Whew what a day - but what a good day! There are soooo many things I could put on here today but I'm going to keep it short and sweet.
I'm thankful that my sweet baby boy (OK, he's almost 13 but he's still my baby) did not have a cancerous mass in his cheekbone. Huge praise and thanks to God that it was something that was easily fixable with no long-lasting repercussions. And how could I forget the two other beautiful babies that are at home with dad and the grandparents right now. I'm so very blessed - and after being on this pediatric ward, I won't take that for granted.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Day 2 - Vocation and Location
I am so thankful that there are people in this world that God has called to spend many years of their life in school to become things like pediatric neurosurgeons. I can't imagine the time and energy it takes to do something that requires that much dedication and discipline. The knowledge and skill that these men and women are blessed with simply amazes me.
I am also thankful to live in a town just 30 minutes away from one of the best children's hospitals around. The people that work there definitely have a special gift to make you feel at ease in sometimes a very uneasy and scary situation.
I am also thankful to live in a town just 30 minutes away from one of the best children's hospitals around. The people that work there definitely have a special gift to make you feel at ease in sometimes a very uneasy and scary situation.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Day 1 - Give Thanks in ALL Things
30 Days of Thanks
Today begins my "30 Days of Thanks" challenge. Here's an excerpt from a devotion that I put together for a women's church group meeting last Tuesday that explains the background for the challenge as well as the challenge itself.
Oct. 26, 2010 - A Single Act of Thanksgiving to an Attitude of Gratitude
We’ve had quite the flurry of activity in our close-knit little neighborhood this last week and a half – everything from major brain surgery and a miraculous recovery to the birth of a beautiful new baby. During major events like these, it’s not very difficult to remember to give thanks for all that our amazing God can do and does. But the reality is – whether good or bad – normal life for most of us is not characterized by such mega events, at least not on a daily basis.
“Normal life” – for me anyway – is cleaning finger paintings done with toothpaste on the bathroom cabinets, making sure homework is done, sweeping up mud tracked in on stinky cleats off the floor, cooking, grocery shopping, paying the bills, removing shoes from the front-porch roof, etc. So where does thankfulness fit into normal life? I think all too often it gets shoved in a corner (I know I’m guilty of this) and then life rolls along with its little bumps and twists and it’s not until something big happens that we remember to purposely thank God for all that He is and does.
So my question that I’m putting out there to all of you is “How do we transform those moments of deliberate thankfulness into lives characterized by ‘an attitude of gratitude’?
Even before all the recent activities, I had been thinking about thankfulness for several weeks. It seemed to be a common theme in devotions I had read, Scriptures that I ran across, blogs that I had been reading and then just last week the Bible study that I am doing.
In her book Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl, Lysa TerKeurst says that “thanksgiving is the secret to attitude adjustment” and “a person whose life is characterized by constant praise and thanksgiving despite their circumstances will shift from just verbalizing their praise and thanksgiving to living it out loud through their courageous stance for Christ.”
I know we still have a month to go before the holiday that focuses on giving thanks. But how often do we get overwhelmed by all that there is to do surrounding Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas? That leads to stress, which leads to grumbling and short fuses which leads to just general yuckiness and sometimes ungratefulness.
But this year I really want to make the effort to approach things differently. So I’ve decided to challenge myself with 30 Days of Thanks. Now I’m an on-again off-again blogger (would prefer to be more on-again but it’s funny how my family prefers clean clothes and food over random blog posts). But I have decided beginning Nov. 1 I am going to blog every day about the things that I am most thankful for – many of these things are not the ‘aha’ moments – they are simply moments woven throughout my daily life.
So I challenge you to also take a few minutes of each day throughout the month to let God know what you’re thankful for and pretty soon your intentional act of thankfulness will be transformed into an attitude of gratitude. Not only will that change us but it will go a long way to changing the lives of others around us – and as God’s disciples, isn’t that what we really want?
