"The Secret of Enduring"

So, I certainly do not claim to know the secret of enduring myself, but I am being forced to endure right now! So, this is definitely a timely read for me. Again, these quotes are from the book I'm currently reading - Secrets of the Secret Place. In the context of this book, the "Secret Place" being referred time is that time when you spend alone time with the Lord, in His word, etc...

"It's easy to endure in the good times. It's when the hard times hit that our endurance is proven. When times get tough, it's tempting to neglect the secret place." I've said things quite similar to this myself...

1. "Hardship can be embraced with joy, in my opinion, only when we understand God's purpose in the pain. 'My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience' (James 1:2-3). The only way to be joyful in trials is through "knowing" -- knowing God's purpose in it. How do we learn God's purposes in our sufferings? The secret pursuit of God in His word is what will reveal purpose to us."
2. "One of the scriptural symbols for this process is pearl. Pearl is formed within an oyster which has experienced the distress of a foreign particle of sand getting stuck within its shell. Pearl represents the eternally valuable change God works within us in the place of hardship. There is nothing else that changes us quite so readily and profoundly as a devotion to the secret place in the midst of grueling hardship."
3. "The longer the irritant resides within the oyster's shell, the more valuable the pearl becomes. Therefore, the formative value of tribulation is sometimes directly proportional to the duration of the crucible. The longer the distress, the more valuable the pearl. It is the confidence of this reality which empowers us to persevere with joy. When we endure in love through hardship, we qualify to enter the gates of pearl - for the only way to enter the eternal city is through the pearly gates of "treasure perfected in hardship."

Abiding with all the endurance I can muster,

Lori

Comic Relief: Great Dog Signs

Okay, so the sign above says the following:

LICKER
LICENSE
AS DEEMED BY
THE BOARD FOR
THE PRESERVATION
OF
SHIH TZU
LOVE

Now then, I suppose some of y'all might need an explanation. So here's one:

Dogs lick EVERYTHING. They lick furniture, people, floors, themselves, ect. It's what they do. It's in their nature. Especially when it comes to Shih-tzus. The breed is well know for their never-ending licking, thus the following picture (think of this as visual explanation):

They lick, and they lick, and they lick some more.

It NEVER ends.

FYI, the dog in this picture isn't mine.

Now, back to the licker sign:

I thought it was funny. It's like comic relief. And, trust me, we needed it. =D



Love y'all and hope ya got a good laugh out of it,

~Anna/marryanna

I love blue jeans and trucks, but that's a whole other post...

Update and "Secrets of the Secret Place"

Well, I'm writing today because Anna says the blog has gotten quiet and there's been a request from one of her friends. So, here I am, I'd better add something.

My leg is about the same. I'm still elevating and icing, and getting really tired of it all. I just mark the days as they go by, striking through them on my calendar. Kind of boring. Don't really have anything exciting to say...

Anna is taking the California Achievement Test this week, so she is currently taking the Language Mechanics portion while Sarah watches Baby First t.v. which she sometimes enjoys. Right now is one of those times. Mom's gone to pick up a few things at the store, but will be back soon. I'm sure she enjoys the break from our crazy place.

We did venture out to church again yesterday which was nice. I enjoy seeing everyone and spending time in corporate worship, receiving Biblical instruction, and enjoying time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And, of course, being a Baptist, you can't forget the lunch afterwards!! That is some of the sweetest fellowship time, as it should be.

During my devotional time I am reading through several books - I usually have one that is a scripture study and then one or two others that I'm reading related to spiritual growth. So, one of those is a book entitled Secrets of the Secret Place - Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God. (written by Bob Sorge) I got the idea to read this book from another book I read that quoted from this one.

Anyway, I just have to share with you the titles of some of the last few chapters I've read. They are so fitting for my current situation, you can't help but smile at God's providence. The current section is titled "Setting A Marathon Pace" and the last chapters I've read are:

• The Secret of Desperation (I'm feeling a little desperate these days.)
• The Secret of Manna Gathering (This one is based on the idea of living day by day, understanding that God's provision is daily, and not intended to be stored up - like the manna He sent to the Israelites.) Now here's where it just gets plain funny!
• The Secret of Enduring
• The Secret of Confinement
• The Secret of Waiting and
• The Secret of Tears

Here are a couple of the things I underlined as I read - they either stood out to me as important lessons to learn or ideas I already know and cherish. As I look through each chapter, WOW, it's hard to pick just a few. Maybe I should share a little each day for a few days.... hey that'll work!

