The other day I was driving home from work thinking about my day and just driving. You know in that zone. I’ve been driving for 23 years so driving is automatic. I wasn’t texting (I don’t text and drive), I wasn’t on my phone, I probably was singing, but I was driving.
All of the sudden I heard someone frantically blowing their horn. I could not for the life of me figure out where it was coming from. Then I figured it out – it was someone blowing their horn at me. I was about to run them off the road. I went to pass an 18-wheeler and could not for the life of me figure out where this car came from. Of course, I got past the 18-wheeler and immediately pulled over. The driver shot me a bird (I expected that) even though I tried to apologize but then he pulled over in front of me and slammed on his brakes. I almost rear ended him. That was even less expected than the bird.
Yesterday on my way home from work I realized that I have a huge blind spot in my van. I adjusted my mirrors to no avail. I will really have to be careful merging left because if I look in my mirror and the car is beside me I cannot see it.
I was thinking about that whole situation this morning on the way to work as I was merging into traffic on the Smokey Park Bridge. How do we prepare for blind spots? You know, the times in our lives when the tragic or unexpected comes along and we are completely blindsided. Like when someone close to us is diagnosed with cancer, or we are diagnosed with cancer or another potentially terminal illness or when someone close to us dies or is in a serious accident or maybe our husband is diagnosed with cirrhosis. I know we immediately ask for prayer, but are we thinking ahead? We know that Eve ate the apple releasing chaos into a perfect world. How do we prepare for that chaos in our lives?
I think that is what 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is referring to. I don’t think we are meant to always be spouting scripture or sounding religious like the Pharisee. We can pray without anyone even knowing we are praying. In the old days it was called being prayed up. I don’t think we can always be prepared for everything that is going to happen; however, our relationship with our Father can be so full of trust that we can rely on Him in the midst of any storm and know that we are washed by the water.
Pray without ceasing.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Biltmore Baptist
Well, we've been so undecided about what to do about church. We like the Underground; however, it's just not exactly what we are looking for. Brooklyn has no one her own age there to connect with. Therefore, we keep checking out other churches to see if we can finally find the right church.
This morning we visited Biltmore Baptist. It's huge. I love the Children's Area. We parked on the side of the church and had to stroll through the elementary side of the building. It was exactly what I wanted to do at Covenant. I'm so glad they have the resources to provide that in our area.
The greeters spoke to us, but other than that no one else said hi except when they were told to during worship time. The orchestra did a great job and the worship was nice. The issue was it wasn't interactive. The worship was on stage, but it was as stiff as could be on the floor. That was disappointing. Some people would talk about how orchestrated it seemed (I'm sure they have a producer); however, most larger churches are using that format and to be honest, the people on stage seemed more into worship than the congregation did.
They baptised a guy that had intended on killing himself the weekend before Easter, and had gone to a restaurant to have his last meal. He was invited by someone he knew (his waitress) to attend their Easter program. He decided to wait and attend the service. He got saved and was baptized this morning. I cried. That's life changing. Everyone clapped. All I could think of was that man could have been dead, but instead someone invited him to church and he's alive. Not just alive physically, but also spiritually. God Rocks!
The pastor spoke on Baptism. It's was pretty much textbook. It was funny. It was straight forward.
They sang Blessed Assurance again and we left.
We would go back. I would like for Brooklyn to check out the middle school service at 9:45 and see what she thinks. That's the whole point.
This morning we visited Biltmore Baptist. It's huge. I love the Children's Area. We parked on the side of the church and had to stroll through the elementary side of the building. It was exactly what I wanted to do at Covenant. I'm so glad they have the resources to provide that in our area.
The greeters spoke to us, but other than that no one else said hi except when they were told to during worship time. The orchestra did a great job and the worship was nice. The issue was it wasn't interactive. The worship was on stage, but it was as stiff as could be on the floor. That was disappointing. Some people would talk about how orchestrated it seemed (I'm sure they have a producer); however, most larger churches are using that format and to be honest, the people on stage seemed more into worship than the congregation did.
