...and it is bittersweet. I have trouble "facing" my blog, and that may sound strange but it is true. This micro-dot in the cybersphere is a sort of distant "home" to my heart, and we all know, it isn't always easy to come "home". Things are never the same are they?
Seems so very strange to me that my heart can feel so heavy yet be in complete acknowledgment that God is on the throne. The experience of His Grace and the experience of the trials necessary to understand that His Grace is all sufficient, render me speechless most times. Oh, I can muster little "blurbs" on FB but to actually come here...home, to hit the pressure release valve on my heart and pour it all out onto this glaring white screen like old times, is something I am finding more and more difficult to do. The trials and burdens I am used to sharing, no longer consist of the every day consequences of a large family with a focus challenged homeschooling mommy trying to make it through the day with a clean house to boast....no...our worlds now are forever changed aren't they? Each and every one of us now bear the worry of what tomorrow will hold in this very changed nation. Then, there are the hurts and burdens of friends, loved ones...dire circumstances and health situations that seem to be of such gravity that the English language limits us to even share with one another the depths of the sorrow we feel over these circumstances. Praise the Lord, He makes intercession for us...because, I'll be honest friends, I just don't have the words, only the tears to show for the white knuckled pleading in my heart. I'm so thankful that sometimes even to say the name of Jesus is enough to flood my heart with a sense of comfort....His name and all that it means to my heart helps to focus my mind. Just to lift my flesh bound hands and say His name brings such release when I remember all that He did on the cross. His very name holds more meaning than I could write in a life-time. My precious Lord Jesus, let me never fail to find comfort in letting my burden rest on your ever listening ear...
Friday, May 08, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
(Catchy Title Goes Here)
Interesting phrase to get your attention...
....followed by more rambling and ... - and ** to replace any real sort of punctuation. ;)
Yes, I have already used the title "Random" so, I am sure you can think of something better and do a mental cyber-insert up there to better complete this little update. Creativity has been replaced with practicality for the time being and it is not pretty. Iam working to remedy the imbalance as quickly as possible. :)
If you are on Facebook, you probably already get my little status updates and such. I think Facebook is killing my capacity to come up with anything meaningful to put on here! But, I love you, and my blog so I will work harder at "saving" my material for this, my cyber-home.
I guess the big looming gray ominous looking cloud is that Brian deploys in a few months. He will be in and out before he deploys, but this is our first BIG separation and so I am gearing up for it mentally, spiritually, fiscally, physically and emotionally...and not necessarily in that order. The one really neat thing about BIG LOOMING GRAY clouds is that there is a huge blinding sun behind it :)
God is so good. He has placed us in this beautiful little "nest" with all that we need. I knew when He made the way for us to rent this house...He was providing for trials ahead. :) He has provided sweet fellowship with friends both far and near who have gone through this and are going through this very thing. I have family nearby (well nearer than Japan anyway.haha) who have already volunteered to come this summer and offer a helping hand. Summer is right around the corner which will be a nice boost in this upcoming winter of separation. Even this trial pales, in my heart of hearts, when compared to the *mountains* that other dear friends are scaling with the Lord's help. May the Lord always help us to see HIM even when there are dark looming clouds swirling about us.
....followed by more rambling and ... - and ** to replace any real sort of punctuation. ;)
Yes, I have already used the title "Random" so, I am sure you can think of something better and do a mental cyber-insert up there to better complete this little update. Creativity has been replaced with practicality for the time being and it is not pretty. Iam working to remedy the imbalance as quickly as possible. :)
If you are on Facebook, you probably already get my little status updates and such. I think Facebook is killing my capacity to come up with anything meaningful to put on here! But, I love you, and my blog so I will work harder at "saving" my material for this, my cyber-home.
