A Promise To Hang On To!

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength”  Philippians 4:13

Take a minute and re-read that verse, notice that it says “everything” not “some things”, not the “easy things” but everything.  My head is whirling with all of the health concerns that friends and family have been dealing with over the past few weeks. 

The situations range from a difficult delivery and traumatic first few minutes of  life, to a reoccurrence of cancer and subsequent surgery, to just about everything in between.  From preliminary dr appointments, to tests and biopsies.  Some  have made it through their situation and are feeling relief. Others are finding the strength to handle whatever treatment is necessary in order for them to  heal.  While still others are just beginning the process and are waiting for the appointments and tests that will hopefully give them the answers to whatever it is they are going through. 

As I think about all the different situations the one thought that comes to my mind time and time again is the certainty that even in the midst of all of the uncertainty God is there.  None of it is a surprise to Him,  He not only knows all about it but He equips each person with the strength and tools to handle whatever it is that they are dealing with. 

That’s a promise to hang on to!

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It’s the little things in life…

There was a book I used to read to my kids by Judith Voirst called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We would pull it out and read it on those really bad days,   That title seems to be appropriate for the kind of week I have had.    This evening I realized I was starting to feel a sense of peace that had been missing most of the week. I was trying to figure out what made the difference (because that’s what I do) and realized it wasn’t one big thing but a bunch of little happenings that God opened my eyes to because  He knew it would break through the cloak of crabbiness I had wrapped myself in. 

Noticing that gas unexpectedly went down 10 cents since the beginning of the day, then  realizing hey, I did make the right choice to wait and get gas on the way home.

Finding a message on the phone from a friend that said “just called to catch up” then the added joy of returning the call and having a wonderful chat catching up on all the news.

Having a stubborn kitty have a change of heart and want to be petted after giving a cold shoulder or in this case cold tail for the better part of a week.

The memory of a phone conversation several days previous with a 3 year old who says very matter of factly,  “Grandma, I am big and I have muscles so I need to hold the phone”  when trying to encouraging him to let his 2 year old brother have a turn holding the phone.

At the end of a long day having a  silly moment with a spouse and not caring what the people around you might think, just enjoying  a moment of unplanned shared laughter that breaks through the day to day stuff like a rainbow at the end of a storm.

Typing on the keyboard while another not so stubborn  kitty lays with her head so close to the keyboard that while striking the upper keys you catch a corner of kitty ears. All the while  listening to her purr because she is happy to just be close.

Finding favorite summer sandals buried deep beneath the bed. 

Pulling capris out of the closet and having them still fit.

Having it finally be warm enough to have to search for said sandals and capris.

I am sure if I thought about it long enough there would be many other things that I could add to this list but I think you get the idea.  I wish for you on those days when you are wearing your cloak of crabbiness that you too can find the little things that will make things seem better.

Getting To Know You

I have been privileged to have spent this past week being an extra pair of hands for my son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson.  I was asked to help out when my daughter and son-in-law had their two little boys as well and I can’t think of a better way to get to know a new grandchild. 

There is something special about a newborn, I wish one could bottle all the feelings surrounding a baby.

 The feeling there is when they hear your voice and turn to try to focus on your face with an expression that says “Oh, hi there Grandma”

 When they reach out to grab your finger with a surprising strong grasp and hold on as if to say “Hold on there, you aren’t going anywhere!” 

When they trustingly cuddle close and sleep, sleep, sleep while you breathe in their sweet essence of babyness.

The feeling of accomplishment when they are crying and you hit upon the “magic” (thank you Mr. Bear!)  that helps them to stop crying.

The joy of watching them figure out how to put their hand, wrist, fingers in their mouth, knowing it’s one of many accomplishments they will have.

It’s also a joy to watch first time parents gain confidence daily as they get to know this new little person in their life.  How to dress, feed, burp, hold, soothe.  The littlest things are cause for celebration such as the  first nonscreaming bath,( he actually cried when his bath was over which leads this grandma to think he is going to like bath time much like his daddy did.) and the first good night sleep!

As I get ready to leave and head back home to Grandpa and of course the pets, which I have been told are missing me greatly, I leave with the knowledge that this new little family is going to be just fine and the newest member of the family is a blessed little boy to have been given the parents that he has.

Just Jump In!

As I thought about entering the world of blogging I had ideas of what future posts would consist of but the first one had me stumped. Since my blog is about random thoughts from my everyday world I finally decided  that some background information would be the best place to start.

My life is full,  I have been married to the same  guy for 31 years.  Our immediate family consists of  1 daughter, 2 sons,  1 son-in-law, 1 daughter- in- law, and 3 grandsons ages 3 years, 2 years, and at the time of this writing 12 days old. 

All of our kids live at a distance from us so we are experiencing the challenge of long distance grandparenting.  We use Facebook, the telephone,(speakerphone is great) and we are trying to figure out how to get a better connection on Skype to stay in contact between visits.  I love it when the phone rings and my daughter says “grandma? the boys want to talk to you.”  That is my cue that I am on speakerphone, of course the first thing out of their mouths is “Where is grandpa?”  The oldest two are definitely grandpa boys and it looks like the youngest one might be as well, he sure likes hearing the sound of his grandpa’s voice! 

We have 4 pets, Abby dog, Pete cat, Lucy kitty, and Josey kitty. They allow us to live with them and although they have their times of adding stress to our lives they also are great stress relievers.   Abby, Pete and Lucy are between 10-13 years old and Josey is about 6 months old.  She has certainly shaken up the others, Pete has lost quite a bit of weight due to forgetting his age and playing  tag with her.  Lucy and Abby have taken longer to warm up to her but they are getting there.

My husband and I are active members of a little country church.  Although our church family is great, the most important thing to us is a personal relationship with the Lord.  Without Him nothing would be possible. We have been leading a weekly bible study by John Ortberg “The Life You Have Always Wanted.”   I recommend taking a look at it if you haven’t already.  

I work at a university library (no I am not a librarian). I enjoy my job and do a variety of tasks, my favorite things however are working with patrons to help them find the information they are looking for and working with our student employees. 

These are the highlights and things that the random thoughts will most likely spring from.  My thoughts are just my opinion and not intended to offend anyone.  Enjoy!