Answer to Prayer

How Great Thou Art, How Great Thou Art, that was the opening song on the new Gaither video, it is also the answer to prayer. The MRI that Kim had came back ok, no aneurysm or any indication of the AVM on this test, so thank you for all the prayers. She has one more test tomorrow so continue to pray that this test will also come back ok. As Sam says" Mop, Jesus healed the boo, boo, He is doing it right now, see?"

Over the weekend we went to our family reunion, actually two reunions. It was hot as always, it must be some unwritten rule that reunions must be over 90 degrees and if possible a couple of real downpours. I would enjoy them so much more if there could be air conditioning with bathrooms across the room. Instead you have to hope you bladder will last to go up the hill and over the valley as you make your way to the two holes and a sears catalog.

This year we all, well, the north won the battle with the south and moved the reunion to Hocking Hills Family Center. It was about even in miles for all to travel. You know when you go on line and look at the pictures and all the descriptions of the facilities you think wow that will be neat. They offered go carts, putt, putt golf and sand volleyball. What they didn't tell you the pictures had been enhanced or taken right after they developed the property, ohhhh maybe 20 years ago. Kim made the arrangements, the first indication there may be a problem was the address on the online materials. After the announcements went out in the mail, Kim finds out that the address she has sent out is the address of the company, the Family Center is down the road, exactly off Co. Rd 10. We actually drove past the sign, I don't know how it was only about 2 feet high off the ground and hand painted pointed up a gravel road. Up being the relative word. It was straight up with pot holes and big chunky gravel or stones, it is up to interpretation. The flags I think were posted on the side to distract the faint of heart as your car spun on the gravel or stone. When we pulled up on level ground and I am proud to say we had no casualties, we see, well, not the advertisement. When Kim asked about the sand volleyball court, they sent a tractor to mow the grass that had grown up through the sand, I guess there was sand, couldn't tell due to the big chunks of grass. The putt putt was well let's say a putt. The go carts worked as did the bathrooms. So buyer beware of false advertisement.

Although it was not the fancy fun center we anticipated we had a good time with about 50 people in attendance. In comparison to the other place the South goes, the bathrooms were closer and there were games to play in the office / game room. And really the place is not the reason we get together it is the time to see who has aged, gotten a little heavier, who has the most children, who lives where, who has had a baby or is going to have one ( ANDREA) and where everyone is living. It is a test for the older of the group to see if they remember who is who.

So although it was hot it was good to see everyone again. I was brave and had the boys ride with me and stay the night in my motel room. Two boys and a overweight, bad back, stiff knees mop trying to keep up with dynamo Joshua was a feat. I decided he has a game plan. He starts in one area, gets me distracted, I start that direction and he does a 360 and off he goes in another direction grabbing something else and as I slowly turn and groan, he is off to his next mission. Then he will stop quickly which then throws me off center and I am teetering as he turns his back and says "I shake my bootie" and giggles. Just as I raise my foot to tap his bootie off he goes to do something else. To say the least by the time I got home I was out in a flash as soon as my bootie hit the couch. Sam on the other hand was the studious person. He would say" ok Mop this is a math question" I have 6 apples and someone takes 2 apples' now what will I do" I wanted to say whew, you only have to eat 4. But instead I would reply " well, how many will you have if you have 6 and someone takes 2" " that is a hard one Sam" he would say" MOP" very sternly" you have to count" holding up his fingers" you have 6 and 2 gone, 1, 2, 3, 4 you have 4" do you get it?" so ask me any questions about apples I know all the combinations it was an hour and half drive. As Josh turned the TV off, he added " that wasn't nice" and moved on.

It was a good weekend and now it would appear a good week. The many songs on this new tape were encouraging music, What a Friend we have in Jesus, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, What a Friend is He, Jesus Love Me and Great is Thy Faithfulness. All needed when things seem out of control.

What's important?

