Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I dropped off the grid! I haven't been here--blogging--in almost a month. What happened to me?

I had to get a J.O.B.

Yes,  we've been here at home for three months now and the money ran out. Hubby is working for a roofing/construction company but it doesn't pay quite enough to cover all our expenses. So, reluctantly, I started the search for work.

This time of year is a great time to land something quickly. God blessed and I'm now a part-time, temporary, Wal-Mart Associate. What does that mean? It means that from now until Christmas I'll be putting bottles of pills and other "pharmacy" related items on the shelves at Wal-mart. (And I'll be getting exposed to every bug and illness that walks in off the street. *sneeze* *cough cough* *snort*)

No, it's not your "dream job", but I needed money quickly and in less than an hour of turning in my application, I was called. They hired everybody who showed up for an interview, and, well, there ya go! I don't hate it and I don't love it. I see it as another opportunity to cry out, "God, what in the world are You doing in my life?!?"

Hubby told me I've had a bad attitude since I started though I've tried to keep my chin up. Mostly I've been so tired, I can hardly put one foot in front of the other. And, yesterday I started getting a sore throat and a terrible headache. Hmmm. Maybe the oncoming sickness made me a little less than Ms. Sunshine? *sigh*

Today I didn't have to go to work, and I'm popping the Zicam, garlic, Emergen-C packets, and anything else I can think of to get me through the next few days. It is Thanksgiving after all, and I don't want to be a grumpy sick old lady!

Family members are already on their way to my house for the holiday weekend, and I'm excited to see all of them. I'm very sad that the kids and grandkids who live and serve our country in Hawaii won't be with us. My occasional teary moments over their absence add to the river of snot already flowing because of my cold.

I would like to take time to list everything I'm thankful for since tomorrow is Thanksgiving day, but that would take a LOT of time. So let me list just a few because I need to rush to the store to do my grocery shopping (Yeah I know it is a little late, but I've been working!) and to buy several boxes of Kleenex!

1. Always I'm thankful for my wonderful family both immediate and extended. I love all of you!
2. The wonderful land in which I live. I may not always agree with our elected officials and adopted policies, but it is still the greatest place on the planet to call home.
3. The fact that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. With my life always in the middle of some kind of a change it is nice to know there is one solid rock under which I can hide.
4. Challenging times--sometimes I have to force myself on this one--that make me call on God to rescue me, for I know He is the only one who can.
5. Eternity that awaits and the blood of Jesus Christ that gives me eternal hope and security.

Now, I'm off to the store...y'all can pray I make it back alive!

Oh yeah--please pray for deployment to a storm next week! We would SO love that! Thanks.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. May God continue to bless us all and may we all live worthy of His blessings.

 

Memorial Day--Consider yourself blessed

blessed - highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)

If you went to church at the church of your choice yesterday, you are blessed.

If you went to bed last night without concern or fear that your sleep would be disturbed by bomb blasts or foreign invaders, you are blessed.

If you woke this morning with the security and  peace of knowing that you can travel about the country if you choose, or sit at home if you choose, or work hard if you choose...you are blessed.

If you have clean water to drink and there is no sewage in the street in front of your house, you are blessed.

If you are enraged by something you read in your local paper and you know you have the right to write a letter to the editor, stating your opinion and beliefs, and you write that letter without fear of harm or persecution, you are blessed.

If you voted, or even had the opportunity to vote in the last election, you are blessed.

I could go on and on...and if you live in The United States Of America, YOU ARE BLESSED!

May we never take that blessing for granted. May we never forget that with our freedoms come responsibilities. May we always acknowledge the fact that the God of the universe bestows these blessings upon us. And may we never, ever, forget the men and women who have sacrificed so much, who have been the tools in God's hands, that have made such wonderful blessings a reality.

Thank you, men and women, husbands and wives, children, parents...for your sacrifices. May God bless you, and may we all live so that we might, in clear conscious pray, God, bless America.

White Water

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of hearing Brady Boyd preach. The sermon was about the prodigal son and our adoption by God. I don't remember every detail of his message, but I know that I was touched, moved, inspired--glad that I went to church that day. Somewhere near the end of the service, Pastor Boyd said something that made this thought flash through my brain like cloud to cloud lightening.

"I'd rather ride the rapids with God than sit on the bank, watching, without Him."
Little did I know...

My youngest daughter, only a few days away from celebrating her 22nd birthday, squirmed and twisted in her seat beside me. She was in pain.

Rebecca had been having neck pain and a headache, off and on, for a few days. She told me she needed to buy a new pillow because hers was hurting her neck. I didn't think much about it. (Life's river had been gently flowing & I never suspected...)

Two days later my baby came stumbling to my door. Her legs were numb, she could hardly walk, half her face drooped as if she had suffered a stroke, she was rapidly loosing the ability to speak, and she couldn't control her saliva. By the time I got her to the hospital she could hardly lift her arms and legs, she couldn't talk, she was not fully comprehending what people said to her, and she was having trouble breathing. (Suddenly, unexpectedly, the river was rough and dangerous.)

