Almost 2 years ago, my husband & I joined what a lot of people around here refer to as a mega-church. We'd thought it was that ourselves, til we went. We ended up there because 1) we were running late one Sunday morning and 2) we'd watched some of the sermons online and were intrigued & surprised to find that the messages from a church that big were entirely Biblical and doctrinally sound. So, what was a place to go in a pinch became our new church home. It was like God picked us up with two fingers & plopped us down there, just exactly where He wanted us.
We got to know the pastor and many people on staff. We became active in serving in several of the church's many ministries and several months ago, we found ourselves the newly appointed leaders of our Community Group!
I tell people we "accidentally" ended up there, but I know that God doesn't do accidents, or maybe He just makes use of them for His purposes. :)
The former leader wasn't at the first couple of meetings after summer break, which left just us and two other couples who had joined the church around the same time we had. We continued on with the meetings because, well, we enjoy them so much and those two "leaderless" meetings found us with new folks in attendance.
So I sent an email to a couple different staff members asking what was up and letting them know what had been going on. I received back a note saying basically, "Great! We put you and Tommy down as this group's leaders! Thanks for serving!" LOL! My first thought was that the other two "core" couples would think we'd angled for the position and my husband's first thought was, "Oh, no! I can't do that!"
We prayed about it, we talked to the other couples so they knew what had happened...and at last, God gave Tommy a peace about it.
Then last night, He gave us both an encouraging situation to, I feel, let us know we're right where He wants us.
We had one new fella show up. His wife had to work, and so he was on his own, which was fine. We have some "singles" in our group from time to time. The church encourages people to go to several different groups to see where they feel most comfortable.
Our group is amazing. As I said, there are us three couples who make up the core, who all serve in the church's First Touch ministry (greeting, parking, seating, etc... no one feels unwelcome at our church!) and we're pretty much always there when something's going on at the church. All that to say, we're a very chatty group, everyone participates in the discussion. I think that has always made new folks feel at ease to share with us, even though most of the time, they don't come back, for whatever reason... sometimes it's just that they are not consistent.
So anyway, after everyone, and I mean EVERYone.. even the custodian, had left last night, Tommy and I continued to talk with this gentleman. He'd opened up about his biggest sin-struggle and shared that it had caused hurt in this, his second marriage. We also found out that he had attended our former church, so we had that in common, along with having close friends who still attend there.
But we continued to talk, and he continued to open up about his life. We encouraged each other. He's working to redeem himself in his wife's eyes. That's a hard thing to tell ANYone, but he felt comfortable telling us. We stood outside the church, huddled under an overhang because it was raining and talked for almost an hour.
It was a real blessing to us.
What was?-- you might ask. Being an encouragement to someone, having someone feel comfortable enough to confide in us, to ask us to pray for them. It was a great blessing. And it was more confirmation that we're where God wants us.
That's what we want more than anything. To be exactly where God wants us. Sometimes that's hard to determine so it's just beautiful when God gives you a sign that you're on the right path. :)
Do we feel at a loss sometimes? You bet we do!! Do we feel we haven't or can't do what we need to or be what we need to be? Yes! Being where God wants you doesn't make you perfect. It just makes you feel safe... even when the sky seems to be falling around you.
He's awesome that way.
God bless you big time!!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
the rest of the remodel...
Here's a shot of the center wall that runs from the kitchen into the family room... we have to keep it the same color in both rooms because we inadvertently pushed the door to our bedroom underneath the doorway from the kitchen to family room... there's nowhere to divide this wall.
See?
And here he is, my sweet painting man. I wouldn't have such an awesomely colored home without him to run this huge roller for me.
Finally!!
Can't wait to see how it looks once all the rest is green!!
One wall down...two more & the family room is done::
Woo! I love it!
This isn't exactly the shade of green I had hoped, but I do like it a lot...
Check it: we needed somewhere to put the boxes/electronics for the tv, so...
I really love the wall vinyls, too...
Here's the other end of the room after paint & replacing the furniture:
See?
And here he is, my sweet painting man. I wouldn't have such an awesomely colored home without him to run this huge roller for me.
Finally!!
Can't wait to see how it looks once all the rest is green!!
One wall down...two more & the family room is done::
Woo! I love it!
