The Book of Virtues

My husband bought this book several years ago when our two boys were small. But I put it up and forgot all about it. There is a wonderful selection of stories from long ago that I have forgotten but came back to me like it was yesterday that someone had read these treasures to me. Here is one that has recaptured my heart, The Arrow and the Song by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The author notes:


In this poem, Longfellow suggests that if we offer something of ourselves to the world~ a good deed, a kind word, our love~ eventually we will discover its effects. It may come back to us in a form of a friend:

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

This is my mother and father at Christmas in 2008. My father

has dementia. His short term memory is gone.

I believe he found his best friend long ago. Don't they look sweet?

2009 - We Shall Have a Prosperous Year!

Yes, why not? Let's begin the new year on a positive note. I know this is my year of great happenings. It's like something is stirring up, like something I've been waiting for all my life. This is the year it comes to pass. All of my inner feelings of things to change for the better. It's this year! What an amazing thing to realize and feel deep in my soul.

My newest little grandaughter came into the world on December 16th. Her name is Madyson Gayle. What a pretty little thing she is too! That makes number four! Wow - I can't wait to see how all my grands grow up and decide what they will do with their lives. First and foremost I hope they all will have that special relationship with our heavenly Father. If they start with that then they will be able to get through anything that comes their way. I know this to be true. How He has helped me to endure a marriage that almost wasn't, death of loved ones and friends, joblessness, financial troubles, you name it ~ it probably happened to us one time or another. And we've come out on the other side - very blessed.

Losing loved ones is inevitable. My parents are elderly and not in the best of health. So I know I may lose one of them this year but we know where they are going and that gives us peace.

Our new commander and President, Mr. Obama, is sure to change things for the better. But we must pray for him. We must uphold him to the Lord and ask the Lord to guide this man to the will of the Father. I will do my part. Please do yours. And do it One Day at a Time!

His Journey is Over

My last blog requested prayer for my uncle Calvin and his family. His journey on this earth ended at 4:40 pm, Sunday, December 7, 2008. Praise our wonderful Creator God for the many blessings this one soul has given to all who called him son, brother, cousin, father, husband, uncle, grandpa, great-grandpa. And to those whom we shall never know he blessed but they know... we give God the glory for this life. Amen.

Have I got it all done yet? Nope. But will give it all I've got this weekend once my "appointments" are kept and finished the rest of this week.

Baby it's cold outside. And we have lights to hang! But we will get that done even if it KILLS us! Oops, I should never be so negative.

And another baby girl will be born unto us sometime between now and December 25th. What a nice little package she will be. We are anticipating her arrival and pray that God carries her into this world with the sweetest sound of life that anyone could ever imagine. Lord, bless this baby girl like you've never blessed before. Amen.

Today has been a very busy time for my husband. And even tonight he will be sitting through two meetings at church. It's hard to work an eight hour day and have the energy to do things like that. We're not spring chickens anymore. My body tells me that every day.

What else is on my mind as I enter these words of wisdom? Oh, I have some songs to learn for our upcoming Christmas program - this too shall pass.

My wish for those of you who read my posts will think about your life experiences and realize that maybe the thing you've been missing is right there in God's love. If you have not given your life to Him I pray you will search for His truth in your life. Find a good christian friend and fellowship with her or him, or them! Learn to live your life with wonder through serving others. Read God's word and mediate on what you read. Just one scripture could change your life. Just one!

And do it one day at a time...

How Will I Get it All Done?

Our basement project is well under way. We spent 20 plus hours last weekend priming 1200 sq feet of drywall and ceilings! We've been arguing about colors to put on the walls. One night it got so bad I had to leave to clear my mind before I would say something I would regret. As I drove around town I talked to God about my situation. I admitted that I couldn't believe we were arguing over COLOR!!!! I asked God to forgive me for my shortcomings toward Mike and also I asked God to open Mike's heart to listen to what I was saying and not holding it against me like I was totally disagreeing with him. It's just that I had an opinion other than his and it snowballed into stupidity on both parts!!! Human ego, man!!!



