Scattered Thunderstorms

For the last three days, the weather channel has forecasted scattered thunderstorms for our area. That normally would not be a big deal except that I had planned a "surprise" for my husband who was out of town for three days which required me to do some work outside. The scattered thunderstorms presented quite a challenge, but I managed to overcome it, and was amazingly able to bless my husband (with the help of MANY friends) upon his arrival home. (I'll tell you about the surprise in another blog entry).

All was 'right' last night. My husband came home, was delighted by the surprise I planned for him; the boys slept a long night, giving Lawrence and me a little extra sleep that we desperately needed. But, we got out of bed, and were greeted by our own custom made 'scattered thunderstorms'. Here's what it looked like:

Lawrence needed some underwear; the only ones clean smelled like fuel due to our gas dryer emitting some foul oder into one of my recent loads of laundry. (still don't know what that's all about) We found an unidentifiable bug in our bedroom. You would think this girl from the country would 1. know her bugs and 2. not be frieked out by them, but neither is true. My husband read through the mail that came yesterday, two letters of which were collection notices for hospital bills that we've been told again and again by both our insurance company and the hospital that we are not responsible to pay...a quandry for sure. These notices come just when we are planning to re-finance our home. I had a difficult conversation with my husband over the phone while he drove to work that drew out my heart's inclination to fear and be selfish all at the same time. And, my sons have a violent diaper rash that I have been unable to treat with every recommendation and prescription our doctor has suggested. All this before 10 am.

I know there are too many of you who can relate to the morning I just described. The temptation for me in these moments is to be shaken, to melt into a puddle of tears and fear the worst, to feel overwhelmed by all my responsibility and fall, rather jump, into a pit of self pity. All these responses are first, not godly, nor are they productive.

God, in His mercy, is reminding me more and more quickly in these moments that I have a choice. I can throw up my hands and decide to give up and give in to temptation or I can persevere by praying and seeking perspective from His Word. By His grace I chose the latter this morning. I picked up a magazine my husband receives and read an article by Nancy Wilson. It was on having a Sabboth meal, something altogether unrelated to the circumstances of my morning, but in it was this quote which encouraged my heart immensely and set my gaze in the right direction once again.

The point is to celebrate before the Lord around the table, knowing that He is preparing a table for all of us where He will be seated at the head.

That simple phrase provided a wonderful reminder that this world and all its trouble--it's not my home. I'm here for a short time. I may endure many trials, big and small, but it doesn't matter because I'm not staying here. I'm moving on to Heaven, where there are no unidentifiable bugs, smelly underwear, violent diaper rashes or medical bills, and where there will be no scattered thunderstorms, because the SON shines brightly all day and night there.

First Steps

Tucker took his first steps unassisted today...very exciting times in the Almengor household!

Cool Refreshing Drink

Lawrence and I (especially Lawrence) have been enjoying a "new" drink this summer. We've had the flavored lemonades in restaurants before and really enjoyed them. So, I thought I'd try to make it myself at home. It turned out to be quite easy.

Make Lemonade however you like..fresh lemons, sugar and water
OR my way: Good 'Ol Countrytime Lemonade mix w/ water.

Add sliced strawberries and let it sit until it starts to turn pink. Leave strawberries in until you like the taste or serve it. It's very yummy!

Cool Summer Meals

To respond to Laurie's blog on quick summer meals, I am posting a few of my ideas.

Baked Potato Bar:

Potatoes
Bacon
Broccoli
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Butter

You can cook potatoes, bacon and broccoli in the microwave, keeping it cool in the kitchen.
Let me know if you come up with any other fun bar toppings.

Italian Crock Pot Chicken:

6 Chicken Breasts
8 oz. bottle of Italian Dressing
Throw this into slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours. Drain juice; shred chicken and then add the following mixture:

1 (10.75oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1- 8oz.block of cream cheese
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Slow cook this for 1 more hour on low. Serve over noodles.

Yummy Fruit Salad:

1 lg. can of chunk pineapple
1 sm. can of mandarin oranges
1.5 pints strawberries
2-3 bananas
1 packet of instant vanilla pudding mix

Drain pineapple juice into bowl. Mix the pudding mix with it until smooth.
Dump pineapple. Drain off the juice in mandarin oranges and then dump the oranges into fruit salad. Cut strawberries and throw into salad. Slice bananas and put into salad as close to serving as possible. Mix it up and chill. It's Yummy, yummy!!

On Napping

I love tea, particularly hot, herbal teas. One of my favorites is Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime and Sleepytime Extra. On the backs and bottoms of Celestial Seasonings' boxes are quotes which I am faithful to read. Here's one I read recently that is especially resonating with me given the season of life I'm in right now.

