Rejoice Always?

Philippians 4:4-9 says this: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it
again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is
near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if
anything is excellent or praise-worthy - think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me
- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

There is deep meaning in the above portion of scripture. There are so
many facets of revelation there. But I'll keep it simple.
My husband is in Florida at a Christian leadership conference with
several men from our church. He hadn't been gone any time at all
when the "fun" began! First of all, our youngest was all stuffy from
a cold. That's minor enough - no problem. She rested all day Monday
and as of this afternoon felt well enough (or at least convinced herself
she was well enough) to go to her afternoon dance classes (nope, no
snow or ice today... ;).
Last night on the way to take Katherine to dance class (remember
that Abigail was at home with a cold), my van started making a
strange noise. By the time I dropped Katherine off, drove to my
sister's house for a visit, then left to pick Katherine up, it was
obvious that there were serious problems with my brakes.
Why do these things happen when our husbands are gone?!
We don't make a deposit until Friday and we have enough for
some groceries and gas - no money there for brake repairs.
As I drove - making sure not to follow too closely - toward home,
I tried to decide what to do. Who could I call? My dad is also in FL,
so that wasn't an option. I decided to call my son Matthew, ask him
to meet me at our auto repair shop, then take us to the grocery store.
I also happened to remember that my mom had an extra car since
my dad isn't home - perfect!
Trying to make a long story short... I was unsettled over the van
repairs. Jeff called right when we got home and told me not to worry.
He said he'd call the repair shop and ask them to fix the van and see
if they'd be willing to wait for payment until he gets home on Friday.
He called back a little while later after having prayed and asked the Lord
for a word for me. Philippians 4:4-9 was the word. And it was right
on target.
I had already been thanking the Lord for His provision - telling Him
that I trusted Him - that I knew He knew our circumstances, etc.
Then I read to REJOICE!! ALWAYS, no less!!
Guess what? My van was fixed by 12:30 today. Someone from the
repair shop drove it home for me. AND they will gladly wait for
payment until Friday. The only sad part is that it will cost 500
whopping dollars! I'll need to tighten up the budget for February.
Whatever is true - truth is what happened was not serious. We're
all safe. We're all fine. We have everything (and more than) we need!

A Star's Death

On Tuesday night, my girls and I were out to dinner when one of them
asked me who Heath Ledger was. I said that he was an actor, then
asked why they wanted to know. My daughter said, "He's dead."
I said, "No way!" and turned around to look at the TV. Sure enough,
dead. Why would the death of a person I've never met so disturb me?
I mean, I know nothing about his life - nothing about who he really was.
I saw him when he acted in the movie A Knight's Tale.
I chose NOT to see him when he acted in Brokeback Mountain.
Who was this young man?
He was 28 years old, and as of Tuesday afternoon, he entered the rest
of eternity...
I wonder where he's spending the rest of his existence?
That's probably why I was so immediately disturbed.
We have every opportunity to make the choice to accept or reject
Jesus Christ - while on this earth.
Once death has come, no more choices are available to us.
What were his choices?
Where is he today?
I grieve to think...
More often than not, I'm concerned for the eternal destiny of those
around me. Yes, Christians sometimes become unconcerned
with the death of those around them.
Perhaps it's the fact that Jeff and I have been preparing to host
an Alpha course in our home. Alpha is a course designed to offer
a meal, then a "movie" that answers the questions that all of us
ask about life. Alpha presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way
that those who are seeking may find the answers they've been
looking for.
Or maybe it was a cry I heard in my spirit, because the Spirit of God
was grieved at his death.
All I know is, I'm still upset over his death.
And I wonder - is anyone around him asking the same questions
about eternity?
Is there anyone there to comfort his family with true comfort; that
which comes from God?

A Day Off?

It may appear as if I'm filling up my blog all in one day
with post after post. The truth is I'm playing catch-up. I got the
idea to start a blog on Tuesday, and posted the two previous blogs
on my church's ladies' e-mail cafe.
I dedicate this next story to my friend Elaine, who has been praying
that it would snow so I could have a day off from life. Elaine, the Lord
answered - though not in the way you prayed.
We had icy roads in town yesterday, so I didn't leave the house at 9:00
like I was planning to - like I do every Tuesday.
I'm a mom who home schools her three children. Matthew is 17 - a
senior who is preparing to go away to college in August; Katherine is 15
- a sophomore; Abigail is 12 - 7th grade.
Both my girls dance at a local studio. So on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Thursdays, I'm Mrs. Taxi for them back and forth.
Katherine teaches dance at the studio all morning and early afternoon
on Tuesday. She also teaches two classes at our church on Wednesday
nights before youth meeting.
I lead worship in my church twice a month and have a Thursday night
practice for that.
What that means is I'm running Monday through Thursday with little
time for myself.
So Elaine prayed that we'd get some snow so I'd have a day off. She even
bought a tea-light candle holder for me that has the word "snow" at the back.
I joked with her asking if I should light the candles and pray at the "altar
of snow".
I guess I accidentally prayed at the "altar of ice"! All classes were
canceled yesterday, so the girls and I ate dinner out at Gondolier,
rented two movies and laughed ourselves silly (after my doctor appt.)
One movie, Sydney White, was sappy, silly, stupid, but a total crack-up!
The other one was not such a big hit with us - The Nanny Diaries.
It was a snoozer.

