Things to accomplish in my hectic life during 2009

Wow..it seems like so long since I have posted here.  I have been trying to keep up and day after day after day I keep telling myself I need to write in my blog but then meals need to be cooked and the mountain of laundry must be climbed and it seems I have to empty the vacuum EVERY time I run it.  And in all of that..it seems I never get caught up.  I have resided myself to the fact that I will NEVER be caught up.  So being the list person that I am, I decided to make a new year list of things I wanted to get accomplished in the upcoming months.

So here it is…not necessarily in the order of which I want to do them

1. paint the hallway
2. paint foster-sons bedroom
3. finish painting the girls room
4. fix the hole in the wall in the girls room
5. get a new washer and dryer
6. clean the carpets
7. landscape the yard
8. clean out the shed
9. organize the closets
10. get the scrapbook for our vacation done
11. work on the foster-kids life books
12. plant a better garden this year
13. redecorate the living room in Americana style
14. get new drapes for the deck doors
15. read more
16. get the fireplace fixed
17. actually have some farm animal
18. facilitate another Discipleship 1 class
19. facilitate Discipleship 2 class
20. organize bible school at church
21. visit the shut ins more
22. lead more people to Christ
23. invite 1 person to church every Sunday
24. Send cards out to the prayer list
25. clean the attic
26. Tell my DH I love him every day
27. Write a book about Micah
28. organize all my photos
29. get more ram for my computer
30. start a foster parent support group
31. do something working with battered women
32. go on a cruise with DH for my anniversary
33. take the kids to the Omaha Zoo
34. Sing more
35. visit out of town family more often
36. pray more often
37. read my Bible more
38. start baking my own bread
39. Grow my hair long
40. Learn to ballroom dance
41. Richard and I record a song that he wrote
42. spend more time with my family
43. get my teeth fixed
44. loose 25 pounds
45. spend more time with my fabulous niece Kim and her new hubby
46. get family portraits done
47. do something completely out of my comfort zone
48. write in my blog at least 3 times a week
49. learn a new language (preferable Spanish)
50. be more active in my Pastor’s Wife’s group
51. email my friends more often
52. write and illustrate a children s book about God
53. Transfer all my home movies from VHS to DVD
54. start a youth group at our church
55. stay on task with Kelsey’s schooling (this one is hard)
56. read my schoolhouse magazines that I have stacked up
57. spend more time with each of my kids individually
58. start a family fun night
59. Lead a womens bible study

I will probably add to this list as time goes on and every time I get one accomplishsed I will definately post on it and mark it off the list.  I was reminded by my daughter that I lead a very busy life and she wanted to know how I get everything done in the time frame I have and still get to sleep.  I told her I am not sure either but that I think God slips a few hours extra in per week for me to get it all done.  Wait…I did read somewhere that they added a second to the atomic clock this new years eve…LOL  Maybe that is how I get it done.

Max Lucado’s For These Tough Times

Title: For These Tough Times
Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc
Publish date: Sep 2006
ISBN-10: 0849901707
Format: Hardcover , 83 pages
Price: 8.27 (Walmart)

Max Lucado has done it again. This is a small booklet type book, like the ones that you read as a devotional everyday, so it didn’t take long to read through it. I was as impressed as I have ever been with a Max Lucado book and yet I wasn’t filled with the hope and promise of other books of this type.

He begins this book with a question of “Where is God?” We are reminded of the fact that God doesn’t think, feel, act, or even look at things the same way we do. We assume that He (God) thinks within the confines of our brain. The things that trouble us do not trouble God in the same way. We think about saving our life…He thinks about saving our soul.

He ends the book with a riveting statement, “Do It Again Lord.” Reminding us of so many like, the Hebrew people in Egypt, Joseph, Sarah, Daniel, the disciples, that he has rescued. The amount of grace and love he has for us
surpasses any other. We ask, plead, and even beg, “Do it again Lord.

One thing for sure, you can tell Max Lucado has a love for God and he has a way of putting that into words that actually grip the reader enough to finish the book.

Rex review

Title:  Rex

Author: Cathleen Lewis

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages 242

Price: 16.49

When Cathleen Lewis got the call from her doctor in the last trimester of her pregnancy that there was a mysterious mass in her child’s brain, she never imagined the events that would unfold from that day.  Upon his arrival into the world, Rex showed great determination to live and excel in the gift that God had bestowed upon him.  After being told her son was blind at the age of 6 months, and then at the age of 4 being diagnosed with autism, Cathleen decided to devote all of her time to raising this exceptional child.

This gripping tale, of a child who was deemed a musical savant by many people; and his mother, who shared her life and love with him, is a story of love like no other.  Cathleen fought the public school system to get for her son what she knew he needed. She tells their story of overcoming tremendous odds to reach her son when others couldn’t; and to help him overcome so many of his hardships through his gift of music.

When times came that Cathleen just thought of giving up the fight and worried that Rex would never be able to function in the “real world”, God put circumstances in their path that allowed her to see what a truly exceptional child her son was, and how He wanted her to walk by faith, and not by sight.  As Rex developed his piano skills, God developed how his mother viewed the world…from Rex’s point of view.

