Finding The Victory Lane

The Year is 2013

               Merry Christmas , Happy New Year 

Hope this finds all  our family and friends totally filled with the spirit of Christmas Love.'  This year has been filled with many reasons to  give thanks  to our Creator and many reasons to be on our knees praying!

Hope is a wonderful thing and we are both so thankful that the good Lord gave us more time here to share how God works. The past two years have been filled with lots of trips to therapy for me and Bill. The car accident is now two years behind us and every day we look for signs of where His healing is touching us and wonder at the blessings given us. So thankful for family and friends that prayed and so thankful God heard and answered.  
We bought a new Ford Explorer in January and it was July we made the trip out west. First we planned to go to Glacier National Park to attend The Jensen reunion ( my Dad's side ) We planned our trip with short drives not over 6 or 7 hours of driving before we hoteled it. Can you believe we put 7,000 plus miles on our new car and Bill did all the highway driving. We skipped driving up Pikes Peak much to Bill's disappointment , :(

What a fun trip as we took in quite a few sights on the way. The weather was beautiful and only had  bad rain showers once in Oklahoma coming back. On the way up we stayed at Hatchet resort before we got to the Grand Tetons and the cabins were so nice and rustic. The restaurant served up Huckleberry pancakes too! Above you see the Chapel at the Air force Academy in Colorado Springs . The one place my Air force Lt. Colonel husband wanted me to see and I was amazed at the beauty of this place. He had been a liaison officer for the Air Force Academy . We had to wait until the wedding for an air force couple ended before we could tour the chapel. On to Glacier National Park after we toured through Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful erupt we met up with my family and many of our Montana families of my Dad's side. Was so happy that Wendy, Venesa ,Colton , Cheryl and Tim  came. It was fun to see my sister Vicki , sister Val and Leroy also brother Carl, Bev and his family.What a wonderful event . There was about 70 of us Jensens that stayed at Apgar Village in various cabins, I was told. We all rode up the Highway to the sun and Bill and I rode with Leroy and Val to the top. A very scenic trip and even saw a bear( a baby  ). Some of the family  river rafted and we watched pictures that Julane Jensen took of the rafting adventure at the family picnic gathering. My family really enjoyed this getaway! We traveled on to Spokane to see my brother Ralph and Joyce Jensen and then to Valley to see my youngest daughter Dana and Stan. In Spokane we had breakfast at a specialty breakfast place Al suggested and we visited  with him and his wife's brother.

On to Snohomish and stayed with Cheryl and Tim then on to home via the Oregon Coast.  Thank you Jenna  ( my grand daughter worked out our itinerary). We stopped in Flagstaff AZ where my daughter in law Nita and grand daughters Seanna and Nicole with their two little ones, Aydin and Olivia came up from Phoenix AZ to meet with us. We all had lunch together. Was so fun to see them!!  Our trip home was eventful with a visit in Albuquerque with my cousin Marilynn and Lyle Welchel. Thank you both for calling my cell phone ,the home style dinner and  wonderful visit. Bill's brother Walt suggested we see the Cowboy museum in Oklahoma City so we did!  Last stop, Branson MO. two nights , two shows!! 

Next trip for me was Hawaii in Sept.with my girls , Stan , Dana's boyfriend and two grand daughters , two great grandsons and daughter in law  Nita. Bill stayed home alone and did well without me for 3 weeks . He is a wonderful partner and I  missed him as GG (me) made wonderful  memories in Hawaii.  Now  we are back in the groove of Therapy for Bill and watching our winter birds and looking  forward to a new Spring                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                       Love In Jesus             

*Forgot to say we took a trip to Sandpoint Idaho

                                                                                Sharon , Bill  

 

 

 

 

A TREE AND MIRACLES

Called on by our pastor to share our story in church on Brotherhood Sunday ~

Seemed to me that Brotherhood Sunday was a day for the men and boys to share; but Brother James asked me to join my husband Bill so we could both share our story . OK .... so looking up the meaning of brotherhood the definition brought clarity... " A Friendship Like No Other" .  In my changing world this is what the Lord has blessed me with, so that explains why sharing our story will be a blessing on this day to everyone, I decided !  So as I see it, everyone of us are blessings to one another and we all need to be considered as blessings like no other. We have been created in the Lord's likeness ! He has called us to be His light in our journey... were my inner most thoughts.

