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You'd all have to be very proud of me at this point...I haven't mentioned yet that my daughter recently found out that she is going to bless me with yet another grandbaby. Yep, 8 weeks along she is...and this Nana can hardly wait. Isn't it amazing how much love one heart can hold? Just when you think you could never contain it all, along comes another little being to stretch out those heart muscles a little bit more. They had their first ultrasound today...this little grandchild of mine is 8 weeks old, and the size of a bean...and they could see the heartbeat! So amazing. So tell me...how do some people believe that these little beans aren't a living being yet??? Sheesh...
Moving right along...I will be SO glad when tomorrow is over. I am going to have the great opportunity to be put in "jail" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and will need to raise my "bail" to get out. Sigh. This really doesn't set well with my personality type...I dislike asking people for money, even when it's for an extremely worthy cause. And how they got MY name I'll never know. They get people from various businesses in town as their victims. Anyway, my bail is set at $1600...which is actually pretty laughable (can you hear me laughing?). To date, I've raised about $600...so I'll have to do some pretty hefty phone-calling from "jail" tomorrow. This may be my last post for quite some time...they may put me away for a very long time...
OK...so one more thought for tonight...today I came across the coolest tidbit written by Henri Nouwen...it's called "The Nonpossessive Life"...
To be able to enjoy fully the many good things the world has to offer, we must be detached from them. To be detached does not mean to be indifferent or uninterested. It means to be nonpossessive. Life is a gift to be grateful for and not a property to cling to.
A nonpossessive life is a free life. But such freedom is only possible when we have a deep sense of belonging. To whom then do we belong? We belong to God, and the God to whom we belong has sent us into the world to proclaim in his Name that all of creation is created in and by love and calls us to gratitude and joy. That is what the "detached" life is all about. It is a life in which we are free to offer praise and thanksgiving.
So...when I think about all the love I have for my grandbabies, the beauty of nature, my new laptop, my hubby, Froot Loops, etc, etc, etc...so many things in this life that I adore deeply...my prayer is that God would always help me remember balance, to hold all things loosely enough that God's hand can fit around them too...and most of all that I would always have a deeply grounded sense of Who I belong to...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
A plea for prayer
You know, every day of our lives is filled with "stuff." Some stuff is joy-filled, some is full of discouragement, there is the "stuff" of new awareness of Christ's presence or, as I encountered tonight, there are those moments of grief that almost defy description.
I guess it sort of blind-sided me. When there is so much tragedy around us every day (all we have to do is watch a newscast to see how much pain is in the world), we can almost become immune to it...almost numb...perhaps as a way of surviving the pain of focusing on it. But sometimes something comes along that grabs your heart so fiercely you feel it will fall completely out of your body.
Tonight I became aware of some missionaries in training that are desperately in need of prayer support. Following is a quote from their mission organization's website:
Scott, Andrea and Isaac Sward were involved in a car accident on Sunday morning, February 3, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., local Colorado time.
Isaac was fatally injured and died on Monday morning.
Andrea is scheduled for surgery at 7:30am (Mountain Time) Tuesday morning, to stabilize her neck. The surgeon will be inserting a plate between the C7 and T1 vertebrae. Doctors are optimistic about the prognosis for repairing the fractures. Andrea has multiple injuries, including a broken clavicle, a broken jawbone, two fractured vertebrae, two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg and some internal injuries. On Monday morning, her lungs collapsed, but the doctors were able to re-inflate them. The nurses are encouraged because they note that she is responding and fighting.
At this time, her blood pressure and vitals are holding strong without medication. She responded to being directed to move her arms and legs and has movement in her extremities. She is heavily sedated and it is expected that she will remain that way for the present.
Scott had an MRI on Monday morning. They are still waiting for the results. He had multiple internal injuries and has been in Intensive Care, close to Andrea. He has been conscious since the accident occurred.
I have been overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and grief for this sweet-looking young couple. Not only are they dealing with the physical pain of their injuries, but also with the deep, searing emotional pain of losing their child...and I felt nudged to share their story here.
Please pray. I am positive that they are utterly and completely dependent upon the prayers and support of others.
Scott and Andrea are part of our family in Christ...and they need us right now.
(to keep updated on this situation, you can check out the following website... http://www.friendschurchsw.org/swardupdate.html)
I guess it sort of blind-sided me. When there is so much tragedy around us every day (all we have to do is watch a newscast to see how much pain is in the world), we can almost become immune to it...almost numb...perhaps as a way of surviving the pain of focusing on it. But sometimes something comes along that grabs your heart so fiercely you feel it will fall completely out of your body.
Tonight I became aware of some missionaries in training that are desperately in need of prayer support. Following is a quote from their mission organization's website:
Scott, Andrea and Isaac Sward were involved in a car accident on Sunday morning, February 3, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., local Colorado time.
Isaac was fatally injured and died on Monday morning.
Andrea is scheduled for surgery at 7:30am (Mountain Time) Tuesday morning, to stabilize her neck. The surgeon will be inserting a plate between the C7 and T1 vertebrae. Doctors are optimistic about the prognosis for repairing the fractures. Andrea has multiple injuries, including a broken clavicle, a broken jawbone, two fractured vertebrae, two broken arms, a broken ankle, a broken leg and some internal injuries. On Monday morning, her lungs collapsed, but the doctors were able to re-inflate them. The nurses are encouraged because they note that she is responding and fighting.
At this time, her blood pressure and vitals are holding strong without medication. She responded to being directed to move her arms and legs and has movement in her extremities. She is heavily sedated and it is expected that she will remain that way for the present.
Scott had an MRI on Monday morning. They are still waiting for the results. He had multiple internal injuries and has been in Intensive Care, close to Andrea. He has been conscious since the accident occurred.
I have been overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and grief for this sweet-looking young couple. Not only are they dealing with the physical pain of their injuries, but also with the deep, searing emotional pain of losing their child...and I felt nudged to share their story here.
Please pray. I am positive that they are utterly and completely dependent upon the prayers and support of others.
Scott and Andrea are part of our family in Christ...and they need us right now.
(to keep updated on this situation, you can check out the following website... http://www.friendschurchsw.org/swardupdate.html)
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