Seeds

We have started a new fall tradition...roasting pumpkin seeds. I went to my friend, T's, the other afternoon and she was roasting pumpkin seeds. She cleaned them,

seasoned them with garlic salt...


and roasted them in the oven.



They are delicious!

Needless to say, my oldest and I carved our pumpkins and did the same.

It's a great new tradition and we have the chance to do something really special...redeem our pumpkins!

Think about it. What do you do with the guts of your pumpkin? By taking the seeds and using them for something good, we have redeemed what our pumpkins can be. Not are they only decorations, but we use them for a great treat.

It's just like how God works. He takes us as we are, uses every part of us, and redeems us. He takes the yucky parts of us, like our pumpkins, and loves us and uses us in all things.

Pretty cool, don't you think?

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. new traditions
2. a day in the kitchen
3. houseguests
4. new friends (C and C)
5. small town kindness

Casting our Burdens

Right when things seem to be going well...our schedules, finances, medical issues...something happens to put a "kink" into what we consider living life well.

Isn't that normally what happens? Everything moves along great and the minute you get complacent "BAM" reality hits.

You know, something like a major repair that is needed on your house, a car that dies and has not hope of resarting (buying a new car), a big health issue that will take many tests and trips to the hospital with lots of waiting...

I believe Satan works on many levels. He finds his way into our minds when we begin to doubt ourselves, when things begin to go wrong at school and/or work, and when relationships begin to fail.

Our natural inclination is to worry ourselves sick! But if we truly know that God is in control of every aspect of our life, we will give up even the most mundane of worries that can eat us up.


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
-Matthew 11:28-30

When has God shown up in a huge way when you cast all your burdens on Him?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. birthday cards
2. new calendars
3. carving pumpkins
4. hot soup on a cold night
5. a table filled with papers

Comfort

I would imagine most of you feel a great comfort when you get home. You slip off your shoes, get into comfy clothes, put on your slippers and you are in a safe haven.

There are many places where we feel that kind of comfort. For my boys, it is also at our church where they feel comfort. The spend quite a bit of time after school hanging out until me (I office out of the church) and my husband are done for the day.

At any given spot in the church you may see this...


It's another home away from home. I'm so glad they are comfortable being "Pastor's Kids." :)

God has led us on an amazing journey. We both were teachers living in suburbia trying to do the "right things" and God plucked us out of our situation to go and follow Him. We went to the desert of New Mexico and have ended up in a small, eclectic town neary. We continue to follow and listen.

What has He asked of you lately?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. memory cards
2. "shuffle" on my iPod
3. Pez dispensers
4. winter finally arriving
5. flashlights

Merry Christmas??

I had a great experience this weekend. I went to a ladies retreat at Elephant Butte Inn, which is our neighboring town on the lake (it is a beautiful place). Janet Drez (Octopus Faith), was our guest speaker from Arizona.

The retreat was entitled, "Christmas Through the Eyes of A Child." She walked us through anticipating the Christmas season. Sounds funny to be talking about Christmas in October, but before we blink our eyes the season will be upon us.

I always get overwhelmed with the holiday season. Actually, Thanksgiving is my favorite, but I feel as if I have to do Christmas "right" like a family member who I used to be close with always did. You know, the "Martha Stewart" kind of Christmas.

But that is not me and never will be. I just know that I will continue to focus on why we celebrate Christmas. Like Janet said this weekend, it's the biggest birthday party of the year!

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. new friends
2. afternoon naps
3. paper shredderws
4. a new bible study (The Reason We Speak)
5. date night!

Time

Time.

We are always short of time.

"If only I had a few more hours in the day..."

"If only I had a few extra weeks before the holidays actually arrived..."

"If only I had a few more months of my child being an infant..."

We could go on and on about "needing" more time.

I had a realization this past weekend as I attending the Sangre de Oro Family Education Weekend (bleeding disorder community in New Mexico). I looked around and there were lots of young parents and lots of older adults, but no one my age (early 40's).

It was strange. I mean, I guess I am really getting older and am not a "young parent" anymore. I feel like one...but I'm not.