The Esther Sunday School Class The Lord connected me with at Yellow Creek Baptist Church are included in my "Friendship Like No Other"!  Picture to the right includes some of them that were visiting me at the hospital after our (Bill and me) accident.

Brotherhood = " A Friendship Like no Other" Where do we find this? How do we earn this? This, led me to thoughts of having lived in a marriage for forty years where control was placed over me pretty severely and I had lived it and allowed it for way too long. Then that one day came the Lord set me free , my husband just  moved out. Could it be possible to ever have a friendship like no other? In the days ahead that had not been in my thoughts at all. Mostly I was hurting inside because this was a huge rejection after I had helped my husband while he had been sick with a bad heart condition and through it all had stayed to endure things from him for way too long . The life lived with a person who controls is called living on the edge and very degrading to self esteem. A stress filled life.

Now my thoughts turn towards my new husband of 4 years this May, 2013. Yes the Lord has blessed me now with someone very special and the sweetest friendship like no other. A friendship I had always hoped for. A partner that prays with me and for me . Encourages me and attends church with me. The love of my life. My six children are the love of my life also even if the road with their Dad was rocky ; my heart hurts for them and all they had endured . Let me just say everyone of my children are the best and have had to always work hard . They are always there for one another and me.

The year is 2011,  me and my new husband Bill decided to travel. We had been married only 3 years and never had taken a very long trip so this was the year, We booked a cruise to Alaska with Holland America through a member of our church whose son has a travel agency connection . Let me tell you he was the best agent and detailed our trip right to the last bus trip back to Seattle from Vancouver Canada . We traveled with another couple , friends of ours from here in Owensboro, Kentucky. We were met at Seattle airport by my son in law, Tim. Needless to say we had the best stay with my daughter Cheryl and Tim in Snohomish WA , before we flew to Fairbanks AK. We did a 7 day land tour and then a 7 day ship cruise back to Vancouver, Canada. A wonderful trip we were so blessed to have enjoyed and then get met on our way back from our cruise by Tim . He drove us to their home once again to stay with them  for a Fourth of July Barbecue, fireworks and all . Then we also got in  a game of Croquet . The weather was so perfect plus the hospitality of Tim and Cheryl was tremendous and God will and has blessed them for all their love, generosity . Wow, what a trip and now home safe in Kentucky soaking up the summer heat! Church and endless summer Cruise Ins with our Car Club,Sunset Cruisers would take up our time . Nothing better than praying with our church friends listeneing to our favorite Pastor Brother James and showing off Bill's cars. 

In September me and Bill traveled to Mississippi to see some of the famous Southern Homes of the Civil war Era and we also visited the Vicksburg Civil War Battlefield. This was a wonderful get away too that Bill had been saying he wanted us to take . We stayed a little over a week and we took in the home tours through most of the Grand Southern Homes. Some of the homes gardens over looked the Mississippi River and we walked through the gardensso we could sit in the gazebos close by the river. We were advised to eat at Doe's Place one of the oldest restaurants in Mississippi. There is a wonderful story about this eatery if you google it and needless to stay an experience we both enjoyed there. So glad we did all these trips because life was about to change.

The event that crashed in on our lives ..and our road gets bumpy! In the fall of 2011where we learned that life is never easy; but looking back the one thing  we saw was the Lord  provide for us  while we experienced the  journey.
"Journey" ? What is a Journey? Journey means travelling from one place to another. Yes, we had just finished a few journeys the past few months. I like to think that  there is Hope in the Journey or Hope for the Journey to get a little easier from from here to that place the Lord has prepared for us.  Hope that the Journey is a bit easier than it has been. The journey we learn brings refining from the experience although sometimes we would rather not take some of those journeys. Wish that maybe we had planned the journey a little bit differently. We find out it is all a part of His plan for us.

