge her situation? Her family? Did we see something we didn’t report? Did we suspect something, but just didn’t want to get involved? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However wrong, reckless, dangerous, neglectful, or apathetic some parents are...there are the children, who have done nothing wrong, and they need us to fight for them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If we plead with pregnant women to choose life, and then they do...then what? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How do we help them...and how do we help their babies? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are some 1300 churches like mine in our state. If even half of them had one family who would adopt one child out of foster care...there would be no waiting children in our state. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not everyone is called to add a child to their family this way, but we are ALL called to care for and defend the fatherless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We can support a family financially, offer to babysit, buy groceries, make a meal, purchase clothing or school supplies, donate to an adoption fund. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On a personal level, my life has been blessed by adoption. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The day program Joshua attends includes FRIENDS who have a variety of challenges and abilities. Some went through a typical school...some did not. Each week, I watch the Staff think wayyy outside the box for ways to include each FRIEND in each activity or experience, to the best of their abilities. And I wonder how many times, in life, these precious ones were overlooked and not included, simply because no one saw the need. Or because it was too hard. Or because they didn’t think it mattered. I’m so thankful for a place where these FRIENDS can thrive, for people who value LIFE...and are able and willing to see beyond a disability. <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"type":104,"tn":"*N"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/prolifeforalllife?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="_5afx" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl _5afz" style="unicode-bidi: isolate;">#</span><span class="_58cm">prolifeforalllife</span></span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The place where my Dad is staying for rehab has room after room of elderly people who are alone. Forgotten by their families...or a great distance away from their families...or maybe they have outlived their families. I don’t know. I’m not judging anyone’s decision, because most people do the best they can with the resources they have available. What I DO know, is that one night, after Clara had gone home, my Dad woke up very distraught. They said they could hear my normally soft-spoken Dad...all the way down at the nurse’s station. He was screaming her name over and over. One of the aides went down to check on him. When she saw his distress, she had compassion for him. And even though it wasn’t technically her job, this most unlikely girl, pulled up a chair, and held his hand until he went to sleep. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, may God give us eyes to see the hurt around us, hearts to share His amazing grace and forgiveness...and arms to link with others, showing them they are not alone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You know, sometimes, in life, we make the wrong choices. Sometimes we know better, and we do it anyway. But sometimes we just don’t know. Sometimes we feel desperate...backed into a corner, with no other solution in sight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And sometimes, it’s a choice made by others that affects us for the rest of our lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are not too messed up for Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He heals, He forgives, He saves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ground is level at the foot of the cross...Jesus will meet us there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>"<span style="font-size: 16px;">Your eyes saw me when I was formless; </span></b></i><i style="background-color: transparent;"><b><span class="text Ps-139-16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">all my days were written in Your book and planned </span></b></i><i style="background-color: transparent;"><b><span class="text Ps-139-16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">before a single one of them began." Psalm 139:16</span></b></i></span></div>
Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-17100579766952301922019-01-16T08:06:00.000-08:002019-01-16T08:06:50.951-08:00Joshua and the Wristband <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Our Daily Fred: If you’ve followed us for a while, you are familiar with the wristband debacle of 2013.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Or maybe it was 2011. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I can’t remember. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">For the past 8 years, or so, we’ve taken a family trip to the beach over Spring Break. We used to go in the summer, but then the younger boys started having summer football practices...so we started going in the Spring. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The place we stay gives everyone wristbands, and you’re supposed to wear them while you’re on the property...or on the </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">beach. You know, to identify you as someone who is renting a condo on their property. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Every year, I think, “this will be the year that it’s not a *thing* with our #1 child...” and, every year, I’m wrong. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">And, every year, I’m baffled. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Baffled at how an adult human-being absolutely cannot abide an innocent strip of plastic-y-vinyl-y material that never hurt anybody...hanging loosely on their wrist. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Baffled at how, in a family of, say, 10 or so people, 9 people can slap on the wristband without a thought...but that 1 person sees the wristband as a declaration of war. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">We don’t put it on him too tight. We make it a point to be careful with this, so that it doesn’t “choke” his arm. And then we lull ourselves into thinking things are okay, until at dinner when someone notices, and asks, “where’s your wristband?” </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Then we get a defiant glare, along with a lot of mumbling. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Usually, by the time we are all headed down to the beach the next morning, we’ve forgotten about it...until we notice the incredibly thin and stretched out band is back on his wrist, barely hanging on. We all wonder when the stretching-out-of-it happens, because it’s never done in our presence. Does he stay up all night? What? </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">This year, I walked into our condo bedroom, to find a big bowl of chaos going on. He’d lost the wristband. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">LOST.IT. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">I was so frustrated. He.is.32.years.old and it.is.just.not.that.hard.to.wear.the.stinkin.band. But I helped him look through the room, the bathroom, his bed, THE TRASH. I even looked through the clothes in the dryer. No wristband. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, the nice people at the place had given us an extra one. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">I put this one on him a little tighter. Don’t worry, it still wasn’t even remotely touching his wrist. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Later than evening, I found that band on the dresser...snapped in two. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">What.in.the.world? </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">UGHHHHH. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">This past Sunday, Joshua received the sweetest gift from sweet Mrs. Renee Bond: chocolate chip cookies, and prayer bracelets for her husband. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Joshua’s been doling those cookies out like he’s Oprah...”YOU get a cookie...and YOU get a cookie...” </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">And as he slipped one of those prayer bracelets on, he smiled real big, and said, “now THIS is a band I will wear!” </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;">We are continuing to pray for you, Bro. David! Thank you, Mrs. Renee!</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">prayer</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">s for all believers everywhere." Ephesians 6:18</span></span></i></b></span></div>
Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-27367569171330694682019-01-09T08:50:00.001-08:002019-01-09T08:50:49.662-08:00KON-MARI, Y'all<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ad-preview="message" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_1a" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 6px;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So it seems nearly everyone I know is watching the tiny tidy lady show, and throwing out everything they own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re one of the 2 people who haven’t heard of this show, it’s this sweet lady who helps people cleanse their homes and closets of all the unnecessary things. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You’re supposed to clear everything out of your closet, and, before you bring anything back in, you hold up each item, and ask yourself it it brings you joy. If it doesn’t, you toss (or donate) it...but not b</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">efore thanking it for it’s service. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">I want to thank God, who has blessed us far more than we deserve. And Jim’s parents, for helping us get through college...which enabled us to get jobs...which, helps us buy (borrow, share) the things we need, including clothes. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">But whatev. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><i>I’m all about a spirit of generosity. </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">So thank you, black leggings, for holding things in over Thanksgiving and Christmas...and for stretching beyond the bounds of spandex and thread. Thank you for being my “go to” for all the tunics, and for staying smooth when I stuffed you into my FUGG (fake Ugg) boots. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><i>You were like pants to me.</i> <span class="_5mfr" style="margin: 0px 1px;"><span class="_6qdm" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t67/1.5/16/1f622.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; color: transparent; display: inline-block; height: 16px; text-shadow: none; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 16px;">😢</span></span> </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Now that there’s a hole in you, I can no long wear you out in public. I still love you, but this is good-bye.” <span class="_5mfr" style="margin: 0px 1px;"><span class="_6qdm" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t99/1.5/16/1f62d.