I remember my mom at the age I am at. She was diagnosed with diabetes and her health started to deteriorate. She seemed so much older than I feel right now.

But something happened this weekend that definitely made me feel older.

When I did this...my eyeliner went on so much easier...



Have you had that moment where you accepted the fact that time was marching on?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. a new doctor
2. hearing good things about my husband's ministry
3. fat envelopes
4. having the week off from taking Christian to chemo
5. new folders

Vacation?

Have you ever taken a trip to Wal-Mart alone and felt like it was a vacation?

It's pretty sad, but can be an enjoyable outing when you have the chance to go sans kids.

This afternoon was filled with work but my mind was already preparing to take Christian to Albuquerque for his chemo treatment. My husband was extremely busy at church, the kids were keeping themselves amused at church and then it happened...Christian had an "accident." The kind where the only remedy is to strip and take a bath.

The joys of motherhood...a three year old is always an adventure. In our instance the "two's" were no problem, it's the "three's" that have been a challenge!

I am in a season of trying to ignite my passion again. School has not done it for me at all. Work, well, it's work. I'm really good at it, but I am looking for more.

A great opportunity has come my way through my work and I am hoping that it pans out to give me more of a challenge, but only time will tell.

I know, deep in my heart, that my mission right now is to keep the home fires burning while my husband finishes seminary. He is taking 14 hours and serving a church! It's crazy! I know that the only way he is doing it is by God's grace.

This time next year, seminary will be over and we can enjoy ministering without that over our heads. It's difficult, but will definitely be worth it.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. labels
2. Ibuprofen
3. surprise checks in the mail
4. curling irons
5. Wal-Mart

Being Unsettled

We've been in T or C since mid August and for the the most part we are settled.

My house is unpacked, my office at church is unpacked, the kids rooms are done, so why am I so unsettled?

Before we moved, I had a great routine. I would get up early, have my quiet time, read my Bible, blog, then it would be time for everyone to get up. I would help get the kids to school, go to the office, go to the gym and back home for the evening.

My quiet time is not regular and there is no gym here so I have to really make the effort to exercise and it just hasn't happened.

With those two things missing from my life, I am unsettled, and I just don't "feel" well.

Quiet time nurtures our heart and soul. Our relationship with God strengthens.

Exercise nurtures our physical body and we just downright feel better when we take care of ourselves.

I use so many excuses to not take care of myself..."The kids....my work...the church...etc., etc." We have to put ourselves on top of our list. If we can't take care of ourselves and be happy, no one around us will be happy either.

I am making a commitment to my morning quiet time. I felt so great when it was a regular thing in my life.

I am also going to make a commitment to get some exercise. I had been feeling better than I had in years. It also helped keep my depression in check.

Here's to new commitments and "resolutions"! It doesn't have to be January 1st to start fresh!

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. business cards
2. label makers
3. window paint
4. ethernet cables
5. shiny fingernails

The Art of Oozing

I was recently walking through a Hallmark store and saw a wonderful saying.


"Let no one ever come to you wihout leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." Mother Teresa

If that is not the epitome of "oozing" I don't know what is!

Isn't that what we should want? To have people leave us and feel good?

What is it about ourselves that leaves that impression on people? I think it has to do with your heart. The love you have to share. The relationship you have with Christ that comes out of you.

The hard part is to practice the art of oozing with everyone, not just the select few.

We have to leave our judgements behind. We don't know what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes, so we have to be sensitive to their feelings.

We have to be considerate to all, even those that may not "get it." You know, the ones who catch you at church or the store and just start talking and you are walking away in a hurry? We must ooze the light of Christ with them as well.

I want to be that person. The one that loves all. That does not judge. That treats everyone fairly.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. dog hair
2. homemade soup
3. pedicures
4. birthday cards
5. stained glass

Waiting

How much of our life is spent waiting?

Waiting to graduate.

Waiting for your wedding day.

Waiting for the pregnancy test.

Waiting for a baby to grow in your womb.

Waiting for your kids after their first day of school.