You see at this time in my life and because the many life experiences that have occurred the poem Footprints" comes to my mind. Probably because of the great need for Jesus to carry me through these devastating life experiences. The loss of my Dad when I was 18 years of age crushed me. He fell from a bridge construction site his company was building. This was huge for me but God was allowing His touch in my life through it all. Then the  biggest loss , my son Christopher in 1987. He was my baby of 6 children and the Lord had me dedicate Chris to Him in 1975 and he was 3 years old. Jesus had just became real in my life that year! A very special baby boy as it turned out because even though my son at 15 made a bad choice to drink a whole bottle of brandy on a $15 dollar bet the Lord used it for many to know the dangers of alcohol at such a young age. Their bodies cannot tolerate the alcohol and Chris' story is used in the Dare Program across the USA.  The Lord has given me burden carriers to comfort me in this loss. OK now I see Jesus through the eyes and heart of His mother Mary. This love overwhelms me with comfort and Lord I will worship You always!

So I knew He was there once again on that sunny day on October 8, 2011 when I saw that the Cobra we were riding in was taking us off course . It was a beautiful fall day and our Sunset Cruiser Club was cruising in a group to the Overlook Restaurant in MT Vernon IN.  We had all met at the Owensboro Christian Church and everyone was excited , the day was beautiful and many members were commenting on Bill's pretty Cobra. It was a kit car he had built from a Factory Five Shelby Cobra Kit  and he had done a beautiful job with the help of his son and grandson building it. The Cobra was painted with a beautiful Mitsubishi red and Cadillac white pearl stripes. Inside the panel was beautiful hand worked wood of  mahogany handcrafted by Bill. We both strapped in that morning and I even had flip flops on my feet because the weather permitted. The seat belts were like the race car drivers wear and strapped in we would be held secure. Great day to take the Cobra !  Weather so perfect and besides Bill was fine tuning his two other collector cars , so they were unavailable. The provision was there and now our trip was in the Lord's hands. We joined our club members in their cars at the meeting place. When we gathered  many were talking with Bill on his car's beauty.  They had not seen it before because he had mostly taken his 35 Chevy Coupe and 29 model A to the Cruise Ins of late. Everyone that was going had gathered and it was time to take off and all was looking good!

We learned later from Bill's daughter Sally that when Tristan ( Bill's 12 year old grandson ) got home and saw the Cobra was gone ( because it was temporarily stored in their garage) he wanted to know where it was and when they told him we went for a drive in it; the tears welled up in his eyes like he knew something was not good. Tristan and Kelsea have spent a great deal of time with me and Bill these past few years on the days school were closed because Sally and Kris both work and they needed a place to come to. This has been a blessing for me in many ways and helped me to get to know these special grandchildren of Bill's !

We were going into the corner and later learned it is called Gypsy Corner, a strange feeling came over me ....We were not making the next turn ..we were ...going to crash!!! I looked at the TREE ! ...coming at us, and said my quick goodbyes under my breath to my children back in WA State.  I just knew the Journey here was about to end. Even though we were only travelling at 35 mph it seemed like 100 mph right then!

Psalm 56:3-4  "But when I'm afraid , I will put my trust in You. I will praise God for what He has promised. " I will trust in God so why should I be afraid ? " His words came to me.

These thoughts went through my head very quickly ..and then the crash was over; my stomach lunged and groaned. Bill was squirming and I could hear our Sunset Cruiser Club members scrambling to figure out what to do first to help us! Agnes was trying to call out but her cell phone would not lift out of the forest and connect so I told her, " Find my cell, it is Verizon and it will get out. She found it and called for help and called our families , too.  Looking down at my right knee the red color of blood was pouring out from the huge tear in my white pants at my right knee and my side and back hurt some but was OK as I lay there looking over at Bill... once he murmured "I need to get out of here," The friends were telling him to lay still that help was on the way. I wanted to cry.  :(

 Life was now tossing at us more hurt another journey I concluded as we lay there waiting for help.  What was this about? Why are we still alive? Are we soon to die? Seems like we both had been through many trials and we had hoped for just a few more years of enjoyment together so maybe this was it I surmised.

Then my thoughts went to ..would help ever come? would they get here to this area so far away from everything ..it seemed like. The call went out we were told. For me not knowing where I was anyway my whole being said " Just wait and trust in Him."The Lord is here helping our friends to help us! yet deep down was this question .. Lord, how much more and are we going to make it?

