Today is the last day of 2010 and the fourth day of my pre-fast to start a 21 Day Fast. What???!!! Yeah, you read that right. If you've never heard of or considered a fast that is that long then you undoubtedly think I'm out of my mind. I've done it twice before in January but I skipped it last year. I typically don't say anything about it except to others in my life who are doing the same thing in January but I feel like I need to share about it this year. Before you think I'm doing it to lose weight, think again. Not that I can't spare a few pounds--I certainly can--but if you set out to fast for 21 days just to lose weight you will fail miserably. This is much more a spiritual thing than a physical thing but it ends up being a very mental thing as well as you make the conscious choice to deny that cookie or piece of cake or slice of bread or whatever. You might wonder why I'm choosing to do it this year after skipping last year and I'll get to that later. A lot of people fast because they are praying for specific things and I honestly have to say that I'm really not praying for anything specific. My main purpose in doing the fast this year is because my heart is just overflowing with thankfulness for all that God has accomplished in 2010 and how he shows His faithfulness over and over to me.
I guess I need to back up a little to give a better explanation. This is probably going to end up being another transparent post like this one with an update to that post thrown in. On Christmas Day we were opening gifts at my parents' house and Ethan was sitting on the floor next to my chair. We had already opened gifts on Christmas Eve with Uncle Rob, Aunt Lisa, Alex, Mimi and Poppy; but Christmas Day was for the Santa gifts. Ethan had a good number of gifts to open and every now and then he would lean over to me and whisper that he couldn't believe he had gotten that many gifts. When we were finished opening he said, "Wow. I didn't know I was that good of a boy this year." While it was funny in the moment and I explained to him that some of his gifts were to share with his older brother and younger brother--benefits of being the middle child--I started to give it further thought later on. First of all, Ethan is a good boy. All of my boys are good and I tell them so frequently. They aren't perfect, and they won't ever be; but they are obedient, sweet, and the absolute light of my life. But, Ethan relating getting lots of gifts to being a good boy made me think of how we have to do absolutely nothing to receive the true gift of Christmas--God's Son, Jesus. He sent His Son to make the ultimate sacrifice and we can't do anything to earn it. It's a free gift, only contingent upon our willingness to accept it. When I decided to do the fast I thought about this gift and how I just want to express my thankfulness to Him.
Now, to answer the question as to why I skipped last year, it was because of my inner ear situation. I began having the serious equilibrium episodes in mid-November last year and since one of the thoughts is that it's related to sodium intake I didn't want to rock the boat with my tenuous, unpredictable condition. Once again, if you want the full rundown of what happened to me physically up until October 2010 then you need to read this post. However, in mid-October I believe I came upon the final solution to my inner ear problems. I have my Mom to thank for that, and of course, God for leading me to the solution. Here's where I sound like I'm getting compensated from my new doctor for saying this. I started going to one of only two doctors in St. Louis who do "upper cervical care." It's a completely different kind of chiropractic care that focuses solely on the top seven vertebrae. Before you think I'm crazy, let me tell that you that the proof is in the results. It's possible that the misalignment in my upper cervical spine is due to a bad fall I took down the stairs when I was ten years old and it brought about the symptoms I've experienced over the last three years. Currently, I have very low-volume ringing in my left ear and no equilibrium symptoms at all. Yea!!! I feel like I have my life back. I won't go into detail as to how it works for sake of not making a long post even longer, but if you are interested in learning more about it you can google "upper cervical care." I found my doctor by googling "upper cervical care St. Louis." This type of treatment helps all sorts of problems; specifically fibromyalgia, sinus problems, migraines, digestive issues, etc. etc. The list goes on. I am just so thankful to have found the solution to this life-altering, depressing, frustrating situation. My neurotologist told me at my follow-up appointment after having upper cervical care for about 3 weeks and having a near-perfect hearing test that if this is really the solution to my inner ear condition then he is going back to chiropractic school. Ha!! He was skeptical, to say the least, but after my hearing test he agreed to read my brochure. I go back to see him again in February and I can't wait to do just a tad bit of gloating. When I decided to do the fast I thought about this gift and how I just want to express my thankfulness to Him.
