My Corner

My dear friend who gave me the words for "taking care of my corner" needs prayer.

Her husband (who is also my Bubba's guitar inspiration) was just diagnosed with stage 2 prostate cancer. He has a bone scan sceduled for Friday to see if it has spread to his pelvic bone. They will then play the waiting game until after Easter to get the results; after that, they decide on a treatment plan.

Please pray for them. They are the Music Makers.

The Lonely Goat

While looking for something entirely different about Julie Andrews on YouTube, I ran across this snippet of "The Lonely Goat" song. It always been my favorite song from The Sound of Music, but I have never seen this version.




Hope it brings you a few Monday Morning chuckles.

Dumb Dog

I love my dog. He was my wedding gift from my husband; a very unexpected gift because My Love always said he liked dogs but "not in the house." Our pup is definitely an in-the-house dog. He's 2 1/2 years old now and thoroughly part of the family.

He started limping a couple months back and we didn't think much of it. It had happened once before and got better, like he had pulled a muscle or something. You see, he's a beagle. Beagles are not big dogs, but he doesn't know that. He runs and chases and plays just like he was a big dog.

Well, the limp didn't get better and he was overdue for a distemper vaccine, so I took him in to the vet. (The good chic vet, the one that I like. Not the other guy we saw last time that is just Ok.) My dumb dog has gone and torn a cruciate ligament in his knee. The first limp was probably a partial tear, but he did a better job the next time and completely tore it. It's not getting better because ligaments don't have their own blood supply, so they don't heal by themselves.

Now, I love my dog. I do. And him having a bum knee, watching him limp, makes me very, very, very sad. But... he's not my child, he's a dog.

If he was my child, of course, I would pay the $1100 to have his knee surgically repaired. Ms. Vet said it's not a question of "if" he'll get arthritis in the knee, but when and how much - even with surgery. And the surgery is not a permanent fix. It's basically a figure-8 suture that holds things together internally, with the hope that by the time it breaks, enough scar tissue has built up to mostly stabilize the knee. We put him on a doggie anti-inflammatory and joint complex to hopefully decrease the inflammation and minimize his symptoms/discomfort.

So I am coming to grips with the fact that my pup wil probably have a much shorter life than I would like. Beagles usually live 12-15 years if they are kept healthy and trim. He still likes to exercise, but he heavily favors his bad leg after even short walks - a couple square blocks. He loves to run (which now hurts him), but he doesn't like to swim (which would be the easiest on him) so keeping him trim is going to be a challenge. He eats anything and everything he can get his little chops into. If he gets overweight, the joint problems will just get worse. My poor puppy.

Dumb Dog.

Randomness...

Since my brain is fairly scattered today, but I feel guilty about not posting in over a week, you get my scatterbrained-randomness.

I have a biochemistry midterm on Friday that I have absolutely no motivation to study for. Biochemistry is really quite fascinating and I wish that I put more time in and absorbed more of it rather than just getting through the tests. At this point, I am far enough behind in reading and junk that it feels overwhelming to even attempt it.

By the way, H, I lied. It is aspartame (NutraSweet) that may form formaldehyde in the brain, not sucralose (Splenda). Sucralose "may be partially metabolized into toxic substances," but they are not really sure. The good news is that only 11-27% of ingested sucralose is absorbed and the rest is "excreted unchanged." Woo.Hoo. The stevia was quite good in my yogurt; I added another packet.

Frozen fruit is one of my new kitchen staples. Especially sliced peaches, and strawberries from Cosco.

Although I have never practiced the whole "Lent" and "give something up for Lent" thing, I do agree with the concept of sacrificing something to focus more on God.

Vacation Bible School is fast approaching, and as the coordinator, I am starting to think, plan, and pray. This year is "God's Campground" and it is about the Isrealites in the wilderness and being good stewards of what God gives us. Should be fun.

Bubba is taking guitar lessons and really seems to have a gift for it, especially for his age. But we have hit a practicing desert and need to jump start it before My Love has a k'niption fit and cancels his lessons. Wish me luck.