Believe it or not, when I walked back into the house he was calmer. I was calmer. He approached me to go back down to the basement and take a look at some colors. First I went into the bedroom and picked out some of my sweaters of different colors and then joined him in the basement and asked him to tell me what colors did he favor? It was a little bit of a process but we actually both gave in to some colors that either of us had not previously thought we'd like to use. Sooooooo, we bought the paint tonight, went downstairs and put a few strokes on the wall and guess what? He doesn't like the main color we chose. But I think it will grow on him once the paint is on. I will have some pics to show what I mean.



How will I get it all done? What I am talking about is getting all the stuff we took from the basement to the upstairs of our home - our living space actually is so full of this and that and I'm wondering how in the world will it all come together before December 20th? That is the day my son and his family are coming home to be with us for Christmas. Will you say a prayer for us? I need wisdom to handle the how to's and where for's as to what is going and what is staying in the basement???



Next on my mind is my Uncle Calvin. He is dying. His family is at his bedside now just waiting for his death. How I know that feeling. How I wish I could take their pain. But God is working good in spite of all of this. How, you ask? I have another wonderful uncle who has been the main ingredient to God's recipe of hope. My Uncle John emails several of us and keeps comments sent to him, prayers, encouragement to Uncle Calvin and to his family, and forwards all of this each day. I have cousins I didn't know I had who have sent lovely words of love and prayers. I know Uncle Calvin is receiving the blessings as is his girls and lovely wife of many years. This is the good stuff that life is made of - the tragedy along with the blessing. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Not even grief.



I pray that anyone who reads my post today is filled with compassion and prays for this family right now. I'm taking it one day at a time. Will you do the same?

November is Just Before December

Another project is getting off the ground and I'm dreading it before it even begins (as I have with all projects!). Our basement is finally going to get "finished." It is all drywalled and now we have hired someone to mud and tape it all and get it ready so we can paint it. Then put down the finishing touches. All before Christmas. I am thinking we took on more than we can really get done but we need to finish the basement. At least my husband thinks so. I don't know why he didn't just wait until after Dec. 31st to plan this. Is the world going to end or something?

Tonight as I type here in my nice little home I am reminded of a lady across town who just lost her husband and is sleeping in her bed alone tonight. I visited her today at the funeral home and she said to me, "It hasn't hit me yet what has really happened." And she wept. Her husband has been through hell and back with his health these past few years. He actually had two transplants back to back not 4 months ago. One of his dear daughters even gave him one of her kidneys. He had just been to his transplant doctor and supposedly all was well. But he was having some discomfort in his chest and was somewhat a little short of breath at times. The next morning he collapsed while getting ready for the day. As his wife was out walking their dogs little did she know her life was about to change in ways unimaginable. My heart goes out to her this night as I think about her and her family and how they will be dealing with the loss of this wonderful guy. Tomorrow morning I will be singing at his funeral along with some other members of our church choir. God bless them all and keep them close to you as they grieve from here on out.

Tomorrow also marks the 1st year anniversay of our dearly departed Mary. (My mother-in-law). We've come a long way with our grief and I know my friend will too. It takes time to heal a loss like hers. Something I will have to do or my spouse will have to do in time. But lets not dwell on loss but on the gain we have when we do part this world! Praise God for his promises of a life of utter joy of joy in the holy of holies!

Take your life one day at a time~

Obama vs The World

Hello world!

We have been a part of history like nothing before. Or perhaps like nothing WE have personally experienced. There have been lots of earth shattering changes since Adam and Eve. Depending upon your education in religion or beliefs all through time changes have come and gone, have been accepted or rejected, and it will continue to be like that until the day we die.

That being said I am looking forward to the future of America and what roads we take to get where God is leading us for I believe that Obama may be the instrument He (God) is going to use. All through the ages God has used some very interesting people to lead, some very unlikely people indeed. And just as He chose thousands of years ago he still chooses today. I am going to pray for those in authority over us because that is what God calls us to do. Open your heart and see the good that will come to us all if we uphold our leaders in prayer. What will destroy our leaders is the descension people have because they are blind to truth, hope, faith, and the grace of God.