When we were young, the 'tall' ones told us when to slow down. When the demands of the world became too great, their powers of reasoning proved maddeningly accurate. 'I think someone's tired, ' they observed. And off for a nap we went. Ten minutes later, our dreaming faces had put us back in good favor with our exasperated parents. When we woke the world somehow made sense again. What kind of truth might a napping child impart to us? Now we are the tall ones, living in a complicated world with no one to tell us when to slow down. The slumbering little one knows the value of not having the last owrd, of accepting a minor defeat. It's so simple. Miss out on something. Put yourself back in your own good favor. The world will wait. David Jacoby

With that written, I am off to put my little ones down for a nap, followed by some quiet time in the Word and then in my bed. Hopefully, those two won't be one in the same. :)

Judah's blog

I started a new blog for Judah alone. It is to keep folks who are interested abreast to his medical condition. I will be posting new developments in his diagnosis, doctor's appointments, prayer requests and praises. It is http://judahupdate.blogspot.com/.

Our Sufficiency in ALL Things

I am a 28 year old toddler who retorts all day either in word or deed, "me do it, me do it." And, I end up just like a toddler with food all over the floor and/or my face, skinned knees and bruises all over my head (sometimes literally). But, I am growing. God is humbling me, primarily through my circumstances, and He is graciously teaching me through His Word and some excellent preaching by my Senior Pastor, Jim Cannon, how to walk in the Spirit in an ongoing manner.
My wonderful husband, who cares for my soul and shepherds my heart so effectively recently asked me to read a page from Beside Still Waters by Charles Spurgeon. I have read it several times for the last few days, meditating on its truths and provoked by its call to dependence on a faithful, gracious God. I'm posting a few paragraphs here for your encouragement. If you have the book, it is found on page 252.

Right now and at all moments that will occur between now and glory, God's grace will be sufficient. This sufficiency is declared without any limiting words. Thus the Lord Jesus is sufficient to uphold, sufficient to strengthen, sufficient to comfort, sufficient to make trouble useful, sufficient to enable you to triumph, sufficient to bring you out of ten thousand trials, and sufficient to bring you home to heaven.

Whatever is good, Christ's grace is sufficient to bestow. Whatever would harm, His grace is sufficient to avert. Whatever you need, His grace is sufficient to give, if it is for your good. Whatever you would avoid, His grace can shield, if His wisdom dictates.

I am glad that they cannot put all sufficiency into words. If so, it would be finite. Since we can never express it, glory be to God, for it is inexhaustible. Our demands can never be too great.

Baby Nightmares

A few nights ago my husband and I were sitting in our basement watching the O's when we heard a strange squeal coming from our baby monitor. It was one of the boys yelling out in their sleep.
Lawrence said, "I hate that sound. It sounds like they're having a nightmare or something."
I chuckled and replied, "How could they be having nightmares? They haven 't been exposed to anything that could scare them. They don't watch TV; we rarely take them to the mall or any other place for that matter that would have images of scary things."
My more thoughtful husband rebutted with, "They do have experiences that could create a context in their minds for scary things, such as being stuck in their crib in a dark room when mommy has just shut the door, never to return."

I caught on to his train of thought and began to imagine what might constitute a "baby nightmare": a bottle of milk hung inches in front of one's mouth with no way of reaching it, a diaper rash that mommy keeps wiping with wet wipes over and over and over again, being left in a play pen with no toys for an entire half hour or being given a bath every day, twice a day (this actually happened to my nephew b/c he had such bad excema, poor thing).

These imagined baby nightmares seemed rather comical to me given the true harsh realities of life. From my perspective, there are a lot more scary things in life than not being able to reach a bottle dangling inches from my face. Living life longer than my 10 month old twins, I know there are bigger things to worry about than being left in a play pen without any toys. There are the nightmares of being a pimple face in Jr. High, having a bad hair day or a bad hair life for that matter, locking one's keys out of the car or going to Starbucks for a mocha frap. only to be told they are out of chocolate syrup! More seriously, there are the nightmares of cancer, the loss of loved ones by death, theft, murder and abuse of power.

But, what threats do my "nightmares" pose to God? Do the many things that concern me seem comical to the Lord? In my laughter about these potential nightmares my boys may be having was also some serious compassion, a desire to wake them up and reassure them that everything is alright. I'm taking care of them; they have nothing to worry about. They will never have a bottle dangling infront of them, out of reach or be kept in a play pen without any toys. They're definitely not getting bathed twice a day. (They're lucky if they get bathed twice a week!)

