This will be a mess of an entry. Just updating for those who email & pm asking about me...
Had a massive MS attack a while ago. Left me wheelchair bound and unable to use hands much. Typing with one finger. It's been very trying & humbling, but God is good.
My Mom 's house caught on fire. It's destroyed. Lost all things, but no one was home thankfully. Her house is right in front of mine. Very painful to watch the home in which you grew up burn down before your eyes. So many memories.
God is teaching me so many life lessons.
Will be undergoing aggressive therapy for MS prayerfully ASAP. Nothing has worked so far. Did the whole "holistic" thing for 8 months...nutrition & such. Ended up like this. Going to give this new medical therapy a try. I'll be shut off from world no immune system.
Pray for me please.
Until later my friends...
Stacey
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday Sing-Along
I'm on vacation, so I didn't hook up Mr. Linky since I had to schedule this post. Have a great week!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Good Intentions
When I started this blog I had good intentions. I was going to make sure I blogged at least every other day. It seems that even with the best intentions I can't get it done!
I still have this cast on my right foot. Boy, does it ache! (My foot...not the cast.) Our church ladies have been bringing dinner over the past few nights. It has been such a blessing! You don't know how sick I was of pizza, grilled cheese, and McDonald's (my DH's culinary skills)! One lady baked us a ham with apricot glaze, a salad, baked potatoes, corn, glazed carrots, and a strawberry cream pie. It was so good!!! Last night another lady brought roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and corn bread. I don't know what the next lady is going to bring, but I'm already excited about the possibilities! lol.
I was thinking about how wonderful it is that these ladies are able to serve the Lord in this way. Not that I'm enjoying being off of my feet or anything, but it is nice to look at it from the other side. If I weren't unable to do things than they wouldn't be able to be a blessing in this way. Does that make sense? I'm just so glad that they are enjoying being such a blessing to my family!
We are supposed to leave for our vacation early Monday morning. I'm still unsure of what we are doing. The doctors have cleared me to go as long as I stay in the wheel chair the whole time. Any walking could cause permanent damage to my foot. I hate the idea of going on a trip when I'm not mobile, but I also know that this trip was a blessing from God. I feel like not going would be wrong, too. I should trust that God knew I would be in a wheel chair & not feeling 100% when He gave us this gift.
I think I'm just tired today. I had to get up really early for an MRI so the doctor could clear me to go on vacation. Packing should be interesting. DH will have to follow directions. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up at our destination without any underwear or something. lol.
I should finish the rest of my computer work for church before I fall asleep...although a nap sounds really good right now. Maybe I'll nap first. Then maybe I will be able to do the bulletin without too many errors!
I still have this cast on my right foot. Boy, does it ache! (My foot...not the cast.) Our church ladies have been bringing dinner over the past few nights. It has been such a blessing! You don't know how sick I was of pizza, grilled cheese, and McDonald's (my DH's culinary skills)! One lady baked us a ham with apricot glaze, a salad, baked potatoes, corn, glazed carrots, and a strawberry cream pie. It was so good!!! Last night another lady brought roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and corn bread. I don't know what the next lady is going to bring, but I'm already excited about the possibilities! lol.
I was thinking about how wonderful it is that these ladies are able to serve the Lord in this way. Not that I'm enjoying being off of my feet or anything, but it is nice to look at it from the other side. If I weren't unable to do things than they wouldn't be able to be a blessing in this way. Does that make sense? I'm just so glad that they are enjoying being such a blessing to my family!
We are supposed to leave for our vacation early Monday morning. I'm still unsure of what we are doing. The doctors have cleared me to go as long as I stay in the wheel chair the whole time. Any walking could cause permanent damage to my foot. I hate the idea of going on a trip when I'm not mobile, but I also know that this trip was a blessing from God. I feel like not going would be wrong, too. I should trust that God knew I would be in a wheel chair & not feeling 100% when He gave us this gift.
I think I'm just tired today. I had to get up really early for an MRI so the doctor could clear me to go on vacation. Packing should be interesting. DH will have to follow directions. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up at our destination without any underwear or something. lol.
I should finish the rest of my computer work for church before I fall asleep...although a nap sounds really good right now. Maybe I'll nap first. Then maybe I will be able to do the bulletin without too many errors!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday Sing-Along
I've been thinking of my Dad a lot lately. I miss him so much, but I know how happy he is now in the presence of our Lord! I really hate that poem that they use at many funerals/memorials now. It says, "If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again." As much as I miss my Daddy, there's no way I'd want to bring him down to this miserable earth from the Glory of Heaven!!! How selfish would that be?! Of course, I understand that they are hurting. This is just my humble opinion.
