D2D and Ripples

My friend, Angela, wrote this the other day and it took my breath away. Especially the sentence I highlighted. She goes on to tell her story, how her journey began and touched on one of those ripples she made and how that ripple still expands. Angela gave me permission to put her words on my blog (thanks). I needed the reminder and thought maybe you might find it relevant to your life in some way:

Sometimes we are the ones planting a seed of spirituality in another person. At other times, we are the ones watering the seed someone else planted. And sometimes, we are the ones helping to harvest the flowering of a soul.

Each of these actions produces ripples in the world - a small wave of action that touches one life after another. We will never fully know, this side of heaven, how far these ripples reach.

A few weeks before my senior year of high school, my parents divorced and I moved with my mother and baby sister to Illinois. Unable to cope with the circumstances, my mother and I both fell apart. But my Uncle John, who had recently become a born again Christian, would pick me up when my mom could not deal with my depression, and take me to work with him. He was a night-time taxi driver and as we drove around all night, he would tell me all he knew and believed about the beauty and joy of a true relationship with God.

There's much more to her story, you can read it at Angelawd.

I think it's amazing how God works in our lives with such perfect timing. I also know it might seem He forgot someone, maybe it's you or someone you love. Believe me, I know the feeling. I still say to Him after losing my dad and my sister within four months of each other that while I know there's a plan I don't understand, I sure hope the explanation is a good one. Before you gasp at my audacity, let me explain. I think God and I are pretty tight by now, I also believe He kinda knows what I'm thinking anyway and there's nothing I can think that will take away His love for me and His gift of life in heaven forever and ever.

The pastor of this fabtabulistic church family I love so dearly put together an awesome study called D2D a few years back. D2D stands for Deep Calls To Deep. It's from Psalm 42:7:

7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

He went on in his writings to talk about many things, but what I remember the most was that he referenced the reference of water. We thirst for water and I believe we thirst for, can't live without it. And when circumstances seem soooooo deep that we feel we simply cannot come to surface, well that's when those ripples Angela referenced come into play so often. I believe those ripples sometimes come along when we're being crushed by the weight of the water and God reaches in with His amazing strength and pulls us to the surface. I hope if you're dealing with something seemingly too far gone to be salvaged you let Him pull you up.

Niki and The Big Family!

Yesterday was good! We had a banquet at church and Niki came. We had spoken to her on the phone the night previous and she agreed to come--and asked if she could bring her boyfriend. Heck yeah you can! At this point, if Niki said she preferred to wear her bathing suit to church over her long johns but only if I let her borrow my Hawaiian Girls Rocket Dog shoes, let me tell ya, I'm going to say yes! And all y'all know that's just not right. I don't share my Rocket Dogs. (You didn't think I'd have issues with the swimsuit and long johns did you?)

So...during service (a good one it was), I looked ahead. In the seat in front of me, my 16 year old son, Cody. In front of him, I could see the back of our 10 year old son, Alex's head, standing next to his big sister. And for years and years this has been a familiar sight. But tonight, I take it in and I know in my heart that the dynamics of our family have been changed forever. Even if she comes home. It won't be the same. Maybe that's good, idk. Far too soon, but I know there's a purpose for this. And I have learned the little things do.not.matter. The love I have for each of my children is all there is in the end, and I need them more than I probably should. I put aside the little things now and I see the bigger picture.

So....prayers are working. I think she enjoyed herself--and I'm incredibly grateful for that church. Niki went from one unquestioning and loving arm to the next tonight. Nobody admonished her, nobody questioned her, nobody held her at arms length. No. They (from the little children through all the adults who love her) opened their arms, declared "NIKI!!" and gave her a big bear hug, kisses on her head, and "I love you's". That was it. I don't think I ever loved my church family more than I did tonight.

My friend Jamie emailed me that she hoped Niki left church feeling loved. She did. I don't even need to ask her, I just know. And I pray along with everyone else that she comes back again and again, because she belongs there. It's her family too, and God gave her a good one in Cornerstone.

Okay okay, I'm done with the weepy stuff. I have cat pictures! It's Niki's cat, GiGi. She's learned (Boo taught her) she can jump higher than she thought she could. She's found the 'nook' in the kitchen Boo enjoys napping in. If he's there and I notice him as I turn to leave the room, it never fails to startle me! He's spooky looking, all black Halloween-ish. GiGi....she's just too dang cuddly wuddly buddly to scare anyone.

I Saw Joseph Do The Hammer Time & My Angel Might Get His Wii!

It's a good day today--for today John gets that bonus and tonight, we shop. In a panic, because most folks have already grabbed up the good stuff, so we're left with what's left. And I have these boys who like the latest techno stuff out there. And as some of you know, we're doing this Christmas with cash. People who do cash are very cool, but only if they think far enough ahead to SAVE for Christmas. People like us, we must run out just a little over a week before the day to grab up what the cool people who saved left behind.

We'd probably do fine if the boys wanted Christmas socks. Or cologne. Or a chi chi chi Chia!

