Update on a soldier's Christmas... and a little about me.

I will begin by giving you all the finale to the soldier story. If you are unfamiliar with how this all began, go back and read my posts "Saying 'Thank You' to a Soldier this Christmas..." and "Unabashed tears on my driveway...". That brings you up to date. We truly prayed and sought God's guidance on how to best bless this family. One night in my sleep it hit me! I told my family, "I know what we are going to do! We are making a wreath out of gift cards to as many places as we can possibly afford." They loved the idea... time to start saving!

Surprise!! The next week, October 21st to be exact, Jason was laid off from his job. Our natural reaction was panic, but we trust that God is our source and knew he was in control. We actually got excited about it, because we knew God was up to something. The incredible news is that Jason was only out of work for 2 weeks. In that 2 weeks he had 13 interviews and 6 offers from companies. God overwhelmed him with favor, affirmation and encouragement. He came out of that situation a stronger man, with a better job!! Psalm 90:17 (AMP) "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

October 29th I began an intense medical journey that has yet to resolve. It is much too involved to add to this post, but I know it is just another attack... I also know it is contrary to the prophetic promises and calling on my life that have yet to be fulfilled! He will have the Glory!! Luke 1:37 (AMP) "For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment."

Back to the soldier story. Even with everything that has been happening the past few months, we still knew it was in God's heart to bless Mike(the soldier) and his family. God provided a way for us to save a good sum, plus he placed it on the heart of another family to anonymously give towards this gift. Two days before Christmas we prayed over the wreath and then went to deliver it. Mike and his family were so overwhelmed by the gift. They accepted it with such grace and were so very thankful. They were truly blessed. (Yes, I cried like a baby... what's new?) The humbling thing about all of this was recognizing we were truly just the willing vessels God was using to touch this family. It didn't matter what was going on in our lives, how the enemy attacked us, what distractions were thrown at us. God chose us, we said "yes", HE provided the means.

Unabashed tears on my driveway...

If you have not read my post "Saying 'Thank You' to a Soldier this Christmas" from last month, you will want to do so before reading further. Tonight I had the absolute honor of meeting "My Soldier". (Yes, I said "my" because he and his family have stolen my heart.) Before I get to that, I have to back up just a tad. Last month I passed by his house and noticed him out front using a walker. I was so upset and naturally wondering what had happened. Had he been in an accident? Was he ok? I began to really pray for him. This evening, we had just gotten home from running a few errands, barely even out of the car and guess who came walking by... yes, "My Soldier". Jason recognized him right away and immediately made an effort to get down our driveway to talk to him. First of all his name is "Mike". Jason asked him if he was ok and told him we had seen him using a walker. He told us that he was injured in August during a training mission, preparing for his next deployment to Afghanistan later this month. He severely injured his back and last month had major back surgery. They had to remove 1 vertebrae, repair two others, put in screws and plates and fuse his back together. After 16 years of bravely serving this country he is about to be forced to retire and enter the civilian life. He is actually going to be looking for a job, soon and has no idea what is in his future. He stood there and told us this story and proceeded to add "Me and my wife know that my life and our future is in my good Lord's hands. We know this happened for a reason and that He has a plan for me. I just have to figure it out. I know we will be ok. I don't care about any compensation or any disability, I was just doing my job. It was an accident. I just want to be healthy so I can take care of my family and spend time with them." I stood there listening to all this and cried, unashamed on my driveway. Now I know why God placed this man and his family on our hearts... before the accident even happened... before he had surgery... before he was faced with a totally new life path. God is a God of provision!! I write this with tears rolling down, so incredibly humbled and honored that God chose us to bless this family. I am undone...

Would you join me in praying for "Mike" and his family as he recovers and goes forward in a new career?

Shhhhhhh...

