Hard Times and Holy Places

Yesterday during church I spent a little time looking around the congregation and I realized that pretty much everyone is going through "something". Financial struggles, infertility, maritial problems, loneliness, self-esteem issues, health problems, difficult children, or just not quite knowing how to handle life's day-to-day demands......everyone was experiencing some hard times. And for everyone going through some hard times I would recommend this book: "Hard Times and Holy Places" by Kristin Belcher. I met Kristin a few times when I was in college and have never forgotten her example. Diagnosed at 7 months old with cancer, she has dealt with health problems and their related emotional challenges for her entire life. But through her experiences she has learned lessons in how to practically apply the gospel-- lessons that she shares in her book with candour and humor. As I read her book I was constantly amazed at her wisdom and insight, and it has really helped me to see the struggles I experience in an entirely new light. She also has a blog where she posts stories of how people are able to turn their hard times into "holy places". Go HERE to read.

Blue Handprints

There are so many parts in the book "These is My Words" by Nancy Turner that I can relate to. Just recently these following passages have become more personal.

Sarah Agnes Prine writes: "While I have been doctoring, April has become an artist. She got into the blueing bottle and fingerpainted the white pine floor in the parlor and made little smears and lines and handprints everywhere. I was too tired to be mad at her and too drained to fuss. I just picked her up and took off her dress and underwear and washed her up and dressed her again.....It looks like my parlor will have little blue handprints forever to remember this day, and April thinks her blue fingers are fancy." (p. 136-137)

Then later she says: "From where the rocker sits I can see out the window to the road if anyone is coming by, and I can see little blue fingers on the wall and floor. Some folks would scrub and bleach them out, but I think I will have only one baby, and she is bigger now already, so those tiny hands will always remind me of how precious and tiny she looked." (p. 154)

Now I have my very own blue handprints on the walkway leading to my front door and I'm trying to embrace Sarah's attitude. I know that someday when we move, one of the things I'll miss about this house are the little blue handprints.

Kisses

Chloe kisses are a cherished commodity in our house. We get them whenever and wherever we can. :)

The library

I have always wanted to have a library in my house. And ever since we moved into this house 8 1/2 years ago I have wanted this room to be our "music room" and "library." And now finally it gets to fulfill the measure of its creation. :) For my birthday I got a bookcase and was able to move most of my books down from the attic. It's a happy, happy day!

When I was younger I wanted to own books and books and books. But now I only want the best books. I won't buy a book unless I have already read it and love it enough to read again.

Christmas wish list?

I'm trying to get my Christmas shopping done early this year. But the problem is my kids don't really know what they want so I'm not sure what to get them. (They keep asking for things they already have.... purses, jewelry, stuffed animals.)

What do your kids want for Christmas?

One of these things is not like the others....

We have been babysitting my nephew, Josh, since Wednesday. I think David has really liked having another man around the house. And I've had fun playing with Josh. He is as cute and fun as he looks.

We did it together.

It rained.

And we got soaked.

But we had fun!

And we finished strong.

We did it!

I've been sitting here for the last five minutes trying to figure out how to summarize my half-marathon experience and I can't quite get the words. It was one of the most pointed object lessons I've ever had and I learned so much.

For example, all week the forecast predicted rain and I did NOT want to run in the rain. I prayed and prayed that the Lord would stop the rain. But just as the race began it started to pour. And it continued to pour for the first four miles or so. We got soaked. My prayer was not answered the way I wanted. But clear as clear, the message came to my mind that the Lord would be with me in the rain. He would not remove the trial, but He would help me through it.

Another poignant moment was when I saw my family waiting for us near the finish line. The entire race my sisters and I motivated ourselves by envisioning the finish line. I imagined my husband and little girls there waiting for us and could picture their faces. At about 12.5 miles I started to burn out. We'd run a steady pace the entire race--had even run some of the later miles faster than we did at the beginning-- and I didn't know how much longer I could keep up the pace. But Audra saw the finish line and encouraged us forward. When I saw my family cheering for us at the end it almost overwhelmed me. We were finished! We had accomplished our goal and they there to celebrate as we came "home."

And I can't describe how awesome it was having the entire experience with my sisters. We trained together from the beginning and crossed the finish line together. They are my best friends and I am so, so grateful for their constant help, support, and encouragement. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather run with.