This isn't exactly the shade of green I had hoped, but I do like it a lot...
Check it: we needed somewhere to put the boxes/electronics for the tv, so...
I really love the wall vinyls, too...
Here's the other end of the room after paint & replacing the furniture:
more Christmas 2012...
Sheesh!! I got all caught up in telling about my great eBay finds, I forgot to tell you all how great our now-traditional Christmas Morning breakfast went!!
For about 5 years now, Tommy and I have been hosting a family gathering at our home on Christmas Morning. This has to be juggled around a bit on the years when Christmas falls on a Sunday, but the rest of the time, it's pretty peaceful & this year was especially awesome.
We have family from both sides here... my parents, our kids, including of course, our daughter-in-law and usually at least one or two friends who don't have family around here. We also have Tommy's parents here and for the past couple of years, that also includes my mother-in-law's mentally handicapped sister.
This year, we had just my one friend whose sons were my boys' best friends growing up. Two of her three sons are now in the military, one of those is married with a family of his own, the other is stationed in California and the other lives around here, but had celebrated with his mom earlier. Corey did a neat thing and called one of the boys on iPhone's facetime, then handed the phone to my friend, so she got to see and chat with her youngest.
The really amazing thing about this year was how my parents hung around for games and stuff. Normally Christmas is a really hard time for my mom. Her mother passed away on Christmas morning about 6 years ago, so she's usually pretty sullen along with being tired because she pushes herself so much.
I am not sure what happened this year, but I pray it's a new tradition. She and Daddy both will usually be ready to go as soon as the meal is over, but Mom came to me and suggested we play a game.
Now folks, THAT is an odd request coming from my mother. Tommy's parents play games all the time and they usually end up staying hours and hours on Christmas morning because our Casey loves Monopoly about as much as they do. I seldom ever play that with them because I can't stand how long it drags on, but they all love it.
ANYway, so Mom suggests a game. I know she won't enjoy something like Monopoly, so I pull out Taboo. We ALL played that for over an hour and had the best time!! So much so, that for New Year's Eve, Mom asked that we all come up for supper and bring the game with us!
It was really amazing and SUCH a fun time. When we normally are left feeling like... I dunno, like anyone would feel if someone just wanted to take off as soon as possible instead of joining in any fun and games. Kinda like a slap, ya know? But not this year. I really hope this is a new tradition!
For about 5 years now, Tommy and I have been hosting a family gathering at our home on Christmas Morning. This has to be juggled around a bit on the years when Christmas falls on a Sunday, but the rest of the time, it's pretty peaceful & this year was especially awesome.
We have family from both sides here... my parents, our kids, including of course, our daughter-in-law and usually at least one or two friends who don't have family around here. We also have Tommy's parents here and for the past couple of years, that also includes my mother-in-law's mentally handicapped sister.
This year, we had just my one friend whose sons were my boys' best friends growing up. Two of her three sons are now in the military, one of those is married with a family of his own, the other is stationed in California and the other lives around here, but had celebrated with his mom earlier. Corey did a neat thing and called one of the boys on iPhone's facetime, then handed the phone to my friend, so she got to see and chat with her youngest.
The really amazing thing about this year was how my parents hung around for games and stuff. Normally Christmas is a really hard time for my mom. Her mother passed away on Christmas morning about 6 years ago, so she's usually pretty sullen along with being tired because she pushes herself so much.
I am not sure what happened this year, but I pray it's a new tradition. She and Daddy both will usually be ready to go as soon as the meal is over, but Mom came to me and suggested we play a game.
Now folks, THAT is an odd request coming from my mother. Tommy's parents play games all the time and they usually end up staying hours and hours on Christmas morning because our Casey loves Monopoly about as much as they do. I seldom ever play that with them because I can't stand how long it drags on, but they all love it.
ANYway, so Mom suggests a game. I know she won't enjoy something like Monopoly, so I pull out Taboo. We ALL played that for over an hour and had the best time!! So much so, that for New Year's Eve, Mom asked that we all come up for supper and bring the game with us!
It was really amazing and SUCH a fun time. When we normally are left feeling like... I dunno, like anyone would feel if someone just wanted to take off as soon as possible instead of joining in any fun and games. Kinda like a slap, ya know? But not this year. I really hope this is a new tradition!
long time, no post...