They baptised a guy that had intended on killing himself the weekend before Easter, and had gone to a restaurant to have his last meal. He was invited by someone he knew (his waitress) to attend their Easter program. He decided to wait and attend the service. He got saved and was baptized this morning. I cried. That's life changing. Everyone clapped. All I could think of was that man could have been dead, but instead someone invited him to church and he's alive. Not just alive physically, but also spiritually. God Rocks!
The pastor spoke on Baptism. It's was pretty much textbook. It was funny. It was straight forward.
They sang Blessed Assurance again and we left.
We would go back. I would like for Brooklyn to check out the middle school service at 9:45 and see what she thinks. That's the whole point.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Why Women are drawn to certain things in Culture
I think I know why women are drawn to the television show Grey's Anatomy. It's the men. Not because they are hot, but because they are manly.
A month or so ago, I heard a couple of guys talking on a radio show about how most comedies these days portrait men as weak. They were talking about how they had almost quit watching most situation comedies because of this continual attack on the family. It shows the women as smart, marrying obviously below themselves and enduring a marriage with a man who cannot lead and/or carry on an intelligent conversation.
I've thought about that show that I heard on the radio as I've watched television lately and found it to be quite true. The men on many shows are only after one thing, can't hold on to a job and cannot carry on a conversation. The shows I am drawn to: Bones, Fringe, and Grey's Anatomy have men that are strong, intelligent and care for their families.
I also think this is why the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer is so popular. The Cullen men are strong, they play ball, they fight for their families and they are extremely in touch with their emotions while also having a great desire to learn. Of course, they also have a desire to drink blood but that isn't the topic here.
As a woman I do want a man that is sensitive, can carry on a conversation and allows me to use my skill set to enhance our marriage.
Ecclesiastes 10 I think the bible is clear about roles. I think our society has tried to twist those roles. I don't really enjoy watching TV where the man is weak. Take "Life According to Jim," Cheryl is beautiful, intelligent and a stay at home PTA mom while Jim is off doing his best to get out of working. Same with King of Queens, Two and a half Men, etc.
Think about what you are allowing your children to watch. Do you want them to have a world viewpoint of men as weaker than women? I prefer a viewpoint where both genders are equal in the relationship with the man at the lead. The way God set it up in the garden.
A month or so ago, I heard a couple of guys talking on a radio show about how most comedies these days portrait men as weak. They were talking about how they had almost quit watching most situation comedies because of this continual attack on the family. It shows the women as smart, marrying obviously below themselves and enduring a marriage with a man who cannot lead and/or carry on an intelligent conversation.
I've thought about that show that I heard on the radio as I've watched television lately and found it to be quite true. The men on many shows are only after one thing, can't hold on to a job and cannot carry on a conversation. The shows I am drawn to: Bones, Fringe, and Grey's Anatomy have men that are strong, intelligent and care for their families.
I also think this is why the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer is so popular. The Cullen men are strong, they play ball, they fight for their families and they are extremely in touch with their emotions while also having a great desire to learn. Of course, they also have a desire to drink blood but that isn't the topic here.
As a woman I do want a man that is sensitive, can carry on a conversation and allows me to use my skill set to enhance our marriage.
Ecclesiastes 10 I think the bible is clear about roles. I think our society has tried to twist those roles. I don't really enjoy watching TV where the man is weak. Take "Life According to Jim," Cheryl is beautiful, intelligent and a stay at home PTA mom while Jim is off doing his best to get out of working. Same with King of Queens, Two and a half Men, etc.
Think about what you are allowing your children to watch. Do you want them to have a world viewpoint of men as weaker than women? I prefer a viewpoint where both genders are equal in the relationship with the man at the lead. The way God set it up in the garden.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
THANKFUL
I am so thankful for all the friends and family that have been praying for us as we have been on this journey.
When we went to Florida we had an experience that showed us what being ungrateful looked like. I never want anyone to think I am ungrateful.
May our family always show gratitude.
Psalm 139:14
When we went to Florida we had an experience that showed us what being ungrateful looked like. I never want anyone to think I am ungrateful.
May our family always show gratitude.
