Being Called

When you use the word "called" often time people think you are crazy or that it just applies to "ministry."

I don't think that's true. I think everyone is called to do something. To create, to write, to learn, to parent, to teach, to sing....the list goes on.

The one thing I am certain of in my life is the calling that has been placed on my life to teach. I taught middle school for many years and left when a lucrative offer came my way for a career change. In that new career I continued to teach...but now adults.

I have ventured out into a new arena. Women's bible study. Last night I started a group and we are studying, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver. It is a wonderful book that was given to me a few years ago and I have always wanted to share it with a group of women. And we started last night.

It was wonderful! We have a fantastic group of about 12 women, all very different. All bringing wonderful stories and perspectives to the table.

I am so honored to be a part of this dynamic group of women. I pray that I am up to the task to facilitate and lead all to a deeper understanding of the Word of God.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. catalogs
2. kleenex
3. retreats
4. new outfits
5. choo-choos

Wonderful News!

I am so excited! Our hematologist called today and Christian's inhibitor levels are the lowest they have ever been! It looks like the chemo is working!

All of the trips, all of the money, all of the waiting, all of the crying and doubt about whether or not we made the right decision....I could go on and on.

God's timing is perfect. He has led us down this path and now we see the results.

I am so overjoyed that I can hardly put words together!

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. phone calls
2. test results
3. teacher's that care
4. watered plants
5. the weekly newspaper

4 Years Ago

4 years ago today, my life changed. I gave birth to my second son, Christian. For four years my husband and I tried to conceive (our oldest son is 10 years older than Christian). When we finally gave up trying, there he was!

To say we were utterly amazed that we were blessed with another child is an understatement. The pregnancy was difficult but worth every minute.

Not only did our lives change because we were bringing a newborn into our home after 10 years, but he, too, was diagnosed with Severe Hemophilia. I only thought I knew how to handle Hemophilia after dealing with Lance's condition...Christian has taken us down a road with a bleeding disorder that I never dreamed.

After many hospitalizations, surgeries, and chemotherapy my life is filled with a joy I never imagined.

The Lord has provided for us in ways too numerous to list. And entrusting us with two amazing lives to raise is beyond words.

I am not sure what is in store for us, but I know the Lord will never give us more than we are able to handle.

Happy Birthday, my sweet, Christian. The best is yet to come.


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. candles
2. birthday cake
3. email
4. presents
5. tokens

My Christian

My Christian has been having a rough time. He's had a knee bleed and an ankle bleed back to back within the past two weeks. It's been very painful for him. To see him crawling and limping just hurts my heart. I spent Wednesday morning with him...from midnight until 4 am, holding him to try and soothe his pain.

As a parent, I would do anything in the world to take the pain of hemophilia away from my children. But it's just not in the plan. All I can do is be there in every way possible for both of my boys. To make sure they have their factor, that it is administered properly, to hold them when they are in pain and all has been done except let time pass for the injury to heal.

Tonight has been one of those nights as we wait in the hotel in Albuquerque and administer fluids before his chemo on Friday. The waiting, the re-accessing of his port, the anticipation of yet another new drug in the hopes that his inhibitor will be eradicated.

We wait and we pray for God's will to be done.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. my homecare company
2. our nurse S.
3. chocolate cake
4. chicken strips
5. anticipation

A Big Day

I've been working on a presentation to give to offices in my work network across the country. It was an idea I had and was given the go ahead to run with the project. Today I give my first conference call twice...the first one in an hour!

When you feel passionately about something, step out in faith and make it happen. It can sure be scary, but the Lord will be with you when it is truly the right thing to do.

Prayers appreciated :)

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. ice, cold water
2. clean dishes
3. fluorescent lamps
4. dusty plants
5. cold rooms

Give God a Year

I was considering the "picture a day" idea for 2010 where you take a picture a day in your life and post 365-1, 365-2, etc. But I've had a better idea.

I'm giving God a year. In my never ending quest to lose weight, I came across a new book written by Carole Lewis, "Give God a Year." So far it's a really good read. The whole idea is to commit to a year of giving God first place in your day and everything else falls into place. It's not about "losing weight" but getting your priorities in order where your relationship with Christ is concerned.