I guess the big looming gray ominous looking cloud is that Brian deploys in a few months. He will be in and out before he deploys, but this is our first BIG separation and so I am gearing up for it mentally, spiritually, fiscally, physically and emotionally...and not necessarily in that order. The one really neat thing about BIG LOOMING GRAY clouds is that there is a huge blinding sun behind it :)
God is so good. He has placed us in this beautiful little "nest" with all that we need. I knew when He made the way for us to rent this house...He was providing for trials ahead. :) He has provided sweet fellowship with friends both far and near who have gone through this and are going through this very thing. I have family nearby (well nearer than Japan anyway.haha) who have already volunteered to come this summer and offer a helping hand. Summer is right around the corner which will be a nice boost in this upcoming winter of separation. Even this trial pales, in my heart of hearts, when compared to the *mountains* that other dear friends are scaling with the Lord's help. May the Lord always help us to see HIM even when there are dark looming clouds swirling about us.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Hunchback of Virginia Beach
I am cracking up at how my posts always seem to be drastically different from one to the next...such is my life.
Once a month, Brian has to work with his reservists and while I am so glad I get to see him in the evenings, Sunday mornings, I miss his helping hand in getting the children ready for church. This past Sunday was especially challenging because Anjolie, who is picky anyway, was having a fit because I didn't have an extra t-shirt for her to put on under her dress...and the life threateningly tight sash was not quite tight enough...as, according to her, she could still *breath*. Quite frankly, I did not have time, nor was I in the mood, to find a solution or prepare another outfit for her to wear, and I made that fact as clear as I possibly could.
After dealing with her huffing and puffing pouting, Anjolie finished getting ready and we were all ready to walk out the door. Before we walked out, I noticed about an inch of one of Anjolie's pink pj shirts was poking out of the top of her dress...another 5 minutes of crying and pouting and correcting pass...I sent Anjolie up to her room to get the pj-shirt off and quickly loaded the other 3 in the van. Anjolie, in much better spirits, finally joins us in the car -albeit with a heavy winter coat on that I told her she would not wear into church since it was too warm for that.
The Yost family minus Daddy made it to church with 5 minutes to get 3 in Sunday School, one in nursery and myself to class...I was breathless but thankful the morning seemed to be smoothing out. My mind was full with what the day held and it was all I could do to concentrate on Pastor's class, but about midway through, I was focused on what counted- a day of worship.
You know, these crazy things that happen in this household are too crazy to be made up...this stuff is better than fiction, I tell ya. I prefaced the incident with all this to hopefully win you to the *how* I could have "missed" the "hunchback" thing. So hang on...to make this hopelessly endless....
After Sunday School, it got a little crazy again as I have to pick up the girls from class in the next building and quickly move Ayden to another nursery room sign him in, grab a pager and finally get into the sanctuary for the service. Since Brian wasn't there, I couldn't get up to choir, which turned out to be, a.good.thing. When I picked up Anjolie, I noticed that my friend wasn't there teaching, only her husband, and since he was busy, I called Anjolie to hurry and go with me to church. Anjolie turned around to say goodbye to a friend and as she turned, I saw the straaangest thing. Lo and behold, there was a leg of tights hanging down her back from her collar...............what.in.the.WORLD? Yes, a leg of white tights just uh, hangin' from the collar of her navy blue dress, like it was cool...the rest of the thing remained stuffed down her dress. At least, the foot appeared fresh and clean, I noticed-so, it coulda been worse, like the foot coulda been filthy black or something. Anyhoo, I pulled out the tights as we quickly walked to church, me shaking my head and Anjolie whining somethin' about her zipper bein' cold.... I thought, perhaps, I hadn't used enough fabric softener or something! I NEVER would have guessed they were there on purpose! Oh, honey, it aint OVER YET!