So each day I learn more about what is important. Sometimes I think having a new car, a big house, lots of money and someone to clean, cook, drive and fix my hair would be the ultimate of what is important. But then something happens that makes you sit back and take a real close look at what you have and you start to take inventory.
On one blog a young lady passed away from an illness, another is in a wheelchair from a diving accident, someone else trying to adopt a baby is now sitting by his bedside as he fights for life, a baby is scheduled for surgery, a young lady was killed while driving home after a big tree limb crushed her side of the car. A bridge collapsed and a young pregnate mother and her 2 year old are missing, a mine collapsed with 4 coal miners. What do you say when so much is going on around you.
Trying to find the important things and keeping our perspective. Kim has been having a whooshing sound in her head. She finally went to see the doctor it seems it can be a serious condition that could require surgery and is frightening to say the least. You see I would trade everything I own and anything I gain to not have that be so. And so we pray and wait for the results of her MRI and then the ultra sound of her arteries in her neck. As I thought of all the things that could be and hoped would not be I could only think of Sam and his faith. He will get a boo boo and may cry but the next time I see him he will point to the area and say "see Mop" Jesus fixed my boo boo" I may not tell this right but Joshua got hurt and Sam quickly said" See Joshua Jesus will fix it" and held his finger up and said "He is doing it now"
Children see the elementary of everything and the simplicity. They don't complicate it with how others might think if we express our faith. They don't try to analyze the situation and try to downplay the need to ask God to heal. They just believe. So I am going to take Sam's lead and just believe and have faith that God being the great physician will analyze the results of the test review the situation and will offer the outcome that is part of His plan.
But if you want to pray, it would definitely be appreciated.

The very first thing I am going to do is sing.........

There my burden soul found liberty at Calvary... Now I own Him as my King... Mercy there was great and grace was free....Hmmmm Oh the mighty gulf God did span at Calvary...

I am sitting here listening to some old choruses over the Gaither Radio... Oh here is another one,
We'll soon be done with troubles and trials...in that home on the other side... I am going to sit down beside my Jesus and rest a litte while...

Remember when we sang these songs? Now we sing and sway to Praise the Lord Hummmmmm, Praise the Lord hummmmm, Praise the Lord hummmm, Lets sing it for the the 6th time in case someone didn't get all the words, all three. hummmm hummmm....

Sometimes you hope someone will call out let's sing page 202 in the hymnal, Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine or Unworthy, Unworthy, a beggar in bondage and alone but He made me worthy and now by His grace His mercy has made me his own... Hummmm..... His mercy has made me His own.

Sometimes my day and week is so hectic and full of stress that when I sit down I am ready for something that is encouraging and uplifting, the old songs have messages of hope and the melody is always there in the back of your mind and when you hear the song you are transported back to the days of Sunday Morning. Such as this one.... It is joy unspeakable and full of Glory, full of glory , full of Glory, it is joy unspeakable, oh the half has never been told.

Are you tapping your toes yet?

I guess I am reflecting on the days gone by but sometimes I am thinking we should stand up and bellow out one of the songs. I was taken back when my mom said their church is no longer using song books. Another era gone, no printed words for others to read someone else will decide what you will sing and limit your options.

I guess I am having an old timers moment where I would like to do things like we used to. well not everything. Oh here is the one to end this little blog on and that is Jesus Loves Me This I Know..... Hummmm,,,,, Yes, Jesus Loves Me, Yes, Jesus Loves Me ...... In the background playing the piano for me is Anthony Burger.........as I sing the last verse....... come on join me in that last verse, if you don't remember the words, you can just hum along.... Have a wonderful week.

What a day!

When talking to Kim she said Samuel had fallen off his new 20"inch bike and scraped up his elbow. He was distraught and as he cried he told her he was going to lay down cause it had been a bad day. I was thinking that was not a bad idea. Sometimes that seems to be the perfect answer to the times when things seem to be spiraling downward.

John has started to settle into his new home but not without some problems, which he will share in the near future. I am trying to figure out why I am trying so hard to do my job. Kim is working to secure her place on the plane to Africa and Tom may be the only one breezing through life without a major issue. Kelly is still looking for that job, the Hummel family is moving into a new home and ANON got a new hairdo all for a good cause and teaching her children about sacrifical giving.

