Saturday, January 15, 2011

A re-commitment to health, writing again, stolen identity, death, and snow. LOTS of snow

                                                                                                             1/15/11

Snow: As most of you know, it doesn’t take much snow to shut down the state of Tennessee.  Now before all you guys who might be USED to large amounts of snow start chiming in on how ridiculous it is to cancel school for a week because of a few inches of snow, you HAVE to understand that we don’t have the snow plows, salt, snow tires, or chains that you guys have ready to go for an event such as this.  Our buses travel on many rural routes that are icy and most bus drivers do NOT have experience driving over icy, snowy patches.  I think the old “better safe than sorry” motto is definitely ok to use as a guideline in these circumstances.  Besides, it gives all us parents a break from getting up at the crack of dawn to drive our babies to school as well….. I welcome the little “snow breaks”.  That being said, even I am about to scream “Enough!!”.  A day or two is one thing, but I can’t remember the last time Metro cancelled school for an entire WEEK!   I love winter, but when I am dreaming of a sandy beach with a fruity little drink in my hand, then you know it’s bad.  

Re-commitment to health: Mike and I decided this week to try and be more “health conscious” in 2011.  Mainly because we are FALLING APART!  Both of us have so many aches and pains on a daily basis it is ridiculous.  We can’t be out doing God’s work if we can’t get out of bed, now CAN we???  SO…. Grilled chicken, fish, veg’s, sweet potatoes.. and more exercise seems to be on the agenda.   I would WELCOME any great healthy recipes any of you guys have that you love.  It’s going to be up to ME to make sure healthy meals are made, since Mike doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen. 

Writing Again: After taking most of last year off, I have finally started writing again.  I’m “baby-stepping” my way back in, but at least I’m on the path.  I’m getting excited about what God has in store for me and my music in 2011.  I’m starting this year writing for a specific project that I’ll tell you guys more about later.  But if you are a prayer warrior, please cover me in prayers now and then about this.  It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time!

Stolen Identity:  We found out this week that Mom had her identity stolen. It has taken up quite a bit of my time to try and fix this issue.  I’m just praying that it doesn’t go any deeper than it has so far.  What kind of person steals an 85 yr. old Alzeheimer’s patient’s personal information and then starts charging things to them on the interent????  Apparently rafaelayar@yahoo.com with a birthdate of 5/7/1979 and an ip address of 204.210.141.113 thinks it’s okay to do that.  I’m not having any luck tracking this person down yet, but I’m not giving up!  

Death:  One of my favorite residents at Sycamores Terrace passed away yesterday.  Her name was Liz Pine.  She was 94 years old.  Mike and I got to entertain at her 93rd birthday party.  She was a sweet lady, who as of just a few months ago still went to The Bluebird Café to hear her favorite singer/songwriters as often as she could.  Dad called last night to tell me of her passing.  I know it’s hard on him, losing one of his friends.  Today I am praying for the Pine Family and hope that God’s peace will comfort them in their time of grief. 

One thing I learned:  I’m trying to remember to keep LEARNING something each day in this life. You’ve probably heard the quote, “The day we stop learning is the day we die.”  Well, I’m not ready to meet Jesus just yet, so I guess that means I need to learn a few more things.  My sweet friend, Ellen recently gave me a book by Sheila Walsh called “Good Morning Lord”.  I’ve been adding a reading from it to my morning bible study and I have really enjoyed it.  One of the things I learned from her book this week is this:  “Failing to forgive myself is a prideful choice to not receive God’s grace.  To say that we don’t deserve to be forgiven is to make our sin more powerful than the blood of Jesus.”  WOW!  I never thought of not forgiving myself as a “pride” issue, but boy, did THAT make me think!  She goes on to say, “… since God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves.  When we refuse, we have made the court of our opinion more powerful than the court of our holy and just God.  It must seriously wound the heart of our Father when we will not accept the gift he has given us, the gift of forgiveness that cost him so dearly.  After all, our sin was covered by the lifeblood of the Lamb.”    Makes you think, doesn't it?


NEXT WEEK: I’ll be singing bgv’s for a wonderful singer/songwriter Laura Kaczor this Monday night(Jan. 17th) at The Listening Room Café (ya’ll come out.. she starts at 6pm), looking for healthy recipes, writing, and going to the wedding of a dear friend.  Looking forward to a great week ahead!   Ya’ll stay safe, forgive yourselves and love each other!

Blessings,
M




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