Like a Breath of Fresh Air~

I am sooo ready for fall! Our summer was a bit toasty, even for my taste, and I am ready. Not just the cooler mornings and nippy nights, but all that fall implies. Friday night Texas football, Longhorn football, nights in the hot tub, outdoor chats by the fireplace with smores (despite the burn ban and living next door to the Mayor - yikes), changing out the seasons in the closet, wearing sweatshirts all the time (love it), the start of all the many birthdays in our family...LOTS of them, fall decorations, fall festivals and shopping bizarres, Halloween - love, love all the little chickadees in their cute costumes, and I love that fall is the stepping stone to Thanksgiving and Christmas which will need their own blog!

I know God was having a good time, probably shaking his head in disbelief last week while I tried to blow leaves off the back deck while a decent wind was blowing. When I realized that they were basically blowing, swirling and circling back around, I smiled thinking God was having fun with me that morning, sweet.

I know it's a little early for the fall decorations, but I couldn't help myself! I had tall man (Taylor) get them out of the attic on his short stay at home and thought I would put them out in a couple of weeks. But, after about 2 passes by them I just couldn't help myself...they needed a home - fast!

Insert 'Stepmom' (the movie), just a little company, someone talking when all the peeps in my house give up and go to bed, and I'm off! My children affectionately call these moments of holiday decorating, cleaning, rearranging furniture, preparing for company....Danny moments. Danny Tanner, clean freak from Full House. As Cinderella might say - if the shoe fits!

This time however, the movie turned out to be very counter-productive (much like the leaf blowing). I guess it had been awhile since I last watched it, so I found myself stopping, a LOT, to actually watch the darn thing.

Steve rounded the corner at one very dramatic point, the point where I was sobbing my eyes out all the while holding an arm full of fall foliage, and he said...I can't believe you do this! Would it be considered self defense if I said I can't help myself? I have to confess I do this all the time. I did it today watching only part of Steel Magnolias...in between NFL football. I still managed to cry myself into a splitting headache!

All's well that ends well! Thankfully Susan Sarandon gave the gift of acceptance to Julia Roberts. She even told her I have their past, you will have their future (cry with me here people), and they enjoyed one last Christmas together...family style!

Danny was inspired that even in sorrow life can have a happy ending and thus motivated to burn the midnight oil and finish those decorations! I have tried to limit the madness to basic fall, saving the scary stuff for October 1st...if I can restrain that long.

While writing this post they announced a cool front for the week...can't wait! Looking forward to some outdoor blog writing this week. The fixings for smores are ready to go, come on over.

I leave you with pictures of a couple of the favorites this far. Have a great week.

XOXO,

~May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~

Rain..

Shh...don't say anything, but it's raining in Round Rock :) I mean it's really raining, not just two sprinkles and then the sun comes out. Unless you live here, literally in Round Rock, you have no idea how little rain we have had, how much we need the rain. To quote another blogger...Jesus bring the rain! Rain after a drought usually inspires me to write a little diddy~

Rain, rain...
Don't go away.
We need the wet for many a day!
Please water our yards
And fill the lakes...
To be in the boat would sound so great!
Lucky for me
I have a pair of rain slickers.
But it's been dry so long
They still have the price stickers!
No complaints,
We've waited a long time.
The diddy is over,
I've got no more rhyme :)

I know...wow is all you can say.

xoxo,

May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~

What Can I Give Him~

I have a place I want you to all know about, it is called The Storehouse. The Storehouse is literally a faith based food pantry, clothes closet and prayer ministry for the poor. Located in Pflugerville, it provides service for anyone in need...no strings attached. It is a ministry started by Jack and Sandra Cochran because they found themselves in a place of need, knowing what it meant to be hungry. They have poured their hearts, time and resources into this ministry for over 6 years.

This ministry requires no proof of income, no proof of need, does not require that you live in a certain area, they simply open their doors each day and serve all that enter. They show the love of Jesus Christ in it's purest form, service and acceptance.

I have prayed for quite some time for God to lead me to a place of service. I've had a couple of opportunities, but nothing seemed like the place I knew God wanted me to be, until now.

The premise is simple, the ministry is anything but simple. People come, sign in, meet with an intake coordinator, talk about any special needs, receive prayer if they want it (100% asked for prayer), they go into a small room where they receive food for approximately 4-5 meals. They receive food ONCE a month. Let that settle with you for just a minute. 4-5 meals, once a month.

As I knew it would be, I was on the receiving end Wednesday, not the giving end. Mothers, fathers, children, grandmothers, brothers, sisters...they all came. One gentleman could hardly walk, so painful to get in and out of the chairs, I asked him if he minded me asking what was wrong with his foot (in a cast), he said he was a diabetic, had his toe amputated a few weeks earlier and he had infection around the site...oh and yes, he was hungry. No complaints, smiled the entire time he was there.

And then came Chris. He was the last man I had the privilege of praying with and serving that day, but who am I kidding, he served me more than I could ever serve him. As we got up from the intake/prayer desk and started to make our way into the room for food, he stopped, pulled a tattered one dollar bill from his worn out wallet and placed it in a jar of coin donations sitting on the desk.

I was overwhelmed! What had I just witnessed? I had not even noticed the jar, and still have no idea what organization the collection is for (it is not for The Storehouse), but I knew I had just witnessed the love of Jesus Christ in this dear man! Giving something back, walking in faith that God would provide for him, his family, all their needs, in spite of their current circumstances.

