Dancing With Max
I just finished listening to "Dancing with Max" by Emily Colson with prologue and epilogue by Charles Colson. Having this book narrated by the author and her father made this story so personal. It made me an intimate audience to Emily's day to day struggle between Max's needs and the "system's" demands. Each person created by God is unique.  When you add to the situation,  that person's ability to have and enjoy all that life has to offer being laid upon the shoulders of another, it creates a divine tension. I love this person and will fight to the death for their well-being and at the same time, when and by whom will that same thing apply to me?  Listening to Emily tell the story really drew me into this struggle as well as giving voice to my own narrative. I am also a mother to a son with profound disabilities and through the outpouring of grace on his life I get to watch him touch and change lives by just being who he is.

Remember Xanga?

Well, I was mindlessly surfing and came across my old Xanga site.  Haven't touched it in 2 years, but thought the posts were worth keeping.  I subscribed to the premier level to I could download an archive.  $4 is a good service fee, and yes, I unchecked the auto renew box!!

Enough, already!!

 

Okay, so the weather here has been so messy.  We got the front yard weeded before Frank left and my legs are still stiff and sore a week later.  I left the can in the yard thinking I could pick up piles of weeds and fill the can for the next trash pick up.  Well, it won't quit raining and just to spite me, it's snowing, too.  This is April and I live in the desert!  Where is my sun?!! I want it to be warm.

 I need to load the van on Monday and head down to the "valley of the sun" for District Council.  I will be manning a display table for Special Touch Ministry, Inc.  Promoting AZ Summer Getaway.  With the dates of Aug 8-12th this year, the contacts I make at District Council actually have time to get applications in and we could have many new guests.  I also want to promote the Caregivers in Training (CIT) program.  We have teens, age 14-17, come and we pair them with a caregiver to form a training/mentoring relationship.  It's a missions trip for them and they don't have to even leave the state.

I am spending the month of April without my husband.  He is laid off the whole month and having always bemoaned the stories of people able to take a month and travel, we found this to be a God-send for him to do what he has always wanted to do.  He is making it a game to spend as little as he can besides gas.  He is calling it a "couch surfing" trip.  He has his still camera and his new video one too and I hope he is taking pics.  He wants to journal the trip and pictures and video always help tell the story.

My time alone is not without activities. I have a pretty full month.  District Council next week with the day I return, hopefully getting to the practice for our first performance of a women's barbershop singers group I recently joined with my Mom.  The concert is on Sat the 16th.  We are sharing the spotlight with the City of Kingman Community Choir.
The rest of the month is filled with Dr's appointments and the such.  I've been working in my office on paperwork that has created a small mountain.

I bought a program called Paperless.  I need to start with tax related receipts but want to go through a lot of files and make files of important docs and get rid of  the paper.  (Looooooonng term goal)
For now, I need to file an extension for our '10 taxes because my back has had all the desk time it can take.  And put together the stuff I need to take to Phoenix next week.


So even with the man gone, my life continues on it's merry, busy, way.

One of the few Apps I have used in Facebook looked interesting.  It's a year of status updates in a collage.  I posted it to my facebook wall, but wanted to keep a copy, so here it is:

  I was thoroughly surprised by this book, thinking that the eagle symbolism has been used to exhaustion. I learned quite a bit. The way this book was laid out with the contributions of both generations was quite refreshing.  
There are many ways this book can be used.  You can simply read it and find much in the correlation of the life span of eagles and Israel’s maturation.  You can use it to map out your own growth with the visual they provide in the introduction.  Or, you can make it a personal study and journal your answers and applications from the personal application at the end of each chapter.  As a bonus for an already complete work, there is a small group guide in the back to bring others along on your journey.  The intimate look into the life of a young eagle juxtaposed along side the Israelites faltering steps is mixed with Avery’s personal stories of faith building experiences and Matt’s more current growth observations.  
Having spent the time with these authors speaking to me through the book, it was sad to hear of Avery’s passing.  I plan on picking up more of his works to glean from his years of maturing in Christ until his “graduation.”