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: contain; color: transparent; display: inline-block; height: 16px; text-shadow: none; vertical-align: text-bottom; width: 16px;">😭</span></span> </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">And just so all y’all know, the only clothes that bring me joy (besides the velvet sequined leggings I wore on NYE) are my 7 pairs of flannel pajammies...and so I will now be wearing them everywhere I go until the first of May. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><i>Or mid-April, if it gets too hot. </i></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">"And </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px;">give</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px;">thanks</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-30761801655955954642019-01-07T10:52:00.004-08:002019-01-07T10:52:44.919-08:00Hello Blog, My Old Friend...I've Come to Write on You Again...Remember that time I had a blog and I updated on it regularly, like a journal, so my kids/grandkids would be able to read about our family after I'm gone?<br />
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<i>Remember that year when Mom fell off the face of the earth?</i><br />
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So much has happened during the last year and a half or so. I probably won't go back and recap it all...maybe I'll just wait til something comes up. I don't know.<br />
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But here we are in January, and so far it's awesome!<br />
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And, by "awesome," I mean it's quiet...calm...uneventful. Nothing like the past 6 months in our family...with an engagement, a wedding, the announcement of 2 more grandbabies coming, a job promotion, and two of ours finishing grad school. HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD!<br />
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Right now, I'm content to just <i>be</i>.<br />
<br />
To sit and think and (hopefully) write some things.<br />
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School started back here today, which affects me not at all, because my kids are grown...but I remember simultaneously hating this day, and also being kind of relieved at this day.<br />
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<i>Anyone else?</i><br />
<br />
I'm the crazy mom who loves having the kids home during the holidays, and during the summers. I love the chaos and the no schedule and the lazy days. But as much as I loved it, my kids did get restless...and it wasn't until after they were all back at school that I realized how nice it was to just have a minute to breathe.<br />
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Having the time to catch your breath, when you have a busy family, is so nice...<i>and not underrated at all.</i><br />
<br />
So this morning is quiet...and slow.<br />
<br />
But it's still a Monday, so you best believe I made muffins for Joshua. I'm not a complete psycho.<br />
<br />
We were supposed to have Rhodie today, but the census was down in the NICU, so Holly got canceled. Joshua has spent all morning up in his room...singing, dancing, working out, praying, reading the Bible, writing in his journal.<br />
<br />
I've spent my morning doing all of that, too...except the working out part!<br />
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He came downstairs at lunch time...sniffing the air, and looking around. If we have the baby, we almost always go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch...because about 11:15, Rhodie will start yelling, "CHICK-<i>EN! </i>FRIES! KETSUP! AH-PUL JOOSE! ICY CREAM!"<br />
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Today, since we don't have him, I thought we could just eat something here. I said, "Joshua, you can eat Dad's leftover sub sandwich that's in the frig." Joshua: [HUGE SIGH} "okay..."<br />
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<i>He's not too good at hiding his disappointment.</i><br />
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He also made a "S'more" for his dessert, but he said he could only find half of one graham cracker...so he layered: 1/2 graham cracker, 1/2 Hershey bar...and he put 1/2 marshmallow on top. Then he microwaved it for, like, 2 seconds.<br />
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And I didn't say a word.<br />
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Teaching independence, one cold, hard S'more at a time.<br />
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What are your goals for January? I have some.<br />
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Do you have a word for this year? I think I do.<br />
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This morning, I'm feeling peaceful, thankful, encouraged, expectant.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">HAHAHAHA...at first, I typed "expectorant." I'm not feeling expectorant at all. Thank goodness!</span><br />
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<b><i>"...Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?" 2 Samuel 7: 18</i></b>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-13360495334248701632018-10-11T13:01:00.002-07:002018-10-11T13:01:52.488-07:00When "Bad" Things Happen to "Good" PeopleIf you're reading here, most likely it's because of a connection you have with Down Syndrome. I mean, that's why this blog was started. My sister set it up for me, because she said I should share my stories of our life with Joshua. It's been a great outlet for me, and possibly...maybe...hopefully...it has brought some encouragement to others who are walking a similar path.<br />
