Year: 2007

  • The greatest miracle

    Yesterday, my friend AJ and I met at my house for lunch. For those of y’all who may not know, AJ’s mom was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer back in October and given maybe 6 months to live. You can read about their story here.

    It has been unbelieveably sad at times to watch how their lives have changed, but at the same time, it’s been incredible to watch how they have pulled together to make these last few months count. I’ve watched their faith grow, even as it is being stretched to the limits.

    As AJ and I were eating lunch yesterday, her sister called and said their mom wanted to hear the story in the Bible about the man who was sick and his friends lowered him through the ceiling to get him closer to Jesus. We couldn’t remember exactly where the story was, but knew it was in either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John or some combination therein.

    So, we did what all good Bible scholars do and did a Google search.

    “Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven, or to say ‘Get up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…’ He said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.”

    Luke 5:16-26

    I hadn’t really read this story in years, although I can remember it being taught in Sunday School year after year. It lends itself to being very dramatic when told with flannelboard figures.

    As I read it, I realized that what I had always seen as the miracle of the story was the paralyzed man being able to walk and that’s not what it’s about at all. The miracle is the forgiveness of the man’s sins. The physical healing was just to show Jesus’ power in a tangible way.

    It was like something clicked for me and I realized that I spend so much time praying for things. Praying that God will do this or that, but the most incredible thing He can do for me has already been done. He has paid the debt for my sins.

    We are a new creation. Our chains have been loosed and we are set free. That’s something that no amount of chemo or surgery or new, improved medical treatment can give. It’s only through Him that we can truly be healed, truly be free, truly be changed and transformed.

    Here’s the thing, AJ’s mom gets that. Yes, you pray for the physical healing because miracles happen everyday, but you also pray for His will and find peace in knowing that He is all powerful and sees things we can’t see. The eternal picture.

    All we have to do is let go and trust Him.

    And find the joy in knowing the greatest miracle of all has already happened.

  • Who can resist hot pink flip flops?

    I woke up this morning with my head throbbing and a sore throat. Darn you, oak pollen, darn you to heck.

    And since the pressure in my head is preventing me from coming up with much of anything that requires any effort, I’ll tell y’all about the discussion Caroline and I had on the way home from school yesterday.

    A few weeks ago, we went shoe shopping and she fell in love with a pair of hot pink flip flops. The only problem was she didn’t like the way the strap goes in between her toes because it was a “little bit hurty”. But she begged to get them anyway because they were so “beautiful” and since they were only $6.00, I agreed.

    She has spent the last few weeks wearing her flip flops around the house, trying to get used to the way they feel between her toes. It makes a mama proud to see that her girl is grasping one of the basic fashion concepts, which is that sometimes lovely footwear is painful, but it’s worth the sacrifice.

    Yesterday, she begged to wear her flip flops to school and I told her she wasn’t allowed to wear flip flops to school because then she couldn’t run and jump and play. She told me, “Actually, I’m not going to run or jump today.”

    I still told her no, but agreed to let her put her flip flops in her school bag and she could wear them after school. She thought that was a great idea.

    So, we’re driving home from school yesterday and she tells me, “Miss J. took my flip flops away today.”

    And I asked, “Why, did she do that?”

    “Because she told me to be quiet during naptime and I didn’t listen. I shouldn’t have done that.”

    “That’s right, you should have been quiet when Miss J. told you to be”

    “No, I should have hidden my flip flops so that Miss J. couldn’t take them from me.”

  • Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits

    So, I’d been seeing all the Thinking Blogger awards all over blogland and each time thought to myself, “Now, there’s an award I’m probably not qualified for”. I’d say most people don’t find Big Mama and deep thoughts synonymous. I’m okay with that.

    Anyway, I was wrong because Jennifer at Snapshot and Just A Beach Kat have both bestowed me with the Thinking Blogger award. I guess thinking about the cost of a Big Gulp and what new shoes to buy for spring, count as thoughts. Lucky for me.

    Thanks, Ladies. I appreciate it.

    And along the lines of being a deep thinker, I have to share that last night’s premiere episode of The Bachelor: An Officer and A Gentleman did not disappoint. In fact, there was so much to ponder, that I can’t even wrap my mind around its cheesy goodness.

