Singing Praises, Turning Cartwheels

That's what I was doing yesterday!!  Singing praises:  Thank you Jesus, Praise God, Amen, Amen, Amen!!

And yes, maybe the actual cartwheels themselves were all just in my head, but they are an expression of great enthusiasm & excitement all the same.

Why?

For three weeks we've been in a state of limbo and wonder - laced with concern.  This time reminded me of this cross I saw once while we were on a trip.   It was rainy and stormy outside...What I could clearly see with my eyes as a beautiful cross, was masked by the bad weather, the windshield of the car, and the huge raindrops.  I could let our present circumstances cover my love for the Lord like a mask or I  could find a way to rise above it and Love Him no matter what.

Johnny, a cancer survivor of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, discovered a slightly painful lump/knot under his arm.  It was under the opposite arm from where He had cancer the first time.  And to use his words, "it all seemed too similar."

We had to wait 5 days to get into the doctor, only to hear what we expected, further tests would be needed in order to make a conclusive diagnosis.  Of course, the doctor was very calm, and he honestly didn't think it was Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma again.  His reasonings:

1)  Non-Hodgkins returning in patients in remission is unheard of, and Johnny is 10 years removed from it.
2)  He didn't think it was quite in the right place.

BUT,

Heaven is for Real

I'm sure you all have seen this yellow covered book in about every store that might sell books, and maybe even some that don't -- Heaven is for Real.   I've seen it.  Everywhere.  I've heard about it.  Everywhere.  I heard on K-Love how wonderful it was.  A lady waiting at the doctors' office was reading it and commented positively on it.  It's all good, right?

Well, if you are like me, all that is fine and dandy, but, actually finding the time to read a book in its entirety, wellllll, now that's another story.  I used to be an avid book reader, but for some reason the last few years have not lent themselves to a whole lot of free time for just-for-fun-reading.  I try now and then to get into a book I've heard is really good, but I struggle with finishing it.

I think in part, sometimes it starts off good and then maybe I lose interest.  Or, maybe sometimes life just gets busy for me and the book isn't interesting ENOUGH to hold my attention.  A few months ago I read "The Lamplighter" and that was a book I had a hard time putting down.  Written in what I think was old-English, it was so captivating for me.

Mystery Update

For those that read my post the other day about the mystery critter in the garage I have an update.  We've suffered casualty number one....Two traps set out on Sunday and by Monday morning one accomplished it's mission.  So far, no further messes on the garage floor.  Of course, the feed bag that had the hole has bee used, so they would have to chew another hole to continue the mess-making task.

We shall see....will trap number two complete it's mission?  Will we still have big messes on the floor?  It all remains to be seen.

If all that mess was indeed made by one little mouse I will be completely amazed....

Blessings,

Just a Little Fun

Last week brought us a short, unexpected get-a-way.  Johnny had to go to Austin, leaving on Monday and wouldn't be back until Thursday.  Tuesday morning he called us to check in and on a whim invited us to come up to Austin to be with him!  Talk about impromptu!!  Caleb and I grabbed everything we thought we'd need for three days and threw ourselves in the car.  Within 2 hours we were out the door and on our way!

We didn't do anything special while we were away.  We had some quality family time and that's enough for me.  During the day Caleb and I walked around the mall area, did a "little" bit of school work, and basically hung out in our hotel room (The Westin at the Domain).  In the evening we ventured out again with dad, spending some fun time together.  

The Domain was a beautifully landscaped, upscale, outside mall.  You literally walked "city" streets and could peer in all the store fronts as you went.  My favorite store was probably Sur La Table.  All sorts of kitchen gadgets.  Our favorite gadget was the Chef'n StemGem Strawberry Huller.  I tried to capture a picture to put here, but the computer won't let me.  If you're curious, you can just click on the link.  We tried it out Sunday afternoon and it works GREAT!  Since strawberries are actually one fruit Caleb WILL eat, this little guy made my job easier!

A Complete Mystery

Life is filled with mysteries.  Big one's like the mystery of God and all His glory.  And little one's, like the one we are experiencing in our garage.  Yes, garage.  I am completely baffled and I think I'm going to share it with you so you can be baffled along with me.

Here is a picture of the feed bags in our garage.  And what you see between them is a pile of feed.  Now, when I walked into the garage and saw all that feed on the floor of the garage I know my eyebrows scrunched up and I probably had a very puzzled look on my face.  HOW did all the feed escape its bag?

Trick or Treat....

In all honestly I've always thought of Halloween as a harmless "holiday" where my kids could be silly and have fun.  It's something I've celebrated as a child and then with all my kids from the time they were itty-bitty's.  I think I have a post from last year where I was struggling with the concept.  While I still think it can be harmless,  I have gained a new perspective on the "holiday"from views shared with me by my pastor.  And I must admit that I do feel a bit of a tug at this time of year to avoid the holiday.  At the same time though, I can honestly say I have never thought about evil or worshipped evil on Halloween.

Putting all reservations aside, I tossed Caleb's costume (new and in the bag from last year), into the car.  Okay, so that's another story in and of itself.  Why did we still have a costume new and in the bag?  Short story version - Caleb has never wanted to dress up. He gets embarrassed easily and for him I guess the thought of putting on the costume means everyone will look at him.

Judgement House 2011

A small group from our church attended Judgement House at Annaville Baptist Church on the Saturday before Halloween.  At first glance and thought, one might assume this is a Haunted House or some other similar type event.  Especially since it was presented the weekend of Halloween.  In actuality, it was far from that.  Judgement House was the telling of a story.  A story about four individuals whose life choices lead them into either heaven or hell.  As you walked through Judgement House, you watched their stories unfold.

The world is filled with good people and bad people.  Lots of good people and lots of bad people.  I know TONS of the good ones.  The sad thing is that not all good people are going to go to heaven.  For those of us who have accepted the Lord as our Savior, we are truly saved from the fires of hell.  But, if you have not made that decision, for whatever reason, you are taking a huge risk.  A risk that could have you spending the rest of eternity with the devil himself.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9