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If you don't know, we got the "surprise diagnosis" of Down Syndrome when Joshua was born...meaning, we didn't know about his diagnosis before his birth. Because of my age (26), and the fact that he was my first child, very little testing was done during my pregnancy. I pretty much had a picture perfect pregnancy, with no red-flags, and no reason for concern.<br />
<br />
What I don't write a bunch about on here, is that 10 years later, I gave birth to our fourth child, Clark, at just 27 weeks, 4 days. It was a pregnancy <i>full </i>of complications. Even tho he was very premature, and weighed just over 3 pounds, he was relatively healthy, for his gestational age. After 7 1/2 weeks in the NICU, he came home, and all was well...chaotic, with 4 kids...but well...for almost 2 years.<br />
<br />
A few weeks after Clark's 2nd birthday, I was lovin' on him, like Mommies do...and I felt a hard place in his abdomen. I told Jim about it, and he said, "it's probably just the way he's sitting." Well, I sat down, and I didn't feel a hard place like that in MY belly...but Clark wasn't acting like he felt all that bad. I remember him being a little fussy, but I blamed it on teething. I mean, who goes straight to thoughts of cancer in a perfectly healthy toddler? Still, later in the week, I was at the pediatrician with one of our other kids, and I casually mentioned it to the doctor, and asked him to check it out.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to that night, after a day full of rushing around having tests, we were admitted to Arkansas' Children's Hospital for surgery. Clark, our baby, had cancer. He had a malignant tumor, the size of a man's fist, growing out of his liver. He had surgery to remove the tumor, and part of his liver...and began his chemo regimen a couple of days later. His cancer was contained, but it was fast-growing...so it was treated aggressively.<br />
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It was during this time that the questions and comments started...people asking "why?"<br />
<br />
Why do bad things happen to good people?<br />
Why do believers have to suffer?<br />
Why do children have to suffer?<br />
Why would God allow this?<br />
It's too much.<br />
This.can.not.be.<br />
Does God still heal?<br />
<br />
In 2010, a sweet, young couple in our church were expecting their first child. She'd had a miscarriage or two, but this one seemed to be "sticking," and we were all so excited. But, after an ultrasound, their world came crashing down. Their child...their son...was deemed to have complications "not compatible with life outside the womb."<br />
<br />
They were presented with their options. We all knew what their choice would be. They believe that life begins at conception...and that God is in charge of life and death. They chose to carry Karston...that's what they named him...to term, knowing that, unless God intervened, their son would die at birth.<br />
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And they prayed. Oh, they prayed. We all did. The parents were in ministry at our church, and the students really rallied around them. Our church, our community...we all banded together for one common goal: we prayed for God to heal Karston.<br />
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Karston's parents were so faithful. They were vulnerable, hopeful...and raw. Many times during our worship services, I would see Karston's big, ol' dad...arms stretched wide, face up to Heaven...pleading with God for a miracle.<br />
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What a testimony it would be if God healed Karston. It would have lit our community on fire for the Lord, no doubt. I could just imagine the lives that could be reached for eternity!<br />
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<i>This was all the stuff I was telling God...the reasons I was giving as to why He should heal Karston. I'm sure He loved hearing my opinions on what He should do.</i><br />
<br />
I remember a conversation with Karston's Dad. We were talking about trials...and the different people we knew who were facing extreme difficulties in their lives. He said, "I'm just glad that my trial is only for 9 months."<br />
<br />
I took that to mean that he was thinking it would all be over then: the anxiousness, the sleepless nights, the waiting, the pleading, the unknowing, the hoping...it would all be done in 9 months, and then they could move on.<br />
<br />
But you and I know it's not that easy, right? There are scars that come from trials that stay with us forever. And over the next few days, weeks, and months, my heart ached as I watched them come to terms with that. Like, I ACHED for them. I think, for me, it's easier to go through something myself...than to watch someone I love go through it.<br />
<br />
<i>Does that make sense?</i><br />
<br />
The big revival I imagined would happen if God healed Karston? It didn't happen. But what did happen was like what happens when you fan an ember. It was slow...steady...quiet. Lives were changed. Friendships were formed. Hope was rekindled. Faith was renewed. Strength was evident. Relationships were created. Seeds were planted. <i>Jesus was found.</i><br />
<br />
And we are still telling this story today...of two parents who recognized the sovereignty of God in the most difficult of situations...who remained faithful in the midst of a great trial...who were able to praise God after experiencing the unimaginable...who tell this story over and over, and point to Jesus as the source of all good things...and who continue to give God the glory for the son who took one breath, and was whisked to Heaven.<br />
