From Tribulation to Hope

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 5:3-5


It
has been a long 4.5 weeks.  I don't really know if my back is getting
better or worse.  I try to increase my activity every day, but that
tends to set me back the day after.  So I'm just continuing to take
everything reeeeeeally slowly.  Hopefully, soon, I will begin to see some progress. 

Today
I was blessed by a visit from my oldest younger brother.  He came for
his birthday present (yesterday) and to bring Isaac's present (birthday
#9 tomorrow!).  We had a really nice visit, which we don't get a chance
to do very often.  Then Doug came home and after a bit, we were blessed
to have my youngest younger brother drop in for a bit too.  It was so
nice!

My
hubby was able to go out to a work function this evening.  Here he is,
looking all handsome and vice-principal-esque. (minus those 50
pounds!!!)

And
if you look at the jewelry form to his right, you'll see that necklace
I've been working on.  After I took the picture, I thought "Wow!  It
looks so pretty sitting right there!" 

Isaac's
birthdays usually hit me pretty hard.  It is a common theme among
parents of special needs children.  I was really concerned about this
year. I have been under the weather, so to speak, for so long
physically, that I was fearful that Isaac's birthday tomorrow would be
especially hard. 

But God is so faithful.  He sent a precious
birthday card for Isaac from a friend yesterday.  It was so sweet it
made me cry.  (Thank you, friend!)  Then the unexpected company today
was an added blessing.  I will still have to be home alone tomorrow
while Doug takes Isaac to therapy, which makes me sad.  But I don't
dare do that long trip – traveling is awful on my back.

I know
that God has not given us a spirit of fear, so if we are experiencing
anxiety and fear, they are coming from another source.  I am going to
choose power and love and a sound mind for the day tomorrow; and I know
it is going to turn out just fine.

Blessings to you,
Alesha

Just a Bad Cold

(one day last week when Isaac was feeling better.)

Isaac
didn't have fever today, but we still kept our appointment with the
doctor.  His cough sounds much worse today and he slept all day until
we got him ready for his appointment. 

But Praise the Lord,
his ear, sinuses and lungs are all clear!  He only has a bad cold.  So
we'll just keep doing our asthma treatments and giving him lots of TLC
and, Lord willing, he'll be feeling better soon.  

Here's a
new dish I tried last night.  It was very tasty, and I even enjoyed it
today for lunch with crackers.  It's super easy: 

Sweet Corn Salad
1 large ear of corn (raw)
1 large tomato
1/4 c. sweet onion
1/2 a red pepper
1 celery stalk
3T parsley
Cut the corn from the cob, and dice everything else.  Combine and chill.

I
served mine with a little Olive Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing (Paul
Newman's).  It was really yummy.  I do think, however, I will leave out
the parsley next time.  I found that I really didn't care for the taste
of it.  Just my opinion, fwiw!

That's it for today…I need to start supper.

May the Lord bless you with a peaceful evening (or "morning" for Laura and Hammie ),
Alesha

Thursday, 02 April 2009

We had a nice surprise yesterday: 

Doug found out he has the next two days off work, as the rest of the ministry will be closed for Spring Break!

Yay!!!

So, unless something really exciting happens that I just can't wait to share with you, I will probably be pretty scarce for a day or two.

Happy Spring!
Alesha

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

I got so many things accomplished yesterday! 

I baked bread,
cooked a big pot of black-eyed peas, made 2 dessert cookies and cut up
veggies to store in the frig for this week's salads.  I find that I am
very motivated in the mornings these days; and I can get so much
accomplished if I just get right at it.

Today, I was just not craving a salad.  My doctor said that would occasionally happen.  
So I did what he suggested.  I made a nice fruit salad:  bananas,
pears, grapes and oranges from our tree.  I also put in chopped pecans
and a sprinkle of coconut.

It was delicious!

For my dessert, I included some Pecan Spice Delight Cookies
that I made yesterday.  These are raw, but so yummy.  My mom tasted
them and said, "It tastes like Christmas!"  What more could you ask for
from a raw cookie? 

(Please
keep in mind that when I link to these recipes, it doesn't mean that I
endorse everything on the website.  I have only read the recipes.  I
really have no idea what the "philosophy" may be on a particular site.)

My tummy is full and my appetite is satiated.  Mmmm…mmm…mmm!

Tonight we plan to eat leftover black eyed peas over brown rice, along with a nice salad.

We
were blessed by our state again this spring, just like last year, and
they are sending Isaac some diapers, wipes and washable pads.  That is
such a HUGE blessing to us!  We are very grateful!

Today we were able to get a dehydrator.  I am excited to see what kinds of new treats I can make with it. 

<<<More experimenting in my la-bor-a-tory!!!  Mwha-ha-ha-ha!!!>>>

We also picked up these cute little Ball jars (remember I ran out of jars when I was organizing?)  That baby holds a whole pint!

Well, I guess that's it for today.  I pray you have a great evening (or morning, Laura!).

Blessings to you,
Alesha

Sunday, 25 March 2007

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed
today.  We've had 2 odd days with Isaac.  I told Doug when things are
going like this, I start watching for some new insight from the Lord. 
You know, when you are "done" – physically, emotionally exhausted,
spiritually looking for God to move or act or speak – when you have no
way of offering anything to the situation -  God often shows up in a
very real way.  I don't know – maybe we're just paying better
attention at those moments.
 

Isaac had something happen Friday night, after we put him to
bed.  We didn't hear anything.  Doug just went in to check on him, like
we so often do at night.  He was laying there – eyes wide open, tracking
from side to side, sweating, snoring and as limp as a dish rag.

Now you have to understand.  Isaac has CP and
very high tone.  He is very stiff most of the time.  He can bend and
relax occasionally.  However, even in his sleep, he is never limp.  His
hips especially along with his knees never relax, never lay flat.  He
sleeps with them bent up or we put a pillow under his knees.

But Friday night, I changed his diaper and his
legs were laying completely FLAT.  When I picked up his legs to change
his diaper and then let go, they just flopped.  It made my stomach lurch
and I thought I might throw up – it was THAT weird.

So, we surmised he'd had a seizure that we
didn't hear.  That freaks us out and we're definitely looking into a
video baby monitor so it doesn't happen again.

He finally closed his eyes and slept.  Then
Sat. morning he was weepy, then had extended staring seizures all
morning.  He fell asleep around noon and slept until about 5 PM.  The
staring seizures continued, so we administered the big meds.  They did
not stop the staring.  He fell asleep around 10 PM and woke up this
morning at 6:30 and was STILL staring.

So we took him to the ER.  As soon as we got
him in a room and there were 3 nurses standing around his bed – he WOKE
up!  Started his normal flicking his hands, kicking, vocalizing, etc. 
It was amazing and EXTREMELY irritating!!!!!  I couldn't believe how mad
it made me that he was acting normal!  Isn't that awful??? 

(Doug says, though, that we're reaping what he
sowed as a child – when his mom took him to the doctor, she would tell
the dr. about the ear ache, sore throat, etc., and Doug would say, "no,
that doesn't hurt.  I'm not sick."  He said he was so afraid to get a
shot, and thought if he said he was fine, the doctor wouldn't poke him
with the needle!!!!)

Anyway,
they contacted our neurologist, who upped one of Isaac's seizure meds. 
The ER dr. gave us a script for eye drops (Isaac had stared open-eyed
for nearly 24 hours, except when asleep, and his eyes looked awful,
blood shot and dry.) Then they sent us home.

I'm so tired.  Two nights of barely sleeping,
then early to the ER.  We're trying to get everything ready for our trip
to Miami next week.  Doug and I are both weepy and a little grumpy –
just feeling very stressed.

I
am amazed at God's goodness to us.  I was thinking today of those old
country western songs.  The verses are sometimes long and sad and
enumerate all the awful things that are going on.  But then the chorus
eventually has an upswing in tempo, some decision is made and the singer
decides that life will continue. 

My life is like that.  Sometimes the verses of my life are
sweet and happy, and other times they might be sad.  But my life cannot
be one verse after another.  I must have a refrain, a chorus that brings
a culmination to my story song. 

I get to choose my chorus.  It can "gloom, despair and agony"
or "he stopped loving her today" or "the next time he cheats, it won't
be on me" or "you picked a fine time to leave me" or all about "friends
in low places".

BUT as for
me and my house, we have to choose another chorus.  Our refrain is
filled with "how great is our God" and "holy, holy, holy".  "God is so
good", "when we all get to heaven", "what a day that will be", "the
blood's still there" or "Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!" – my chorus
has to praise my Father and testify of His goodness to me.

Does your "refrain" praise Him?  What is the
"chorus", the soundtrack so to speak, of your life?

Alesha

Thursday, 01 March 2007

An update on my boy – he had a seizure
on the way home from the hospital yesterday and we had to give him
medication.  So he slept all day yesterday, all last night and was very
drowsy today.  He ate minimally, and drank probably 2/3 of his normal
intake.  We'll be seizure free for a little bit while the meds are still
in his system.  We'll be taking it easy for a few days, and see if he
can recover his normal energy and personality when the meds wear off.

It's amazing how much one night's sleep can
make you feel almost human again.  I feel so much better today.

Let me tell you how good God is to me!  I
missed 3 days of work this week with Isaac.  When we got back, we had an
"escrow surplus" check in the mail, then today I received my February
bonus check from work.  If you add both of those checks together, they
are only $9 short of what I will lose from my check for this week! 
Isn't that something?  God is so good to me.

There have been so many times that, in MY
opinion, we have been in "need" of  financial help from the Lord.  Times
that I just knew any day now, I was going to walk out to the mailbox
and there would be an amazingly large check.  Many of those times, there
was no check.  We survived.  We eked by.  We walked slowly away from
debt one baby step at a time – paying off each thing at a painfully
slowly rate. 

God was
teaching me about grace for each day – making wise financial decisions
one day at a time, being frugal today, just because it's the right thing
today.  That $5 not spent wouldn't have paid off anything, but I was
learning to wait on God's provision.

Then, like this week, when I'm so worn to a frazzle caring for
this child of God He has given us, He just pours out His provision.  I
was concerned about Isaac's eating, drinking and fluid output, counting
ounces of milk – not dollars in my paycheck.  My focus was on my
ministry – my child – not on my bank account.  God took care of the
rest.

See?  It's like
this to my mind, possibly too simplistic, but it's working for me. 
Isaac is God's child.  We are God's family.  It's God's money, God's
jobs, God's house.  None of it's mine.  I am accountable for how I use
God's stuff, yes.  But ultimately, the care and provision for it are
HIS.  No matter how good I may be with making a dollar stretch and
balancing that checkbook, I can never do as good a job as God will do of
taking care of His own money, home, family and child. 

Anyway, that's what's on my mind tonight.  And
Isaac is already asleep this evening, praise the Lord.  I pray he
sleeps through.  He and Daddy are going to get out of the house tomorrow
and do something outside.  That boy needs to feel the sun on him soon. 
He's been inside too much this week.

Thanks for reading my long-winded rambles
tonight.  I pray you feel God smiling on your ministry today, too.

Alesha

Friday, 16 February 2007



100_2858 solo gerber daisy

Don't you just love gerber daisies?  I think
they are very friendly flowers. 

My hubby brought these home on Valentine's Day.  I love that
they have to have little plastic sheaths for their slender stems to hold
up those beautiful huge blossoms.  It seems so self-sacrificing of them
to blossom so beautifully.  Hmmm…

Are there times you feel if you don't take a few moments just
to drink in something beautiful your heart will just wither and dry up? 

God's creation holds so
many beauties for us.  I am guilty of not taking enough time to stop and
notice.  It's as if all at once I realize I'm starving for beauty.

I want to pay attention.  I don't want to miss
the beauty.  I need the beauty.  It feeds my soul.

God's Word holds many beauties.

Zephaniah
3: 19- 20

Behold, at that time I will undo all
that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that
was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where
they have been put to shame. 

At that
time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I
will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I
turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Isn't that
pretty?  Doesn't that just make your heart well up with gratitude for
the loveliness of it?

So many things He has given to make our lives
beautiful.  Let's make the time to stop and take them in, let them
linger awhile in the dark corners of our heart, until they begin to
light us up from the inside out. 

His beauty –
shining from us. 

 Hmmm…allowing His sheath of the Holy Spirit
to hold our stems straight while we sacrifice ourselves to show forth
His beauty in the blossoms of our life.

Friend, blossom
and shine for Him today!

Alesha