Okay, so here's the first set of quotes, from the chapter "The Secret of Manna Gathering."

1. "When you're desperate for God, you become dependent on the daily sustaining power of His word. Your source of survival is your daily manna - feeding on the word of God. We know the manna of the wilderness was good for only one day; if kept over into the next day, it would rot (Exodus 16:12-31). It's still true that yesterday's feeding in the word will never sustain us for today. One of the primary functions of the secret place is to be fed afresh each day in His word."
2. "Proverbs 16:26 says, "The person who labors, labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on.' It's our hunger for the word that drives us into the secret place. When we are hungry spiritually, we are energized to labor in the word. A lack of hunger is a danger sign. When someone is sick, often the first symptom of their sickness is a loss of hunger. Those who lose their spiritual hunger need a medical exam, spiritually speaking."
3. "Once you learn to feed yourself in the word, you are no longer upset when the Sunday sermon doesn't apply to your life. You weren't looking for the sermon to be your source of feeding and life anyways. If something in the sermon feeds you, you reckon it a bonus. You're no longer dependent on others to give you milk because now you are cutting off your own meat."

Tomorrow, excerpts from The Secret of Enduring.

And, Anna says, "Hello!" *waves*

Abiding in His sovereignty with my big ol' broke leg,
Lori

Daring. Very daring.

Today we dared to go to church with mom and her broken leg! The result: SUCCESS!!!! Oh, happy day!! We even went to lunch with some of my...er...our peoples! *happiness* Hope y'all had a good Sunday!!



ttyl peoples!
~Anna/marryanna

My Sweet Baby

Say hello to one of the sweetest dogs ever. My baby. Her name's Jasmine. Most of y'all know her. She's adorable. She thinks she's real tough (which, when she acts like she is, is precious). She's a pretty good guard dog. She barks at everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Here's 4 things she barks at AT LEAST once a day:

1. Cars that have been parked in the driveway for the last 24 hours.
2. People walking.
3. One of us ringing the doorbell
4. Someone accidentally bumping up against a wall.

*sigh* She's crazy, but I love her like crazy.

~Anna/marryanna

What We Think

Hey everybody! Here's the address to a new blog. It's written by me and some of my friends:

www.wemustbeactive.wordpress.com

It's a blog full of biblical discussions about what we think. Please go check it out!

~Anna (AKA marryanna)

Blah...

Well, today it has finally hit me. I woke this morning feeling totally - blah!

I still have 4 weeks and 3 days until I see the Dr. again for another follow-up, and to hopefully get my cast off. After that, I don't know how long it will be until I can put weight back on this leg, and I will have a good deal of physical therapy ahead of me.

So, this morning I woke up just really feeling done with it all. I'm tired of going from the bed to the recliner, sending someone to get all of my pillows for propping, my drink, my cellphone, my blanket, etc... Then, back again several hours later. I'm tired of running into the walls with my crutches or walker when I try to get up and go to the bathroom. I'm tired of the pain involved when my foot swells and the incision presses against the inside of my hard cast.

I'm sick to death of being unable to just jump in and get a shower and wash my hair. I feel yucky, dirty, disgusting, and tired. Just plain tired of it all, and I've got a really long way to go still. I'm not even half way through this!

Worst of all, I'm tired of being at the mercy of everyone around me, and having to depend on everyone else to do what is my job.

Ah, but as Scarlett O'Hara would say, "I will worry about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day."

Abiding, and hanging in there, one hour at a time,
Lori

Medical Update...

So, I went to the doctor today for my 2 week post-op follow up from surgery to repair my broken leg. The doctor says that things are looking good and progressing well. They took out the staples, there were about 17 of them, and I have two nasty scars, one on each side of my leg.

