Ordinary Time

It's been quite the last 48 hours. I'm tired. J. is even more tired. R. is tired. Probably my older children are tired from playing parent for two days. Two nights ago, Monday night, R. surprised us with a big seizure. There was nothing that would indicate one was coming. J. moved her into our room, hoping we would sleep. We did, fitfully, because she proceeded to have three more big seizures during the night. Tuesday morning she was a little dazed as is to be expected, and then had one more big seizure. I thought perhaps that was it, and had her sitting in a chair under a blanket to begin to recover. Of course, the five minutes I leave the room to go to the bathroom, R. starts in on her psychotic behavior, trying to throw anything within reach. I was called by children who were doing a great job of removing any potential projectiles. It looked as though life was heading south pretty quickly so I called J., admitted I had no margin, and then burst into sobs when he asked if...

Happiness is Books on the hold shelf Hot cups of tea Projects to knit Happiness is No piles of laundry Bills that are paid Time to just sit Happiness Is horses to play with ev'ry day And Happiness is Three hundred bales of hay

"And then it hit me. The Samaritan didn't need to change roads to encounter God. He was walking his road, minding his business, when God brought someone into his path. And then he had a choice: notice and do something, or ignore and move along." (p. 64) This quote is from a book I finished recently called Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness by Leslie Verner. I liked the book and recommend it, though it still plays into my vague angst about our house being barely large enough for the people who live here much less adding other people. But this isn't really about hospitality, the quote I began with just happened to be in a book about hospitality. Instead I've been chewing on the less than... gracious, Christian, humble, loving, encouraging, kind (you fill in the blank, they all fit)... comment from John MacArthur in regards to Beth Moore's ministry. If you've missed it, just search those two names and you'll immediately have mo...

Well, we'll see how far I get. If I hit publish and things seem as though I left mid-sentence, I probably did. J. is out of town for the weekend at a college improve group reunion. Whenever one of us leaves for a night or two, it is always dicey as to how R. is going to react. Currently, as I sit here typing, with everyone else tucked into bed, she is throwing toys down the hallway. We've already covered lying down while refusing to rest her head and screaming at me, so I'm just waiting to see what turn we take next. I really don't want to drive her to the ER, but I will because I now have a firm zero tolerance policy for all psychotic episodes.  H. went to her special needs youth group for the third time this evening. The first couple of times she was a bit confused as to what she was doing and why. This evening she came home absolutely raving about what a wonderful time she had and telling me about all the fun and crazy games she played. I am so stinking happy tha...

I have so many different ideas roiling around in my head, but not enough clarity of thought to actually begin to write about any one of them. There's the whole "Go home" statement by a high profile conservative Christian in regards to women in ministry. I'm feeling the need for (yet) another post about the importance of play and early learning skills for children regardless of their age. A post  dealing with sibling rivalry is taking up space in a corner of my brain. I could probably write another diatribe against video schooling and the importance of interacting with live teachers. And those are just the ones I can think of at the moment. It's busy inside my head, but not terribly coherent. So instead of something thoughtful and thought provoking, instead I'll share that my grain mill motor arrived back home today. I should amend that. A grain mill motor arrived today, but it was not the same one that I sent in for repairs. Instead, I received a brand new o...

You all know I love to read and talk about books and get recommendations for new books. So when I saw a notice on my Facebook account mentioning that I like might a certain group about women who read great books, I was intrigued. I thought what the heck, and clicked join. Well. I may have to leave the group. Not because the group is bad or disappointing, but because I have spent far too much time today looking up book titles that I didn't know about but sounded intriguing. I don't know about you, but I cannot not look at a picture of a stack of books and not want to know what each book is about. I am also extremely thankful for Amazon reviews, because reading them helps me to narrow my want to read book list down considerably. There are just some things I won't or can't read: too much violence, too depressing, anything having to do with the Holocaust (it will trigger nights of horrible nightmares... I've learned the hard way), or characters that are unlikeable. ...

Thank you for all of your prayers! My mother's surgery was successful and the surgeon was pleased. He was able to repair the perforation and also avoid a colostomy bag. The biggest concern right now is just pain management, so continued prayers for that would be greatly appreciated. We are still unsure for how long she will be in the hospital, but I know my mom is really, really hoping to be discharged to her home. She is a homebody and being away from home and her dogs for six weeks has been terribly difficult. Now I hope she can focus on getting better and be able to put all of this behind her. And I will start breathing again. And perhaps regain some of my patience which is a limited commodity in the best of times. If you had seen my little scene with R. tonight, you would have knocked me right off any pedestal you might have been tempted to put me on. I live with myself, so no pedestal in my mind. I just sometimes get the impression that other people think I am more saint-lik...