Saturday, December 13, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
."THIS Is Not THAT " What I try to Remember, when trials come."
Dear: Anonymous@tell20000, (I am not sure why I picked you to tell this story to...I hope it is from God Almighty.) In June of 1990, when my first born son was 13 months old, he lost the ability to walk and speak. He had a violent reaction to a vaccination that was designed to protect his life and health. But my little boy was still alive and we could set about finding ways to recover some abilities, many other children across the nation had died. The years that would follow would have many challenges, but my son was alive. This was the first time I remember thinking..."This is not That"...This hurt and hardship is not as bad as having lost him in death.
On August 30, 2005, the day after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, LA, I was told by DHR in Alabama to take my 3 year old foster son, who I had since he was 6 months old to a birth family members home to live. The situation at that home was potentially very dangerous. My leaving him, I can't quite describe to you, but as I returned home and held the last little pair of pajamas he wore up close to me,they still felt warm and smelled like him (I still have them) I just kept saying he is still alive.....He is still alive and he may return to me one day. And as bad as this is.....This is not That.....This hurt and hardship is not as bad as having lost him in death.
But what do you do if your child dies? How can you say...This is not That? This...Is....That!!! This is that horror that every parent fears. I have watched the Steven Curtis Chapman family as they have publicly and privately mourned and grieved while struggling to breathe with the loss of their child, Maria Sue. His song, "Glorious Unfolding" is the song I have tried to keep as my anthem and send to many South Korean families who are in extreme suffering due to the Sewol-Ho Ferry Trajedy on April 16, 2014.
Whatever you may be suffering.......you must find your own comparison........This thing that you are suffering........Is there a worse thing that someone else is going through? If you are alive....you may find a way to help them.......If you allow yourself to die....or take your life.....you can be of no help to anyone.
There is always a way to say...This is not That!!........I will bear This thing....And I will live to help and comfort those weaker than myself. "I will say to myself......I may be their last hope....I will not leave them to suffer alone". Dear Anonymous@tell20000 can you help find someone who can help the Father on the hunger strike........so that he will choose to live? Can you reach him with this message. He is my brother in Christ and I am asking him to......please don't be brave enough to die......please, please, be brave enough to live.
On August 30, 2005, the day after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, LA, I was told by DHR in Alabama to take my 3 year old foster son, who I had since he was 6 months old to a birth family members home to live. The situation at that home was potentially very dangerous. My leaving him, I can't quite describe to you, but as I returned home and held the last little pair of pajamas he wore up close to me,they still felt warm and smelled like him (I still have them) I just kept saying he is still alive.....He is still alive and he may return to me one day. And as bad as this is.....This is not That.....This hurt and hardship is not as bad as having lost him in death.
But what do you do if your child dies? How can you say...This is not That? This...Is....That!!! This is that horror that every parent fears. I have watched the Steven Curtis Chapman family as they have publicly and privately mourned and grieved while struggling to breathe with the loss of their child, Maria Sue. His song, "Glorious Unfolding" is the song I have tried to keep as my anthem and send to many South Korean families who are in extreme suffering due to the Sewol-Ho Ferry Trajedy on April 16, 2014.
Whatever you may be suffering.......you must find your own comparison........This thing that you are suffering........Is there a worse thing that someone else is going through? If you are alive....you may find a way to help them.......If you allow yourself to die....or take your life.....you can be of no help to anyone.