Anyway, my Dad was a very traditional church music kind of guy. However, he loved this song once I introduced it to him. He asked that it be sung at his Celebration of Life service.
I'm just really missing him today.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
From Her Lips to God's Ears!
Bedtime prayer last night...
Cheyanne: "Please help Mommy's foot to not hurt anymore, and heal her eyes and her arms and her legs and her hands. Help them to heal and have strength...
...And please help Daddy to preach good tomorrow because people don't like to be bored in church..."
Do you know how hard it was NOT to laugh while she prayed this???
Cheyanne: "Please help Mommy's foot to not hurt anymore, and heal her eyes and her arms and her legs and her hands. Help them to heal and have strength...
...And please help Daddy to preach good tomorrow because people don't like to be bored in church..."
Do you know how hard it was NOT to laugh while she prayed this???
Sunday Sing-Along
I know...I've chosen this song before. I just really, really LOVE this song! Hope you enjoy it, too! Oh, and I hope to have a button for this meme within the next few weeks...won't that be cool?!
Friday, October 10, 2008
What a Week!
I really don't like to blog when I'm in a whiny, woe-is-me kind of mood. So, I haven't blogged this week. I'm on some hefty pain killers & it really messes with my mood.
I do have some really good things to share. I had a ladies' meeting last Friday night & it went so well!!! I did a devotion using the letters in the word FALL. It went over really well, and several mentioned that it really spoke to them. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I'm not great at doing the devotions. I'm too wordy! lol! At least they were jumping in and adding their thoughts. It was a great time of fellowship. We ended up talking and laughing until almost 11 p.m. Our cell phones started going off all at about the same time. Seems that our husbands all began to worry at the same time. At least they care!!!
Sunday we had our first official business meeting at the church. My husband has been working with the men of the church since he became Pastor. They had no constitution or bylaws or anything official! They had nothing legal to stand on if something happened. So, Sunday our church voted on the constitution/bylaws for the church. The vote was UNANIMOUS to accept it!!! Woo-Hoo!!!! It was so good for my sweet hubby.
The former pastor has been sort of a thorn in the flesh. He constantly calls people of our church and plants seeds of doubt in their minds and hearts. I'm not sure why he's doing this. He's the one who recommended my husband in the first place!
Nothing had been done "decently and in order" while he was the pastor. He & one other man made all of the decisions. When DH became the pastor, the people began to voice their feelings about being left out of the loop. This is what prompted us to implement changes...the first one being that the church as a whole votes on decisions. The people are very happy with this change.
He (former pastor) left the church with a car. He said that it was so that my DH would have something "pastoral" to drive around. It's a huge boat of a car! I told my hubby that it's more like Noah's Ark! lol. Anyway, after DH took over, he found out that this car is draining the church financially and that the car doesn't belong to the church -- it is in the former pastor's name! He bought the car new in 2006. In 2 years he put almost 100,000 miles on it. He still owes over $16,000 on it and it's blue book value is only $6,500!!!!
Once the church figured out all of this, they realized that he wasn't doing us any favor by sticking us with this financial burden. My DH called him and told him "thanks, but no thanks" (yes, I watch Sarah Palin when gives a speech). He said to DH, "Too bad. My first priority is to get my wife the house of her dreams here in Florida. The church took the car so it's their responsibility now." WHAT??? I don't understand his reasoning in this! The church didn't vote to take over the car. He just announced that, since the church had been making the payments as part of his salary, they could keep the car. We never voted on it or anything! It was just stated as a matter of fact.
The thing is this...he purchased the car for himself before he was the pastor of our church. Then, he asked one man if the church could make his car payment as part of his salary so that he wouldn't get hit hard with taxes. How on earth do you go from that to assuming the church is permanently responsible for this car????
At the business meeting the church got to vote on what to do with the car. My husband has forgone his pay for now because the church is small & needs to pay its bills first. We had prayed for a long time that the church would want to get rid of this car. We knew that some of the people have a soft spot for the former pastor which is only normal. What we did not know was that he'd been calling different families and asking them to purchase the car in their name to get it out of his, and then have the church make the car payment. Apparently the church was sick of the whole car situation, too. One man made a motion to put it on a car carrier & ship it to Florida to the former pastor. Another person second the motion, and the church voted unanimously to ship it back to him. I have to tell you -- I was VERY glad. The one lady said, "If we can't afford to pay our current pastor, then why would we want to keep making a car payment for the former one? He stuck us with a lemon."
