Update and my thoughts on our trip

OK - so DH's leg is healing nicely. It was SO hard to keep him down this weekend. The doctor told him to keep his leg elevated and to lay low until he saw him again and DH was going CRAZY. He was antsy about sitting at home and really wanted to go out to the boat to "rest" but I knew if he went out, he'd want to take the boat somewhere - and that is not keeping his leg elevated and laying low. He saw both the doctor and surgeon yesterday and had the drain removed and both said he's doing great. He sees the doctor again on Friday and the surgeon next week to get the "all clear" but atleast he's no longer restricted on activity. So DH is no longer cranky. LOL

Lauren did well with school and dealing with the train/bus. It's a bit of a pain because the train and bus schedule don't work out really well so she's having to take the 6:51 train in the morning to catch the 7:46 bus to get to the campus. The next bus after that is 9AM which is when her first class starts 4 days a week so she's having to get to school an hour early. It's not terrible once school is underway because I told her that this way she can get a bite to eat and do some schoolwork. What was NOT good today was doing all of this transportation - and getting to her ONE class that she has today and having a professor walk in at 9:10 to say that the professor of that class can't make it today and class is canceled. Yeah - we're going to have to see if she can have the professor e-mail her if he's not going to show on the day she only has that one class.

So, while on our boat trip, we had an experience that made me think some things through and wanted to blog on it. We went to Mystic Seaport over the last weekend and we met up with some others that we know from our yacht club the second day we were there. We all tied up to the same dock so Bob and I and the two girls went and helped them all pull in and tie up - 3 boats in all. 1 of the boats was the same as ours and the owners are pretty experienced as are their children so they were easy to put in but the other 2 couples are newer to boating/cruising. We got the one boat in while the other boat putted around waiting for everyone to help and when we got them in, the husband said to me "Thanks SO much for your help. My wife knows NOTHING about any of this and has no desire to learn so it's hard to do it by myself."

I thought about what he said for the rest of the day and though about our last 17 years of boating. I had no idea anything about boating before we got our first boat in 1991 but I learned pretty quickly because my husband needed help if this was going to work. He has learned to do a lot of things on his own because he likes to take the boat out by himself, but with our help, he's able to do a lot more and have an easier time of it. If I had never learned to do things on the boat and do them well, quickly and without thought, his job would be MUCH tougher and it would possibly even put us and the boat in danger at times.

I realized that this translates to a marriage relationship really well. How many women just don't want to learn to be a helper to their husband because it's beneath them or it's just not what they want to do? How much does that limit what our own husbands can do in their own God given roles and jobs? If I didn't learn to be careful with money, would my husband have to give up the ministry because he can't support us? If I didn't learn to cook and keep home, would he be able to focus on God's calling for him? I can see that it would not only be limiting and/or damaging to the husband but the whole family as well!

Even in the same way, it can apply to husbands. If a husband does not want to learn a skill to get a good job, how limiting is that to his family? Is he crippling his children in seeing a father who is motivated, hardworking and diligent? Is he causing his wife to struggle with fear and trusting the Lord?

I can see that by learning all we can about our jobs and roles, then we not only are blessed by being in the will of God but we also bless our spouse and family in being able to go farther than we ever could without that knowledge. This makes me want to do some MORE learning on becoming a woman who has a heart for the Lord and her family. To learn to be more careful with my time and my money. To learn to be a Titus 2 woman and to find more wisdom in the Word that I can pass on to other younger moms and wives.

Learning to tie a rope may be a small thing but in being able to secure a boat quickly and easily so as to bring the family into port safely is much bigger than you think. Cleaning the bathroom may be a small thing but having a haven for our children and our husbands is much bigger than we think.

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA. Many of you know we were away on vacation on the boat and we had a wonderful time. We went to Connecticut and Rhode Island and got to see some great sites including the battleship Massachusetts, Mystic Seaport and Block Island, RI. The only problem is that we came home with DH having a massive infection in his leg and so we've been dealing with that for the last few days. He ended up at the surgeons who cut open the leg to drain it and now he has quite a slice in his leg with a gauze drain in it. Poor guy gets SOOOO ooged out when he looks at it and each time I need to change the dressing to let him soak it, he gets all lightheaded.