<br />
Why do bad things happen to good people?<br />
Why do believers have to suffer?<br />
Why do children have to suffer?<br />
Why would God allow this?<br />
It's too much.<br />
This.can.not.be.<br />
Does God still heal?<br />
<br />
You know, it's okay to not know all the answers. It's okay to answer, "I don't know," or "I agree...I don't understand that, either," when someone starts asking these questions around you.<br />
<br />
I don't know how a plane works, but I get on one, and trust it to get me to my destination. My husband works for a utility company, but I don't know how electricity works, really. I just know that when I flip a switch, the lights come on. I don't know how medicine is made, but I take it if I need it. I didn't make that chair...but I trust it to hold me. There's a lot in life that we don't understand.<br />
<br />
I don't know everything about God. What I do know about Him, about His character, I know from what the Bible says. It tells us that God is good...that He loves us...and that He has a plan for us. It tells us that a thousand years is like a day to Him. It tells us that our lives are like a vapor.<br />
<br />
One of my most favorite passages is the Bible is found in <i><b>John 9: 1-3: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text John-9-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text John-9-2" id="en-NLT-26408" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">“Rabbi,” His disciples asked Him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” </span></span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,”</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">Jesus answered.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">“This happened so the power of God could be seen in him."</span></b></i><br />
<span class="woj" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span class="woj" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">And this is what I believe about this, in a nutshell: some things are caused by God, and some things are allowed by God...I don't know which things, and I don't understand it all. Sometimes I don't agree with it, and sometimes I don't like it. But I came to a moment in my life when I had to lay it all down...my will, my way, how I think things should be...because my will is easily influenced by my circumstances, and my way is many times wrong, and because there are situations when I really DON'T know what is best. Because I believe in Him, I believe that He loves me...and I believe that He is "for" me, and wants the best for me.</span><br />
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<span class="woj" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">I believe that God doesn't waste any of our experiences...He is refining us, teaching us to depend on Him in all situations, strategically putting us in places where He can use us to bring comfort and encouragement...places where we can share our stories...places where we can point to HIM. He is bringing us in line with His will for our lives. These trials we are facing? He will bring us through them, or He will bring us home. </span><br />
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<br />Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-65900782069557128312018-10-10T09:14:00.000-07:002018-10-10T09:14:11.322-07:00The Power of ONE-October 9, 2018I'm kind of slacking in the blogging department, I know. I still LOVE it, and I still long to leave some things for my children and grandchildren to read...but life is keeping me on the go!<br />
<br />
Or maybe I just need to be more disciplined.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Probably the discipline one.</span><br />
<br />
Anyway, this is October: <b>Down Syndrome Awareness Month.</b><br />
<br />
Or, as we like to call it in our family: <i>The Month of Joshua's People.</i><br />
<br />
Every day I am trying to post a thought or a memory about our Down Syndrome journey. I should just link it to the blog, or link the blog to Facebook...but this blog is the last avenue I have to share from my heart. Now that Joshua has Facebook and Instagram, I have to be more careful in the things I know he will read...because I never want to hurt his feelings in any way.<br />
<br />
Anyway, if you want to keep up with the daily posts this month, you can follow me <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marty.l.garland">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I know I post a version of this every year in October, but I can’t help it. Every time I think of how God went before us in this journey...how He was working on our behalf, even when we couldn’t see it...I can’t help but share this story. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Because it’s all so unlikely. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Unlikely that a little Kindergarten girl would befriend a very different little Kindergarten boy...and that they would be friends all the way through school. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">During Joshua's 2nd year of Kindergar</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">ten, he met Lindsey Walker. Lindsey's mom was a teacher at their school, and they lived in our neighborhood. I don't know how it happened, or why, but Lindsey Walker latched on to Joshua...and would not let him go. She became his friend, confidant, protector and helper. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Her family also went to our church, so she and Joshua were in Sunday School and children's choir together. He couldn't get away from her if he tried! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Lindsey Walker told him what to do and when to do it. She helped him when he needed help...and even sometimes when he didn't! She fought WITH him...and she fought FOR him. She was a friend to Joshua, and a blessing to this Momma for sure! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Joshua and Lindsey Walker stayed friends all the way through school. I think they were even football managers together in the 7th grade. They graduated together, and Lindsey headed to college...to be a TEACHER. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Joshua's life would've been quite different without Lindsey Walker, I'm certain of it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">If you are a parent, tell this to your kids...if you're a teacher, tell your students...if you're a student, understand this: <b>never underestimate the influence you can have in the life of even ONE other person. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">All that Joshua accomplished in school first started with <b>ONE</b> teacher who believed in him...and <b>ONE</b> little girl...who took a chance on an unlikely friendship with <b>ONE</b> little boy...and it made ALL the difference in the world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><b><i>"The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense." Proverbs 27:9</i></b></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-50797572758076220322018-09-11T07:39:00.000-07:002018-09-11T07:39:41.151-07:00On Moving Kids to CollegeThis is for everyone who's asked if it gets easier...moving kids to college.<br />
<br />
This was Logan's first year, 2010.<br />
<br />
Jim had a conflict on the scheduled Freshman move-in day, so we got permission to move Logan's stuff in early (so Jim could help us with the heavy stuff), and then Logan came back home for a couple of days.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212271078672414&set=a.1450585544921&type=3&theater">This picture</a> was taken the actual morning he was leaving, driving to his college...to stay.<br />
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I think my face says it all.<br />
<br />
Although Logan was so happy, I felt like my heart was ripping wide open.<br />
<br />
I guess that's kind of part of parenting...where you give your whole heart, and pray like there's no tomorrow; where you train them up the best way you know how, leaning on God, and looking to Him for wisdom and guidance...and for strength each day.<br />
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And then you let them go.<br />
<br />
Over and over again.<br />
<br />
That part, for me, never really got that much easier.<br />
<br />
After all, when this picture was taken, Holly was starting her senior year of college, so I'd already been through this drill 4 times!<br />
<br />
All you Mommas (and daddies) out there...my heart is so tender for you this week.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="background-color: white;">"So the </span><span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white;"> answers, “Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you." Isaiah 49:15</span></i></b></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-4015071019885323212018-09-10T06:04:00.001-07:002018-09-10T06:04:30.896-07:00Our Kids and The Tackle Boxes<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">When our kids were little, my mother-in-law got them tackle boxes, similar to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marty.l.garland/videos/10212299195455316/">this one</a>, to hold their favorite toys. She thought they were the greatest gifts ever, and they really were! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">These “toy boxes” went EVERYWHERE with us...to visit the grandparents, to the beach, to fancy (and not fancy) hotels. They held all the favorites...like army men and Star Wars toys. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I remember one year...we all tagged along on one of Jim’s business trips, and we got to stay in NICE hotel. The </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">lobby was beautifully decorated with flowers and plants, and there was a huuuuge tower of fancy glasses on a table. All I could think of was, “please, Lord, don’t let my kids knock that over!” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Jim was up at the counter, checking in, and trying to act like he didn’t even know the hooligans behind him. I was trying to corral 4 kids, who had been cooped up for hours in the car. They were crashing around the lobby, each carrying those plastic toy boxes...dropping them on the marble floors every time they stopped running. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Quite a different scene from the professional men and women, with the matching luggage, and the leather briefcases...who were milling around the lobby; men and women wearing dark suits and dress shoes, sipping fancy drinks on their way up to their rooms. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Because then there were: THE GARLANDS. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Jim kind of groaned when he turned around and saw all of us. He couldn’t get us to the elevator fast enough. Our luggage cart was stacked with mismatched bags and totes. We also had a box that said “blow-up bed” on the side...because even tho we got a room for 4, we were a family of SIX. I remember we had one of those inflatable duck things kids use to float in the pool...hanging off one side of the luggage cart. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">One of us was not amused at the situation, but the other one of us laughed til she cried...because this picture was everything that Jim was trying hard NOT to be in front of his colleagues. The big kids were carrying their plastic toy boxes, and crashing into everything. They were fighting over who got to push the elevator button...and I’m pretty sure we left a trail of goldfish all the way to our room. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">The staff asked us if we wanted a complimentary drink. I was thinking, “you have GOT to be kidding!” Who looks at a scene like that, and thinks, “we should really offer these parents alcohol?” I mean, if they really wanted to make our visit pleasant, they would’ve offered to watch the kids. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline;">Because what we really wanted...was a NAP.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"Let my soul be at <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">rest</span> again, for the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> has been good to me." Psalm 116:7</i></b></span></span>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-87053323127405082382018-09-04T06:46:00.002-07:002018-09-04T06:46:21.037-07:00The Insight of Joshua: Jesus is the Scarlet Thread<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">“He won’t ever...He will never...He can’t.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">These words have been said to me about this one...many, many times. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Well, you know what? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I’ll iron his clothes, if he’s afraid he’ll burn himself. I’ll cut up a piece of meat for him, if there’s ever a situation when he can’t. I’ll figure out how much change he should get back, or how much to leave for a tip. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I will do my best to make sure he always feels comfortable, safe, and welcome in our home. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">And I will drive him anywhere he needs to go, every day for the rest of my life, for as long as I am able. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Because <a href="https://www.facebook.com/marty.l.garland/videos/pcb.10212289903143014/10212289842421496/?type=3&theater">this insight </a>right here? I’ll take it. Every.single.day: “[God] used a Passover lamb to represent His future promise of deliverance.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="chapter-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="text John-1-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">"In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and <sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-AMP-26046b" data-link="[<a href="#fen-AMP-26046b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A1&version=AMP#fen-AMP-26046b" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup>the Word was God Himself." John 1:1 (Amplified Version)</span></b></i></span></div>
Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206699842572020404.post-58088271067017675592018-08-30T13:58:00.000-07:002018-08-30T13:59:01.543-07:00Kroger, The Young Me, and The Missed OpportunityI missed an opportunity today.<br />
<br />
I was in Kroger, and another lady and I were trying to turn our buggies down the same aisle at the same time. I motioned for her to go first, and she said, "no, really..." and she took a deep breath, "I don't even know."<br />
<br />
And right then, I saw the young me.<br />
<br />
The young me at the grocery, with 4 kids, and a mile-long list.<br />
<br />
The kids would be talking non-stop, and I could not even hear myself think. I would look at my kids...and at my list...and say under my breath, "I don't even know..."<br />
<br />
Like, I don't usually have trouble striking up a conversation with somebody at the grocery.<br />
<br />
Oh, it's definitely not my nature. But about 20 years ago, this month, I was stopped in my tracks by the reality of how short life is...so I am continually in the process of training myself to speak up.<br />
<br />
I looked at this lady as she passed by: a child walking by her side, one sitting in the buggy, and an infant in an infant car seat.<br />
<br />
And then she was gone...and I missed it.<br />
<br />
I missed telling her that I understand, that she had a beautiful family, that it wouldn't always be so hard.<br />
<br />
I missed asking if she needed any help.<br />
<br />
I also missed RESISTING THE URGE to tell her that the years are short, but the days are long...or telling her that, one day, she'll look back on these days and smile.<br />
<br />
Me missing making comments like that was probably a blessing, because no Mom wants to hear some old lady telling her things like that, when she's in the middle of the grocery store with a bunch of kids, AMIRIGHT?<br />
<br />
We have opportunities to show kindness every day...if we will just open our eyes to see what's going on around us, and if we'll just take the time to do it.<br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"So let’s not get </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">tire</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">d </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">of</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">doing</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> what is </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">good</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">. At just the right time we will reap a harvest </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">of</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> blessing if we don’t give up." Galatians 6:9</span></span></b></i>Martyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17558855143587226270noreply@blogger.com0