Faithfully

When I was in college, my poor mom got to deal with each heart ache I experienced with a guy. And not just any guy, I of course thought each one of them was something special. Mom was great and would give me a new book on relationships each time one of mine ended. I don't remember the exact relationship, but one time mom bought me the book When God Writes Your Love Story. And to be real honest, I don't remember the what the book was specifically about but I do recall that it touched my aching but hopeful heart. What I remember best was there was a cd in the back cover of the book with a song written by the authors of the book. I loved the song and listened to it numerous times. More recently (like the last year or two), I've heard the song on the radio. What a cool reminder of what I learned so long ago and a great time to reflect on what God has done in my life when I let him have control. This morning when I heard the Selah song mentioned in my last post, I automatically thought of this song. I wanted to share it with you today because after almost 10 years, it still touches my heart.

Eric and Leslie Ludy – Faithfully

Tonight I saw a shooting star
Made me wonder where you are
For years I have been dreaming of you
I wonder if you're thinking of me too
In this world of cheap romance
Love that only friends are throught the dance
Say that I'm a fooled away for something more
How can I really love someone I've never seen before
I am long for true love every day that I had lived
And I know real love is all about learning how to give
I pray that God will bring you to me
I pray you'll find me, waiting faithfully.

Faithfully, I am yours from now until forever
Faithfully, I will write, write you a love song with my life
Cause this kind of love's worth waiting for,
No matter how long it takes, I am yours, faithfully

Tonight I saw two lovers kiss
Reminding me of my own lonely ___
Say that I am a full to keep on praying for you
How can I give a pleasure for a dream that won't come true
I will keep believing that God still has a plan
And though I can not see you now, I know that He can
And someday I will give you all of me
Until I find you , I'm waiting faïthfully.

The lyrics aren't perfectly recorded above. Take a few minutes to listen to their song here.

God Bless the Broken Road

I like this song. I heard during my drive to work this morning and wanted to share the lyrics with it. It's sung by a group called Selah. Maybe you've heard of them, maybe not. For those in the blogging world, you may have at least heard of Angie, the amazing wife, of one of the group members. Anyway, be blessed by these lyrics.

God Bless the Broken Road.

I set out on a narrow way, many years ago
Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
wipe my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign, pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream, led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent, just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan, that is coming true

Every long lost dream, led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know, know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

Now I'm just rolling home
Into your loving arms
This much I know, know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yes, God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

Uncle James

Thanks to everyone who has and will take time out of their day today to pray for my Uncle James. His surgery is at 10am our time. Please pray for the doctors, for my Uncle James and for his wife, my Aunt Janie.

Praise God that the last 6 months have been a blessing on their marriage, probably not something they'd experienced in their 30+ years of marriage so far.

Last night as I prayed with Scott, his precious little 3 year old mind couldn't understand why "cutting Uncle James open" would help fix his heart. My son specifically prayed saying "and God, please don't let the doctors cut him all up tomorrow". Friends, I'm thankful for the heart of my young son, praying the best he knows how. Please join me in praying that the doctors can fix this heart that's physically broken and that God can heal his spiritually broken heart!

Update on 2/4:
Uncle James is doing well. He had some complications with bleeding which scared the family but he went back into surgery and they got that fixed. He also struggled with some fluid on his lungs which affected his breathing rates and that kept him in ICU until later on Monday (his wife's birthday). He's in a normal room now and sounds like he's moving right along with the healing. Thanks for praying!

Breakdown

I'm not sure who was having the mental breakdown this morning: the children or the parents.

Two whiny/crying kids + two rushed parents = chaos real quick

The chaos slowed while we drove to mom's and then picked back up to full speed when we arrived. Neither child could be pacified. Neither child would obey. Crying insued. I stayed at mom's long enough to get each child calmed down. And in the end, I gave in and let them have the cheerios.

