My Heart to Yours

Yes, I know I am a little behind but I have a good excuse. Someone in my family, I am still not sure who yet, was sick on Christmas day. That means by Tuesday after Christmas 3/4 of the family that was together on Christmas Day ended up sick. Myself included. I fought it for 8 days and finally gave in to going to the doctor yesterday. She sent me home with some powerful antibiotics and some other prescription. Thank goodness, I am finally on the road to recovery! A very weird thing happened though last night. It was around 8 pm and I started to notice that my eyes were very tired. I was having trouble trying to read the words in a book that I was reading to my daughter. Then when she wanted me to paint her fingernails and I couldn’t see her fingernails I began to worry. I called my husband into the room and told him something was wrong that my vision was very blurry. He suggested that I was probably just overly tired and that I should go on to bed. I have to admit I was starting to get a little panicky. I was thinking about blindness and what it would be like to go blind. What it would be like to never be able to see my children again or my husband. I could feel my self getting more and more anxious when I had a gut feeling to look at the antibiotic I had just taken an hour or so earlier. Of course, I couldn’t read one word on it so I took it to my husband and asked him to read if there were any side effects. Well, of course right there on a sticker on the front it says, “This may cause blurred vision.” I am thinking it should say it may cause temporary blindness but it was a relief to see that. Today, my eyes feel tired but I am seeing just fine. I guess I will take the next dose tonight right before I go to sleep. Or maybe I should call the doctor. Regardless, it was scary.

Two funny things did happen last night though in the midst of all of this. I get made fun of all the time because I am an “early packer”. That means, anytime we take a trip I start packing well in advance. Hey, I am just meticulous and don’t like to forget anything. Well, in a couple of months we are headed for a vacation here. So, last night my daughter comes out of her room in her swimming suit. She asked us if she could pack for our trip. We could’nt help but giggle and let her. She went and got a backpack and filled it with her swimsuits a pair of jeans and a shirt and her favorite stuffed animal and she came back and said she was packed and ready to go. HaHa The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I know, but at least I haven’t started packing yet.

At dinner last night my son asked us how a cell from a man get’s into a cell from a woman to make a baby. He said, very innocently I might add, “Does it just jump over when you are sleeping?” UGH!!!! YEAH!!!!! Something like that! Needless to say, my husband has had sex ed 101 discussion with him. Really, just the basics but all he had to say is “That’s Gross am I going to have to do that?”

Well, I hope you all had a great holiday and have started the new year with some new goals and some freshness. I finally achieved a New Years resolution from ‘05. One of the things I wanted to accomplish last year was to read through the bible in a year. With the help of www.oneyearbibleblog.com I accomplished it!!! I am going for two years in a row now. If you have ever had the interest in reading through the bible in a year check out this site. I may help you as it did me.

Peace
Laura

p.s. I am going to try to turn the comments back on and see if I get attacked by the spammers again. If so, I will have to turn them back off until I can figure out what to do about it.

Looks like I am going to have to turn the comments off again. In a matter of a couple of hours I have already received 200 spam comments/track backs! UGH! That is so frustrating. I am going to have to get my computer guy on it!! HINT HINT

Darn you Texas Holdem Poker!

Pray for Your Marriage That…

• Love will grow between you and your wife
• You and your wife will resist temptation to stray
• You will practice mutual respect for one another
• The two of you will not live separate lives
• You will be friends as well as lovers
• You will work together as a team
• There will be no divorce in your home

Many spend their lives running and hiding, upset about the past,
anxious about the present, and worried about the future. Remember that God is
your shield! Put your full hope in him; he will meet every need.

I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past
and looking forward to what lies ahead. Philippians 3:13

• Attend (rather than sleep in)
• Join (rather than remain uncommitted)
• Listen (rather than snooze)
• Volunteer (rather than sit back)
• Serve (rather than consume)
• Give (rather than hoard)
• Pray (rather than criticize)
• Submit to the leaders (rather than oppose)
• Invite (rather than be self-centered)

This is an excellent article for all you dads out there. Read it here.

1. Name the offense as clearly as possible. It’s hard for us to forgive something that isn’t clear to us.

2. Find someone trustworthy and non-judgmental to listen to your story. Having someone listen and understand is a powerful part of healing. Journaling prayers to God, crying with a trusted friend, or seeking help from a qualified counselor are all effective.

3. Let yourself feel the pain. We all want to skip this part. Even Jesus prayed to the Father asking to skip the cross (Matthew 26:39). Yet the pain Jesus endured because of our sin was part of God’s plan. Often, we’d prefer to be angry because it hurts less. However, forgiveness requires allowing ourselves to feel and express the pain caused by others’ actions.

4. Know that some of your feelings will be ugly. It doesn’t help to tell yourself that you “shouldn’t feel that way.” The fact is you do feel that way. Facing the truth before God is the beginning of freedom (John 8:32).

5. Make an honest assessment of your reaction to the harm done to you. Often our reactions are as sinful as the offense against us. This awareness will help you keep a realistic perspective as you wade through your feelings.

6. Decide whether you want to confront the offender. The rule of thumb I use is simple. If it’s a relationship I want to preserve, I make the effort. If not, I let it go. We all have finite amounts of emotional energy. It isn’t wise to spend it in unprofitable places. Prayer will help clarify your decision.

7. Understand that human forgiveness takes time. Sometimes it takes years. Meanwhile, hold in mind your goal: to forgive and be forgiven. Jesus makes both steps possible

We thirst for so many things–for significance, success, comfort,
wisdom. But our real thirst is for closeness to our Creator. God is the
fulfillment of our deepest longings. Drink deeply of him!

When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every
living thing. Psalm 145:16