Monday Musings...

You know how sometimes you get something stuck in your mind and it keeps going round and round... like the lyrics of a song, or the tune itself, or... the last rude thing someone said to you, or vice-versa? Well, this past week I've had a thought that keeps reappearing in my mind, and have finally decided to just deal with it. Sometimes the best way to handle a nagging thought is to just deal with it.

There's a saying from some in my collection of family and friends that goes like this,
"Be where you're at".
I've also heard this thought stated another way,
"Where ever you are, be there".

This thought has been relentless, lately... popping up at various times and in various situations. I have to admit that thinking about it leads me to the desire to make everything in every moment COUNT.

To BE WITH whom I'm with... to LISTEN to the person speaking... to LOOK at who is looking at me... to ENCOURAGE the one who came to me for encouragement... to APPLAUD the one who came deserving recognition or attention... to BE INVOLVED where I am at the moment... to PARTICIPATE in my surroundings. Sounds like a given, but it can be so easy to fall into the rut of "getting things done".

I'm now inclined to reserve the actions of THINKING (as in studying), READING, RECORDING MY THOUGHTS, PLANNING, and ANALYZING things... for those times when I'm alone in the place I have designed for doing these things.

I want to invest my time in the lives of other people when the opportunities arise. Instead of being or appearing preoccupied in the presence of others, I want to BE WITH those I'm with. I want to interact with them, and to encourage them, and to invest in their lives, and to enjoy communication with them.

I want to FOCUS on making an impact, investing my time, right where I am and with whom I am... particularly, and especially, when I want to be somewhere else. Did I just admit that I don't always want to be "where I am"? I think so! And I don't think I'm alone in this either.

A friend of mine brought up the subject today in reference to the fact that, as parents of children with special needs, we have the opportunities to go places and be with people that we never would have been able to go and to be - were it not for our children and their activities relating to their special needs. She's right. We, and our children, are given the opportunities to communicate with and to relate to people whom we (or our children) would never have had the opportunity to meet, otherwise. Rather than chance meetings, interruptions, or hurdles - these opportunities are found to be "divine appointments", indications that God is able and willing to use us in the lives of others.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect,"

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

Anyway...I think there is a lot of good counsel in the statement that popped in and out of my thoughts for days. Though it's not exactly good grammar, it's definitely a statement worth reflection.

"BE where you're at!"

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Restfulness is not laziness...

Sometimes in today's world, we walk a fine line... or think we may. We say we know of the value of a day of rest, but we fear that we are teetering towards laziness if we take more than a few hours "off". Most parents find there is no time to spare or waste, and we as parents of children and adults with special needs find it particularly true. Our experience is that the world has been rewarding hard work and focus while penalizing laziness (or sloth) for a very long time. We may fear that our restfulness is to be treated as slothfulness, and find ourselves juggling responsible work with the need of rest.

I ran across this from Dr. James D. Hegedus, and find it helps put things into perspective...

"Sloth is not restfulness…There is a difference between laziness and restfulness. In the world in which we live restfulness or what the Bible calls “sabbath” is a very healthy necessity. Sloth is not lingering long over lunch with a friend, or strolling aimlessly through the woods with the person we love, or spending a day doing nothing because the demands of your job are about to do you in, or moving through a weekend without the fret of hurry, purpose, or chore, or spending an hour watching a sunset or listening to the sounds of nature, or spending whatever time alone in silence to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God."

So let's try to remember...

Sloth is laziness...
restfulness is not.

My prayer today is that you find time to spend in rest and silence... to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God.

"For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased
from his own works,
as God [did] from his."

Hbr 4:10

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Friday Free Time

It's Friday. I normally schedule myself some free time on Fridays just because I'm not actually free on the weekends. All moms with children can relate, and those with special needs children can really relate. The weekend time schedule is usually more under our own control, but the actual events of the days are definitely not. But that's okay, as long as we schedule ourselves some free time somewhere else in the week. It's important.

Free time activities are really different for everyone, according to our personalities and personal tastes. Here are a few of mine:

• Dining out with my husband
• Talking with my sons, my sons' wives, and my grandchildren
• Reading (especially my Bible and stories about the lives of missionaries)
• Having a bit of quiet time, just to myself... for clear-headed thinking
• Looking at stacks and stacks of photographs of my family
• Planning those "never-gonna-happen" home remodeling projects : )
• Researching fun things to do "someday"
• Taking a walk with my youngest
• and most importantly, spending 'time alone' with God

Hopefully, we are all able to find some free time sometime... and make the best use of it! Which, of course, sort of contradicts the whole idea of "free" time, doesn't it?

If you have some unique ideas of how to use your free time that would be beneficial to parents of children with special needs, I'd love to hear about it! Comments are welcome...and monitored by me to be sure nothing crazy gets posted here to embarrass me or anyone. So, shoot me an email or post a comment here if you have anything interesting that other parents of children with special needs should be doing for rest/relaxation/recuperation! : )

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

Jeremiah 31:25 NIV

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Thankful Thursday

Though I'll never be able to list all the things I am or have become thankful for, I'm listing a few again today. No amount of thankfulness nor any of the items on my list would exist without the presence of our holy God. So I'm thankful, first of all, that He exists and has made Himself known to men - and particularly to this woman.