I thought of a blog entry that I'll put up in the next day or so - once things settle down here. 2 weeks of being on a boat with 6 people results in a LOT of laundry and junk being unloaded and dumped in the house. Also my oldest starts college on Monday and homeschooling starts in just a week and I need to get ready! So it's going to be pretty busy for a bit. But I promise to post soon. :)

Total epiphany!

OK - I just had a moment where something just totally made sense to me and it's really interesting. Just before my shower this morning (about 30 minutes ago), I watched Good Morning America and their interview with Steven Curtis Chapman and his family - the first interview since the death of his 5 year old daughter. While I'm sure they edited out most of their discussion about God what stood out was that through their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they know that there is more to this life than the here and now. They look forward to the day when they will dance and sing with their little princess again but know that she is with her heavenly Father. They know that what we do here has an eternal significance.

Then I was listening to the TV on behind me. The children are watching Handy Manney on Playhouse Disney but there was a commercial that was on speaking about "What can we do for the earth?" It hit me just then. The focus and energy spent on the environment by so many is their own way to try to make a difference eternally. Well, we know it's not really eternal but they look for some significance beyond themselves and some way to make a difference when they're gone. If they can even do a few things to decrease the amount of trash, the amount of pollution, the number of trees killed or the endangered species saved, they've made a difference.

As Christians, we know that there is a God - a Creator of this universe. We know that when people die without a Savior, they will go to hell. As believers, we should be as militant and diligent as the environmentalists - and make the idea of spreading the Gospel as common as recycling. There are people saving the trees and the piping plover (a small shore bird that is endangered and makes it's home on Long Island), when so many souls are lost. We are ALL looking to leave a mark behind us when we leave. Will my mark be a clean earth (which is important too - don't get me wrong) or will it be hearts made clean by the blood of the Lamb through my life and testimony? It's not enough just to live your testimony but to give it too. One person recycling is not going to save the planet so there is a huge push to make it known by advertising and media - to make it appealing and to make it a personal mission. In the same way, just me living like a Christian is important but I also need to be able to SHARE Christ and His sacrifice for the lives of those around me. It's going to be easy to remember this idea because of the plethora of information on the environment that is out there - from the news and papers to the internet and just general discussion. Hearts are crying out for significance - how much more significant can it be than to turn your heart to the Lord?

Who is Jesus?

OK - I'm so not a political person. I wish I didn't have to get involved at ALL in politics but because of my right to vote, I do try to stay on top enough to be able to give an educated vote when the time comes. Of course we have a presidential election coming up and we're hearing all sorts of dirt on both candidates. I will say that I'm a Republican but Barack Obama has had quite a bit of press in the past - good and bad - and I've heard claims about how he's a "Christian". I've also seen his church and his pastor and obviously have not been too impressed but I never was able to understand his beliefs in claiming to be a "Christian" but now I do. And it's not good. Here is a link to a blog from a woman who used to be the religion reporter for the Chicago Sun Times. She interviewed Mr. Obama back in 2004 and the interview is very telling. It's a very interesting read.

http://falsani.blogspot.com/2008/04/barack-obama-2004-god-factor-interview.html

If you can't handle reading white letters on a black background (I know many can't), here's the same interview on another site - which is very anti-Obama but it's a clearer read. I like to try to get information like this closest to the original as possible so that's why I have the first link. :)

http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/2008/06/06/barack-obama-the-2004-god-factor-interview-transcript/

I found the interview to be very sad. I now understand Mr. Obama - and he's lost. Truly lost. :(

Parenting and discipline

Today was a day at church that was BUSY!! We have VBS this week includes 450 kids and about 150 workers - all of whom I feed for the 5 days this next week. So we were up at church all day and since I woke up really early to a thunderstorm and needing to close the windows, I'm shot! But a couple of things happened today that made up the bulk of the conversations in my family during all of this.

First off, there was a little girl at church who was in the VBS singers group - a group of the little kids who will help to lead the singing each day. My two little ones are in it and my 16 year old went over to high five everyone. She got through the first row then got to the 2nd row where a little girl was sitting talking to another child. She saw Nicole coming and when Nicole got to her, she just stuck out her tongue and folded her arms!! VERY snotty attitude. I've seen this little girl do a number of rude things to other kids and it makes me sad for her, her parents and other kids around her.