There is always a way to say...This is not That!!........I will bear This thing....And I will live to help and comfort those weaker than myself. "I will say to myself......I may be their last hope....I will not leave them to suffer alone". Dear Anonymous@tell20000 can you help find someone who can help the Father on the hunger strike........so that he will choose to live? Can you reach him with this message. He is my brother in Christ and I am asking him to......please don't be brave enough to die......please, please, be brave enough to live.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
SINCE MOVING TO TEXAS...Part One
I have made so many new friends in the last three weeks. Most of them do not speak English and I don't speak Spanish. I have been making slow progress in learning Korean but I have avoided Spanish like the plague, because of the terrifyingly difficult "r" sound and my perception of the speed with which Speakers of Spanish speak Spanish. :-) Then I began to realize, all native speakers of any language sound to an unlearned ear as if they were seasoned auctioneers at a national competition...:-) Has anyone heard native Korean speakers in the midst of a happy heartfelt conversation?...well then you know where of I speak. :-)
However, since we are living at this hotel, (going on four weeks now. .:-)..) while repairs are being completed on the home we bought, I get to see the same housekeeping and front desk staff each day. They are so pleasant and work so hard and have done so much to make this, longer than expected, stay pleasant for my family. I wanted to be able to communicate with more than smiles and waves and nods and dollars left on nightstands, with notes thanking them for the clean rooms. They are in this foreign country trying to improve their lives and they must overcome so many obstacles and deal with so many unknowns. I want them to know that I care enough to try to speak to them in the language with which they are most comfortable. I want them to know that their native language is worth my time and effort to learn, because it means I can know them better and be a friend if they need one. They may even need a friend who is fluent in English. :-) I forget sometimes that I am fluent in English. :-)
One of the ladies that cleans our rooms, Sonia, has been the most help in my Spanish pronunciation instruction. When I gave Sonia her "thank you dollars" for the beautiful room service yesterday and read her my Spanish thank you note, she smiled so sweetly and tears filled her eyes. She wanted me to know she had just heard that her father in Mexico had passed away today. She had gone home to see him while he was in the hospital a few days ago. She felt like staying home and just crying but decided working would give her hands something to do, and so she cleaned our rooms as if she was giving him a gift. Selah
I put my arms around her and prayed in two broken languages for God to comfort her heart. That is one of the main things Jesus will do.....he will bind up the broken-hearted. Isaiah 61:1 I don't believe Sonia would have tried to explain about her father's passing away if she hadn't believed it would matter to me, because she mattered to me.
I found this verse today. It was written by George Matheson.
O Joy That Seekest Me Through Pain,
I Cannot Close My Heart To Thee;
I Trace The Rainbow Through The Rain,
And Feel The Promise Is Not Vain,
That Morn Shall Tearless Be.
However, since we are living at this hotel, (going on four weeks now. .:-)..) while repairs are being completed on the home we bought, I get to see the same housekeeping and front desk staff each day. They are so pleasant and work so hard and have done so much to make this, longer than expected, stay pleasant for my family. I wanted to be able to communicate with more than smiles and waves and nods and dollars left on nightstands, with notes thanking them for the clean rooms. They are in this foreign country trying to improve their lives and they must overcome so many obstacles and deal with so many unknowns. I want them to know that I care enough to try to speak to them in the language with which they are most comfortable. I want them to know that their native language is worth my time and effort to learn, because it means I can know them better and be a friend if they need one. They may even need a friend who is fluent in English. :-) I forget sometimes that I am fluent in English. :-)
One of the ladies that cleans our rooms, Sonia, has been the most help in my Spanish pronunciation instruction. When I gave Sonia her "thank you dollars" for the beautiful room service yesterday and read her my Spanish thank you note, she smiled so sweetly and tears filled her eyes. She wanted me to know she had just heard that her father in Mexico had passed away today. She had gone home to see him while he was in the hospital a few days ago. She felt like staying home and just crying but decided working would give her hands something to do, and so she cleaned our rooms as if she was giving him a gift. Selah
I put my arms around her and prayed in two broken languages for God to comfort her heart. That is one of the main things Jesus will do.....he will bind up the broken-hearted. Isaiah 61:1 I don't believe Sonia would have tried to explain about her father's passing away if she hadn't believed it would matter to me, because she mattered to me.
I found this verse today. It was written by George Matheson.
O Joy That Seekest Me Through Pain,
I Cannot Close My Heart To Thee;
I Trace The Rainbow Through The Rain,
And Feel The Promise Is Not Vain,
That Morn Shall Tearless Be.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 3-14-14 White Day, Lunchtime Jenga, Old Students V...
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 3-14-14 White Day, Lunchtime Jenga, Old Students V...: 11 AM : Taught two full classes and I'm still standing. Whee! Curse these excellent meds for healing me so fast. :-) My voice sounds fin...
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 2-17-14 Spring Break So Far, and All the Selfies
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 2-17-14 Spring Break So Far, and All the Selfies: 2 PM: Break has been good so far. Went to Seoul for three days with my former roommate and shopped, saw a museum, walked all over creation,...
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 1-17-14 International Travel Never Goes Like You T...
Let Us Go Then, You And I: 1-17-14 International Travel Never Goes Like You T...: 4 AM : Typing at 4 AM because my internal clock is still set to Korean time, and thinks that it's early afternoon and therefore time to ...
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
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