Random Thoughts

1. My in-laws bought us an Oral-B sonic care toothbrush for Christmas. It's awesome. Using a regular toothbrush, which I do daily at my office, feels like using an old sponge to get my teeth clean. So not good enough. I'm now a tooth brush snob!
2. My email account is driving me bonkers. The little ads that pop up on the page are prohibited by my [work] server these past few days. This really slows down the process of "quickly" checking my email at the end of the day or during lunch.
3. I have a lot on my mind, and my plate right now: Sweetheart Supper plans, a big service project that I'm beginning to plan with a friend, digging through adoption options (I started a blog about that process which I hope to share in the coming month), discipline/training our children, etc
4. Why is it that all the "not so normal" budget items are going to bust our budget in February or get put on the back burner: eye doc appointment, new running shoes, Valentines Sweetheart Supper, my birthday [do you think Ryan will get me the puppy I've been wanting], propane bill, both kids needing new shoes, etc.
5. I just don't understand why people, including our President, think that abortion is acceptable. That "fertilized egg" is a life! Just browse the net a little to find how quickly those babies develop. Saturday I will attend a baby shower for Elizabeth. She's about 8 months old now. She was born at 22 weeks gestation - at a time that she wouldn't be considered a life. My friends, she is a perfect, living, example of how God creates and grows babies.
6. Oh how I would love to Go to a foreign missions field right now. Lots of news around me of people following God to those places. My friends are using the training that we learned to work with people in need to organic garden and compost so they can feed themselves. I'm hoping [and not yet acting much] on doing that with some locals who were directly affected by the May immigration raid. I also sit on the church missions committee and we're planning a missions conference and a summer trip to either Brazil or Mexico. I'm excited to go on that which then makes me want to go back to Mexicali where I spent numerous Easter Break's serving.
7. what else...

My Little Princess

I'm not sure these pictures do justice to the tantrum my daughter had on Wednesday. I'd share the video but it's over a minute long and a large file to load. Let's just say that on a "normal" day, she wouldn't have gotten away with this fit of hers.

It was probably a good thing that Scott went to his Grandma and Grandpa's to spend the night with them on Saturday. It gave our little girl some much needed only-child time. She may be adorable but she is just like her mamma. Watch out world!

How Old is He?

Last night when Scott got home from Awana Cubbies, he ran to the door with his picture in hand to show me. It was precious. We played a few minutes before it was time to head up stairs to bed. As we stood at the bottom of the stairs, I explained to him that I had a horrible head ache and his daddy would be putting him to bed. He peered up at me with a sly look on his face and said:

"mommy, it's YOUR responsibility!"

He's 3 [and a half] friends. Where does he come up with these big words? This morning on the way to his Grammy's he pulled out more funny comments. When I chose to go down the highway rather than the gravel, he was quite dissapointed and told me:

"mommy, go down the gravel please. If you go down the black road, I'm going to be grumpy!"

When asked where he learned that, it was from a cartoon on TV. Ah, the things they pick up on!

Too Much

Okay, this kid has the cheesiest grin ever. She loves to smile and say "cheese". Unfortunately, the result of her cute grin is a picture where she looks uncomfy or mad. Oh well.

The other night we had some friends over and Bethany latched right on to Zack. She reminded me of the 8th grade girls who are boy crazy. She loved playing with Zack and he was sweet to her even though he probably preferred to be playing the Wii and not worrying about stepping on little feet that were constantly under him.

Bethany wanted to be like her brother and thought she could drink out of a normal cup. Do you think she learned her lesson? Umm, no!



This child loves to crawl in boxes. I can't remember what the box was the other night that she had to be in. It was about 8" wide and 12" tall but she thought she needed to be in it. She brought it to me and asked for help. The box bulged as she squeezed her toddler body into it. Before I could grab my camera, she was wanting out of the box.

Embarrassing Moments This Weekend

1. We were the greeters at Church on Sunday. When Bethany ran off into the sanctuary Scott offered to bring her back. Grammy hauled the children back after the Church watched Scott put his arms around Bethany’s neck and “bring her back to where she was supposed to be”.
2. “shutup” is a naughty word at our house. Ryan and I used it in a playful manner and had to remove it from our vocabulary. Yesterday on our way home after a long day of shopping in Rochester, Scott reached for Bethany’s toy and she voiced her irritation with a squeal. He looked at her and adamantly said “shutup Bethany”. Where do they learn these things?

Update on weather

Friends, it was -38 this morning when I drove to mom's.  A little warmer than that on our little hill top, but as I got down into the valley, the temp read -38.  Fortunately, it was only -35 at mom's.  Whew, it was cold!  I seriously drove to work wearing my coveralls and never got too warm!
 
