A Small Seed - A BIG WISH! 

 

Jenna spent time outside today trying to help her father.  They were clearing off dead plants for the fall. She is always fascinated with plants and seeds and things that grow.  She came inside when she got cold and brought in a handful of dandelion seeds.  She excitedly looked for a place to put them that they would be safe.  She picked out a plastic pretzel container that has a lid.  She put them into the jar lovingly and said to them "you will be warm and safe in here".  She then told me that she had a full jar of wishes.  She told me that she could not share them and that only when she goes to heaven will she leave them for someone else to use.Oh what joy small seeds brought to this small child.  May we always find joy in the small things of this world and the glories that their creator brings. Peace today.  Strength for today.           

  

P Is For Pretty Pumpkin Picker

 

 P is for Pretty Pumpkin Picker.  Today we had a special day.  Daddy and Mommy and I all got to got to the pumpkin patch to pick my pumpkin for this year, 2012.  I am very excited.  Look at my pretty smile.

 This is the one!   Look here it is Daddy!  Do you think it's the BEST ONE??

Yes this was the one.
Look at the great job we did together!
Daddy even put the dimples on that I asked for.  

Here is something interesting Mommy found about Pumpkin carving.

A Script to go along with this Christian Object Lesson:
(Based on Liz Curtis Higgs' book - for those that do not have the book. The book is so much fun to read though; I recommend getting a copy. Liz has such a special way of writing, and there is such a rhythm to the story. She has also added a Scripture on every page!)

Today I want to tell you a story. It's a special story called a 'parable'. A parable is an earthly story that has a heavenly meaning. In the Bible there are many parables that Jesus told so we could understand His teachings better.

This is a story about a farmer and a pumpkin.

The Farmer lives wa-a-a-a-ay out in the country. On his farm He has a pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins are really special. They start out as small oval seeds that grow into big, orange pumpkins. The farmer plants the seeds, waters, and cares for the pumpkin vines and patiently waits as they grow.

Finally by October there are big, orange pumpkins in his pumpkin patch! Some are tall and lean, some are short and round, and some have bumps and lumps. But they are all pumpkins and all were planted and cared for by the Farmer.

One day the Farmer chose a pumpkin for a special project. He brings it in from the field and washes it off. You have to be careful with pumpkins; they're tough on the outside, but if you drop them, they break into pieces! 

The Farmer takes a large knife and cuts a hole in the top of the pumpkin. Inside there is yucky, slimy pulp waiting for Him. That has to go! He cleans it all out and throws it away - never to be seen again.

After that He gives the pumpkin a new face! He cuts two triangles for eyes, a square for a nose, and a big, wide smile!

Then He does something really special. He puts a small white candle down inside the pumpkin and lights the wick. 

How that pumpkin glows! As people pass by, they see the smiling pumpkin and smile back. They know that once again the Farmer has taken a simple pumpkin and changed it into a glorious sight!

The Meaning of the Parable:

Just like us, all the pumpkins were different. But there was something the same about every one of them - that yucky, slimy pulp on the inside!

The yucky, slimy pulp is like the sin that's in us. Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 

 That's every single one of us.

God has made a way that all our sin can be forgiven and washed away. God even says He'll cast them as far as the East is from the West. Romans 5:8 says: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

John 3:16 goes on to say: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

After cleaning out that pumpkin, the Farmer gave the pumpkin a new face! The Bible says God can make us a new creation too.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Then came the really special part. The light was placed inside that pumpkin and it glowed for all to see!

2 Corinthians 4:6 says: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

And Matthew 5:16 says: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

So we can become like that pumpkin in the Christian object lesson - a glorious sight for others to see the love of Jesus!

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This year I wanted to dress up as Jessie from Toy Story.  Yee Haw!!!!

This is my cousin Owen.  He is a football player this year.

Yee Haw!!  Now all I need is a real horse and my friend Woody.

I can't wait to see what you were for Halloween.

Owen and I went to the Trunk or Treat at my church.  We had a great time.   

I got to see my school and church friends.

Aunt Kathy had a cool game to play too.

 

This is Daddy and me the day after Trunk or Treat.  

I played in a pile of hay and I am allergic to it...sad face.

I have been sick for days now.  I had fun though.

Me sharing the famous purple blanket.

Let's Take A Little Hike

 

About two years ago now we took an extended family trip to the Smokie Mountains.  Jenna was just about 4 then and her cousin was about 2.  

 

We rented a wonderful cabin on the mountain near Gatlinburg TN.  It was Dale's Mom, Dad and brother Dan as well as Dale's brother Darwin and his wife Michele and son Owen.  My mother-in-law's sister Pat came to visit us all while we were there too.

 

On one of our days there Dale, Jenna and I drove through the National Park which is spectacular.  We stopped near a picnic area and took a hike in the forest.  Ever since then Jenna has asked occasionally to take a little hike.  Sometimes after that when she would get frustrated or just restless she would just say let's take a little hike.

 

Today we took a little hike at North Park on the nature trail.  We have gone there before but Jenna did not remember that trip.  Today it was just her and I and we were all alone on the trail.  She wanted to take pictures of animals but all we saw briefly were a bird and a chipmunk.  She was disappointed but still took several photos.   

 

We had taken a previous little hike there with my sister Kathy and her granddaughter and grandson about a year ago.

 

To Jenna just taking a little hike can clear her mind and set her soul at peace.  If only all of life were so simple.

 

I hope that everyone get's a chance to take a little hike.

See you in the woods soon.

 

Diagnosis PFAPA

Finally after Jenna has missed more school last year than anyone in her class we have a diagnosis.

Her pediatrician says that she has 

Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, Adenitis Syndrome (PFAPA)

WHAT IS PFAPA?

