Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
I just may be on to something here...
Last night Landon was very sick. He was vomiting and had a high fever. We finally got him settled and he fell asleep about 1:30 this morning. I decide to lay him in my bed so I could check on him and hear him if he got sick again during the night.
Well, I drifted off into a sound sleep beside him. I'm talking sawin' log heaven! I was deep into sleep. That was interrupted by the sound of him throwing up shortly after! I have never in my life seen two people jump up faster and be more wide awake than my husband and I were. I couldn't help but bust into laughter. My husband thought I was crazy...until I explained myself.
See, I have trouble getting him up to go to work in the mornings. I promise you he hits the snooze button at least five times! That is so not an exaggeration either. The man sets his alarm clock 25 minutes fast so he can keep hitting the snooze alarm. Then he drags himself out of bed and gets dressed and barely makes it out the door on time. My suggestion to him was that we somehow record the sound of Landon getting sick and make that our alarm clock sound. Trust me, there no other sound that gets you up and running faster than a kid vomiting on you and your clean bed sheets!
For some reason, my husband didn't see the humor I did. He's so boring! :)
Well, I drifted off into a sound sleep beside him. I'm talking sawin' log heaven! I was deep into sleep. That was interrupted by the sound of him throwing up shortly after! I have never in my life seen two people jump up faster and be more wide awake than my husband and I were. I couldn't help but bust into laughter. My husband thought I was crazy...until I explained myself.
See, I have trouble getting him up to go to work in the mornings. I promise you he hits the snooze button at least five times! That is so not an exaggeration either. The man sets his alarm clock 25 minutes fast so he can keep hitting the snooze alarm. Then he drags himself out of bed and gets dressed and barely makes it out the door on time. My suggestion to him was that we somehow record the sound of Landon getting sick and make that our alarm clock sound. Trust me, there no other sound that gets you up and running faster than a kid vomiting on you and your clean bed sheets!
For some reason, my husband didn't see the humor I did. He's so boring! :)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Housekeeping 101
I just wanted to share with everyone a little tip I have found that works.
I now keep several get well cards on my mantle... So if unexpected guests arrive, They will think I've been sick and unable to clean.
Hey...don't judge me! A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.
I now keep several get well cards on my mantle... So if unexpected guests arrive, They will think I've been sick and unable to clean.
Hey...don't judge me! A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Anchor Holds
It's taken me almost two weeks to post on this subject, but I feel I must share something. It's probably just for me and no one else may ever read it or get anything out of it. Sometimes we have storms blow into our lives suddenly, without warning...such a storm has blown into the lives of those who were raised in or have become a part of the Grand Prairie church. A little over a week ago, on January 31,2009, I was awakened to the sounds of my husband crying into the phone, "Oh God. No! NO. Jesus, help us!"
When you hear this at 5am, you know something is wrong and that a storm has just arrived on your front porch. The storm that had arrived was the news that our former pastor's son, Kristen Martinez, had been killed in a car accident early that morning. Those of us who were raised with Kristen just immediately felt the pain and loss. I could not even form words as my husband held me and told me what had happened. There was nothing to say, only tears and weeping. I felt like the winds of this storm had knocked the breath right out of me. Times like this, you just can't help but ask 'Why God?'...it's just not right for someone so young and in the prime of their life, to so suddenly be taken. It's been a difficult past couple of weeks but in the midst of this tragic storm, I have found God to be an anchor in my life.
The most amazing thing happened the Saturday night that we received the news of Kristen's death. At 7 pm our choir had a regularly scheduled pratice. Many were concerned about having pratice with all that had happened and felt torn. Pastor and Sis. Duvall are just awesome leaders and lead by God in all their ways, so I knew that by them deciding to go ahead and have pratice this night, there was something in store. At the pratice, you just could feel the heaviness on everyone's heart and mind, and it seemed so magnified because we were all together in one place. We praticed our new songs, and as we began to sing the last song, the presence of God moved into the sanctuary. It was truly like a wave of his spirit that was touching and comforting each one of us present. I could only weep and cry and let God and His spirit wash over me and take away some of the feelings raging inside of me. I felt such a deep move of his spirit that it is just almost unexplainable. An hour and a half later, we all left feeling much better than when we had walked in. No, the pain and the sadness was not magically gone, but there was just a feeling of peace that you felt like you had been given strength to keep going.
Here's what I learned that night and the nights since all this has happened. The sounds coming from a storm in your life and all the fury of a storm can wear on you after awhile. A storm can leave you weakened and damaged, tired and worn out. It can leave you with more questions than answers. But when we turn to God in the midst of the storm, we can find a solace there. I've found that there truly is a peace in Him in the midst of a storm.
Sometimes the Lord calms the storms that rage in our lives. Sometimes He stops the winds and the rains and says, Peace be still. Sometimes he calms the storm so that it's waves are still. (Psalm 107:29) I love when God moves into the situation and calms the storm and makes things right or new again. That's the way we all want our storms to end...with God healing, or moving and making things right for us again.
