Faithfulness: we talk about it a lot, but how often do we realize how much of our daily lives depend on the faithfulness of God?
Two powerful examples.
1. A brother at our church went in to the hospital last week with pancreatitis. He had been having trouble with his gall bladder for nearly a year, but his doctors were always reluctant to remove it. Well, finally, after much prayer, they found a doctor who said, "Absolutely, take it out." He is now recovering and looks forward to a relatively pain free life. Now in this case, there was a lot of human bumbling and hesitation, but God protected Brother D. through it and there are no lasting side effects (we hope).
2. More pleasant is the fact that we had three graduations in the family this past week. Seth's middle sister and my youngest siblings (twins) all graduated from high school. We were able to make it over to see my folks and celebrate with the family (sorry, Seth's folks. Maybe for youngest sister), and it is amazing how grown up my brother and sister are. They are respectful and responsible young adults. And I remember when they were born. Eighteen years of provision and good parenting has turned them into markers for Christ. God is good.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Wanna see something cute?
This past Saturday, Seth and I entertained two little friends of ours while their mother had a day for herself. We met Shawn and Teresa and Keira and Shadyn when we lived in Navy housing, and we have so much fun in each other's company that we still keep in touch. Shawn is out to sea at the moment, and so I offered to take Keira and Shadyn off Theresa's hands for an afternoon so she could do, well, basically whatever she wanted. (Apparently that doesn't happen very often once one has children. Being yet without, I wouldn't know.)
Anyway, we promised the kids that we would do the two messiest activities imaginable: gardening and baking. The plan was to garden for the afternoon and then bake in the evening when the weather cooled off. Saturday was perfect garden planting weather -- sunny, light breeze, about eighty degrees, very nice -- and I had just been given a whole bunch of bulbs from a friend who recently changed houses and is reworking her landscaping (thank you, Leann). We donned hats and sunscreen (naturally, I had to put both on first), and went out by the porch.
Now K is four and S is nearly three, and it was amazing how patient and diligent they were while we were out there. They waited while I shoveled the landscaping bark out of the way. They took turns using the rose trimmers to cut little holes in the plastic. And for the most part, they were very patient digging holes with teaspoons because we didn't have a garden shovel. They squealed at all the little bugs that came out of their holes. (Shadyn was convinced that every single potato bug was a spider come to eat him.) They hauled 2 inches of water at a time from the spicket on the other side of the house and joyfully upended their buckets over the bark where their bulbs had been planted.
Max is always delighted to have company, but he decided that it was just a little too hot to be working in the backyard. He hid under the porch unless K and S started making a lot of noise, which convinced him that he was missing out on something. Then he would come out, make a circle of the vicinity, and duck back under the deck. Shadyn was most impressed by this. "Mac under there," he kept saying. "Mac go under there, ee spider."
Anyway, we promised the kids that we would do the two messiest activities imaginable: gardening and baking. The plan was to garden for the afternoon and then bake in the evening when the weather cooled off. Saturday was perfect garden planting weather -- sunny, light breeze, about eighty degrees, very nice -- and I had just been given a whole bunch of bulbs from a friend who recently changed houses and is reworking her landscaping (thank you, Leann). We donned hats and sunscreen (naturally, I had to put both on first), and went out by the porch. 
Now K is four and S is nearly three, and it was amazing how patient and diligent they were while we were out there. They waited while I shoveled the landscaping bark out of the way. They took turns using the rose trimmers to cut little holes in the plastic. And for the most part, they were very patient digging holes with teaspoons because we didn't have a garden shovel. They squealed at all the little bugs that came out of their holes. (Shadyn was convinced that every single potato bug was a spider come to eat him.) They hauled 2 inches of water at a time from the spicket on the other side of the house and joyfully upended their buckets over the bark where their bulbs had been planted.
Max is always delighted to have company, but he decided that it was just a little too hot to be working in the backyard. He hid under the porch unless K and S started making a lot of noise, which convinced him that he was missing out on something. Then he would come out, make a circle of the vicinity, and duck back under the deck. Shadyn was most impressed by this. "Mac under there," he kept saying. "Mac go under there, ee spider." However when we went inside (Keira said she was "cold" (hot)), Max was very attentive to his guests and demonstrated his willingness to help them finish their snacks. He took the banana chips right out of their hands. It took Keira a little while to let Max put his lips on her fingers and ever so delicately removed the chip, but soon they were both feeding him so many chips that I began to envision a seriously constipated dog waking up around midnight with a need for the ER. What you can't see in this picture is that both Keira and Shadyn are sitting on piles of banana chips to protect them from Max's prying nose, and seconds after this picture was taken, they both got off the chips and Max dove in and inhaled both piles.
