wounds

This morning I was having my quiet time and praying (and drying my hair but... it was my prayer time this morning) and I started remembering. My oldest man child was about to have his wisdom teeth removed and so I began to reminisce about how many "booboos" they have had over the years. Couldn't help get'n a little teary at the thought of my babies growing up and the thought of seeing my BIG baby in pain today. (side track, rabbit trail... said prayers for those moms dealing with children with chronic illness. my heart goes out to them!) One injury of Nate's stuck in my mind. The boys had received their first little swiss army knives and we "thought" they were doing well with them. Until... we see that Nate has an infection under his nail. THEN the whole story comes out. They had been playing "swords" and micah "accidentally" cut Nate's finger. The cut was right at the cuticle and because he didn't tell me (he said "if I told you I would have gotten in trouble" hhmmm) I took Nate to the doctor and the infection had settled under his nail so much so that he had to have 7 shots to numb the whole area and they had to pull the whole nail off. This was quite traumatic for him. I very lovingly told him that this would not have been so bad first of all if he had not been playing with knives, second if he would have told me right away when he had been injured. He repeated to us on several occasions that he would NEVER do that again. The doctor was amazing in telling Nate how lucky he was that he didn't lose his finger (scared nate just enough...) Such a powerful picture for me. Wounds happen by our choice and sometimes NOT by our choice. Either way... they happen, it's not IF it's WHEN they happen. At that point we are left with a choice. Ignore it, let it fester and puss up, getting bigger and bigger. We can deal with it and say "OUCH, man that hurt. Now how can I get it to heal?" When we took Nate to the doctor he prescribed a topical cream and an antibiotic to insure the infection did not set in the blood stream. As Christians God has given us His Holy Spirit to minister that healing "ointment". God has given us His Word to continually treat our wounds. No matter what our wound or hurt is, whether it be self inflicted or brought on by someone else, we may have a scar. That scar... after all of the healing has taken place can be such a sweet reminder of "don't do that again, it hurts" or a reminder to pour forgiveness on someone who injured us. One thing we found out is a wound left untreated is very dangerous. It took quite a while for his nail to heal and grow back but being consistent in treating it was worth it. He has a healthy nail now!!! Take time to let God heal your wound. It's worth it!!! Another point that I must make is when a wound is left untreated and infected, not only does it get worse, it keeps us handicapped. Life brings wounds and hurts, this we can count on. Now... whatcha gonna do with it?????? Luke 10:34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him Jesus cares! Jesus wants to heal! BTW my oldest man child is doing great right now! He has been sleeping off the medicine. Praise God!

This morning I woke up with a terribly migraine... is there any other kind??? Jeffrey was kind enough to get me some med as I grasped the pillow over the top of my head to keep any light from reaching my sore eyes. Trying hard not to move as not to throw up, I laid there praying. Thanking God that these things only come on occasion now instead of 2 or 3 times a week. The med works in about an hour and I'm up and functioning (well, mostly) for the rest of the day. It started me thinking of how we don't see what people deal with on a day to day basis, where they have been, what they have dealt with. Many assumptions are made on their actions of the moment and not the MOMENTS that have lead up to OUR point of interaction. How quickly we are to judge instead of having an attitude of understanding. To treat people as though they are coming out of a crisis, in a crisis or about to go through a crisis is 99% accurate. This was in my devotional that a sweet elderly friend gave me. I sat and pondered it for quite some time.... We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn't see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk, but cannot see the tack in h er shoe. We mock the fear in their eyes, but have no idea how many stones they have ducked or darts they have dodged. Are they too loud? Perhaps they fear being neglected again. Are they too timid? Perhaps they fear failing again. Too slow? Perhaps they fell the last time they hurried. You don't know. Only one who has followed yesterday's steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. Dare we judge a book while chapters are yet unwritten? Should we pass a verdict on a painting while the artist still holds the brush? How can you dismiss a soul until God's work is complete? My favorite song as a child was "He's still work'n on me, to make me what I ought to be...." Praise God!!!!!!!

sleepy ramblings....

Laying there in bed, thinking of all things I should have done today
should have cleaned this, done that, baked this, made that...
my brain seems to be on overload with prayers and concerns
God thank you, all I have to do is give it to you and accept your peace

I can almost smell the coffee that will come with the morning sun.
coffee timers were from God, I just know it
New mercies come fresh every morning
Birds sing a new song, it's a fresh new start

So the day begins with a prayer and a push
Another chance to get maybe a little more right
or... a little more wrong.
Either way, tomorrow will start again fresh and new!

So grateful for the chance to put the day behind me
call it done!
Good or bad, it's done!
Move forward, bring on the new day with all that it holds

Now, to sleep!
Peaceful rest that only God can bring
laying it all down, giving it all up
Thanking Him for the chance to do it again tomorrow...

Gluten Free Pancakes

Yesterday was a lay'n in bed kind of day. I caught a stomach bug that was thankfully a 24 hr thing. My stomach was not up to par this morning. I made Nate some regular pancakes, which sounded good but I knew if I ate the white flour I would regret it. I usually have a GF flour on hand for times like this. Today I had brown rice flour so I looked up a recipe for brown rice flour pancakes. As I am not strict GF, I have found "real foods" in general sit better with me (go figure huh). I've used brown rice in the past and it tends to be a little gritty but the taste is good. There are some GF flours that have a terrible taste, amaranth is one, it's awful in my opinion :) These pancakes were not gritty at all! This recipe was so simple, having cooked with brown rice flour before I did make a couple of changes. I added just a small dash of real vanilla and a shake of salt. For the "sugar" I used agave nectar. Since I only had 1 1/4 cup of flour I just brought down the other ingredients just a smidgen (it's a word... trust me). The key is to not over stir and once all ingredients are mixed DON'T TOUCH until you put them on the griddle. They get this fluffy texture that's so fun to dip in to because it feels like soap bubbles, remember playing in the soap bubbles as a kid... or now, I'm not judg'n.... Cook them the same as reg pancakes, until you see a mat finish (they probably won't "bubble" like reg pancakes) My stomach handled them well this morning and for that I'm VERY grateful!!!! I know a few of my friends are setting out on a better eating adventure... hope you can try these, I loved them!

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glutenfreerecipe1/r/noglutenpancake.htm

Hands. What do you think about??? My mom and I were talking about our hands today. I had a terrible habit of chewing my nails for most of my life. I had fake nails put on in an effort to break myself of the habit. Kept them on for 3 months, I've had them off for almost 2 weeks and so far so good, but I have not watched a movie yet. Quite a random fact but for those who know me, it's not at all random :) I remember holding my moms hand when I was little and she had the most beautiful hands. There was so much comfort in her stroking my hair. There is still just nothing like a momma hug! Just told Jeffrey yesterday that Grandma Panhorst's hands always smelled like bleach. My dad always told me to be afraid of any man with nice hands LOL I always envied (I know it's wrong don't remind me...) my sister's hands/nails. She has gorgeous long fingers with long beautiful nails. When my boys were young we would put their hands in plaster and make a mold of them or trace them on paper and put their name and date. It's very interesting to me how hands and feet mark our growth, how much we work, how we work... etc. Even the nail is a picture of health. If it's blue... well, that's just not good haha A healthy nail is a picture of a healthy person.
Here's what is on my heart... Psalm 63:4 "Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name" For me, lifting my hands to God is a picture of surrender, of giving everything to Him. It's a gesture of respect, giving glory and honor to the ONE who made my hands. What are things we lift our hands for? My boys raise their hands when they have a question, or they need help. We raise our hands in celebration at a sports game. We raise our hands in frustration at times.
Lord help me to raise my hands to You in PRAISE!
There is so much to praise Him for! My creator in such intricate detail, made my hand like no other. He made them for so many different abilities... the least I can do is to lift them up to Him in His name!