One of my dearest friends and I had the opportunity to just sit and talk the other day. Why is this noteworthy, you ask? Because we, in our busy lives, don't have time to just sit and talk. For that matter, there are many things that get put aside in our lives, just merely because they are further down on the priority list. One main thing that I have very little time for is reading... I LOVE to read, always have. I was going to major in English and Literature... remember? Anyway, we were discussing what we enjoy reading, when time allows. I personally have no interest in "self-help" type books... I just can not get into them. I love to read fiction and the occasional biography. I have many favorite authors such as Robin Cook, Ted Dekker, CS Lewis, etc... I am not one who MUST read a book by a Christan author. (Some of you may have just lowered me on your "Christan-o-meter"... sorry.) I have stacks of unread books on my night stand, in my car, in my closet... all books I think I want to read, but haven't. I recently discovered a way to carve out some time, each day, to read. I leave about 45 minutes early to pick up Jeremiah from school and I read in the car line. Hooray, finally the opportunity to jump into a good book... it worked for a while, but not lately. I finished a book a few weeks ago and since then I have picked up and put down two totally different books... the first one was a secular author, and I just couldn't tolerate it this time. The second one was a Christian author, but it seemed a bit shallow in the story line. I was so frustrated... then I noticed some of my music (again, no it's not all Christan...) I just couldn't tolerate the noise. I started recognizing a trend... I decided I should check in with God "Ummm, are you trying to get my attention? If so, I'm sure not listening very well, am I?" Ahaaa... so that's the problem. He was seeking to speak with me and I was distracted. I turned my radio off, put the books away, sat still and said "Speak Lord, I'm listening." He did.

Now I'm not saying that I don't listen to my music anymore or the radio, and I will still read my books. I just need to be careful of distraction's in my life, that they don't become so loud that they drown out the still small voice of my Savior. Ps. 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..." Ps. 143:8 "Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You." Matt. 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing." He is a jealous God and yearns for our attention, our devotion, our worship... He longs to commune with us, to be close to us... that is pretty cool!

Exciting Answer To Prayer...

I will try to make this short... Background- Two and a half years ago Jason was working for a company that transitioned from company trucks to truck allowances. We had to go buy a truck for him. They required it to be on a short term note (very high payments), and each month they reimbursed us for the payment and insurance. We bought a very nice Expedition. Well, the company became unstable, the economy went down, and Jason found himself looking for a more stable job. God blessed us with a great new job, however, this company did not do car allowances. Being the car was new, we couldn't exactly sell it without being upside down. We had to just pray that God would provide us a way to keep the truck until we paid it down more. We hardly ever use it, because my car is paid off and Jason drives his company car.

Monday- Jason and I actually had time to have one of those in depth planning, budgety, looking out for our future talks. We both felt very strongly that we should try to sell the Expedition.

Tuesday- Jason took it to get all shiny and clean... then took pictures of it.

Wednesday- Jason posted an ad on Cragslist. We priced it just below what most similar vehicles were posted. Five minutes after the post we got a call!! This guy said this was exactly what he and his family were looking for... unbelievable!

Thursday- First thing in the morning the guy sends Jason an email and says they are ready to buy it!!

Friday- The deal is done, the check for our portion of the money is already printed!! We make the exchange tomorrow!!!

This is such an incredible answer to prayer!! Now, with the extra money we made on the deal and the extra money every month, we expect to be out of debt in six months!!! WOOOO HOOOO!!! God is so good and so faithful!!

Saying "Thank You" to a Soldier this Christmas...

I was raised with a strong affection towards our Flag, our Troops and our Veterans. Jason was raised the same way. We both have a very large soft spot for anything and everything patriotic. It is common when our family is out to dinner that Jason will see a man in uniform walk in, and without hesitation anonymously pick up the tab. We have been in grocery stores and the man in front of us will be a man in uniform and Jason will pay his bill. Anytime we are out and about, when my kids see a man/woman in uniform they will go up to them, stick their hand out, shake their hand and say thank you. I tear up every single time.

