As we journey together “let us think of ways to motivate one another in acts of love and good works”(Hebrews 10:24 NLT)

and spinning and spinning and it is not because of my concussions I gave myself Last week!

my week has been in short NUTS!  I have a lot to do and a VERY short time in which to do it in.

Lets take a look see at what my week Looks like on my calendar

It all Started on Tuesday.
Tuesday...More phone calls and visits than normal…No biggie right NO PROBLEM
Dryder Dies …Not too big of a deal there is another in the garage. Called to fill in for Cubbies leader who got the flu No big deal.  Youth leader and his family coming for dinner and church chat it chat…No biggie..OH WAIT Crock pot took forever cooking dinner Dinner isn’t done…Now I am getting flustered .  Okay baked the meat to finish cooking it..Won’t shred GRR.  Night over…
WEDNESDAY– prayer meeting a relatively quite day
THURSDAY– AWANA -fill in for leader…..could have anywhere from 13-16 cubbies..Two of them my own!  No problem…
FRIDAY – AM dentist Appointment (Have I ever mentioned I HATE DENTISTS)  That is more than a bit stressful for me…Then Friday PM we have the young Adults meeting.
SATURDAY–   AM Women’s Breakfast...Saturday PM Our Gym night with our YG where we are expecting around 120 kids from a lot of area churches!  Hubby and I both go and help out in various ways and I have to make sandwiches for them .
SUNDAY AM-Church…may have to teach Sunday school for women’s class  But hoping the the teacher is feeling better SUNDAY AFTERNOON Our churches first attempt at GUESS WHO”S COMING TO DINNER- we are one of the hosts. So our house will be full of people.

Now that’s what my week should have looked like before this morning at approximately 3 am when the weasel woke us up to the sound of throwing up….YEAH that’s right throwing Up  So what does that mean for my week at this point I am not really sure…I do have a feeling it means a lot more vomit since the other three  kids  hubby and myself have not had this little gem yet.

And through all of this I am reminded of one thing…no matter what happens in my week I have someone who is in complete control and it’s NOT ME@  It’s not my husband and it’s not my kids.  Nothing comes as a surprise to God…and I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.  This morning a friend  wrote this little tidbit on a  FB discussion.  I jumped into…

 

Everyone in this world who believes in a higher power in this world believes that their way is the only way..their god is the one and only. I have respect for ppls faith..but I just don’t believe in anything. I don’t have the answers to lif…e..but I cannot believe in something that is not tangible.. I think faith is a way to cope with life..a promise of something better to come..but who knows what happens after? No one.. I know where I’m at now. I think when we die at peace..that’s the end. We don’t live on..perhaps ppl who die restless continue on..but to me when I croak I die with my body..and that’s enough for me.

You  are mostly right my friend….coping yes .  However..Faith does not help you cope.  CHRIST does.  Other “faiths” have a checklist of things you must attain before you get anywhere…All that is required of us is to have a ongoing relationship with Christ.  We must accept his free gift of salvation!  Without that we as sinful creatures tend to cope in many different ways most f them terribly wrong..Like drugs alcohol, sex, internet Tv food, and the list goes on.  I am not saying that the internet and food and TV are all bad BUT when you use these things as coping mechanisms they go very wrong.  As for being at peace.  Drowning yourself in any of these things  to cope…Or as the case may be feel as though you are in “control” doesn’t make you feel at peace.  It drives you deeper into restleassness.  It’s only when you give the situations over to God and say …Your will not mine Do we find TRUE peace….And you have NO regrets..because you were not nearly as in control as you once thought.  As for tangible.  I see evidence of God all around me.  I may not be able to see him or hear Him or Touch Him.  But I do see his work.  i see his answer to prayers…Impossible things that just are not happenstance.  Things that are clearly beyond peoples control and yet God hears and answers..OR comforts in amazing ways.  God provides what we need when we need it.  I haea  church full of testimonies that maybe one or two you could dismiss as coincidence BUT what about 50 or a hundred.  ye that many…. you just have to be willing to acept…

Now all of this comes on the cuff of watching some amazing friends go through some very tough things.  We have friends right now who we went to college with.  they have a five year old daughter .  The hubby was diagnosed with non hodgekins lymphoma.   He just underwent a stem cell tansplant.  He is not doing well at all BUT despite all of their trials THEY AREN”T just coping…Coping means just getting by or getting through something.  As of the updates last night the hubby has not woken up yet from this new surgery…and his blood pressure and heart rate go crazy every time they try to wake him up and yet they are not angry at God this is how they view their circumstancews 

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We know that God can use this to accomplish much for His glory. We don’t want to waste this opportunity God has given us. It’s so comforting going into this knowing we have an army of prayer warriors
with us!