After snack time, we planted a bit more, tossed the kids in the tub, tried to get them to take a nap, and mixed up some cake batter for cupcakes. Cupcakes weren't so interesting to Shadyn however because Seth had just started up the grill. "Migh Jenny, I go outside, wat Mighter Sef make fire, okay?" Soon both kids were 
outside, watching Seth pile the briquets, douse them with lighter fluid, and light the match. Of course, neither of them wanted to eat their hamburgers. Max got both of them eventually, one by subterfuge (He never had such a filling day in his life. Bad dog.).
outside, watching Seth pile the briquets, douse them with lighter fluid, and light the match. Of course, neither of them wanted to eat their hamburgers. Max got both of them eventually, one by subterfuge (He never had such a filling day in his life. Bad dog.). 
After dinner, the kids brought their coloring book out to the porch, and we read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (now finished, began book 3 last night). This picture is actually posed. Shadyn and Seth were sitting like this (aren't they cute? Doesn't Seth look like a natural? I can't wait to have kids of my own.), and I ran inside to get the camera. When I came back out, Shadyn was sitting up and pointing to the sky, insisting that all the sparrows flying overhead were dragons, and he kept insisting that there were dragons in the clouds as well, and "I gotta kew those dwagons." When he saw the camera, he curled back up against Seth and waited for me to take the picture.
Some people say that other people's kids are the surest form of birth control. I've 
been around some kids that bear that out, although in those cases, I usually end up thinking about parenting styles, not kids in general. I admit that after all that activity on Saturday, I was too tired to do the dishes. (I should have gotten a picture of the sink. I think half my kitchen ended up getting dirty.) Granted also that trying to get a cranky 2.9 year old to take a nap is a matter of patience and stubbornness. And I think I understand that once I have my own kids, I won't be able to pack them up and send them home in the evening. Still, there's just something about kids and how they follow examples and are so eager to help that they get in the way (and they're so cute too) that makes me want to say "Who wouldn't want to have kids?" The sooner, the better in my opinion.
been around some kids that bear that out, although in those cases, I usually end up thinking about parenting styles, not kids in general. I admit that after all that activity on Saturday, I was too tired to do the dishes. (I should have gotten a picture of the sink. I think half my kitchen ended up getting dirty.) Granted also that trying to get a cranky 2.9 year old to take a nap is a matter of patience and stubbornness. And I think I understand that once I have my own kids, I won't be able to pack them up and send them home in the evening. Still, there's just something about kids and how they follow examples and are so eager to help that they get in the way (and they're so cute too) that makes me want to say "Who wouldn't want to have kids?" The sooner, the better in my opinion. Update on D.
D. went home the day after I wrote that last post. The doctors are calling his recovery miraculous. They believe he will be able to go back to work in a couple of months, and the only change to his lifestyle will be medications to keep his heart in proper order.
God is good.
God is good.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Three cheers for a miracle
Not that this miracle happened to me, mind you, but as I prayed for it to happen, I feel entitled to do a little celebrating.
Late last week, my mother's best friend P.'s husband D. suffered a massive heart attack. The lower half of his heart was gone. He was living off of machines, and there was no hope of him returning to his previously active life. He had been a farmer, a brand inspector, and an all around helpful sort of person, so sitting at home and being taken care of wasn't a pleasant prospect.
Well, Mom launched all her prayer chain connections, and I'm sure other friends of the family did too. We saw little bits of hope in facts like P. could get insurance through her work, and there might be openings for some of their kids to move back home.
The latest update has D. in a private room and up and about. He walked three laps around his hospital room without getting short of breath. His blood pressure is normal. The doctors think he might be able to return to work in as little time as 6 weeks if he takes his medication.
Praise the Lord.
Late last week, my mother's best friend P.'s husband D. suffered a massive heart attack. The lower half of his heart was gone. He was living off of machines, and there was no hope of him returning to his previously active life. He had been a farmer, a brand inspector, and an all around helpful sort of person, so sitting at home and being taken care of wasn't a pleasant prospect.
Well, Mom launched all her prayer chain connections, and I'm sure other friends of the family did too. We saw little bits of hope in facts like P. could get insurance through her work, and there might be openings for some of their kids to move back home.
The latest update has D. in a private room and up and about. He walked three laps around his hospital room without getting short of breath. His blood pressure is normal. The doctors think he might be able to return to work in as little time as 6 weeks if he takes his medication.
Praise the Lord.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I've been tagged.
I saw my name as a tagged person on Alicia's blog. I guess that means I've been tagged.
First, I'm supposed to add my name to the bottom of a list of blogs. Does that mean I'm supposed to visit these blogs? I don't know.
alifetime
Pieces of Me
The blog. Yep, the blog.