This syndrome includes recurrent episodes of fever with aphthous stomatitis (mouth sores) and pharyngitis (sore throat with redness). Occasionally, there also may be exudate (white patches on the tonsils) and usually the lymph nodes in the neck are enlarged (adenitis). Episodes of fever start suddenly and last for 3-7 days. Fevers occur routinely every few weeks; often, families know the exact day when an attack will start. Some children have other symptoms like joint pain, abdominal pain, rash, headache, vomiting or diarrhea. Children are completely well between attacks.
The disease may last for several years but usually will resolve by itself in the second decade of life. Over time, the time between the attacks will increase. Children with PFAPA continue to grow and develop normally.

FAST FACTS

• PFAPA is a syndrome that consists of recurrent attacks of fever, sore throat, mouth sores and swelling of the glands in the neck.
• Use of steroids at the start of an episode can stop it, but also may shorten the time to the next episode.
• PFAPA usually resolves spontaneously during the second decade of life.
• Tonsillectomy may cure the disease.

Now we can help her deal with the fevers better and hopefully have a much better school year as she enters first grade.

Do you know anyone who has experienced this before?  If you do, please share what you know.

Thanks.
 
 
 

Death of a Hope

 Have you ever faced the death of a hope?  Do you know anyone who has?  How did they deal with it?  

Hope:
1.  to cherish a desire with anticipation
2.  to expect with confidence: trust 

Have you every hoped for something with all your heart soul and being?  Have you ever lost all hope of a particular thing?  I have.

For many years I had hoped to have a child only to find that it was not God's plan for me at that time or place.  It was like the death of a person who never existed.  I longed to have a child with all my heart.  I prayed.  I cried.  I prayed more and cried more.  I experienced all of the friends and acquaintances having child after child.  I had people rub babies feet on me and say you need one too.  I have had people tell me that I did not drink the same or the right water.  I have had other women who were mom's go on and on about not having a child of the sex of their choice and how to make sure they had a boy or girl.  All the things that they tried to have a girl or have a boy.  All the while I was longing for a child of my own.  The hurt in my heart was so very real and yet not many people cared or understood.

I found that this journey strengthened my life.  I did not have the answers.  I did not get the answers that I prayed for.  My life did not go as I had planned. My life did not go the way that I thought God would have planned it either.  But ONE THING THAT I DID KNOW AND STILL KNOW is that GOD IS WITH ME EVEN WHEN I DID NOT UNDERSTAND OR DO NOT UNDERSTAND.  

I never thought that I would ever be married again.  I never thought that I would be loved again.  Old, fat and infertile.  God had other plans.

God had a plan for Jenna's life.  She was fearfully and wonderfully made.  God had a plan for her birth mother and birth father and still does.  Her birth mother choose life.  God choose her to be part of our family.

I do not know what His answer is for you or your family or your situation but I DO KNOW THAT HE WILL BE WITH YOU REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU FEEL OR IF YOU UNDERSTAND.

Praise God that He loves us each and everyone.

Here is a link for those who struggle with infertility.

Stepping Stones Infertility Resources

Remembering My Mom

08-05-1930 to 07-19-2001

My mom was the youngest of nine in her family.  She had siblings that were married and had children before she was born.  This has always made life interesting in our family.  Her parents, William David Hazlet and Bertha Virginia Hazlet were farmers that moved from farm to farm.  My grandfather was also a coal miner.  They were from Northern Butler County PA.  

My mom was an extremely patient person.  She taught me a lot about life and people.  She never asked anyone to do anything she was not willing to do herself.  She also taught me a lot about God and His love for me.  She was not a pushy person and never preached at anyone.  She lived her faith and showed many about God by her living example.  She was always focused on the people of the United States, not foreign mission fields.  She said we needed be concerned with the people around us first and then foreign mission fields.

It was an honor for her to see a person she helped in the Inter-Faith Hospitality Network when they were adjusted to their new life, home or work.  It made her so proud of them.  She was blessed by helping others.  

My mother was a good role model for me.  I want to raise my daughter to be as loving and caring of a person as she was.  My daughter never met my mother.  My mother never got to know my daughter.  What a great day it will be some day when they meet for the first time in God's kingdom.  My daughter is named after my husband's great grandmother (Jenna) and also after my mother (Lucille).  Jenna means lover of truth and Lucille means bringer of light.  May she grow to love God's truth and share His light with those she meets in her lifetime. 

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of my mother and the influence she had on my life.  

My mom was the person who most anticipated her death and getting to go to be with God in heaven.  She really rejoiced that her time was near and planned every last detail to help those who would be left behind.

Life is short, eat dessert first.  Save your fork, the best is yet to come.

Love you mom!

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Keep Your Fork

Attributed to Roger William Thomas
Submitted to Ann Landers by Kay in California
A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. She asked her Pastor to come to her home to discuss her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, and what scriptures she wanted read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Then she said, "One more thing... I want to be buried with a fork in my hand."
The pastor was surprised.
The woman explained, "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably say to everyone, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite time of the dinner, because I knew something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie - something wonderful. So, I want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and wonder, ' What's with the fork?' Then, I want you to tell them, ' Keep your fork, because the best is yet to come.' "
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he bid the woman goodbye. He realized she had a better grasp of heaven than he did, and knew something better was coming.
At the funeral, when people asked him why she was holding a fork, the pastor told them of the conversation he had with the woman before she died. He said he could not stop thinking about the fork, and knew they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
"Keep your fork. The best is yet to come."

If heaven has a smell this is what I think it would be.

You must, and I mean must go to Target and smell this stuff.

It is bliss and it is available in many products. 

I hope you like it as well as I do.

A very natural, beautiful smell.

The smell of heaven!