We have lived in our neighborhood almost 5 years. On our way out of the neighborhood we pass a house that belongs to a soldier and his family. He has two small girls, and a cute little wife. Over the past five years I have seen him leave and many months later return home.(Sign draped over the front of the house and all) I have seen him return home, in full gear, with his huge duffel bag, in his front yard with his girls and his wife draped on his arms fighting for hugs. Yes, I tear up every time... I just can't help it! Just being out and about our paths have crossed many times(in the grocery store or at the pharmacy), and he is one of the kindest, most polite men I have ever met. How do you say thank you to a guy like that... enough. I don't really believe you can, but our family has decided we are going to give it our best shot.

Every year, as I'm sure many of you do, we choose a special place that our family can give something extra special at Christmas. We have done Samaritan's Purse, Secret Santa to a family in need, Christmas dinner for shut ins, etc... This year we are going to make it our goal to say "Thank You", not just to him, but to his wife and sweet girls. They sacrifice as a family, allowing him to do what he does for all of us. We are so excited, and are truly praying for God's guidance in putting this together. We really want to show the love of Christ to this family, and truly bless them in a way that will glorify God... not us. My boys have already had some great ideas, their enthusiasm makes me so proud. If you all think about it, please pray for us as we seek HIS leading in this project. I will keep you all posted on how it all turns out.

Remembering pain makes you stronger.

Many of you know know the miracle story of my little Jeremiah. Some of you do not. In as short of a story as I possibly can I will share what happened... it will be a bit lengthy. In January 2006, Jeremiah was 1 month short of 2 years old. It was a Friday. He woke up totally fine. By 11:30 that afternoon he was having unexplained pain in his left upper thigh area... achy pain. By 2:30 he was in worse pain, and running 102 temperature. We went to the Dr. that evening around 8:00. At this point his fever, even in Ibuprofen and Tylenol, could not be controlled and the pain was even worse. They couldn't find anything wrong. The next morning about 7:00 a.m. He wouldn't even let us touch the leg and the fever was 103. The Dr. that had seen us actually called us because she could not sleep. She told me to go immediately to Texas Children's, they would be waiting for me. We went, poor child was so lethargic with fever and unbearable pain. By that evening we were notified by the chief of infectious disease that he had an insanely massive infection brewing, but they wouldn't know what it was for 48 hours when the cultures from his blood draws grew and they could test it. We were admitted and Jeremiah was started on morphine via IV and the highest dose of the most toxic antibiotics you can imagine. Sunday morning Jeremiah started to have pain in his right shoulder. They had notified us that they were planning to do an MRI on Monday, because they don't do them on the weekends. Well, three hours later Jeremiah's pain in his shoulder was worse, the fever was still not under control and they came to notify us that they called in an MRI team. His pain was so severe that even fully sedated for the MRI he was wincing with pain when they would touch his leg or shoulder. Monday morning we heard that the infection he had was a strain that they had only ever scene in victims of high trauma experiences, for instance those that survived the World Trade Center collapse or the Oklahoma City Bombing. (their words not mine) Out of the last 2000 cases, none had been susceptible to antibiotics and resulted in fatality. Later that evening the pain had spread to his right thigh. During the night they did yet another MRI, at this point they saw the infection had totally eaten away all of his muscle in his left thigh and buttocks, it had penetrated into the bone of his shoulder and was eating away the muscle and buttocks of his right side. Fever still not controlled. Tuesday we hear a great report, his strain of infection WAS susceptible to antibiotics. However, they did not know why it was still spreading through the blood stream after being on the medicine for 3 days. Wednesday same as Tuesday no change. Thursday Jeremiah's heart begins to flutter. The infection is attempting to penetrate his heart. If this happens, there is nothing they can do. They put him on every antibiotic they could without killing him, he was on the maximum dose of morphine, toradol, Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Prayer for him was going around the globe! Pastor David Flanders from England came to visit and started a chain of people in Europe praying for him. Our pastors and church family were incredible, our friends were amazing. This kid was affecting so many thousands of people, bringing them to their knees... even some that hadn't prayed in a very long time showed up to pray over him. Friday was our turnaround day. A week after this all started, we finally saw some improvement. We spent 10 more days in the hospital. He was released with a tube that went straight into his heart through one his major arteries, that we used to administer medication every 4 hours for the next 2 months. We were in total isolation, due to his lack of immune system. He had lost more than 30% of his body weight and he had to re-learn to walk. In April he was released from care by the very doctor who had seen him in the ER. She said there was no reason why this child should still be alive, she never thought he would survive... But God. To this day he is entered into a case study to determine how he could possible have gotten this strain of infection, no reason has ever be determined.

