OK, guys...enough!

I'm not sure why both of our dads, who have been blessed with quite good health for years, decided to have heart surgery within weeks of each other. I mean, come on now, they could've planned a LITTLE better than this. And I'm pretty sure it's a testosterone-fueled competition, too, because my dad had his operation, and then Steve's dad attempted to one-up him with a quintuple bypass. I didn't know there were so many bypasses available, but Dad O. decided to max them out!
I am here to let the fellas know that this is it! They have used up their quota for health issues for the next decade or three, and they'd better keep those new tickers tickin'. I mean, we've all had such a blast hanging out at frigid hospitals, seeing the incredibly interesting incisions, and discussing catheters with all manner of excitement. Yes, and let's not forget to mention the joy of chest tube drainage, hospital gown fashion, and oh-my-goodness-I-can't-believe-my-dad-said-that-but-he's-on-drugs-and-now-I-so-need-therapy! I'd like to hereby declare 2008 a surgery-free year. Oh yeah, and that includes the moms, too!
P.S. We love you both!

What?! I Need a Coat??

Saturday and Sunday found our entire little family in Syracuse, NY. I think my 9 year-old said it best when, as we pulled out of the airport, mouths agape at the snow all around us, he asked, "Why didn't we come in the summer?"

Actually, he was very much kidding, because he and his sister had prayed fervently for snow, and apparently, I need to hand all my prayer requests over to them, because Syracuse had had no snow until the day before we pulled into town.

We Floridians are used to wearing shorts at Christmas, so my sweet friend Jen did laugh at me when I began to walk out the door for church without a coat. And Shelby was so excited to finally be WEARING her new coat, that she modeled it for everyone, pointing out the lovely faux sheepskin features to all who would hear. But the saving grace from the cold was the new Starbucks in town. And it had a drive-through. Gimme a Hallelujah! I'm pretty sure I broke the record for most mochas consumed in a 48 hour period.

Anyway, we were so blessed by the church there. They loved on us, encouraged us, and really caught the vision for what God is doing in Guatemala. We pray that one day we will welcome their mission team to our church there.

In the meantime, I might want to consider therapy for the children, because this photo is a little disturbing.

Hello, God!

My just-turned-four year-old has recently become very vocal about His thoughts concerning God. His childlike faith challenges me. God is real to him, a person that he interacts with. It's like he's just talking out loud and trying to figure things out. Yesterday, he walked to the fridge to get his beloved Dora yogurt and casually threw out, "Mom, I love God." In the car, during a random conversation (or, like it usually is with 3 kiddos, multiple random conversations going on all at once!), he said, "I think God left, Mommy. " I assured him, that no, God didn't go anywhere.

"But, Mom, I can't see Him." I gave him my great theological reasons why this couldn't be, and he replied, very emphatically, "Yep. He's gone. Bye,God. " And He looked out the car window like he was watching God go.

I didn't even have to stretch my mind to be challenged by this one. Just a couple of days ago, a minor household crisis came, and I determined that God must have left, because I certainly couldn't SEE Him anywhere. I was certain He had left this time. Later, when things worked out, I felt sheepish, embarrassed, ashamed at my tiny, weak faith. I confessed.

And God was STILL there.

Plastic Jesus

I opened the Sunday paper to find the super-glossy, extra thick, coupon-laden TOY catalog from Target this year.In my house, this results in immediate "shopping, " wishing, circling of pictures, showing Mom and Dad all the features of each new, incredible toy, all the while Mom and Dad saying, "Now, remember, you are only getting 2 or 3 things!" I'm pretty sure 47 things ended up being chosen, but that number is only so low because Jackson didn't know he was supposed to pick a color-coded pen and started choosing!
But I did learn something interesting from all of this. Once the ink had cleared, Shelby's top two picks were a doll and a puppy that are incredibly life-like. They eat, drink, talk, learn your name, and yes, they wee-wee and poop! I started thinking, "Wow! The poor girl is going to be really stressed, since she's gonna have to take care of basically a real dog and a semi-real baby!" Then, I mentioned to Steve, "On the plus side, we'll never have to buy a puppy, cause this is better than the real thing!"
Funny thing is, that's what I've done with my faith for so long. I bought the plastic Jesus, the one "sold" to me from the glossy, religious, legalistic churches/schools I knew. The one that was created by man to fit man's demands and desires, who bears some resemblance to Jesus, but doesn't totally act like the un-plastic Jesus I'd read about in the Bible. The one that was my ticket out of eternal damnation, but didn't really DO miracles like He used to, and didn't really DO anything to give me an abundant life. No siree, that was all up to me. As long as I could keep the ever-changing rule list and get a good education and basically follow the world's philosophy of success, I was o.k. When crisis finally hit my adult life, I realized I didn't know what Jesus DID do. Now I've learned, or, I should say, I'm learning. I'm learning that the real Jesus didn't need my "battery" power. He did still do miracles...like healing people's hearts, giving them the ability to forgive when it really was humanly impossible, giving hope in the everydayness of life. He did still speak, and not just do's and don'ts. And He did want things that were completely, utterly backwards from what the world asked. But He always followed those commands with a promise, like, "Don't worry about looking out for yourself. If you put yourself last, you'll be first." Or, "Find your delight in me, and I'll give you your heart's desires. " Funny thing is, He even changed those desires.
So, when I think He's asking me to do something too hard, and I'm tempted to go back to that fake Jesus that I can "turn off" whenever I want, I remember, in the paraphrased words of Dr. Phil, "How did THAT work out for you??" Not so much. And there's an eternal warranty on my Jesus, too. Think I'll stick with Him.