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review 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 Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Work


Well, my son has a litany that he goes through each morning.  A teasing session of sorts.  He pronounces that, "I am going to work!  not you!!"  Well, I ask him if I can come and he tells me, "no."  Then he sentences me to "stay home and work!"  He obviously has two totally different definitions of work. His work is good and my work is not.  He will have fun and I will not.  
Well, with the last few weeks being quite full, I have found myself "working" steadily to accomplish everything that needed to get done.  I had deadlines to spur me on, but now I just have a to-do list.  I am having to keep the bit in my mouth and keep moving.  
This forced activity level needs to morph into a daily activity level.  I didn't get to watch any TV while we were at Special Touch Getaway May 24-28th and just that week let me make a long enough break to not  need to sit and watch all the stuff I used to.  (There is scientific findings that you burn fewer calories watching TV than you do sleeping!)
Another thing I've been working on is losing the weight that I put on at an alarming rate when the Dr. tried a medicine to help with my pain level.  I have found that the typical pain signal blockers do not work and the side-effects  were quite detrimental to my psyche.  The "activity level" I am keeping lately has helped in losing half of the weight gain.  If I can use that as incentive, it is another reason to keep up the work and have it benefit my list as well as my scale readings.
I spent the morning helping a friend clean and rearrange her home and I really like the hard work, knowing I am pumping out those endorphins as well as burning calories.  The satisfying feeling of cleared space is good for my brain, too.  I'm not asking for more friends that need major help working, but I am thankful for the work this week to further my training of body and soul to greater health and productivity.

When I picture Abraham standing and talking to the Lord, I wonder if he is counting Lot's family in his mind? Wouldn't he think to bring them back to him and destroy the cities as was the final outcome? As it was there were not even 10! And even after their salvation, had not Lot told his daughters how close their kinsmen were? When Abraham looked and saw the cities burning, did he wonder if "there were none righteous, no not one?" such great description in this narrative and so few answers.
Abraham asks the question, would the righteous be destroyed with the unrighteous? The righteous will live with the unrighteous until that day, with the possibility that they won't be destroyed. The fields are white unto harvest!
I think I will try setting the Proverbs reading to memory: For the Lord gives Wisdom...

When I picture Abraham standing and talking to the Lord, I wonder if he is counting Lot's family in his mind? Wouldn't he think to bring them back to him and destroy the cities as was the final outcome? As it was there were not even 10! And even after their salvation, had not Lot told his daughters how close their kinsmen were? When Abraham looked and saw the cities burning, did he wonder if "there were none righteous, no not one?" such great description in this narrative and so few answers.
Abraham asks the question, would the righteous be destroyed with the unrighteous? The righteous will live with the unrighteous until that day, with the possibility that they won't be destroyed. The fields are white unto harvest!
I think I will try setting the Proverbs reading to memory: For the Lord gives Wisdom...

As I enjoy the smell of spiral ham warming in the oven and anticipate a pleasant
evening at church fellowship dinner in a little less than an hour, I thought I
would share some thoughts from today's reading. I will try to do this often.
I found that two people were presented in the Old and New Testament readings
were ordained to bring relief. Noah's name, in vs 29, means: this one shall
bring us relief. And of course Christ, in whom His father is well pleased, will
bring salvation to the world in a short 3 years past the present narrative.
Noah was 600 before his name will have literal meaning. Christ was 30 years in
spiritual and physical growth and preparation.
We need to grasp every moment to become prepared for whatever God has in store
for our future. Whether that time is tomorrow, next year or in 20 years. We
need that time to be ready.
Just a short note.
You can post a note with your thoughts to help your fellow readers glean the
most from our daily readings.
Just 362 more days to go!!
Jean

Starting a new year with a new Bible reading program. I'm joining the ladies of Arizona Women's Ministry, Advance 2010, using a reading plan mixing New and Old Testaments as well as Psalms and Proverbs.

http://www.oneyearbibleblog.com/2009/12/january-1st-one-year-bible-readings.html

this is a blog with some commentary, but not too much to bog down the daily plan. The other place I like to read from is

Every Day in the Word it has the scriptures as well as an audio option.

So here's to 363 more days of success.

Since I didn't get to cards this year, I'll use this venue for my wishes.

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes

for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress,

non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice

holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of religious

persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the

religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their

choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and

medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally

accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the

calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society

have helped make America great (not to imply that America is

necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "America" in

the western hemisphere) and without regard to the race, creed, color,

age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the

wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This

greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely

transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies

no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for

her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is

revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted

to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings

for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday

greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to

replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole

discretion of the wisher.

In other words,

a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Disclaimer: "no trees were harmed in the sending of this message

however, a significant number of electrons were slightly

inconvenienced."

I found this years ago and loved it!!