“Be Ready!”

In March 2012, our eldest child flew off alone to Tulsa, Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA!) to interview for a scholarship for the college she REALLY wanted to go to.  It was one of the few colleges that made the cut of still believing and upholding the godly standards on which it was founded.  As she was a thousand miles away that weekend, I had one of those God moments where I heard His still small voice in my spirit (in the bathroom, but that is beside the point) whisper, “Be ready!”  That was it.  Be ready.  READY FOR WHAT? I wanted to scream…. in fact, I probably did.

Of course in my own little control-freak mind I made my list of what I thought I needed to be ready for… or with… or against… or because of…   (See? It was pointless!)  I prayed up more.  I Bible studied harder.  I threw myself into money making. I lectured.  I bit my tongue.  (See? It was pointless!)  I should have been focusing on Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  Oh yeah. Right.

We knew the cost of school for our sweet girl would cause us to walk the tightrope of faith financially.  And we have.  And God has shown up.  Over and over again.  Please let me climb up on my testimony box and shout out some praises for a minute or two… or three, of how God has shown up in the last THREE WEEKS!

Three days before our Canadian-thick-blooded relatives were coming to stay with us in sunny Arizona, the air conditioner decided to only work for ten seconds at a time in three minute intervals.  For those who don’t live in Arizona, that is not quite adequate for keeping the house at a comfortable temperature for Canadians.  (I was fine, but this is not about me.)  I called Rob the A/C repairman.  He came out and visited me for three hours to the tune of $1,300.  Ouch!  Thankfully Rob and my husband Rick are members of Tradesource, where private businesses can barter services, so we only had to fork over $370…. of the $380 in our account at that time.  I wrote the check and sent God a little reminder that we may need Him to show up in the next few days if our relatives planned on eating while visiting.  “Hey, welcome!  It’s canned tuna week!” 

Corresponding with the northerly visitors, Larisa, our college girl was also coming home for Spring Break with her roommate!  WhoooHOooOOooo!  Party time! (and you thought the cafeteria food was bad!)  I scrubbed the visitor bathroom until it gleamed like Joel Osteen’s teeth.  Seriously!  The only thing I needed to purchase was a $2 shower liner so I headed off to Bed Bath and Beyond with four hours and $8 to spare!  Perfect!

Two miles into my three mile adventure, a girl pulled right out in front of me and I t-boned her.  This is what I remember: Air bags. Checking if Nora (9 year old) was ok in the seat behind me.  Nice strangers who stopped to help. Policemen. Firemen. OH DANG IT DO MY LEGS HURT! My dad coming.  ER visit (without my boys… that was rare!). And then I arrived on the yellow couch in the living room 21 days ago.  I’m still there.  What I am allowed to share is that I am wounded and receiving care. God protected us BIG TIME!  (I can walk. I can cry.  I can brush my teeth with my left hand. I can type. And I’m really good at taking pills every 4 to 6 hours that may cause dry mouth, chills, panic attacks, anxiety, inability to sit still, seizures, delusions, fainting, itching, slurred speech, etc. etc. etc.)  Is THIS what I needed to be ready for?

That was a Saturday.  The following Monday the Canadians showed up at the doorstep along with the homeschoolers and various other peeps who delivered meals for two straight weeks (and now we’re on an every-other day schedule for two MORE weeks.)  Not just pasta dinner.  Gourmet chicken with French names and seasoned vegetables that were hoarded by my children. And not just dinner.  Breakfast pie showed up.  Oranges by the bag full. And pizzas and sandwich meat and fruit bowls and chocolate cake and bagels and cream cheese and whole grain bread that I never buy and potato salad and ice cream sandwiches and milk and ALL the food that was necessary to feed our family and the four visiting guests while $8 sat in our bank account.  Maybe THIS was what I needed to be ready for.

The van may or may not be totaled.  We’ll see.  We got a rental car that I am too delusional to drive….. and my children are not over 21, so they can’t drive it either.  FUN!  My husband figured he may as well take it to work and save money on gas…. and he rear-ended a nice lady who stopped really rapidly on the highway.  IN THE RENTAL CAR. Can you spell deductible?  So, my hubby took it back and got another rental car that looked exactly the same, except the seats were tan, not black.  He came home that night and took his brother to the store.  His brother mentioned, “I could have sworn these seats were black!”  Um, yeah.  Is THIS what we needed to be ready for?

If that hoopla wasn’t enough to make my mother hit her replaced knees in fervent prayer, yesterday my hard-working son (who has a Jedi braid, but that is not crucial to the storyline) volunteered to spend his day helping his cycling team set up for a race last night.  As if our family has big targets on our backsides at the moment, a loathsome individual made off with my son’s $8,000 bike. Yes, you read that right. A two-wheeled pedal bike… $8,000.  He is sponsored.  It is on loan to him.  We did not pay $8,000 for a bike with which I can do one-handed curls. I learned about the lifted bicycle from my husband who left me a message on my phone while I was in my 6th doctor’s appointment to end the week.  WAS THIS WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE READY FOR???

Today my bikeless son’s facebook status reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 God showed me this yesterday.”

Besides messaging me about the missing bike, my husband prayed.  And then he posted a little ditty on facebook about the bike and asked others to pray.  Because we know that prayer works.  A friend of ours in Canada who was supposed to be paying attention in a business meeting, who happens to hate injustice and loves hardworking youngsters, went on facebook and read Rick’s message……. and bought a new bike for my son.  We were close to speechless.  A tearful thank you was all I could get out. What I loved about this was all the glory was given to God… in front of the teammates.  By son and father, without shame.  Maybe THIS is what we were supposed to be ready for?

Be ready…. to live your life for God no matter what.  Be ready …. to rely on God for everything.  Be ready…. in good times and bad to praise God, for He is worthy of our praise.  Be ready.