“Normal life” – for me anyway – is cleaning finger paintings done with toothpaste on the bathroom cabinets, making sure homework is done, sweeping up mud tracked in on stinky cleats off the floor, cooking, grocery shopping, paying the bills, removing shoes from the front-porch roof, etc. So where does thankfulness fit into normal life? I think all too often it gets shoved in a corner (I know I’m guilty of this) and then life rolls along with its little bumps and twists and it’s not until something big happens that we remember to purposely thank God for all that He is and does.
So my question that I’m putting out there to all of you is “How do we transform those moments of deliberate thankfulness into lives characterized by ‘an attitude of gratitude’?
Even before all the recent activities, I had been thinking about thankfulness for several weeks. It seemed to be a common theme in devotions I had read, Scriptures that I ran across, blogs that I had been reading and then just last week the Bible study that I am doing.
In her book Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl, Lysa TerKeurst says that “thanksgiving is the secret to attitude adjustment” and “a person whose life is characterized by constant praise and thanksgiving despite their circumstances will shift from just verbalizing their praise and thanksgiving to living it out loud through their courageous stance for Christ.”
I know we still have a month to go before the holiday that focuses on giving thanks. But how often do we get overwhelmed by all that there is to do surrounding Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas? That leads to stress, which leads to grumbling and short fuses which leads to just general yuckiness and sometimes ungratefulness.
But this year I really want to make the effort to approach things differently. So I’ve decided to challenge myself with 30 Days of Thanks. Now I’m an on-again off-again blogger (would prefer to be more on-again but it’s funny how my family prefers clean clothes and food over random blog posts). But I have decided beginning Nov. 1 I am going to blog every day about the things that I am most thankful for – many of these things are not the ‘aha’ moments – they are simply moments woven throughout my daily life.
So I challenge you to also take a few minutes of each day throughout the month to let God know what you’re thankful for and pretty soon your intentional act of thankfulness will be transformed into an attitude of gratitude. Not only will that change us but it will go a long way to changing the lives of others around us – and as God’s disciples, isn’t that what we really want?
I knew stating this challenge to the public (i.e., all the women in my group) would provide some accountability for me. But hey, I have lots to be thankful for so how hard can it be other than the fact that I have to make time to document it each day.
Well, that's at least what I thought until last Thursday, just two days later. My whole world was shaken a bit. I was told by my kids' pediatrician that one of my babies could be facing a very serious health situation. Serious enough to be meeting with a specialist at a nearby children's hospital tomorrow (Tuesday) a.m. - just one week after writing my devotion.
To say that I have run through a gamut of emotions from last Thursday until today would be an understatement. My thoughts have been all over the place. In fact, I contemplated 'postponing' my challenge. But then these verses kept coming to mind.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thess. 5:16 - 18
So while I admit I'm not thankful for my current circumstance, I can still be thankful despite my circumstance. I look forward to sharing the many things - both big and small - that I'm thankful for during the next 30 days.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Have To - OR - Able To
Do you ever have those days where you're bemoaning your to-do list before you ever set foot out of bed? You know the kind - "I have to do this" or "I have to do that." If you don't, then I applaud you because you are definitely a better person than I am.
Today wasn't necessarily one of those days, but it was cleaning day. And as I began gathering my supplies...
and occupying Mia with clutter-free activities (i.e., a TV show - I know, I know, shame on me), I remembered something I heard at a women's conference a few weeks ago.
What if, instead of focusing on the "I have to's," we focused on the "I am able to's?" (Lots of weird punctuation there - not sure if it's correct, but anyway.) So "I have to clean my house" turns into "I am able to clean my house because I am healthy and physically able." Or "I am able to clean my house because I have a house to clean which shouldn't be taken for granted these days."
As I dusted, vacuumed dog hair, cleaned toilets, vacuumed dog hair, mopped the floors, vacuumed dog hair, I kept mulling this thought over and over in my mind and began to apply it to other situations that frequently come about during my typical day.
I have to eat leftovers for dinner. ----> I am able to eat leftovers for dinner because I have good (not scrounged from a dumpster) food in the fridge to eat.