The week before Christmas I started my year. I am pretty good at my daily devotional time, but I want to deepen my relationship with Christ. I am committing myself to a regular daily time with God where I am journaling and right now working on a First Place 4 Health Bible study.

I could easily say that my committment is to lose X number of pounds, exercise regularly, etc. but I think that working on my relationship will help everything else fall into place.

What have you resolved to do this year that is different than in the past?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. droopy plants
2. space heaters
3. this morning's sunrise
4. Joe making his flight home
5. gift card holders

Back to the Grind

It's tough going back to school (work) after the holidays!



I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. hamburgers
2. dinner invitations
3. long conversations
4. decorations being put away
5. routine

A Great Year

2009 was a wonderful year!

Yes, we started with Lance in the hospital for an appendectomy in January and yes Christian was in the hospital several times and began chemo this year, but overall the year has been great.

My husband is 6 months away from finishing his Master of Divinity and being commissioned in the Methodist Church, my job is developing and offering me more responsibilities and projects, we are serving a church in a new capacity and my children are happy.

I never dreamed we would have moved and serve a church by this time, but God's timing is perfect.

I pray that 2010 offers you and your families many blessings.

Happy New Year!

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. peanut butter on a bagel
2. haircuts
3. cards to address
4. external hard drives
5. new beginnings

I Stopped...

It's so easy for the evenings in our home to go by without much interaction. Last night, my oldest son was wiping out his hard drive and trying to get his netbook to work, my husband was working on clearing papers, bills, etc., I was washing dishes, and my little Christian was watching a Thomas video.

Christian came up to me and said, "Come watch with me"! So, I stopped what I was doing and went and laid on his bed and watched his little DVD player with him. We talked all about the movie and giggled till our tummies hurt!

We get so tied up into what we are doing that sometimes we forget to "be" together.

We've started playing alot of Wii tennis and it's too much fun.

What are you doing as a family everyday?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. cardstock
2. scrapbooking
3. invites to parties
4. choclate covered pecans
5. enjoying the moment

A Wonderful Holiday

Christmas with a three year old is just too much fun! My thirteen year old is still young enough to also still "be a kid" and not too much of a "tween" and it made for a wonderful Christmas morning.

When your small family of four lives hundreds of miles away from family, it can be a little lonely. I was set to make a nice meal on Christmas Day, watch some movies and that would have made our holiday complete. But we were invited to Christmas lunch at B and T's and Christmas dinner at J and B's! We took everyone up on their offers and we had such a blessed day!

Family is not only "blood" but family is the love you have for others and the relationships you cultivate. This was one of our best Christmas Day's to date.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. friendship
2. the possibility of snow
3. fleece
4. B's tamales
5. after Christmas shopping

Happy Anniversary!

This past weekend, my husband and I celebrated seventeen years of marriage. It seems like we have been together forever (in a good way).

I was too young at the time to know the kind of love that I experience with him now. We have traveled many paths together, loved our children, and created new lives for ourselves in a new place (a few times).

The way we spent our weekend was perfecft. We drove up to Santa Fe (one of our favorite places) and spent the day in the square shopping, went to the movies with the boys and ended the day on the Storybook Train.

The train took us a few miles out of Santa Fe, stopped under the night sky and a storyteller came out and read The Polar Express to all the children. Then hot chocolate and cookies were served and the evening finished with a visit from Santa! He even passed out jingle bells from his reindeer. My Christian was thrilled!

It's these precious moments in life that make everything worthwhile.

I love you, Joe.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. hot tea

2. sweatshirts

3. baking yet to come

4. push pins

5. fresh flowers

Friday's

This is what our Friday's have looked like.....







after today we have a month break! Then we start a new infusion drug that is a once a month infusion for five months. Hopefully this protocol will work on Christian's levels and do the trick.

We continue to pray.

We do what we have to for our children.

A friend recently told me "I could never stick my child in the chest with a needle!" Well, I never thought I could either, but you do what you have to do.

I look around the infusion suite and I see children with no hair battling cancer...young teens on dialysis...there is always something greater than you can imagine to deal with.

