Coffee? Tea? Serenity?

This morning, along with our alarm clock, the storms woke us.  Thunder in the distance.  Lightning flashes.  (More)

I created a new category.  I named it How's the Back?  When they first appeared, I placed my physical symptoms in God's hands.  He has helped me tremendously.  Over the past couple of months, my experiences and the information that I learned seems to get sloshed around in my head.  I often wish that I had a special place in my memory where I could record important things and they would just stay put.  No such luck.  A nurse practitioner once told me that our memory can be compared to that of a computer's memory.  We can only hold so much, then the new has to be saved over the old.  Sometimes the old is gone forever.  It seems that as I get older, the memory bank shrinks in size.  With that in mind, I will be using my blog to store information relating to the challenges with my back and how God helps me through them.  While I work on organizing the information, the settings will not permit those posts to show up as "new" ones.  When you reach my blog, you will have to click on the category to read those specific posts.   After all, much of what I am writing, at this time, is rather old news.  Once all is done and I reach a point of posting current information, I may change the settings.  To reach the new category, look to the right of this text, you will see a link to it.  Within that category, you will see posts of specific topics.

Prayers are powerful.  The more the better.  If you're reading this, I invite you to join me in praying that I can continue to find comfort in God's Hands and that I can listen when the Holy Spirit directs me in wisdom - in ALL areas of my life.

Sunday, Mother’s Day, our Pastor gave a lovely homily dedicated to mothers.  It was touching to hear of him speak of me, of my mom, of all mothers in such a holy way.  As he spoke, my thoughts hopped, skipped, and jumped amid the challenges that I face with my own child, those that my mother and mother-in-law faced, and those which my grandmothers faced.  I glanced over to my own teenage son - seated upon the altar – a faithful altar server – so grown – young man – where has time gone?  My heart grew.  The lump in my throat grew, too.  Mother is such an important role.  Have I done as God wanted me to?  With these thoughts, I became lost in memories.  It lasted only a few moments.  What happened next melted my heart, and the lump in my throat, into flowing tears.  The words that caught my attention were, “Lovely lady dressed in blue.”  Most Catholics would immediately think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, when hearing these, but not I.  My thoughts were on my Grandma Foreman….lovely lady dressed in blue.  She liked wearing the color blue.  As long as I can remember, she drove a blue car.  I wonder when she came to like blue so much.  Was it because her own mother died when she was such very young child?  Was it because she leaned on Jesus’ mother in prayer during the challenges in her own life?  Did she look to Mary as an example of how a mother should be?  Was it simply that she liked the color?  The tears flowed.  No tissue.  I made an attempt to gently channel them to the side of my face.  They flowed more.  I wondered if they made a puddle upon my shoulder for all to see.  It matters not.  When the tears ceased, I thanked God for blessing us with a Pastor who always seems to speak to my soul.  I only heard the first few lines of the poem that he read, so I promised myself to search for it.  This morning I did just that.   

Grandma Foreman, our family's lovely lady dressed in blue, I hope that Jesus is enjoying your stories as much as we did!

For the past couple of months, my mom has been saying, "Some good crabs!"  That repeated comment helped me to know exactly what Mom would appreciate for Mother's Day.  Mom was very excited when I told her my plans.  The restaurant was found.  The small trip was planned for Saturday evening. 

It was I who was the more surprised, though.  To sit and watch her enjoy those crabs was a delight.  There was no elegance in the restaurant we chose - good thing!  First we order drinks.  Next, we order our meals.  Then comes the appetizers.  Three of us had seafood gumbo.  I had salad.  One of us had no appetizer.  With this day being the day before Mother's Day, the place was full, filled with sounds of joy and children, and the wait was a little long.  We waited patiently.

The waitress approached our table to say that the crabs would be ready before the other foods ordered and she wanted to know if it would be alright if she brought those out first.  Well, of course!

Here come the crabs!  Mike ordered some and of course Mom did.  I could not eat them, though I did taste, do to a recent, mild allergic reaction to shrimp.  Dad, Scott, and myself chose to eat other choices - which could never compare to the taste of those crabs.  They were just yummy.

No one had to ask Mom if she was enjoying her order.  It was quite evident.  She tackled those critters with aggressive delight.  The shells were scattering everywhere.  I sat directly across the table from her.  I had shells landing in my lap.  She had shells in her hair.  Lord knows where the poor waitress found bits of crab shells as she cleared our table.  As Mom finished her last crab, she said, "OH, Cindy, that was very good!"  The family at the table near us looked our way with a sweet, understanding smile. 

Mike enjoyed his crabs, too.  At one time, he said that his fingers were too big and he could not work as quickly as he'd like to eat them.

As we were leaving the restaurant, Dad seemed a bit uncomfortable with the fact that Mike and I grabbed the tab for the entire meal.  That was my intention - as a gift to Mom.  When he mentioned the "bill", I said to him, "Dad, it was well worth every penny to see Mom and Mike enjoy those crabs."