We were walking briskly, the 3 of us, and I shoved the tights quickly into my purse before we entered the main building. As we herded ourselves into a pew, I noticed Anjolie still had a huge hump on her back! I kid you not...and the row behind me was witness, to the near entire panty/sock/tights drawer that I fished out of the back of Anjolie's dress before their eyes. YES! Who knows what was going through the poor people's minds as they tried to cover their chuckles. I did what any stunned mom would do... gave a helpless hand lifted shrug and an apology....I mean, what does one SAY about something as unexplainable as this? Anjolie thought it seemed pretty logical that, since she didn't have a t-shirt to shield her back from the cold zipper...shoving the entire panty drawer down her back would have to suffice. So, have you about "heard it all" now? Somehow I'm thinkin' I shoulda just let the pink pj shirt slide...just this once.
Once a month, Brian has to work with his reservists and while I am so glad I get to see him in the evenings, Sunday mornings, I miss his helping hand in getting the children ready for church. This past Sunday was especially challenging because Anjolie, who is picky anyway, was having a fit because I didn't have an extra t-shirt for her to put on under her dress...and the life threateningly tight sash was not quite tight enough...as, according to her, she could still *breath*. Quite frankly, I did not have time, nor was I in the mood, to find a solution or prepare another outfit for her to wear, and I made that fact as clear as I possibly could.
After dealing with her huffing and puffing pouting, Anjolie finished getting ready and we were all ready to walk out the door. Before we walked out, I noticed about an inch of one of Anjolie's pink pj shirts was poking out of the top of her dress...another 5 minutes of crying and pouting and correcting pass...I sent Anjolie up to her room to get the pj-shirt off and quickly loaded the other 3 in the van. Anjolie, in much better spirits, finally joins us in the car -albeit with a heavy winter coat on that I told her she would not wear into church since it was too warm for that.
The Yost family minus Daddy made it to church with 5 minutes to get 3 in Sunday School, one in nursery and myself to class...I was breathless but thankful the morning seemed to be smoothing out. My mind was full with what the day held and it was all I could do to concentrate on Pastor's class, but about midway through, I was focused on what counted- a day of worship.
You know, these crazy things that happen in this household are too crazy to be made up...this stuff is better than fiction, I tell ya. I prefaced the incident with all this to hopefully win you to the *how* I could have "missed" the "hunchback" thing. So hang on...to make this hopelessly endless....
After Sunday School, it got a little crazy again as I have to pick up the girls from class in the next building and quickly move Ayden to another nursery room sign him in, grab a pager and finally get into the sanctuary for the service. Since Brian wasn't there, I couldn't get up to choir, which turned out to be, a.good.thing. When I picked up Anjolie, I noticed that my friend wasn't there teaching, only her husband, and since he was busy, I called Anjolie to hurry and go with me to church. Anjolie turned around to say goodbye to a friend and as she turned, I saw the straaangest thing. Lo and behold, there was a leg of tights hanging down her back from her collar...............what.in.the.WORLD? Yes, a leg of white tights just uh, hangin' from the collar of her navy blue dress, like it was cool...the rest of the thing remained stuffed down her dress. At least, the foot appeared fresh and clean, I noticed-so, it coulda been worse, like the foot coulda been filthy black or something. Anyhoo, I pulled out the tights as we quickly walked to church, me shaking my head and Anjolie whining somethin' about her zipper bein' cold.... I thought, perhaps, I hadn't used enough fabric softener or something! I NEVER would have guessed they were there on purpose! Oh, honey, it aint OVER YET!
We were walking briskly, the 3 of us, and I shoved the tights quickly into my purse before we entered the main building. As we herded ourselves into a pew, I noticed Anjolie still had a huge hump on her back! I kid you not...and the row behind me was witness, to the near entire panty/sock/tights drawer that I fished out of the back of Anjolie's dress before their eyes. YES! Who knows what was going through the poor people's minds as they tried to cover their chuckles. I did what any stunned mom would do... gave a helpless hand lifted shrug and an apology....I mean, what does one SAY about something as unexplainable as this? Anjolie thought it seemed pretty logical that, since she didn't have a t-shirt to shield her back from the cold zipper...shoving the entire panty drawer down her back would have to suffice. So, have you about "heard it all" now? Somehow I'm thinkin' I shoulda just let the pink pj shirt slide...just this once.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Miracle
It has been 2 months since I got the email letting me know that my friend, Andrea's daughter had been in a horrible car crash here in Va Beach. It happened at a time where there was so much going on in my life as well that I just couldn't even bring myself to post..so, I'm sorry this is late, but thrilled that I can report good news :)
We knew Andrea and her children in Okinawa and had only recently found out we were living this close to one another, here in Va Beach, when Brian ran into Andrea at the commissary. While in Okinawa, little Natalie was in nursery with Ayden and I taught Isabel in 3&4 year olds where her brother Zach would help out, and Andrea was in our Sunday School class.
