A Tool

Back in January while looking for something else, I came upon this prayer journal on Amazon.  My prayers tend to be all over the place and popping up like popcorn throughout the day.  Intentional, focused prayer for me generally happens best when I am journaling as I tend to lose focus otherwise.  Even journaling does not always hold my focus, so I was intrigued by this journal that maps out daily prayer. It is small, inexpensive and holds 86 days (if I counted right) of prayer maps. To give it a little more fun, I pair it with Micron pens using different colors for each section. The pages are identical except for the scripture at the bottom of the two page spread.


What I love - very concise and focused.  It does not leave out thanksgiving.  I bullet that section and strive to have three things listed daily.  Even though it is concise, there is plenty of room to fit lots on the daily pages. During this anxious time, it helps that there are sections for my worries and needs.

When Savannah was last home, I shared this with her, and she loves it and wants one.  Since Amazon is rightfully prioritizing essential shipping, it will be weeks before she can get one.  I'm sorry if you love this and now feel teased by it.  Maybe go ahead and get in line for a copy?

As we all seek to encourage each other, I want to encourage you to lean on the One who brings our help, the only One who can stop this pandemic with a simple glance.  Our church is encouraging us to read Psalm 121 daily this week.  I encourage you to do the same.  Our minister is doing devotionals on Instagram using Psalm 55 this week - also a good place for encouragement.  While I was there this morning, I also jumped into Psalm 56 - also good.

Tearing Down the Idols?

Many years ago Savannah and I embarked on a mission trip to the Northeast region of our country.  We loved on people in Maine and Vermont and had a day trip of fun to Boston.  We learned lots about that area of the country, but one thing that struck me was something one of the ministers mentioned.  He talked of how a conversation with a non-believer brought out that the god of the Northeast is sports. 

What if COVID-19 is a wake-up call to America regarding our idols?  What came down first? -sports followed by money.  Greed became apparent right out of the gate as panicked shoppers stocked up to hoard for themselves rather than to help their neighbors.  People who fill their time with busyness have been forced to slow down.

It's no secret that we are a divided nation.  We are divided by political affiliations, race, income, etc.  What if this is the very thing that God will use to heal our land, to turn us from our wicked ways? 

I am guilty.  I have my own idols.  I have been confronted in this past week with my own selfishness, and my priorities have been shaken.  I am guilty of trying to find the balance here.  I have been fighting a cold/allergies - no fever and identical to previous colds and allergies, but I have cancelled my PT appointments where I would be in close proximity to others. I have washed my hands thoroughly before doing any necessary shopping, kept them off my face, and kept my distance from other people.  I have no reason to believe I have been exposed, yet I hesitate to do things like drop off goodies for patients in facilities where they can't have visitors or gather the things that people need because I don't want to freak anyone out and certainly don't want to spread this if I actually do have it, or I am just making excuses?

What I know is that God will tear down the idols.  He will not be mocked, and He will go to great lengths to draw us to Him.  

What I have loved seeing this week is the outpouring of support.  Ministries are getting creative with online resources and prayer support.  My home church is shopping local and taking carryout from restaurants hard it by this and then giving the meals to medical personnel on the frontlines.  My daughter works in a pharmacy, and she has been thanked again and again for being there.  Suddenly people see what is important.  We will hopefully come away from this without taking community for granted. My fear is that we are in a for a long haul because just like those Israelites, we are hard-headed and not so quick to learn our lesson. 

This quote from Martin Luther shared by my favorite radio station is how I want to live in light of this trying time.  I admit I have a long way to go.

In the 1500s, when the “Black Plague” was ravaging the land, Martin Luther wrote the following as to how to live and act:

"I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me, and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God."

Praying daily

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Update 2

On Sunday I did make it to the zoo to meet the baby elephant.  Because it was a beautiful day the zoo was packed.  Andy dropped me off at the entrance.  I walked all the way to the elephants with no problems.  After watching him play for a bit, we decided that it was hardly worth the fight through traffic to return home after 15 minutes at the zoo, so we walked the main path around the zoo.  It was challenging.  I took many recovery breaks and noted that the zoo is equipped with plenty of benches, so I should be able to handle the light festival just fine.  On Monday, I felt as close to normal as I have since this started and was really pleased that I had pushed through the zoo.  However, by Monday night a short trip to pick up a couple of items at Walmart after Wyatt's band concert had me anxious to return to the car.  Today I am struggling again.  Unfortunately, recovery is not linear.  It seems to move forwards and backwards.