This is a powerful story of love and determination; and it ended up being an inspiration to me. It is my belief that it will also be an inspiration as well as to anyone who reads it.  It is well-written by Cathleen, Rex’s mother; and I remained glued to each and ever word on the pages until I finished the book.  It left me asking for more when the end pages were blank.

The Elephant In The Room

Those of you that know me well know that I lost a child to the terrible disease of cancer.  She was only 5 years old and it was a little over 15 years ago.  If you don’t know the whole story, which I will not bore you with again here) go here to read a little about it.  I have never really wrote a post about her death partially because it would be soooooo long and partially because I no longer focus on her death but on her life instead.

So about the elephant.  I ran across this poem in my desk the other day and wanted to share it.  So many times people call me and say “my friend just lost her child can you tell me what to say to them”.  I don’t have the answers but mostly I can tell you what NOT to say and what will NOT help.  After the death of a loved one, people flock to make sure you are all right and that you don’t need anything.  After about 3-4 months that attention stops.  Now I am not saying that people who are dealing with grief need attention like catering to all the time.  What I am saying is that when the attention stops, that is when the shock value sinks in and you are left virtually alone to deal with your grief.  People stop coming by, stop bringing food, stop calling and literally get back to thier own lives.  Then after a few weeks when they do find time to stop by or call they don’t even mention the loved one that has passed.  That is what this poem talks about.

There’s an elephant in the room.

It is large and squatting, so it is hard to get around it.

Yet we squeeze by with ,

“How are you?” and, “I’m fine”…

And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.

We talk about the weather.

We talk about work.

We talk about everything else –

except the elephant in the room.

There’s an elephant in the room.

We all know it is there.

We are thinking about the elephant

as we talk.

It is constantly on our minds,

Fro you see, it is a very big elephant.

But we do not talk about the

elephant in the room.

Oh, please, say her name.

Oh, please say “Micah” again.

Oh, please, let’s talk about her death,

or better yet, perhaps we could talk about her life.

Can I say “Micah” and not have you look away?

For if I cannot, you are leaving me

Alone…in a room…

With an elephant.

If you know someone grieving, please give them a call and let them know you care by just letting them talk about their loved one.  Let them tell you how they feel without them having to deal with your grief about the situation.  Tell them they are loved by Jesus and that he is holding their loved one in His arms and they are praising God!  I envy Micah!  I would not take her back from Heaven for nothing.  She is finally healthy, and living in peace.

This National Anthem will give you Goosebumps!!
This was at Texas Tech University Basketball game . . .

The National Anthem is sung by five young ladies.
The two young ladies on the right are six years old.
The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight.

An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song.
You could hear a pin drop.
Take a moment to listen to this.
Trust me, you will not regret it.

The Chronological Study Bible

Title: The Chronological Study Bible
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Copyright:  2008
ISBN: 978-0-7180-2068-2
Genre: Bibles/NKJV/StudyTitle:

1670 Pages

$44.94 Hardcover

The Chronological Study Bible is unlike any other bible I have read.  When I first opened it, I wasn’t impressed because it was hard to find scriptures I wanted to look for.  However, the idea of having a Bible that told the story of Biblical times in chronological order appealed to me, so I kept reading and found it very intriguing.

For most people, the Bible is all too familiar.  They are used to the Bible and how it is set up; they know that Psalms is one of the largest books and it is in about the middle of the Bible; they know that Luke is in the New Testament and comes after Mark.  Most people who are learned in the Bible know that it has the roots of our history in it, or as I have often heard it called–HIS-story.

This Bible has all the same information in it; however, it is in a way that makes reading the Bible not only a challenge but a joy. There are images of historical figures; interesting notes on the culture of the times (i.e. what exactly was happening in Corinth when Corinthians was written); in-depth commentaries on the scripture passages; and history tidbits on each and every page.  An example of this are the “Time Capsules”.  These little snippets of information are helpful in trying to piece together the Bible’s historical context.

The order of the New Testament starts off with an account of the Virgin Birth from Matthew ,and then transitions to Luke and gives an account of Christ born of Mary.  A synopsis of the Betrayal, and Betrothal of Mary and Joseph, helps bridge the gaps in chronology .  The latter explains how the young couple were betrothed and unable to spend time together before they were married, so no one would blame Joseph for “putting Mary away”.  It goes on to explain that Joseph chose to marry her instead of divorcing her as not to shame her any further.

The goal of the Chronological Study Bible is not to replace the original translation of the Bible but to explain time as the setting in which the biblical record appeared.  I believe this Bible was not written for people who are not well-versed in the Bible, as it would be hard to pick this scripture account up for the first time and reply on it as a study bible.  However, those who are versed in the bible will read this translation and return to their traditional Bible better equipped with an intimate knowledge of historical Biblical times.  The order of the text will help them see the Scriptures with a new outlook as it relates to chronological events.

Added features include:  Daily life notes on life in biblical times; A topical index, Glossary, and an in depth concordance.

I am a pastor’s wife and enjoyed reading this bible.  It gave me a new perspective on how society has not changed much from biblical times; we still have the same problems and still make the same mistakes as they did back in Jesus’ day.