Psalm 139:14
Insurance, MELD Scores, etc
While we were in Florida we got the call that Mike had been accepted by the insurance company to receive the transplant. When he told them we were in Florida they were a little shocked; however, they understood and told him to get his bloodwork done when he got back into town.
So, on April 21st he was officially added to the UNOS list to receive a donor transplant.
The other good news was that his bloodwork had improved and his MELD score had dropped. He is no longer in the top 10 so now we are just waiting.
I think the sunshine does alot for one's attitude and mental health. All the sun tanned him up and made him feel better (he drove the whole way back by himself).
The past few days Mike hasn't felt well again. If he starts feeling real bad, he has to go have more bloodwork and get a new MELD score. In the meantime, we wait.
So, on April 21st he was officially added to the UNOS list to receive a donor transplant.
The other good news was that his bloodwork had improved and his MELD score had dropped. He is no longer in the top 10 so now we are just waiting.
I think the sunshine does alot for one's attitude and mental health. All the sun tanned him up and made him feel better (he drove the whole way back by himself).
The past few days Mike hasn't felt well again. If he starts feeling real bad, he has to go have more bloodwork and get a new MELD score. In the meantime, we wait.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Transplant List
Yesterday Mike was presented to the transplant conference and they accepted him for listing. He will do fresh bloodwork when we return from vacation and then he will be listed (as long as his insurance company approves it.)
We are heading in the right direction.
We are heading in the right direction.
Friday, March 20, 2009
$10 Tip
Wednesday night’s Mike and I usually grab an inexpensive meal out because Brooklyn is with her dad. So this past Wednesday night we decided to head over to Cracker Barrel so we could have some veggies.
It wasn’t very crowded so we got right in and sat down. Our waitress didn’t show for about 8 or 9 minutes, but no worries. We ordered our drinks and food at the same time. She brought our drinks and I noticed on her apron it said rising star which I thought meant she was probably new. She asked if we needed anything else and Mike made a sarcastic comment about our salads under his breath, but she didn’t hear it.
I played the triangle country game until I finally got it down to one peg. We talked. We laughed. And then here comes our food. Salad & food at the same time. I asked her salads & food at the same time and she said, “yeap.” She obviously didn’t know what to do. She’s about 16, maybe. Very young. So she leaves. She came back a few minutes later and asked if we needed anything else. Well, I had been choking my salad down so I could eat my food hot and decided enough was enough. I asked for the manager.
He came to our tables and didn’t even give me time to politely ask him to help us out. He said he heard there was a timing issue, could he put our food back under the warmer. I said, that will be fine. Mike asked him just to cook him a couple of more pieces of fish because they would be horrible after being under the warmer (which was probably true). So he whisked our food away.
The girl promptly comes behind the manager and asks if we need anything else. I said no, she lays down the check and walks off.
Now, usually this would have made me mad. But I thought about Brooklyn in about six years and realized this girl had no idea how to handle conflict, no idea how to deal with this situation, we are probably about her parent’s age and she probably thought we were being mean.
Two young guys sit down at the table behind us. She obviously knew them. They start giving her a hard time about not knowing the menu. They said something about her tip going down and she whispered (but I could hear it) that her tip was going down because of our table.
She brought me another diet coke, she filled Mike’s water, and she did a great job of taking care of us the rest of the meal. I ordered a piece of caramel apple pie to go and she asked me if I wanted the ice cream in a separate container so it wouldn’t ruin the pie.
I was thinking about something Perry Noble preached on during Christmas about tipping your servers more during the season and especially on Sunday. I started digging in my purse. I had $10 in cash (I never carry cash) and I decided I would tip her that $10 and write her a note to hang in there.
Mike was worried that I would lecture her. I figure they hadn’t trained her; she was just learning and obviously needed some encouragement. Leaving her an atta girl without a tip would not have accomplished anything.
I don’t know if I did the right thing or not. I have no idea. I wrote "hang in there" on the coaster, put the $10 under it and we left. I hope she learned from the situation. I hope I learned from the situation.