Repentantly I must admit that I've felt the same way over that car. It has been a sore subject with me ever since my husband became the pastor. I've had some harsh feelings toward the former pastor and I've had to ask God for forgiveness. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he, knowing the financial state of the church, would stick us with this huge burden.
It was so nice to leave the business meeting in one accord!!! I've been to some very heated business meetings and was very leery about how this was going to go. I'm just so glad that God went ahead and worked on hearts. What an AWESOME God we serve!!!!
Sunday night I ended up in the ER. I had to get X-Rays of my foot. It's a sprain, but WOW -- it HURT! While in there to get treated for my foot, they hooked me up to an IV of antibiotics because I mentioned that I had some back pain. They did the "please force yourself to pee even though you don't have to go" thing. It came back that I still have the kidney infection. She put the IV in the vein on my wrist. I must say that it HURT LIKE CRAZY! Never have I had anyone put an IV there before. Then, when I was finished she couldn't get it to stop bleeding! They took several tubes of blood to test me for...well, who knows what because they don't tell me even when I ask. I really dislike that hospital. Get this...their huge bill board advertisements are, "xxx Regional Hospital -- the closest hospital" -- not the best or the fastest or anything really good. Nope, their hook is that they are the closest. lol.
Since I can't use crutches because my left foot is too numb from the MS, I've had to stay off my foot all week. It's still hurting like crazy. I'm still being reassured that it is "only" a sprained ankle, and that the MS is causing the pain to be excessive. UGH!
Well, if you've read this far...thanks! Told ya I was too wordy! lol.
Love,
Stacey
I do have some really good things to share. I had a ladies' meeting last Friday night & it went so well!!! I did a devotion using the letters in the word FALL. It went over really well, and several mentioned that it really spoke to them. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I'm not great at doing the devotions. I'm too wordy! lol! At least they were jumping in and adding their thoughts. It was a great time of fellowship. We ended up talking and laughing until almost 11 p.m. Our cell phones started going off all at about the same time. Seems that our husbands all began to worry at the same time. At least they care!!!
Sunday we had our first official business meeting at the church. My husband has been working with the men of the church since he became Pastor. They had no constitution or bylaws or anything official! They had nothing legal to stand on if something happened. So, Sunday our church voted on the constitution/bylaws for the church. The vote was UNANIMOUS to accept it!!! Woo-Hoo!!!! It was so good for my sweet hubby.
The former pastor has been sort of a thorn in the flesh. He constantly calls people of our church and plants seeds of doubt in their minds and hearts. I'm not sure why he's doing this. He's the one who recommended my husband in the first place!
Nothing had been done "decently and in order" while he was the pastor. He & one other man made all of the decisions. When DH became the pastor, the people began to voice their feelings about being left out of the loop. This is what prompted us to implement changes...the first one being that the church as a whole votes on decisions. The people are very happy with this change.
He (former pastor) left the church with a car. He said that it was so that my DH would have something "pastoral" to drive around. It's a huge boat of a car! I told my hubby that it's more like Noah's Ark! lol. Anyway, after DH took over, he found out that this car is draining the church financially and that the car doesn't belong to the church -- it is in the former pastor's name! He bought the car new in 2006. In 2 years he put almost 100,000 miles on it. He still owes over $16,000 on it and it's blue book value is only $6,500!!!!
Once the church figured out all of this, they realized that he wasn't doing us any favor by sticking us with this financial burden. My DH called him and told him "thanks, but no thanks" (yes, I watch Sarah Palin when gives a speech). He said to DH, "Too bad. My first priority is to get my wife the house of her dreams here in Florida. The church took the car so it's their responsibility now." WHAT??? I don't understand his reasoning in this! The church didn't vote to take over the car. He just announced that, since the church had been making the payments as part of his salary, they could keep the car. We never voted on it or anything! It was just stated as a matter of fact.
The thing is this...he purchased the car for himself before he was the pastor of our church. Then, he asked one man if the church could make his car payment as part of his salary so that he wouldn't get hit hard with taxes. How on earth do you go from that to assuming the church is permanently responsible for this car????
At the business meeting the church got to vote on what to do with the car. My husband has forgone his pay for now because the church is small & needs to pay its bills first. We had prayed for a long time that the church would want to get rid of this car. We knew that some of the people have a soft spot for the former pastor which is only normal. What we did not know was that he'd been calling different families and asking them to purchase the car in their name to get it out of his, and then have the church make the car payment. Apparently the church was sick of the whole car situation, too. One man made a motion to put it on a car carrier & ship it to Florida to the former pastor. Another person second the motion, and the church voted unanimously to ship it back to him. I have to tell you -- I was VERY glad. The one lady said, "If we can't afford to pay our current pastor, then why would we want to keep making a car payment for the former one? He stuck us with a lemon."