Ah, yes. I'm back. My life got a little hectic during the holidays. I'm sure yours wasn't though, right? Mmhmm.. I didn't think so.
Our family had a beautiful Christmas, even though this was one of the tightest financial times of our lives. None of the family really had the extra money to do our usual week at the cabin, and we are just out of the habit of trying to buy everyone gifts... besides the fact that we just flat had no money to do that with.
*sigh* Yeah, it's a little depressing, but God kept us busy & we didn't focus on what we didn't have.
So, let me tell you what we did have...
We had two non-family get-togethers at our house. One was for my ladies group of Emmaus chicks. It's the local group of women who have all been on the Walk to Emmaus. Normally we meet each Thursday at a restaurant, or occasionally at a church or someone's home if we're making agape gifts for a walk. But with us getting the finishing touches on the house, both Tommy & I wanted to host some parties at our home. So I had about 25 people here in the middle of December. We played an ornament exchange game, had tons of food & good fellowship. It was so awesome & I was so blessed to have everyone here.
The very next night, we hosted our church's community group here. Unfortunately, three of the couples couldn't come, but of the three couples we had here, I think we all had a great time. We've grown really close to some of these people, and I guess, as our group has grown & there are basically just three of us couples who have been here all along, those other two couples were so good to us when I was injured & not able to get around back in the summer... I just wanted to do something for them. So for this gathering, I didn't ask anyone to bring food. Tommy & I did all the cooking. It turned out great.
I used quite a few recipes I'd found on Pinterest, and they were a hit. I did a lot of cooking for my Emmaus group too, but did ask for the ladies to bring something to share because I was afraid of not having enough. Man! We had a TON of food!!
During all of this, Tommy & I had been working with the First Touch group at church. This is the group that includes the ushers, parking lot guys and the greeters who are stationed not only at the doors, but all through the outer area before you get to the auditorium. I love doing this except for one thing... it means we miss out on the first of the worship service. But still, I love it. I get to see people that I normally don't, which means a lot in a church as big as ours. The last Sunday we worked, I got to see two people I'd gone to high school with that I hadn't seen in ages!!
So God kept us very busy with those things and with doing the Advent devotionals we did corporately with our church. That helped a lot and I'm so thankful that we stuck with it this year. We kinda failed big time last year!
We did spend about $50 on very small gifts for our kids & parents & I'd bought a couple of things earlier in the year for my sister & her husband, so we weren't completely empty handed, which is what I HATE, especially with my parents because my mom always buys such nice things for everyone.
She & dad gave us all some money as well, which was really REALLY nice and put both Tommy and me on eBay looking for things we wanted.
For him it was all kinds of light-weight backpacking equipment for the trip he and our boys are planning for later this year. For me? Well, I have wanted to get some Thirty-One bags for eons. I even thought about hosting a party, but I HATE doing those buy-something deals. I don't go to them because I can't afford to buy stuff, so I figure most people are likely in the same situation. I also wanted to find a really good leather purse. Well, I went over my Christmas-cash budget, but thankfully I have Bill Me Later & could go ahead and get not one, but but SEVERAL of EACH of these wish-list items!!
God's so good, isn't He?? :)
I got one Dooney & Bourke all leather drawstring bag in excellent condition for several hundred dollars less than it would have cost new. I got one of those huge 31 Weekender totes, brand-new in the package AND in that new purple paisley pattern I love! Not only that, but I saved over $30 off retail. I dunno why someone wasn't pleased with this as a gift, but I am thrilled with my purchase! I also got a barely-used All In One Organizing totes to hold all the things we need to keep in the truck. It's in a nice discontinued pattern with the snowy pine trees? I wiped a couple of smudged out of the inside & it looks like new. Saved a TON on it, too. Then I found another 31 Large Utility tote in the brown dot pattern. And I unexpectedly won another Dooney & Bourke bag that should be here any day. It's almost like new too and I only gave $30-something for it. It's all leather & looks great.
Now my problem will be being seen with the aforementioned 31 bags by the ladies I know who are 31 reps. *sigh* I'm thinking about posting a status on facebook explaining what I've done. I mean, c'mon, how can anyone fault me for buying these things used &/or for WAY less than retail? Hopefully, no one, but we'll see. *sigh* I can't let that worry me right now.
