A small thought for the day

“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

―Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China

Month One Success!

Blogging today over at The PHAT Year. So proud of all you guys! Come check it out.

The PHAT Year

An Open Letter to my Son's Doctor and Nurses...

Dearest Dr. #$@%$ (name withheld...) and Nurse Whoever You Are,

Dearest Dr. #$#@%$,

Maybe it's been a long time since your children were young. Maybe you've just seen SO many sick children that you have grown weary of it all and don't feel like you need to have compassion. Maybe you just need to work on that bedside manner. WHO KNOWS? But, when I bring in my son for a persistent cough that's gone on for over a month (with no other symptoms...) and just want to make sure he doesn't have asthma or allergies, please don't stop the medical analysis of my son as soon as the answer to your "is your child up to date on his vaccines?" question is "no.".

Twenty minutes is way too long to try to convince me of what a bad mother I am because he's behind. Let's not jump straight to "he may have whooping cough" just because he's behind on his vaccinations. Let's not freak out/weary the mother when she is already prone to freak outs and weariness. Oh, and by the way, I am aware of what whooping cough is and know that if I thought it was that I would not have waited a MONTH. I am not THAT BAD of a mother.

Thank you for telling me the CDC is concerned about me. And, I'm sorry for my snottiness when I said to you - 20 minutes after your talk began, when you STILL had not checked my son - "SO, what does all this have to do with why I'm here TODAY?".

Sincerely,

A Weary Mother

Dear Nurse Whatever Your Name Is,

Thank you for the phone call concerning my son's chest x-ray. Thank you for waiting exactly until 5:00 PM (and making sure to tell me I couldn't call you back because the phones were going off when you hung up) to call with his results. Thank you for wording it this way: "Nothing to worry about TONIGHT, but make sure and call me at 9:00 in the morning" so that I was SURE to freak out ALL NIGHT LONG and not sleep at all. Especially when you just told me all was CLEAR. I'm sorry for being snotty to you when I told you never to say that to a mother ever again.

Sincerely,

A mother who is now praying for forgiveness for all her snottiness.

Rebuilding the Wall

Walls.

Someone tries to get too close, starts to see that part of you that you would like to keep hidden. You've worked hard for that wall, built it over the years brick by brick. The wall keeps you safe, keeps others out and your secrets inside.

We lock our doors and windows at night. Securing our family inside our walls. Keeping out the elements, and the intruders that could harm them.

There are those without walls. Like the van I saw at the library yesterday that has been haunting me ever since. Piled in the back with pillows and blankets, obviously lived in. Knowing that I was at the library to fax things away to keep my comfortable life going, and they were at the library because it was warm and free. No walls to keep them warm or safe.

My hubby and I are going through the McCheyne Bible reading plan this year, and right now it has me planted in Nehemiah. I remember Nehemiah from seminary, but I don't think I've read it since. Jerusalem in ruins, God's chosen people scattered into exile, and a cupbearer to the king has a vision from God to go and rebuild the wall. Nothing in Jerusalem can be restored without a wall. They didn't have locks, or security systems back then - they had walled cities. Walls that kept in the people who were supposed to be there and (hopefully) kept OUT the ones that weren't.

Nehemiah returns, rallies the people and starts to rebuild. Working together, family beside family they each take a part and begin the process. But, the neighbors don't like all that noise. It's disturbing their perfect world. It's making them angry that these silly Jews think they can build a giant wall and keep them out. They broke down that wall, for goodness sake, and they don't want it ever going up again.

So, what do the exiles do? They keep building. With a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They do what they know to be right, ready for the battle they know will come.

And then it hits me. I am Jerusalem.

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control."

Proverbs 25:28

My new "health kick" has reminded me over and over that I have gone very lax in the self-control area. I skim off my kids plates, I mindlessly eat when I shouldn't, I choose TV over exercise, I CHOOSE to be a broken down wall.

If I have no wall, then the enemy doesn't even have to climb to get to me. I'm RIGHT THERE. Just waiting for attack. No protection, nothing to hide behind.

Now, I have self-control. I have the Spirit of the Most High God living inside of me. A fruit of that Spirit is self-control. Apparently it's not one who's tree I've been cultivating. My black thumb has gotten the best of this tree, it's barely breathing. On life support and waiting for a miracle.

So, with dumbbell in one hand and scripture in the other I start to rebuild. How can I not? What city is effective without a wall? The last thing I want to be is ineffective for the Lord.

Rebuild with me. We can join together, lock arms with our swords and start building.

5 Health Changes to Change Your Life!

Blogging today over at The PHAT Year! Join me there for a recap of the 5 health changes that could change your life this year!

New Year, New Adventures

Oh, I've missed you! Did you notice I was gone? Gone from home, gone from blogging, gone from schooling, gone from fixing my hair.....it's been Christmas! We always travel a lot at Christmas and there have been definite years where I have come back needing a vacation, but for some reason this year was not that year. PRAISE THE LORD!

I realized that Christmas was actually refreshing when I got home on Friday and saw that on my little personal dry erase board over the kitchen sink was written "Do the next thing" and instantly remembered the overwhelmed feelings I had before I left. It was such a blessing from God to realize I didn't STILL feel this way!

Now comes the hard part of putting back together my pre-Christmas break life. The house is in shambles, I've not lesson planned so school is behind and the dog needs a bath. BUT, I am strangely at ease with this.

And the hardest part - New Challenges. My sister-in-law and I have started a healthy-living, weight loss accountability group/competition. If you're interested, or just want to check out what we're doing, check out The PHAT Year blog. I have wanted for a long time to:

• a. get healthy
• b. use the degree I have to help others get healthy

so, here's my chance! You don't have to be in the competition to read the blog, or to participate in the weekly challenges - so if you "follow" me here, go "follow" me there!

I hope you're Christmas was full of Jesus, full of family, and full of down time. Can't wait to catch up!