Monthly Archives: January 2012

Jan30

Tattoo? Really?

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Tattoo? Really?

Last week another one of my children informed me that he got a tattoo.  I mentioned the last tattoo milestone in my post “A Week in the Life” awhile ago.  This now makes three of my four kids permanently decorated.  What does this say about my parenting, considering I told all three of them not to? Really?

Now, I’m not a prude, nor am I stranger to the skin ink.  My ex husband has a creepy snake thing on his shoulder and both of my sisters have something, although I don’t remember what.  My beautiful niece and her husband actually own a professional tattoo parlor.  Her husband is a remarkable artist, and I am always amazed at the work  he does.

Many young adults that I know, have recently made the commitment to this art and I’m amazed.   I just don’t understand I guess.  I am not one who believes it is a “sin”, although the famous OT verse, Leviticus 19:28, is referring to not behaving as the pagans do… so you can take that for what it’s worth…I don’t think having a tattoo makes you any less of a person either, but I personally would just never do it.

Here are my top ten reasons why…

  1. I’m over 40 and I think about my commitments very carefully.
  2. I’ve seen what gravity can do to a body, and sagging art work doesn’t help it.
  3. It hurts.
  4. I’d only be copying my kids…
  5. I don’t want to explain it to my grandkids.
  6. I’m OCD and ADD… I would loose my mind if I couldn’t erase it when I decided I didn’t like it anymore, which I would, and I hear removal hurts even more.
  7. WWJD… Really.  He wouldn’t, cause he was Jewish.
  8. My husband doesn’t like them. (I know this should be reason enough…)
  9. I don’t need to prove, show or remember anything that bad.  That’s what scrapbooks and blogs are for.
  10. I worry enough about moles and freckles…the more I care for my aging skin, the better.

No matter how many people are walking works of art, the stigma will remain, and it’s one I don’t have to worry about.  Am I mad or disappointed with my kids? No.  But I wish they had left their beautiful young skin alone.  It’s a blessing that won’t last, but that tattoo will…Really.

Do you have a tattoo?  If so, I’d love to hear your story.

Jan20

hearing loss, diets & new routines

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hearing loss, diets & new routines

My youngest has progressive hearing loss.  I kinda wrote about it a while ago in my post, “I Cried Today”.  He’s a pretty typical teen.  Most people don’t even know he has hearing aids, or any health issues for that matter.  Recently, we went to a new ENT for a second opinion.  We have been going to the same ENT for 13 years and I thought it might be about time.  This new doctor laid out the issues and had a solution, in about 10 minutes.  It all seemed too simple.

My son’s ears are not healthy.  He has popping and constant ringing.  His hearing loss is only high frequency so far, and the hearing aids fix it.  He does suffer from headaches and dizziness, but not normally enough to slow him down for more than one or two days a month.

The new doctor looked in his mouth and his ears, and told me that he had markings in his mouth that indicated he was swallowing in his sleep – grinding marks that he called the “tuck & swallow”.  He would only be doing that, if he had reflux and needed to swallow at night, due to stomach working and stuff refluxing…  Well, he did have reflux when he was little.  The first few years of his life were horrible because of it, but he has not had any problems in a long time.  The doctor then explained the air flow from the eustachian tubes, and the esophagus also affected the ears.  The reflux was, apparently, causing air flow issues…  His solution seemed to simple.  My son needs to go to bed with an empty stomach.  Which means he can’t eat 6-8 hours before going to bed.  If he must eat something, it should only be fruit that is easily digested.  Simple.  Really?

He explained that making breakfast your most important meal is key to health anyway.  “Important” meaning, all your proteins, fats etc.  Basically have your dinner for breakfast.  He also put it this way, “eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper.”  Well.  It has been a major adjustment to the schedule, and to our way of thinking.  It makes sense, but it’s not how we are used to doing things.

The other day we had tortellini and meatballs for breakfast, chicken fingers for lunch and watermelon for dinner.  Thank God we are home schooling…We’ve been doing this for 6 weeks with some improvement.  I must say we have not been really disciplined  though.  It’s not an easy thing to do, but we are committed to keep at it.  My son is motivated to feel better, and he thinks it’s fun to eat dinner for breakfast…it’s the fruit for dinner that’s the stumbling block.  We will check back with the doctor in 2 months.

My son’s ringing has not stopped, nor has the popping.  His headaches have decreased in intensity & frequency though.  Pray for us to keep to the program.  We really want to see if this works, since we have tried everything else… and I mean everything. There’s no harm in trying this, and I figure, this doctor is either a nut job or a genius.

Have you ever heard anything like this?  What do you think?