I have to take the boys to practice for the millionth time this week. ----> I am able to take the boys to practice because they are healthy and God has blessed them with athletic abilities. Or I am able to take the boys to practice because my minivan still runs and allows me to drive them where they need to go. (For those of you that know anything about my minivan this is a miracle in and of itself.)
Now I realize all of my examples are seemingly mundane tasks, but the sum of them makes up a lot of what I do (and what I feel God has called me to do) at this season of my life. So you can see how just changing a few simple words can make a huge impact on my daily outlook.
And just because my house only looks this clean for about an hour every two weeks, I thought I'd document it.
Today wasn't necessarily one of those days, but it was cleaning day. And as I began gathering my supplies...
and occupying Mia with clutter-free activities (i.e., a TV show - I know, I know, shame on me), I remembered something I heard at a women's conference a few weeks ago.
What if, instead of focusing on the "I have to's," we focused on the "I am able to's?" (Lots of weird punctuation there - not sure if it's correct, but anyway.) So "I have to clean my house" turns into "I am able to clean my house because I am healthy and physically able." Or "I am able to clean my house because I have a house to clean which shouldn't be taken for granted these days."
As I dusted, vacuumed dog hair, cleaned toilets, vacuumed dog hair, mopped the floors, vacuumed dog hair, I kept mulling this thought over and over in my mind and began to apply it to other situations that frequently come about during my typical day.
I have to eat leftovers for dinner. ----> I am able to eat leftovers for dinner because I have good (not scrounged from a dumpster) food in the fridge to eat.
I have to take the boys to practice for the millionth time this week. ----> I am able to take the boys to practice because they are healthy and God has blessed them with athletic abilities. Or I am able to take the boys to practice because my minivan still runs and allows me to drive them where they need to go. (For those of you that know anything about my minivan this is a miracle in and of itself.)
Now I realize all of my examples are seemingly mundane tasks, but the sum of them makes up a lot of what I do (and what I feel God has called me to do) at this season of my life. So you can see how just changing a few simple words can make a huge impact on my daily outlook.
And just because my house only looks this clean for about an hour every two weeks, I thought I'd document it.
Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Summer List Recap
Remember the 'Summer List'? Wasn't it just yesterday when we came up with it?
Now that summer is theoretically over I thought it might be fun to recap what we accomplished. Remember, this was a no-limitations brainstorming session so some things didn't quite happen this summer. But hey, there's always next year!
1) Bowling...let me just say that there are no pro-bowlers among us.
2) Tie-dye t-shirts...exploring our crafty side.
3 & 4) Block party and homemade ice cream...we killed two birds with one stone on this one. Had our 'last hurrah' neighborhood gathering on Labor Day and made homemade Cheerwine ice cream - not so good in my book, but it got eaten by others.
5) Fishing...technically this was from Memorial Day. But that's the beginning of summer, right?
6) Shaving cream fight...cheap entertainment, but they LOOOOVVVEEDD it.
7) Water balloon fight...OK, I'm seeing a theme here. But we're really not violent people.
8) Baseball game...Sorry no pics here. Mia and I bailed on this one because it was 100 degrees outside. But the boys and Tim caught a Durham Bulls game.
9) Beach...one of my favs.
10) Washington, D.C...this one was really good too. Although I missed my baby terribly while we were gone.
11) 5K...we picked the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. A very moving experience. Just look at all those people.
12) Gym...No pics on this one for sure. But I did manage to get several workouts in thanks to my WONDERFUL baby sitters.
13) Blog...This one was another one of my items, obviously. But we see how well that turned out. But hey, it's fall and I'm determined to make a new start!
14) IronKids Triathlon...not for the faint of heart. My very athletic and physically fit boys hurt BAD after this one.
15) Pool...of course we did this one. It's a summer staple around here (but with 3 kids, well OK, with one toddler, it was difficult to get photos.)
16) Asheville...We spent some good quality time with the grandparents.
17) Krispy Kreme...thank goodness it's a long way from our house.