And amazing they want God to be glorified….yes they want him to get better But they have given it to God.  Our life as a family right now is insane as you can see from the above but as I look at the two sets of friends comments I am faced with a decision.  A I pondered the two this morning I realized I have a Choice I big Choice as does everyone else.  The answer we have chosen for our family is this and it is simply taken from the end of the book of Joshua  It says “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”    I will continue to share the gospel in my home, in my church , in my community, on facebook and here on my blog.  I will continue to stand for truth as long as I am allowed to….and when they talk this venue away from me i will scream it from the roof tops.  It’s interesting  though from the end of Joshua to the end of the very next book Judges….”And all f Israel did what was right in their own eyes.”  May i  always use the Bible as my measuring stick and not what I and the world around me thinks what is right!

Have you ever had a concussion?  I never have that is until Sunday!  It was never diagnosed BUT I had all the symptoms.  A nurse in our church was very concerned.

This is how my Sunday morning went. 

I got up an hour later than I wanted to.  It was a VERY late night for us the night before  So I was feeling quite sluggish!
I put pasta in a pot to cook for the fellowship dinner that was after church.  After that I got myself dressed.   Hair and make up done.  Now on to the kiddos.  Tornado, lady Bug and Weasel.   Check .  Oh no where is weasels dress shoes?  Oh well he was almost grown out of them anyway.  Onto l Little Bean.  I pulled a dress shirt and dress Pants out of the closet. Checked time still doing great.   I took a long look at Little beans dress pants.  Yep they will look like capris on the boy.  Well i have to go to the storage in the basement anyway I’ll just pull the bin of 12 month clothes while I’m getting weasel the next size shoes.  I stop by the kitchen and turn off the stove Pasta cooked.  Will be back in a minute to drain it.

Grab key for the storage room under the stairs.  Go down the stairs , popped the lock, discovered no light.  HMMMM? Oh well!
I immediately found the 12 month clothing bin plus the extra bag.  But what about the shoe bag?  Where did hubby put it?  So at this point I am at the lowest part of the stairs.  . AHH found it But it’s stuck.!  Oh Drat.  So I pull and tug.  Finally It comes o0ut.

I start to  back out of my very confined space and I stand up…CRACK.  blackness followed by stars.  I whomped my head on the  second stair Up.  I grabbed all the stuff I collected and went up stairs.  When I got to the top of the stairs this not so good feeling swept over me.  It’s kinds hard to explain at this point.  drowsiness, queezy, confusion, a warm fuzzy feeling.  Like i was a fog What was happening?

I sat on the couch and began looking for  shoes for Weasel.  Done….Now what was I doing?  Ummm Oh yeah clothes for little Bean.   CHECK….What’s next.?  At this point Hubby walks in the room.
 Are you Okay?
 Yeah.  I think so.
 What did you do.
 I hit my head.
 How’d you do that.
 I stood up straight. 
Oh I did that not too long ago it doesn’t feel very good.
I don’t even have a bump., my head doesn’t even hurt!
Can you tell me what I have to do next?

Did you finish the Pasta Salad.?
OH YEAH the pasta Salad!.
DRAINED.  now what?  OLIVES , PEPPERONI, CHEESE.

So I stood there…now it was all finished.   No wait I am forgetting something?  what was it?  ..Oh well I will put the lid on it…OH WAIT. Italian dressing…..lid on.  Now to our plates silverware and cups.  UGH how many do I need? 

At this point I am getting slower and slower.  Like a slug.  I was really struggling finally Hubby saw I have having a hard time processing it all so he helped count  after all it was only to 5!!

By this point I have to be out the door.  AT least all the kids look very nice and I have all my stuff gathered together.  OH wait Little Bean will need to eat!  Back to the kitchen for food suitable for an 8 1/2  month old! 

Coat i need my coat.  I checked the bedroom, the furniture in the living room, the bedroom again?  Where’s my coat?  HMMM?
COAT CLOSET.  Go figure that’s where it is!

DIAPER BAG?  UMMM  notin the boys bedroom,
Not in our bedroom.  Not in the COAT CLOSET.  Think Mary Think?  Where were we this last week? 