The gift that I gave to Mom turned out to be a real treat for me as well - to watch her enjoy hers.

For some reason, I cannot view her posts.  I continue to get an error message.  Is anyone else experiencing the same?

This happened once before.  It was after the recent upgrading took place.  After a while, I was once again able to read her posts.

I have seen and read posts of other bloggers with the same template.  I have not run across any other blog that gives the same error message.  I wonder what the issue is.

If anyone has any helpful hints on what might be causing me to get this message, please share them with me in a comment.

Missing Carolyn's writings.......

No, never mind.  I don't want to know the whole story.  I saw a couple of blogs that caught my attention - can't remember why - but as I read them, it seemed that something was not right.  I thought, perhaps the ones referenced have been deleted.  The whole thing just blew right over my head.  Maybe that was the Lord's Will, His plan, .......for my benefit????

One of the Scriptures that stick the heaviest upon my heart is the one that says we should not argue over the Word.  (my words; no quotes) I am not sure if that is what is going on, but I certainly feel the tention.  I am annoyed with the tension.  Is there reason for the messages to continue back and forth?  Who will be the wiser?

This brings to mind an experience in my family past.  One that perhaps God would like for me to share, now, because as I was typing the memory POUNDED my thoughts:

My son was attending a private school; same private school of which I was employed.  A new teacher was hired for the grade which my child was attending.  I saw many signs which raised red flags, but thought that it was simply a mother's worry about her little one.  Within the first few months of school, that thought was thrown out the window and a whole new ball game had started.  Details are not necessary, but I can tell you that this time in our lives - as parents - was the MOST challenging.  I was having to trust my principal to do what was best for all, but all the while working across the hall and watching things happen that I knew to be wrong.  I made my concerns known to my principal - and my Boss; through prayer.  In the end, I removed my child and he attended another school for the remainder of the year.  As I said, the MOST challenging time for us.

What is my point?  I could have shouted from the rooftops, to the newspapers, and to the local news channels what was taking place.  I trusted in God instead.  I prayed.  He had placed that principal in charge of the school - NOT me.  I trusted that He was in control through her.  When God calls upon a person to "be in charge", it is not our place to question the decisions of that person.  After all, when God CALLS a person to utilize their talents, he has ALREADY equipped them.  In the end, that teacher was fired.  The principal and I continued working together - with respect for one another.  Sometimes we agreed with one another 100%.  Sometimes not.  And sometimes, we just kept quiet.

I could state my opinions on what the 'fussers' should do next, but I wonder if that would be sounding judgemental.  With that thought, I will simply close by saying that although I know not the root of the fussing (and do not want to know), I will pray that the they are filled with peace, understanding, and the wisdom needed to put it to rest and move forward with an increased amount of love and respect for Christ, His power, His wisdom, and His grace.

"There are diversities of gifts...."  I Corinthians 12:4

In the late afternoon hours, yesterday, I sat for a moment to read a couple of my favorite blogs here on Christian Blog Sites.  When my reading time was up and I had to move on to prepare supper, a song entered my thoughts.  I remembered a song with the words, "the Spirit is a movin', all over, all over this land...."  I smiled and thought, "The Spirit is a Bloggin".

I cannot read all of the blogs or all of the posts within this site, but there are a few of you whom I try to get a peak at each day.  Carolyn with "Blessings", flutterby with "The Shadow of Your Wings", and Deacon Farley with "A The Baptist Deacon" have captured my interest and it is you that I am thinking of as I write this post.  The Spirit is moving through your blog messages.  The Spirit is moving in ways that have blessed me and I wanted to shout out a big THANK YOU for allowing yourselves to be His vessels.

One never knows where Jesus will touch them, bless them, and give them a gentle nudge in the right direction.  This site and these bloggers have done just that for me and I pray that each of you are blessed for it!

The Spirit is a bloggin - all over, all over, this land......................

Several years ago, a friend of mine who was on a difficult journey in her life shared with me that sometimes the only thing that she could be grateful for was the fact that mornings came because with morning meant the end of the previous day.  I feel that way today, though my journey is nowhere near what she endured.  Yesterday was NOT one to fit into the category of good.  When the alarm clock rang this morning, I praised God for this new day - glad that yesterday had passed.

