Healing is in His Hands

Winter blues. They say that some people are affected by the weather and lack of sun. I don't doubt that. That being said, this winter, even if I wanted to, I haven't had time to sit around and feel all 'bluey'.

Completely random thought here (and nothing to do with this post) - who first came up with 'blue' as synonymous for sad? I personally like the color blue - it's refreshing and calming to me. And if you noticed, when there is a lack of sunlight in the sky it's usually because of the clouds that keep the sunlight out - which to me are white or a stormy-looking grey.

So...why has my winter been so busy? Well, I don't really have time to go into all the details but long story short, my Mom was hit hard with pneumonia and a staph infection in her blood - originally diagnosed as influenza. She was admitted to the hospital (SICU) December 30th and was then transferred to a Rehabilitation Hospital January 11th. She continues to progress and is scheduled to be discharged home next week where she will continue to receive therapy as an outpatient. Needless to say, our family (includes my family and my sister's family) have been busy caring for both Mom and Dad. No time for the 'blues'. No need for it either. We've had so many people - family, friends, and prayer warriors at churches of family and friends and our own - covering us daily in prayer.

We've stated that we are living a testimony right now...and everyone that is linked to us through this is living it too.

If you know me or have even been reading this blog for any length of time, then you know that I just absolutely love music and that what draws me in more than anything else is the lyrics. This song has definitely ministered to me quite a bit - especially over the past 3 weeks.

Hope Anthem

HOPE ANTHEM - Will Matthews & Christa Black

He's awakening the hope in me
By calling forth my destiny
He's breathing life into my soul
I thirst for Him and Him alone

He has come like the rain
That showers on a barren land
So my heart and tongue confess
Jesus Christ hope of man

MY HOPE IS IN YOU GOD
I AM STEADFAST I WILL NOT BE MOVED
I'M ANCHORED NEVER SHAKEN
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU

He's bringing hope to the hopeless
Giving His heart to the broken
Sharing His home with the orphan
He is the joy, He is my joy!

He is the hope of the nations
The father's heart we're embracing
He is the song we're declaring
He is the joy, He is my joy!

Those who wait on the Lord
Will not be put to shame
Those who sow in tears
We will reap in joy

Joy comes in the morning light
Joy comes in the morning light

There's joy in the waiting
There's hope in the waiting
Do you believe it?
Do you believe it?

He's awakening the hope in me
By calling forth my destiny

Teeter-Totter

Balance.

Did you ever try to balance a book on your head? I did that when I was little...then I tried to walk. It quickly slid off. That settled it...no modeling career for me in the future. Joking aside, it seems that the ability to stay balanced becomes increasingly difficult as the number of things you are focused on increases.

My house lacks balance at the moment. Could be that I've added baking and candy-making, wrapping the presents, crafting with the boys, preparing special things for the teachers at school and I still have two presents to find (!!!) to my daily focus of tasks. Laundry, dishes, preparing meals - even if it's eggs for dinner, and just cleaning in general. Oh - getting back to regular exercise would be good too. Looks like I'll be starting week 1 day 1 again.

And then you have my family. Specifically my Dad.

My heart wants to spend every single second of every single day with him. What would I do? Hold his hand. Watch some old western on TV that I have absolutely no interest in but I would be with him. Talk. Maybe play Yahtzee. Refill his glass of water. Listen to his life stories again, again and again. Just love him.

And then there's Mom. This precious woman who will sacrifice everything in her life for those she loves. I want to be there for her every second of every day. To help ease her responsibilities and decrease the stress that she feels. To remind her that this isn't all on her shoulders. To give her the freedom to go get some shopping done or just sit and chat - sharing both smiles and tears.

I haven't even mentioned my sister. We grew up spending almost every second of every day together! No wonder she's my bestest friend. I want to sit and talk and share a cup of coffee - de-stress together. To giggle over the stages of our boys and encourage each other as moms and wives. And then, to take a moment and forget all of our responsibilities and have some 'girl' time would be absolutely lovely.

That's the nuclear family I started with. Now I have my own nuclear family.

I'm a wife to Simms - a most amazing and understanding man - he is seriously my best friend. I can't believe we will celebrate 17 years in less than a month. Seriously seems like just yesterday I walked into Zoology Lab and spent the evening using dichotomous keys and laughing at his jokes. Fast forward to current life - I'm also a mom of two sweet boys. And they need their Mommy. They need me to pack their lunches, help them get their coats on, give them kisses and hugs before they leave for school. To pray for them while they are at school. I'm also there to check their homework, help fix their Lego's that fell apart and now there's a piece missing that needs to be found. We read together. I tickle them - trust me, they need that too.

I haven't even mentioned the network of aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, Rayda, Papa or Mima.

Now, on top of all of this, enter emotions. As if it was even possible to find balance to all of the above, this is a certain factor to throw things way of of whack.

Needless to say, the book is constantly falling off my head lately. And I keep picking it back up. I'm a fighter like my Dad. I see the challenge in front of me and I know that I cannot take care of it all by myself. BUT, this is the secret that keeps me going - I guess since, I'm going to share it with you it isn't a secret anymore.

Ready...wait for it...I'm not alone.