Just the other day I read these words from Kay Arthurs' book
"When Hurt Runs Deep : Healing and Hope For Desperate Moments"

If you hurt your knee, it becomes much easier to injure afterward  and takes longer to heal than it would have before. It's the same with the heart if it's been torn apart, it's far more prone to future injury and will take longer to recover the next time it is hurt.  But with God, our wounds that seem impossible to overcome , are healed and those places of pain in our lives become even stronger than they were to begin with. God has allowed this pain so he could take us through it, so that we could realize that it is Him at work in our broken lives, and that through our wounds , through our weaknesses, we can show others who are suffering exactly what God's love can do.

How do we do this? A scripture I gave my grand daughter Jenna when she was struggling at school as a young preteen, she gave back to me when she saw her grand mother needed strengthened . My doctor had diagnosed me with breast cancer in 2007.  This was before me and Bill got together and my heart was torn because I did not want to put Bill through taking care of me if the necessity arose. He had already taken care of his wife Anne through Alzheimer's for 4 years before he lost her. There was also my doubt of going through a lumpectomy and chemo and radiation that year. The scripture me and Jenna share is Philippians 4:13... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. These words from God and numerous prayers brought me to this wonderful man I now share life with... my "Friendship like no other!"

My sister Vicki wrote these words on my daughter Cheryl's 'Women By Intentional Design'  page the other day :   I want to share them!

Did you know you are God's Poem?
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10  "We are His Workmanship"
                                                  "We are His Achievement"
                                                  " We are God's own handiwork "

FB Meyer, writing on this passage, says the word 'workmanship in Greek is 'Poem we are God's poems"
Are you troubled and concerned about the direction of your life? You needn't be.  After all He is the great Poet of your life. You are His beautiful poem; as Denis Durham has written in his wonderful song "His Workmanship" the years of your life form the stanzas, and the days form every line." It may seem at times as though this poem has no rhyme or reason; the Divine lines can be all too painful , but He is directing all your good {Romans 8:28 }  All things work together......
all in His own way your His masterpiece of love. He is patiently shaping you ; He is telling His story with your life. Rest assured you are like a building under construction , a painting yet wet and unfinished, a batter still being mixed, a tree that has yet to reach maturity , a tapestry still being woven. Await with patience the Master's grand completion.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who preserves under trial, because , having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love' Him.

What soon became fact in our lives.. we were going to have some adversity to walk through..
so we began the Journey'.. The helicopter airlift..two helicopters and the ambulance ride to get to the helicopters..Bill was taken out first then they came for me and lifted me out of my comfort zone of the crash! My screams pierced through the draw full of trees as they twisted my body out of the wrecked Cobra. The screams seemed to echo back at me. The pain became all too real ! Then darkness..the next memory was the hum mm of the cat scan.

OK .. God I rest in You ..give Bill and me courage to face what is next..courage that only You can give! There is no turning or walking away from this Journey so help us walk through it I prayed. Sometimes we tell ourselves I can't do it , I can't handle it . I can't bear it. I knew if that became our attitude ...frame of mind there would be no victory.  God send encourager's , prayer warriors I prayed. Then I wondered where Bill was as I woke up in the head trauma ward. I was in traction for a broken hip and my daughter Cheryl had flown in from WA and was at my side, her husband Tim would fly down later. She had missed her flight in Texas and had a layover but was there pretty fast. Eddie and Sally , Bill's daughter and son had found him in ICU with a broken 6 &7 vertebrae. This was not good! They said he could not feel his feet.

Later we were told our car club members prayed at the scene of the accident . The head trauma ward was a very frightening experience for me that night and I will not detail it here but I thank God Cheryl got me moved the next day up to the Orthopedic floor! There was some tough decisions to be made about my back break of the L2 vertebrae and my hip so Cheryl called my two sons and other two daughters . Leland, the first born child and oldest brother could not get away from his crane job in North Dakota so he bought a plane ticket for my daughter Wendy ( his sister) to come down to Evansville IN and help Cheryl make my medical decisions. Leland was always the brother my children would go to when the decision was difficult.