I'll take what we have and thank God for the blessings in my life.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. naps
2. my iPhone
3. sunflower seeds
4. Christmas shopping (FINISHED!)
5. trains

No Room

Have you ever had a Christmas season where once it was all over you realized you had left Christ out of the picture?



I have promised to try my best to not let that happen. I am purposely scaling back...not every ornament is on the tree (I only have one tree instead of two), not all the decorations, including the village, came out of their boxes, I've not gone overboard shopping and baking...quite yet.



I want to enjoy the quiet of Christmas...you know, enjoy the sounds around me. Enjoy my children as we watch as Christmas special, prepare for our days off together and plan some quality time. Enjoy just "being".



Our holiday schedules get so busy that we have no room for solitude with the Lord, no room for Jesus to work wonders in your life, no room in our schedules to breathe, no room for Jesus.



I challenge you this holiday season to leave room for the One who is most important.



Today I Am Thankful For:



1. Walmart pizza

2. pictures with Santa

3. holiday music

4. porch lights

5. tea lights

Advent

At lunch after church I heard an interesting conversation. A woman, who is close friends to our lunch buddies, had never heard of Advent. She is a church going woman, but their church does not celebrate Advent.

She was trying very hard to understand what this time in our church year meant. I find it odd that not everyone knows about Advent. Growing up Catholic and becoming Methodist, it is part of our tradition, so it is all I know at this time of year.

Advent is a time of preparation. A season to prepare for the birth of Christ. Some people use Advent calendars to mark off the days until Christmas, others use candles, but regardless of how you mark the season of Advent it reminds us that the coming of Christ into the world is not something that just happened in the past -- the season of Advent tells us that Christ continues to come into our world in the present through the lives of people who choose to follow Him.

Just as we prepare our homes for guests at the holidays, we need to prepare our hearts for the most special guest of all.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. lots of work to keep me busy "at work"
2. furniture polish
3. snowmen
4. childhood Christmas decorations
5. fingerpaints

Presents

"It is better to give than to receive."



I do love to give presents. I love to pick out just the right paper with a pretty bow, but let's be honest, it's nice to get a present too and that's okay.



When you start to look around, there are presents everywhere. Not just wrapped in pretty boxes and bags but around you in your daily living.



Your child doing well in school, a warm house in the winter, food to eat, a computer to surf and blog, a sleeping dog under the tree...you just have to open your eyes to the blessings around you. If they were wrapped in a pretty box, you would love to open them and cherish them.






The reality is, we have received the ultimate gift of all. Jesus. He died for us. For each of us. I mean think about it...God sent his only son to die on the cross for us. That is huge! Watch The Passion of the Christ sometime to get a visual of what that really meant. We say it so often and take it for granted, but what did it look like? Do we know what it means? We are given the gift of His love everyday. The gift of forgiveness of our sins, everyday.



Think about presents today. How would you wrap up the love of Christ?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. papers to shred

2. a decorated tree

3. "Jingle Bell Rock"

4. newly hung pictures

5. the clinking sound in the dryer

Another week

I always enjoy Monday mornings. I know, it sounds crazy, but I like to gather my thoughts and plans for the week and know that a new week has come with many opportunities.

Holiday decorations to display, meals to cook, cookies to bake, music to prepare...the list goes on, but it is a list of things that will bless our family. New traditions mixed with the old to make some wonderful memories.

I have finally gotten to the point in my life where I do not let holiday's "rule" me. I used to get very stressed out about buying presents (did I get enough) decorating just right (what was Martha Stewart doing lately) and did the food I cook and bake come out good enough?

There is not a"right" way to celebrate, as long as you are with your family and friends.

Enjoy the beginning of your week! Fill it with memory making!

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. new bulletin boards
2. iPod chargers
3. portable DVD players (keeps Christian busy in the hospital :)
4. turtleneck sweaters
5. firewood

Slow but steady...

Slow but steady wins the race, or in our case today, slow but steady will get you to Albuquerque safely!

We had snow and ice in our small town last night and getting to the hospital (2 hours away) to an 8:30 am appointment did not quite happen. We arrived at 9:30 but all in one piece.