Currently I am in a bible study and we are studying the book of Romans. There is some good meat in this book and if you have a bible read it until it calls to your soul. Meditate on the letter that Paul writes to the people in Rome in that day. It will send chills up and down your spine because he could be writing it to our present day people. God keeps his promises. Always. If you don't understand what you are reading then pray to God to open your mind and heart to hear the word. He is writing to different groups of people: zealous jews, proud greeks, boastful romans, and ordinary common sinners. Paul was able to cross lines of descension among these groups because of his extraordinary background. ( If you remember your bible stories Paul had a conversion on the road to Damascus. That story marked the beginning of his faith in Jesus. He never met Jesus. He was not a disciple who lived with Jesus day after day.)

I hope you will be inspired to read Romans. It's not about "When in Rome do as the Romans do."
It's about aligning us with each other and with God. It's death of self-centeredness. It's about God's bigger plan for the Jew and the Gentile. Take His word ~ One day at a time!

Dementia

My dad is not my dad anymore. His short term memory is gone and a lot of other changes are happening too that scare me to high heaven. Currently my mother, bless her soul, is his caretaker. He was diagnosed with dementia almost 2 years ago and since that time I've seen him change and go down hill. When he was first diagnosed he was so paranoid that all of us (my sister and I, mom, and his brothers and sisters) were out to get him. He even threatened to harm mom. When that happened we knew something was not quite right. Tell tale signs we also saw in him was his driving abilities. He would stop in the middle of a street - for no apparent reason. Or he would change lanes without regard to who might be in the other lane. Then he would deny that he did that at all. He lost things constantly. Repeated himself. Now he can't even balance a check book, find anything at all. Hides everything then denies that he had anything to do with anything you ask him about.

The kick he is on now is this van we are trying to sell. Since he shouldn't be driving my sister, mom and I thought it would be best to have just one car for them both. The van is his and always was. Dementia is so complicated and it's wearing me out just trying to explain it. Anyways, it's been moved to a friends house who lives along a busy highway in hopes more people will see it and maybe we will get a good response. He has it in his head that it needs an oil change.... so last night I took Dad to go see where the van was - he thought it was at a service place getting something done to it. I explained to him how we have been trying to sell it for him so he doesn't have to keep making payments on it. Well, he seemed ok once he got to see with his own eyes that his van was still around. And he was telling me there would be no reason to get the oil changed right now since he was not driving it. I was so happy that he finally was going to let it go. WAS I WRONG! Poor mother called me at work this morning telling me he was throwing a fit about the van and that I never took him to see it and I was trying to hide it from him and on and on and cussing her upside down and out. Gosh I felt helpless at that moment. I asked my sister if she would please go and check on them so she did. Well, she ended up arguing with dad about me not hiding the van and that we are not lying to him about anything. I guess at one point she just screamed at him, "DAD, JUST SHUT UP... PLEASE JUST SHUP UP!!" He would not let her get a word in edgewise. I really felt bad once she told me that. But see this is what happens in the life of a family who has been struck with this awful condition. You love your parents no matter what. He can say some pretty mean things to me or my sister and to my mom. But you know it's not him. Not really. But it still hurts just the same! Poor sis felt bad all day that she has said that to dad. I can only imagine what mom really goes through. We told mom the day we feel she is in harms way with dad is the day we will put him in a nursing home. She does not deserve to live out her remaining days on this great earth to be punished by dad everyday and every night. I just ask God to take him before he takes her. That is awful to say I KNOW THIS... I love my dad but I do not like the man who NO LONGER lives inside of him.

Please Lord, be with me when I feel so lost and afraid for my dad. I know the dad I grew up loving is in there somewhere. Keep him safe from himself. Keep mom a loving caretaker that she still is. She needs your strength and she needs wisdom to find ways to keep dad in check. And most of all give us a sense of humor through the stages of my dad's disease. In my Savior's most loving name, Jesus, Amen.