Bill was moved from ICU to Health South for rehab after 10 days went by and I would stay longer in traction for my hip and need for my back to be Kypo plastyed and a brace to be molded for my back. I stayed another week so they brought Bill in on his bed to kiss me goodbye..he doesn't remember because he was so drugged for his pain. I wiped the tear from his eyes when reaching over to squeeze his hand goodbye and kiss him. Bill was going to learn to walk again..and we needed prayers! The church prayed... all our family prayed and the doctor was going to be surprised as time passed was our Hope!

Then my release came to go to Health South for therapy with Bill where I would join Bill in his room. My friend like no Other! I was excited! The ambulance came for me and the wheelchair knew where to go!  I was in his room for one day then they moved me because Bill wasn't going to therapy like he needed they said. He really wasn't ready yet he was in therapy there way too soon was my opinion !

 Brother James Wedding, Pastor from our church at Yellow Creek Baptist would come and pray with us and many friends and family continued to be with us and help.  My daughter and son in law Tim stayed for a month and a half until I was ready to go home with them. Two more weeks of therapy for both of us and we were going to leave. I was going to go to WA State with my daughter and Tim . Bill was going to have to go back to Owensboro to a nursing home for awhile until we both could be together again.  Tears many tears through the healing process.

When I left on the 17th of November 2011, Bill left the next day for Owensboro . He was ill and they found out very ill, a UTI infection so his daughter got him transferred to Owensboro Medical Hospital which turned out to be God's Divine intervention for Bill's healing process to turn around and for him to get the therapy that would get him walking again. Praise the Lord!!
We had waved goodbye and it was very hard to do because when I left Health South there was no way of knowing when we would be together again..the tears formed and dripped down my cheeks.

"Journey " , from one place to another..and I was so glad Bill had his kids to support him while I was away. Romans 12:12     Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction, Faithful in Prayers

Walter Ford , Bill's brother and friend Pete Smeathers from church met us at the airport and brought my car back to Owensboro and hugged us goodbye . More tears !!

What a fiasco that was to get a wheelchair through security and lifted from the ground into the plane and then transfer to a plane in Atlanta GA to head to Washington State. One thing I leatrned, airplanes do not work for people in wheel chairs and leg braces.  It was a longflight for me with my bad hip and back and knee. When we reached Sea Tac Airport my daughter Wendy was there with a walker and wheelchair for me plus a rented wheelchair van. It was hours later ..1am , my head would hit the pillow in the hospital bed my grand daughter Jenna had waiting and prepared for me. Felt so good . My son , Paul had built a wheelchair ramp to get me in his sisters house . God bless them ..my children are the best! My medical records were transferred to WA State and Tim would take me to the doctors in a rented wheelchair van.Then I got more mobile and graduated to a cane after therapy in house and then out patient therapy..by May I was using a cane.

Bill would call ..I missed him so much and the news of him getting better blessed me very much.
Faith , strength ..all played a part and prayers being the most important. Not too mention all the cards received from family and friends with encouraging words.

This word is shared from the Breast cancer site:

A strong woman believes that she's strong enough to face her journey but a woman of strength has faith that it is in this journey that she will become strong !!

Faith ! Hebrews 11:1
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.

OK .. once again I choose to live by Faith because at this time in my life the events are pressing in and Lord help me not to lose hope, because You have given me strength and doubt go away there is no space in my life for you because I know what to be true brings on Your light!

Lord I pray, let me not faint in my adversity I'm facing ! Help me to get well enough to fly home to help Bill because he is there in our home all alone. Events that unfolded while I was healing in WA have overwhelmed me right now and  Lord will You help me face the days ahead , I prayed everyday after the tragic news of the death of my son Leland on January 11, 2011.
Lord I know You have something to teach me in this but help me understand the whys . Help me get

through the days ahead and give me burden carriers , I prayed.  Lord let Your Justice prevail and reveal an understanding to my son's daughter Seanna , his brother Paul, his

sisters,
Cheryl,Wendy and Dana also his parents . Dana seeks to understand why because she went to her brother's  rescue and brought him  home for Christmas so he would have family around as he had a pacemaker put in his chest and after that polyps removed from his nose. Mostly because you were her encourager in her down times and she totaly needs understanding because she has lost two brothers that she needed in her life. We all grieve knowing Leland did not make it to Arizona to meet his new grandson, Aydin. His life cut short because of sin in this world. Two bullets in the head the first one up through the throat and your face forever destroyed, The next shot you made from laying on your face they say , but how we ask . No way would he have been able to shoot the second round or even reach the gun that must have jumped away from where he layed. Lord was this a staged suicide we ask?