During every second of what happened, not once did we ever think we would lose him. We never "lost" it. That is the one and only time in my life that I can undeniably say that I truly experienced peace beyond my understanding and faith beyond my reason. He is alive because of an undeniable miracle of God. His life has been destined for a greater purpose by God, and no matter how hard the enemy tried to take him, my God is greater! Thank God Jeremiah doesn't remember any of it... but I sure do. The tears are still instant when I tell the story, the pain is still fresh when I dream about it but so is the rush of peace and the surge of faith. Remembering my pain makes me stronger. I pray that it doesn't take something so intense to bring you to a place of such peace or faith... but when you have those times, DO NOT push the feelings down, do not try to forget. Find God in those moments, remember what he showed you in your brokenness, in your desperation... it will make you stronger.

Piano... but no band!

My Aunt Patty gave me her old piano a year and a half ago. I love having it! I use it all the time to figure out what chord songs are in, to aid in transposing charts, checking chart accuracy, writing, etc... I do not "play" exactly, but I am self taught well enough to do what I need to do. I would love to take lessons to improve and I actually have been doing some research. Jeremiah, my youngest, is a very musical child. He can not sit still if he hears music. We say all the time that it runs through his veins. Even if he doesn't realize there is music playing, he is going to tap his foot, dance, sing or hum along. He is constantly sitting at the piano... tinkering with the keys, trying to figure it out. So, I thought I would look into enrolling him in piano lessons. I gathered my information and the other day after picking him up from school I talked to him about it... here is how it went,

"Jeremiah, would you like to take piano lessons?"
"NO!" Without hesitation he reactively said.
"Why not? It would just be you and me in the room with your teacher... no one else."

You see Jeremiah is extremely introverted, no non-sense, matter of fact and a very deep thinking kid... and he hates attention.

"No one else would be in there?"
"Nope"
"What is the teacher's name?"
"Piper"
"Is she old or young?"
"Young"
"Is she nice?"
"I think so."
"Is she pretty?"
"I guess so."
"What does she look like?"
"I can show you a picture of her on her website, when we get home."
"How long do I go to class?"
"Half an hour, once a week... and then you practice at home."

Looooooong pause...

"Well, let me think about it..."
"Ok, you think about it."

Fifteen or twenty minutes passes and it's total silence. I could see him in the back seat... very deep in thought. He finally responds...

"Ok, mom... I want to take piano lessons... But I am NOT playing in a band!"

I busted out laughing!! I said, "Well, ok then... and I won't FORCE you to play in a band."

The way this little kid thinks, cracks me up!!

Now that he has decided he wants to do it, he is so excited about it! He can't wait to start, and he has been telling everyone, "Guess what? I am going to take piano lessons, soon!!" I just love that kid!!

Chasing dreams is never a mistake...

