There's No Hope for Me

Have you ever wondered what you will be like as a senior citizen? For most people it is as simple as looking at their parents. Many don't want to admit the truth, but they know it's coming. Some are actually able to break the cycle, but only if they possess great strength and discipline.


I'm not that strong. I. Am. Doomed.


In fact, I've pretty much given up. When I am with my parents it is routine for me to utter, "There's no hope for me." At first it was a joke, but now it has become my mantra. Sometimes I don't realize I'm saying it.  


It's just a matter of time before words like watermelom, cantelopem, and chester drawers become common place. CASE IN POINT- there was no hesitation when I typed those words, and my eyes rolled when the wavy red line popped up underneath.


Here's a real "kicker" of a habit I just noticed that I've picked from my daddy. (Ugh. I cannot believe I am admitting this.) When my father wants to get out of his recliner he gives a kick-start by raising one leg and kicking down to propel himself up. A few days ago I was lying on my bed with my legs danging off the side, and I kick-started my way to a sitting position. (Typed with gritted teeth.)


There are other symptoms as well. I like to stick my face out of the front door to test the weather like my mom. I also like to dance around as I do simple things around the house- just like Mama.


The knock-out blow to my transformation came over the weekend when I realized that I had burned/cut my hands/fingers every week for the last three weeks. In case you don't remember that little nugget of family history, you can read it here.  At least it wasn't one of my frumbs.


Now I can do without burning and cutting myself, and I realize the need to work on my abs (no more kick-starts!), but it isn't all bad. I like to stick my face out the door to test the weather. I like seeing the day for myself. And dancing around while cooking and cleaning? We should all be doing that! 


There's also the generosity I see in action through my mama that is worthy of imitation. And what about the work ethic of an 82 year-old who still works 40 hours and plays 18-36 holes of golf a week? (Okay, he's not actually 82 until the 23rd of this month... still!)


So there's no hope for me.


And I kind of like it.

focused on Glory (such creativity)

I delight in flowers. I guess I'm a characteristic girl in that fashion. They make me smile. (I'm actually smiling as I type this!)

Yesterday I grabbed my camera and headed three doors down to Miss Ruth's garden. She was so accommodating and told me I could move whatever I wanted to take pictures. What a doll face. She is in her early 80's and tends her flowerbed every day. She's a gem and her little garden is beyond charming.

One of the reasons I love flowers is because they show, yet again, the boundless creativity of my God. I hope you will share my awe with a look through my lens. Beware, some shots aren't your typical flower picture. I wanted details, and I tried to capture them to the best of my and my equipment's ability. 

There is glory to be seen.

I hope you smile.

Be sure to click on the photo for more detail. 

God is amazing in the details.

The center of a clematis.

This is a newborn snapdragon. The buds are the size of 

the end of my pinkie finger.

The pollen is clinging to the hairs on the petunias.

These little violas (aka Johnny Jump-ups per my friend Kristi) were in Miss Shirley's flowerbed next door to Miss Ruth.

This beauty is from Mr. Marshall and Miss Mary's front step.  

Look who was in my camera bag. Being named Blossom Flowerpot, I had to let her enjoy the flowers too.

Stop by Jennifer's blog for her foG post HERE. Maybe she will show Granny Marks' honeysuckle, but that's just a guess. 

I can't wait to see. 

focused on Glory (sentimental notions)

My parents had a NASTY surprise this week. There was a swarm of termites in the garage. The creepy critters were covering the wall shared with the living room. A call to Terminex summoned a technician who treated the obvious bugs. He scheduled a follow-up for further treatment. 

The termites had a different schedule. They decided to take action before the follow-up appointment. My mother woke up Monday morning and discovered a swarm covering the wall INSIDE the living room. When she turned on the light, hundreds of termites began buzzing the light fixture. They were EVERYWHERE, and it was CREEPY! They were sprayed and swatted until few were left moving.

My sister and I helped take pictures and clean up, and another- more urgent- call was placed to Terminex. The technician arrived, looked at the pictures and a few of the dead insects, and reassured us that they were subterranean termites. He gave us a good education on the this particular type of bug and told us the ones in the house were swarmers and died not long after getting in.  The next several hours were spent with two gentlemen drilling in the garage and digging a trench around the house. They treated the soil under and around Mom & Dad's house. (We also learned that the colony could be as far as 100 yards away under a neighbor's house!) We were lucky to have caught this before much structural damage.

Unfortunately the wall between the living room and garage has to be replaced. This is such a disappointment but not because of any inconvenience during reconstruction. The disappointment comes from a sentimental place. Our kids have been measured against the garage wall for the past eight years. We can see their physical growth as charted on that wall. Now the wall is going to be torn out, and my heart is a bit sad.

The alternative is to have an unsafe living environment, and that isn't acceptable. The best decision is to take down the wall. 

I think God works like this our lives sometimes. There are things we cling to, even things that seem innocent and harmless. If those things do anything to keep us from drawing close to God, then they are hiding a dark secret that eats away at our relationship with Him. If that is the case the wall separating us must come down, and a stronger union can be established.

 I will miss the wall, but maybe we can start a new tradition with the new wall. The pictures I have are from my Olympus P&S. There is nothing dynamic about these photos. They represent the sweetness of watching my kids as they have grown. We are so blessed to have such good kids in our family. Thank you Father for such favors.

(The names look messy because the pencil markings were written over with pen.)

As always, stop by Jennifer's BLOG for great information and encouragement.