 Thank You Lord that my son bought two new suits and took his youngest daughter Amanda to candlelight service at church Christmas Eve and we have a picture. Thank You Lord for the rainbow over his grave on his birthday. My mother said the Lord showed her a rainbow and all her children were under it and I told my mother I claim this vision for my children too and of course my children are my mother's grand children ! My son Leland was my firstborn of six children and he was born on Easter Sunday.

Cheryl worked on her brothers funeral service and put together a beautiful picture tribute with beautiful songs . We as a family pulled out pictures and helped and it helped us process the grief. She also wrote his Euology for his service and led the service. The Lord was there at his funeral and  the song  that played ..I cling to is "Don't Cry For Me. "

Many family and friends attended my son's service and even his boss from Minot North Dakota came all the way to Washington State to honor Leland's memory. His daughter , Seanna came from Arizona and brought baby Aydin to his grandpa's funeral. Even Leland's first wife Nita came and paid her repects and grieved with us.

There is a lot more to this story but that will come later in YoMomIMHome'.

On May 17th 2012  I was able to fly back to Bill ! We were so blessed by all the cards recieved from our church friends and car club friends. We know the many prayers they prayed were the biggest blessing we recieved and that is the source of power in where our healing came. We thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of our hearts!

On my return to Kentucky me and Bill knew we had some more healing and at this time Bill had come to a stand still on his therapy so after a visit to his neurosurgeon he was prescribed more out patient therapy, Praise the Lord! Our routine through  the summer was 3 days for Bill and 2 days of therapy for me. At the end of summer I was released to my own excercise routine at home and Bill is still working towards his goals ! He has come a long way and his doctor said for us to thank our church and all who have prayed because he was surprised to see Bill walking !!!

Lord we give You the Glory everyday we are given one more day and ask You to lead us to be your light. Thanks be to God for new strengths in our souls and bodies ! Then lastly these words from Phillipians we share:

Phillipians 2:17
But even if I'm being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your Faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

Who says the Journey has to end once you each your destination! The Hope of tomorrow is the Journey of our desire !

 

Share these words if you want to keep going!

SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT KENTUCKY IN NOVEMBER

Looking out the window from my bed before I arose this morning brought highlights of the sun glistening through the colorful leaves of the trees. How beautiful the November weather has been. Imagine a November that heats up just about every day with the 70-80 degree temperatures. They say here in Kentucky just wait 15 minutes and the weather will change. Well this has happened a time or two, for sure! My life is settling in and I 'am a "Kentucky Woman". Washington State you will forever live in my heart, though.

Then the thoughts of winter coming on crossed through my mind, as I lay there thinking about what needs done this day. After all, here it is another year and another November at hand. Then thoughts of the previous ice storm in January, 2008 that enveloped Owensboro Kentucky with thick ice were very vivid. Never had I experienced the look of ice covering my car about one inch thick. My car survived the storm and so did me and Bill once more recover from winter. We both prefer winter to come and go quickly but then that wishes our life to flee by.

Summer arrived here in Kentucky that year of 2009& 2010 and when they say it is going to be hot, believe them. The weather got very hot this summer. The summer came and went for both of us. I asked Bill what they did here before air conditioning to survive the heat. He said, "Well, they sat on the porches and fanned themselves and visited about things, I guess." That seems to me to be a very good thing. The Lord says there is a season and time for all things . In every situation He reminds us to make the best out of our journey.

That journey and time has flown and another year ended since I have blogged what has been happening in our lives. On May 22nd 2010, me and Bill counted up one year of blissfull marriage. Where has the time gone? One thing I will say is life goes on no matter where the Lord takes you. never doubt.

The Lord did take us back to Washington State in the fall of 2009 for my grand daughter Jenna's wedding to Zach Siple. Cheryl (my daughter) & Tim Dore were outstanding hosts for us even though they were very busy planning the wedding for Jenna. Bill really enjoyed the visit and we both helped where we could. Hard to believe I was married the same year as my grand daughter Jenna and Bill's grand son Willy.

