So Glad You Asked!

Asked What? Happy 13th month anniversary of my car accident!  Break out the sparkling cider!  I thought an update was due, since it is the stupid accident’s fault that my blogging has slowed so.

How are you? I’m fantastic, but improving daily. My right arm still hurts every day, usually just my shoulder, but some days it’s all the way to my elbow.  It is not cry-in-the-corner pain.  It is low-grade only-take-ibuprofen-about-twice-a-week pain.  On six of seven mornings, my first wakeful thought is, “Oh, my arm hurts,” and then I go on with my day.  But it is draining and most days I’m exhausted by 3:00 p.m. just from normal wear and tear of being a homeschool mom.  I don’t make dinner as much as I used to.  My house isn’t as clean as it was just over a year ago. I can’t seem to muster blogging strength or humor. Back in the day, when in the depths of a writing project, I could sit at the computer for six to seven hours and get lost in my own thoughts and words.  Now, after about 20 minutes of typing I need a heat pack on my shoulder and max typing is about 40 minutes.

How is treatment going? We have exhausted all forms of treatment, save pulling out my toenails so I think of something else instead of the pain in my shoulder. I have had therapy, nerve testing, multiple injections in my neck and shoulder, Graston treatment (think of medieval torture instruments being dragged across already wounded muscles), multiple MRIs, massage, pain management and my last resort, being the wimp that I am about needles, acupuncture.  Nothing has improved in the last six months.  So I quit acupuncture.  Seriously, I would have to psych myself up to go and then not look at the 20 needles sticking me twice a week.  I did ten sessions.  I gave it the old college try.  Then I quit.  And I’m really good with that decision. The doctor put in a circle of needles on my shoulder every visit and told me once that it is called “circle the dragon.”  I’m not into all that Eastern medicine hokey-pokey-kung-phuey, so in my mind it came to be known as “circle the wagons.” (You know how much I love 1850’s westerns!) Weekly massage is ongoing.  It’s not the feel-good-and-relax-when-you’re-on-a-cruise massage, sadly.  It’s the work-out-the-pain-and-hold-back-the-tears massage.

What next? We are planning on settling the personal injury case in a “this is as good as it’s going to get” state. Highly disappointing, but I am not without hope of healing from the God who closed a hole in my baby girl’s heart, caused cartilage to grow in my son’s flimsy ear and worked miracle after miracle to bring Nora to our family.  There is ALWAYS hope!

How can we pray? Thank you for asking! Pray that complete healing will come. Pray that I learn whatever dumb lesson I’m supposed to be learning in the waiting time. Pray that God’s will be done.  THANK YOU!!!

A Crazy Lady

A close friend of mine has six kids.  I have thought many times about how crazy I would be if I had six kids.  Then I realized that one of hers is away at college…. so there are only five at home.  (See, my math skills from kindergarten are still functioning!)  Five kids still seems like a lot in my mind.  That’s a lot of mouths to feed.  She also homeschools… and that is a lot of kids to school.  Then it dawned on me that I have four kids.  That is only one less than five kids.  I’m so close to being crazy in my own mind… it’s a little scary. 

That was just one of my brilliant realizations as I was away from my four kids at a scrapbooking retreat this past weekend.  See how relaxed and focused I can be if uninterrupted? 

God has been showing up in all the details again… yes, again.  Remember a few years back when I had the word/topic of “honor” brought before my blinkin’ eyes six times before I realized the God moment???  Well, praise be to Baby Jesus and the angels who watch over us, this time it only took THREE times for me to catch on to “Praying for my Children.”  Our pastor spoke on intentional prayer last weekend… especially about parents praying.  Then my Dad showed up on my doorstep with another book in hand called The Blessing of Obedience, an amazing autobiography of a man and wife who prayed and heard from the living God.  THEN… I had already caught onto the subject, but simply to confirm my new direction of focus, I spotted only one workbook of interest at a second-hand store this weekend…. The Power of a Praying Parent.  And I bought it for $1.49. 

The six childrened-friend was also away with me and I mentioned this pattern of focussed prayer for my children.  She acknowledged that it may be what is needed NOW in my life to fend off what might have happened had I not listened in church, read my dad’s book and found the used workbook … all on prayer for my kids.

Amen.  That’s it.  Amen.

For Such a Time as This

This has been one of my favorite Bible quotes for some time.  It’s so amazing to me how God uses the most unlikely people to fulfill his desires. Queen Esther’s story is especially close to my heart as she was an orphan who obeyed and SAVED her people…. from death.  Not just from suffering, or torture, or plague, or some other Old Testament trial…. DEATH! 

A few times in my life I have felt the presence of God breathe on to me when I was in the midst of a “such a time as this” moment.  I’m in the midst of one of those miraculous moments right now.  I feel unworthy to tackle the task ahead.  I don’t want to be overwhelmed or all consumed.  But I want to do what I’m suppose to do.  No, I’m not saving my people from death….(who are my people, anyway?  Not sure.)  But a gargantuan opportunity has surfaced and I’m willingly stepping through open doors.

As I lay in bed last night with wide eyes staring at the ceiling in shock/wonder/fear/trepidation/shock/shock/shock, my husband infused me with strength and support, as he is sooooo gifted at giving, with the simple words, “If not you, then who???”  I had no answer.  Probably because I don’t know anyone else crazy enough to accept the challenge and then actually rise to it!

Funny thing is, I remembered something today that was remarkable.  I had a dream about this seven or eight years ago, but dismissed it as one of “those” dreams…. the ones that follow spicy pepperoni pizza, or corndogs from the county fair.   I haven’t even thought of that dream for years and years.  Mainly because it is so OUT there…. in the It-Would-Take-God-to-Pull-this-Off realm.  It’s amazing to me how the Lord gives us glimpses of a few of the puzzle pieces of our life fitting together every now and again.

I can’t wait to share it with ya’ll!  It might be several weeks before the creases are ironed out and it goes public, but until then, please pray for our direction to be God’s desire!

How to be an Awesome Parent!!!

Hello, Rick here again.  Linda gets back later today and she can write about something other than Hockey.  But I thought I would share a couple of thoughts about what I think is important on being a Dad.  I just finished an email to the parents on Austin’s hockey team.  I wanted to make them aware of what is really important this coming Hockey season.  The following is the body of what I wrote but it doesn’t just apply to Hockey moms and dads…it applies to all parents, grandparents as well as anyone who wants to make or keep friends.  The art of conversation seems to be taking a back seat in our culture and it is because we are letting it!

“Travel Hockey is a long season but the reward will happen along the way as well as at the end of the year.  The progression of our hockey players will definately be noticed come March but the reward along the way will be in the form of a closer relationship with your girl or boy.  The travel time to the rink is such an important time and I feel it should be used for our benefit as parents and the benefit of our kids.  What I have tried to do especially last year was to turn off the radio and not allow Austin to play his iPod while we travelled.  This in turn, forced both of us to have to dialogue with each other.  At first there was a lot of dead air but as the year progressed we talked in depth and I learned more and more about my son.  Don’t get me wrong, there were times when all I wanted to do was to go to my “empty box” (as my wife, Linda calls it) and veg!  I began to realize that he had goals and dreams that I had no clue about.  It was fun to get closer to Austin on a level different than that of hockey.  When we as parents take the lead and put our focused time and effort into our most prized possessions, the year won’t feel so long and we will have fun a long the way!”

So hang up the cell phone, put away the iPod, read that book when they are in bed, get off the computer, exercise before they get up, take them with you when you go places, have them cook/bake with you, have them fix the car with you, take them out for some one-on-one time, take them to church, schedule time at the end of the day to tuck them into bed and talk to them, read the Bible to them, if you are doing something and they ask a question stop what you are doing and look at them in the eyes and listen, don’t let your mind wander when talking with them, don’t be impatient, answer softly, pray with them, hug them daily, kiss them daily and tell them you love them constantly!!!