Jan13

An Award

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An Award

The other day I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award.  I was very surprised, and blessed… Thank you Thriving Despite Us.  Part of the deal with this award is that I too, need to nominate 5 blogs that have 200 followers or less.  Well, all of the blogs I follow have more than that.    Sooo… I had to head to my blog server’s “freshly pressed” and start reading blogs that looked …little.   What a good time that was!  I am now a follower of a few new blogs and am all the better for it.  My quest is not over, but this one I read caused me to pause and I wanted to mention it…

One of the blogs had a post about the, “er-beauty of peacocks”.  They are beautiful, but their sound is not.  The post was sweet and simple, and connected to faith.  You can read it yourself here.  It got me thinking about my sound.  It’s not that beautiful either… It’s one of the few things I have left to embarrass my kids.  Once, a few years back, they even asked me to stop singing so loud in church!  Which also got me thinking.  Because I did stop singing.  I stopped singing in Church, at least loudly, because I didn’t want to offend anyone, or more to the point, I didn’t want anyone thinking I sounded bad.  Which made me think about how often we conform to the patterns of this world, because we’re worried what people will think?  (Rom 12:2) We never mind showing our beautiful feathers, which are, by all intent and purposes, our appearance.  What we sound like when we sing? Well, that’s personal.  That’s not something we do for everyone.  Especially if we stink.  How does that correlate? I was thinking…again,  I don’t share the most beautiful thing I got going for me very often.  It’s not my feathers, although I do have a decent wardrobe.  It’s not my voice, as I’ve already shared, I’m doing everyone a favor…  It’s my faith.  It’s my knowledge of Grace and the Spirit that changed my life.  It’s the most beautiful thing about me.  That’s the reason I wake each morning and smile.  I praise the Lord who made me at the beginning of everyday He gives me.  Some mornings I even sing… Really.

Reading some of those blogs reminded me of that and I’m glad.  I needed it.

I still have not found 5 little blogs to nominate, but I will still acknowledge this wonderful award, and start with nominating HearingnSeeing… thank you for making me think.

 I’m still looking, so, If you know of a blog that’s worthy of an award that gives happy little blogs some recognition, tell me about it, so I can check it out!  And if you happen to see me in Church, don’t sit in front of me…cause I’m over that not singing thing…

Psalm 98

Sing a new song to the LORD,
for he has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
his holy arm has shown his saving power!
2 The LORD has announced his victory
and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!
3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.
The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Shout to the LORD, all the earth;
break out in praise and sing for joy!
5 Sing your praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song,
6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn.
Make a joyful symphony before the LORD, the King!

7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the earth and all living things join in.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!
Let the hills sing out their songs of joy
9 before the LORD.
For the LORD is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with fairness.

Jan12

I’ve Done Some Reading…

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I’ve Done Some Reading…

I have had a herniated disc.  It’s really painful and no fun at all, and I’ve spent over 2 weeks laying down.  One of the things I could do while suffering is read. You would think I could have blogged, but the discomfort and bad attitude messed with my flow… The pain meds might have been part of the problem too…  So, I read.  After finishing 6 books in about 6 weeks, I thought I would do a mini book review blog and see how it goes…

I spent the end of November and beginning of December devouring Ted Dekker Circle series.  Black, Red, White and finally to my frustration, Green.  I really enjoyed the characters and the descriptions of every detail.  The contrast between two realities, and the allegory of good and evil in the world and in our hearts, held my attention through all 4 books…

The intensity was hard on me at times, and I found myself thinking about the story line even when I was not reading.  I hadn’t done that with a series since I read the Hunger Games trilogy. (yes, I read it… and I read the Twilight series too..) Mr. Dekker made a valiant execution in making the books come full circle, and I can see the connection, but it didn’t ease my mind.  Coming to the end of Green and thinking that the cycle would repeat, left me with a sadness for the main character.  Bummer.  Besides the frustration of the actual circle of the series, I did find it well written, engaging, exciting and seriously thought provoking.  I was left with some unanswered questions, but it was definitely worth the hours it took me to read.  I do highly recommend this series.  I enjoyed it so much, I went and purchased the “younger generation” set and plan to read it soon as well…

The next book is one many have read.  My daughter recommended it, so how could I not  pick up this small, easy to read book called The Alchemist.  I was almost disturbed by the simplicity of it, yet it was as deep a book as any self-help book you could ever find.  I was completely caught up in The Boy’s quest, and taken in by his adventures.  I was truly surprised at the ending, and it make me smile so big, my husband asked me what was going on.  I loved it.  It was one of those books, that makes you think and then…smile.  I personally think everyone should read it, and with it being so short and simple, there is no excuse not to.  Trust me.  Really.

The last book I read is The Last Sin Eater, by Francine Rivers.  This book also falls within the allegory category.  I’ve always been a huge Rivers fan, ever since I read Redeeming Love and A Lineage of Grace.  Both of those were life changing and are on my all time favorite list…My personal belief is that everyone should read those too… but I digress… The Last Sin Eater is an engaging tale of a young girl named Cadi,  in a southern settlement, around the mid 1850’s.  The settlement in which she lives has taken on the practices of their Scottish fore-fathers, and has assigned a “sin eater” to take the sins of someone when they died.  The story is also loosely based on Leviticus 16:8-10.  It was another engaging story from Rivers, although I did not love it as much as the other two I mentioned.  Maybe it’s just me, but I did have a hard time putting this one down as well.  Rivers does a fabulous job getting you to start the next chapter, which got me through this book in just a couple of days.  The story was sweet, and thought provoking, and even a little intense at times.  This book does carry the Gold Medallion Award for good reason.  Another winner from Mrs. Rivers, just not a #1 for me.