Repentantly I must admit that I've felt the same way over that car. It has been a sore subject with me ever since my husband became the pastor. I've had some harsh feelings toward the former pastor and I've had to ask God for forgiveness. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he, knowing the financial state of the church, would stick us with this huge burden.
It was so nice to leave the business meeting in one accord!!! I've been to some very heated business meetings and was very leery about how this was going to go. I'm just so glad that God went ahead and worked on hearts. What an AWESOME God we serve!!!!
Sunday night I ended up in the ER. I had to get X-Rays of my foot. It's a sprain, but WOW -- it HURT! While in there to get treated for my foot, they hooked me up to an IV of antibiotics because I mentioned that I had some back pain. They did the "please force yourself to pee even though you don't have to go" thing. It came back that I still have the kidney infection. She put the IV in the vein on my wrist. I must say that it HURT LIKE CRAZY! Never have I had anyone put an IV there before. Then, when I was finished she couldn't get it to stop bleeding! They took several tubes of blood to test me for...well, who knows what because they don't tell me even when I ask. I really dislike that hospital. Get this...their huge bill board advertisements are, "xxx Regional Hospital -- the closest hospital" -- not the best or the fastest or anything really good. Nope, their hook is that they are the closest. lol.
Since I can't use crutches because my left foot is too numb from the MS, I've had to stay off my foot all week. It's still hurting like crazy. I'm still being reassured that it is "only" a sprained ankle, and that the MS is causing the pain to be excessive. UGH!
Well, if you've read this far...thanks! Told ya I was too wordy! lol.
Love,
Stacey
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sunday Sing-Along
I love this blue-sy rhythm. When I was growing up, Sandi Patti was totally off limits. I never understood why it was okay for our church to have all the Southern Gospel music all the time, but nothing contemporary. I would debate this with my Mom often.
"Stacey, contimporary Christian music and/or Christian rock got its foundation in modern music. It's the same music you hear on rock stations...just with different words."
"But Mom, Southern Gospel is just like Country Music. Turn on a country station & you'll hear the same music, just with different words. Why is Country music 'okay' in the church, but not contemporary?"
We'd debate this in a respectful way week after week. I wasn't allowed to listen to anything but the Southern Gospel stuff. By the time I was 14 I was SICK TO DEATH of it!!! Thankfully, my Mom bought me a Sandi Patti tape for Christmas that year and I played it until it died.
Of course, this clip is from a Gaither program so it is considered SG. I just really like this song. ;)
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tagged
My friend Bobbi tagged me, and I figure I'll get her back down the road somewhere. lol.
7 Random/Weird Facts About Me...
1. I use large plastic drinking cups instead of glasses because I drop them too often (then miss some of the glass & end up finding it with my foot). I have cool colors (blues & pinks) & warm ones (oranges & yellows). When they come out of the dishwasher, they must be stacked in the cupboard alternately as such: warm, cool, warm, cool... If 2 warms are touching or 2 cools, it drives me bonkers!!! PLUS...I'll only drink out of the warm toned cups.
2. I always peel the brown top off of my hamburger bun leaving only the white bread part. I eat the brown part first, but don't like it actually on the hamburger. I know...weird.
3. Fall is my favorite season. As soon as it begins to cool off, I begin diving into my recipe books to plan a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. Move over Martha (aka DENISE). Of course, the people I invite all are always dieting & eat hardly anything making me feel lousy because I've just spent 3 days in the kitchen pouring my heart into a dinner that they won't eat for fear of gaining a pound! UGH!
4. I love to bake and quickly get sucked in to any cooking show. Thankfully we don't have cable or anything but an antenna or I'd never get anything done!
5. I hide money from myself so that when I come across it I get excited. Like I just found a $5 bill in my jacket that I left there last spring. Woo-Hoo!!!
6. I absolutely despise most books that the majority of homeschooling moms find "imperative" for their children.
7. I was engaged 3 times before finally marrying my wonderful husband. I'm SO GLAD I saved the best for last.
So now I'm supposed to tag 7 random people. This is hard...I'm hiding from someone and if I tag the wrong people, she will find me again. Let's see...I think I'll wimp out & just let you do this if you want to do so.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday Sing-Along
Oh, I had such high hopes for this week! I'd planned to create a cool button for this blog meme. I had about 10 posts running through my mind. I just couldn't do it. This MS is on attack constantly. To top it off...bladder infection. What fun -- NOT! This is my first one and I must say that I hope to never have another!I'm sorry I don't have Mr. Linky up & working. You can just comment if you want. Prayerfully I'll be better this week & be able to get things done...
