Field of Daisies

One of my goals for this year is to go through the entire book: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. This book is chock full of godly wisdom and some of the most inspiring and challenging precepts of Christianity.

I have used this book as a devotional for years, but I've never made it through each and every devotion. My goal is to do that this year. Happily, I have just completed the first month successfully! :-)

One down; eleven to go. So far, so good. (And yes, I'm being challenged already!)

Posted by at 11:13 AM | Permalink

I got this idea from my husband's blog.... Looked cool, so I did it for myself. Just a little fun stuff to divert attention from the heavier stuff of life....

Click here to generate a map of the states of our great country that you've visited.

Posted by at 10:27 AM | Permalink

It wasn't even my birthday. Not my anniversary either. But there it was nonetheless: a present from God, all for me.

It wasn't wrapped in festive paper. It wasn't tied with a brightly colored bow. It didn't bear a hefty price tag and wasn't accompanied with the usual return receipt in case I didn't like it or it didn't fit. In this instance, I wouldn't return it for anything. It was a perfect fit for me!

This was a gift straight from God's heart to mine....

You see, my husband and I recently received a 'diagnosis' for our daughter. It wasn't life-threatening, but it was a blow to us nevertheless. The condition is one that is chronic, probably even life-long, and one that our daughter will struggle with to some degree for the rest of her days. Because of this, grief had settled into my heart. Oh, I heard the usual messages: It could be worse. Be thankful it isn't worse. But to my heart, anything that makes my daughter's life more difficult grieves me. She's had so much to deal with in her young life already.

Even so, God saw my heart and the grief that weighed it down. He knew my thoughts. He knew I needed encouragement. He knew I need hope. He knew I needed a better understanding of just what we're dealing with...and those are the gifts He sent me yesterday.

Through the course of a casual conversation while doing menial, repetitive work, heaven opened up, and God reached down His hand presenting me with the sweetest gift: words of comfort, encouragement, and hope from a new friend.

She didn't know about my daughter's diagnosis. But as she told me (and the other ladies present) about her youngest daughter and how God had blessed them, the similarities in our circumstances began to unfold. She spoke enthusiastically about how wonderfully God had blessed them and their daughter through the ways she had learned to manage her own condition, even offering support and encouragement to other families facing the same malady. This new friend helped me to understand without even knowing what I was going through.

As she finished her thoughts about her daughter, she mentioned what a gift from God all that had been. "Funny you should mention it," I replied, and I began telling her of the gift God had just given me through her.

God is all-powerful. Of that there is no doubt. He is ever-present. But of all the awesome characteristics of God, the most amazing is the unfathomable love He has for His children--the tender, compassionate, loving-kindness that He freely lavishes on those who love Him.

No, it wasn't my birthday or my anniversary. This gift from God was 'just because'... Just because He loves me....

Thank You, Father! I will give You praise forever!

Posted by at 06:57 AM | Permalink

Every now and then you run across a person who is willing to open up about their deepest personal struggles. We all have them in varying degrees, (struggles, that is), but many of us are unwilling to allow others into that inner circle where the struggle rages.

This past year I met a woman who was willing. She shared her deepest struggles and secrets with me, and all she asked in return was my friendship. That was easy enough.

But, as events began to unfold in her life, I realized the struggle was more than it appeared--it was a stronghold of the enemy. Suddenly I realized my dear friend's very life was at stake.

Because I have dealt with strongholds myself, because God was gracious to me and brought me back from the 'desert' of despair, I was willing to go with my friend, to walk through this desert with her. But recently, instead of continuing to 'walk,' my friend decided to 'sit down'. Then she turned around altogether. Now, instead of going through the desert, she has returned to her 'Egypt'--the place of bondage that will be her ultimate downfall. Indeed it may even take her very life.

I told her the truth a few days ago (as I always try to do)--something all real friends should do. I told her of the potential ramifications of actively going back to the bondage. I told her it could very well cost her her life. I held up the mirror of reality so she could see (or be reminded of) how that action would affect those in her life who love her--namely her husband and children.

Likewise, I told her of the incredible possibilities that lay ahead for her should she choose to do the right thing before God. I laid out the path of victory for her, complete with confirmation that those most horrible circumstances in her life right now could someday become unrecognizable to her--that her very life as it is now, with all it's pain and misery, could become utterly and completely unrecognizable to her.... But then I told her what few of us like to hear: the choice was hers to make. This choice--to go back to bondage or to go forward in God's grace was for her and her alone to make. No one can make it for her.

As of yesterday afternoon, my friend made her choice. She chose Egypt. She chose pain for herself and everyone she cares about. She chose misery, hopelessness, fear, and possibly even death.

My heart breaks for my friend and for all who love her. But the choice was hers and she made it with full knowledge of the potential risks. I have prayed for this friend more or less daily for I don't know how long, and I will continue to pray for her.

...Sometimes that's all we can do.

Posted by at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Our son turned 12 today! It wasn't all that long ago that I was waddling into Baylor Hospital in Dallas, both excited and petrified of the process before me. In just 15 short (?) hours

The first couple of years we had together were dreamlike most of the time. With Joel gone to work and me staying home, Zach and I had every day to spend together. We played and romped and watched Barney, napped and ate and played some more. We went for walks to the park on sunny days and sat on a blanket in the front yard discoverying the world around us: Zach for the first time; me for the first time through his eyes.