Furthermore, I am thankful for:

• a reliable vehicle
• the ability to taste and differentiate between flavors
• variety as opposed to continual samenesss
• lunch break with my hubby
• that my toe problem of last year is now past history
• books
• friends
• and family

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever"
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Psalm 136:1

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The WORD for Wednesday

"Enough! You've corrupted justice long enough,
you've let the wicked get away with murder.
You're here to defend the defenseless,
to make sure that underdogs get a fair break;
Your job is to stand up for the powerless,
and prosecute all those who exploit them."

Psalm 82:2-4 (The Message)


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Tuesday's To Do List...

Today is a day in which I need to get lots of things done. That sometimes seems true for everyday at our house, but for some reason especially today. I'm tempted to just write about those things which could be identified as tasks related to the special needs in the family, but the truth is - I have those tasks plus all the regular or normal or "typical" things to get done as well.

Admitting that my "to do" list is considerably shorter than those parents who are also working in "paying jobs", here it is:

• assist young adult son in getting ready for and physically getting to his day program at UCP LINCPoint - he cannot do either without me
• order refills for the prescription drugs that give my son (and myself) a better life
• call the case worker assigned to my adult son's services through the state's Department of Health, and Department of MHMR which assists those with developmental challenges like my son's - we need her help to resolve a problem we have encountered in "the system"
• call and make a payment on special pharmaceutical drugs that are delivered to our home monthly
• call a friend of mine whom I've been neglecting to call, being sidetracked with life's challenges
• spend time cleaning at least one room of this house
• finish folding the laundry that came out of the dryer yesterday
• call a repairman for the electrical problem that we are having
• call a repairman for the appliance problem that we are having
• plot the appointment dates onto the family calendar - includes MY appointments as well as our son's appointments. I want to see where we can fit in our next trip to see our grandchildren in TX!
• call to cancel the appointment made "automatically" by the medical center's clinic, and reiterate, once again, that we cannot attend appointments on Wednesdays
• pick up the refills of prescription drugs and sort them into several containers that are dated and divided by time of day - so that in our haste we do not forget a dose of one of my son's required medications
• call a brother who is having disturbing vision problems
• pick up my young adult son and come home, an adventure of about an hour and a half
• work a few minutes on the project of getting the filed papers in our home organized - steadily making progress!
• do afternoon skin care routine for our young adult son, and other such required things
• okay, and brush my teeth, take MY vitamins, EAT something, 30-walk on treadmill, and 15 minutes outside for "fresh" air
• oh! THINK OF SOMETHING FOR SUPPER, and go ASAP to purchase the ingredients that I can't find in the pantry

That's quite a list, and it's not everything - since I won't be writing here about a lot of what we do for our son .

I cannot face days like these or any day, alone. I must go now and prepare myself for the day, by reading passages in the Bible and by talking personally with the Lord in prayer. It would be foolish to start any other way!

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:17 NIV

Sunday Rest...

There is a place of quiet rest... near to the heart of God.

Near to the Heart of God

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

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Thankful Thursday

I'm continuing to enumerate the things for which I've learned to be thankful. Not necessarily tangible things. Some of these things are things for which I have only recently realized my thankfulness. And others are things for which I am only just beginning to understand the magnitude of my thankfulness.


This past week, I've been so thankful for...

1) the impact of rest on a weary, aging body
2) the joy of relationships with warm and encouraging friends
3) the friendship and loyalty of a brother who chooses to continue to be helpful - cheerfully
4) my husband's growing love for me, and for each additional day we have together
5) the beauty of the ocean's tides and that visual definition of "unending" - reminding me of God's unending love forever washing over me
6) the opportunity to share a smile with someone else
7) the very LIFE found in the words of the Bible, and for my freedom to own my very own copy

"Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,"
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Proverbs 30:8

Sunday Rest...

My Faith has Found a Resting Place...

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,

He’ll never cast me out.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s Name,
Salvation through His blood.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

Refrain
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.


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(It's also on CyberHymnal.)

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"Now we who have believed enter that rest,"

Hebrews 4:3 NIV

Rest... and Relaxation...

Last Friday I had planned to upload photos from various stages of my son David's life. He's had numerous challenges in life - these pictures show him having fun, making faces, working hard, and goofing off - all through the stages of his life. Things didn't go exactly according to plan... but I did get started on the scanning process, and those photos will appear on the blog EVENTUALLY. : )

However, THIS WEEK is time for resting... for Mom and Dad, and also for David. He is attending camp for adults with special needs at a wonderful site in Alabama. You can check on the web for photos of the camp and campers this week on their website... Camp ASCCA. What a great group of campers, counselors and staff!!! Thanks, Camp ASCCA, for the fun the campers will experience, and for the respite for parents and families.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

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