Another Book in the Making

Years ago I was wide awake one fine morning at 2:00 a.m.  There was a book idea running amuck in my mind.  It was causing me to lose precious sleeping hours, so I succumbed.  Climbing out of bed, finding my journal and making my way to the bathroom I was determined to write down every blinkin’ thought, so I could get some much-needed rest.  Quietly I closed the door and flicked on the light.  After eye-adjustment-to-the-brightness time elapsed, I indeed jotted down every blinkin’ thought…. and there were 60 of them, much to my blurry-eyed surprise.  Each one a story pertaining to my life of weight loss, gain, loss, gain, loss, gain… and God.  That night I named the book Squeezing Laughter into a Leotard: Devotions for Above Average Women, and then I crept back to bed in the dark of the night and slept like a baby.

Three years ago I wrote a blog mentioning this book-to-be:  https://mysistersjar.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/wrapped-up-in-elvis/  During those three years, I had a part-time job filling out adoption paperwork and getting fingerprinted.  So no progress has been made as of yet.  I think only one of the stories is actually written down in black and white.  And once again, I’m in the great battle of food/appetite control.  The PERFECT time to write about the frustrations that chubby people face day in and day out.  REAL stories that women can relate to….. like falling off the wagon with rice krispy treats and not wanting to step on the scale tomorrow morning.

Currently, I’m down 54 pounds since April.   That sounds all great, yet I have 46 to go…. and I got slapped around by Snap, Crackle and Pop tonight, so I’m not feeling real successful at the moment.  Through the past six months, I’ve been able to identify my trigger points that cause me to eat foods that are permissible for me, but not beneficial.  Here’s the short list:

1. When I’m sick
2. When I’m alone
3. When I’m mad
4. When I’m on the phone
5. THAT time of the month
6. When I smell peanut butter 
7. Before an adoption home visit
8. When I see clutter
9. Seeing Green Corn Tamales on a menu
10. When I’m on a long vacation
11. After a friend has died
12. After a homeschool graduation
13. After cooking a meal
14. When I should be in bed
15. At birthday parties
16. When visions of sugar plums dance in my head

Like I said, that is the SHORT list.  Thanks for humoring me and reading to the end.  Hahahaha. 

Tomorrow is another day to live victoriously with my choices and my new and improved health!

?#12 from My Sister’s Jar – Family Dinner

What is one tradition you had growing up that you’d like to continue?

Family dinner around the table!  I have always loved this time together as a family.  I remember it vividly from my childhood…. If it was 6:00 p.m. you better be at the table!  We were always there Monday – Friday and sometimes on Saturday.  I recall having many visitors join our family dinners… and enjoy the conversation, the food and the fun as much as we did. 

There were rituals we could expect.  One was the answer to Dad’s question, “Guess what I had for lunch today?”  It was ALWAYS the exact menu that Mom was serving that night.  It didn’t happen too often, but the three of us kids thought it was funny.  It wasn’t a complaint, just a comical coincidence.  There was also the bowl of corn that was repeatedly discovered in the microwave after we finished eating.  And the day-old Twinkies with the black line across the box.  MMMmmmmmm.

There was much instruction given during dinner about appropriate behavior which became known as “vacation behavior.”  That was the utmost level of supreme obedience.  There was conservation topics covered, like the aforementioned toilet paper scrunching discussion, saving water, shorter showers, more wearing of jeans and less laundry loads. 

There weren’t many family dinners that I remember having to endure, except for the night my brother’s new two-tone blue, T-top Corvette got hit.  We all sat in silence pushing our food around our plates, too upset to eat.

I have vehemently guarded family dinner in our home, but much to my chagrin, it has not been as successful as I always imagined it would be.  Schedules seem to interfere…. hockey, work, church….    But I will continue to call the youngsters together with their mother and father and sit, pray, eat, laugh and just BE together around the family dinner table.  I believe it provides stability.  A safe place to belong.  Long live the family dinner table.

?#10 from My Sister’s Jar – Party Foods

What are your favorite party foods?

Do you want the alphabetical list, or the highest to lowest thumbs-up rated list?

1.  Shrimp Cream Puffs.  Hands down, these are my favorite.  I LOVE THEM.  The recipe came from my friend, Connie, back in 1987, when they debuted at my bridal shower.  The scrumptious creations include the pastry puff and then the shrimp/cream cheese/celery/mushroom soup/chive filling.  Makes me salivate thinking of them.  Their caloric reputation keeps them limited to important peoples’ birthdays and significant holidays celebrating Jesus.  (Well, since Jesus made EACH day for us….. sounds like today’s a fine time for celebrating with shrimp puffs!)

2.  Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.  I don’t make these often, but they truly merit a spot on the list.

3.  Strawberries dipped in Chocolate.  Need I say more?  Two of God’s creations combined for our pleasure.

4.  Suzi’s Salsa.  Suzi is a friend (in more ways than one), fellow homeschool mom and confidante.  She has been making this killer salsa for several years and it has become known as Suzi’s Salsa.  Graciously, she brought some for our family as a Christmas gift.  It was devoured in under five minutes, but thoroughly enjoyed for every spicy bite.

5.  Rumaki.  (Sorry to ruin the S theme I had going.)  These awaken every taste bud in your mouth.  They are water chestnuts and dates wrapped up in a piece of bacon, marinated overnight and then rolled in brown sugar and broiled.  Crunchy, chewy, salty and sweet all wrapped into a bitty bundle.

6.  Banana Slush Punch.  I know it’s not a FOOD, but it is a party favorite of mine.  It includes bananas (obviously), pineapple and orange juices and lemonade frozen into disks, then submerged into 7-Up. 

I think I feel a party comin’ on!