The Battle continues

It's 5:15 a.m. We have been up since 3 a.m. Spencer was congested and coughing so I went to check on him. It was like the Holy Spirit tapped me on my shoulder and said... "A storm is coming. Board up your windows. Get your supplies. Be ready." I decided to move Spencer to my bed. I gave him some OTC cold medicine. He quickly went back to sleep in my bed.

3:52 a.m. I wake up to Spencer seizing. Once again... we are not sure how long but I'm sure it would have been longer had he not been laying beside me. No way I would have known if he had been in his own bed. We turn on the lights and wash his face and try to talk him out of it. We pray. It doesn't stop. We administer his rescue medication. It doesn't stop. We call 911.

The person on the line rubs me the wrong way. She is asking questions like "Is he diabetic?" "Has he recently had surgery?" I know it is her job, but I started the call by saying that he has epilepsy and he is having a status seizure... that we had already administered his rescue medication. You would think she could tell that I have been through this a few times. I say to her... "no he is not diabetic... he has epilepsy." I guess I snapped at her because she retorts something like, "Mam, answering questions that way won't stop his seizure." No kidding lady.

At this moment I feel bad for speaking to her with a sharp tone. At that moment I didn't. 

The ambulance arrives and Spencer is taken to the hospital. Greg went with him. This is the first time I have been left at home. I am usually the one to take the hospital trip. I don't like the waiting. I am trying to listen to the voice of the Father and not the voice of the accuser.  I don't know what to do other than pray and right now I'm prayed out... so I am posting this to fill the time. 

I've been maintaining contact with Greg through texting. The seizure has stopped and Spencer is awake. He is talking to the nurses about his school, his teacher and getting a seizure dog. That is definitely at the top of our priority list now. At least the prayer about direction on getting a dog has been answered. We will apply and leave it in God's hands.

I am trying to remember and pray my scripture from two nights ago. I've had to go back to read this post to remind myself. I quickly begin to think about the day ahead. Our plans have changed. No school. Greg will probably not work. I'll cancel my training probably. 

I think about the fact that our  plans have changed for just one day. What about people tonight who are facing a situation where their plans have changed for the rest of their lives. What about the people whose situations tonight have changed their eternity. I try to lift them up in prayer too.

I wonder if I should even be posting this. What will people think about me posting on a blog while my child is at the hospital?  Then I think to myself... maybe God has allowed you to be able to think and write about this now, at this exact moment, because something you say will make a difference for someone in my kingdom... someone  who is fighting a battle of their own... so I am getting ready to hit "publish."

Yes, there is a battle going on all around us. It is a spiritual battle as much as a physical and mental one. But we who belong to Christ know that the battle has already been won.

Revelation 12:10-11

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ. 

For the accuser of our brothers, 

who accuses them before God day and night,

has been hurled down.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony."

For more on spiritual warfare go here.

Or here.

Mathetes Award

I have been neglectful. I was reading through some old posts and realized my friend Stephanie at Notes from the Soul had awarded me with the Mathetes Award back in October of last year... and I never passed in on. Now in my defense, I was fairly new to blogging at the time, and didn't totally "get" the whole award thing; and she also gave it to me right before I left to go to the Glorietta Christian Writers Conference, so things were just a little hectic.

To correct my over site I would like to talk a little about this award and pass it on now. Better late than never :)

The Mathetes Award was originated at Management by God by Dan King. Mathetes is the Greek word for disciple, and the role of the disciple (per the Great Commission) is to make more disciples. Dan created this award to recognize those acting as a disciple of Christ in their blogging. When you receive the award, you are asked to pass it along to at least five other bloggers who you feel are fulfilling this role and then to link back to Management by God.

I would like to pass this on to:

Melissa at Mel's World... I love her insight.

Kimberly at A Planting of the Lord... a new friend who sloshes out Christ when she writes.

Cheri at Pass the Salt, Please... a real life friend who has moved away :(

Elizabeth at Embracing Life... someone I have just met in the blogging world but who I am excited to read more from.

Janet at Living Oak Ministries... a real life friend who truly disciples me.

Beloved MaMa... another new friend in the blogging world.

and Sue at Praise and Coffee... She always challenges me and gets me to thinking.

Ladies... Please pass on this award and link back to Dan.

You guys truly bless me.

This is the prayer Dan prayed for the bloggers who receive this award on his post and I couldn't have said it better myself.

Lord,

I pray a blessing over the bloggers that receive this award, and ask that the Holy Spirit use them mightily as they share the Word of God with the world around them. May all of their efforts be fruitful, and their words carry the anointing of the Spirit of God. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen

The King's Highway

When I was growing up, I lived in the house with my grandmother and my great-grandparents. They were “old-timey” Christians you might say. They took me to church from the time I was born. I remember an 8 track tape player that sat at the end of the couch on an end table. My grandmother would play gospel music all the time.