Well, I think that's it for me for right now. I'm going to try to upload some pix of the stuff we've got finished around the house. I absolutely LOVE my new green walls in the family room. It's got such a warm cozy feel now and the redo of the mantle is just awesome! Hang tight... I'll get some pix up ASAP!!
hugs~
Our family had a beautiful Christmas, even though this was one of the tightest financial times of our lives. None of the family really had the extra money to do our usual week at the cabin, and we are just out of the habit of trying to buy everyone gifts... besides the fact that we just flat had no money to do that with.
*sigh* Yeah, it's a little depressing, but God kept us busy & we didn't focus on what we didn't have.
So, let me tell you what we did have...
We had two non-family get-togethers at our house. One was for my ladies group of Emmaus chicks. It's the local group of women who have all been on the Walk to Emmaus. Normally we meet each Thursday at a restaurant, or occasionally at a church or someone's home if we're making agape gifts for a walk. But with us getting the finishing touches on the house, both Tommy & I wanted to host some parties at our home. So I had about 25 people here in the middle of December. We played an ornament exchange game, had tons of food & good fellowship. It was so awesome & I was so blessed to have everyone here.
The very next night, we hosted our church's community group here. Unfortunately, three of the couples couldn't come, but of the three couples we had here, I think we all had a great time. We've grown really close to some of these people, and I guess, as our group has grown & there are basically just three of us couples who have been here all along, those other two couples were so good to us when I was injured & not able to get around back in the summer... I just wanted to do something for them. So for this gathering, I didn't ask anyone to bring food. Tommy & I did all the cooking. It turned out great.
I used quite a few recipes I'd found on Pinterest, and they were a hit. I did a lot of cooking for my Emmaus group too, but did ask for the ladies to bring something to share because I was afraid of not having enough. Man! We had a TON of food!!
During all of this, Tommy & I had been working with the First Touch group at church. This is the group that includes the ushers, parking lot guys and the greeters who are stationed not only at the doors, but all through the outer area before you get to the auditorium. I love doing this except for one thing... it means we miss out on the first of the worship service. But still, I love it. I get to see people that I normally don't, which means a lot in a church as big as ours. The last Sunday we worked, I got to see two people I'd gone to high school with that I hadn't seen in ages!!
So God kept us very busy with those things and with doing the Advent devotionals we did corporately with our church. That helped a lot and I'm so thankful that we stuck with it this year. We kinda failed big time last year!
We did spend about $50 on very small gifts for our kids & parents & I'd bought a couple of things earlier in the year for my sister & her husband, so we weren't completely empty handed, which is what I HATE, especially with my parents because my mom always buys such nice things for everyone.
She & dad gave us all some money as well, which was really REALLY nice and put both Tommy and me on eBay looking for things we wanted.
For him it was all kinds of light-weight backpacking equipment for the trip he and our boys are planning for later this year. For me? Well, I have wanted to get some Thirty-One bags for eons. I even thought about hosting a party, but I HATE doing those buy-something deals. I don't go to them because I can't afford to buy stuff, so I figure most people are likely in the same situation. I also wanted to find a really good leather purse. Well, I went over my Christmas-cash budget, but thankfully I have Bill Me Later & could go ahead and get not one, but but SEVERAL of EACH of these wish-list items!!
God's so good, isn't He?? :)
I got one Dooney & Bourke all leather drawstring bag in excellent condition for several hundred dollars less than it would have cost new. I got one of those huge 31 Weekender totes, brand-new in the package AND in that new purple paisley pattern I love! Not only that, but I saved over $30 off retail. I dunno why someone wasn't pleased with this as a gift, but I am thrilled with my purchase! I also got a barely-used All In One Organizing totes to hold all the things we need to keep in the truck. It's in a nice discontinued pattern with the snowy pine trees? I wiped a couple of smudged out of the inside & it looks like new. Saved a TON on it, too. Then I found another 31 Large Utility tote in the brown dot pattern. And I unexpectedly won another Dooney & Bourke bag that should be here any day. It's almost like new too and I only gave $30-something for it. It's all leather & looks great.