Christian's chemo did not even start running in his IV until 2 pm! Doctor's orders were not written out completely, and one thing after another seemed to happen. His treatment will hopefully be finished around 8 pm. It is something that cannot be rushed. Slow and steady.

I think it's like our relationship with Christ. In the beginning we get so excited and want everything to happen quickly. We want to be close to God desperately, but it takes time to develop our relationship. We cannot make it happen through being on every committee at church and attending every Bible Study available. It takes time. Personal, quiet time. Slow and steady.

Being consistent in my time with the Lord on a daily basis is what has kept me connected. That relationship has strengthened over the past several years.

When I make the drive that I have come to be very familiar with to Albuquerque, I feel the Lord with me. It's a great time to talk.

When do you talk to Him?

Working for the Lord

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I am overwhelmed with the blessings in my life. We got away to nearby Santa Fe, rode the train, played in the snow...it was great. We have some family in from Houston for a few more days and sometimes I get overwhelmed at cooking and keeping everyone happy. This prompted a verse to come to mind.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

When you think about the verse, it's kind of hard to not work with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart. Working at cooking meals, making people feel at home while they are away from theirs, working at our daily jobs that are not in ministry.

Everything we do should glorify God. That is what oozing is all about. You can ooze the Holy Spirit while you are working on quarterly reports, preparing a mailing and making phone calls.

It's a challenge. Can you take this verse to heart this week? What will be your biggest challenge?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. pecans
2. the possibility of snow
3. rocking chairs
4. hand sanitizer
5. groomed dogs

Giving Thanks

If I was to list the things I am thankful for, I don't know if I could stop. It's not just the big things like a great job, or my health, but also the little things like peanut butter and biscuits at the local diner.



I can honestly say that I am thankful for the bleeding disorders that my children have. I've experienced a lifetime with them both and it has made me grow and will turn my boys into strong men.



I am also thankful that several years ago I learned that Thanksgiving does not have to be "done" a "certain" way...i.e. "Martha Stewart."



I am in a hotel in Santa Fe with my family, having a Thanksgiving feast (that I'm not cooking) at the Marriott with a leisurely movie thrown in. What a glorious day it will be! Surrounded by the mountains in what I deem "God's Country."



My prayer for you is that you do not get too overwhelmed by Thanksgiving. Don't be "Martha" (Luke 10:38-42)! Enjoy the company as "Mary" enjoyed listening to Jesus. It was a time she did not want to pass up.



Our lives are filled with charmed moments. Moments that we will hopefully be awake enough to experience and hopefully wise enough to appreciate (Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day).



Blessings to you and your families on this day of thanks. Let's keep our days of thanks going throughout the entire year. Write down the things you are thankful for and go back and revisit your list. You'll be amazed at how you view the world.



Today I Am Thankful For:



1. family flying in safely

2. hearing my little one breathing as he is snuggled under the covers

3. rest

4. new cameras

5. a treasured new book The Gift of An Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison

Our ultimate reward

Had a scare this weekend. My husband had to go to the emergency room. He is a diabetic that has controlled his diabetes through diet and medication for several years, but now it seems as if he may need to go on insulin.

He was not feeling great and found out that his sugar was extremely high.

When you have someone (or you are) in the hospital you start to think about life ending. I've been doing that a lot as I've gotten into my "forties." I always have assumed that I would be the one to "go first" because I can't imagine my life without my husband. I just adore him.

To see my husband sick just scares me. He's doing great now but these things happen and make us think about our mortality. Sometimes I find myself thinking about what I would do if my husband passed away. Where would I live, what about the kids, etc. It's crazy thinking but I think part of that thinking is Satan getting his hands on me.

What I should be thinking about is what my ultimate reward will be when I die! I will get to spend eternity at the feet of Jesus. It's time to not be scared of death but to prepare in our hearts for the day that we will meet God.

I lack quite a bit of wisdom where death is concerned. I pray that God give me the heart and soul to prepare for it.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12



Today I Am Thankful For:

1. choclate milk
2. an organized coat closet
3. a clean fridge
4. modems
5. possibilities