It wasn’t very crowded so we got right in and sat down. Our waitress didn’t show for about 8 or 9 minutes, but no worries. We ordered our drinks and food at the same time. She brought our drinks and I noticed on her apron it said rising star which I thought meant she was probably new. She asked if we needed anything else and Mike made a sarcastic comment about our salads under his breath, but she didn’t hear it.
I played the triangle country game until I finally got it down to one peg. We talked. We laughed. And then here comes our food. Salad & food at the same time. I asked her salads & food at the same time and she said, “yeap.” She obviously didn’t know what to do. She’s about 16, maybe. Very young. So she leaves. She came back a few minutes later and asked if we needed anything else. Well, I had been choking my salad down so I could eat my food hot and decided enough was enough. I asked for the manager.
He came to our tables and didn’t even give me time to politely ask him to help us out. He said he heard there was a timing issue, could he put our food back under the warmer. I said, that will be fine. Mike asked him just to cook him a couple of more pieces of fish because they would be horrible after being under the warmer (which was probably true). So he whisked our food away.
The girl promptly comes behind the manager and asks if we need anything else. I said no, she lays down the check and walks off.
Now, usually this would have made me mad. But I thought about Brooklyn in about six years and realized this girl had no idea how to handle conflict, no idea how to deal with this situation, we are probably about her parent’s age and she probably thought we were being mean.
Two young guys sit down at the table behind us. She obviously knew them. They start giving her a hard time about not knowing the menu. They said something about her tip going down and she whispered (but I could hear it) that her tip was going down because of our table.
She brought me another diet coke, she filled Mike’s water, and she did a great job of taking care of us the rest of the meal. I ordered a piece of caramel apple pie to go and she asked me if I wanted the ice cream in a separate container so it wouldn’t ruin the pie.
I was thinking about something Perry Noble preached on during Christmas about tipping your servers more during the season and especially on Sunday. I started digging in my purse. I had $10 in cash (I never carry cash) and I decided I would tip her that $10 and write her a note to hang in there.
Mike was worried that I would lecture her. I figure they hadn’t trained her; she was just learning and obviously needed some encouragement. Leaving her an atta girl without a tip would not have accomplished anything.
I don’t know if I did the right thing or not. I have no idea. I wrote "hang in there" on the coaster, put the $10 under it and we left. I hope she learned from the situation. I hope I learned from the situation.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Stats
The average liver transplant wait time at Chapel Hill is around 11 months. However, it depends on how sick you are because they don't transplant you until your MELD score is around 24.
The average liver transcipient has a survival rate of 85% at one year status post transplant.
The average transplant costs $250,000 and meds are $5000 after the transplant.
2 Samuel 22:31
Psalm 18:2
The average liver transcipient has a survival rate of 85% at one year status post transplant.
The average transplant costs $250,000 and meds are $5000 after the transplant.
2 Samuel 22:31
Psalm 18:2
Transplant Bound
This past week was the good, the bad and the ugly all rolled into one.
We drove up to Chapel Hill so we could go to the transplant class. It is a very good thing that they don't just give away livers to the first person that can pay for one. They are a priceless comodity for the sick person that needs one.
Mike needs a liver. So we attended the class and found out the transplant will cost about $250,000 and his meds will cost $5,000 per month after the transplant. If his insurance stays the same the cost to us will be around $1500 for the surgery and about $300 per month for his anti-rejection meds. The cost of the meds will actually reduce after time as he goes on fewer meds; however, for the first couple of months he will be taking 30 pills per day at least.
I read on the internet somewhere today of a group called: Alcohol is cheaper than therapy. I would beg to differ. It has huge physical and spiritual ramifications.
Today's scripture is found in 2 Timothy: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
We drove up to Chapel Hill so we could go to the transplant class. It is a very good thing that they don't just give away livers to the first person that can pay for one. They are a priceless comodity for the sick person that needs one.
Mike needs a liver. So we attended the class and found out the transplant will cost about $250,000 and his meds will cost $5,000 per month after the transplant. If his insurance stays the same the cost to us will be around $1500 for the surgery and about $300 per month for his anti-rejection meds. The cost of the meds will actually reduce after time as he goes on fewer meds; however, for the first couple of months he will be taking 30 pills per day at least.