That's not how this storm ended. We had to bury a best friend, a brother, a son, a young man who was something special to each individual he came into contact with. We had to deal with a great loss. We've had to trust God in His ways and trust Him to help with our grief. God chose not to remove this storm from our lives...but what He had done is hold us close during the storm. He's spoken to us and shown His presence to be very close and very real during the storm. He's proven to me once again, that He's still God...whether we are on the mountain, or whether we are in the valley. Sometimes He calms the storm, and sometimes He calms His child.
I'm grateful that in the midst of this storm that has hit so close to home for me, I've found God to be an anchor that holds in the midst of the storm. I'm learning to ask 'How God' instead of 'Why God'...The one thing I know for sure is the anchor still holds...
(Kristen in one of the photos I took for his college graduation announcements)
When you hear this at 5am, you know something is wrong and that a storm has just arrived on your front porch. The storm that had arrived was the news that our former pastor's son, Kristen Martinez, had been killed in a car accident early that morning. Those of us who were raised with Kristen just immediately felt the pain and loss. I could not even form words as my husband held me and told me what had happened. There was nothing to say, only tears and weeping. I felt like the winds of this storm had knocked the breath right out of me. Times like this, you just can't help but ask 'Why God?'...it's just not right for someone so young and in the prime of their life, to so suddenly be taken. It's been a difficult past couple of weeks but in the midst of this tragic storm, I have found God to be an anchor in my life.
The most amazing thing happened the Saturday night that we received the news of Kristen's death. At 7 pm our choir had a regularly scheduled pratice. Many were concerned about having pratice with all that had happened and felt torn. Pastor and Sis. Duvall are just awesome leaders and lead by God in all their ways, so I knew that by them deciding to go ahead and have pratice this night, there was something in store. At the pratice, you just could feel the heaviness on everyone's heart and mind, and it seemed so magnified because we were all together in one place. We praticed our new songs, and as we began to sing the last song, the presence of God moved into the sanctuary. It was truly like a wave of his spirit that was touching and comforting each one of us present. I could only weep and cry and let God and His spirit wash over me and take away some of the feelings raging inside of me. I felt such a deep move of his spirit that it is just almost unexplainable. An hour and a half later, we all left feeling much better than when we had walked in. No, the pain and the sadness was not magically gone, but there was just a feeling of peace that you felt like you had been given strength to keep going.
Here's what I learned that night and the nights since all this has happened. The sounds coming from a storm in your life and all the fury of a storm can wear on you after awhile. A storm can leave you weakened and damaged, tired and worn out. It can leave you with more questions than answers. But when we turn to God in the midst of the storm, we can find a solace there. I've found that there truly is a peace in Him in the midst of a storm.
Sometimes the Lord calms the storms that rage in our lives. Sometimes He stops the winds and the rains and says, Peace be still. Sometimes he calms the storm so that it's waves are still. (Psalm 107:29) I love when God moves into the situation and calms the storm and makes things right or new again. That's the way we all want our storms to end...with God healing, or moving and making things right for us again.
That's not how this storm ended. We had to bury a best friend, a brother, a son, a young man who was something special to each individual he came into contact with. We had to deal with a great loss. We've had to trust God in His ways and trust Him to help with our grief. God chose not to remove this storm from our lives...but what He had done is hold us close during the storm. He's spoken to us and shown His presence to be very close and very real during the storm. He's proven to me once again, that He's still God...whether we are on the mountain, or whether we are in the valley. Sometimes He calms the storm, and sometimes He calms His child.
I'm grateful that in the midst of this storm that has hit so close to home for me, I've found God to be an anchor that holds in the midst of the storm. I'm learning to ask 'How God' instead of 'Why God'...The one thing I know for sure is the anchor still holds...
(Kristen in one of the photos I took for his college graduation announcements)
Hint...Hint...
My husband left a check on the bar this morning...he's hired me to clean his house! Guess he figures it works when others pay me to clean theirs, he might as well try it too. So, I'm off to punch the clock and get to work. Too bad he didn't leave a check for the cook. She's been on vacation for a while around here too!
Edit: Here's what the 'cook' made for supper tonight. Wow...I really accomplished a lot today, and with such little pay! :)
Edit: Here's what the 'cook' made for supper tonight. Wow...I really accomplished a lot today, and with such little pay! :)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
So, this is what I done tonight...
With a group of my church friends!!! What a wonderful time we all had. Our Bible quiz team sold chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's Day, so we all got together tonight to make them. I absolutely love my friends from church. We always have the best time together...no matter what we're doing. For some reason everything we do usually involves food. Maybe that's why we love getting together???
And, this is our Pastor... he's showing how many strawberries he stole to eat! Gotta love his honesty.
And, this is our Pastor... he's showing how many strawberries he stole to eat! Gotta love his honesty.
Monday, February 9, 2009
I almost forgot...
some of the ladies at church participated in a sewing class. Myself...I was just the photographer for the event. Seriously, do you think they would let me NEAR the sewing machine??? That's okay. Anything these ladies can do with a sewing machine and thread...I can do with a hot glue gun. No, really! The hems I have fixed with a hot glue gun would just amaze you!
And...
here are pictures from our VERY busy weekend at church. We had a children's revival where the services are just for kids...puppets, games, stories, and tons of fun! I'm tired and exhausted, but it was a blast.
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