Great gospel classics like: Because He Lives, He Touched Me, Old Time Religion, What a Friend We Have In Jesus, Turn Your Radio On, His Name Is Wonderful… I could go on and on listing them. (BTW, if you don’t know, and are interested in what some of these songs sound like… go here to hear excerpts.)

As a matter of fact, not long ago, my friend Janet and I spent hours just talking about how much we loved the old music we grew up listening to. We took turns coming up with these awesome songs and laughing about how much fun it was to go to a “singin’” or a “tent revival.”

I am so thankful for those seeds being planted in my life at an early age. The words to those songs are incredible. My Father in Law and I drive our family crazy if we are ever flipping channels together and the Gaithers are on TV because if they are… that’s the channel we stop on. I usually know all the words which surprises some because it’s not really music from my generation.

Anyway, several of these songs have been on my mind lately. One is Hallelujah Square which I thought about when I posted on Spencer’s seizure a few days ago. The other is The King’s Highway.

I was reading my Bible and came across this:

Isaiah 35: 8-10 (NIV)
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

I like the way The Message puts it too:
There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It's for God's people exclusively— impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, no dangerous wild animals—Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people God has ransomed will come back on this road. They'll sing as they make their way home to Zion, unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.

The NIV Life Application Bible says “This highway, the “Way of Holiness” is the way that righteous pilgrims will take from the desert of suffering to Zion. It is found only by following God. Only the redeemed will travel God’s highway; they will be protected from wicked travelers and harmful animals. God is preparing a way for His people to travel to His home, and He will walk with us. God never stops at simply pointing the way; he is always beside us as we go.”


God is walking on our road with us, protecting us, leading us to His heavenly home He is preparing for us. And when we finally arrive, there will be no more sorrows, no more tears, no more pain…only singing and joy.

I don’t know about you… but I am walking up the King’s Highway. Don’t you want to join me?




Doesn't this remind you of what it will be like in Heaven one day, when we are all in white washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, praising and singing to Him for eternity.

Thank you Lord for not just pointing the way, but walking with me on the Way of Holiness... The King's Highway.

Miracle Mondays

I am so excited to share with you a new meme hosted by Beth at A Mom's Life. Beloved Mama let me know about this... so thank you. Miracle Mondays is a chance for you to write about a miracle that you may have experienced or witnessed in your life. You can go to Beth's Site and sign up on Mr. Linky. Post your story with a link back to Beth so we can all hear about the amazing things God can do. 

I couldn't believe it when I read Beth's post. I shared with her that God has just been dealing with me about starting this same thing! I really feel God wants us to know He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. That means He is in the miracle working business today, just like He was when He created the earth and when He walked upon it.

Instead of writing about my miracle experience here, I am going to link you to my recent post about it. It is a little long but worth it to hear about how awesome God is. You may be able to just scroll down. I was just able to share this story last Wednesday through "In Other Words" when Beloved Mama hosted it. You can even go to her site and read her post from Feb. 26 to link to other miracle stories.

Please go here and read about the awesome miracle God performed in our son's life. Please know that as I share this with you, I feel led to say that even if the outcome had been different for us during our storm, we would still believe that God is a great God and He is in control. 

He is with us on our mountain tops and in our valleys. 

I just can't praise Him enough!!

Had to share this too! One of my favorite songs.

The Battle

Fear. I've fought the battle with it many times before. It is a battle – spiritual warfare. The enemy is quick and sly and he knows what my buttons are. He knows which ones to push to start me down the path of worry. My heart beats fast in my chest. It feels tight like I can't breathe.

I run down the checklist wondering why. Did we give him his medication? Did he watch too much T.V. or play too many video games today? Is he overtired? Is he anxious or worried about something… if so what?

Spencer has just had a seizure. He was already in bed asleep. When I went in to check on him, I found him seizing. I'm not sure how long. He has had incontinence. When I turn on the light and arouse him he comes out of it. He is upset. He always worries because he thinks he has scared us. He has such a tender heart. He is always more concerned about others than about himself.

We assure him it's not his fault. We change his PJ's, clean him up, change the sheets, pray over him, put him back to bed, snuggle with him for awhile and hold our breath. Will it happen again tonight? Will we have to call 911… make hospital trip? We lay out the rescue medication just in case. It will be a long night. There won't be much sleep. I will watch him.

When I begin to focus on the problem…my mind goes all kinds of places. I won't even give the enemy the satisfaction of listing the worries. The enemy wants me to be afraid and worry. Sometimes he wins and I am afraid. I worry. Tonight…I will try very hard not to. I will stand on the promises God has given me.

When I focus on Him, the problem doesn't disappear, but He promises He will walk through my valley with me. He reminds me that He is in control. I will stand on His word.

"Do not be afraid. I am your shield, your very great reward. " Genesis 15:1

"Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there". Genesis 21:17

"Do not be afraid; the LORD your God himself will fight for you".
Deuteronomy 3:22

"News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them." Matthew 4:24

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". Romans 8:28

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed". Isaiah 53:5

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26

There are so many more promises. He cannot go back on His promises. He is faithful. He is praying for Spencer and me. He sees us. He loves us. He was wounded and beaten for our healing. He died for us. He is coming back for us one day… and when He does and we reach our heavenly home… we will no longer have to deal with the seizures.