The doctor put me in a hard cast (I chose black, because it goes with everything.) and I'm still on the restrictions of keeping the foot elevated, and iced, and putting no weight on it for 5 more weeks. I go back then to have it looked at it again. This is going to be a slow and gradual process I'm afraid. He said that while things were looking good, if I were to put any weight on the foot it would "fall apart".

So, I continue to sit, foot propped up on pillows, trying desperately not to feel like a horrific burden to my family and friends. I understand now how people with serious injuries can fall into deep depression or worse. It is very difficult, mentally, to have to depend on others for even your most basic needs.

Anyway, that's where we are now...
Abiding,
Lori

Happy Easter!

I wasn't able to go to church today, though my family was able to attend in our church's new building. We are still working with a church plant and growing a little at a time, which my experience tells me is really the best way for anything to grow. I wish I could have been with them all in the new place. Perhaps after I see the doctor this week and get a cast on, or whatever he's going to do to me, I'll be able to get out.

I am still not supposed to put any weight on this foot for another 4 weeks and 3 days. (Yes, I'm counting down.) That likely means many, many more days at home hanging out, and being tended to. I really do not like having to depend on others to help me with EVERYTHING. I mean seriously, I can't go fix myself something to drink and then take it anywhere. I suppose I could fix it on the kitchen counter and then drink it there, but right now I still can't stand up for long periods of time. I can't pick Sarah up with one leg, I do everything and go everywhere with my hands on crutches on a walker. And, don't even get me started on trying to take a bath! Very frustating...

In the meantime, our family and friends were over to visit and have lunch today. Unfortunately, I went to lie down for a bit before everyone arrived, fell asleep, and when I woke up... everyone was ready to go home. :o Sorry I missed out on visiting with you all!

So, that was a little disappointing, but I'm sure they all had a nice time being together, and I understand. Todd said he tried 3 different times to wake me, I don't recall any of that. I must have really needed the rest. I slept fine lastnight, so I don't know why exactly, but I guess my body knows what it needs.

My friend Debra brought me the Easter outfit you see in the photo above since I couldn't go out and get one for myself. Wearing that was the highlight of my day. Only a great friend would think of such an hysterical thing and actually spend their money on it! Thanks Debra, You made my day!!

Abiding in His resurrection,

Lori

Now THIS is funny...

I don't know who wrote this but it is hilarious:

God vs. Satan

And God populated the Earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's.
And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double cheeseburger.

And Satan said to Man "You want fries with that?"
And Man said, "Super size them".
And Man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt,
that woman might keep her figure that Man found so fair.

And Satan froze the yogurt, and he brought forth chocolate,
nuts and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt.
And woman gained pounds.

And God said "Try my crispy fresh salad."

And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits and shredded cheese.

And there was ice cream for dessert.
And Woman gained pounds.

And God said "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak from Cracker Barrel so big it needed its own platter.
And Man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes,
and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil
to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2.
And Man gained pounds.

And God said "You are running up the score, Devil."

And God brought forth the potato,
a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them.
And he created sour cream dip also.

And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.

And Satan saw and said "It is good."

And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple by-pass surgery...

And Satan created HMOs...


Hope y'all liked it as much as we did!
~Anna/Blondy da gangsta

An April Fool's Anniversary

Hi Everyone:


Well, today marks the two year anniversary of the fall down our basement stairs. Two years of physical therapy, massage therapy, doctor's appointments, surgery, prayers, and lots of tears have passed.


This year, I decided I wouldn't be the "April Fool" who tried to carry too much down a flight of stairs while balancing a baby on one side and a large heavy diaper bag on the other. Instead of being this year's biggest "AF" I got started precisely one week early! Exactly one week before this year's April Fool's Day, I broke me leg!

Thought you'd all enjoy a picture of what Sarah affectionately refers to as my "BIG...BIG...BooBoo!!!" The second is a photo of my "old lady walker". Todd rubber banded a Wal-mart bag to the walker for me so I could take small things with me from point "a" to point "b". That's just sad....






Abiding in His grace, with my Big! Big! Foot!
Lori