Now as I look back and remember the journey the days & years are fleeting by. Then I ask the Lord to open my thoughts to the words He would have me share at this time. There are many days of journaling that are packed away in boxes still yet. The title of my blog "Yo Mom I'm Home" is a book to me in progress. The progress is in the hands of the Lord. My thoughts and words and the time He will give me will be a layout only to be given as He gives it to me. At this time I'm feeling more and more the need to share the story . The journey in our lives are valuable resources that need un bottled in the way that only glorify's God. Help me Lord to say what needs shared , is my prayer.

RECALL ,REJOICE, IMAGINE

Today is the first day of the brand new year of 2010! Wow! Today the sun is shining here in Western KY and with the sunshine comes a cold temperature of 18 this morning. The cold brings thoughts of last winter when I stepped out of my apartment on the morning after the ice storm in January. I had never seen ice totally enclose my car like this. After trying to open the car door to get in I knew I had to find a pry bar of some sort. After finding a hammer I begin to crack ice. Wasn't sure whether this was a good idea but I needed to get in my car to start the thaw. It worked ,my door opened and my car started.The thawing began. Just one more challenge of many I have faced. After about one hour of my car running the ice was melting from the windows and hood. While sitting in my car , waiting for the ice to melt reminded me of our hearts in frozen mode.

What is frozen mode? Makes me think about people who may still be there frozen and unable to break the ice. Then a big ole hammer comes along and starts chipping away at the very outer core. The chips fall away and nothing seems to make any difference to them. The chips just melt and run off like a stream into the drain filling up their resources with water. We get busy with life and things seem to be going well. Then the storm comes again and this time brings thicker ice. How will we break the ice this time?

We look into the ice and we see a reflection. The ice is a reminder to us that we have been here before and everything came out OK. Sometimes the ice is so cold that the thought of going through it again though is more than we want to endure. Where is our help in time of need? Let's stop and consider our emotions. What comes to mind? Where does our help come from? Is there any hope for us? Who is my hope in? Those thoughts all came to me after many storms in my life. There I was melting the ice again. This time I knew where my hope and strength come from and another reminder of who Jesus is and why I now have such joy in my life. May He stir your spirit this new year of 2010 and bring you an abundance of His joy,health and wealth .

Think about the times you felt alone and lost. Maybe you needed someone and no one was there. Mary was alone when the angel Gabrielle visited her and announced the good news. The news must have been very frightening to her and she surely must have felt very alone. This may have been like an ice storm to her.

We can marvel at the way God works. When we think there is no hope you can bet He is there to bring us out of the storm and melt away all the ice that has accumulated. We do have much to learn about Jesus and much to learn from Him. Again I say, Lord help us have a new year where all our family and friends come to know who will bring them out of their storms of life. Life is not always about who we are but most definitely about who You are Jesus.

MOVING FORWARD

Who would want to just pick up and move from their familiar surroundings? Read from the Bible the stories of Ruth and all the diversities she had encountered in her life. Think about our lives and the changes that occur for us. Many of us as we reach maturity will look back and finally see the plan God had for us. This is maturing in the Lord that I write here to share.

When my thoughts wander back about maturing the memories of being blessed with 6 wonderful children come to me. With these memories come the reminders of the choices that were also made in my life . Some of these choices would soon be recognized as complete disobedience. This disobedience would bring some diversities and some long hard journeys . One day a Pastor from my church will encourage me to ask my father who is already in heaven for forgiveness because of my disobedience to him. Finally realizing that because of this disobedience,things have been difficult for me I then closed my eyes and asked my Daddy to forgive me. Maybe you could call it refiners fire. You ask me why? I will share some things today and hope you will be blessed.

The time will come when all my thoughts about where I have travelled in my life will be made known. At this time I will share that growing up as the second oldest child in a family of 6 children had its strengths for me. Dad and Mom had 3 boys and 3 girls. I would soon be blessed with the same but in a different order. Well I was never going to have that many children and secondly I just wanted to leave home and have my own life. Well I did leave home at a very young age and got married to a man I thought I was completely in love with and decided he loved me too. We had 5 children in the first 8 years of marriage.