...or maybe, just maybe Christ will part the sky, sound the trumpet, & call us HOME to be with Him this week! What an AWESOME thought!!!
Monday, September 22, 2008
What is the Deal???
Warning...this is a rant! I just can't figure out some people. More on that toward the end...
At church today we had a guest speaker. He had been scheduled by the former pastor. My husband called & spoke with him to make sure he had the same doctrinal beliefs before letting him preach. He was a pretty good speaker. Apparently he comes in from Michigan once a year to visit family, and he has preached at our church before while doing so. That way his family gets to hear him speak. He is a children's pastor at his church.
He did the short kids' sermon before dismissing them to children's church instead of my hubby today. It was really good! He had a drinking glass and a bag of coffee beans. He asked each child what they liked to do for fun. As they told him things he would drop coffee beans into the glass. Then he asked what things they had to do that maybe weren't fun (like chores). He added more beans for that. He added in beans for school work and for a few other things. By that time the glass was pretty much full. He said that was their life and that it was full of lots of things.
He then talked about the first commandment: loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength. (Mark 12:29-30) He used 4 golf balls for that. He tried to put the balls on top of the beans, but they wouldn't all fit. Then he mentioned the verse, "But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) He picked up another glass (same size as the first) and explained to them that if they would learn to put God first...to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, & strength (adding the 4 golf balls to the empty glass) that God would add all the other things that fill up their life. He poured the coffee beans from the first glass into the 2nd glass and they maneuvered their way all around the golf balls filling the glass. It was a really good illustration!
I often find myself trying to fit God into my daily life. Instead, I should be fitting my daily life around God. I have to work on that. In all honesty...I got more out of his short children's sermon than I got out of his sermon for the adults. That sermon was like an 8th grade Bible class. It was good. You could just tell he's used to teaching Bible in the Christian School at his church.
As we were getting into our Jeep after church, my husband noticed that one of the ladies was very upset. He got out of our Jeep & went over to her to see what was wrong. Her husband was trying to console her as she told my husband that when she asked the lady with whom she takes turns teaching children's church if she'd be teaching next week, the lady told her that this would be her last Sunday at our church and walked off. She didn't give a reason. Neither she nor her husband has given any signs of being unhappy. They didn't tell anyone else. In fact, the men had a very short meeting after church and her husband was trying to get out the door when another man asked him if he forgot about the meeting. So, he came back in and stayed for the meeting. He never mentioned anything about leaving.
The former pastor told us before my husband became pastor that this couple was going to leave when he did. The thing is...they didn't leave when he did. They've stayed for almost two months and have been actively participating in things.
I understand that people switch churches. What I don't understand is why they leave without saying good-bye or explaining why they are leaving. I mean, if they are offended by something...why not just let the pastor know? Why pretend everything is fine and then sneak out?
I guess I'm just weird. We've never left a church without going to the pastor and explaining why we were going. I just think it's better to be open and honest about it rather than let people wonder. Wondering why can lead to a lot of gossip in a church. Being straight forward causes so much less stress.
My husband is going to call them and see if he can talk to them in person. Whenever a church switches pastors, you lose some people and gain others. The losing people always hurts and, when they don't tell you why they are leaving, it makes the hurt worse.
Okay, I've ranted about this enough. Just needed to get those thoughts out of my head. Maybe I can sleep now.
At church today we had a guest speaker. He had been scheduled by the former pastor. My husband called & spoke with him to make sure he had the same doctrinal beliefs before letting him preach. He was a pretty good speaker. Apparently he comes in from Michigan once a year to visit family, and he has preached at our church before while doing so. That way his family gets to hear him speak. He is a children's pastor at his church.
He did the short kids' sermon before dismissing them to children's church instead of my hubby today. It was really good! He had a drinking glass and a bag of coffee beans. He asked each child what they liked to do for fun. As they told him things he would drop coffee beans into the glass. Then he asked what things they had to do that maybe weren't fun (like chores). He added more beans for that. He added in beans for school work and for a few other things. By that time the glass was pretty much full. He said that was their life and that it was full of lots of things.