Now my problem will be being seen with the aforementioned 31 bags by the ladies I know who are 31 reps. *sigh* I'm thinking about posting a status on facebook explaining what I've done. I mean, c'mon, how can anyone fault me for buying these things used &/or for WAY less than retail? Hopefully, no one, but we'll see. *sigh* I can't let that worry me right now.
Well, I think that's it for me for right now. I'm going to try to upload some pix of the stuff we've got finished around the house. I absolutely LOVE my new green walls in the family room. It's got such a warm cozy feel now and the redo of the mantle is just awesome! Hang tight... I'll get some pix up ASAP!!
hugs~
Friday, September 21, 2012
lows, migraines & a stroke?
So, last Friday morning, my poor daughter-in-law, Melissa, got word that her grandmother had finally passed away after a long, hard battle with cancer. She called me around 7am, but I didn't know it.
I must have answered the phone, I remember looking at it and seeing that it was Mel, but then all I remember is not knowing what to do with the phone. *sigh* My sugar was low. Thank God she called because lately, Tommy's been leaving me asleep when he goes to work!!
He tried to get me to talk to him, but I don't remember any of that. He said I was not able to communicate so he checked my sugar, which was 58. That's not very low, not low enough to affect my speech at least.
He brought me some grape juice, which I promptly drank down. I don't remember too much then til the next time he checked my sugar. I don't know if I went back to sleep or what, but the kids, Corey and Melissa, were there by this time. My sugar was up to 118, but I still couldn't put my words together and at this point, I KNEW it too.
My head was killing me at this point. The left side around my eye was just pounding and it didn't seem to ease up no matter what I did. I apparently kept complaining about it or rubbing it because someone brought me an ice pack. That helped a little but then it would get too cold and I'd have to take it off.
By the time I could understand and realize what was going on, Tommy & the kids were discussing what to do with me. *weeps* I hate when I am incapacitated like that. Feels like I'm such a failure, even if I know there's nothing I can do about it, I just feel like such a heavy burden to my family. :(
Anyhow, I was able to speak a little by now although I had to think a little harder to put my sentences together. I was really scared. And yes, they all thought I was having a stroke. They said the right side of my face was a little droopy, but I couldn't tell that it was.
I started to get up and get some clothes on to head to the hospital. I was still feeling very weak, but could talk a little better all the time. We'd about decided not to go by the time I had my shoes on, but then suddenly, I got sick & ran Corey over on my way to the bathroom to throw up.
Weird.
We went to the ER, of course. By the time I was there, my sugar was around 200. I had a horrific migraine but the sick feeling was gone and I could speak okay for the most part. It still was taking a little extra effort to choose my words, but nothing like the difficulty I'd had before.
We ended up being in the ER for about 3 hours, having blood work and a urine test and a CT scan to check for stroke.
Everything came back normal. The migraine was still as bad as ever, though. They'd given me some pathetic "migraine cocktail" that included acetaminophen, ibuprofen, benedryl and caffeine. They gave me that within about 45 minutes of my arrival and it did NOTHING for the pain. I was in tears for a good hour or so the pain was so bad.
The ER doctor asked if I took migraine meds and I told him no. I hadn't had one in a few years. So he asked what I'd taken before that worked and I told him Lortab. He, of course, didn't want to give me that. I told him I'd tried Maxalt, Midrin and Axert with no results, but the Lortab allowed me to rest and sometimes sleep off the migraine. He finally agreed to give me a dose there, but sent me home with naprosen (what a joke!) and a zithro pack for what he thought might be a sinus infection.
What a waste!! Thank God, though, the pain started easing about 30 minutes after the Lortab & by the time I got home, it was almost gone.
I still have no clue what happened to me. It was SO scary. It's been a long time since I've been unable to communicate like that, and then it was always with a much lower blood sugar than 58. I'm just thankful God brought me through it and hope & pray that I learned whatever it was He wanted to teach me.
I feel horrible knowing that Melissa was in tears when she called me and I wasn't able to comfort her. You just can't imagine how awful that feels unless you've been there.
And I hope you never are.
I must have answered the phone, I remember looking at it and seeing that it was Mel, but then all I remember is not knowing what to do with the phone. *sigh* My sugar was low. Thank God she called because lately, Tommy's been leaving me asleep when he goes to work!!