That's it. No one that loves me expects me to get it all done by myself. We're a team and thankfully, the huddle has grown. An added bonus to all of this is that I trust the play-caller. Don't always understand the play and I sometimes don't agree with it...but I still trust Him.

The Core of our Huddle

Do You See What I See?

When you look at this picture what do you see?

Winter. Death. Cold. Those are some words that could come to mind and they would be valid.

I see life - and the potential of it. There is a protective covering - that isn't necessarily pretty - that keeps this bud safe throughout the severe temperatures and storms of winter. The result is that when spring comes it bursts forth with a beautiful bloom.

There are a lot of parallels to my life and the lives of my loved ones. Circumstances don't particularly look great - there are signs of debilitation and increased weakness. And yet, there has been an increase in a sense of being surrounded and protected which has provided what I've referenced as an irrational peace.

I believe that there is going to be a new season - a spring. And when it is time, the old will pass away and the new bloom is going to burst forth. The difficulty is timing...I don't know when winter will pass. What I do know is that while in this season, I am choosing to focus on the potential of new life that exists and is being protected. I know that the protection is present and we will withstand the storms and/or severe conditions. That 'knowing' is my faith and it is continually strengthened as I spend time in His Presence.

Homemade Applesauce

Do you ever have a surplus of apples? I often do because I love buying apples in the fall from local farms / orchards. It is rare that a day passes when someone in my family has not eaten an apple. My absolute favorite apple to eat is Fuji - it's crispy and sweet. That reminds me...I need to get more of those!

This year I purchased Soncrisp apples and Cortland - these were split with my mom and sis. Seriously LOVE living so close to them! Anyway, the Soncrisp were great the first day but then they fell into the same category for me as the Cortland - the I don't really care to cut up and munch on this apple category. They are what I would call soft and mushy which means they are excellent for apple pies or crisps. They are even great to cut up and freeze for use in making your own fruit smoothies.

That's what I usually do with them but this year I decided to try my hand at making homemade apple sauce.

Never did that before. My sister made some and Jeter absolutely loved it. I told her I needed the recipe. She smiled and even giggled a bit but was nice and posted it on her blog. After making my own apple sauce, I understand why she kind of rolled her eyes at me. It really isn't that difficult to make but I needed the recipe in hand to give me the confidence to try it by myself in my own kitchen.

Good news is, it turned out great! I even thought to take before and after photos.



Before:






After:

You may have noticed that the pot has changed. I learned (in process) that a wider / smaller pot is more beneficial than the taller stock pot. I also felt more comfortable mashing it in the shorter pot...my arms didn't have to go down as far to the bottom!

Living in the Now

This has become a theme for me. Taking time to enjoy what's happening right now in my life and in the lives of those I love. It's definitely a theme that I've touched on before...once or twice anyway.

What does that mean for today? It means that I am at my parents house, enjoying time with my family. Jeter is sitting with his Poppy, watching the Steelers game. Simms was using his laptop to do some research on TV's for my Dad - he's checking out the cable hookup now - we're looking to get a TV upstairs for him. Thankfully they already have a table for the new TV or we'd also be completing some research about TV stands for flat screens. If you are in the market check out the CSN stores - one click allows you to access a great variety for a great variety.

Grammie is mixing the icing so that her grandson's can join in with cookie decorating this afternoon. Brady and Barber are currently playing with their animals which talk in a very squeaky voice. Promises is upstairs chatting with my mom...now she's downstairs with me and my Dad. Me...I'm taking a moment to document the "now" I'm living in today. Dawson will join us later. He's home because Smiles is still sleeping. I just really love my family and need to get back to living life with them. We got some fun cookies to make. I'll post pictures at a later date.

Healing and Revelation

December 1st is right around the corner. Trust me I'm not rushing past Thanksgiving or November but I'm a planner - or at the very least I don't want to procrastinate to the point of no return - and December 1st is an important day in our home.

This is when we start our special countdown to Christmas. We started this tradition in 2006 and each year we've had a different theme. We've discussed 24 things God created, 24 men in the Bible who followed God, 24 people that heard from God, etc. This year we are going to explore and discuss 24 healings / miracles.

I think somehow I'll incorporate this song...we'll see.

Take a moment and listen...just remember to pause the player.

Healing is in Your Hand by Christy Nockels

On another note - have you ever heard of Manga Bible by Rogers? It's a graphic novel that summarizes the Bible. Some people like it. Some don't. Jeter really like the series. He's read through it at least two times and is on his third time through. Barber began to ask about it today. I took time to explain that this is a summary and the author uses some liberties - such as the conversations that Cain and Abel are having with one another. I also reminded him that I would love to talk to him about anything he reads.

Barber sat and read for almost an hour. He first asked me why they had to sacrifice sheep. We talked about that and the importance of the sacrifice that Jesus made - tied in why He is referred to as the Lamb of God. I saw the "aha" look on his face and then he smiled saying "now that's another thing I'm thankful to Jesus for because I was feeling bad for the lambs and I am really glad that we don't have to do that anymore." He also told me that although he knew that Cain did something really wrong, he still feels bad for him because he had to go away from everyone and be all by himself in Nod. I absolutely love the sensitivity and compassion that our Creator has woven into this precious son of mine!