As the evening progressed so did Rebecca's symptoms. One minute she was almost unconscious, the next thrashing about. She was in the bed and out, unable to talk then screaming that she wanted to go home. One moment in tears and the next throwing up. Suddenly she would fall asleep and just as suddenly four adults could not hold her down in the bed. Completely out of her mind and unaware yet with terror in her precious brown eyes she looked to me for help.  But she could not understand the words I spoke to comfort and calm her. She could only respond with guttural sounds, moans and groans. (In a matter of minutes my gentle river of life turned to white water rapids, rocks and deadly falls.)

Sedation drugs did nothing. CT scan was normal. Finally the doctor was able to give her a drug to knock her out and he pulled some spinal fluid. My little girl was only unconscious for a few minutes then the wild ride started all over again and lasted for hours. Blood pressure 155/115--blood oxygen levels low--body temperature over 102. Finally the day ended in ICU with Rebecca tied to the bed and fighting for...it seemed like she was fighting for everything. And the test came back positive--an infection in the spinal fluid and probably the brain.

The ICU waiting room became my home away from home. As I struggled to get a little sleep the lightening bolt zapped through my mind again. "I'd rather ride the rapids with God than sit on the bank, and watch, without Him."

This time the words hurt. Put to the test, would I pass or fail? Did I mean it? Was I really willing to accept life's trials with God to see me through or did I want ease and comfort more?

I felt as if Satan was sitting beside me, smirking, waiting for me to choose a safe seat on the bank over the dangerous white water ride with God. I had to make a choice, right then and there. In the waiting room of the hospital I had to decide if I would hold tight to God through faith, and praise and glorify Him no matter what happened to my little girl, or I would abandon my faith, (jump out of the raft) and trade it all for a healthy daughter and an easy way.

I closed my eyes and saw the dark red blood of Jesus wrapped around me as a life jacket. I saw God the Father at the front of the raft, guiding it down the rocky rapid river. I made my choice, grabbed a hand-hold, and as the raft crashed over the falls, cried "God I trust You! Be glorified in this circumstance and in my life!"

The next day the river ride got exciting. The doctor came by and told me that we were playing a waiting game. He had no idea how long it would be before Rebecca would "wake up" or be aware of what was going on around her. (Or IF she would.) It could be a few days or longer. There was no way of knowing if there would be any permanent damage. He didn't know what caused the infection so he didn't know the best way to treat it. Her vitals were stable and that is all he could tell me.

Then, some precious intercessors, men and women of God, showed up to pray. People across the country had gotten the word by then, so brothers and sisters I don't even know were praying. Satan was being bound and God's hand began to move. As I returned to the waiting room from praying with my sis and her husband in the hospital's chapel I said, "If we could just have a little glimmer of hope..."

The ringing of my phone interrupted. It was the ICU nurse. "Your daughter is asking for you."

There were more rapids and the ride has not been easy. After five days in the hospital and what seemed to be a relapse ten days later, my daughter is home and seems to be doing well. She still gets tired easily. She has had  some moments of mood swings. Her sense of taste still seems to be a little off sometimes. I still am not sleeping all night. I still wake myself up praying for all of my children. I still have moments of fear so gripping I cannot eat or concentrate. I may never be "normal" again. The ride down the river is not over. Rebecca has no medical insurance and only a part-time job. Her dad has not had work since the end of May. Every time we get a new bill in the mail I feel another huge rock in the middle of the river.

But, I know God is in control and I know the blood of Jesus saves us all from drowning in the river. May God be glorified in the white water rapids of life! Hang on tight with all the faith you've got--its going to be a wild ride!

Thankful In The Midst Of Ridiculous Things

I haven't done a "word for the day" in a long time. Actually, I've been sluggish in my bogging about anything lately. (Sorry about that. I'll try to do better.) So today, I've got a word for you.

Ridiculous--Defined as deserving or inviting ridicule, unreasonable, absurd, silly.

The work load my husband has had the last four months has been ridiculous. As of today, he has worked 115 days without a day off. Even though we did take a quick trip home for a weekend in May, he still took pone calls, made phone calls, closed claims, and set appointments every day. His work day is not eight hours either. I'm talking twelve to fifteen hours a day for most of those days. Yeah, I think the word ridiculous (unreasonable) fits.

In this ridiculous situation I am thankful. I'm not thankful that my husband has been overworked to the point that his nerves are like the wires in a breaker box that has just been struck by lightning, but I'm thankful that he has a job. And I'm thankful that he is so good at his job that his company considers him one of their best--thus the ridiculous work load.

As I sit here and type, a mourning dove is talkin' trash to a sparrow over some seeds that other birds have pushed out of the feeder to the ground. Now that is ridiculous (silly) because there are more than enough seeds to go around, and the dove is three times the size of the sparrow. How ridiculous we must look to God when we mouth off and say hurtful things to someone over something senseless and trivial.

I'm thankful for the lesson from the ridiculous little birds.