Day of Prayer

I always thought that if I watched the news, whether Fox, CNN, NBC, whoever, I was hearing everything I needed to know...and oftentimes things I never wanted to know! It turns out that the media hasn't told us enough about something any of us who call ourselves a follower of Jesus DO need to know. There are brothers and sisters of ours, families all around the world who are being persecuted for Jesus. Yes, persecuted. What we thought was just an old tale of Christians being sent to the Coliseum, believers being stoned or burned at the stake is not a myth or legend or something of the past. It is happening now, and in awful numbers.
This is a fact I shut my eyes and ears to for far too long. Now, I know the truth, and I have a responsibility to do something with that truth. The enemy knows his time is short, and will do all he can to keep the church down. But, when you read the stories of those who have lost much and continue to serve, your faith can be strengthened. I encourage you to go to http://www.persecution.com/ , sign up for the free Voice of the Martyrs magazine, and participate in the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, November 11.

Airshow

This week was Nate's birthday, and so we took him and Shelby to the Airshow. What a blast!



Nate in a REAL army blackhawk helicopter(this was much too solemn an occasion to smile at the camera...)













Shelby asked the pilots a whole lot of questions, and couldn't wait to go inside the plane...













There was a re-enactment, where a downed World War 2 American pilot was rescued by American tanks and planes.

Here are the tanks and soldiers "moving out".

Planes were flying overhead with guns blazing, German machine gunners were firing back, and American GIs approached from the ground. What a great reminder of the bravery of our soldiers as they defended our freedom!

Nate's comment - "Awesome!"

Shelby's comment - "Daddy, I have to plug my ears because it's too loud!"

Life Imitates Art...or at least a commercial

OK, so most people reading this blog might know that my dad is going in for open-heart surgery early tomorrow morning (and by early, I mean before Starbuck's is even open, which is just not RIGHT in my book). Anyway, I'm off track. What I'm trying to say is that I am thankful for my family, especially my parents, who have dealt with this situation just like we've dealt with most others that have come along in our lives...with a lot of prayer, and a lot of humor!
The best example of this was when my dad was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago for chest pains. After many tests and many threats by Dad to escape, they found that a section of his aorta will need to be replaced. While still processing all of this, Mom made phone calls to the rest of the family. She got a hold of Travis (older brother) who was on his cell, driving back from Tallahassee, and explained to him that Dad needed surgery and it would be very extensive. Here is where the cameras should have been rolling, because Travis let Mom go on for a few minutes and then said, "Wait a minute. Don't you have insurance??" Mom: "Yes, of course. Anyway....." (she continued to explain the surgery here). Travis heard nothing she said from this point on, because HE thought she had said the surgery was "expensive." And he was amazed! Was her next stop ebay, to bid on a discounted procedure? Was she going to scour the paper for a coupon?? We all got a good laugh at it, and since we'll need a few more laughs over the next days/weeks to come, I came up with a short list of good reasons to have heart surgery. Here you go, Dad!
1. The gowns you wear are just so dang cute....and the ventilation is unsurpassed.
2. If you're a guy, it's one of the few times you get flowers delivered to you and you don't have to feel weird about it!
3. You get a hair-free chest, which gets you one step closer to the Men's Health magazine cover.
4. It's the one time you're allowed to take really, really great drugs. Life will never look better to you than when you're this medicated!
5. You get to sleep a lot...oh, I forgot. They do come in and wake you up every 2.7 minutes to see if you're resting.
6. You hear from people that haven't called you in years.
7. The food is so....um, scratch this one.
8. Pretty pink bedpan included at no extra charge.
9. If you've ever thought of yourself as a "modest" person and wanted to be a little more daring, let's just compare this experience to going from the Amish community to a nudist colony in one fell swoop! (no offense to the Amish)
10. And, finally, you get to find out how much people really love and care about you. We do love you, Dad!