I read on the internet somewhere today of a group called: Alcohol is cheaper than therapy. I would beg to differ. It has huge physical and spiritual ramifications.
Today's scripture is found in 2 Timothy: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Christian Witches
So I was reading a blog the other day and linked from a comment someone else made to another blog. I was very intrigued. I found something I had never heard of: Christian Witches. Sounds like an oxymoron to me.
How does one proclaim to be a Christian: living in the light worshiping God and also a witch: a worshipper of nature is basically what those who are Christian witches seem to profess to doing.
Jesus covers this in Luke 4; however, most who chose to worship other "idols" look at the bible as not being the inspired word of God, but look on it as a book written by fallible men doing the best they could. My thoughts on this are God is God and if He chose to publish His story He made history work out to have in the story what He wanted told.
How does one proclaim to be a Christian: living in the light worshiping God and also a witch: a worshipper of nature is basically what those who are Christian witches seem to profess to doing.
Jesus covers this in Luke 4; however, most who chose to worship other "idols" look at the bible as not being the inspired word of God, but look on it as a book written by fallible men doing the best they could. My thoughts on this are God is God and if He chose to publish His story He made history work out to have in the story what He wanted told.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The River Church
Today we visited the River Church. It was my BFF Jan's birthday and we spent the morning together and then went to lunch. There are so many church plants popping up all over Asheville and I am such a church geek. I used to read about all different kinds of churches when I was on staff at Covenant. But because I was on staff and had to be there every Sunday, I couldn't go check them out, but now I do have that opportunity.
We enjoy the Underground. I love to hear Kevin speak. He is a very talented teacher and you can tell he is anointed; however, we haven't really connected there. Most of the women (not all, but most) are at a totally different life stage than I am and most of the guys are at a different life stage than Mike. We have some really good friends that we met at Covenant and we were all at the same stage in life. It's hard to socialize with people that have little kids because Brooklyn always ends up entertaining them (and she resents that). She likes us having friends that have kids her age.
Likes about the River:
They are reaching outside to others. They are doing bedrolls for the homeless. They are sending money to Nicaragua to buy a wheelchair for a woman that has cerebral palsy.
They communicate well. They send a newsletter out via email. Their website is informative. They have a new visitor packet.
They are friendly. We were welcomed by several different people and not just the pastor.
For what they are doing I liked the way they did music. They didn't have people bring in instruments and try to put together a band.
Dislikes:
They don't start on time. Sunday is the biggest day we get to spend as a family and with friends. I work. My time is valuable. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I do think that my time should be valued and if you are going to start at 10:30 then you should start then.
The preaching style was more Baptist. This is just a personal preference for me - I like a more conversational style of message.
The way they do music. Wow, a like and dislike. I just like a band to worship with; however, I do think it works for what they are doing.
Just my perception.
We enjoy the Underground. I love to hear Kevin speak. He is a very talented teacher and you can tell he is anointed; however, we haven't really connected there. Most of the women (not all, but most) are at a totally different life stage than I am and most of the guys are at a different life stage than Mike. We have some really good friends that we met at Covenant and we were all at the same stage in life. It's hard to socialize with people that have little kids because Brooklyn always ends up entertaining them (and she resents that). She likes us having friends that have kids her age.
Likes about the River:
They are reaching outside to others. They are doing bedrolls for the homeless. They are sending money to Nicaragua to buy a wheelchair for a woman that has cerebral palsy.
They communicate well. They send a newsletter out via email. Their website is informative. They have a new visitor packet.
They are friendly. We were welcomed by several different people and not just the pastor.
For what they are doing I liked the way they did music. They didn't have people bring in instruments and try to put together a band.
Dislikes:
They don't start on time. Sunday is the biggest day we get to spend as a family and with friends. I work. My time is valuable. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I do think that my time should be valued and if you are going to start at 10:30 then you should start then.
The preaching style was more Baptist. This is just a personal preference for me - I like a more conversational style of message.
The way they do music. Wow, a like and dislike. I just like a band to worship with; however, I do think it works for what they are doing.
Just my perception.
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