While God in His wisdom and power would be justified to find the things I worry about comical, I think more often He takes a compassionate posture toward me. At least that is what Scripture leads me to believe. Littered throughout His Word are reassurances that He is taking care of me, He loves me and will never leave me. I have nothing to worry about.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Heb. 13:5

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer.29:11

Be stong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Jos.1:9

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Ps. 139:5

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Ps. 68:19,20

Thank you, Lord that both the nightmares we experience and the ones we just fear experiencing cannot eclipse Your Sovereign plan and purpose for us, nor keep us from your love, provision and protection. Truly, there is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. Ps. 86:8

Hypermobility and Our Foundation in Christ

Several months after I delivered the boys, I realized I was in quite a bit of pain in my lower back and hips. You figure fifty extra pounds, a whole lot of that relaxin hormone released into my body, 16+ hours of unmedicated labor, and five months of nursing twin boys with a great appetite, my body was a little out of whack. I finally managed to get to a physical therapist. (Therese Griffin rocks!) Over the course of my treatment, I learned that I am what they call "hypermobile", which basically means that I'm incredibly flexible. This worked for me as a cheerleader throughout highschool, but I'm not sportin' a highschooler's body or lifestyle any longer. I'm luggin' around twins, and hypermobility doesn't really work for me anymore!

The therapist explained my hypermobility to me in terms of what is "normal". He said normally, people's joints can take a bit of a jolt and remain in place. Then, there's me. The slightest beating on my joints and they're out of alignment. The focus of my therapy, therefore, was to strengthen the muscles and ligaments around my joints in order to keep them in place. Made sense to me. Since I've been doing the various exercises the therapists suggested, I have felt a lot better. It has required discipline to do the exercises, but when I don't do them, I feel its affect on my back and hips.

I thought of my hypermobility recently as I read through a passage in Luke 6.
I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

Much like my physical body needs strengthening during times that I am not injured in order to help my joints respond to the beatings of everyday life, my heart needs strengthening during the times when life is a bit more "trial-free" so that it can endure and stand firm through the stormy seasons life brings my way. Luke 6 tells me the type of strength training I need: to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. I have recently been convicted by the pool of spiritual knowledge I can draw from but often don't when the rubber meets the road. Often my actions don't match what I claim to know and believe the truth to be.

But, I do have those around me whose lives match their claims. One such friend just recently found out she has a chronic medical condition. This would be overwhelming news at best for most of us. And, while I'm sure she has had her moments, she has overwhelmingly proclaimed the faithfulness and goodness of God to her and her family throughout this time in her life. And, she affirms her trust in God who has promised to never leave her or forsake her. Her foundation is well built, for the storm has come and she remains steady.

A favorite verse of mine for the hope of being described in such a way rather than reflecting it currently is Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

One day, I trust that I WILL laugh at the days to come, and by God's grace, as I build my foundation through applying His truth rather than simply knowing His truth, I will see my house stand firm through the trials of life. I pray for you, reader, that you are building a firm foundation that will stand when the storms of life rage against your home.

The Comfort of the Cross

This afternoon I took a trip up the road to Walmart. This is not something I try to do often with my two boys in tow. But, we had been out of town over the weekend and busy in the evenings trying to catch up. The weekend was not going to afford any opportunities for me to run my errands either. So I loaded and unloaded the boys, and we strolled through Walmart picking up various items we needed. As you might imagine, the bus I try to "drive" (aka the Graco duo glider [it far from glides]) and more importantly the cargo I carry in it, the twins, draw much attention when out in public. Initially, I think people notice two babies, but their countenance quickly changes when they take notice to Judah's face, mostly all red from the port wine stain.

Some people inquire, and I am grateful they do. More people just look and then look away. Many children point as their parents try to avert their attention so as to not embarrass themselves or me. Today, it got to me. On our way out, one little boy too many pointed and said, "mommy, mommy, look at that baby's face; it's all red. Why is it red?"

I stopped and let it sink in again. My little boy, who I think is so beautiful and delightfully dispositioned, is different. He doesn't look like most kids. Even among Sturge Weber kids, he has one of the more significant port wine stains I've seen. And, today it bothered me. I started to tear up, beginning to give full reign to my natural response as a mother. But then God's Spirit graciously brought to mind Psalm 139, a passage that has been a primary source of encouragement to me since I carried the boys in my womb.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

As I have rehearsed that passage over and over again in my mind, seeking to renew my mind with the truth and thereby see my emotions fall in line, I have often found comfort and peace. However, today I was especially struggling with self pity, and I wanted to believe that I was the only one who had to walk through such difficult circumstances.

Once again the gospel came through with comfort I could not derive by comparing my situation with others. I remembered that Christ was no handsome fellow by the world's standard. Isaiah 53 tells me, He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering... Yet he is most beautiful to me and one day, I pray will be to my sons as well.

I cry again today, but this time my emotions are a response to the Truth rather than what the world and my own sinful heart wants me to believe. I rejoice that Judah will have a unique opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ, and I pray that God will give me grace and wisdom to shepherd his heart so that he will rejoice in that opportunity as well.