Slave To The Mommy Trade
Busy Until He Comes
Next select five people to tag:
I only know three bloggers at the moment, but I know people with other sites. This sort of stuff can go up on Facebook and MySpace, right?
1. Mom A. (I know you've been tagged once already, but these are different questions.)
2. Laura
3. Elly
4. Leslie (oh wait, she doesn't know I have a blog.)
5. Mom B.
This isn't easy for beginning bloggers.
What were you doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago, I was a sophomore in highschool. I was probably trying to find a way out of the end of the year picnic. No, wait. Sophomore year is the year I actually went to the water park. Not bad, but not all it was cracked up to be. Elly's pool was infinitely more fun.
What were you doing 1 year ago? Signing papers to buy our house. And then painting as rapidly as possible so the carpet layers could come in.
Five snacks you enjoy
1. ice cream
2. graham crackers and frosting
3. dried pears
4. dried mango and pineapple
5. soft molasses cookies
Five songs that you know all the lyrics:
1. Awesome God (with verses. Yes, it has verses.)
2. The Hallelujah Chorus (but I would have to think about it for a while).
3. How Great Thou Art
4. The Battle Hymn of the Republic
5. numerous praise songs -- I'm a worship leader at my church. I memorize songs. They kinda go together.
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire: Not necessarily in this order.
1. Pay off debt.
2. Add a second story to our house.
3. Set up funds for all my favorite ministries.
4. Set up funds for my kids' education.
5. Set up funds for my parents' retirement.
Five bad habits (Do I have to?):
1. Ending a story with a self-deprecating laugh (totally ruins the punchline)
2. Talking too little among strangers
3. Talking too much among acquaintances
4. Picking my nose (you didn't really want to know that, did you?)
5. Second guessing myself
Five things you like doing:
1. cleaning house (sometimes it just feels good to be clean)
2. hands-on projects
3. day dreaming
4. reading a good book
5. being with Seth
Five things you would never wear again:
1. skinny jeans (although there was a time when I swore I would never wear jeans with a flared-leg too).
2. florescent pink
3. florescent green
4. a bionator (orthodontic device -- essentially a mouth full of plastic)
5. satelite bangs
Five favorite toys:
1. imagination
4-way tie -- paint roller, gardening gloves, needle and thread, crocheting needles
First, I'm supposed to add my name to the bottom of a list of blogs. Does that mean I'm supposed to visit these blogs? I don't know.
alifetime
Pieces of Me
The blog. Yep, the blog.
Slave To The Mommy Trade
Busy Until He Comes
Next select five people to tag:
I only know three bloggers at the moment, but I know people with other sites. This sort of stuff can go up on Facebook and MySpace, right?
1. Mom A. (I know you've been tagged once already, but these are different questions.)
2. Laura
3. Elly
4. Leslie (oh wait, she doesn't know I have a blog.)
5. Mom B.
This isn't easy for beginning bloggers.
What were you doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago, I was a sophomore in highschool. I was probably trying to find a way out of the end of the year picnic. No, wait. Sophomore year is the year I actually went to the water park. Not bad, but not all it was cracked up to be. Elly's pool was infinitely more fun.
What were you doing 1 year ago? Signing papers to buy our house. And then painting as rapidly as possible so the carpet layers could come in.
Five snacks you enjoy
1. ice cream
2. graham crackers and frosting
3. dried pears
4. dried mango and pineapple
5. soft molasses cookies
Five songs that you know all the lyrics:
1. Awesome God (with verses. Yes, it has verses.)
2. The Hallelujah Chorus (but I would have to think about it for a while).
3. How Great Thou Art
4. The Battle Hymn of the Republic
5. numerous praise songs -- I'm a worship leader at my church. I memorize songs. They kinda go together.
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire: Not necessarily in this order.
1. Pay off debt.
2. Add a second story to our house.
3. Set up funds for all my favorite ministries.
4. Set up funds for my kids' education.
5. Set up funds for my parents' retirement.
Five bad habits (Do I have to?):
1. Ending a story with a self-deprecating laugh (totally ruins the punchline)
2. Talking too little among strangers
3. Talking too much among acquaintances
4. Picking my nose (you didn't really want to know that, did you?)
5. Second guessing myself
Five things you like doing:
1. cleaning house (sometimes it just feels good to be clean)
2. hands-on projects
3. day dreaming
4. reading a good book
5. being with Seth
Five things you would never wear again:
1. skinny jeans (although there was a time when I swore I would never wear jeans with a flared-leg too).
2. florescent pink
3. florescent green
4. a bionator (orthodontic device -- essentially a mouth full of plastic)
5. satelite bangs
Five favorite toys:
1. imagination
4-way tie -- paint roller, gardening gloves, needle and thread, crocheting needles
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