This Friday, The Black Pearl is weighing anchor here in the Sea of Boys for Monkey Boy's birthday party... pardon me.... Pirate's Revelry. Pray for patience and long suffering for the chief galley slave and deck hand.

I love to tie-dye and have decided to make a tie-dye bedsprerad for Bubba's room and then paint the walls one of the colors from the blanket. I had high-hopes to get it done this week, but realistically, it will probably be May.

Monkey Boy's room will be next. Then the living room. Followed by the kitchen, Bigfoot and The Thinker's rooms, and maybe by the time I retire, my room. I have grand thoughts, but have a hard enough time just keeping up with the usual household stuff to get to the extras. I did get the bathroom done the first summer we were in the house; it was a not-nice yellow and HAD to go. Wish me luck!

ahhhh.... Don't you love exams....?

I love them.... especially when they are over. I am one exam closer to the end of my lovely A&P (that's anatomy and physiology for you non-science types) class. This particular evil was on the respiratory system. I have discovered a Hermoine-Granger-ish science geek streak since I have been back to school. I typically test really well so I don't stress too much before exams. It's still nice to be on the other side of one.

For some people, studying science encourages them to buy into the concept of evolution. Now I am no Biology PhD or anything. I have taken Microbiology, Chemistry, A&P 1, and (this semester) Biochemistry and A&P 2. And the more science I study, the more ABSOLUTE certainty I have in divine creation. No way did all of these intricacies in our bodies come about BY ACCIDENT.

Because that is what evolutionists claim. That we are all the products of millions of years of accidents and coincidences. What a load of crap. It takes at least 5 different enzymes working in perfect sequence to replicate ONE STRAND of DNA.

{Nucletides are molecules comprised of 3 main parts. Just 4 varieties of nucleotides make up all DNA, but they arrange themselves into millions of different sequences that spell out a kind of code. A,C,G, & T. Each 3-nucleotide sequence codes for one of the 20 amino acids. Amino acids line up in different, and very specific, ways to make up all proteins in your body. Enzymes are proteins, usually with hundreds or thousands of amino acids.}

So without enzymes, your DNA can't reproduce. But without DNA, you can't make enzyes. And supposedly this is all a series of Cosmic Whoopsies? I don't think so. Class dismissed. =P

Taking Care of My Corner

I mentioned this movie in a previous post and that we didn't finish watching it at the 30-Hour Famine. The other day in my local "Big Box" store, it was on the $4 movie rack, so I bought it and watched it the next day. And. I. Cried. I had a shorter clip in here, but I like this one better.



Profanity effectively filtered, the movie points out so well how one person can make a difference.

A very wise friend of mine told me something a couple of years ago that has stuck with me. She was going through breast cancer at the time and I was helping her out a little at the family day care she runs. She was very appreciative of my time. It was really no big deal to me... just a couple hours here and there. We started talking about service. She said....

"If everyone just took care of their little corner of the world, pretty soon there wouldn't be any corners left out."

I've always kind of tried to do this, but I had never had it articulated so well before. God doesn't expect us to take care of the whole world by ourselves. He just expects us to do our part and take care of our corners. The people in your life.... family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, people you pass on the street, hungry kids in other countries (World Vision put them in my corner).

My corner today includes doing my family's laundry, making them dinner, helping Mr.T. make an apple pie (he's been asking for one for weeks), and throwing together some cookies and rice krispie squares for some friends who are out running in the rain this afternoon training for a marathon (what a bunch of crazies). Hopefully in the midst of all that, I will get my homework done and get prepped for my exam on the respiratory system on Monday.

God honors your priorities... Love your neighbors as yourself. If my corner is taken care of, God helps me with all the school junk.

Inherited Children

I was one of these once. I had a freind in high school that was one of those friends where you adopted the family... well the parents at least. I would walk right in the house and say Hi Mom! Hi Dad! and head on upstairs to find my pal.