As I drove down the road, I thought to God, "God, if it gets to -40 I'm telling Ryan that we need to move."  And as quickly as I thought that and realized how quickly the temperature continued to drop while down in the valley, I thought again to God, "God, I better not say that or I'll have to keep my word, won't I.  Yes God, I'm not ready to be that stubborn!"

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For my West Coast Friends

This morning I left the house and it was -23 degrees.  If it wasn't so darn cold, I would have taken a picture of the thermometer reading.  Not only was it -23 degrees but the wind was blowing so we had wind chills of -45 to -54. 
 
This morning it occurred to me why so many people asked me why in the world I would move from California to Iowa.  Believe, I've been asking myself that same question today :)

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God made Iowa

from my friend Kelly:

On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said:

 "Today, I am going to create a land called Iowa."

   "It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty; a land of countless glaciers, pure lakes, each one full of fish. It shall have tall majestic pines, peacefully flowing rivers, landscapes full of buffalo, tall grass, and eagles, beautiful blue skies, forests full of bear, elk and moose, rich farmland and fair minded people."

   God continued, "'I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper and they shall be known as a most friendly people. A warm Iowa Welcome is practiced here every day."

   "But Lord," asked Gabriel, "Don't you think you are being too generous to these people of Iowa?"

   "Not really," replied God "Just wait and see the winters I am going to give them."

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You Know Its Cold...

You know its cold outside when the snowmen you built a few weeks ago are knocking at the front door asking to come inside and warm up a little!

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Mine Eyes Have Seen

While dropping off the kids this morning, my step-dad was blowing snow and could hardly see since his glasses were fogged up.  I was so thankful to be wearing contacts and not deal with that issue.  Thirty minutes later, and almost to my office, I realized that I neither had my contacts in or my glasses on.  This is typically no big deal since my glasses are kept in my purse.  However, last night while falling asleep on the couch, I pulled my glasses off and set them on the table. 
 
I can see well enough in general that I don't need glasses.  In fact, most Saturdays I don't deal with glasses or contacts.  It's when I have my head stuck in a computer that I need those little buggers to keep my eyes from straining.  Today is one of those days and I find that I've been light headed the past few hours.  A quick break to the bathroom reinforced my dizziness.  Now I'm wondering how long it will take to finish the "must finish" items before I can leave the office and head home to get my glasses... this is not how I want to use vacation time...

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another story from Christmas

Ryan read my blog and suggested I share a cute story from Christmas:

We were at Ryan's grandparents opening gifts and my kids quickly figured out it was fun to help everyone open their gifts.  Bethany's Great Grandma had just opened a box of cookies and over the next few minutes she proceeded to with a fight/tug-o-war with Bethany for the cookies.  It might have been a you had to be there moment but it was hilarious to see a 18 month old tug and tug for a box that she wanted, and to see an 80-something year old try so desperately to hang on to the box.  I wish we would have had the camera out cause it was hilarious!

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He's Perfect... for me!

20 minutes ago I realized that in the rush this morning I forgot my lunch.  I was going to post about that but didn't.  Two minutes ago my hubby called and I jokingly asked him if he was buying me lunch since it is noon.  I was surprised when that was the reason for his call.  Ah, he's so sweet.  My hungry tummy and the rest of me loves him so much!
 
The rush this morning:
  4am: crazy coughing.  Potty break while hubby got me the lovely cough syrup with codeine.
  after 4am: I was out!
  6am: didn't hear the alarm clock and apparently Ryan fell back asleep
  7am: Ryan woke up and jumped out of bed.
  710am: I hurried out of bed.  Fortunately I showered last night so my hair isn't oily this morning :)
I managed to wash and refill my water bottle, only to leave it on the counter.  At least I remembered to take my antibiotic!  Was 5 minutes later than usual to work... ouch!

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New Year's Resolution

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions really. But each year the holidays seem to take my time and if I've been spending a good amount of time with God reading His Word and praying, this is when I slip. Post holidays become the time that I get back on track. I've been reading in Matthew this week and am loving. No matter how many times I've read through this book before, I forget the details. Why don't I memorize them???

Speaking of reading, Ryan got a few books for Christmas. One called "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" caught my attention. I picked it up but when Ryan came to bed, he wanted his book so I had to choose another. That night I finished "Who Moved My Cheese", a good read and refreshing reminder that change happens, make the best of it. The next Ryan once again wanted his book back and I had to choose a new one. I picked up "There's a sheep in my Bath tub", a book written by a guy who started the missionary movement in Mongolia. I have been amazed at how much I've enjoyed the book. Thanks to Tanya for recommending it. I did have to remind myself and Ryan that I bought the book for him, not for me. As a person interested in missions, and with a connection to Mongolia, this book fascinates me. In the past two days, I've read most of the book. I love to read but don't find the time often so I've actually enjoyed being sick the last few days (with a little help from my cough syrup with codeine in it). Maybe I'll finish the book tonight, the dishes can wait another day, right?!?!

Christmas Un-decorating

As we began taking down Christmas decorations, I was reminded yet again that we have done our traditional Christmas letter (yes the one that is 2 pages long, filled with picture and uses a small font). I thought I was past that this year. And to be honest, life was too busy for me to sit down and put it together. Eventually though I was bummed that I hadn't gotten a letter out and wanted to share something. I thought about doing a cute card on shutterfly but after looking at the discounted prices, I decided against that. With all the excitement in our budget lately, I was thinking that I wouldn't spend the money to send a letter out. Today though as I picked up around the house a little (after I woke up at 11am), I saw our wall of Christmas Greetings and thought that I really need to get one written and shared...

Bethany just pooped in her diaper and needs my help... yes life does get busy with these types of things which is why Christmas letters and thank you cards don't get sent.

$1500 "Moment"

In case you were wondering, that $1500 moment between Ryan and I... he backed into my new van with his vet truck. Wasn't a good start to our New Year. Since then we've had other drama and the van issue is what it is... life goes on.

Here Am I am Lord

I'm finishing up day #2 of missing work. It has been a nice break but I enjoy my work and am eager to get back at it. Last Tuesday I developed a sinus infection which turned into a head cold, I think. Thankfully Wednesday was a quiet day at the office and Thursday was a holiday. I made it through a very long day on Friday and was out for the weekend. I don't like being sick at all so even a nasty little cold isn't fun for me. I'm hoping to be back at the office tomorrow.

As I sit here reading through my emails I am reminded of my dear friend, Maxine. She was an older lady in our church. A wonderful lady who loved the Lord and was full of joy. She had a servant's heart for sure. Monday, Maxine went in for a heart surgery. That evening they alerted her church family to pray as her heart was not pumping on its own. That night I sat and held Bethany in the rocking chair in her room as she'd been screaming. We prayed and prayed for Ms. Maxine and although my little 18 month old doesn't have a clue what was going on she lay perfectly content in my arms as we prayed. We prayed for our dear friend and through that time I was sure that God again would heal her heart and she'd walk away from this "routine" surgery. The next morning, Ryan called me to let me know that Ms. Maxine died at 4am. I was so surprised. We prayed for God's will ultimately but made sure to ask God to heal Ms. Maxine.

The past two days as I've been home getting over this head cold / sinus infection I've thought a lot about a little lady in rural Northeast Iowa who has been such a giant for God's Kingdom. My heart aches for the loss and of course I think of how we'd not seen her lately, how we didn't take the kids to see her on Halloween this year, how she always had a smile in her face even when I had an attitude, and I will miss our precious friend. But on the flip side, how amazing it would be to stand at the feet of our Creator and King and hear Him say "well done my good and faithful servant" and to be in a place where there are no more broken hearts!

Our "Moment"

I just found out that our little "moment" that Ryan and I had yesterday will cost us almost $1500 to fix. At least we got a good deal on the van to begin with

Sorry Honey

Yesterday Ryan and I had one of those moments where we didn't agree at all. I wanted an apology for his dumb mistake and for him to acknowledge that he needed to pay more attention to the small details. He knew he made a dumb mistake and didn't need a reminder. Of course I reacted and even raised my voice quite a bit (maybe even to a yell which I don't think I've ever done to him before). We were both a little on edge at first and he went right downstairs to either let off steam or avoid me! By evening, we were just fine and made sure to discuss it again before we hit the sack. Sorry honey that I reacted. Would it be better for me to just tell you what I wanted?