Did You Know?

So did you know:


a)Poison ivy does not spread from person to person - it is not "contagious."


b)Poison ivy only needs to be washed off once - once you have taken a shower, it doesn't spread farther on your body. It has already spread as far as it's going to until you come into contact with it again. If more spots appear (more than 2-3 days later), they were already there, just hadn't shown yet.


c)Poison ivy sucks.



d)Poison ivy was not contracted by me at the zoo, since Jeff has subsequently been struck by it and he was not at the zoo with me... which leads to my conclusion:



e)Poison ivy apparently resides IN MY BACKYARD!

Pink

Spring break was going to be fairly uneventful for us this year. Nothing interesting planned. That's when I decided it would be a GREAT idea to take the boys to the zoo! Little did I know that I would somehow inhale poison ivy, have it spread all over my face and neck, have to get a shot in my derier, spread it to Max, and now be making my husband go to the the dreaded butt-shot because it is all over him, from his neck down. This is the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with in quite a long time! And when I compare it to what others are going through, it seems pretty trivial, but it has taken over my life! And not to mention that the steroids that I'm taking to get rid of the poison crap are making me crazy! I'm so cranky and I can't help it! I'm itchy, cranky, tired and stressed. I guess it could be worse......

After all that whining you would never believe that I actually had a really good time at a women's conference yesterday, would you? It's called Pink Impact, and it's put together by a church called Gateway Church in South Lake. I got to hear Marilyn Hickey (whom I had never heard of but is apparently the reason my mom became a Christian!), Kari Jobe, Miriam Webster, and Holly Wagner. It wasn't extremely deep, but that's not what it was meant for. It's for evangelizing... drawing more women in who are hurt and needing to know their Savior's love. And I'd say it was a success. It was nice to be without any kiddos for an entire day too!!

Holly Wagner's message touched me the most. Her concept was about how, like in the Olympics, each runner has their own lane. In life, we all have our own lanes. There's no need for us to get in each other's lanes, because we are supposed to be in our own lane. When we feel that jealous twitch, like "why can't I sing like she does?" or "why can't I be as funny as she is?" we need to remember that that's not the lane God put us in. What would you feel like if you stepped into someone else's lane at some point in your life, and when you got to Jesus, he looked strangely surprised at you and said "what are you doing here?" Because you weren't supposed to be in that lane. We each have a job. We each have an exact purpose and mission and He gives us the tools we need to accomplish them. We are not here by accident. He put us here on this earth at this time to defeat the evil one!! That way when we do get to see Jesus, he won't look at us with a confused look, rather with a "well done good and faithful servant" look =)

Where to Start?

Really, where do I start? There's nothing new happening, nothing out of the ordinary. I just feel like I need to write. But I HATE writing. Always have. So where is this going to take me? I don't have a clue. And i really really don't know where to start.

Through a high school friend of mine who has a sweet little girl who was born premature with several complications, my eyes have been opened to the world of sick children. Normal children, actually, who are sick. They go through most of the exact same things every other child goes through, only slower, or out of order, or simply a little differently. They didn't chose to be the way they are. After reading blog after blog about all of these precious little kids, I have realized how thankful I should be for my family. I guess almost everyone comes to the point in their life when they realize they've taken what God gave them for granted, and I'm there. Other than ear infections and poison ivy, my family is extremely healthy! What a wonderful, precious gift! I've always been thankful for them, and our health, but never to this extent. And the funny thing is I don't know what to do about it. Do I love them more now? Because I know that any day they could be struck with some illness? Do I let Noah get away with throwing a fit because he lost the video game, when at least he has fingers, eyes and a mouth that work so that he can play video games?? Do I let Max kick the ball at the pictures on the wall, just because he has legs that work?? I don't think so. I think I'm supposed to keep on living, just like last year and the year before that. I can't love them anymore than I already do. I think prayer is the key. All I can say is thank you Lord. Thank you Lord.

I've put off starting a "blog" because all of the others I've read are about some extraordinary family who is dealing with huge struggles day in and day out and I've thought to myself, my life is so boring. So plain. So OrDiNaRy. My family is amazing, but we are just normal. Like normal isn't a good thing. Then I heard the Lord say, "your family is just as wonderful as every other family I have created." Ok, it sounds slightly dramatic, but it's true! Just because poison ivy is the biggest obstacle in our lives right now doesn't make us unworthy of a blog!! Now I probably won't have comments to all of the posts like the ones I follow. But I figure, if I need them, they'll be there.