He tried to get me to talk to him, but I don't remember any of that. He said I was not able to communicate so he checked my sugar, which was 58. That's not very low, not low enough to affect my speech at least.
He brought me some grape juice, which I promptly drank down. I don't remember too much then til the next time he checked my sugar. I don't know if I went back to sleep or what, but the kids, Corey and Melissa, were there by this time. My sugar was up to 118, but I still couldn't put my words together and at this point, I KNEW it too.
My head was killing me at this point. The left side around my eye was just pounding and it didn't seem to ease up no matter what I did. I apparently kept complaining about it or rubbing it because someone brought me an ice pack. That helped a little but then it would get too cold and I'd have to take it off.
By the time I could understand and realize what was going on, Tommy & the kids were discussing what to do with me. *weeps* I hate when I am incapacitated like that. Feels like I'm such a failure, even if I know there's nothing I can do about it, I just feel like such a heavy burden to my family. :(
Anyhow, I was able to speak a little by now although I had to think a little harder to put my sentences together. I was really scared. And yes, they all thought I was having a stroke. They said the right side of my face was a little droopy, but I couldn't tell that it was.
I started to get up and get some clothes on to head to the hospital. I was still feeling very weak, but could talk a little better all the time. We'd about decided not to go by the time I had my shoes on, but then suddenly, I got sick & ran Corey over on my way to the bathroom to throw up.
Weird.
We went to the ER, of course. By the time I was there, my sugar was around 200. I had a horrific migraine but the sick feeling was gone and I could speak okay for the most part. It still was taking a little extra effort to choose my words, but nothing like the difficulty I'd had before.
We ended up being in the ER for about 3 hours, having blood work and a urine test and a CT scan to check for stroke.
Everything came back normal. The migraine was still as bad as ever, though. They'd given me some pathetic "migraine cocktail" that included acetaminophen, ibuprofen, benedryl and caffeine. They gave me that within about 45 minutes of my arrival and it did NOTHING for the pain. I was in tears for a good hour or so the pain was so bad.
The ER doctor asked if I took migraine meds and I told him no. I hadn't had one in a few years. So he asked what I'd taken before that worked and I told him Lortab. He, of course, didn't want to give me that. I told him I'd tried Maxalt, Midrin and Axert with no results, but the Lortab allowed me to rest and sometimes sleep off the migraine. He finally agreed to give me a dose there, but sent me home with naprosen (what a joke!) and a zithro pack for what he thought might be a sinus infection.
What a waste!! Thank God, though, the pain started easing about 30 minutes after the Lortab & by the time I got home, it was almost gone.
I still have no clue what happened to me. It was SO scary. It's been a long time since I've been unable to communicate like that, and then it was always with a much lower blood sugar than 58. I'm just thankful God brought me through it and hope & pray that I learned whatever it was He wanted to teach me.
I feel horrible knowing that Melissa was in tears when she called me and I wasn't able to comfort her. You just can't imagine how awful that feels unless you've been there.
And I hope you never are.
save the brushes!
If you haven't seen this advice on Pinterest or elsewhere, you've gotta be made aware!! There IS a way to resurrect those paint brushes you think are ruined by dried-in paint!
What's the secret? Vinegar. Plain, white vinegar. That's it!!
Just pop enough vinegar to cover the bristles into the microwave & nuke til it's at the boiling point. Then sock your brush in & wait for the magic! This brush was completely dried FULL of paint!!! I like to wrap my brushes when I'm painting but don't get finished or if I'm using more than one color, I keep one brush, wet with paint, wrapped in plastic. The great thing about doing this is you don't have to wash the brush each time you take a break or switch colors. The bad part is that sometimes, you kinda like forget about said brush and end up with what I found today at the bottom of a bucket of paint tools. A brush left completely FULL of paint, dried hard as a rock! Egads!
Now, I didn't just leave this one sitting the vinegar since it was so horribly neglected. After it had sat in the stuff a few minutes, I swished it around to separate the bristles, then I let it sit awhile longer. After that, I used a butter knife to force the more solid sections apart and let it sit again. Then I laid the bristles across the middle section of my kitchen sink with hot water running on it and used the toothed edge of the butter knife to force the stuck-on paint off the tips of the bristles. You need to be gentle doing this so you don't pull the bristles loose, but if you have as big a mess as I did, you'll have to work the paint off somehow.
