Faith in the Little Things

Posted on by Mary

Faith Forward

I think it all happens to the best of us.  It happened to me just now.

Today my son has an eye appointment.  He NEEDS new glasses…DESPERATELY and his school did something new this year.  The LIONS club came in with a pretty nifty machine and tok pictures of his eyes with his glasses on, from there they get a print out  with his eye pictures and they can tell numerous things. like….

1. how bad his lazy eye has gotten

2. his astigmatism  and the severity

3. and how much off his prescription is and what it now needs to be.

No reading charts. No covering eyes and for anybody with a little kid you know just how challenging this is and  add into it the fact this  particular little boy has special needs- YEAH it’s fun. Then they send home the print out so you can take it to your eye dr. Well this momma has been holing onto these papers for 3 months.  I knew EXACTLY where they were, that is until this morning! I went right to the spot.  an expandable file right inside my planning notebook…and they WERNT there!   AHHHH!

Panic ensued, my brain went ballistic, what on earth could I have done with them?  I looked every where.  Nothing I went back to the notebook 3 more  times. I prayed “Lord you know exactly where they are show me.”  All the while trying to keep that same little boy on task, looking for sneakers (I accidentally threw one of those in the washer…Ooops-no worries though it was now in the dryer…DRE|IED!)    after he left I methodically went through everything still muttering the above prayer, my spirit calmed and piece by piece I went through the papers on reserve for important things. and finally I came to the last little stack. The one that was in that expandable file.  The one I had already looked through 4 times. and there, just where I left it, where I knew it was , were the papers., RIGHT WHERE I LEFT THEM to be safe.

I could have complained and lost my cool.  I could have jumped to conclusions and accused any number of things on someone else but instead I turned to Jesus. It takes a lot of practice.  I used to be that person of blaming others  and truth be told that same person rears its old self every once in a while.

Why turn to Jesus in the little things?  Why is it that important to practice this?   Well 3 days ago I caught a glimpse of the answer.  or at least 1 of the answers…..My hubby and oldest son went out to the garage and found our barn cat Helix had died sometime within the last 12 hours. Now if you remember back in March we lost our faithful dog Daffy for some unknown reason and it devastated our family so this was quite a blow especially to our daughter who had a very unique relationship with him.  He would let her carry him around like a baby.

Continue reading “Faith in the Little Things” →

THANKFULNESS CHALLENGE

Posted on by Mary

Thankfulness Challenge

Good Morning so welcome to the new Thankfulness Challenge weekly post.  Every week (hopefully we will talk about 5 things we are thankful for…..EVEN the hard stuff!

Ephesians 5:20 says….

giving thanks always and for EVERYTHING to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (emphasis added) ESV

So leafs get started.

1.  Im thankful for Sunshine.   It has been an incredibly LONG winter here in NY.  The warmth and the sun combined  makes for all things new.  Spring came as  an amazing reminder that we all have those deep dark winter moments.  things seem  bleak and oh so stark, but each spring life is renewed!

2.  I am thankful for my sons autism.  Yep a lot of days it is REALLY REALLY hard BUT this struggle keeps me thinking outside the box, it keeps my eyes open to other moms who need to see HOPE face to face, just like I did!   It gives me the opportunity to minister to other moms like never before.  It gives me  an open door to talk about the HOPE that is Jesus! AND I get to be the mom of a kid who sees the world far differently than most.  he brings my attention to sounds that I can’t notice and he sees details missed by almost everyone.  And On those super special days he welcomes me into his usually closed off world!

3. I am thankful for a properly working washer and dryer…..after 3 years of struggling with a set that had almost daily temper tantrums, my eyes have been opened to a new sense of freedom!

4.  I am thankful for a very skilled husband who can fix LOTS of things…somewhat related to the above but also to faucets, showers, tractors, build furniture and paint!

5.the ability to smell…..I know that really sounds silly but we have a friend who can’t smell or taste.  And you know what..she doesn’t really dwell on what she can’t smell or taste, she is thankful for the things she can’t smell or taste!   What a blessing she is!

 

SO my dear friends what are your five things you are thankful for?

