Monday, August 27, 2012

Put on Love



Pinned Image
 
 
So, chosen by God for this new life of love,
dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you:
compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.
And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.
It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Colossians 3:12&14
The Message
 
This weekend I read a devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah about love,
the last part of 4 devotionals called Your Spiritual Wardrobe. Dr. Jeremiah wrote:
 
"Every experience in life is a love scene,
 and Christians are to love as Jesus loves."
 
A good word picture is to think of ourselves we dress each day as putting on love,
showing that we love others by our service and kindness to them. 
But it isn't always an easy task.
 
Things get in the way, like...
~ a neighbor who doesn't respect our privacy
~a teenager who sneers at us as we pass by
~ a spouse who is indifferent to our needs
~ a clerk who is unfriendly and rude
~ a child who is fussy and throwing a temper
 
These are just a few of the things that keep us from wanting to show love
or any of the other things mentioned in Colossians. But it is possible to do.
We can't do it under our own strength, but by the strength given to us by God.
 
 
I like what C.S. Lewis said about loving others:
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
C.S. Lewis
 



Book Review ~ The Fight of Our Lives

The Fight of Our Lives
by William J. Bennett & Seth Leibsohn
Thomas Nelson Publisher


I have read several books by William Bennett, and this book, The Fight of Our Lives, Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam, was thought provoking and a change from the books I usually read. With so much currently going on in our nation, the presidential election and constant media coverage of the campaigns, as well as the headlines that grab our attention, the war on terror seems to be droned out at times, and our country has turned our focus from fighting this cultural war to other issues, issues that are no less important, yet we still must focus on what is indeed of great national concern.

Bennett and Leibsohn take a look at radical Islam with a focus on the "nature of the threat we face and the nature of the response we do not currently possess. It is a focus more on us than our enemy." (quoted from the Introduction)
Our country seems to be more interested in religious tolerance, even though this is very important, and political correctness, than seeing the truth of what is plainly there to see: radical Islam is bent on destroying us.

I recommend this book even if it doesn't sound like something you would want to read; it isn't a feel-good book, but it does remind us that we have much to be concerned about for our nation's survival.
For me, it is also a reminder that even as I am aware of the issues going on for our nation, God is sovereign, and I put must my faith and trust in Him.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

Saturday, August 25, 2012

A Day at the Park

Jack and Eli had a sleepover at our house last night,
and this morning the four of us went to a favorite park,
where we all enjoyed the cooler weather and fresh air.
 
 
Eli had fun on the slides...
 
 
 
and jungle gym...

 
 
and posed on the stone wall surrounding the tennis courts.

 
 
Jack is learning to play tennis...
 
 
 
and he and Lauren had a great time on the courts...
 
 
 
as well as also posing on the stone wall.
 
 
 
Jack is 8 and Eli is 4...

 
 
and they bring smiles to our faces every day.

 
 
 

Monday, August 20, 2012

God's Masterpiece





For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
 so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10

I read this devotional from Max Lucado this morning after I captured a photo of this beautiful dragonfly on my porch.
 I wanted to share it with you.
Enjoy!

Why does God love you so much?
For the same reason the artist loves his paintings. 
You are His idea!
Ephesians 2:10 confirms that we are
“God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
In the movie Hook, Peter Pan had become old and
looked nothing like the Peter the lost boys knew. 
In the midst of the boys shouting that this was NOT Peter,
 one of the smallest boys pulled him down to his level.
 He places his hands on Peter’s face,
moved the skin around and reshaped his face.
The boy looked into Peter’s eyes and said, “There you are, Peter!!

Shh. Listen. Do you hear?
God is saying the same words to you.

 
There you are! There you are!


He’s seeing you and loving the you He sees.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

What Brain Injury Survivors Want You to Know


A friend recently shared this information with me and I asked her if I could share it here. One of
their daughters, who is in her twenties, suffers from a brain injury from a fall a few years ago, and
 because I had surgery for Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia 3 years ago, I, too, dealt with
some of these problems and was so glad when friends and family tried to understand. Over the past 3
 years, I have gradually seen improvement, even though I continue to have a few neurological
 problems that I may always have, but my young friend and so many other people have brain injuries
 that continue to be difficult to deal with. While my condition is most likely congenital,
so many people, such as my young friend, suffer from a brain injury caused
by an accident or some other trauma.

So I pass this information on in hopes that it may help someone who
has a friend or family member who is a brain injury survivor understand
what he or she is going through.