He then talked about the first commandment: loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength. (Mark 12:29-30) He used 4 golf balls for that. He tried to put the balls on top of the beans, but they wouldn't all fit. Then he mentioned the verse, "But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) He picked up another glass (same size as the first) and explained to them that if they would learn to put God first...to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, & strength (adding the 4 golf balls to the empty glass) that God would add all the other things that fill up their life. He poured the coffee beans from the first glass into the 2nd glass and they maneuvered their way all around the golf balls filling the glass. It was a really good illustration!
I often find myself trying to fit God into my daily life. Instead, I should be fitting my daily life around God. I have to work on that. In all honesty...I got more out of his short children's sermon than I got out of his sermon for the adults. That sermon was like an 8th grade Bible class. It was good. You could just tell he's used to teaching Bible in the Christian School at his church.
As we were getting into our Jeep after church, my husband noticed that one of the ladies was very upset. He got out of our Jeep & went over to her to see what was wrong. Her husband was trying to console her as she told my husband that when she asked the lady with whom she takes turns teaching children's church if she'd be teaching next week, the lady told her that this would be her last Sunday at our church and walked off. She didn't give a reason. Neither she nor her husband has given any signs of being unhappy. They didn't tell anyone else. In fact, the men had a very short meeting after church and her husband was trying to get out the door when another man asked him if he forgot about the meeting. So, he came back in and stayed for the meeting. He never mentioned anything about leaving.
The former pastor told us before my husband became pastor that this couple was going to leave when he did. The thing is...they didn't leave when he did. They've stayed for almost two months and have been actively participating in things.
I understand that people switch churches. What I don't understand is why they leave without saying good-bye or explaining why they are leaving. I mean, if they are offended by something...why not just let the pastor know? Why pretend everything is fine and then sneak out?
I guess I'm just weird. We've never left a church without going to the pastor and explaining why we were going. I just think it's better to be open and honest about it rather than let people wonder. Wondering why can lead to a lot of gossip in a church. Being straight forward causes so much less stress.
My husband is going to call them and see if he can talk to them in person. Whenever a church switches pastors, you lose some people and gain others. The losing people always hurts and, when they don't tell you why they are leaving, it makes the hurt worse.
Okay, I've ranted about this enough. Just needed to get those thoughts out of my head. Maybe I can sleep now.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday Sing-Along
Welcome to Sunday Sing-Along! If you already participate...I'm glad you found my new site! If you haven't participated but would like to, jump right in! Anyone can sing along with us in worship to our Lord & King! You can post a video clip or just the lyrics to a song that is on your heart. I'm having trouble getting Mr. Linky to work this week, so please just leave a comment so I can come & visit!
I chose a video clip of the song On My Cross. I will warn you that some of the crucifixion scenes are a bit graphic. If you don't want to watch, just look away & listen to the words -- they are truly powerful.
Thank you, Jesus!!!!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Bad Me!!!
So, I organized the first Ladies' Cleaning Day at our church. I scheduled it for yesterday because that was the day that worked best for all of the ladies. I was feeling bad because I wouldn't be able to help with the actual cleaning due to the MS. I've been having a lot of problems lately with it and am unable to do many things that I used to do with no problem.
I wanted to do something for the ladies, so I decided I would provide their lunch. The night before, DH & I took our daughter to her first class at her new ballet school. There is a really great grocery store near there. We stopped and I picked up all different lunch meats and cheeses, some pickles and olives, some delicious potato salad and macaroni salad, rolls, etc...everything I would need to make it a nice luncheon. I stuck it in the cooler so it wouldn't spoil while we went in to Friendly's for dinner as a special treat for our daughter. She LOVES their chicken noodle soup. Don't you know it -- I exit the building and step on an uneven portion of sidewalk. My right foot turned one way & my body went the other! Thankfully, DH was there to catch me before I hit the concrete!
By the time we got home that night I was barely able to move. My back is OUT! I only slept for about 2 hours that night, but I managed to get up Friday morning in time to make up the deli platters. They looked really good, much to my surprise. (I'm not that gifted in rolling meat. Shocking...I know.) I was determined to take the trays to the church & at least fellowship with the ladies. It wasn't long before I realized I couldn't do it. Actually, my husband suggested that I needed to take my pain pill and lie back down. UGH!!!! I hate when he's right about my being stubborn.
So, I reluctantly sent the Pastor (my DH) down to the church with all the food. The ladies completely understood. In fact, two of them stopped by after cleaning to tell me what all they had gotten done and to check on me. They were very sweet.