Now my baby boy is 12! I can hardly believe it when he stands next to me or gives me a hug. He's almost as tall as I am. (It won't be long before I'll have to look up to look him in the face!) And still he is the most wonderful young man; one of my very favorite people in the world. He is all boy, loving anything electronic or high-tech: computer games, video games, Bionicles, Zoids--all that stuff. He's a whiz at board games and card games, and takes to just about any sport he tries. I couldn't believe the first time he ice skated! He took off like he'd been doing it all his life!

He never ceases to amaze me....

I would have to say beyond any doubt that I am proud of my son. He's a fun and pleasant person to be around, respectful of others, kind-hearted. He's got a great sense of humor, he's smart as a whip, and he loves God. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Yeah, it's his birthday, but I'm the one who's blessed!

Happy Birthday, Zach!

Posted by at 04:07 PM | Permalink

I've never been one to put much stock in Groundhog Day. Six more weeks of winter? or early spring? P'shaw! Anyway, last night, the 'holiday' came up in conversation with my husband, and I asked him when it is... He was flabbergasted that I didn't know. I told him nobody knows when Groundhog Day is. Nobody cares. He didn't believe me, so he spent the next 20 minutes or so doing a random survey on the phone to find out just what percentage of people cared enough to know. Out of the ten or so phone calls he made, not one knew when the 'big day' is! I had to laugh. Ha!

Anyway, I proceeded to do a search on Google for things related to Groundhog Day, and actually found some pretty interesting stuff. (My favorite site had some really fun games! I ended up playing the memory game for half an hour or so! Addictive stuff!)

For those who don't know, Groundhog Day always falls on February 2nd. Believe me, this year we're gonna have to celebrate it! ;-)

Oh, and if you haven't seen the movie, what better day to do so than February 2nd? It's a very fun movie!

Posted by at 05:31 PM | Permalink

Our kids are loving the "real" school experience--thankfully! Zach has been his usual happy self the past couple of days, abounding with laughter and energy. Jenna, too, is enjoying being with "the girls." Unfortunately, she *hates* homework, and is spending hours on it each night without completing it. This week she gets grace for unfinished homework, but next week it begins to affect her grade.... I'm honestly not sure she's up to the task. She's really going to have to have a change of attitude if she's going to succeed. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I am loving having the house to myself! (Although it was noon before Joel left for the office today.) :-( I have been working diligently to get the house in order, transforming the "schoolroom" into the family den. I've just about got things under control, though I still have several boxes of stuff to sort through.

The coolest news of the day? The dreaded treadmill is no longer a fixture in our living room! Hooray! It is now nestled inconspicuously in the new "den." This just keeps getting better!

Hooray for OCA!

Posted by at 11:46 PM | Permalink

Tomorrow is a brand new day for our family. Zach and Jenna are heading off to school at OCA ...Their first day in an "institutional" school (--well, their first day since they left OCS three years ago after only one semester there....)

This school change will mean a life change for me as well as for them. For the better part of the past seven years, home schooling has been my life from August through May each year.

For them, they will have to get up by a certain time, get themselves together and ready for school, spend seven hours away from home, with homework to do as needed. Their "free" time will be diminished considerably. They will be surrounded with other children their own age, with teachers they can't call Mom, and rules they'd better not break! (They know that if they get into trouble at school, they will also get into trouble when they get home.) And they won't have each other to pick on or play with all day long. (Yes, I'm looking forward to this change!)

Jenna, our third grader, is looking forward to going to school. She is ready to have lots of girlfriends with whom she can talk incessantly--during recess and lunch, anyway. Zach, on the other hand, values his "free" time, and is reluctant to lose that. (He will mourn the loss, but he'll get over it; I have no doubt.) Being in sixth grade, this is actually a very good year to make this transition. Next year--middle school--will be a whole new ball game.

So here's to Zach and Jenna and their first day at school! I salute them, I have faith in them, and I will be praying for them every day.... (And I'll probably pray for their teachers as well!)

(Note: The above photo was taken on our recent road trip. They're really not insane... When this photo was taken they had just indulged in a boat-load of chocolate at Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, PA.)

Posted by at 09:07 PM | Permalink

I just entered my first poetry contest. I've always loved to write, but never really focused on poetry. I wrote this one for my folks 'cause I needed a little something to slip in between photos of my two kids for Christmas. (I couldn't find a frame with only two photo slots.) You can view my poem at Poetry.com. (Just put my name in the "Search for a poet" boxes.) Anyway, wish me luck!

Posted by at 08:53 PM | Permalink

In the more southern states we have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas and ham on New Year's Day. I did a little research into the origin of this tradition, and this is what I found:

One possible origin of "eating Black-eyed peas on New Years day started during the Civil War. The Northern soldiers raided the South's food supplies one New Year's Eve night and took all the food except for the dried black-eyed peas and the salted pork. On New Years day, all that the southern soldiers had to eat were the peas and pork to keep them alive, so it is concidered good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Years because of this event. "

I don't know the validity of this explanation, but it certainly makes sense to me.

So for those of you who choose to partake...Bon appetite!

Posted by at 11:45 PM | Permalink