Christmas 2010

It was great being able to stay home this year and relax; didn’t have to rush out or drive across the country! It was nice to enjoy our own tree (first time we've had a tree in years), and our own Christmas dinner, and just be together in our own home. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

This is an origami Christmas Tree made by Kyle. I know he worked on it for hours and it turned out beautiful. It was a nice surprise!Me and my boys.DJ and boysThis is a picture from a couple days ago.

Here's the song from church last night.

Christmas Eve

It’s wonderful having both of my boys at home, and a real blessing to have them both at my church with me tonight. Kyle helped out by reading scripture, and Ryan led worship. He also sang a beautiful song called How Many Kings. If possible, I will post a video of it later.

Tomorrow is Christmas. It is the day we set aside to remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior, a savior who was born only to die. But that wasn’t the end. He rose again to take His rightful place at the right hand of the Father and purchased a place for us there. All we have to do is place our faith in Him! Thank you, Jesus for dying for me. I can never quite understand why you loved us enough to do it, but I’m so glad You did.

my sons are home!

Best song ever for yesterday! So glad to have them home.



Pictures coming later!

let there be a red sky tonight

Hug deprivation can really do a number on your head AND heart…especially during a full moon. I guess this is what it will be like after Kyle goes to college. Not so pleasant. I guess I will have to get another life when that time comes, something to keep me busy. I guess I already knew that, but these past 13 days were a real eye opener to me. Never realized how weird the house would be when it’s just me here. Although, there are some advantages; like never having to shut the door when I take a shower, or get dressed, or go to the bathroom. Or just talking to myself all the time and not having to worry about being overheard. Or crying my eyes out in my sorrow and not having anyone to see me wallow in my pitiful state. But still, I miss the voices, and the silliness, and the HUGS. I love hugs.

I can really understand how the elderly, or the single person, can suffer from bouts of depression and loneliness. It is hard to maintain a good and healthy attitude, and perspective, without having people in your life that you can talk to or visit with regularly. Just being alone for like 2 weeks was enough to give me a taste of that lonely life. This is why God said it is not good for man to be alone. We were made to be with others, to fellowship, and comfort, and help each other.

On to other news, the Christmas program at church was wonderful. Pastor Karl did an amazing job like he does every year! And Kyle’s black light really made the time machine look mysterious. It was great. I also got a HUGE surprise when the church board recognized me for the work I do. I never want to get my praise from man, but I have to tell you, the appreciation that was shown to me was in itself greatly appreciated! I don’t think most people even know what I do there, so it did make me feel good to know that the board appreciates me.

Here is the song Kyle gave me this morning. I am hoping for a red sky tonight. This is my last night home alone. It will be wonderful to have my boys back. That is, it will be wonderful for ME, but I fear they will be missing the fun and good times in Michigan.



"Cover me with the red sky tonight, the promise of a better day to come. Sing over me an angelic symphony. Tell me everything will be alright with the red sky tonight"

And just for the record, I had to give Jiggly-Fluff the thumbs down. Not my fave. I'm glad others liked it though!

Are you FIREPROOF?

I didn’t intend to spend the better part of the day in the kitchen, but that’s exactly what ended up happening. I won’t bore you with details. Let’s just say I was on my feet all day slaving over the stove… hahaha… nope, not over the stove, over the counter, making this Strawberry and Chocolate Jiggly-Fluff Pie for the church Christmas Program tomorrow night.

I sure hope it’s amazing after all the time I spent making it!!

And plus I salvaged my dinner from last night that I had tossed in the garage last night. I put it in my crock pot and turned it into Chicken Paprikash with dumplings. Not too bad! Think I’ll call Sears tomorrow and see how much it’s gonna cost me to get my stove top replaced.

And speaking of fire damage, here’s the song Kyle, Ryan, and Jon picked out for me. Truthfully, I didn’t get the meaning attached to it right away.


The fire yesterday sure served to remind me how quickly things can turn into disasters. We don’t know how many days we have on this earth. We are not promised tomorrow…

James 4:13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Before your life is over, be sure you know where you are spending eternity. Are you FIREPROOF?

Hush little baby, don't you cry

I have a ginormous headache. I don’t know whether it’s from the stress, or the smoke, or the fumes from the melting plastic, or the dust from the fire extinguisher. I’m guessing it’s from all of the above. Mom, don’t worry. The house is still standing this time, and no one is hurt.