I'm still down today. It looks like I'll probably miss church tomorrow. It's kind of hard to get ready when you can't move! I don't like missing church. Don't tell him, but I actually like listening to my husband preach. :) I didn't care too much for our former pastor's preaching. He purchased his sermons online. He was a very smooth speaker & flashy...using PowerPoint and all that jazz. My husband hasn't been able to use the PowerPoint because the former pastor took the laptop with him & has yet to return it. I think he's bringing it back in a few weeks. My husband studies out his messages as led by the Holy Spirit. You can tell the difference. He's not as eloquent, but what he says has more of a punch. It's hard to explain.
I'm feeling like a not-so-great PW (pastor's wife). I was raised in churches that expected so much out of their pastor's wife, but I physically can't do it all. I have a hard enough time just getting our laundry done each week! Forget about cleaning the house! It just doesn't happen unless DH does it.
It's depressing at times. I remember vividly being able to give my home a thorough cleaning in just a few hours. I remember being able to cook everything from scratch. I feel a song coming on...
I just can't do it anymore. Accepting that fact is a process. I still try to convince myself that I can when I know deep down that I cannot. I end up over-doing it & being down for a week or longer because of my stubbornness!
God knew before I was even born that I would have MS. He knew who I would marry. He knew that He was going to call my husband to be a pastor. I just feel like I'm letting people down. I think it comes from being the go-to gal for many years (or the Enjoli woman without the perfect body). I was so overly active in everything. Whenever anyone needed something done, they came to me.
Well, enough of this pity party. Sometimes writing it out helps me to realize that it is just the devil trying to get me down. I'm no good to anyone when I'm wallowing in self-pity -- especially to God.
I wanted to do something for the ladies, so I decided I would provide their lunch. The night before, DH & I took our daughter to her first class at her new ballet school. There is a really great grocery store near there. We stopped and I picked up all different lunch meats and cheeses, some pickles and olives, some delicious potato salad and macaroni salad, rolls, etc...everything I would need to make it a nice luncheon. I stuck it in the cooler so it wouldn't spoil while we went in to Friendly's for dinner as a special treat for our daughter. She LOVES their chicken noodle soup. Don't you know it -- I exit the building and step on an uneven portion of sidewalk. My right foot turned one way & my body went the other! Thankfully, DH was there to catch me before I hit the concrete!
By the time we got home that night I was barely able to move. My back is OUT! I only slept for about 2 hours that night, but I managed to get up Friday morning in time to make up the deli platters. They looked really good, much to my surprise. (I'm not that gifted in rolling meat. Shocking...I know.) I was determined to take the trays to the church & at least fellowship with the ladies. It wasn't long before I realized I couldn't do it. Actually, my husband suggested that I needed to take my pain pill and lie back down. UGH!!!! I hate when he's right about my being stubborn.
So, I reluctantly sent the Pastor (my DH) down to the church with all the food. The ladies completely understood. In fact, two of them stopped by after cleaning to tell me what all they had gotten done and to check on me. They were very sweet.
I'm still down today. It looks like I'll probably miss church tomorrow. It's kind of hard to get ready when you can't move! I don't like missing church. Don't tell him, but I actually like listening to my husband preach. :) I didn't care too much for our former pastor's preaching. He purchased his sermons online. He was a very smooth speaker & flashy...using PowerPoint and all that jazz. My husband hasn't been able to use the PowerPoint because the former pastor took the laptop with him & has yet to return it. I think he's bringing it back in a few weeks. My husband studies out his messages as led by the Holy Spirit. You can tell the difference. He's not as eloquent, but what he says has more of a punch. It's hard to explain.
I'm feeling like a not-so-great PW (pastor's wife). I was raised in churches that expected so much out of their pastor's wife, but I physically can't do it all. I have a hard enough time just getting our laundry done each week! Forget about cleaning the house! It just doesn't happen unless DH does it.
It's depressing at times. I remember vividly being able to give my home a thorough cleaning in just a few hours. I remember being able to cook everything from scratch. I feel a song coming on...
"I can bring home the bacon (ba-da, da-dum).
Fry it up in a pan (ba-da, da-dum),
And never, never, never let you forget you're a man!
'Cause I'm a WOMAN! W-O-M-A-N
Let me say it again..."
Does anyone else remember those Enjoli commercials? You have to imagine the strip-tease music to really get the full effect of my breaking into song here. (Yes, I said strip-tease...my blog is named "Confessions of a Pastor's Wife" for a reason! I'm way too rotten to be a pastor's wife!) I'll have to look for that commercial on YouTube. I remember picking up a package of bacon in the grocery store when I was just a little girl and breaking into song. My Grandmother thought it was so funny. My Mom...not so much. I'd just belt it out at the top of my lungs and soon have an entire audience of shoppers watching. Any-hoo...
