Before and After

First picture of Josh is last May 2007

Second picture is Josh March 2008

He has been eating better and has lost a lot of weight, he was a 38 paint size and now can were 34 maybe even 32's. he also is trying to give up smoking and is doing quite well. Way to go Josh!

my sister Lisa

This is my sister Lisa, she is amazing, she recently found out she has breast cancer, she had a mastectomy about 3 weeks ago and soon will be starting chemo treatments then several rounds of short little radiation treatments. She has put her trust and faith in Jesus, her spirit is amazing. Today was the first time I have seen her since the surgery, she was very candid and open to all my interrogating questions and we even laughed at bit too :) I pray that she will continue to hang on to God's promises as her journey continues and that she comes out even stronger in her faith and that He will be glorified!!!

Way to go Lisa, you are a shining light in a dark world.

Love you!

Good Friday- "How Deep The Father's Love For Us"

As Good Fridays approaches I reflex on the lyrics to this song



How Deep the Fathers love for us

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

And make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds that mar the Chosen One

Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon His cross

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

E + R = O

Today at a monthly meeting my boss asked for the next month to think and process this and then come with feedback when we meet in 4 weeks.



E - Event



R - Response



O- Outcome



Wow, three little words that pack a punch. I actually had an event today that made me stop and think E+R= O





My response? I really tried to rationalize and to accommodate.



The outcome? It's all good! and everyone was on the same page at the end.



What if we continually ask our self this in everyday life, whether it is when we are on a mountain top or in a valley our response just may have a huge impact on the outcome.

Hey...how did that happen?

Today we went to the mall after we pigged out at the "Chinese barffet" as Bob call buffets. We wanted to walk around to help digest all the gross food we just ate ( can you tell I didn't really enjoy the fat fest like I anticipated?)

Well anyway, one day last week I was walking up the stairs to retire for the evening with a pair of jeans I had and taken out of the dryer and folded, a glass of lemonade and the wiener dog in the other arm ( he is old and deaf and blind and can't climb stairs anymore so I was assisting him, aren't I a good mom? ) I was about half the way up when I walked out of one of my slippers and proceeded to fall ( slide ) down the stairs, taking everything with me minus some lemonade that spilled out. The slippers I had on were given to me by my mom because they were to big for her, OK, so I wear a size 8.5 shoe and she wears a size 10.5 , she was gonna get rid of them so I said I would take them, what was I thinking? To big for her but OK for me? Blonde moment I guess. After falling down the steps I got mad and threw the darn things away.

So today when we were leaving Sears I decide to look at slipppers ( perhaps more than I have fallen out of this particular apparel and that is why they are called slippers- I don't know) They had some marked down 50% off plus another 30% off so being the big spender that I am I decided to splurge and purchase them at a whopping $ 5.18.

I payed for them ,we got in the car and came home, as I was cutting the tags off of the slippers I looked down and the bag that the slippers had been placed in and noticed it was a JC Penney bag! What the heck? I had to stop and think for a second about where I actually made the purchase. I wonder what a supervisor would say to that employee if they had seen this happen.

The story doesn't end here, on the receipt was a survey to take so I decided to go ahead and fill it out ( with a chance to win $ 4000 sears gift card- ha ha) and one of the questions was asking about some of Sears competitors, hmmm can't remember if JC Penney's was one of them but I bet they are. All this to say I now have slippers that fit, I bet the wiener dog is thrilled!

Gum

I was thinking about gum the other day. I like gum. I chew gum during my workout so my mouth doesn't dry out ( I bet there are a few of you that wish it would! ) I chew gum when I get thirsty and don't have something to drink. And I like to chew gum after I eat because I am craving something sweet or should I say still craving sweets. Anyway, I think gum is amazing. My favorite brand is eclispe peppermint. I also wrote a song once about gum, it goes a little like this:

I like to chew gum

I like to chew gum

I like to chew gum

I like it a lot.

Does anyone remember the gum in the movie Willy Wonka? wasn't it like eating a meal, the more ya chew the different flavor you would get, it was like a whole meal. Boy wouldn't that be the cats meow.

SMILE

Like most people I go to the dentist 2 x a year, so six months ago I made my appointment for the next six months. In the mean time, we have a monthly checkpoint meeting that a handful of us meet once a month to work on leadership. The meeting ended up landing at the same time my dentist appointment was so when the dentist office called to remind me that I had a 11:20am appointment I decided to ask if they had any different times available, she said yes we have a 4:00 today, well , we were hosting workshops today so I declined. The more I thought about it the more I thought I should just go ahead and go today so I could attendane the Tuesday meeting. I ran it across my boss and she agreed so I quickly called back and said I would take the 4:00. The gal at the dentist office replied she had a 3:00 so I said I'll take it. Upon arrival I signed in as always, took a seat and proceeded to wait, and wait and wait, finally after sitting there for nearly 35 minutes and watching people that had came in way after I got there, I decided I should inquire and see what the hold up was. I walked up to the counter and notice that on the sign in sheet every name has been crossed off except mine. I asked how much longer it would be until I got called. The gal asked for my name and what time my appointment was for, so I explained to her the changes and she replied oh the 3:00 is for tomorrow, which was not what she said when she said the 4:00 had been filled. I then asked why no one had followed up with the name that was on the sign in sheet that had never been called out or crossed off, the whole time I was asking the gal the question another lady was nodding her head yes in agreement with me. I asked if they would be able to squeeze me in anyway today but they declined. She then asked what I wanted to do. I said well I have to reschedule so she began to look at the calendar and couldn't get me in until March 10th. Without a schedule in front of me I did not want to commit to the date and asked if I can call them. I left frustrated and a bit angry for the lack of better words. Don't get me wrong I realize people make mistake but the fact that not one person chose to call my name was enough to make me go home and change dentist. I did call them back but it wasn't to set the next appointment it was to ask them to transfer my records to my new dentist. AHHH GEEZE!