| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 14th, 2008|11:35 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  mellow | ] |
Well, I am not happy about the blizzard raging outside, but I am very happy to have a warm, cozy house, a steaming cup of coffee, and a phone that has been kept busy by friends all morning. There's something really peaceful about being stranded in a warm home and not being able to go anywhere-- to look out at the snow swirling around and the Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music, smelling cookies baking in the oven, and have a total lack of anxiety or stress. I am soooo blessed and thankful to God for Who He is and for the life that He has given me.
|
|
|
| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|12:06 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
I woke up this morning with a smile on my face leftover from the party last night. It was soooo fun. Sarah brought "Catch Phrase" and we played and laughed late into the night. As the girls were (reluctantly) leaving, they were remarking that this was the best party yet.
What has made me happy today is sleeping in, and then cleaning up my house after the party last night -- looking out at the snow and not having to go out in it!! :> |
|
|
| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 11th, 2008|10:43 am] |
This is my post for yesterday. By the time I got home it was late and I was tired so I decided to wait until today to write about it. :> I was happy yesterday that my visit with the dentist was good and that there is nothing new in my mouth to deal with. *grins* What really made me happy was working with the kids last night at kids club at church. It is such a special experience to see twelve little faces looking expectantly at me, twelve little pairs of eyes sparkling at the wonder of the Christmas story, 12 little ones laughing as they receive their hard-earned "store" prizes.
I am happy today as I get ready for the Christmas party here this evening with my Bible study friends. We will exchange gifts and share Christmas goodies and lots of laughter and hugs. I am sooo looking forward to it!! *loving this time of year* But now I really need to get at cleaning my house. . . . . .
|
|
|
| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 9th, 2008|03:21 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
I am really happy today that Ryan (my grown son) is here to shovel the 6 new inches of snow that we got yesterday. :> And I am very happy to stay inside a warm house when it is 8 degrees F. out and just wrap presents and listen to Christmas music. I do love this time of year and even crummy weather can't seem to dampen my spirits. |
|
|
| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 8th, 2008|10:32 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | peaceful | ] |
What made me really happy today? Seeing Christmas thru the eyes of a child. (Actually, many children). I went to the elementary school Christmas program here this evening and it was wonderful. Several of my "babysittees" (surrogate grandchildren) were in it and they were a delight and delighted that I was there.
|
|
|
| Happy things meme |
[Dec. 7th, 2008|01:08 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
Happy things meme
I swiped this from ElsieAustin:
1. Post about something that made you happy today.
2. Do this every day for a week without fail
3. Tag 8 of your friends to do the same.
I have been sitting today -- watching the snow fall outside, looking at my Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music, writing out Christmas cards-- and very content. It just brings a smile to my lips as I meditate on all those people in my life that I love, and the wonder of this season that God kept His promise to send a deliverer to deliver us from sin and death.
I cannot tag 8 friends because I do not have that many on line :> but thank you, Elsie, this is great. |
|
|
| Lymphedema and praising God |
[Aug. 29th, 2007|03:38 pm] |
All summer long, I have been struggling more than usual with major swelling in my leg caused by my lymphedema. I have been spending time with my therapist, Lori, but the treatment doesn't seem to be helping this time. Also, there has been swelling in my pelvic and genital areas and a growth that seems to be growing. My doctor last week said that my lymphedema has progressed to genital lymphedema . She put me on a second diuretic to try to get rid of some of the fluid retention, and I am now seeing Lori 3 days a week. She also said that the growth could very well be more than just the lymphedema, so I am going to see a gynecologist on Friday who may want to remove and biopsy the growth. It is very discouraging and frustrating -- with all the time I have been spending on caring for myself and the extra time with Lori, my leg has gotten slightly better, but the cervical and genital areas continue to swell. After I saw my Doctor last week, I spent the night crying and feeling sorry for myself. And then God reminded me of who He is. It is not about me -- it is about Him and His kingdom, and God continues to give me the grace and the strength to trust Him no matter what.
In her book, "A Woman's Journey to the Heart of God", Cynthia Heald writes, "When I encounter hard times and I struggle with circumstances or relationships,, I am reminded that because I believe, -- I have eternal life, I am God's own child, and I am loved by an everlasting love. God's question to me then becomes, Aren't My love and the promise of eternal life enough to keep you on your journey? If nothing ever changes and you continue to go through difficulty, you will still have a lifetime of knowing Me and the blessing of living with Me forever."
I also have a book called, "On This Side of the Red Sea", written by a dear friend, Vicky Hoffmann. She describes having watched the movie, "The Prince of Egypt", and describes Miriam praising God after they had passed through the Red Sea. Then she writes about a sermon that she had heard that talked about how much greater her praise could have been if she had been able to praise God on this side of the Red Sea. She writes,
"This sermon was about Miriam but it was also a message that was meant for me and everyone who has ever served a God who not only allows the sting of suffering to sear our flesh but challenges our finite faith to believe His promise that He will work all things together for good. We have our own pursuing Pharaohs, don't we? Our own hopeless cases that leave us fearful, baffled, doubting...
...when things look hopeless...
....when death steals a partner too soon....
....when the factory closes....
...when the doctor's face is grim...
....when anything which you would trade everything to avoid arrives in a package with your name on it.
That is this side of the Red Sea. And, it is at those moments... when we stand with the sand of circumstance between our toes, and seawall to our back, and the thunder of catastrophe upon us.... it is at those precise moments when praise seems unthinkable, illogical, and most difficult to offer that praise is the most heavenly powerful".
Then after writing her book, she concludes with these words,
"I will not glaze this over. No easy frills and lace, these years have been a scraped knuckles, dirt-under-the-fingernails, deeply personal experience of asking, (often pleading with), God to provide moment by moment the grace needed to persevere in faith and patience while I wait for this Red Sea to part. But wonder of wonders and joy of joys! In this ordained waiting room I have found Him faithful to provide the strength and hope and persistence that I need each and every time.
I am beginning to think that this life on earth is like a painting-- a giant paint by number canvas designed by the Greatest Artist of All. It is God's portrait of eternity, far too big for my earthly eyes to take in. And so, I am not called to. I am, instead, beckoned to daily seek from God which colors I am to paint and when and where and how on the small portion of the canvas He has entrusted me with. I think about that painting a lot these days. When I am awestruck by the works of Rembrandt, (and other things), I marvel at the thought of how much more beautiful will be the finished painting of this life which we cannot now understand. How glorious will be the day when I, when you, will stand beside our Lord and King and He will show us that our prayers, time and time and time again were just the brush strokes that He used to paint eternity. Then, and perhaps only then, will we fully comprehend how wise we were to force our eyes from the trials that we faced, grab our tambourines and sing our hymns of praise to Him on this side of the Red Sea."
And so ... that is what I am choosing to do -- praise Him on this side of My Red Sea. Now, not a praise that is apart from the circumstances of my life or empty praise in a vacuum, but praise with a purpose. I sit back awestruck that God is working in my world and that He wants me to be a part of that work. I think of my dear therapist, Lori. She more than anyone else knows what this new diagnosis means for me. If Lori would come to trust Christ to be her savior because she sees me praising God, then this would all be worth it. And so however God chooses to use this, I choose, through my tears and along with much prayer, to praise Him on this side of my Red Sea. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
linloush's journal