What else do I have to be thankful for, you might ask? Of course, there's the usual list of things which we can often take for granted. Healthy family, my job, food and shelter, cute shoes--you know, the usual things. But, this year God answered a big prayer for our church in a big way and he did it in His timing which happened to be the week of Christmas. A coincidence? I think not. This is another little piece of transparency which I choose not to share most of the time but I will today in order to give God every bit of the glory. You see, like many churches our church has struggled in an immense way financially over the last 2+ years. It's been bad...really bad. So bad that Lindy has sacrificed so many paychecks over the last 2 years that I gave up counting them about 18 months ago. He did this so that the staff could get paid because we definitely did not want to lose them. Doing ministry without staff--specifically our staff--was a worse option by far than sacrificing income. It was also a matter of making sure the church electric bill got paid. There were many instances where it was an hour before they were coming to turn off the electric and the money was somehow scraped together to keep it from happening. Needless to say, this has been extremely stressful for Lindy, who carried this emotional burden of this by himself for a long time; and then for the staff and the board. But, as we know, God is always faithful and He always pays his debts. We can stand upon His promises. His Word says that He honors our faithfulness to Him and while Lindy and I have been faithful in tithing, giving to missions, taking visiting ministers and missionaries out to lunch; we always knew that we couldn't out give God and He would show Himself faithful. He absolutely did. Without getting too technical in this explanation, Lindy and the board worked an amazing deal for an easement on the cell tower that sits on the church property; and it has proven to be very lucrative. After Lindy closed the deal on the Monday before Christmas the church got the first check that not only was used to tithe to several ministries and missionaries, it got the church completely out of debt--with the exception of the mortgage--and started paying Lindy back a few paychecks along with some reimbursement of expenses incurred over the last three moths, and a tidy little bonus to boot. The staff were also paid in full and given bonuses; and we all rejoiced in what we knew God would do all along--be faithful to His promises. When I decided to do the fast I thought about this gift and how I just want to express my thankfulness to Him.
This has been an eventful year full of blessings. I am a "glass half full" person so I tend to focus on the good and shake off the bad. I know that 2011 will be wonderful in unexpected ways and I can't wait to see what God does just because I choose to trust Him. I pray God's best for you in this new year too.
Summer 2012
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Ethan is MY HERO...and for the Last Reason You Might Expect
Fair warning to any readers who have a weak constitution--in other words this post is sure to be both graphic and gross. I know parents of young children will relate to this, and specifically, about 20 of my close friends whose families have had the recent displeasure of experiencing the horrific scourge known as the...stomach flu.
Our experience began in the wee hours of December 1--what a way to usher in the month we celebrate our Savior's birth. It began with Jac, oldest at eleven years old, coming in our room to tell us that Gavin, youngest at four years old, had thrown up. This was at 12:37 a.m. (I know you're familiar with how those times that register on the clock when something significant happens stay lodged in your mind's eye). Why, you ask, was it Jac that came to tell us that his brother had thrown up? Well, of course, it's because not only had Gavin thrown up all over his bed including his pillow and covers and he had managed to spray a large amount on the wall behind his bed which then ran down to puddle in the carpet below; but he also managed to go to Jac's room and throw up on Jac's comforter and the clothes he had set out for the next morning. Nice! So, Lindy and I jumped into action and assume our usual roles. I'm on kid and laundry duty. He's on carpet duty. I started the bedding in the laundry, got Gavin showered and changed; and Lindy cleaned the vomit sprayed on the wall and puddled in the carpet. Honestly, he was surprised it came out but Oxyclean and Folex work wonders. Gavin spent the rest of the night on the floor in a sleeping bag in front of his bathroom. Each time he would yell out I would run to him, scoop him up, and hold him over the toilet. Gavin's stomach flu lasted about three days with Lindy, myself, and Grammy making sure he made it to the toilet each time. We were all praying that it wouldn't spread as the scourge known as stomach flu has a tendency to do. I was praying especially hard because on December 3 I was leaving to go to Chicago on a girls' weekend. We should have bought stock in Lysol and Clorox wipes. I even made Gavin wipe his hands and mouth with a Clorox wipe. I know, I know that we are not supposed to disinfect kids but I really did not want to get sick. I kept the Pepto Bismol close at hand and, thank God, did not get sick. Neither did the rest of my family and we thought we were home free until...