There are resourceful ways to deal with the issue, and I'm prepared to use creativity and craft supplies if it comes to that. Like the Wii. Would I be able to please Alex's desire to own the Wii if I bought a television remote, painted it white and add the logo, tied on a little strap for his wrist? Maybe......but I'll need help. John will help, he likes helping. He could crouch low behind the television with the PS2 game controller. Watch (from a hole we cut into the cabinet which sounds kind of creepy as I write this) every move Alex makes playing Battlefire Gunnerboy In The Big Scary Woods Full Of Fighting Ninjas And Paratroopers.

I think we'll try. Everybody wins--Alex gets his game on. John improves his hand-eye coordination, synchronizing to Alex's movements AND he gets to play video games all day. And I finally get a remote that not only works, but that nobody is willing to hack the batteries off of. So..... adding to my list: one remote, one can of white spray paint, one Sharpie, one new CD label for 'new Wii' game. One set of kneepads for Johnny-behind-the-television, and of course one bag of popcorn for me. Under say, $30. Not bad for a novice cash-shopper like myself!

You may be thinking what you're thinking I haven't thought. How to keep Alex from playing when John isn't there to turn the Wii on? Pshh! I'm the momma--I keep a list of 'groundable' offenses in the back pocket of my jeans!

Finally, in the spirit of the holiday, here are pictures of my little Wii playing angel. He was in our church Christmas program Wednesday night and did a fine job as an angel! The clarity stinks, sorry. I did, of course, find time to take a shot of Cody and myself from the back of the room.

And I wish you'd been there--Joseph discovered that the spotlight, along with the fabric backdrop, created a shadow. And that shadow moved with him. And the more dramatic and exaggerated his moves the funnier it looked! I didn't react quickly enough to capture it. But know this....Mary was seeking room at the Inn with NO help at all from Joseph. Hey, the man was busy getting into his Hammer Time! Just like a guy! Oh somebody in that audience owns a $10,000 video. If you're reading this, I'll trade you one video of an angel singing and reciting lines for one Joseph entertaining himself while Mary fends for herself.

Cody Offff to New Mexico

I've been dreading this morning for awhile now. It's camp day and we packed our middle son, Cody, drove him over to church where he met his fellow youth campers. They're taking two vans alllll the way to Glorietta New Mexico. They'll stop for the night at a church in Amarillo, TX this evening; then head over for registration tomorrow.
He'll have a blast there, I've heard great things about Student Life camps. Todd Agnew, the Grace Like Rain man will be there speaking--how cool will that be. I gave Cody a little extra spending money to get his CD. Cody's always been very Christ-centered, he's looked so forward to deepening his relationship with Christ and with other people in church. I cannot take much credit for his kind and gentle personality--he has been this way since he was very small. With a mommy like me, who would have guessed?

Last night, as my laundry machine worked overtime, we were trying to come up with something fun as a family to do yet something we could do at home because..well...laundry. Alex came up with Yahtzee---so here you see Cody on his last night home for a week, thoroughly enjoying this family fun night:

This morning woke early, did the last minute checklist over and over and over until they told me to just STOP. Cody assured me if he forgot something he wouldn't blame me and if he was cold he would know it was his own fault for NOT taking one more blanket. I don't feel any better for it, I think he could have used one more, but I let it go there. (If he calls me tonight, I'll Fed-ex a blankie over, he knows it too, stinker! That and cookies--he didn't take any cookies and he should have.)

Niki had training at her new job, so she didn't get to go. They said their fairwells before she left (yeah yeah, Mother of The Year Award to me--she really is eating an ice cream bar for breakfast...there are nuts on it, lol). Alex was still sleeping, so Cody snuck in and gave him a hug and kiss:

He's not going to miss home, though, right?

My blog friend, Cat, is sending her son Matt as well, so you might recognize her in some of the collage pictures (she's wearing the green tank). I'm a picture nut-ball, what else is new. So to make it easier for everyone, I collaged them:



I will be missing my Codeman, Codester, all week long like only mommies can understand:

GiGi, Happy 100th Post! I'll be reading your interactive soap another 100!

(how do you get a post count, btw?)

I'll be seeing my baby boy late late late on Thursday...meanwhile if any of ya'll see the white vans headin down the highway to Texas and New Mexico, be sure and wave (and let me know where they are, how fast they're going, how they looked, etc etc!).

We are doing a little housework, I'm doing a little typing then we've been invited to John's brother, Jim's house, practically right behind our church. We're ordering pizza and swimming (they've got an AMAZING inground pool--they saved unlike us). My SIL Debbie (aka Martha) has promised to whip up brownies right from scratch, er, the box.

John and I worked a lot of hours last week, we sooo look forward to being with them, catching up and laughing. God is so good to us, more than we deserve probably. Things were feeling very bleak and overwhelming, that there was no end in sight to this rediculous pace we've kept up for awhile now, He answered our prayers. I can slow it down and not stress about money constantly. I won't stop typing, not until we are debt free (ha!), but I can cut my load down, thankfully. I was very afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up and home school Alex; so when John called yesterday afternoon that his hard work and all those night hours getting his MBA are paying off, I felt 1000 pounds of the past several months of pressure lifted off. I know He could have answered us another way, we still would be okay. If we have learned one lesson these past several months, it has to be that the blessings in our life, all of them, cannot be taken for granted.