Update on my recovery

My goal for this weekend was to be able to stand/walk for fifteen minutes straight today.

I am happy to report that I went grocery shopping with Andy last night and was able to walk for 15 minutes.  While I would like that to happen without discomfort, that's just not so.  My PT has recommended that I keep pushing until the pain reaches a 4 out of 10, but having been through such debilitating pain and given that I probably underestimate pain on that pain scale, I am struggling to pursue that goal.  While I pushed further than I have been, I wouldn't say my pain reached a 4 before I sought out a seat for some time of recovery.

Standing is harder than walking. I drew the line at trying to push through pain to stand in the checkout lane with Andy.  Standing takes me back to where this all started which brings too much anxiety, and honestly too much pain for now.

In keeping with the goals, Julia would like to visit the mall today.  While I have housework to catch up on and a shift looming in the church nursery tonight, I might try taking her to push through again.  My nursery shift will be another opportunity to monitor progress as it requires me to stand for 35 minutes or more at a time.  No worries there as Andy and I are two serving as one, so he will have my back if I can't make it through the amount of standing required.


Future goals - I really, really want to visit our local zoo.  They have a festival happening now that I am really excited to see, and a new baby elephant - cutest thing (I've been watching videos).  Of course I want to return to my workouts.  I am paying for a gym membership that I haven't been able to use in six weeks now, and my yearly class goal is probably shot already, but my immediate goal is to be able to do something fun.  We plan to visit at least one college for Wyatt on spring break, so that will require much walking, and I really hope to get some painting done that week too.  Those things are all within the next four weeks, so I am doing my exercises and trying to follow all advice to get me back to normal.

I live among rock stars!

A look back at the last 15 days...

On Thursday, February 13th, I awoke and started preparing for my work day in unbelievable pain. I winced with every step.  My boys followed me around the house asking what I was doing.  I told them I was getting ready for work, and they were shaking their heads..."um, no, Mom, this is why you have sick days.  There is no way you can go to work like this."  Of course they were right.  I secured a sub and returned to bed.

I couldn't get in to see my doctor until the following Tuesday -six days later.  I was immobile, and nothing touched the pain, so even a trip to an Immediate Care Facility was out of the question.  Finally on Sunday I saw a doctor online and got some medication for what we determined was sciatic pain.  I also reached out to my neighbors for prayer.  One of my neighbors, whom I just met, called me and offered to come walk me through some stretches - she's a physical therapist.  If not for her, I would likely still be bedridden. She insisted I see a PT, and I did.  I am now four appointments in with three more scheduled.  I returned to work one week after the pain started.  My gains are very slow.  I still have a long way to go.  I still cannot shop, do laundry, or do basic household tasks, and getting ready for work in the morning is still very slow and challenging, but this post is about my people who...

• delivered every meal to my bed for the first week  - Wyatt is still bringing me breakfast and coffee in bed because the mornings are so difficult
• packed my lunches for work and helped me lay out every single item I would need to make the mornings easier
• drove me to PT (Zach) and missed class to do so because I could not get myself there and could barely walk in the door
• managed the laundry - not to my standards, but I had to give up my standards for the moment, and the clothes got clean
• came home from school to keep me company (Savannah)

That was the family.

Outside of the family, my friends

• sent a care package (thanks Sue)
• made sure Julia got home from school (thanks Nicki)
• prayed (thanks LWYA family, Moms in Prayer, and Bible study friends)
• checked in daily via texts
• offered to bring meals (we declined because Andy loves cooking, and we are a household of adults and almost adults so...)
• insisted I see a PT and even took care of the leg work to find a place, made sure I wouldn't need a referral (so grateful for this persistence) (thanks Linda)

I am doing everything my PT says to do.  I am determined and anxious to return to normal with normal including my Jazzercise routine.  It's been a really discouraging time for me, and I can't say I've been patient but finally seeing improvement helps.

That which was lost has been found!