I fought back tears in that moment but let them fall as soon as I got in my car. I still stand amazed at how good God has been in our life and pray that Chris can rub off on me. Jesus in the ordinary...Chris, you are anything but ordinary, thank you for the greastest gift you could give.


~What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a Sheperd,
I'd give him a lamb.
If I were a Wiseman,
I would do my part.
What can I give him,
I'LL GIVE HIM MY HEART~

Author Unknown

xoxo,

May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~

Bases Are Loaded...

It's what you play for....Championships. Regardless of age, t-ball state championship (not kidding, it does exist ), or Super Senior Tennis Nationals (yes, that exists too!), nothing beats being dubbed THE best at what you do. And so it happened last night, in our family.

Our son was drafted this year by the Giants and played in his first year of minor league baseball in Salem-Keiser, Oregon for the Volcanoes. They were up 2-1 in a 5 game series, and playing game 4 at home. Be reminded home is Pacific time (need my z's)...and they managed to play 13 innings! It was so exciting though. Every boy's dream...bottom of the inning, bases loaded...base hit - let the fun and excitement begin!

I sat reflecting on getting to this moment. The bleaching of uniforms, hustling to take forgotten gloves, belts, and pants..yes pants! before a game, practice, more practice, spring games, regular season games, tournaments, regional games, home openers, end of season, extra innings, freezing games, sunburn games, laughing, crying, laughing and crying at the same time, winning, losing, times in the valley and times on the mountain....but this...this was a moment of anticipation. There is just something about time spent -in the dog pile!

Taylor said it was probably the most fun he had in his life and suddenly, it was enough. The joy in his voice made it more than enough. Champagne flowed, pictures were snapped, they were fitted for championship rings, and for a time, men were as boys and baseball was the way it is supposed to be, a game you love, and a game you love to play.

~You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out it was the other way around all the time~ Jim Bouton

Congratulations!
xoxo,

May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~

Who is a Hypochonriac???

For as long as I can remember, at least in my adulthood, I have been...well, a borderline hypochondriac. In defense of myself, a lot of my conditions have proven to be right on. Others...well, not always. Here's a few...

Legit - for months had a sour stomach, nothing settled well, hungry but then too full, felt like someone hitting me between the shoulder blades...gallbladder attach and stones, check.

Low energy, mood swings, very severe cramps...hysterectomy, check.

Severe back pain, couldn't move, problem with disc, took medication and chiropractor, check.

Tee-tee when I ran, coughed or sneezed, bladder suspension, check.

Felt like I had a stick in my knee, swollen, cramped, couldn't straighten my leg, torn meniscus, bone spurs, multiple shots and surgeries, check.

Severe pain in right shoulder, couldn't hold my arm up to blow dry my hair, torn labrum, very painful surgery and rehabilitation, check.

Flying out of bed because I dreamed crickets were attacking me, fell on a shoe on the floor, knee swell to the size of a small city...legit people!

Another bad dream, jumped out of bed and hit the ironing board...hard! My stomach swell like I was 9 months pregnant, lost all bladder control...yeah, hospital again, this time they did a little "investigation"...make sure Steve wasn't abusing me. I guess not too many people complain of complications due to running into an ironing board in the middle of the night.

Suspicious lump that I could sometimes feel, sometimes not, low energy level, malignant tumor, double mastectomy, chemo and radiation, check.

Not so Legit - pregnant with Tiffany, severe cramping (while Steve was playing a softball game), drove 90 with lights flashing, thought I was having a miscarriage...diagnosed as needing to toot, wow, not legit.

On-going headaches that certainly must be a brain tumor, not legit...all MRI's perfectly fine. In defense of myself I take medication for migraines and they go away, so at least they aren't just in my mind!

Being unable to breath one night after dinner, chest pains, dizzy, rushed to hospital thinking I was having a heart attack....acid reflux attack. That is actually good news, but I'm telling you it hurts and it's scary because you can't get air!

Being frightened by bird hiding in my backyard at dark one night, freaked out when it flew at me, thought I broke my foot...not legit. It was bruised and it did hurt, but not broken.

Contrary to what my husband thinks, I really do have a pretty high tolerance for pain. However, I also have a keen sense of knowing when something is not right, and I like to have peace of mind, so I check it out. Maybe the "rush to treatment" gives me the label of hypochondriac. I always joked, regardless of what hurt or where it was, that it was a tumor. Remember the line from the movie..."it's not a tumor"....I wish I had a nickel for every time someone told me that! But then one day, it was a tumor, and the jokes stopped, just like that. Well, I'm officially bringing "the tumor" back. In my restored health I think it's very healthy for the heart, soul and the mind to laugh again, and laugh about everything. Here's to the moving tumor!

My symptoms for today: I have no energy, like none at all. I'm low when I'm doing nothing, but when I do something...play tennis, work in the yard, etc., I am literally wiped out. Almost too tired to eat, but are you kidding me, that would only happen if I were dead. I don't have a big appetite, which is very alarming, and my arms and legs feel heavy, if that makes sense. Headaches, controlled with Tylenol. So, not huge symptoms, just an overall feeling of not feeling good. What are your thoughts?

I'm going with...are you ready - swine flu. I haven't looked it up on the Internet yet, but I'm going to. Regardless of what is wrong, anything, nothing at all, I am so darn grateful to God, the great physician for restoring my health, sense of humor, ability to laugh at myself and my situation...wherever I go, He is always with me, and I absolutely love Him more each day!

XOXO,

May you find Jesus in the ordinary and may His love be enough~