A Story of Faith and Love

I sometimes am so blessed in my “Blogville” journeys that I feel that I have to share when I find a blog that truly touches my heart! Joel’s Journey is one of those blogs!

I have been following the progress of a little boy named Luke, who had a near-drowning experience, for a long time after finding him through Izzy’s Blog, while keeping up with the progress in her recovery after her own near-drowning experience! Izzy's mommy, Annie, is my husband's sister, which is how we came to know Izzy!

It’s a big circle, I guess, and even though the circumstances in which these blogs are started is heart-breaking, the faith and dedication to our Lord shown by these families going through their journeys is amazing! I find a lot of inspiration through reading of their faith and belief in the promises of God!

Joel was a little boy, who at the age of 3, began having problems and was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer. Joel was born into a loving family, who lived every day with a love for God and a desire to glorify Him in every way! Joel’s family never gave up, knowing that God could heal Joel, if that was His will. The doctors decided that Joel could no longer be helped by them and insisted that the family stop treatment, but they refused! Their belief was that Joel was alive as long as his little heart was beating and stood up to those who wanted to end treatment. The family has made a film, titled Joel's Journey, which won the Biblical Family Category at a film festival in San Antonio, TX. Their story brought me to tears and yet blessed me, too. I think you would be blessed as well if you take the time to visit and meet the Morris Family.

Grains of Gratitude October 28

Grains of Gratitude
Hosted by Mum2Brady

I am thankful for so many blessings my life! I’m afraid I’ve not taken the time lately to really just be quiet and be thankful! I’m in the midst of so much turmoil right now – not sure what’s going on, but it’s causing me to look at my life in a way that I’ve been afraid to look at it in a very long time! I’m glad to be able to just stop and be thankful and to praise God for the goodness and mercy He affords me.

Today I’m thankful for. . . .

. . . the fact that I am the mother of only . . one . . more. . teenager! I was reading Annie’s blog this morning and when I read about Amanda’s speeding ticket it really brought back some memories! Our two older girls, Toni and Elizabeth were the Speeding Ticket Queens when they were younger! It seemed like one of them was always getting a ticket for speeding! I honestly don’t even know how many either of them received because we never paid even one ticket for them! They each had to go to court and face the judge and pay the “piper” themselves! I’m a huge believer in consequences for actions and they earned the tickets themselves, so they could deal with the consequences themselves! Chance will be 18 in January and the only thing saving us so far, I guess, is that we haven’t allowed him to get his license yet. I think the difference between a 16-year old and an 18-year old is huge and the added two years will, hopefully, give him a more mature and responsible attitude about driving. Of course, that’s only one reason that I’m thankful to have my last teenager almost grown! He’s a great kid, but he’s still a teenager!

. . . my job – once again! I’m so blessed to work in an office with only women. Not only are we an office of only women, but we are all so close in age that we share so much! This past week was a tough one! My job as a Credentialer of Medical Staff at a hospital can be stressful! We work on deadlines – always, and because of the importance of the work done by our office staff, we are under close scrutiny for the job we do for each member of the medical staff! Some of the girls have really been feeling the stress and it came out this week – but it also is very helpful to all of us to know how each of us is feeling. Each Wednesday morning we have a staff meeting to go over any issues we may have that could adversely affect the credentialing process of a practitioner. This past week, because of all the stress, our meeting turned into a crying and hugging session! Boss D is such a wonderful boss! She works very hard to help us each to deal with any issues that may affect us – both at work and at home and will do any thing she can to alleviate the stress! She set aside a couple of deadlines, that could be moved back a bit, and we have all pitched in to help clear up some of the “looming” deadlines that could not be moved! We are an office of nine women and any one of us would do anything in the world for any one of the others! It’s an amazing place to work!

. . . my daughter, Elizabeth. She is such an awesome woman! She and I share a very close relationship and I can’t imagine my life without her! We talk every day – even if we have nothing to talk about! I see her two or three times a week, at least! She listens to me . . . really listens to me and helps me to see things in a different light when I feel overwhelmed or when I feel down in the dumps! She and her husband, Michael are spirit-filled, fully devoted followers of Christ and they are truly an inspiration to me! Elizabeth has taught me so many things and I am still learning from her! God so richly blessed me when He chose me to be her Mother! He sent her to me at a time in my life when I needed salvation in more ways than one!

. . . for all of my children and grandchildren. They bring so much joy to my life! Addy came over on Thursday evening and Joey and Levi came over yesterday. Last weekend was Addy’s birthday party at the Children’s Museum and Blake and Toni were there! I love to see the kids and nothing could replace the feeling of being their mom and grandma.

. . . for the gift of free will! God was so generous to give each of us free will to make our own choices in this life! Even though He knew the choices each and every one of us would make, He still gave us this gift! How much greater that gift becomes when we choose to give Him all the glory and praise for every aspect of our lives! We don’t have to follow Christ – but oh, what a blessing when we choose to make Him the top priority in our lives! How sad for those who make the choice to follow Satan! How sad for those who will never know the awesome power of our Lord! Thank you, God, for free will and for the gift of salvation offered to all!

What are you thankful for today? Visit Mum2Brady and see what others are grateful for today!

Friday's Feast October 5

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?
My birthday is a milestone this year – 50! I have never had a birthday yet that was traumatic to me other than when I turned 25! At that time, I was divorced, a single mom to a 2-yr old daughter that I had to leave with a sitter every weekday while I went to work! That was a tough one! I am looking forward to my birthday this year! AARP – here I come! Gotta love those discounts!

Soup
What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?
The one word that I can think of is “uvula”. It’s that little hangy down thing in the back of your throat, but I think the name sounds like a word that shouldn’t be available for public use!

Salad
Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?
I wear sunglasses in the sun always when I’m driving! I leave them in the car so that I won’t forget them so, of course when I need them at other times I don’t have them – they’re in the car!

Main Course
If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?
I would definitely dedicate it to my family and to my Mom, especially. She was such a wonderful lady who taught me to love the Lord and put family at the top of my priority list – just below God!

Dessert
Name a beverage that you enjoy.
I love unsweetened iced tea! My tea is not like everyone else’s tea – it’s very weak! I like just enough to color the water! That’s my favorite!

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