    It truly is reality T.V. at its best. Where else can you find Lieutenant Richie Cunningham looking for love? He looked like a woman with PMS in a room full of chocolate. So many choices, so little time.

    ABC pulled out all the stops on this one. We got to see a drunk girl fall off a barstool and just keep sipping on her cocktail. Don’t y’all know her Mama was proud?

    And then, in a moment that makes me sweat just thinking about it, one of the girls serenaded the Lieutenant with The Star Spangled Banner. My embarrassment was so overwhelming that I had to bury my head and could only stand to rewind and watch it over about 55 times. By the end, our Bachelor was wiping tears from his eyes and so was I, but I don’t think for the same reasons.

    And a girl in a minidress doing a backwards centipede? The Bachelor kept talking about what an accomplished group of women he had to choose from, and if that skill doesn’t prove it, what does?

    I have a feeling it’s going to be a great season. For one of my favorite Bachelor recaps ever, go visit Lincee. She is part of my Bachelor watching tradition and will make you laugh out loud.

  • And we hadn’t even visited the shoe department

    Just when I start to get a little worried that maybe Caroline was switched at birth due to her incredible propensity for all things science and bug related, she does something to reassure me that she is, indeed, my daughter.

    Yesterday, we made a trip to Target because we needed to stock up on Easter supplies. Specifically, we needed three dozen plastic eggs and candy with which to fill them. Because nothing says “Hallelujah, our Lord has risen!” like some gummy lifesavers in the shape of eggs and bunnies.

    We loaded our cart with eggs, candy, and a new Easter basket. Then, I wanted to go to the outdoor section to look for some new pots for the back porch, even though I know P is going to tell me that our back porch has too much shade and there is no way that pots filled with brightly colored flowers will bloom and thrive.

    I’m up for the challenge.

    I want flowers on our back porch, if only to distract from the dog hair and all the faded Little Tykes toys.

    A girl needs a dream and my dream involves beautiful pots filled with hot pink petunias. (And P, I know you’re reading this and thinking that those petunias will be dead in a week and I also know you’re thinking that we have some perfectly good clay pots in the shed)

    All of that information is beside the point.

    Anyway, Caroline and I were in the outdoor section of Target and she walked over to where they had some urns and other outdoor accessories displayed. She ran her hand along some of them like she was Vanna White, and then sighed deeply as she said, “Oh Mama, this is a very civilized place.”

    That’s my girl.

  • All that time on the road again may explain why Willie does drugs

    Friday morning, we woke up all packed and ready to head to Houston on a little road trip. Caroline and I were supposed to pick up Mimi and Bops around 8:30, so that we could hit the road and get there in plenty of time for all of our planned activities. What we didn’t plan on was a torrential rain storm.

    Our driveway is located about half an acre from our back door, which isn’t a problem on normal days, but when you’re trying to load suitcases, portable DVD players, and a 3 year old into a car during a rainstorm, it proves a little more troublesome.

    I made several trips back and forth to the car with umbrella in hand, while Caroline stood on the back porch and cheered me on. She kept saying “Stay calm, Mama!, Stay calm!” (oh, she knows me) and those words came in handy as I was closing the hatchback and stepped backwards into a four foot puddle of water that soaked me to my knees.

    Of course, as soon as we were in the car, the rain stopped because God thinks He’s all funny like that.

    We picked up Mimi and Bops, fought traffic getting on the freeway since, due to the rain, everyone was driving 10 mph, and finally, hit I-10. We were on our way.

    The great thing about the drive from San Antonio to Houston is it’s just hour after hour of open fields filled with cows and an occasional Dairy Queen. Nothing makes the time fly by faster than playing “I Spy the Dairy Queen” at random 45 minute intervals.

    If y’all think I’m kidding, then you haven’t made the drive. It would have a chronic insomniac begging for a blanket and a pillow.

    Fortunately, Caroline is a decent traveler, especially with a DVD player. Peter Pan saved us all from pulling out our hair somewhere between the 204th field of cattle and the third Dairy Queen. In addition to the DVD watching, she also likes to play a game I call, The Grand Inquisition.