Jac awakened us more than a week later in the wee hours of December 10 to tell us that he had thrown up. He and Ethan, middlest at eight years old, had been complaining of stomachaches the night before and Jac got first dibs at tossing his cookies in the middle of the night. Now, you would think that our oldest child would have the best success at actually making it to the toilet when he was sick. Not so, my friend. Believe it or not, this was worse than when Gavin threw up. Jac managed to get it all over his bed and both pillows, he sprayed an area about 4 feet by 4 feet on the carpet and rug in his room which also managed to splash on to the wall and other items that were within spraying distance. He managed to get it on both bathroom rugs and the toilet itself. I stood there looking in the toilet trying to detect whether any had actually made its way into the toilet. There were a few token fragments in the toilet but nothing that compared to the display he had just managed to create for his Dad and me to clean up. Lindy and I just stood in awe outside his room for a moment taking in the sight and smell. It was an impressive effort of not making it to the toilet. Once the moment passed we went into action--me on laundry and Jac duty, Lindy on carpet duty. Fortunately, the part that sprayed on the carpet was more liquid. Most of the non-liquid matter--and you know what I mean--was on his bed, especially his pillows. I had the wonderful task of washing off the pillowcases before putting everything in the laundry. Lindy went to work on the carpet with the hand-held carpet cleaner that we borrowed from his Mom a long time ago and forgot to return. Thanks, Grammy, it came in handy that night considering it was more than just a puddle of puke as Gavin had delivered for us. I set Jac up on the floor in front of his bathroom in a sleeping bag with a towel spread out next to him. I don't waste time with bowls or trash cans with Jac because he can't hit a target that is that defined. He did manage to throw up on the towel later on in the night. Both Jac and Ethan were sick the next day and Ethan threw up during daylight hours. It passed quickly through both of them and, once again, we prayed that the rest of us wouldn't get sick. We thought we were home free until...
Ethan awakened us almost a week later at 3:00 a.m. on December 16 to tell us he had thrown up. That's right, we're three for three and the middle child will not be left out of Middle-of-the-Night Pukapallooza. My first question, of course, was, "Ethan, where did you throw up?" His response, with a little smugness thrown in was, "In the toilet." You see, what I haven't mentioned until now is that Ethan is the kid with the claim to fame of having the greatest success at actually making it to the toilet. From the time he was very little--like two years old--if he was sick he would just walk to the bathroom and throw up and then find us to let us know. Apparently his brothers take after their Aunt Ronnin. As legend has it, she didn't ever make it to the toilet to throw up until she was 17 years old. I happened to be at their house when she attained this momentous achievement and, believe it or not, everyone applauded. Seriously, we all clapped for her. I think her mother was clapping the loudest and I can relate.
So, when Ethan indicated that there was not going to be laundry to sanitize or carpet to painstakingly clean at three in the morning, my immediate reply was, "ETHAN, YOU'RE MY HERO!!" I was especially thrilled that he had made it to the toilet because he had eaten spaghetti the night before. Need I say more? Lindy quickly went back to bed when he saw that his assistance would not be needed and I comforted Ethan and got him set back up in bed with a towel on the floor and a trash can. Of course, he didn't need either of those things because he made it to the toilet once again at 4:37 a.m. I feel the need to give a bit of a disclaimer here. Ethan has been sleeping in the guest room lately and not the top bunk, where his actual assigned bed is located. This post could have had a very different slant to it if he had been sleeping in the top bunk. Nevertheless, my money would still have been on Ethan to make it to the toilet from the top bunk. That's why he's my hero.
Our experience began in the wee hours of December 1--what a way to usher in the month we celebrate our Savior's birth. It began with Jac, oldest at eleven years old, coming in our room to tell us that Gavin, youngest at four years old, had thrown up. This was at 12:37 a.m. (I know you're familiar with how those times that register on the clock when something significant happens stay lodged in your mind's eye). Why, you ask, was it Jac that came to tell us that his brother had thrown up? Well, of course, it's because not only had Gavin thrown up all over his bed including his pillow and covers and he had managed to spray a large amount on the wall behind his bed which then ran down to puddle in the carpet below; but he also managed to go to Jac's room and throw up on Jac's comforter and the clothes he had set out for the next morning. Nice! So, Lindy and I jumped into action and assume our usual roles. I'm on kid and laundry duty. He's on carpet duty. I started the bedding in the laundry, got Gavin showered and changed; and Lindy cleaned the vomit sprayed on the wall and puddled in the carpet. Honestly, he was surprised it came out but Oxyclean and Folex work wonders. Gavin spent the rest of the night on the floor in a sleeping bag in front of his bathroom. Each time he would yell out I would run to him, scoop him up, and hold him over the toilet. Gavin's stomach flu lasted about three days with Lindy, myself, and Grammy making sure he made it to the toilet each time. We were all praying that it wouldn't spread as the scourge known as stomach flu has a tendency to do. I was praying especially hard because on December 3 I was leaving to go to Chicago on a girls' weekend. We should have bought stock in Lysol and Clorox wipes. I even made Gavin wipe his hands and mouth with a Clorox wipe. I know, I know that we are not supposed to disinfect kids but I really did not want to get sick. I kept the Pepto Bismol close at hand and, thank God, did not get sick. Neither did the rest of my family and we thought we were home free until...