Give Help Without Getting Up

One of the latest trends with Twitter and facebook is posting statuses and tweets labeled "first world problems". Here are a few examples I pulled from Twitter:

• I just laid down and got comfy... then realized I left the remote just a little too far out of reach.
• I bought so many groceries that I can't close my freezer drawer.
• My mother-in-law served a great dinner, but I forgot to take my Beano.
• My key-less remote died, so I have to open the door with a key.
• The elevator was broken so I had to take the stairs.
• There's not enough vanilla in my vanilla latte.
• I can't decide what color iPhone to get.
• I made too big of a sandwich and now I'm too full to finish it.
• I knew something was wrong with me today, my bracelet is on the wrong arm.
• I'm hungry, but I don't want to walk to the kitchen.
• The Domino's pizza tracker is not working. Now I don't know when to put my pants on.
• I have 52 pairs of shoes and not enough space.
• Definitely just got brain freeze cause I drank my mango, passion- fruit frap too quickly.

Some of them are funny. All of them are sobering when put into context. I can't help but think of some of the places I've visited in which the people had so little. A great example is the story that goes with this picture from Haiti. You can read about it here.

I want to return to Haiti, and I hope God allows me to go soon. My first two trips were with BGM (Brent Gambrell Ministries). Brent and his team are just amazing. You should check out their WEBSITE. 

Brent's good friends, Mike and Missy Wilson, have also started their own work in Haiti through their ministry myLIFEspeaks. Theirs is a phenomenal and passionate story. I recommend taking a few minutes to read about their LIFE together. Their website has a great blog post by their friend Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum) and her involvement with Mike and Missy's vision. 

Mike and Missy have started an orphanage with an emphasis on caring for special needs children. They have rented a facility in Neply (in the Leogane region) to house the orphans. They have also started a feeding program to provide hot meals to over 100 children! 

I dream of the day I can see the myLIFEspeaks campus, but making that trip isn't possible for everyone. If you would like to get involved from home then you are in luck! myLIFEspeaks has a wish list that makes it easy to help. All you have to do is click on the link and make a purchase. Easy schmeasy! 

What more wonderful way to share God's love than to love the helpless and unwanted. 

(Feel free to link this page. We need to spread the word!)

focused on Glory (beautiful, obvious glory)

There is something about the sky that captures my heart and thumps at my creativity. It is never the same. Even when I see a clear blue sky, I know it isn't the exact shade it has ever been before, and it looks different to someone a few miles down the road. 

The sky is amazing. It fascinates me. It can transform me into a wide-eyed child filled with wonder and awe.

I'm most fascinated by storm clouds. They are beautiful. Clouds add so much character to a blank canvas. 

The clouds I saw a few days ago where the best. They had all the interest and quality of storm clouds but without the threat of storm. 

It's a pity that a picture is such an inferior representation of God's actual creation, but isn't that always the case. We are called to be an image of Christ, but my picture is poor in quality. (And I'm not going to stop trying to mirror Him!)

Here is a shadow of the beauty I saw.

Be sure to stop by Jennifer's BLOG. She has posted some great stuff lately.

focused on Glory (unexpected outing)

I called my friend Kristi Sunday afternoon because I missed her. We talked for half an hour and were talking about when we could get together. She mentioned how she wanted to go to Garvan Woodland Gardens before the tulips were gone, so we decided to jump in our cars and go. It was to be my first trip to GWG, and I adore spontaneous trips. THANKS Kristi!

NOTE:

Jennifer (who is also part of focused on Glory) loves tulips and told me last week that she wished she could have  visited Garvan Gardens for the tulips this year. While I am sad she missed the display, I hope she will enjoy the pictures that follow. 

 Inside the bell tower near the chapel.

 This ruffled variety was my favorite!

 Such fun company for the day.

 OBU colors.

 Even as they were beginning to decay they took my breath away.

 Inside the pavillion.

 The Japanese Maples were stunning- and fun to touch.

Inside the chapel.

I can't wait to see what Jennifer posts this week on her BLOG.

focused on Glory (unthinkable genius)

Last Sunday during class, a lady mentioned that she is fascinated by all the thought God put into creatures like animals and insects. That connected with me because I can get overwhelmed when I think about the human body and the intricacies of its design.


Call me corny, but I am amazed by what we are able to do. And I'm not even talking about our mental prowess and staggering achievements as mankind. What slays me are things like moving our fingers in sequenced order to produce letters and words at the rate of 60-100 words per minute, or the fact that we can tear open our bodies and it can heal!


Am I alone here?


Seriously! Have you stopped to think about the fact that we are able (with practice) to move our limbs and appendages in such a manner as to perform fantastic feats as seen here. God gave us the ability to do these things if only we have the discipline (in most cases). 


And what about the way He gave our bodies an immune system? That's so. stinking. cool! Provided that we have common sense (eat right, engage in regular aerobic exercise, and get enough sleep) our bodies are able to keep an enormous amount of pirates from invading our systems. When something does get through, we have the ability to fight. I don't know about you, but I think the inclusion of white blood cells was ingenious! On top of all that is the ever expanding knowledge we have to aid in fixing our bodies. 


Granted, this is a simplified look at what God has done for us. There is so much more. I have a bunch of observations that make me shake my head in awe.


Despite a perfect design, we allowed sin to enter the world and corrupt God's creation. Because of this our bodies (and lives) aren't always in order. Thankfully we can lay all at the feet of Jesus. 


This week's picture is of the beautiful hands that God put on my mother. The fingers are beginning to knot and get crooked, and they have several "touches of color" that Mama would rather not be there, but how I love these hands. They are generous and loving.


Mama's hands have fed me, soothed me, loved me, and corrected me. EVERY day these hands pray for her family by name. Of all the things we can do with our hands, I think clasping them in prayer is the most worthy. 


Father God, thank you for what You have made.

(Now if she will just stop burning or cutting these sweet little hands as noted HERE. hahaha) 

Be sure to check out Jef's BLOG!