A Soleful Christmas

Last night was our the women's Christmas Event at my church. Thirty eight women braved cold weather and a bit of sleet to listen to a great speaker (Andrea Chevalier) talk about shoes and to eat lots of dessert (PERFECT!). We also collected 35+ pairs of shoes for Shoes for Orphan Souls. It was a great time and I've posted pictures so you can see for yourself what you missed.

Take Your Oxygen First

This saying comes from the airline industry in relation to cabin pressure being compromised and the oxygen masks being activated. They instruct you to put on your oxygen mask before trying to help those around you. It makes sense that if you can breath, you’ll be able to function better. Without oxygen you would die.

The same principal can be applied to our lives and especially our Christian walk. We, as women, daughters, wives, mothers, etc, must take our oxygen first before we can be effective in those roles.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10


We were created by a God who loves us and wants us to have an abundant (richly supplied, plenty, full) life here on this earth. I wonder how many of us would say we have a richly supplied life, full of plenty. That’s because we are not fully connected to the source of that life, Jesus.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

We have to have a relationship with Jesus that is second nature, just like breathing. That comes the same as with any other relationship, you must spend time with Him (prayer, study, etc). And before long you'll notice that your other relationships are changing, as you breathe deeply from the source.
TAKE YOUR OXYGEN FIRST!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Well, not really frightful, but whenever the temperature drops below 60 degrees it's too cold for me. I'm really a warm weather lover and I love to go to the beach. I love the warmth of the sun, the breeze softly caressing my skin, the salty taste of the water, and even the smell of sunscreen. Love coconut smells! So you would think that since I'm a warm weather person, that I'd love the desert, but no. I can't think of a place I'd rather NOT be...well maybe Alaska.

My daughter, Kristina, lives in Phoenix and since she's had a habit of having her babies during the summer, I've visited her several times in the past 6 years, usually in August. Before my first visit I had people tell me that I'd love Phoenix, that it was hot, but since it was a dry heat, it was different. It's different alright, like being locked in an oven. And since a chicken is fully cooked at a temperature of 170 degrees, I figure at 120 degrees I'm more than half baked and I get cranky.

From my visits to the desert I can now totally understand how those wandering Israelites could have been unruly. As a matter of fact, It surprises me that there wasn't more grumbling and complaining. Also, I'm surprised that cities in the desert don't have higher than normal crime rates. I know I'd be tempted to hurt someone if I had to spend a lot of time there...especially in the summer.

All of this talk of deserts reminds me that at times in my life I have wandered into a desert of my own making. A desolate, hard, hot place without the refreshing coolness of mercy and grace. It is a miserable place to be and yet I'm sort of like Hagar in the Bible (Genesis 16) and when things get difficult, too much for me, I sometimes run blindly into the desert without thought of the future or even of sustenance. It's only after I bake in the heat for a while that I recognize that I ran in the wrong direction. I should have and could have run into the open arms of my gracious and loving Lord, where there is unlimited refreshing water.

I'm going to try to remember that next time I'm in the desert.

National Adoption Awareness Month

The info below was originally written for the women's ministry blog at my church. The picture is an old one, but one of the few I have with all 5 of the kids.


November is National Adoption Awareness month. Our family was greatly blessed by adoption. We have five (2 sibling groups) beautiful, healthy, loving children that came to us through adoption. While life is never dull, we are completely blown away by God's work in our lives and the lives of our children.


In 1992, my husband and I first felt a desire to be foster parents. We took a leap of faith. I quit my job and we waited for a call. It came, and with it, a brother and sister ages 2 and 3. They were precious, but a handful. After raising two daughters, then teenagers, I wondered what I was getting into. Amanda & Nathan had been in several foster homes and had health and emotional issues.


We grew to love them so much that we couldn't imagine them leaving our home. In 1995 we adopted them. It is not always easy, but we know we are doing exactly what God called us to do.


When Amanda and Nathan were 13 and 14, we felt the call again. We went through the state, but we all felt we would not foster this time, just adopt. There is a long and wonderful story that followed, but I'll just say that God has a sense of humor. Exactly nine months after starting the adoption process, our precious David, Derek and Jasmyn came home. Our family and friends thought we were out of our minds, and so did we. Our family proves that God is bigger than we can hope or imagine.


Many people tell me they could never adopt or have seven children. It was never in my plan either, but it was in God's. I'm so glad I listened when he called. My five younger kids did not grow in my womb, but they grew in my heart. I am so blessed!


Could God be calling you to adopt? Someone you know?


There are over 3,000 children just in the state of Texas waiting for their forever family.
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/Child_Search/default.asp


Our kids where adopted here in the US, but there are over 60 million orphans in the world.
http://www.precious.org/results.php?from=waiting
http://www.howtoadopt.org/


For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11



International adoptions can be expensive and so if you are not being called to adopt, could you help someone else on their journey?
http://members.shaohannahshope.org/site/PageServer


Could you help children who are living in orphanages, that may never be adopted? http://www.precious.org/help.php
http://heartlineministries.org/heartlinestore.aspx


I would love to talk to anyone who has questions or wants more info. Contact me at ddto4@yahoo.com.


Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Blow a Gasket

We've all heard the saying "Don't blow a gasket", but today I found out what that really means. I took my car in for it's annual inspection, which expires on Friday, and the mechanic tells me that I have oil in my radiator where there is suppose to be only water or coolant. He goes on to say that it is probably a blown head gasket. I'm no mechanic, but even I know that is bad. I had a minor breakdown and the nice owner offered to bring me home so they could investigate the problem. They will do a pressure test to see where and what exactly is leaking.

It got me thinking about the "pressure tests" I have in my life and how to live without "blowing a gasket". This Bible verse came to mind.

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27

That's what happens to me more often than I'd like to admit. When I'm under pressure, I get angry or "blow a gasket", and like my car, stuff that doesn't belong in my life starts flowing and things get really gunked up. This is not the way God intended it to be. These verses in James explain.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

So the next time I'm tempted to "blow a gasket", like when they call and tell me how much it's going to cost to fix my car, I'm going to try to remember that my endurance is growing and be joyful! How about you?

Lice and mice are not so nice

The two things I hate most, I've been battling this past week. Lice and mice. Yuk! On Thursday, after a really good week, my middle son was scratching his head, so I looked and sure enough...lice! I spent the rest of that night and the next day, treating hair then washing hair, bedding, and clothes all the while picking nits and spraying antiseptic. When you have 4 children, one child with lice is an epidemic waiting to happen. And of course, immediately my head starts itching, so I even treat myself.

On WebMD they say that you don't get lice because you are unclean. They also say that they don't jump and can't live for very long without a human host, but I don't believe it either. When I was growing up the word lice was whispered in hushed tones. My mother was paranoid about us getting it and was vigilant about not letting us wear hats or share brushes and combs. Her paranoia, founded or not, has rubbed off and me, and I hate lice. To my knowledge, none of us kids growing up ever had them but my mother still hated them. I have experienced the mayhem and work they cause a couple of times and having done so, I really, really HATE them.

The other thing I hate to deal with is mice. Our family lives in a brand new neighborhood and with all the construction, etc. we have been battling field mice since we moved in last July. They have been in the garage, so we set traps and have caught several. I haven't like having them in the garage, but since I haven't seen any signs of them in the house, I've just accepted it as life. That all changed on Friday. It was smaller than a pink pearl eraser and it was loose in my house. Some guys had been working in our attic and left the access open, thereby giving the mouse an open doorway TO MY HOUSE! The boys chased it into a closet and were able to catch it in a cup. My soft-hearted son, Nathan, couldn't kill it, so he took it down the street to let it go, against my loud objections that it would just come back. He named it Coke because he let it go near a coke can. Less than a 1/2 hour later Coke's brother scampered out of the access (that's when we realized it was open and closed it firmly). Once again, Nathan was able to catch and release; this one he named Liberty for the name of the trap I was now setting INSIDE MY HOUSE!

The weekend has been quiet, Derek is lice and nit free and we've not seen any signs of our four legged enemies. Oh, the kids just came and told me that Coke or maybe it's Liberty is in one of the traps in the garage. AH! HA! Sweet victory.

Half Empty?

You know the old debate, do you see the glass half-empty or half-full? For me, I think I'm a fairly positive person and try to see the glass as half-full. I look for good in every situation, not always succeeding. That probably stems somewhat from my faith. I believe in a loving and merciful God, so I have hope.

So while I like to be positive, I also love to tell stories, hence this blog, and every story has to have at least a bit of adversity to be a good story. Think about your favorite movies, books, etc., there is alway something to overcome.