I was cooking as usual. I should’ve known to quit when I spilled hot liquid down the front of my shirt, but I didn’t. I was just trying to get too many things done, and then I left a plastic cutting board on the stove top and didn’t realize the burner was left on. (I still don’t know how that happened!) I set the timer for 30 minutes and went to my desk to read Ryan’s paper for his college final. It was 12 pages of technical stuff, so very hard to read. I was concentrating intently on it and even wrote to Ryan about a typo. I smelled something “funny” a few times, but when I looked over I didn’t see any smoke or anything, so I figured all was well and I went back to reading. When the timer went off, and I started walking towards the stove I immediately saw what was smelling funny. It was the plastic cutting board with a huge hole melted into it and fire covering the surface.

I didn’t panic, but I lost all reasoning. I went over and picked it up and threw it into a pot of water in the sink. Yep, all the while it was in flames and dangling melting plastic from the stove to the sink. After that I had 2 fires on my hands; one in the sink, and now that the cutting board was off the stove that one took off!! All that plastic that melted onto the stove top was in flames. It was obvious that the water wasn’t going to put out the one in the sink, so I grabbed the fire extinguisher and figured out how to use it. The first shot I missed the fire completely. But after I got my bearings with it I managed to get both fires out.

The house was totally filled with black smoke by this point, but none of my smoke detectors went off!! I opened all the windows and turned fans on but the house is gonna stink for a while I imagine.

So, I was pretty shaken up, and I mean I was literally shaking for like an hour. I was immediately back in the days of the last fire remembering how terrible it was. It freaked me out that it almost happened again. I never want to have another house burn down or have anyone in burn unit like Darryl was last time for 2 months. Such awful, painful memories brought me to tears. And knowing what a stupid mistake this was, and could’ve so easily been avoided.

After I had a good cry, I ditched dinner for tonight and spent several hours trying to clean up the mess from the fire extinguisher and the plastic. I thought I could clean the stove, but it’s ruined so I won’t be able to cook till I get a new one (it's only a year old!). I feel really bad about that, but at least there were only a few minor things damaged. No one was hurt, and the house is in good shape, so I am praising God for that!!

Here is the cutting board that started the whole thing.The rest of the plastic is under here. Fire extinguisher dust got everywhere. It's totally ruined. Darryl was very upset, because like me, he remembered how devastating the last fire was. The thought of it shook us both up pretty bad.

Ryan said to me, "If I were there, I would be saying how that just made my day so much more interesting."

Hehe, thanks for cheering me up, Ryan.

And here’s Kyle’s contribution this morning before all this happened.



(I know the grammar in this post is awful and messed up, but I don't care so don't bother telling me.)

Dear Father,
Thank you for answering my prayers,
Irene

who's training up your kids?

These are some of Kyle's recent picks.

This is a song that reminds me of our long drive to church each Sunday morning because it plays on the radio and we sing along: You Alone



Kyle gave me this one yesterday morning because he knew I had been dreadfully depressed the night before: Fingerprints of God



And this was my song for today, which he picked out after we got off Skype: Back to You



That gets you up to date till tomorrow morning. I love seeing what Kyle picks out for me. I know that his songs always reflect something that he sees in me, or what I’m going through. He’s so amazing that he would take the time to do this every day just to encourage me while they are gone. It is a wonderful thing to know that your child loves you.

Psalm 127:3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.

On the other hand, a foolish child is enough to crush your spirit.

Proverbs 17: 21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

I’m pretty sure that “godless fool” here is referring to a non-believing child. All I can say is be careful how you raise your kids. Be careful who you entrust their education to. Be careful who you allow to babysit them. And be careful who you allow them to be friends with. It DOES make a difference - the difference between having a loving, caring, compassionate, godly child with wisdom, or a godless fool. You choose.

You can either train them up in the way of the Lord, or you can pawn them off on someone else to influence them. But remember YOU are accountable to the Lord for how you raise up these precious gifts He gave you.

Here's the next verse:

Proverbs 17: 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

OK, I’m done preaching….for now.

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

My day is good when Kyle sends me a song!! I don’t know how he’s gonna keep it up for another week!

Giants and Vikings are playing in Detroit. Too bad I’m not there (tickets went in 90 minutes!). It looks like a blast! Instead I did a little bit of shopping and then spent the rest of the morning in the dentist’s chair. I really hate shopping (loathe the dentist visit), so you can see why Detroit looks good. Although, as Darryl reminded me, I might go nuts being in a hotel room for a week!