Waiting in the doctor's office for a diagnosis.

Waiting.

Christian and I sit and wait in his hospital room. We are waiting on his chemo to come to the floor from the pharmacy.

I think the hardest thing about the hospital is the waiting. We wait on the nurse, the doctor to come by, medications to be mixed, to be discharged...the list goes on.

I think waiting teaches us many things.

To be patient - and wait for things to happen in the right time.

To love - sometimes we have to let our loved ones experience life on their own
terms in their own time and just love them where they are at.

To trust - and know that all things are in God's hands and there is nothing we can do to change His plan.

I think Alcoholics Anonymous has it right. We have to "Let Go and Let God." I think that says it all.

Everything in His time for His purpose.

"I waited patiently for the LORD, He turned to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. hospital gowns
2. pillows
3. Dr. M
4. crackers
5. old, wood floors

A Special Day

My Dad passed away two years ago today. It's a very special day because forty one years ago today I was brought into this world, and it's the same day my Dad went home to be with the Lord.

It's a special day for both of us.

He went home after not being himself for several years and I know he wasn't happy. He missed my Mom, he missed being himself.

But I am so grateful for the years I had with him. The love he shared with my boys. That he was here to see my Christian and love on him. And for my boys to love him back.

Daddy was a quiet man. He was not one to hug or say "I love you," but even in his last days when he reached his arm out to me to touch me, that meant the world to me.

The last day I spent with Daddy it was just the two of us in his hospice room. The day before, my husband and oldest son and I made a CD of music for him. We sang, played our instruments and gave him our gift of music one last time. After playing our music I prayed over him and read scripture to him.

It was a very special time that I am grateful for. I was able to say goodbye and love him well.

Gonzalo Campos was my Daddy. I called him "Dude." I don't know where that came from but it stuck.

I miss him.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. good memories
2. new friends
3. clean bathrooms
4. my Swiffer Vac
5. my "Dude"

A New Appreciation

I have an new "appreciation", if you will, for people that are on a treatment of chemotherapy. People with cancer that take huge doses that make them extremely ill, and so many other conditions that warrant chemotherapy.

We hear of people with cancer and chemo and I think, think nothing of it, until it touches us personally. It's horrible.

"Christian" had his first round of chemo (a very small dose in relation to so many other folks) and it was pretty scary at first. About half an hour in he started to break out, his ears were red, his cheeks flushed and shortly after that he had severe chills and fever. The chills scared me the most.

Once the doctor stopped everything, gave him steroids and his fever subsided the treatment began again, with no problems. It was amazing. I watched him all night. It was like watching water boil.

So, the treatment has begun. We go on Friday's for the next three weeks, take four weeks off, go on for four weeks again…it's going to be a long year, but we continue to pray that the treatment will have been well worth it for "Christian."

As a mom, we try to protect our children. We teach them to hold hands, look both ways before crossing the street, not to talk to strangers, and the list goes on. When our hands are tied, such as medical issues, it's not a great feeling. You put your child in the hands of the doctors and trust that they know what they are doing. That they will take care of your child as if he/she was their own.

The truth is, our children, well, all of us, are in the hands of the Great Physician. All things happen under his care.

Today I Am Thankful for:

1. Benadryl
2. Newly potted plants
3. A freshly mowed yard
4. Diet Cherry Syrup
5. Overnight packages (UPS)

Does it really make us stronger?

As a mom we endure quite a bit of pain. The obvious, childbirth, watching our newborns turn into toddlers, the first day of Kindergarten, their first love breaking their heart, the drivers license, college and the list goes on.

When you have a child with a chronic medical condition, it's different. There's always something. In our journey with hemophilia, we have been led to something new for us, chemotherapy. My three year old has an inhibitor, a condition that does not allow his factor to work. This chemotherapy has proven to get rid of inhibitors.

That's where we are. At the hosptial about to start a four week round of chemo. It's scary.

You've heard the expression, "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Well sometimes I wonder. My strength is really being tested right now.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. choo choo books
2. granola bars
3. socks with holes
4. wireless internet
5. sunflower seeds