We have been on quite a journey since my last post. Football got tougher, school started for my 6th grader and my 2nd grader, I went into my normal first week of school blues (I'm am just sappy that way), and then football came to an end. Not that the season is over, Josh just had all he could handle. After five weeks of conditioning camp, workouts, soreness and horrible bruises he just decided he didn't have what it took to play the game. Monday night after practice Joshua went up to all the coaches, shook all of their hands with tears in his eyes, thanked them all for investing so much into him and told them that he was done. The coaches hugged Josh and told him that just because he was not going to be playing on the field, that didn't mean he couldn't be part of the team. They still wanted him to come to all the games and stand on the sidelines to support them... wearing his jersey, with his name and number. He said he would do it with pride! When we got home, Josh knew that he had done the right thing, but it didn't hurt any less. After a long hot shower, he and I had an opportunity to talk it through. He said, "Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't do it. I know it was a lot of money and you spent so much of your time helping me." I explained to him that he had nothing to be sorry for, at all. I told him that we were so CRAZY proud of the effort and maturity he had shown through this whole experience. He has grown so much in his character, self confidence, and perseverance it's unbelievable. The main thing I told him was that he should never apologize for chasing his dreams. He truly had a passion to play football. He wanted to do it so bad. Just because it didn't turn out like he expected, doesn't mean he made a mistake. I used the example of my own life... When I graduated high school my dad had high hopes of my going to college, because my desire was always to be an English/Literature Teacher. I got married right away and God began changing my heart. Soon, I knew college was not where I belonged. God had called me to be a stay at home mom for my Joshua. Not at all what I had planned, and boy was my dad disappointed (kind of an understatement). Talk to him now, and my dad will tell you it was the best "dream" I had ever chased. Never be afraid to chase your dreams, they may not be the landing point that you expect, but rather a catapult toward God's Destiny for your life. Your "dreams", in God's hands, hold the tools to equip your future walk in His perfect will. The next day Joshua's coach invited him to still participate in the pep rally and jersey ceremony. The coach told him he had earned it. Josh went, he ran when they called his name, he did the victory chant with the team and Saturday he will be on the sidelines with all his new friends... cheering them to victory, louder than anyone!

Football, Tears... and motherly pride.

So my oldest son has entered the world of (if you are easily embarrassed, skip to the next line) jock straps and cups... How did that happen?? The last two weeks I have seen him yelled at, tortured and pushed to almost the breaking point for this sport. Don't get me wrong I LOVE football with a very un-lady like passion, it's just hard watching your son live it. I always imagined being the mom on the sidelines, biting my nails, watching my kids get roughed up... reality is a bit eye opening. He is not my little boy out there, he very much resembles a man. They are not talking to him as a child or gently teaching him as a boy, nor do they hold juvenile expectations of him. Yet, he is still my baby boy.
Tonight I was taken back to a portion of the movie "Passion of the Christ". One of the toughest moments when I saw that movie, even to this day after seeing it a number of times, was the part when Jesus stumbles bearing the weight of the cross as His mother looks on. In that instant Mary flashes back to him as a child, falling skinning His knee. Josh was at the end of practice, only a few minutes left. The coaches use the last 10 minutes to push the kids as far as they can physically go. Some are literally losing balance about to faint, some can't get their breath, others can't help but vomit, it's 100 degrees, they have pads and helmits on and he is feeling like giving up. They are doing sprints and up/downs (basically they have to run full speed then drop to their chest when the whistle blows...jump back up to run full on until the whistle blows to drop again, etc...) he has tears, like many others, streaming down his blood red face. He looks at me and I just give him a lame thumbs up, nod, and mouth "you can do it, you are doing great". Then it happened... he dropped down at the whistle, didn't pop back up, pulled off his helmit, slowly gets up crying very hard, motioning for one of the coaches. The coach quickly runs to see if he is ok, Josh nods "no" and they quickly pull up his shirt. He had landed on a large rock, it knocked the wind out of him and gashed his stomach pretty good. EVERYTHING in me wanted to run to him, but I couldn't or I shouldn't. He looked over at me, and I just waited to see if he was ok. One tiny gesture to me and I would have ran to him in record time! He was ok, he put his helmit back on and finished the drill strong. Never in my life have I ever felt so proud of him! In a very miniscule way, I compare my motherly pride to how Mary felt that day when her son got back up and finished strong... for us.

A weekend to remember...

