Good timing for LENT

Ahhh! It seems that Lent has come at a good time for me. We had some sickness go through our house last week and it seems like that can knock ya flat for a while. Our house felt like a pharmacy for about a week. These past couple of weeks have left me a little dry spiritually . I was hoping for some good reading/connecting with God time while in the Bahamas but you know how that went...Strep throat did not lend itself to me being very alert!!

So, last Wednesday, we began the Lenten journey for this year. ..time to prepare for the cross. Time to strip away some excess in my life and focus in a sharper way on God. It really could not have come at a better time for me personally.

I am using the book "From Sacrifice to Celebration -A Lenten Journey" again this year as a book to accompany me on this 40 day journey. A few quotes from the first chapter have already sharpened my thinking and my focus so far...

"Lent calls us to discipline. At its best, Lent is more than a season; its a journey from the daily grind to spiritual growth."

"When my journey of faith seems stuck in the ruts of indifference or predictability,Lent propels me forward again."

"Lent is a time for feeding on God's word. It's a time for nourishing our spirits on the good news of our acceptance in Christ."

"Once you stop wanting what you do not have and loosen your grip on what you do have, you are ready to receive God's presence in a new and empowering way. Filled with this presence,your restlessness will cease.You will take the less traveled road from boredom to bonding, not the congested expressway from boredom to brokenness. On your journey, you will find adventure, the unfolding drama of life's richness."

I pray these forty days will deepen my walk with God, and will propel me forward in Christ!

I want a DO OVER!!!!

Bahamas-Atlantis resort

Ever wanted a "do over"? Have you ever said something you regretted? Have you ever had a day in which everything went wrong? There have been many times in life when I have wanted to press a "do over" button, but I can say this is one of the first vacations I have been on in which I wanted to find that button and just start over!!

Phillip and I were given a great opportunity this past week...five days in the Bahamas at the Atlantis resort. I had never been to the Bahamas and was very excited! I was especially excited to leave the weather we have been having this Winter. ( I know I may be a wimp but I can not remember it being this cold in Charlotte for such an extended period of time in many, many years!)

Before we left town, Zach had started have "gook" (nice word,I know) in his eyes and a runny nose, but I thought it was just a cold. "Mom of the year" was wrong again! We got to the Bahamas and I began to get text messages from Reeve, who was staying with the kids while we were gone. She was asking how much gook was normal ( not her exact words) and she got more concerned throughout the day. Apparently, he got much worse, and after an almost sleepless first night at our house, she took him to the doctor the next day. They gave him some antibiotics and some drops to clear up his eyes. Soon after all this, Reeve started feeling poorly. OK, we are in the Bahamas, at one of the coolest resorts I have ever been to, and I was really having a hard time enjoying myself knowing all this was going on back home.

Another day goes by, and Phillip and I both woke up with wicked sore throats. Now I am a woman , so I am used to just sucking it up and moving ahead...but woah, this was a good one!! I was almost in tears and more than anything, shocked by the irony of the fact that we were in the BAHAMAS no less and feeling this poorly. How crazy is that? There were water slides to ride on, beaches to be walked on, books to be read while sitting by the pool, but what could we possibly do when we felt like we had just swallowed razor blades!! We called a Dr. from the U.S. who called in a prescription for us to a pharmacy in the Bahamas, but when we called the pharmacy to see how much it would cost, they said it would be $291.00...for probably the same medicine we could get back home with our $10 co-pay!! So, we opted to not do that and instead got a couple boxes of cold/sore throat theraflu and began sucking those down. A few people have mentioned we should have put colorful umbrellas in our theraflu drinks!

Anyway, as we finished out our trip, we got a text from Reeve that she had strep throat, and then we came home yesterday still feeling like we had been hit by a truck. We both went to the Dr. today and as you might guess, we both have strep (along with everyone we shared the plane with yesterday probably-sorry folks!).

So, five days in the Bahamas... and there ya' have it! I try to be a really positive person and I am sure there will be more funny stories and illustrations to come...but for now, I just want a DO OVER!!!!!!!!

Random thoughts from this past week

• Snow/ice/days off...fun for a while, but I realize I am a big fan of routine! I was really thrown off this week!
  
• Taylor cracks me up...after spending 45 minutes (slight exaggeration) getting ready to go out in the snow, we go out, get one picture...and after one time sledding and getting ice on her face, she started crying and exclaimed "This is the worstest season ever!!"
• Been thinking a lot about selfishness this week. I have had a few situations that have brought this to the forefront of my mind. I have seen it in myself and I have seen it in others. THANKFUL for the grace of God!
• Zach's laugh is one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard.
• Finding joy in the mundane is a discipline.
• I can post a Bible verse on facebook and get few, if any,responses. I posted a question this week , asking if I am the only one on facebook who doesn't watch the show "Lost" and I got 43 comments...I'm just saying!
• This morning in my prayer group at Oasis, we spent some time just praising God for who He is. We went through the alphabet and for each letter, we spoke out attributes of God we are thankful for- and yes, "Z" was a tough letter!! What struck me was as I listened to what was being said about God and threw out some words myself, I realized it was the most peaceful I had felt all week. (Note to self: Focusing on God , and not myself, is a good thing!!!)
• Believe it or not, I still really like the song "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas...could have something to do with the fact that it is funny to hear a 4 year old singing "I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night!"

So, those are a few of my random thoughts for this week! Thanks for playing!