"They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way,say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." Isaiah 35:1-6

Are We Getting Old?

In honor of my husband's 39th birthday which is tomorrow... I thought I would share my thoughts on getting older.

Lately when I have been traveling, I notice young people on the plane or in the airport.  When I see them I think to myself, this person is too young to be traveling alone... and shouldn't they be in school or something. The problem is, they are NOT too young to be traveling alone.  I usually find out by striking up a conversation with them they are in college or recently graduated. Which means they are the age I was when I got married. What does that say about how old they must think I look?... not to mention the fact they call me "Mam". I'm all about manners, but... you know... it does make you feel old sometimes.

And... this really pushed me over the edge. My step sister is in college.  She is in a sorority. Tonight they are having an 80's mixer. That means they think my generation is so old they can dress up like we did for 70's mixers and poke fun at our clothes, hair and makeup. Hey... I still like big hair and I still have some clothes from the 80's, I just can't fit in them anymore. 

Then I received this email from a friend a while back.

"The Spoiled Under 30 Crowd

As a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning... uphill BOTH ways, in the snow... yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of junk like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that...

I am over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a dang Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

1. When I was a kid, we didn't have the internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the dang library and look it up ourselves... in the card catalog!! (Do you even know what a card catalog is? Didn't think so!)

2. There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter...with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

3. There were no MP3's or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the dang record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up!

4. We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the p hone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

5. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!! You had to pick it up and take your chances mister!

6. We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like Space Invaders and Asteroids and the graphics were horrible. Your guys was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

7. When you went to the movie theater, there was no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat or big hair sat in front of you and your couldn't see that was your tough luck!

8. Sure, we had cable television, but back then it was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

And there was no Cartoon Network or Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. Do you hear what I am saying?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!

9. And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a fire... imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid JiffyPop thing or a pan with HOT oil and Real popcorn kernels and shake it all over the stove forever like an idiot.

10. When we were on the phone with our friends and our parents walked in, we were stuck to the wall with a cord, a 7 foot cord that ran to the phone - not to the phone base, the actual phone. We barely had enough length to sit on the floor and still be able to twirl the phone cord in our fingers. If you suddenly had to go to the bathroom - guess what we had to do - ha ng up and talk to them later.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy! You're spoiled!!

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!"

Now I pose the question to you guys... Are we getting old?

I would love to have your comments on other funny things that make today different from the 80's.

Oh...  And Happy Birthday Sweetie!!! I love you!!

What's on my desk tag

Celly B over at Busy at Home has tagged me to show what's on my desk. Unfortunately right at this moment I can't take a picture of said desk because camera batteries are dead and I haven't updated my new computer with my camera software anyway. (Note to self... put this on your to do list for this week :) )

But... I will be happy to tell you what is on my desk and maybe a picture will follow later this week.

I am very excited to actually have a new desk. Up until about 2 months ago, I was sharing my husband's desk and computer. I had a computer in my craft room, but it was basically a lemon from the day we bought it, so I always used my husband's... much to his frustration I might add.

Anyway, we finally "decorated" our bonus room, which is where the kids have their video games, TV, etc. And it is the official home of my new office. I have a black armoire type desk so I can close the doors to hide the mess.

Right now on my desk is my new Apple Computer... Yaay! I have only had it about a week and a half and I'm still learning how to use it. I have actually signed up for One to One training at the Apple store and have attended my first two workshops. Just wait until a year from now and come back to check out my mad computer skills. BTW... Boo Mama's link to iLife a while back and my friend Carol at Sheep the Right who just got a Mac too finally pushed me over the edge. Now Carol and I can iChat if I ever get mine set up.

Also, there is a picture frame... which doesn't have a picture in it yet. I can't seem to get around to printing my pictures. There is a pile of office supplies I just purchased but haven't organized yet... a box of file folders, a pack of copy paper, 8 small legal pads, a pack of sticker paper, and some font software.  The empty apple printer box is also where a CPU tower would normally stand. I really do love office supplies and having things organized... and I have all of these grand ideas of getting everything into it's own place... but alas, somehow it never happens and things just end up sitting in piles.  BTW... I also have a thing for picture frames and buy tons of them... but somehow they never end up with pics in them. I'll save more on this topic for a post on another day.

My Bible and my Commentary is also on my desk at the moment... but it usually travels around the house.

 

In addition, there is a Kelly barbie doll, a Hello Kitty note from my daughter and the Wii remote.

Maybe one day I will actually get it all organized...but I don't think it's going to be today.

I'm supposed to tag 5 people I think... so I tag

Carol at Sheep to the Right

Stephanie at Notes from the Soul

Cheri at Pass the Salt, Please

Kimberly at A Planting of the Lord

and 

Janet at Living Oak Ministries