This past week my husband needed to travel for a business trip. We decided to tag along and visit some family and friends in the area, while he was working. My Aunt lives there in the city, so me and my boys spent her day off from work going to lunch, seeing a movie and doing some shopping. The next day she had to work, so we decided to make a trip down to a nearby town to visit some friends. A year before Jason and I were married, he was transferred with his job. After we were married, that is where we lived for 4 years. Moving to a town where you know NO ONE was very hard for me. I prayed that I would easily make friends and find a church that I loved. Boy, did God answer that prayer! We made some of the most amazing lifelong friendships you could possibly imagine. Going back to visit many of them was so unbelievably theraputic. We had a chance to visit even more of them on our drive home the next day. These are the kind of friends that you hug the biggest, you laugh the hardest with, and you miss the most when you leave again. We all go through seasons in our life, seasons of too many friends and seasons of none at all. I was reminded this past weekend how these friends have painted my life with so many happy memories and how blessed I am to have them in my life. My question to all of you... "Who are the friends in your life that if you moved and no longer lived near, would you travel hours just to see?" "Who are the ones that you have moved away from, and you need to go see?" Those people likely have made huge imprints on your life, and if at all possible those relationships should never be allowed to die. They are too precious!

My mom is headed to Haiti...

My mom was a stay at home mom all my life. After I, the youngest of three kids, got married and moved away, she decided to go back to school. She graduated with her RN and a burden to help others. She went straight into critical care and working in an ER. She loved it!! She worked there a few years, and then decided to slow down the pace and work for a Family Doctor's practice. She has always dreamed of taking her education into the mission field, going aboard Mercy Ships, to help a Samaritain's Purse outreach, etc... Well, two months ago her opportunity came knocking. Our church, along with Sharing International, is sending a team into Haiti on a medical mission. My mom is on that team. They will be traveling up into the areas less visited by relief workers. Reaching out to those who have not been able to come down out of the mountain villages to get the medical help they need. I could not be more proud and yet more nervous all at the same time. Where is my faith, you ask? Don't judge me, this is my mommy we're talking about... LOL! They leave first thing in the morning for an eight day journey. My request is to ask all who read this to pray for their safety and security. Will you join me??

A long weeked...

This past weekend was such a great weekend. I hope you all enjoyed some family time, I sure did. My family has a tradition of always spending the fourth of July at a nearby hotel. It is on a waterway in a very nice area, we walk to eat, go see a movie, go back to the room to celebrate my mom's birthday, and then watch fireworks. As my husband and I sat there watching the fireworks he said, "This is what matters." I asked what he meant and he answered, "Your dad has worked so hard all of your life so we can have times like these. Your dad is the happiest when we are all together looking up at fireworks, making memories." It's true... My home life was complicated. That is something maybe one day I will share, but not yet. Moments of peace, when we are all enjoying each other's time, smiling and happy are so precious. We have had a number of deaths among family and friends in the past year and a half, but we had our faith and our family's support to get through it. My husband was right... "Family" is what matters. I am so grateful for mine.

So here we go...

Why a blog? Why now? Well, I have wanted to start one for a long time... it just seemed like something I would enjoy. I hope some people will benefit from some of my sharings. I pray that my life will in some way add to others, if nothing else it will teach you that I do not see life too seriously. I am very laid back, I am very positive, and I love to encourage people. So, if this brings a smile, at some point, to your face... I'd love to hear about it. Join me on this journey... I think we will have fun together!

Who am I? I am a stay at home mom of two precious boys. I have been married for 13 years (in two weeks) to my best friend. It is quite the story... if you are a romantic, it will leave you blissfully thrilled. Don't worry, I will share sooner than later. My kids are not perfect, but they are incredible, they are like me and my husband, and not at all like us... that is what makes them uniquely them. Over time you will get to know them and discover that they are polar opposites of each other and HILARIOUS. I am unashamed to call my self a Daughter of The One True God, my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I am blessed beyond my understanding to have been given a gifting and calling to lead people in worship, and it is my utmost honor to serve in that manner. I love all things music! I sing it, I write it, I listen to it, it is a huge part of who I am. So, enough about me for now... we will get better acquainted as we go. Welcome to my world!!