I guess life is all about running the race and jumping the hurdles. Good thing God doesn't use stop watches. Today one of my staff sat in my office in tears and at one point sobbing all due to her job and the frustration she was feeling. Some of it was aimed at me for not addressing her needs and some of it was aimed at her coworkers. As we talked and I watched the tears keep welling up in her eyes I was struck at how often we go about without really seeing what is happening around us. I think we think if I let it go it will take care of itself or we just hope we don't really have to do anything. Right before that I met with a client that is fighting the system that is telling her it doesn't matter what her doctor has recommended she still has to participate and if she misses they will sanction her, meaning they will take her cash and her foodstamps. As my staff person used her last piece of paper towel to wipe her nose and dry her eyes, I apologized to her and promised to do better in the future and work on fixing the things that are causing her stress.

This morning I sat in a meeting with the county as they discussed the new system they are implementing. As I listened and observed I was struck on how little anyone planned for this big change. Someone asked where will their cubicle be, oh, they replied, we don't have enough space for our staff, but we are looking at our options. Ok, how about phones. Oh they said we will provide a phone. So will it be in my area. Oh, no we will have one for you all to use. Well. someone asked, how will we get in the office. Oh, we will give you a badge. But if you come in early you will need a special badge but if you come in with the other staff you won't need a badge. Of course if you are going to wander around in the building you will need a badge and oh yeah if you want to access the breakroom I guess you will need the other badge, well, we will get this worked out before the 6th of August. The big discussion revolved around two words prevents and barriers. Some in the room thought the word Barrier was too difficult for the clients to understand. Whew... Your tax dollars at work.

It seems that life is really like a box of cherry's as Forest Gump said, you just never know what you will get. A day can start out like any other day and end up like today. On a good note Joshua is officially wearing big boy underwear. So the only one not potty trained is Lauren and John said he has been discussing this with her and is hoping she will cooperate. Joshua is quite the drama king and the other day he was waging whether to go out or potty. Well, going out must have won but potty time should have come first, he started yelling "mop, MOP, MOOOPPPP,
I leaking, he sure was. I figure in my lifetime I may well be yelling the same thing.

So the moral of my story is .... be prepared(depends) don't panic and remember put off today what can wait till the morning or something like that.

Tagged...... Oh my

8 things that are interesting facts about me. HMMMMMM...... I am not sure I can think of 8.But here goes.

1) I do not like my food seasoned, just salt and pepper... chips, chips, crackers, cheese, oh yeah,,,, I do not like stringy cheese, yuk.... Always have the pizza run through twice actually you get more cause no one wants to eat burnt pizza

2) I loved to go to Marsha's to eat. She makes the best sausage casserole and she demonstrated what a wife and mother should look like. It was important to me that the three amigos have this role model in their life at an early age. I believed home cooking was the next Bob Evans or the Thanksgiving meal you could purchase at Foodtown. Doing laundry was teaching them how to use the washer and dryer. Ironing was supervising them so they didn't get burned. Taking care of them when they were sick was to send them to school so the nurse could have them lay down, take their temperature and then call me to come pick them up.

3) I secretly wish for a housekeeper and cook, can be one person who can multi task or two people who shine in each category. I would like to have a gardner or just someone to mow and trim my yard. The problem with being single and old is you need someone to put your lightbulbs in.

4) I love mystery shows, but most of all I love HGTV ( i think that is right) I would love a house filled with antiques. A big house. Hence the need for number 3

5) I would like to be independently wealthy, I would love to go whenever I wanted to and buy things I like without the guilt. Not all the time but now and then. I wish I could spend the next few years visiting with my grandchildren. I am really getting tired of working.

6) I love all of the things that Martha Stewart demonstrates, mostly I envy her dishes and crocks. I have tried to imitate some things and that is exactly what it looks like.

7) I love to read, Max Lucado is one of my favorites. One day I would like to write a book. My title would be Walk in My Shoes if You Can Find a Pair.

8) I used to be an electrical draftsman, so if your phone doesn't work just right, oops

Whew that was taxing, I am sure there is more but no sense boring anyone.

Movin, movin, movin.......