Not bad for us first timers. We had a great summer filled with lots of wonderful memories. I will definitely try this again next year - let's just hope the boys don't outgrow it too soon! (The thought of them actually outgrowing it ever makes me very sad - so let's just not think about that.)
Since we seem to be fairly successful with lists, maybe it's time for me to make a Fall Project To Do List. Better get started - the holidays will be here before we know it.
Here's to creating many more wonderful memories - no matter what time of year!
Now that summer is theoretically over I thought it might be fun to recap what we accomplished. Remember, this was a no-limitations brainstorming session so some things didn't quite happen this summer. But hey, there's always next year!
1) Bowling...let me just say that there are no pro-bowlers among us.
2) Tie-dye t-shirts...exploring our crafty side.
3 & 4) Block party and homemade ice cream...we killed two birds with one stone on this one. Had our 'last hurrah' neighborhood gathering on Labor Day and made homemade Cheerwine ice cream - not so good in my book, but it got eaten by others.
5) Fishing...technically this was from Memorial Day. But that's the beginning of summer, right?
6) Shaving cream fight...cheap entertainment, but they LOOOOVVVEEDD it.
7) Water balloon fight...OK, I'm seeing a theme here. But we're really not violent people.
8) Baseball game...Sorry no pics here. Mia and I bailed on this one because it was 100 degrees outside. But the boys and Tim caught a Durham Bulls game.
9) Beach...one of my favs.
10) Washington, D.C...this one was really good too. Although I missed my baby terribly while we were gone.
11) 5K...we picked the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. A very moving experience. Just look at all those people.
12) Gym...No pics on this one for sure. But I did manage to get several workouts in thanks to my WONDERFUL baby sitters.
13) Blog...This one was another one of my items, obviously. But we see how well that turned out. But hey, it's fall and I'm determined to make a new start!
14) IronKids Triathlon...not for the faint of heart. My very athletic and physically fit boys hurt BAD after this one.
15) Pool...of course we did this one. It's a summer staple around here (but with 3 kids, well OK, with one toddler, it was difficult to get photos.)
16) Asheville...We spent some good quality time with the grandparents.
17) Krispy Kreme...thank goodness it's a long way from our house.
Not bad for us first timers. We had a great summer filled with lots of wonderful memories. I will definitely try this again next year - let's just hope the boys don't outgrow it too soon! (The thought of them actually outgrowing it ever makes me very sad - so let's just not think about that.)
Since we seem to be fairly successful with lists, maybe it's time for me to make a Fall Project To Do List. Better get started - the holidays will be here before we know it.
Here's to creating many more wonderful memories - no matter what time of year!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Re: New You
As I write this, more than 320 women are preparing to descend upon Apex United Methodist Church for its first ever women's conference...Re: New You 2010, featuring Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries. And let me just tell you I am SO excited because I know God is going to do an awesome work in the lives of these women.
Over the last few months I have had the privilege to work with an amazing group of ladies in preparation and planning for this event. And even if I don't get to hear one word of Lysa's message, I will have already been blessed beyond measure by the women on our team.
God truly handcrafted this team. There are women from all walks of life - young, younger; children, no children; married, single; long-time members, newcomers - and with all types of gifts (e.g., hospitality, creativity, project management). Whatever we had a need for, you name it and someone stepped forward to do it. Now how awesome is that? But we all had one common desire - to show the love of Christ to the women in our community and beyond.
With that said, I just want to lift up a special prayer for these women - both attendees and organizers - that they will experience the full measure of Christ's love and then feel compelled to share it with others.
Now it's off to take care of the last few details (including hair, make-up and cute shoes) - but remember...
...for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22 - 23
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Mr. Tim and the Family Go to Washington
Since summer seems to be sneaking on by with little regard to my need for keeping my blog updated, I guess I'll just jump back in with both feet by highlighting some of the items that we have checked off on our Summer Fun List. (By the way, this list has been great for reminding us on some of our slower days that we have actually done lots of fun things this summer - and we're not finished yet.)