taking a breath

Today has been one of those days with so much in it that I'm not sure it has been just ONE day. May be that I'm functioning on little sleep and for some reason my body does not do well with little sleep no matter how much I try to "train" it. The Christmas season is in full swing, being out and about today reminded me how FULL the swing really is. I had my to-do list and I set out to get it done. With a couple of "snags" first thing this morning I was not sure how the day was going to turn out. In the midst of all the craziness God showed me a little picture of Himself once again. Our THIRD stop for the day was at Sams to get our tires balanced and rotated in preparation for our trip to Florida. An elderly gentleman was waiting on his car too. We scooted over and he joined us on our bench. He was quite hunched over, I found out later in the conversation that he used to be taller than his 3 boys and now he had shrunk. We just chatted about different things and then he says "my wife and I have an anniversary 2 days before Christmas" I asked him how many years, "65, I think we'll go steady" he said with a slight grin. I said "I think it just might last". Found out he has 4 kids, 7 grandkids and 5 great grand kids. He said "ya know, time goes by faster when you have someone to talk to. My wife usually does the talking so I don't have to worry about it" He did just fine though :) He had a hearing aid and the guy at the register was hard to understand, he turned to me and said "what did he say?" After I told him he pushed both of his hearing aids and said "I have my hearing aids on but sometimes it's still hard... you are distinctive though" I didn't inform him that I had seen his hearing aid and was speaking clearer than my normal mumble :) His car was ready and he was shuffling off... to DRIVE home... y'all be patient with those who you think should go faster ;) As he walked off he told the boys "y'all be good to her" Made me cry because we had been having one of "those" days... ya know the kind where teen boys think they KNOW everything... oh don't tell me you don't know what I'm talk'n about :) So fast forward, lots went on in between but here is my other side of the day... I'm standing in line at Publix and this cute little feisty boy, probably 5ish, steps on my foot. His mom apologized and I tell her I'm used to it that mine step on my feet more than I do. She laughed that "whew" kind of laugh. The little boy said he was sorry and I started talking to him about Christmas. Of course he was so excited about seeing grandparents and getting gifts. I told his mom that I miss my little boys... really I do haha She said she had told him she was going to put a brick on his head. He looked at me very seriously and said "I'd push right through it". I checked out, gave him a high five and a "Merry Christmas" and went my way (to eat my sushi) I sat there reflecting on the age span of these 2 blessings I had today. There were so many other little glimpses of God today that it is really blowing my mind. From 5 to 85... they are precious and they each have a story. I would love to sit and talk with them more deeply, such fleeting glimpses in to their lives. I pray for them! Thankful that God placed them in my path today... a day of really busy running and mommying and wifing (i couldn't think of a word for that haha) So now, I'm exhausted, yet I'm breathing a bit of fresh air (well... besides when Joe... well.... he's a male dog, nuff said) Going to bed tonight grateful! thankful! blessed! and.... TIRED!

hallmark moment

This morning (not bright... just EARLY) the boys and I were able to go help unload Christmas trees for an organization called Young Life. Actually, I counted as the trees came off of the truck, the boys helped unload. What a blessing to see so many people serving the Lord so EARLY in the morning... did I mention it was EARLY??? Let me just say, there were some STRONG girls there!!! They had finished unloading both trucks and we were discussing going to get breakfast (because it was EARLY) when the driver came up and asked if someone would sweep the truck out. Micah volunteered so I began to talk the truck driver. He was an older gentleman... 70ish maybe. He is from North Carolina. I asked him how long he had been driving. He laughed and said "girl, I have socks older than you. Have you heard of the year 1964? That is when I started driving and found my wife both in the same year". He began to pull out his family pictures and showed me how proud he was. One grandson has Cerebral Palsy and was 2 pounds when he was born. When we left I said "you have blessed and safe travels". He said "When you talk to the man up there, say a good word for me". Micah had finished so we made our way over to the Waffle house to meet with the others and eat breakfast... yes, because it was EARLY! A few minutes after we sat down the truck drivers came in. The boys and I ordered our food and we were sitting there eating. Shortly after, a soldier came in... now, I'm saying this for a point... otherwise I wouldn't even point it out. This soldier was a young African American gentleman. As this older Santa Claus looking, SOUTHERN truck driver finished his meal, he went over and shook this soldier's hand, patted him on the back and thanked him for his service for our country. I sat there and tears came to my eyes. Micah says "mom, if the food is too greasy you don't have to eat it" LOL I had to laugh! I showed him what was going on. THEN as this driver walked out of Waffle House the young soldier folded his hands and gave thanks to God for his food. I told Ross I felt like I was in a movie or something. He said it was a Hallmark moment hahaha THEN a very country man walks in with flowers for a lady that was working there. All in the span of less than an hour, at Waffle House and God blessed me in letting me experience these little moments even though it was very EARLY :) So, is God trying to tell me something... maybe I'm missing out by not getting up at 5 every morning... nnnnaaaaaa