Then there was a group of rowdy boys who were running around with a toy gun. It WAS raining outside and they were stuck at church all day so I know they were going buggy but they didn't need to almost knock over a group of people as they ran. They came into "my" kitchen, drank the remainder of the iced tea for the workers (it was getting later so I let them) and then they started shooting the brand new ceiling with the toy gun (that shot suction cup "arrows") just when pastor walked in. He spoke to them and they were actually a little disrespectful to him - enough to that if it were my child, I would have spanked them.

It makes me sad that there are children who seem to not be taught basic manners anymore. These are also children that I've seen be VERY disrespectful to their own parents and the parents not say a THING to them. My 16 year old was saying how she's seen it a lot too and questioned if parents see what's happening or not. I honestly don't know. Do they see it or not? Do they see it and ignore it? Do they see it and don't know how to deal with it? One thing I've learned through raising my 4 kids is that it's very important to have a "vision" for your kids. I'm not talking about seeing them as doctors or teachers but to see what quality you want them to be when they grow up. First and foremost, I want my kids to have a relationship with the Lord, but after that, I really want my kids to be respectful and polite so that's a large focus here. I don't let my kids get away with disrespect or rudeness - not that I spank them every time it happens or punish them but we certainly address it and punish when necessary. It's important enough for me to spend time on this and I can see in my 16 and 18 year olds, it's working. Hey - I can see it in my 5 and 7 year olds too!

I'm certainly not a perfect parent and I've made my mistakes (plenty of them) but this is an area I feel really strongly about and I see that there are benefits paid in being diligent in discipling (not just disciplining) your kids. Know what the goal is and work towards it and you just might be able to get there! LOL!! The Bible says "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18) God has given US the vision of becoming more Christlike and so we can know if we're being successful or not and keep a focus. It's the same with raising our children.

Stuff on Lauren

Well, Lauren's graduation party was a success - much due to the wonderful young man who's good friends with the girls and he brought....in 95 degree humidity....a real honest to goodness SNOW CONE MACHINE!!!! How cool is that? We had a great time and Lauren was thrilled.

She also got back her AP grade for 2D Art - a 5! The grade is from 1-5, 5 being the highest grade. She was thrilled AND that gave her 3 college credits.

Finally, she took her road test today and passed on the first try! That's my girl! LOL Now to get brave enough to let her really drive the car by herself. ;)

This next week will be a quieter week which is good because it's still HOT. We're having a heat wave in NY with temps over 90 degrees for 6 days now (I think) and we also have the wonderful NY humidity to go along with it. We've not had rain for a while either so my lawn is just about dead. :( I'm enjoying my AC today and just resting because I went riding and ended up with a bit of heat exhaustion. Bleck!

The only thing I really need to worry about this week is getting ready for our VBS. I do all the refreshments - feeding 150+ workers, 450+ kids and then parents too. We have "dry run" on Thursday so I'll get some things for that (thinking just bagels, a couple of danishes and some fruit along with the coffee and tea), and then I need to do the big Costco run and buy the drink mixes, cookies and stuff to make my own trail mix. :) So this week I'll enjoy the little down time before the mad rush!! LOL

12 Years ago - TWA Flight 800

12 years ago yesterday (well, 2 days ago now that it's after midnight), TWA Flight 800 exploded and went down just off the South Shore of Long Island. I remember watching the news and seeing the devastation of the complete obliteration of the airplane and the boats going out to try to find any survivors amongst the debris and burning jet fuel. 2 days later found both my mother and I at the Moriches Coast Guard Station working with the Red Cross providing food, supplies and support to the men and women who were out on the water recovering all of the debris and whatever bodies and body parts they could find. About 50 yards in front of us, I watched as they brought in lost loved ones and recognizable and unrecognizable pieces of the plane. I remember looking at the windows and realizing that most likely, there was someone sitting at that window in the last second of their lives.

I just want to remember the lives that were lost 12 years ago and I pray for the families that were touched by the tragedy. Seeing the pics on the news and in the papers these last few days really brought back the feelings that I had in those days working at the CG Station. The sadness for those lost lives - and likely lost souls hurts almost as much as it did back then. I also pray for those who did the searching and who came upon some horrific sights. I pray for continued healing for all of them and a touch from the Lord - that they would put their trust in the One who holds life and death in His hands.