One of our more major items on our to-do list was a trip to D.C. This trip has been a long time in the making. We were supposed to go 2 summers ago - but I got pregnant with Mia and the thought of July in D.C. pregnant made me want to poke my eyeballs out. Then last year Mia was too young to leave and again the thought of taking a baby to D.C. made me want to poke my eyeballs out. So this year was it. Mia was old enough to leave with the grandparents - so off the rest of us went to explore the nation's capital.
Day 1:
Smile for the camera boys! (Even though you're cramped in the tiny back seat of our rental car.)
D.C. is only about 4 1/2 hours from where we live, so we drove. It wasn't too bad since we weren't traveling with a toddler. I mean two tween/teen boys - they popped in the ear buds and we never heard from them. Probably the only peace and quiet we had the whole trip.
First stop - Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum at Dulles - Airplanes, airplanes and more airplanes.
Just a little excited to be here. Although I think the big boy (not pictured) was the most excited about this stop.
The Concord - very big, very fast, very nice.
Joshua's fav - the SR 71-Blackbird
Space Shuttle - Enterprise. One word: HUGE.
Future astronauts?
Enola Gay
After Udvar-Hazy, we went and checked in at our hotel. We stayed in Arlington just across the bridge from Georgetown. We could not have picked a better location. Right near a Metro stop, great view of the Potomac - just generally great.
So we dropped our bags and ventured out. Remember I mentioned we were close to a Metro stop - yeah well, we decided not to take advantage of it our first night there. Let's just say the key on our little guide map was a bit deceiving - so after having driven 4 - 5 hours, toured a museum that is in a gigantic airplane hangar, and having temps close to the 100 degree mark, we took off on foot to visit the monuments. (Just thought I'd give you that background so when we all look wilted in the next few photos you'll know why.)
We started with the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was on our side of the river. But notice how you can see the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. Doesn't look to far you say? So off we go.
And go, and go, and go we went. Perception is a funny thing.
We made it. And what do you know - there's the Leaning Tower of...wait, I mean, the Washington Monument. We tried for 10 minutes to get that thing straight in the photo, but it just wasn't cooperating.
The Lincoln Memorial - how come when you see this in movies there's no one on the steps?
After hanging out a few minutes with Abe, we hobbled to the nearest Metro stop and quickly found out what we had been missing. Thank goodness for public transportation (never thought I'd say that being from the suburbs).
Our vacation was off to a good start - despite having bunions on our feet. More to come - stay tuned!
One of our more major items on our to-do list was a trip to D.C. This trip has been a long time in the making. We were supposed to go 2 summers ago - but I got pregnant with Mia and the thought of July in D.C. pregnant made me want to poke my eyeballs out. Then last year Mia was too young to leave and again the thought of taking a baby to D.C. made me want to poke my eyeballs out. So this year was it. Mia was old enough to leave with the grandparents - so off the rest of us went to explore the nation's capital.
Day 1:
Smile for the camera boys! (Even though you're cramped in the tiny back seat of our rental car.)
D.C. is only about 4 1/2 hours from where we live, so we drove. It wasn't too bad since we weren't traveling with a toddler. I mean two tween/teen boys - they popped in the ear buds and we never heard from them. Probably the only peace and quiet we had the whole trip.
First stop - Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum at Dulles - Airplanes, airplanes and more airplanes.
After Udvar-Hazy, we went and checked in at our hotel. We stayed in Arlington just across the bridge from Georgetown. We could not have picked a better location. Right near a Metro stop, great view of the Potomac - just generally great.
So we dropped our bags and ventured out. Remember I mentioned we were close to a Metro stop - yeah well, we decided not to take advantage of it our first night there. Let's just say the key on our little guide map was a bit deceiving - so after having driven 4 - 5 hours, toured a museum that is in a gigantic airplane hangar, and having temps close to the 100 degree mark, we took off on foot to visit the monuments. (Just thought I'd give you that background so when we all look wilted in the next few photos you'll know why.)
Our vacation was off to a good start - despite having bunions on our feet. More to come - stay tuned!
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