On December 16th, Andrea, her husband and 2 girls (Zach was at school) were stopped at an intersection and a tractor-trailer hit them from behind at over 40 mph. Here is the news story with pictures. The driver of the rig had not seen them or the light...he plowed right into them. The trunk was pushed into the back seat w
here little Natalie 3, and Isabel 4 sat in their car-seats. Isabel suffered a concussion but little Natalie's head was pinned against her mother's seat causing 3 fractures in her skull. Things did not look good. Isabel was discharged from the hospital after a few nights, but Natalie's little brain was swelling and the swollen tissue was starting to die. She was vomiting and not able to respond...little Natalie was not supposed to make it...and if she did, they thought she would be severely disabled and brain damaged.My friend never faltered in hopes of bringing Natalie home...she was clinging to her prayers that God would heal and send a healed Nat home. When we talked in the lobby of the children's hospital where Natalie was being treated...my friend and I cried and prayed and just poured our hearts out to God. They were going through some other trials as well on top of the accident and the situation just left my head spinning..."How...", I silently asked "how are You going to take care of this?" knowing full well that God would ultimately bring my friend closer to Him and glory to Himself...in whatever He did. People all over the world were praying for this precious girl that God so wonderfully made.
God chose to heal Natalie quickly and on this side of eternity. She was released from the hospital a short time after Christmas...her mom had re-potty trained her and worked round the clock with her to rehabilitate her while staying at her daughter's side in the hospital. Andrea brought Natalie and Isabel over to play the other day and according to Andrea, the neurologists have NO explanation for the recovery. Oh, she still goes to therapy for speech and physical (I think), but the little girl I sat and talked to and watched play with my little ones looked and acted as if nothing had ever happened. It was SO good to see them and love on them. God is good...and I again stand in complete awe and amazement of Him. God is still answering prayer He is still comforting and carrying the grieving and the hurting. I am still praying for miracles.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Walle
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Loving One Another
As moms we spend a lot of time picking up our little ones when they have fallen, wiping their tears, patting their backs...showing our love...the action of love. The tone of voice we use- our facial expressions, everything, is absorbed and interpreted in our little one's minds...they are being molded and formed, and belief systems are fast developing based upon our actions. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly side of me, in my children...but what is most beautiful, and gives the greatest amount of hope, is seeing God work in my children's lives and blessing, in spite of me.Today, as the children played, I stood and watched from a distance as Lily fell from her bike. I could tell that she wasn't hurt badly, but she was hurt enough that she was crying...so I waited just a second to see...and yes, her sisters came and helped set her up and loved on her and patted her to make sure she was okay. All arguments and hurts from the past played no part when it came to helping their sister in need. Lily didn't push them away and ask for mommy, as she would have done in past years, she blessed the hearts of her sisters in allowing them to love on her and help her up. My heart was so full in that moment. Love...in action..what an amazing and mysterious work God has provided that gives testimony to the nature of Christ! Seeing that display of love between sisters was even better than if I had gone to comfort her myself...and I couldn't help but think that was a touch of how God feels when He sees us as Believers, loving one another. Sure, He can come and set us up when we fall, and He does...but how much sweeter for all when He works in and through us....how it must bless Him to see His love displayed before Him and what a blessing to able to be a vessel used to comfort and love a sister in Christ.
1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
picture from all posters.com
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