Lost & Found: What Brain Injury Survivors Want You to Know 

Barbara J. Webster, Lash & Associates

I need a lot more rest than I used to. I’m not being lazy. I get physical fatigue as well as a “brain fatigue.” It is very difficult and tiring for my brain to think, process, and organize. Fatigue makes it even harder to think.
My stamina fluctuates, even though I may look good or “all better” on the outside. Cognition is a fragile function for a brain injury survivor. Some days are better than others. Pushing too hard usually leads to setbacks, sometimes to illness.
Brain injury rehabilitation takes a very long time; it is usually measured in years. It continues long after formal rehabilitation has ended. Please resist expecting me to be who I was, even though I look better.
I am not being difficult if I resist social situations. Crowds, confusion, and loud sounds quickly overload my brain, it doesn’t filter sounds as well as it used to. Limiting my exposure is a coping strategy, not a behavioral problem.
If there is more than one person talking, I may seem uninterested in the conversation. That is because I have trouble following all the different “lines” of discussion. It is exhausting to keep trying to piece it all together. I’m not dumb or rude; my brain is getting overloaded!
If we are talking and I tell you that I need to stop, I need to stop NOW! And it is not because I’m avoiding the subject, it’s just that I need time to process our discussion and “take a break” from all the thinking. Later I will be able to rejoin the conversation and really be present for the subject and for you.
Try to notice the circumstances if a behavior problem arises. “Behavior problems” are often an indication of my inability to cope with a specific situation and not a mental health issue. I may be frustrated, in pain, overtired or there may be too much confusion or noise for my brain to filter.
Patience is the best gift you can give me. It allows me to work deliberately and at my own pace, allowing me to rebuild pathways in my brain. Rushing and multi-tasking inhibit cognition.
Please listen to me with patience. Try not to interrupt. Allow me to find my words and follow my thoughts. It will help me rebuild my language skills.
Please have patience with my memory. Know that not remembering does not mean that I don’t care.
Please don’t be condescending or talk to me like I am a child. I’m not stupid, my brain is injured and it doesn’t work as well as it used to. Try to think of me as if my brain were in a cast.
If I seem “rigid,” needing to do tasks the same way all the time; it is because I am retraining my brain. It’s like learning main roads before you can learn the shortcuts. Repeating tasks in the same sequence is a rehabilitation strategy.
If I seem “stuck,” my brain may be stuck in the processing of information. Coaching me, suggesting other options or asking what you can do to help may help me figure it out. Taking over and doing it for me will not be constructive and it will make me feel inadequate. (It may also be an indication that I need to take a break.)
You may not be able to help me do something if helping requires me to frequently interrupt what I am doing to give you directives. I work best on my own, one step at a time and at my own pace.
If I repeat actions, like checking to see if the doors are locked or the stove is turned off, it may seem like I have OCD — obsessive-compulsive disorder — but I may not. It may be that I am having trouble registering what I am doing in my brain. Repetitions enhance memory. (It can also be a cue that I need to stop and rest.)
If I seem sensitive, it could be emotional lability as a result of the injury or it may be a reflection of the extraordinary effort it takes to do things now. Tasks that used to feel “automatic” and take minimal effort, now take much longer, require the implementation of numerous strategies and are huge accomplishments for me.
We need cheerleaders now, as we start over, just like children do when they are growing up. Please help me and encourage all efforts. Please don’t be negative or critical. I am doing the best I can.
Don’t confuse Hope for Denial. We are learning more and more about the amazing brain and there are remarkable stories about healing in the news every day. No one can know for certain what our potential is. We need Hope to be able to employ the many, many coping mechanisms, accommodations and strategies needed to navigate our new lives. Everything single thing in our lives is extraordinarily difficult for us now. It would be easy to give up without Hope.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Be Still....


(Prayers from the Pews)


He says, “Be still, and know
that I am God; I will be exalted
among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 41:10

Friday, August 3, 2012

Open Windows

It is so nice and cool today, the first cool day in many, many weeks.
It is cloudy and there have been a few sprinkles,
and it is my prayer that rain is falling where the many fires burn around this state,
and that storms do not produce lightning, the cause of many of these fires.

Our windows are open, open to the cool air and the smell of the occasional raindrops.
It is such joy, that instead of going to the basement to sort boxes,
I am drawn to stay by the open windows, to savor this day
 before it gets hot again, as is forecasted.








When we moved, we put blinds and white, linen curtains
 in our living room and bedroom windows, and on these cool
and soft-breeze days, I miss lace in the windows.
The photos above are from our Dear Old House.

But today, the open windows do not make me want to look back,
but instead, they offer hope that the hot weather will end some day,
 and even if today is the only cool day for a while,
that is enough.


“Faith goes up the stairs that love has built
and looks out the windows which hope has opened.”
―   
Charles H. Spurgeon