I'm telling you, my brush is like new now!! And it's just a moderately priced Rubbermaid brush, not a high-dollar brand. Now go, try it for yourself!! You'll be glad you happened upon this piece of advice. I sure am!Sunday, September 9, 2012
fix your eyes upon Jesus...
I don't recall right now exactly how much I've posted here about our move almost a year ago from a very traditional church to the one we now attend. I remember it was hard. All our children and my parents went there too. Still go there, matter of fact. My dad's a deacon there.
But we felt a distinct urging to leave. So we did. And it wasn't very pretty. Dad didn't really speak to me for almost a month. It was a rough time. However, things are good now. Dad slowly realized we had not "forsaken" our Christianity or whatever. We hadn't even left "our" denomination. Just traded in what to us was discouraging church for one that was so alive and totally focused on Jesus and people.
So anyway, now we have some friends who are going through the same thing. They've been coming to our church for a few weeks and not their families, but their church is responding in such an ugly way!! It breaks my heart to see my friends going through this. From being hung up on by the pastor to having someone come by their house and taking the church van without so much as a by-your-leave.
How sad to see a church, of all people, reacting this way. Don't they see it's not about them?? Can't they realize that sometimes God calls us to other places and other duties?
*sigh*
So, in other news, Tommy's been gone since Friday morning. He is serving on a REC (Residents Encounter Christ - an Emmaus style weekend for those who are incarcerated) at a prison. I'm so anxious to see him this evening and hear how it all went.
I have been asked to serve on the next Women's Walk at the camp in a few weeks. I wanted to let the lay director know that while I was back up and walking, I wasn't nearly at 100% with my foot and needed to be put somewhere I wouldn't be on them so much.
Then I found out I had been assigned to the kitchen! Egads! I couldn't believe it since I had emailed to let her know, and THEN at the first organizational meeting, she gets up and says that she'd had to turn people away from helping and she'd prayed about where to put people. I felt HORRIBLE for saying anything about not wanting to serve in the kitchen because of my foot. But... *sigh*... I did.
While the skin graft has taken and the foot is healing well, it's still extremely tender. I've accidentally touched it with one of those foot sanding blocks and it bled like crazy. I can't imagine having my feet swell up like they usually do if I'm on them for extended periods. I just didn't want to risk that. So, I spoke with the LD and she ended up telling me she didn't really have another spot for me, but maybe I could tag-team with someone else on the prayer team "or something".
*siiigh* I really hate feeling like someone's having to make a job for me to do. Hate feeling like I'm not pulling my weight. Hate feeling awkwardly out of place...
Once I got home, I emailed the LD, telling her I really appreciated her calling me and I hated that I could not serve where she needed me, but if she had folks who'd volunteered but she'd had to turn down, that I'd be thrilled if she would allow them to serve in my place. I said that I didn't want her having to create something for me to do when she had people who were willing and able to serve. I told her she would not hurt my feelings one bit if she did that and that I hoped to work with her sometime in the future.
I didn't think anything of it when I got no reply since I hadn't the first time either & knowing she's so busy! I figured I'd just go to the next meeting if I hadn't heard from her and see what she had to say then. But then I got a phone call.
It was the LD saying she really appreciated my email, appreciated that I was willing to step down and give my spot to someone else. She said most people wouldn't have done that and she appreciated the offer. ...but she didn't want to accept it. She said she needed people with a heart for service (aw!) and a willing spirit and there always ended up being a job with no worker and she wanted me on her team.
Wow. If that wasn't a confirmation for me to be on this walk, I don't know what is!! I seriously never had any of those thoughts about myself. I'm a pretty selfish person, matter of fact. And I do hate feeling as if I'm being a drain on a team if I can't do what's needed of me. I feel like such a louse for ever saying, "Well, I DO have diabetes, so I might have a problem doing this or that" so I usually don't say it. I mean, do you realize how lame that sounds when you say it out loud? I DO usually tell people because it sounds much lamer when you're in the middle of a low blood sugar and you can't even talk properly or you don't realize you're having a low til you're in the middle of some important task. Then of course, you can't finish said task OR tell anyone why.