And speaking of shopping, I think that is one of the reasons I’m not that fond of Christmas. It is so STRESSFUL to have to think of things to buy. Seems like such a waste of time and money to have to buy something just because our society says we have to. I wish we had raised our kids a bit differently and not gotten so sucked into the whole gift-giving thing. What we (society) buy is more important than celebrating the birth of our Savior. Sometimes it seems like Christ’s birth is just there in the background somewhere… like “oh let’s not forget why we are buying gifts for each other.” Hmmm, feels backwards to me. I heard a song today about kids waiting to see Santa. One line in the song caught my attention. It was “where's the line to see Jesus?” I loved that. We see parents lining up their kids to see the one who supposedly brings them presents, but no one seeking the One who died for them.

Hope to get the lease figured out sometime this week. It would sure be nice to get some monthly income on the house while it’s on the market. It would REALLY be nice to see it sold! We are trusting God with it.

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.


Ok, here's a bonus video. (about the song)

I'm never alone

Ok, I’m starting to feel really lonely now, especially after being in church where it seemed everyone had family or friends to be with today. Maybe I should have gone to Michigan. I could’ve gone to the Packers game….or the Giants!! They are both in Detroit!

Here’s another really meaningful song from Kyle.

Home Alone

Day 3 alone in the house. So far it’s not too bad. It’s been quiet, but I make up for it by talking to myself. I’ve also been engaging in some brainless TV watching. Very unlike me! Haha.. oh well. This is my mini vacation I guess. I’ve been having quite a bit of fun making food and trying new recipes. But of course that leads to eating too much. I will have to spend next week (and the week after) working it off!!

Here's the song Kyle gave me today. He knows what I love.

Stay Strong

I was feeling convicted this morning about how I was handling my anger, so I decided to remove some derogatory statements in my previous blog posts. I’m glad the Lord corrects me. It doesn’t matter whether I’m right or wrong all the time, but it does matter how I conduct myself. Good thing God’s not done with me yet.

Darryl and Kyle left for Michigan yesterday. They left a day early because a storm may be coming. They are having a great time with Darryl’s family. I am trying to get used to being in an empty house, especially at night with all its spooky little creaks and noises.

Here’s an awesome reminder that my awesome son sent me this morning!



I think we have a renter for the house in Mt. Laurel who is also considering buying it. So, I am praising God for His goodness and mercy!

Philippians 3:¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What is Biblical Forgiveness?

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

What exactly is forgiveness? And more importantly, who are we to forgive? I think Chas. Baker makes the point that if we forgive the way that the Lord forgives us, it means we do it AFTER the person has repented (changed their mind) regarding the offense.

So for example, if I say something really hurtful to you, and then later I apologize to you, which ultimately means I agree with you that I did something wrong, then that is when you should forgive me. But ONLY because I agreed with you about my offense. That is how God forgives us. It’s not until we change our mind about sin, we agree with God and admit we are sinners.

But now what about forgiving a non-believer? In Col. 3:13 Paul is discussing how we treat other believers. Am I required to forgive a non-believer? Does the Bible address that? That is what I want to find out this week.

Here’s something interesting someone shared with me. It’s taken from Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself

Biblical Forgiveness

The Greek word most often used in the New Testament for forgive is aphiemi. It means "to let go from one's power, possession, to let go free, let escape." In essence, the intent of biblical forgiveness is to cut someone loose. The word picture drawn by the Greek terms for unforgiveness is one in which the "unforgiven" is roped to the back of the unforgiving. How ironic. Unforgiveness is the means by which we securely bind ourselves to that which we hate most. Therefore, the Greek meaning of forgiveness might best be demonstrated as the practice of cutting loose the person roped to your back.


I really liked the imagery of cutting someone loose from your back. So the way I’m seeing it is that it is better for us to forgive because if we don’t it is only a burden to US. Like an extra weight bearing down on us, making us weak. I definitely don’t want another burden to carry, but still I wonder what on earth “forgiveness” really would look like if applied to someone’s life. Is it just a feeling? Or is it something that can be put into action? Does it mean I have to continue in the relationship with the person? Does it mean that the person is now somehow justified to me? So for example, if I hurt you and then you forgive me, it is “just as if I’d” never hurt you, because you wiped my slate clean.

If I make a conscious decision to forgive someone, how do I know I’ve done it? Will I feel differently? Will I still be angry, or will I have peace? Hmm… so much to think about.