Often on Mondays, because they follow the serene days of Sunday, when hubby asks how my day was, I will say that I hate Mondays.  The gone Sunday serenity seems to be overcome with the chaos of Monday.  This past Monday was actually a good one.  Yesterday felt like Monday.  My day started with a call from my mother-in-law who told me that my father-in-law would need to return to the urologist.  She had several other things to be done which I normally would have offered to help with.  Because of my own circumstances, I felt helpless because I could not offer that help and my heart was filled with concern.  The next thing that happened was Scott woke, lightly blew his nose, and approached me with a bloody tissue - A NOSEBLEED!  It lasted only moments, but my heart was saddened to see that reoccur.  The rest of the day was just one of those that makes you feel like you should have stayed in bed.  Homeschooling lessons were like trying to build a house without a hammer, too much soap into the washer made me have to rinse twice, my computer was not cooperative, and everything that I touched seemed to make me stumble in patience.  When Hubby arrived home from work, one topic of conversation trickled into another ending with one on a recent offer made to him.  That offer was relating to a job.  Someone whom he had previously worked with who now works at a different company called him to offer him a position.  This position would mean a promotion as well as an increase in pay.  As the two discussed this, it was also mentioned that IF he took the offer, the first thing that he'd have to do is attend classes in order to speak another language.  This, apparently, is something required because of the influx of workers who cannot speak English.  With that information, my husband turned down the offer.  That topic of converstation started a snow ball effect in my own thoughts.......do we still live in AMERICA? ... did someone uproot us without my knowing and we now live in a foreign country required to speak and read a new language?....here I am banging my head against a brick wall in an effort to educate my son so that he can be a productive citizen in society and the work force while others are welcomed into our country, hired, and are making a living without being able to speak English!....do they have to have ''HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA" checked on their application in order to be hired?....are they required to know how to solve algebraic equations in order to posess their diploma?.....must they know the eight parts of speech, diagram sentences, and be able to write in the correct order of events?......ALL of these are skills required for our son to be able to acquire his diploma.....all of these are skills that we are tackling as monsters with a TEENage son who thinks they are not necessary.......notice the all caps on TEEN.....did I say TEEN?....TEENage son.........  Praise God for mornings.

On this morning, as hubby and I watched the morning news and enjoyed our coffee, I was able to begin my day in praises to our Lord.  The news story was of a woman who found an alligator in her kitchen.  YES, you read that correctly - an ALLIGATOR in her kitchen.  You can read the story and view photos at this site:  http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23585378-13762,00.html.  Hubby's sense of humor allowed me to begin my day with laughter.  When the news story ended, he said, "Well that's nothing!  They worry too much!  At least it wasn't carrying a gun..................."  That's all I heard - laughter drowned out the remainder of his comments.  The thought of him taking the circumstances of an alligator in HIS kitchen as lightly as he took the news of this poor woman's caused my eruption of laughter.  This coming from him who wrestles with the voice box of ALL drive thru burger joints - thinking of this causes me to laugh more!

Praise God for my hubby - his sense of humor, his buger joint wrestlings, and his abiltiy to see the silver lining in all clouds.  Praise God for mornings that begin new with sunshine, with new attitudes, with new chaos, and with new serenity.  Praise God for my TEENage son whom I would not trade for any other!  Praise God for all the blessings that were present in my day, yesterday, but were clouded by me seeing only the chaos. 

Psalm 150:6 - "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!" NKJV

All is well for Scott's nose following the cauterization.  As difficult as it was, he has for the most part followed all directions given by the doctor.  Remaining indoors and away from the pollen filled wind was the most difficult, but he has survived.  Today, he will begin to follow additional instructions using an antibiotic ointment and saline nasal spray.  This will continue for seven days.  He will return for a follow-up exam two weeks after the cauterization.

This morning, he woke VERY early.  As I was having my coffee, he entered the kitchen to ask me if sinus could effect teeth.  WHAT?!?!?!?!  TEETH?!?!?!??! ....why are you asking THAT????  We finally have the bleeding nose under control and now you want to talk TEETH????  He explained that the gum area directly behind his last back tooth (opposite the side of cauterization) began bothering him yesterday afternoon.  We discussed the possibilities, had him rinse with warm salt water, and  he returned to bed.  Oh, Dear Lord, please let us fix one problem before another appears!!!!

What is that saying? ....  God doesn't send to you more than you can handle....hmmm......I have often said that God has more confidence in me than I in myself.  He continues to prove that thought OVER AND OVER AND OVER.  Thank you, God for the vote of confidence, but my checkbook could sure use some relief right about now.

Have a GREAT day!

Scott was apprehensive about the process.  The physician's assistant, Mr. S., was great.  When Scott asked if there would be pain, Mr. S. responded with, "OH, YEAH - It's gonna hurt reeeeeeeal bad - It's gonna send a reeeeeeal bad pain all the way to your brain!"  With that, we all laughed.

The cauterization caused no pain, but the instructions given for the next three days is about to break Scott.  He cannot be around dusty situations, he cannot bend for more than a minute or so, and he cannot strain or lift.  Well, for a country, out-doorsy boy, what does that leave him to do?  He cannot even feed his horses - which produces hay dust.  All afternoon, he has been saying, "Man, I can't do ANYTHING."  Hhhmm.......I can think of many things, but he likes none of my ideas.  He will survive.  Will I?

We return in two weeks for a check up.  At that time, the nose will be examined and we will discuss the allergy symptoms and medications that he is currently on for those.  We may be looking at allergy testing.  Did that when he was three.  We'll have to see what happens.

I will end my day in praises to our Lord for having ordered the appointment in a way that He knew would work well for Scott, and for me too.