On the road again, la,la, la, la, la, la road again...... hmmmm hmmm. Sing it with me and if you know the words then go ahead. I hear the music but somewhere the words are lost and I am unable to retreive them. So I am always someone you want to have to start the crowd singing and then pull me in to make a big ending. Same way with names. I can recall what you wore last tuesday but not your name. I thought by keeping my children's names simple, John, Tom, Kim, that I would have no problem but that was not to be. I ran the list each time I wanted one to do something. John said until he graduated he thought his name was Johntomkim, when they called his full name he hesitated before he stood. (he is such a kidder) ha

If you have read his blog you know he is moving. For me I am sad and awfully proud of his accomplishments. To think at his age he would be making a great wage and lots of perks. His sister was talking about his year book and what he had been most likely to do when he graduated. They voted a TV Evangelist. I guess Rod Parsley and Joel Olsteen can rest for a little while longer. Life has a way that it takes us to new and unusual places and opens doors to adventures and exciting opportunities if we let it. I have been the risk taker with my career all trying to maintain employment and earn a wage that I could raise my family. I have made some mistakes and not made good choices but in the end I can only say I don't think I would change much. I have had opportunities to live in new places, work with wonderful people and I can usually count on seeing someone I know whenever I am at a place or town I have worked before.

I think about this move for John, better known as Big Daddy Huffledink, that he will be going back to an area he has worked before, a church he attended, and this time with his family. And for his wife an opportunity to live near her grandparents and aunts and cousins. It offers their children to meet and spend time with this side of their family. So I may not like the move but I am glad they will get this chance.

Branching out is scary but oh so nice if you are learning and sharing. So I am saving my vacation and saving money for tickets so I can visit. I have never been to the big D as the Big Guy put it.
I am shopping for a cowgirl hat and some chaps to wear on my flight to see them. My thought is if I am looking a little, well, ok, a lot out of place I can have the seat next to me. So adios, goodbye, so long, and remember to send me the new address and the phone number. Don't make have to hunt you down, I am your mom you know.?

OOOPPPPSSSS...

Have you ever hit a button and before you could really think through what might happen your finger hits it and yikes, oh --------. Well, that is what I did. I thought I would just edit my last post and that was my first mistake. So with the click of my keyboard all of my historical writings were gone. Poof,, somewhere in cyber space floats about a years worth of words. So be sure to read everything before you take an action, check all the fine print before doing anything, and make sure that if the worse happens you can still save the process. So I have picked myself up, well not litterally, but with a great amount of effort I have struggled to my feet and brushed my frustration off and ready to try this again.

I have been moving from site to site staying updated on what everyone is doing and wow, one family is moving, one person is going on vacation soon for the second time, and one family is struggling with life's challenges. Just a typical day in the neighborhood.

I am tying to prepare for the end of one program year and enter into a new year of services. This year promises to be a challenge. I will finally have an office to call my own, well, the county is providing me a space to use. I cannot move out of my car fast enough. Most of my paper work is dog earred from having it slide from one side of my car to the other. Or my trying to catch it before it flys on the floorboard when I stop too fast. I am sure the next time I turn in a report they will be thrilled when they no longer have to read through the coffee stains. I decided that I am professionally challenged. I went to work the other day with what I thought was reasonably presentable. I grabbed my briefcase and keys and as always threw it in the car and raced down the street. I was fine until I stopped at a traffic light and looked down at my shirt. You see, I thought I had black slacks on but no I had navy blue. My top was black but it was knit and on the sleeve was lint, not a little but a lot. Well, I think it is too late to go back I will try the old scotch tape technique and rid myself of the lint and with luck I will station myself behind my desk. YEP, you guessed it. A meeting was called and so on the way I am plotting how to get into the conference room with my briefcase covering my lower half as I am ripping the tape off my sleeve. So I am one of the firsts there and I sigh with relief until I look at my feet and find that I am wearing one blue knee high and one black. Well, at least I am consistent, it could have been one brown one.

I have decided that I am never going to have Martha Stewarts flare for putting together the shabby with class look, nor will I have Better Homes seal of approval. I will always fall short of perfection and most likely just be average. Of course, I don't want to quit striving to be better but I do want to be less concerned if I ever reach that level. So tomorrow I am going to choose my clothes carefully, check my knee highs and shoes then pull out of my garage with my head held high hoping I don't forget to comb my hair.