So there you have it.  If you are planning on reading any of the books I have mentioned, I would start with Redeeming Love… which I didn’t even tell you about.  Really.

Here is my reading list from 2011; (If you would like a more in depth opinion on any of them, just ask!)

  • The Power of a Praying Parent Stormie Omartian(I read this all the time, because I’m a mom, and all mom’s need to read this all the time…)
  • Heaven is for Real, Ted Burpo (enjoyable – I was already a Believer)
  • Mocking Jay, Suzanne Collins (loved it – but a little too disturbing at times..I did read the series as well)
  • Weird, Craig Groeschel (awesome – although it was freakily like something I would write)
  • Crazy Love, Francis Chan (this was a re-read…cause it’s worth it)
  • Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald (another re-read…happy sigh)
  • Already Gone, Ken Ham & Britt Beemer (Wow. Just Wow.)
  • Hearts & Minds, Kenneth Boa & John Alan Turner (hard to finish…)
  • Same Kind of Different As Me, Ron Hall & Denver Moore (a hard start, but worth finishing for sure)
  • Captured by Grace, David Jeremiah (LOVE…5 stars)
  • In An Instant, Lee & Bob Woodruff (enjoyable..)
  • Lord, Change my Attitude, James MacDonald (another re-read – 5 Star – everyone who is breathing should be reading this one)
  • How Good is Good Enough? Andy Stanley (worth it)
  • The Short Life of Bree Tanner, Stephenie Meyer (yea, I read it.  Wanna make somethin of it?  Oh, and I liked it…)
  • Ashamed of the Gospel, John MacArthur (Very good, but sometimes redundant)
  • The Reason for God, Timothy Keller (Thought provoking – 5 stars)
  • The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, John MacArthur (awesome.)
  • Just Do Something, Kevin DeYoung (very good)

I also participated in a few group  studies –

  • R12 (Romans 12)- Chip Ingram
  • When Godly People Do Un-Godly Things, Beth Moore
  • The Book of Mark – Navpress – The Navigators

All 3 are 5 star studies and I highly recommend all of them…

Did you read something amazing in 2011? Tell me!! 🙂  Happy new year and happy reading!

Jan6

The 2012 List

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The 2012 List

In 2012 I am going to do things a little bit different. You could call this my resolution list, but I’m going to call it my goal list instead.  I’m determined to improve, but “resolution” sounds so immediate and final, and having a goal list sounds more of a long term, flowly thing for me. So here’s my top 20 for the coming year…

  1. I’m no longer going to be the girl who calls to see what everyone else is wearing.
  2. Im going to wear my fancy shoes more often. Even with jeans, and to the grocery store.
  3. I’m finally going to finish the book “Quitter” by Jon Acuff…
  4. I have earned the “worst relative” trophy, so I am going to remember all of my families birthdays this year and respond accordingly… for a change. And I am not expecting or anticipating them to reciprocate.
  5. I will forfeit my nickname, “the enabler” and shop less. Sorry friends. Unless I move, I have no more room for anything…not even socks.
  6. I will pray for everyone who speeds past my house, even though the speed limit is 25 and they are obviously not concerned with the children playing in the yards.
  7. Quiet time. Yes. I will. Really.
  8. Walk my dogs. Yes. I will. Probably.
  9. Work unto the Lord in all that I do – that covers a ton. Mothering, relationships, blogging, serving…you get the picture.
  10. I will meal plan (again) and cook more healthy meals (again).
  11. Clean out my attic. (ha ha ha… just kidding – it’s on my wish list and really wants to be on the goal list, but I don’t think I’m quite ready)
  12. Use coupons at the grocery, not just at Macy’s.
  13. Mentor someone. Seriously.
  14. Catch up on my scrap booking.
  15. Learn PhotoShop.
  16. Participate in a women’s group…like a Bible study, not shoppers anonymous.
  17. Volunteer more. I’ve ebbed and flowed over the years, and 2011 was a year that I served the least, so I am ready to get back out there…
  18. I’m really going to put “journal more” on this list. I have volumes with missing months and even years… It’s kinda like serving. Both are always on my list.
  19. I plan on staying to my weight loss plan – it’s so much a part of my life now, I almost forgot to list it. Although, when I lose more weight, I will have to go shopping again…
  20. Listen more and speak less. I think I can, I think I can…Really.

So, there it is. My goals for this year. Most of those are reruns, but some are making their debut. What are your plans for 2012?