Jac awakened us more than a week later in the wee hours of December 10 to tell us that he had thrown up. He and Ethan, middlest at eight years old, had been complaining of stomachaches the night before and Jac got first dibs at tossing his cookies in the middle of the night. Now, you would think that our oldest child would have the best success at actually making it to the toilet when he was sick. Not so, my friend. Believe it or not, this was worse than when Gavin threw up. Jac managed to get it all over his bed and both pillows, he sprayed an area about 4 feet by 4 feet on the carpet and rug in his room which also managed to splash on to the wall and other items that were within spraying distance. He managed to get it on both bathroom rugs and the toilet itself. I stood there looking in the toilet trying to detect whether any had actually made its way into the toilet. There were a few token fragments in the toilet but nothing that compared to the display he had just managed to create for his Dad and me to clean up. Lindy and I just stood in awe outside his room for a moment taking in the sight and smell. It was an impressive effort of not making it to the toilet. Once the moment passed we went into action--me on laundry and Jac duty, Lindy on carpet duty. Fortunately, the part that sprayed on the carpet was more liquid. Most of the non-liquid matter--and you know what I mean--was on his bed, especially his pillows. I had the wonderful task of washing off the pillowcases before putting everything in the laundry. Lindy went to work on the carpet with the hand-held carpet cleaner that we borrowed from his Mom a long time ago and forgot to return. Thanks, Grammy, it came in handy that night considering it was more than just a puddle of puke as Gavin had delivered for us. I set Jac up on the floor in front of his bathroom in a sleeping bag with a towel spread out next to him. I don't waste time with bowls or trash cans with Jac because he can't hit a target that is that defined. He did manage to throw up on the towel later on in the night. Both Jac and Ethan were sick the next day and Ethan threw up during daylight hours. It passed quickly through both of them and, once again, we prayed that the rest of us wouldn't get sick. We thought we were home free until...
Ethan awakened us almost a week later at 3:00 a.m. on December 16 to tell us he had thrown up. That's right, we're three for three and the middle child will not be left out of Middle-of-the-Night Pukapallooza. My first question, of course, was, "Ethan, where did you throw up?" His response, with a little smugness thrown in was, "In the toilet." You see, what I haven't mentioned until now is that Ethan is the kid with the claim to fame of having the greatest success at actually making it to the toilet. From the time he was very little--like two years old--if he was sick he would just walk to the bathroom and throw up and then find us to let us know. Apparently his brothers take after their Aunt Ronnin. As legend has it, she didn't ever make it to the toilet to throw up until she was 17 years old. I happened to be at their house when she attained this momentous achievement and, believe it or not, everyone applauded. Seriously, we all clapped for her. I think her mother was clapping the loudest and I can relate.
So, when Ethan indicated that there was not going to be laundry to sanitize or carpet to painstakingly clean at three in the morning, my immediate reply was, "ETHAN, YOU'RE MY HERO!!" I was especially thrilled that he had made it to the toilet because he had eaten spaghetti the night before. Need I say more? Lindy quickly went back to bed when he saw that his assistance would not be needed and I comforted Ethan and got him set back up in bed with a towel on the floor and a trash can. Of course, he didn't need either of those things because he made it to the toilet once again at 4:37 a.m. I feel the need to give a bit of a disclaimer here. Ethan has been sleeping in the guest room lately and not the top bunk, where his actual assigned bed is located. This post could have had a very different slant to it if he had been sleeping in the top bunk. Nevertheless, my money would still have been on Ethan to make it to the toilet from the top bunk. That's why he's my hero.
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