Premenopausal Health

Since last Friday, I've been experiencing moderate pressure,
discomfort and sometimes pain in my entire pelvic area.
I ran the check list - bladder infection?  No.  Yeast
infection?  Maybe, but this is not normal.  I wonder if
my uterus has finally decided to "flip out" on me?!
Sure enough.  I made an appointment with my ever faithful and
well-beloved Nurse Practitioner, for yesterday at 2:00.
She did a urine culture - no infection.  I was right.
She did an exam...
Maria, your cervix appears to be tilted and it also appears
from my examination that your uterus has flopped on its side
and is lying on top of your bladder.
I had wondered if that was indeed the kind of thing that was
happening.
After the exam, I was in more pain that ever - so I took some
Ibuprofen. I think we made things "angry" in there with the
exam.  My NP will be making an appointment for me at St.
Mary's North to have an ultrasound of the area to confirm what
she thinks is happening.  She has already made an appointment
for me with Dr. M.  The only problem is that the earliest they
could get me in is March 17th.  My first thoughts were -
you're telling me that I will feel this way for the next two
months?!  Lord, I need to get this stuff taken care of sooner,
please!  My NP offered me muscle relaxers - I don't know why
she offers, because she knows me well and even guesses at what
my response will be - "no thank you".
She said she knows there is a surgery where they can create a
sling to hold up the bladder, but she doesn't know if there is
such a thing for the uterus.  She said the only solution she
knows of is a hysterectomy.  I asked her if that
meant I could keep my ovaries and not go on hormones
(she knows how I feel about that too!).  She said that's
exactly what it means.  I expressed to her how nice it would be
to go ahead and end this pre-menopausal stuff if that was the
solution that looked best.
So Jamie, Angel, Mom, Ann - forgive me for not remembering
everyone - I may join you in the "missing parts" department soon.
My plan is to wait to see what appointment they get for me at
St. Mary's, then I'll be calling Dr. M and asking them to put
me on a cancellation list.
Please pray we can take care of this sooner.
If the pressure, discomfort, pain wasn't constant - I mean to
the point of keeping me awake at night - I'd wait.  I can't
imagine waiting 2 months...

The boy becomes a man

Yesterday was an adventure, wasn't it!
And all of you were there with me.
There in my disappointment.
There in my fears.
There in my reassurance.
Each of you took part in confirming and reassuring
me that the Lord has the heart of my son,
and I'm so thankful that I decided to be vulnerable
and share with you when my heart was hurting.
The Lord confirmed through all of you, as
well as through my devotional time with Him
that He is pruning Matthew's heart.
That is reassuring to his mom!
Liz, I love that you shared about your brother -
about the fact that he was probably secretly glad
that someone "caught" him.  You're right.
When we're doing what we know not to do,
we always feel guilty, hoping that someone will stop us.
But most of the time no person will stop us.  Most of the
time we struggle alone with the Lord over issues.
We want to be free, but we don't always see the way out.
Just so you know, the game Matthew was playing the last
couple of weeks was not an RPG, although he
admitted to us that he would still like to play them.
His dad and I told him last night that our convictions
differ on that.  Jeff, with my agreement, has
lifted the video game ban.  WHAT?!  You may be thinking
we're nuts. Well, the time has come for Matthew to start
being free to make more of his own choices.
There are still some things that are givens in this house.
He will keep his room clean, he will keep up with the
dishwasher, he will go to church (and he assured us that
would be no problem as he really wants to be there!), and
he will be kind to his family.
It's a stretching season for all of us as we let go of a boy
who is becoming a man.  The man will not look the way I think
he should look - not today, maybe not ever.
But will he look the way the Lord wants him to?
That is what I'll be praying for as Matthew learns to wrestle
things out for himself.
Will he go to Bryan College in August?  Yes, he will.
Will he succeed?  I pray he does!  I think he will.
Even with my heart shaking, I believe the Lord has said
this is the time and the season and the place that our
son is to be released to.
Is he totally ready?  Maybe not.
But will the Lord make him ready?  I have to believe He will.
Guess what?!  All of you remember that Matthew's job is
at Freedom in Christ Ministries.  As part of him working for
them, they are going to connect him with a mentor who will take
him through the 7 Steps of Freedom.  If that is not God's
timing, I don't know what is!  We've told him, and he's more
than ready, to initiate that with his boss today.  To let them
know he wants to begin that asap.  Jeff will even call and speak
with the office president if needed to get the proper paperwork
completed.
Since Matthew is not 18, we have to sign permission for
him to be mentored and taken through the counseling.
They have chosen a man in his 60's to mentor Matthew, and
we're SO excited about that!
It's all coming into place.
Will I still freak out from time to time?
Yes, I will.
Will you all calm me down and remind me of God's faithfulness?
Yes, I know you will!
Will Matthew be successful in his walk with God?
Absolutely!
Choosing trust,
Maria