*sigh* Have I mentioned that diabetes kinda sucks? Oh... well, never mind then.
Anyway, I love being able to serve on these walks, but I feel so inadequate in so many ways. Spiritually, physically.... I'm just thankful God doesn't call the equipped but He equips the called.
Hallelujah!
But we felt a distinct urging to leave. So we did. And it wasn't very pretty. Dad didn't really speak to me for almost a month. It was a rough time. However, things are good now. Dad slowly realized we had not "forsaken" our Christianity or whatever. We hadn't even left "our" denomination. Just traded in what to us was discouraging church for one that was so alive and totally focused on Jesus and people.
So anyway, now we have some friends who are going through the same thing. They've been coming to our church for a few weeks and not their families, but their church is responding in such an ugly way!! It breaks my heart to see my friends going through this. From being hung up on by the pastor to having someone come by their house and taking the church van without so much as a by-your-leave.
How sad to see a church, of all people, reacting this way. Don't they see it's not about them?? Can't they realize that sometimes God calls us to other places and other duties?
*sigh*
So, in other news, Tommy's been gone since Friday morning. He is serving on a REC (Residents Encounter Christ - an Emmaus style weekend for those who are incarcerated) at a prison. I'm so anxious to see him this evening and hear how it all went.
I have been asked to serve on the next Women's Walk at the camp in a few weeks. I wanted to let the lay director know that while I was back up and walking, I wasn't nearly at 100% with my foot and needed to be put somewhere I wouldn't be on them so much.
Then I found out I had been assigned to the kitchen! Egads! I couldn't believe it since I had emailed to let her know, and THEN at the first organizational meeting, she gets up and says that she'd had to turn people away from helping and she'd prayed about where to put people. I felt HORRIBLE for saying anything about not wanting to serve in the kitchen because of my foot. But... *sigh*... I did.
While the skin graft has taken and the foot is healing well, it's still extremely tender. I've accidentally touched it with one of those foot sanding blocks and it bled like crazy. I can't imagine having my feet swell up like they usually do if I'm on them for extended periods. I just didn't want to risk that. So, I spoke with the LD and she ended up telling me she didn't really have another spot for me, but maybe I could tag-team with someone else on the prayer team "or something".
*siiigh* I really hate feeling like someone's having to make a job for me to do. Hate feeling like I'm not pulling my weight. Hate feeling awkwardly out of place...
Once I got home, I emailed the LD, telling her I really appreciated her calling me and I hated that I could not serve where she needed me, but if she had folks who'd volunteered but she'd had to turn down, that I'd be thrilled if she would allow them to serve in my place. I said that I didn't want her having to create something for me to do when she had people who were willing and able to serve. I told her she would not hurt my feelings one bit if she did that and that I hoped to work with her sometime in the future.
I didn't think anything of it when I got no reply since I hadn't the first time either & knowing she's so busy! I figured I'd just go to the next meeting if I hadn't heard from her and see what she had to say then. But then I got a phone call.
It was the LD saying she really appreciated my email, appreciated that I was willing to step down and give my spot to someone else. She said most people wouldn't have done that and she appreciated the offer. ...but she didn't want to accept it. She said she needed people with a heart for service (aw!) and a willing spirit and there always ended up being a job with no worker and she wanted me on her team.
Wow. If that wasn't a confirmation for me to be on this walk, I don't know what is!! I seriously never had any of those thoughts about myself. I'm a pretty selfish person, matter of fact. And I do hate feeling as if I'm being a drain on a team if I can't do what's needed of me. I feel like such a louse for ever saying, "Well, I DO have diabetes, so I might have a problem doing this or that" so I usually don't say it. I mean, do you realize how lame that sounds when you say it out loud? I DO usually tell people because it sounds much lamer when you're in the middle of a low blood sugar and you can't even talk properly or you don't realize you're having a low til you're in the middle of some important task. Then of course, you can't finish said task OR tell anyone why.
*sigh* Have I mentioned that diabetes kinda sucks? Oh... well, never mind then.
Anyway, I love being able to serve on these walks, but I feel so inadequate in so many ways. Spiritually, physically.... I'm just thankful God doesn't call the equipped but He equips the called.
Hallelujah!
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