I work almost daily on my project of archiving files to my Forever account.  You may remember that I mentioned a few posts back that I was afraid we may have lost all original and back up files from Wyatt's adoption journey.  I had to empty and clean out a drawer, and buried in the bottom of it was a flash drive containing those files.  Yay!

I have, however, realized that we have lost some things that I really wish we hadn't. I have not ruled out getting pros to try and retrieve our files, but that is down the road.  In the meantime I have retrieved lots of pictures, and they are so much easier to organize and retrieve using the Forever account.  

Yes, these photos and the other hundreds from this trip are backed up in the Forever account and on an external disc drive.  

Forbidden City

Rickshaw ride in Beijing

Olympic Countdown

Mapping his heritage

Victory sign

This picture is legendary.  I stayed in the room to gather our laundry for the laundry service.  We were overdue.  Wyatt fell into a waist deep pond and didn't realize he could stand resulting in a panic that left Andy no choice but to go in after him.  Andy had no spare shoes, and yes they returned to the room after the laundry was picked up.

first plane ride

last look at China

a new American citizen

One of the first things we learned about Wyatt is that he loved "Cola"

Ultraman moves - He was all about them.

When we journeyed to Julia, the adoption websites were not so polished.  I built a journal using a web account through our Internet provider.  Along with the pictures from our journey to Wyatt, I found that I had backed up that site for Julia on the same flash drive.  I had it printed out, but it is much nicer to have an electronic version, and yes, I can convert it to a PDF for the Forever account too.  So many memories and so much heritage to be stored in one place, accessible from anywhere.  It offers fire and water insurance for peace of mind.  My brother asked how they can guarantee that these memories will be stored with them 100 years beyond my death.  My response: they do, but even if they go belly up, backing up on hard drive is easy to do from that account, so with some warning I can still save the files.  

I only wish I could figure out how to back the blog up to an external disc drive and/or the Forever account.

Just an example of how it looks to organize everything in albums

Winter Dance 2020- The Reveal

If you've read my last two posts, then you know the backstory for the dress.  If not, go ahead and take a peek, I'll wait right here.

Julia's much anticipated dance took place last night.  It was a balmy 35 degrees when the group met for outdoor pictures.  Julia was not a bit phased by that, but some of the girls didn't get in all the pictures as they warmed up in cars. One of the girls had been diagnosed with strep that morning, so a mom ended up waiting in the car after giving up her boots to keep her sick girl warm :) I too would have allowed my child to attend the dance with strep if she felt up to it especially given that the second dose of the antibiotic was taken at dinner before the dance.  I just would have warned her to be cautious not to let anyone drink after her.  After all, I graduated from high school with strep.

One of the moms hired a photographer. I will note which of the pictures were hers. Emma Lanter Photography

She handled that boutonniere like a champ!

Friends since preschool - in fact, L's mom was Zach's 2nd grade teacher, and L was born the year Zach was in her class. Her mom, J's (Julia's date) mom, and I caught up over dinner while the kids ate.

Emma Lanter Photography

best buds

Apparently, they have the moves...lots of fun dancing together.  When I inquired as to why Julia did not get pictures with some of her friends that attended with different groups the response was, "we don't have time for pictures...too busy dancing."  Sometimes you think this social media generation will be just fine :)

From Cheer friends to Soccer friends.  Love, love, love L and her family!!

These three became friends as cheerleading teammates.  All have moved on to other sports.  

Zach showed up to see Julia off to the dance.  

Dance Theme: A Night in Hollywood

Side note: I was home editing the pictures while Julia attended the dance.  By the time she got to the after-party, I had them uploaded in Forever (see my previous post), and because she has the app on her phone, she could easily see them.  Zach and Julia are my two kids who love pictures as much as I do and are anxious to see them, so that worked out great.  I was also able to share the album link with my sister who did Julia's hair so that she could see them all too.

2nd side note: Julia is very pleased with the pictures I got.  However, we turned down the option to have a picture of her with the family taken from the pro, and neither of us is happy with the one we got with my camera.  I switched lenses to be able to get the group shots, and that second lens is definitely not acting right.  It's past time for me to get a lens that combines the range of my two go-to lenses.  If only they weren't so pricey. Sigh.