Book Review: Loved Back To Life by Shiela Walsh

Posted on by Mary

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Loved Back to Life: How I Found the Corage To Live Free, is Shiela Walsh’s answer to the many questions of how she’s doing now, and what’s happened in her life since she left her job as co-host of the 700 Club.   Shiela spent time hospitalized for sever depression and stills struggles with it to this day.  Shiela talks openly and bravely about the darkest of times and the really hard questions of life.   She has opened eyes and paved pathways for those who are hiding in those dark places afraid for various reasons and encourages all to step out into the light!

I’m not going to lie….THIS BOOK DEALS WITH HARD STUFF.

It took me a long time to get through it.   This isn’t an easy read.   It really forces you to look inward, and dot lookl not just at the surface but deeply.   Now I choose this book back in January, and I read the description, but nothing could prepare me for it!  It’s been a rough six months for our family and to be completely honest I needed every inch of this bbok.  Every chapter, every sentence, every word!

The book is littered with my notes, highlights and underlines.

One of my most favorite quotes comes from the last chapter,

Flying home that day I realized that we are all “disabled”; it’s just more noticeable with some of us than others. Some of us are blind or in wheelchairs, while others of us are angry and bitter.  What matters is what we are going to do with our disabilities.

WOW!

That’s how I live my life with my “physical” disability (remember I’m legally blind) but there are other things…..things that we are condoned to keep quiet about…..

Today our world is littered with broken, bitter people who need love and instead receive judgement. By loveI do not mean a soft, quiet thing, but a powerful source for good.  Love breaks down and builds up.  It is transforming. Judgement however, brings condemnation and fear.  It is cowardly because it distances itself from the pain of life. Rather than healing what is bent. It cripples and abandons…….

True love, love that speaks truth and yet refuses to abandon others, gives people oppertunity to change.  It even motivates them to change.  (CHAPTER 8)

If you have struggles ( and just like the first quote I mentioned states) we all do, then this book is for you!   If your heart needs some remodeling read this! It has made me aware of areas that need work and as long as you approach this book with willingness God will use it greatly!

I give it 5 stars!

(I received this complimentary copy for review from BookLook bloggers and in no way was compensated for a positive review)

Coffee With Friends: An Introduction

Posted on by Mary

imageMy whole life I have been surrounded by a lot of people, but just because there are a lot of people doesn’t mean you feel less alone.  But think about it :

School = A LOT  of people

Church = a lot of people

Large families = a lot of people (have 7 uncles and 1 aunt on one side and at  the time 5 aunts and 5 uncles on the other side…now add in my parents,brothers,  grandparents, aunt’s and uncle’s spouses AND cousins!   ).  That’s a whole lot of people.

Work = a lot of people

Then we go off to college

College =  a lot of people

And then…..I got married!

I worked full time, hubby worked two jobs at first and full-time seminary and with no drivers license that left me on a college campus for long hours with….you guessed it A LOT of people.

Then due to circumstances hubby and I decided that I would quit my job and be a full time homemaker…with no kids.   I learned all sorts of new things but the novelty wore off quickly and I missed having people around.  An introvert by nature I’m ok with people around but I don’t have to always talk….maybe that’s why when I worked on campus the majority of my free time was spent in the library …lots of people with little to no talking.

Out of this came an intense desire to read my Bible and to read Christian authors……these people quite literally became my friends.   Then came mommyhood…four kids  = a lot more noise,, a hubby in full time ministry and at times full time school! and not a lot of friends. A year ago it struck me….these people ARE my friends, I may not have ever met them in real life, but we have an eternity for all that.   A book idea that day was born , and from there came my blog post ideas.   So here’s how this is going to work each Wednesday I’m going to do a blog post.   It will be a person from the Bible or a person from church History.   In the post I will write them a letter (just like the old days).  I will share bits and pieces of my life with them, ask them about theirs , and ask for advice.  When the book is eventually ready  (like a gazillion years from now) the letter will appear first thing in each chapter and then I will write the rest of the chapter about that person, what their lives were like, how they might have or did struggle and how we can relate in today’s culture with these future BFF’s

Basically I’m inviting you into my devotions and Bible Studay as I have Coffee With Friends!

So now it’s your turn…..

If you could have coffee with any one person in the Bible or in church history, who would it be?   What would you ask them? or how do you identify with them?

(To get the conversation rolling and your wheels turning I asked this same question of my facebook friends.   My friend Katie W. Had my favorite response…. She would like to talk to Daniel’s parents and ask them for parenting advice.   ISNT THAT AMAZING).  So here’s your chance!  Go!