    “What’s that, Mama?”

    “Why did he do that, Mama?”

    “Why is the sky blue?”

    “Why are those flowers yellow?”

    “Why do those cows stand in those fields?”

    “What do those cows eat?”

    “Where is the next Dairy Queen?”

    “Why do we wear shoes?”

    “How do birds fly?”

    “What makes the car go?”

    “What is the square root of 445 divided by the sum of the number of hydrogen particles in an atom?”

    And then my head begins to succumb to the pressure caused by oak pollen and ALL. THE. QUESTIONS.

    When we arrived in Houston, we went straight to the Museum of Natural Science. The first thing we were going to see was the Butterfly Exhibit. We had been before when Caroline was really little, but it is so incredible that we wanted to go back. It’s a tropical rainforest full of the most amazing butterflies you have ever seen.

    And we thought we were excited, until we saw the lady wearing the butterfly shirt with the butterfly visor with the butterfly pins clipped to her shoelaces carrying a tote bag that read “I heart butterflies”. Obviously, she’s a fan.

    Anyway, we bought our tickets and as we walked towards the entrance to the exhibit, we passed the McDonalds. That’s right, friends. There is a McDonalds in the Museum of Natural Science. Someday they can turn it into part of an exhibit entitled “PURE MARKETING GENIUS”.

    Once we saw the McDonald’s, Caroline had to have a Happy Meal because she was starving and needed a miniature Madame Alexander Dorothy doll. Heaven knows we need another Happy Meal toy floating around in the backseat of my car. So, we stopped and ate our fries while enjoying the lovely ambiance that is created by being surrounded by hordes of 5th graders on a field trip.

    Then, off to the butterflies.

    After the butterflies, we went to see the dinosaurs. It’s amazing to me that archaeologists spend years digging up these bones and then painstakingly reassemble them. Truth be told, if I were digging in my backyard and found a bone, I’d say, “OH GROSS. A bone.” And I’d throw it out.

    Which probably explains why I’m not an archaeologist or on CSI.

    Caroline liked the dinosaurs, but the part of the museum that fascinated her the most was the Energy Hall, which is comprised of all kinds of different chemistry exhibits and has one whole wall that is the Periodic Table of Elements. Don’t even get me going on the Periodic Table of Elements. It was the bane of my existence in 9th grade and if I ever thought about it, would be the bane of my existence today.

    I don’t care for chemistry (unless it’s on Grey’s Anatomy). To me, chemistry equals math. They’re all related with all their fancy x and y’s and abbreviations that don’t make sense. I don’t trust anything that says Q proves that R is the sum of K+D. It’s just not natural.

    If you want to abbreviate sodium, why use NA? Why not just write sod.? Or potassium is K? Why not pot.?

    Don’t try to get all fancy. It’s just science.

    Anyway, I watched my daughter look at all these chemistry exhibits and was completely astounded. I know I gave birth to her. I was there. But science? Really?

    Am I going to find myself one day attending Mathlete competitions and wearing a t-shirt that says “My daughter is a bad mathajama”?

    Will she figure out by 2nd grade that Mama can’t help her with her math homework?

    When we finally dragged her away from all the atoms and molecules, we went to the gift shop. And what did I spy, but these.

    That’s right. Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein action figures.

    I showed my dad and we laughed and made fun of poor, little nerds everywhere that have an Albert Einstein action figure. And then, Dad saw some nerd glasses and on the back of the package they had a quiz on how to know if you’re a nerd. I was laughing about all the questions, until we came to this one.

    “Do you have a blog?”

    “Do strangers read your blog?”

    And I had to deal with the fact that maybe I am a nerd.

    I hope it’s not too late to learn the Periodic Table of Elements or I’ll never fit in.

  • Because the Dixie Chicks say it better than I can

    They didn’t have you where I come from

    Never knew the best was yet to come

    Life began when I saw your face

    And I hear your laugh like a serenade

    How long do you wanna be loved?

    Is forever enough?

    Is forever enough?

    How long do you wanna be loved?

    Is forever enough?

    Because I’m never, never givin’ you up.

    Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks