January 29th, Kansas Day. But I always think of my dad first on this day as it was his birthday. He died 12 years ago this coming April. He would have been 79 years old today. But he's in heaven now with his Lord and Savior, singing His praises all the day long. My daddy had a rough life growing up. He knew about God, but he actually accepted Jesus when I was pregnant with my daughter.
We thought he'd overcome the prostate cancer, but bone cancer invaded eleven years later in 1995. They'd given him less than six months to live when he received the terminal diagnosis of bone cancer. A bone marrow transplant wouldn't help, the cancer was in the actual bone. He lived until my daughter was almost two-and-one-half years old when they'd only given him six months.The day he died, I naturally cried. My precious little 2 1/2 year daughter told me, "Mama, don't cry. Papa went to be with Jesus. He has a new body now and can walk again." Out of the mouths of babes, eh?
My dad always kept busy. He was one of the hardest working men I've ever known in my life and worked hard to support our family while I was growing up. Even after his diagnosis of bone cancer, he would sit in his wheelchair on my mom and dad's patio and make numerous log cabin bird houses for people.
I could sit here for hours telling you stories, laughing, and about the memories I shared with my dad. Over time, he became worse and had to be hospitalized. He was bedridden and lived out the rest of his days in the VA Hospital, but he still kept busy. He painted sun-catchers and my mom would distribute the extras to patients in the VA Hospital, hanging them in their hospital room windows. He also did leather work; he was always working on a project. Somewhere in my photos, I have a picture of my daughter painting sun-catchers with my dad. The hospital table was up against his bed and she was on a chair and they were painting away. We also made his favorite cookies -- farm style oatmeal raisin cookies -- and took them to him and to the nurses on his floor. Those are precious memories.
I miss my dad. I would have loved it if he'd been able to watch his grandchildren grow up and meet the new additions to our extended family. I continue to tell stories and share memories with my daughter of her Papa Jack as she was so young when he died. Yep, I miss him a lot. But I get joy from the fact that he's in the presence of Jesus and there's no time for missing us. I believe that time in eternity is not at all of how we think of time here. He's so busy praising God that time passed will seem like but a wisp of a moment when I meet him again in heaven. But just the same, I whisper up .... Happy Birthday, Daddy.
Blessings to you, dear blogger friends,
Susie
P.S. About a year ago, God blessed me with a very special friend. I just found out that she has this day as her birthday too. How like God to give me such a special friend who shares this special day too.
Happy Birthday, Judy!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
I Survived! =)
My dd's first competitive speech and debate tournament of the new season is over and I survived! =) It was exhausting, yet exciting! Tiresome, yet terrific! These kids are amazing speakers and are so brave. They learn so much throughout this whole process and I am honored to be able to observe, work with, and know them.
It's not only challenging to learn new skills and hone the ones you've been working on, but friendships are made and much fun is had right alongside the competition. They have devotion time as well as worship time every morning BEFORE competition begins. And it's wonderful to see how they support one another. And in a debate round, it's heartwarming to see them come together to pray that they might be glorifying to God in everything they say before they debate one another. If only out in the world, everyone would do that. I think these kids are on to something.
They seem to completely enjoy themselves whether they win or not. Sure, it's fun to win a medal or place and get to go on to a regional tournament ...but the goal is about learning to be good communicators so that they can be good witnesses for Christ. That's the real prize.
I was very blessed to have been a part of this tournament. I know my daughter feels the same.
May you all have a blessed week and feel the peace of God that surpasses all understanding as you journey through your week.
Blessings,
Susie
It's not only challenging to learn new skills and hone the ones you've been working on, but friendships are made and much fun is had right alongside the competition. They have devotion time as well as worship time every morning BEFORE competition begins. And it's wonderful to see how they support one another. And in a debate round, it's heartwarming to see them come together to pray that they might be glorifying to God in everything they say before they debate one another. If only out in the world, everyone would do that. I think these kids are on to something.
They seem to completely enjoy themselves whether they win or not. Sure, it's fun to win a medal or place and get to go on to a regional tournament ...but the goal is about learning to be good communicators so that they can be good witnesses for Christ. That's the real prize.
I was very blessed to have been a part of this tournament. I know my daughter feels the same.
May you all have a blessed week and feel the peace of God that surpasses all understanding as you journey through your week.
Blessings,
Susie
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sorry it's been so long.....
....since I've posted. Lots of things have kept me very busy. And busyness is no excuse, but it's the only one I have. =)
We are getting ready for a speech and debate tournament hosted by my daughter's speech and debate club. It's the first regional qualifier of the year and she is so excited! Competitors will come from five states to compete. It's been a lot of work by many people putting things together to get this tournament ready. A lot of it is done by the youth themselves. These kids are amazing! The league is NCFCA -- National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. It's the third largest speech and debate league in the nation and it's all homeschoolers! Their goal is to teach the kids to be better communicators for Christ. They compete in all kinds of categories; preparing them to communicate with all kinds of people that they may encounter in life. There are two kinds of debate -- Lincoln Douglas, which is a morals/value debate, one person on each side. Then there's Team Policy debate, which debates policy with two people on each side/team.
My daughter is trying her hand at debate this year and not just speech. She's chosen Lincoln Douglas debate for her first year. She's a young debater (and brave), but she wants to give it a try, and I say -- GO FOR IT! There all kinds of speech categories and I'm sure to miss a few - my daughter's not home to set me straight on it -- but here's a sampling of them. Original oratory, persuasive, illustrated oratory, humorous, duo, dramatic, apologetics, impromptu, extemporary, and more!
I took speech in high school. One semester. Because it was required. My daughter is way ahead of me compared to where I was at her age. To be perfectly honest, in this public speaking business, she's way ahead of me now. She's learning so much and is gaining such valuable speaking skills as well as tremendous skills that will serve her well in her life. I praise God for this opportunity. She has blossomed so much since getting involved in speech and debate.
Our job as parents is to raise our children up in the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." (NASB)
I do my best to follow those instructions, although I fail sometimes. Life is full of teachable moments and I try to make the most of them. I'm so glad God called me to homeschool; He has blessed me by making it such a joy to teach my child. Often I learn right along side her; sometimes she teaches me.
Let us be blessed as God provides teachable moments for all of us -- young or not-so-young. =)
-Susie
We are getting ready for a speech and debate tournament hosted by my daughter's speech and debate club. It's the first regional qualifier of the year and she is so excited! Competitors will come from five states to compete. It's been a lot of work by many people putting things together to get this tournament ready. A lot of it is done by the youth themselves. These kids are amazing! The league is NCFCA -- National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. It's the third largest speech and debate league in the nation and it's all homeschoolers! Their goal is to teach the kids to be better communicators for Christ. They compete in all kinds of categories; preparing them to communicate with all kinds of people that they may encounter in life. There are two kinds of debate -- Lincoln Douglas, which is a morals/value debate, one person on each side. Then there's Team Policy debate, which debates policy with two people on each side/team.
My daughter is trying her hand at debate this year and not just speech. She's chosen Lincoln Douglas debate for her first year. She's a young debater (and brave), but she wants to give it a try, and I say -- GO FOR IT! There all kinds of speech categories and I'm sure to miss a few - my daughter's not home to set me straight on it -- but here's a sampling of them. Original oratory, persuasive, illustrated oratory, humorous, duo, dramatic, apologetics, impromptu, extemporary, and more!
I took speech in high school. One semester. Because it was required. My daughter is way ahead of me compared to where I was at her age. To be perfectly honest, in this public speaking business, she's way ahead of me now. She's learning so much and is gaining such valuable speaking skills as well as tremendous skills that will serve her well in her life. I praise God for this opportunity. She has blossomed so much since getting involved in speech and debate.
Our job as parents is to raise our children up in the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." (NASB)
I do my best to follow those instructions, although I fail sometimes. Life is full of teachable moments and I try to make the most of them. I'm so glad God called me to homeschool; He has blessed me by making it such a joy to teach my child. Often I learn right along side her; sometimes she teaches me.
Let us be blessed as God provides teachable moments for all of us -- young or not-so-young. =)
-Susie
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
'Ever have one of those days....
...when you want to scream, "Calgon, take me away!" (You young whipper-snappers out there may have no clue what I'm talking about, but anyone over 40 probably does.) But actually, the idea of a soak in a hot tub with my dry skin doesn't sound so great either. Despite copious amounts of lotion, I'd be itching and scratching like a dog with fleas. A quick warm shower is better with chronic dry skin that's only exacerbated by the cold weather. And believe me, it's COLD outside, with much colder temps and more snow on the way. Somehow, the whole "Calgon, take me away" loses it affect in a quick shower.
Snuggling up by a fire with a favorite quilt or blanket, a cup of hot tea and a good book..aaaah! Sounds like bliss. Oh wait, I don't have a fireplace. I already had my cup of hot tea this morning, but not while reading a good book. In fact, it was while biting into (hopefully) the only muffin in the batch that had an eggshell in it. Eeew! Biting down on an egg shell is such a gross sensation. It's right up there with chomping down on a piece of foil that was left on the baked potato and you didn't see it. Ick!
I wish I could stay inside the rest of the day. I have to go out again late this afternoon for a part-time cleaning job and then off to the YMCA as it's workout night. I'm not looking forward to going out into the cold again. Whine! Whine! But I'm grateful for the part-time cleaning job, and when it reflects on the scale, my workout time. I won't go into how I feel about working out when the numbers on the scale don't move in a downward direction. I know, it's all about being healthy....and that's true. But tell that to my psyche when I'm wanting the scale to say, 'Yay! You've lost weight." Okay, so the scale doesn't actually say that. I say that. But I think you know what I mean.
The last couple of days have been hectic and I've not accomplished all the goals I set out to achieve. I've made some valiant stabs at it, but no complete success. But I'll take what I can get and I'll count my blessings along the way.
I have a tub, whether or not I choose to take a bath or a shower is up to me. I have hot water and can regulate the temperature in that bath or shower to whatever temperature I like best at the time. I have lotion to use on my dry skin, but otherwise my skin is fine. True, my skin has independently decided to morph into wrinkles without my permission, but I am getting older and I cherish every single day that God gives me on this earth, so I'll take the wrinkles. I had eggs to put in my muffins -- even though I was supposed to leave the shell out -- along with the rest of the ingredients to make them to provide my family with a filling breakfast. I can choose to go to the YMCA and workout because I have a car with a heater and don't have to walk a mile -- uphill both ways -- in my bare feet to get there.
Yes, my weight loss has been very slow this time around even when I've stuck to my program diligently. Did I gain some weight over the holidays? I'm sure I did, but I don't really want to dwell on it. I just want to get back on track, which I have done. Do I feel like going to the "Y" tonight? No. Will I go? Yes. There were too many Ritz crackers with Sharp Cheddar cheese ball smeared on them on New Year's Eve NOT to go. =P I've never been very coordinated, but I have to say when it comes to pizza or cheeseball on a cracker -- I've got the whole when my elbow bends my mouth flies open exercise down pat. =)
Sometimes it's hard to be patient and see what God has in store for us. A watch pot never boils they say. How long is a minute? It might depend on which side of the bathroom door you're on. But I want to be a "glass is half-full" kind of person and not the "glass is half-empty" kind. Sometimes, I slip up and have a little pity party. I'm not proud of that. I'm just saying...... Attitude is so important.
My point. I'm getting there. I haven't had an "ideal" day the last two days. And even though I've been stressed about things or felt they didn't go as I planned, I've been blessed beyond measure. I have so much to be thankful for and have no right to complain about any of it. We've all heard "God is good." He is so much more beyond good. He is awesome, powerful, almighty, everlasting, merciful, the great I am, the one and only true God, and He loves me! Wow! So much so, that He sent His one and only begotten Son to be a sacrifice for my sin. I get to spend eternity in heaven worshipping God and in the presence of my King. My blessings aren't just abundant -- God has showered them down and heaped them up to overflowing. I think the next time I want to say "Calgon, take me away," I think I'll say "Jesus, give me strength and comfort and I thank you in ALL things" instead. Be blessed!
Snuggling up by a fire with a favorite quilt or blanket, a cup of hot tea and a good book..aaaah! Sounds like bliss. Oh wait, I don't have a fireplace. I already had my cup of hot tea this morning, but not while reading a good book. In fact, it was while biting into (hopefully) the only muffin in the batch that had an eggshell in it. Eeew! Biting down on an egg shell is such a gross sensation. It's right up there with chomping down on a piece of foil that was left on the baked potato and you didn't see it. Ick!
I wish I could stay inside the rest of the day. I have to go out again late this afternoon for a part-time cleaning job and then off to the YMCA as it's workout night. I'm not looking forward to going out into the cold again. Whine! Whine! But I'm grateful for the part-time cleaning job, and when it reflects on the scale, my workout time. I won't go into how I feel about working out when the numbers on the scale don't move in a downward direction. I know, it's all about being healthy....and that's true. But tell that to my psyche when I'm wanting the scale to say, 'Yay! You've lost weight." Okay, so the scale doesn't actually say that. I say that. But I think you know what I mean.
The last couple of days have been hectic and I've not accomplished all the goals I set out to achieve. I've made some valiant stabs at it, but no complete success. But I'll take what I can get and I'll count my blessings along the way.
I have a tub, whether or not I choose to take a bath or a shower is up to me. I have hot water and can regulate the temperature in that bath or shower to whatever temperature I like best at the time. I have lotion to use on my dry skin, but otherwise my skin is fine. True, my skin has independently decided to morph into wrinkles without my permission, but I am getting older and I cherish every single day that God gives me on this earth, so I'll take the wrinkles. I had eggs to put in my muffins -- even though I was supposed to leave the shell out -- along with the rest of the ingredients to make them to provide my family with a filling breakfast. I can choose to go to the YMCA and workout because I have a car with a heater and don't have to walk a mile -- uphill both ways -- in my bare feet to get there.
Yes, my weight loss has been very slow this time around even when I've stuck to my program diligently. Did I gain some weight over the holidays? I'm sure I did, but I don't really want to dwell on it. I just want to get back on track, which I have done. Do I feel like going to the "Y" tonight? No. Will I go? Yes. There were too many Ritz crackers with Sharp Cheddar cheese ball smeared on them on New Year's Eve NOT to go. =P I've never been very coordinated, but I have to say when it comes to pizza or cheeseball on a cracker -- I've got the whole when my elbow bends my mouth flies open exercise down pat. =)
Sometimes it's hard to be patient and see what God has in store for us. A watch pot never boils they say. How long is a minute? It might depend on which side of the bathroom door you're on. But I want to be a "glass is half-full" kind of person and not the "glass is half-empty" kind. Sometimes, I slip up and have a little pity party. I'm not proud of that. I'm just saying...... Attitude is so important.
My point. I'm getting there. I haven't had an "ideal" day the last two days. And even though I've been stressed about things or felt they didn't go as I planned, I've been blessed beyond measure. I have so much to be thankful for and have no right to complain about any of it. We've all heard "God is good." He is so much more beyond good. He is awesome, powerful, almighty, everlasting, merciful, the great I am, the one and only true God, and He loves me! Wow! So much so, that He sent His one and only begotten Son to be a sacrifice for my sin. I get to spend eternity in heaven worshipping God and in the presence of my King. My blessings aren't just abundant -- God has showered them down and heaped them up to overflowing. I think the next time I want to say "Calgon, take me away," I think I'll say "Jesus, give me strength and comfort and I thank you in ALL things" instead. Be blessed!
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