This sort of "clicked" for me this week as I talked to a friend I haven't seen in a while and began to tell story after story of all the "bad" stuff that had happened to us since we'd last talked. Afterwards I wondered why I didn't tell her that we are all healthy, Kendall's job is going well, 3 of our 4 children made honor roll, our new home is lovely and becoming more like home, and Nathan got his driver's license and we can actually affort his insurance? It just doesn't make as good of a story. So how can I be a person with a positive outlook on life and a good storyteller at the same time? I'll think about that while I go refill my half-empty cup of coffee.

Creative outlet

This weekend I will be at the Fall Fest in Trophy Club selling my decorative stone coasters (shown) and frames. I will also have Blush Candles. If you are in the area, come by and see me. It's from 2-5 on Saturday, Oct. 18th.

Grocery Shopping

With all the technological advances we have made, why does it seem that grocery shopping has become more challenging? When I was young, my mother shopped at the local grocery store (not stores, like me). She knew most of the people by name. She took her cart, filled it and proceeded to the check-out lane. There was rarely a line. The clerk would then unload and check-out her items, all the while chatting with my mother. If something didn't have a price on it, there was a human being there who would go and find out what it cost. Then they would put her groceries in the sack and some nice young man would take them out and load them into her car. Once we got home we'd carry them in and put them away. All in all, pretty simple.

Today I went grocery shopping at one of the stores that I routinely visit. I got my cart. Of course it had one wheel that refused to work properly, but I didn't realize it until I was at the very back of the large store. So, I limped along putting groceries in my cart. Once I was finished, I went to stand in a line so long that it made me wonder about this economic downturn we are suppose to be experiencing. Not at this store. When it's my turn, I take all 3000 items out of my cart and place them on the belt. The clerk does not speak and barely looks at me while scanning my 3000 items at slow motion. When one of them does not scan and she can't make it, she looks at me disgustedly and asks if I REALLY want it? DUH! After limping to the car with my bags, I load up and then have to walk a 1/2 mile to find a cart return home for my broken-down cart. Once home I carry the bags in and unload. As I put away all 3000 items I think, maybe we are more technologically advanced but I'd prefer a bit more humanity.

Writer's block?

I'm stuggling, but it's not writer's block as much as it's mind overdrive. Since I started this blog, I analyze and over analyze every situation and conversation to see if it would make a good story for my blog. So I'm spending so much time thinking about what I could write that I've written nothing...except this! More to come, I promise.

Guilt

Now as for me I feel a lot of guilt. I would even have to say that a good deal of what I do is motivated by guilt. Being a part of the sandwich generation, you know still caring for children while also caring for parents, I sometimes feel nothing but guilt. Add to that my two grown children and 5 precious grandchildren and I could easily be overcome by guilt. Instead of a sandwich I feel more like a double stuffed Oreo.

My guilt stems mostly from feeling as though I don't do enough for those I care deeply about, my family. Not because I don't want to, but because I run out of time, energy or both. I love my family and relish my roles as wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, etc. And as a recovering "bucket lady" I want desperately to make everyone happy. In case you don't know a "bucket lady" is someone who walks around with an emotional bucket asking everyone to fill it up so she can feel good about herself (this is according to the wonderful Donna Partow). As I say, I'm in recovery, but could fall off the wagon any day.

I am quite puzzled that my loving husband, who also has people pulling at him from all directions, seems to feel little or no guilt while I am wallowing in it. He seems happy to fly by the seat of his pants with respect to his life and relationships (except work) in general. He can watch football, golf or even fishing for hours without one twinge of guilt, even if the garage is a mess or the boxes from a most recent move are still not unpacked. I wonder if his lack of guilt stems from the fact that he is the "fun" parent. You know the one who wrestles, tickles, putts, plays, and rides with the kids. You'll not hear him talking about homework, chores, grades, teeth brushing or even the picking-up of shoes. As a matter of fact, his shoes are right next to theirs and are probably muddy! In addition, the "fun" parent almost never says "no". And if he does, a little wheedling and he can probably be persuaded to change his mind. What's to feel guilty about? I have tried for years to become more like my husband in the guilt department to no avail. As a matter of fact, I'm filled with guilt just sitting here typing this instead of finishing the laundry.