A few days ago, Rick ordered his Father's Day gift. (I know it is way early, but he deserves it.) He bought some accessories for his truck--a bed cover, some gadget to lock the tailgate and a rubber seal. The bed cover was shipped in a box exactly the size of the rolled up bed cover. But the gadget to lock the tail gate and the seal came in a --- well, you just have to see it.


Now that is ridiculous! No packing peanuts or wadded paper, just a huge box. I'm sure there must be a reason the company shipped such small items in such a large box, but I can't imagine what it could be. Somebody forgot about saving trees and living green, ya think?

For this ridiculous thing I am thankful. First, I got a good laugh out of it, and Rick broke the large cardboard container down and used it as a "creeper" to protect his back from rocks as he worked under the truck.

Isn't God good to surround us with the unreasonable, silly, and absurd things of life? Just one more reason to give thanks!

Today Was A Day of Worship

I sat in the camper, alone and afoot.
The Holy Spirit beckoned, "Come and worship."
"But where shall I go?"
"To a place I have prepared."The place of worship, carpeted lush and green--and paved around.
A canopy of brilliant blue and nebulous white.

The chandelier shown like the noonday sun.

And there for me, a pew of stone.

Surrounded by fellow worshipers.
...the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying,
"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him,
"Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."
And He answered and said,
I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"
Luke 19:37-40

For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

To my left sat "The Amen Crowd."
(Notice the halo.)

But I fear some were only there for the pot-luck dinner on the ground.

The praise and worship team lead my heart and voice in worship--
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me;
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
Psalm 27:6-7

There stood a pulpit.
The deliverer of God's Word,
the Holy Spirit,
didn't show up well in the photo,
but He was there.

Before the service ended, it got a little charismatic and the creative types all started dancing-- like dandelions in the wind.

I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast lifted me up....
Amen

KABOOM!

There is was again. I wondered, is that thunder? Surely not. The sound started in the distance a while before sunset. But as the evening wore on and nighttime pulled the shades over the sun, the thundering sounds came closer. Kaboom! Kaboom! No longer a noise but a sensation, the explosions vibrated the ground and rocked my travel-ready home. What in the world?!?

My husband is a genius. Well, not really. Not like my blogger friend Walter Mitty or my son-in-law, Tony. But he is often what steadies me in a shaky world. He keeps me informed, and he thinks of things that would never cross my mind. He always knows where he is and what's going on around him. (Unless he is working or watching TV and I'm trying to talk to him.)

So when all the booming and shaking and rumbling prompted too many "I wonder..." remarks from me, he pulled up a map on his computer and showed me that we are parked, as the crow flies, only four or five miles from the backside of Fort Knox.

Fort Knox is the U.S Armor Center. (Just in case you didn't know.) Tanks. Those indestructible animals of battle. And when one of those cannons perched on top of one of those tanks is fired, it makes a loud KABOOM, and the ground shakes and the windows of an RV will rattle!

Thank goodness the soldiers and marines stopped their target practice or whatever they were doing before midnight so I could get some sleep. But they were back at it again this morning. Not long ago I heard some faint RAT-A-TAT-TATs in between the KABOOMS!

I had a oxymoronal (Is that a word?) thought. The thundering and rattlings of big guns, the sounds common to battle, are somehow comforting to me. With every blast I know that there are men and women staying in a state of readiness to defend me and my property from enemies of which I may be completely unaware. They train themselves daily to protect my home, my country, my family, my freedom.

Though the ground may shake and my windows may rattle, I can rest in peace. Thank you, men and women of our armed forces, for choosing to do what you do for those of us who can't do for ourselves.

I'm SO glad I have holes in my head!

One small drawback to traveling all over the country is elevation--and the changing thereof.

Elevation of my most recent "homes."

Mobile, AL: 16 feet

Amarillo, TX: 3,607 feet

Louisville, KY: 462 feet

So what's the problem you ask? Take a look at a few of my bottled goods.When we leave a place like Mobile (16 ft.) and travel to Amarillo (3607 ft.) the air trapped inside the bottles is dense, thus puffing the bottles up like a bunch of labeled puffer fish. Sometimes the air pressure inside the bottles is so much greater than the thin Amarillo air that the cleaners are actually pushed out through the spray tubes. I wind up with puddles of cleaners in my cabinets when I get home.

Then, when we leave Amarillo and drop to a place like Louisville (462 ft) the denser air outside the bottles pushes against the thin air inside so that the bottles cave in, as you can see in the photo above. When I try to use the cleaners, a vacuum forms and I have to open the bottles to get anything to come out.

I'm used to this routine, but it always makes me stop and think... I'm SO glad I have holes in my head. Once again God knew what He was doing when created us. Just think what it would be like, traveling across the country, if we were air-tight. Either our heads would cave in or we would puff up until we...

One time when we were camping in the Rocky Mountains we took a picnic lunch way up to the top of a mountain. Our bag of chips actually exploded because of the change in altitude. (That's kind of a messy thought.)

So if you need some reason to give thanks today, thank our wise Creator for the holes in your head!

They make travel much more comfortable!

I am fearfully and wonderfully made!