I'm so happy that my son has one of those and I seemed to have inherited another child from down the block. Mr. T is a little redneck, but I love him. And I love that he knows he can walk right in and say Hi Mom!

Because that's the kind of mom I wanted to be... I wanted our home to be where the kids wanted to hang out because there was just something warm and inviting about it.... it's not ritzy... it's rarely clean for more than 2 seconds at a time.... but there's always a smile and usually cookies... not a bad reputation to have. Welcome to the family Mr. T. I hope you are just the first of many inherited children.

Getting Old

I am officially 35 years old. For some reason, my 35th birthday was much more emotionally tramatic for me than any other. Maybe it is because my first "baby" is now over 6' tall, wears size 14 shoes, and has started to really look like a young man instead of a "kid." Maybe it is because he keeps rubbing it in my face that he will be driving in less than two years. Maybe it is because I have put on weight since I started school and it is not as easy to take off as it used to be. Maybe it is because the station that used to be "the moldy-oldies" my mom listened too is now "the greatest hits" that I catch myself putting on sometimes as I drive down the road. Whatever the reason, I feel like I'm getting "OLD."

But... I do see a silver lining.

I wouldn't want to be 21 again. Or even 25. I am in such an awesome place in my life right now, that I would not trade "right now" for the bliss of getting my butt back into my high school jeans. And I don't want to waste "right now" trying to recapture my youth.

Even with all the stresses of going to college full-time while raising 4 children, being involved in church work, loving and being a partner and helpmate to my amazing husband, trying to keep track of our collective craziness (I mean homelife) and maybe even trying to find time to blog.... I love "now."

So.... 35.... Bring it on!

Will Starve For Food

So I spent the weekend with a group of youth and youth leaders starving for food as part of World Vision's annual 30-Hour Famine. My husband has a long history of youth ministry and has been to many of these, but this was my first year in the mix. I took 5 young people with me, ages 12-14; the total group consisted of about 35 kids and 8-10 adults. We left here about 4:30 p.m. Friday and got home about 10 p.m. on Saturday. Of course, I forgot my camera at home.

For the record... I am officially too old to comfortably sleep on the floor. The 6 hours I had to sleep were spent mostly flipping over every half hour or so because my hip bones were not enjoying the experience. At 5:30, I finally just relented and stayed awake. (Hard to believe I used to enjoy that... hmmm) It made for a long day.

Note to self... It is amazing what you unconsciously filter from media. The movie Pay It Forward was on the schedule for Friday night. I was excited because I love that movie. Granted, I've only seen it once, but it left me with a feeling of do-gooder-ish-ness (yes, I know that's not a word). Aparently, the person who recommended it felt the same, and neither we, nor any of the other adults, remembered all the unsavory aspects of the movie... like the fact that the mom works in a strip club, or that certain characters spew profanity like a soaker hose waters the garden. We had to turn it off part way through.

The rest of the weekend was interspersed with game time, service projects, and worship services. The local pastor put a heavy focus on having the heart of a servant; he emphasized the incredible service that Christ did for all of us. That is what I hope the kids took away from it. They did awesome! Fasting for 30 hours is not easy, and I was very proud of all of them. (Way to go, Bigfoot!!)

And a little note about Footwashing... Growing up, I knew the story of Christ washing the feet of His disciples at the Last Supper. However, my husband was raised in the Church of God, which is where the rest of us are now too. In the COG, Footwashing is an ordinance.

Usually, Footwashing is part of a Maundy Thursday service (I still don't know what "Maundy" means other than the Thursday before Easter, but that's another issue). You wash the feet of another and they, or someone else, wash your feet. It is very humbling to have someone kneel in front of you and wash your feet... especially someone you really respect or admire.

The closing service of the Famine, right before we broke our fast, the pastor incorporated footwashing for the kids, explaining and demonstrating with another pastor while a thrid man read the text from the Bible. For many of them, this was their first experience with it, and it was great to see them serve each other. The service ran a little long, but I didn't hear a single complaint. Then on to pancakes and eggs... YUM!