Finally, the youngest of 5 started school and I was excited! Then, oh no! That winter the doctors told me I was pregnant. I had cried a plenty but this baby would be born. Thoughts that abortion was just made legal and would take care of my problem entered my mind. Then my mothers second husband called me from his hospital bed . I had not got to know him very well but his words stuck with me. He was gravely ill with lung cancer. He said to me to have this baby it will be a blessing for me. So what did he know were my thoughts then. Life was already enough work with 5 young children to care for and a husband who caused me much sadness yet I felt I had to be committed to him. Knowing what an abortion could do to your body helped me to say no to the abortion idea.

The neighbors near our farm in Washington ST. gathered together and gave me a baby shower and our youngest daughter Cheryl, 12 at the time, helped with the surprise. This was only the second baby shower I had ever had. One shower for the first and this one for the last baby. Christopher was born and he came into this world with such a loud cry that I was told even the nurse up the hall from the delivery room came running back to see this baby boy. The Lord put on my heart in 1975 to dedicate Christopher to Him. Chris was already 3 years old and that year Pastor Mattix dedicated Chris to the Lord. I was baptized the same day in the Little Spokane River. Later I will share about his short journey here and when he left this world for heaven leaving with loud cries we will always remember Chris by.

Better are we if we do not look back most times but keep our focus on going forward. Looking back brings joyous thoughts of the past and will put a warmth in our hearts. Yet some thoughts can crumble our joy and cause a cancer that will eat us away. Let me just say I learned to be joyous for all the times. So let us be glad for the good times and the bad times because they all are considered refiners fire. Rejoice in today and always. Thank God today for His will in your lives!

NEW BEGINNINGS IN KENTUCKY

Who would have thought I could just pick up the pieces of my life and move them so far from everything known to me my whole life? From Western Washington to Western Kentucky! Well here am I in a new land unknown to me. The trip was made with Bill driving my car and Tim & Cheryl driving the Penske truck with my things. The truck was full and I had tried to thin down all my 40 year accumulation to fit in the smallest truck. Then we hooked up a car trailer to haul a 61 Pontiac Star Chief. A rare car in great shape that we had found on the internet, Bill bought it and we picked the chief up in Spokane WA on the way. You see , Bill loves antique cars and has built up a 1929 Model A Ford and a Cobra from a kit. So he added to his collection but still not sure why.

Behind the Penske the Chief would be in our view the whole 2500 miles and at times the trailer seemed to maybe be taking him into a spin. It was great having my son-in-law drive this truck the whole way. My daughter, Cheryl was so faithful to stay with Tim and let ole Mom ride with Bill in my car.

The chemo therapy & radiation for breast cancer had only just ended for me the week before we headed out on this trip. Was I tired? Well not wanting to look back and because Bill was my encouragement to still come the journey has begun!

We made a few short visits, Custers Last Stand , Mt Rushmore and Hustead's Wall Drugs , Sturgis & The Arch, "The Gateway To The West" in St Louis. There were some manuveurings Tim would do to get the truck and Chief into those places we did not want to miss seeing. What a guy, what a driver! The weather was so delightful for us the last of September. For the nights, we called ahead on the road to each hotel and always seemed to find a place of rest.

At last 5 days later we crossed the bridge over the Ohio and could see my new city. Lord you are riding with me and here am I and here are You also. Thankful to be here and thankful for a safe trip. Now to find my new dwelling and find help to unload my treasures. The help came after a cell phone call to Bill's brother, Walt. The apartment was locked so we waited and soon the Penske was unloaded into my small apartment. Cheryl helped me to get my new little home livable and then we took the Chief to his new home at Bill's. Where Bill will also see what damage was done to his home from hurricane Ike winds while he was away in Washington State helping me to move. Mostly and sadly was the damage to his huge Beech tree his late wife had planted from a young tree. The winds had split the huge trunk right down the middle. Lord you remind us of your power as we remember the significance of the tree.

Off to church at Yellow Creek Baptist Church on Sunday where I will soon come to know many new friends. Bill had assured Cheryl we can make sure we get her to Canton GA.Then after church we four travel to Canton GA where Cheryl will attend a writers Conference which will soon connect her with another Christian Conference in Texas in October where she writes a story that is published with other christian womens stories.