I just can't do it anymore. Accepting that fact is a process. I still try to convince myself that I can when I know deep down that I cannot. I end up over-doing it & being down for a week or longer because of my stubbornness!
God knew before I was even born that I would have MS. He knew who I would marry. He knew that He was going to call my husband to be a pastor. I just feel like I'm letting people down. I think it comes from being the go-to gal for many years (or the Enjoli woman without the perfect body). I was so overly active in everything. Whenever anyone needed something done, they came to me.
Well, enough of this pity party. Sometimes writing it out helps me to realize that it is just the devil trying to get me down. I'm no good to anyone when I'm wallowing in self-pity -- especially to God.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Hello World
For my first post I thought I'd just introduce myself. The first thing you should know about me is that I'm a child of the King of Kings! I've accepted Christ as my personal Savior and it's an honor to serve Him.
I have a wonderful husband who happens to be a pastor. He's a very loving, compassionate man. He's also quite handsome. He still makes my heart skip a beat...okay, maybe not when I'm picking up his dirty socks for the 103,586th time. But that man can just shoot me a look & melt my heart!
We have a beautiful daughter. She is seven and VERY opinionated. I am homeschooling her. She has a few learning challenges and we did not want her to get "labeled" and end up with low self-esteem issues. We also want to protect her from as much negative worldly influence as possible. No, we aren't hiding her from the world. Yes, she gets plenty of interaction with other children. This is simply how we believe God wants us to bring up our child.
I have Multiple Sclerosis. Sometimes it really...well...sucks. (No, I suppose a "pastor's wife" shouldn't use that word...but I can't think of a better one right now.)
I am NOT voting for Obama. I don't care if it hits my pocketbook hard. I'd rather vote for someone who doesn't believe it's "okay" to kill babies. Call me crazy if you want, but when I stand before God (as we ALL will one day), I don't want to have to try to explain to Him why my bank account was more important than human life.
My family drives me insane. I love them, but they drive me insane. I'm so NOT like them. I'm like my Dad (who now is in Heaven). Once he left this earth, I've been kind of on my own in my family. Like him, I like to think through things as much as I possibly can before doing them. The rest of my family feels it's a waste of time. They all do THEN think...usually because they realize what they did wasn't the right thing & they have to re-do it or make it right. I personally would rather take longer and get it right the first time than get tons more done, but it be done wrong.
My favorite vacation place is Disney World, although I LOVE to travel. The MS has slowed down our traveling days. I'd love to see Italy and Greece someday.
I guess that's enough of an introduction. If you've read this far, thanks! Until next time...
I have a wonderful husband who happens to be a pastor. He's a very loving, compassionate man. He's also quite handsome. He still makes my heart skip a beat...okay, maybe not when I'm picking up his dirty socks for the 103,586th time. But that man can just shoot me a look & melt my heart!
We have a beautiful daughter. She is seven and VERY opinionated. I am homeschooling her. She has a few learning challenges and we did not want her to get "labeled" and end up with low self-esteem issues. We also want to protect her from as much negative worldly influence as possible. No, we aren't hiding her from the world. Yes, she gets plenty of interaction with other children. This is simply how we believe God wants us to bring up our child.
I have Multiple Sclerosis. Sometimes it really...well...sucks. (No, I suppose a "pastor's wife" shouldn't use that word...but I can't think of a better one right now.)
I am NOT voting for Obama. I don't care if it hits my pocketbook hard. I'd rather vote for someone who doesn't believe it's "okay" to kill babies. Call me crazy if you want, but when I stand before God (as we ALL will one day), I don't want to have to try to explain to Him why my bank account was more important than human life.
My family drives me insane. I love them, but they drive me insane. I'm so NOT like them. I'm like my Dad (who now is in Heaven). Once he left this earth, I've been kind of on my own in my family. Like him, I like to think through things as much as I possibly can before doing them. The rest of my family feels it's a waste of time. They all do THEN think...usually because they realize what they did wasn't the right thing & they have to re-do it or make it right. I personally would rather take longer and get it right the first time than get tons more done, but it be done wrong.
My favorite vacation place is Disney World, although I LOVE to travel. The MS has slowed down our traveling days. I'd love to see Italy and Greece someday.
I guess that's enough of an introduction. If you've read this far, thanks! Until next time...
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