Oh hubby is the diaper bag in the car
NO
Oh
HMMMM
I know the truck in the garage.
FOUND

Now in the car on the way to church.  2 Miles.
Needless to say the morning held some other moments that were confusing and so on.  .  I had to teach the ladies Sunday school class.  I had notes in front of me for which I was VERY thankful that I had written them out so detailed.  mi don’t normally do that.  I did fine teaching as long as I moved along fast. but on one occaision someone had a question which is normally fine and I completely lost my train of thought!   So then I finished….and got the kids from their Sunday school class rooms and went to the auditorium for church.  I had a hard time paying attention to my dear hubby But there were a couple of things that he said that really made sense and I couldn’t wait to share with him what I learned.  BUT you guessed it I FORGOT them ALL by the end of our day.

Then at the dinner I had all the kids with me at our table and one of the ladies came up and asked me…Can I help?
I was confused Help with what?  was my thought.  All four kids were accounted for and sitting patiently.   I looked around and realized we were the only ones sitting on this side of the fellowship hall.  Everyone else was up getting their food.

OH I guess I’ll wait for Hubby.
He’s busy talking with someone right now.  i don’t know how long he will be.
OH OKay Could you wait here with the kids and i’ll go get their food.
Sure

I got in line.   As long as I talked with people I was fine BUT when I had to stop and think I became confused.  The fact that I was getting tired quite fast at this point was not helping that either.

I got back to the table and ate with the kids.  AHHHH the fog started to clear.  What did I eat for breakfast.  I am not so sure I do know hubby handed me something and I gobbled it down.  

So I made it through the afternoon service.  Home Nap…I slept a long time.  When I got up I still had that very fuzzy feeling but at least I could think a little better.  My sleep was not the greatest.  I kept startling awake But at least I got some sleep.  When I got up it was time to tackle some of the chaos that had happened that morning.  By the time I was finished starightening the living room I felt as though I were ready for another nap.  I fed little bean….ate something for dinner though I am not sure exactly what it was at this point.   Then I took weasel down to my craft room so I could make thank you cards for Christmas gifts.  All of that went really well.  By the end I was feeling much more tired.  I went upstairs did the dishes and went to read for a little bit.  By this time it is 11 30 pm.  I curled up in my nice warm sheets and went to bed.  I know a few times I woke up saying things that totally made no sense to hubby.  I was dreaming things and then woke up talking about them.  .  At one point I woke up yelling I smell something burning, I smell something burning.  I.  I opened my eyes and there was hubby standing in the middle of the room wide eyed. 
Nothings burning Mary.
 But But I smelled it.
Everything is okay go back to sleep.
ANDI did to.  I fell right back to sleep.  By Monday morning I felt just fine.  No lasting effects!

Now That was the first and hopefully the last time I ever experience such a “fun” little thing as that and MOST OF ALL Thank you Lord for watching over and protecting me!  You are an amazing God and the Great Physician!

As an adult I have a much bigger will than my duaghter’s..  As of today we are going through a real trial of her testing our boundaries.  Somehow and for some reason God has blessed us with three children who have extremely strong will.  This ine in particular has been having a tough time lately.  Mostly because she is SOOO particular!  

As parents it is vERY important to teach our children flexibilty.  I know that children need to be grounded into a routine and we as a pastor’s family try very hard to do that yet there are times it is imperetive that our kids need to be flexible.  On a whole all of our kids are pretty flexible.  For which I am VERY thankful But they have decided that they are going to test and see just how flexible our rules are.  She has been pushing the limits at 4 with cloths YES 4.  The thing is.  Mommy is a HUGE stickler on clothes, and the same goes with daddy.

But the biggest problem we have is FOOD.  Generally we don’t have picky eaters but for some reason she has decied she doesn’t like anything I fix.   So in the past if they don’t eat their food at a particular mean they will have it at the next meal.  Well over the last few days They all have been asking for their meals to be out away to the next one.   YESTerday she had to miss school due to feeling “sick”  I was just finishing with a stomach thing SOOOO We just assumed it was contagious and that she was getting it… Later it came out that she was just tellling us she wasn’t feeling well because she didn’t want to eat her food. 

Today has been the same story.  All she has eaten today was a bowl of cereal that she finished at Lunch and a partial bowl of soup she will finish tomorrow at breakfast.  She ad to miss AWANA tonight.  She missed out on a special dinner.  All becuase she won’t eat her food.  Tomorrowq will be another day…but tonight after hubby and the other two kids get home we are gonna have a family meeting about house rules and consequences.   I found this neat webite and hopefully in not too long I will have the oppertunity of showcasing them and writing about how it has helped our family!  

We’ll talk real soon!