No More Night

Dana is having a boy.

I just feel like screaming. I guess I will spend next week trying to come to some kind of calm conclusion how to deal with things. I need to put it to rest because it is affecting my life. Because although I have placed my faith in God to see me and Darryl through this, and I know He will, that doesn’t ever guarantee a pain-free journey. Life is filled with heartache, disappointments, and tears. I’m trying so hard to be strong, and I know that God will give me strength when I am weak. But it’s hard!

I pray that God would send a nice Christian man into my daughter's life that will lead her to the Lord.

This video blessed me today. I hope it blesses you too.



There is coming a day for believers when God will wipe away our tears. I pray that anyone reading this would seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ today while there is still time. None of us is promised tomorrow. Trust in Christ today to pay for your sins, and then you will live with Him forever in heaven instead of being separated from Him forever.

Seek Him today while He may be found.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christmas Cactus

Here's my Christmas Cactus. It is just beginning to put forth some very awesome looking flowers. They are similar to orchids. I had no idea this thing only bloomed at a certain time of year, and only if the right conditions have been met. Glad to know I did something right without even trying! It's beginning to look so beautiful.

I was overwhelmed and bummed today about that dumb house. I know God is in control, but that doesn't mean the house will sell any time soon. I really hate to waste all that money just because we made a poor decision. But looking back, I can see the mistakes we made. For instance, we got absolutely nothing in writing! We naively walked into this thing with our eyes wide open, and made no legal provision for the mortgage or tax payments! Let this be a lesson to us: NEVER get financially entangled with a family member no matter what!! We are done being a personal bank. There will be no more hand-outs, no more debt forgiveness, no more free ride!

We reduced the price of the house today. If we sold it right now, this minute, we would likely break even.


“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10

So anyway, Kyle and Darryl are going to Michigan this weekend. It should be interesting to have the house to myself for a while.

life changes fast

the testing of your faith produces perseverance... James 1:3.

Friday we drove to the house we own in Mount Laurel. There is a hole in the roof of the detached garage where the inspector fell through that was supposed to have been fixed. Obviously it was never fixed so Darryl at least patched it so that it won’t get further rotted out. I imagine that we will have to make more trips to that house as this situation progresses.On the way there, we drove to Brick Twp. and WON tickets to a Casting Crowns concert. There were no tickets available for sale, you had to win them to get them. It was pretty amazing that we did win them, especially after spending 2 hours to get there, and another hour waiting around! It was a busy day with all that driving around. When we got home that evening it was time to go to the concert. We waited for almost another 2 hours once we got there. Much to our disappointment though, the entire concert was only 45 minutes. We were all flabbergasted that Casting Crowns would hold a 45 min concert (8 songs!). It really lowered my opinion of them greatly. No matter how good their music is, that was an awful thing to do. The time we spent getting tickets was more valuable than paying $ for the tickets, and they treated our time as though it was nothing. It’s like going to a doctor’s office and they make you wait an hour before you can see Doctor. They have no respect or concern for your time. I am not fond of people like that.

Today after church Kyle and I took a trip to Shiloh Bible Camp. We were invited there to check out the facility. It was fantastic! Kyle is very much hoping that Preakness will schedule a camping event there soon. We would both like to spend a couple days there, so I volunteered to work there if Kyle goes camping!


It’s December 5th. Only 8 ½ more months of late Sunday nights at church.

Happy Oregano makes happy Lasagna

I’m so excited that I brought all my herbs in the house for the winter. My oregano seems happier now than it was all summer! So now I have oregano, parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary all doing very well in pots inside.

Today I decided to try Crock Pot Lasagna. The picture sure doesn’t do it justice, but this is the best lasagna I ever had. So moist and delicious! Kyle and I ate so much that we both feel like barfing about now.

And now on a more serious note, Darryl and I are trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces after having been thrown under the bus. I don’t know how some people can go through their lives thinking of no one but themselves. I guess it’s because they belong to Satan and he is their father. There is really no other explanation that I can think of. The pain and stress they cause is really unbearable if not for the mercy and grace of God. We will eventually recover from this financially, even if we take a huge hit, but emotionally this is it for me.

I really don’t care who reads this. I think sometimes it does a person good to share the pain they are going through. Right now my pain is so raw that I can barely talk about it. But this post helps me heal. I may decide to write more as time goes on, I don’t know yet.

Psalm 37:21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously