A Journey Through Life with Family, Friends, and Faith
Today we get to meet up with a family that we were close to in Texas. They are out here on vacation and will be spending the day in the Springs. We haven’t seen them for over a year so we are excited to reconnect and hang out! Have a great day of barbecuing, firework watching, and celebrating independance!
See ya Monday.
Dream with me for a minute;
Dream about a group of people that come to your neighborhood to do good. They don’t expect anything from you, but they just want to come and help. They know that they can help you make sense of life. They know what it feels like to be “missing something” and the uncertainty that accompanies the question; “is this all there is?” This group of people wants to help you find answers to the questions you ask deep in your heart, yet they don’t have all their questions answered. They have a desire to help you find freedom from the things that keep you from being your best. They want to know you and be known by you in the true sense of community.
When they come, they bring stability to the community, crime goes down, relationships go up. They offer things that can help make a practical difference in your life … they help parents be better parents, they offer financial counseling, they love you kids through dance classes, karate, and opening up their space for basketball and volleyball. They provide Hope in a world of hopelessness.
They allow a place for you to meet other people with the same concerns and cares as you. Where there may have been judgment there is only compassion. They know what it is like to come through hard times. They reach out to people that need help, the poor, the down on their luck, those in recovery from one thing or another. They love supporting single mothers, forgotten children, and the unjustly treated.
Working to change the frontier for the better, they are like an outpost of help, security and freedom. They know God, His freeing love, and His deep forgiveness. They work hard at applying His Truth to their lives, not always getting it right, but always striving to be better. They want to make a difference in your life.
If this kind of thing came to your neighborhood would you want to be a part of it?
Would you want to give your life to helping others?
I am on the road to recovery. Yesterday I saw the doctor. I bit the bullet, and took the plunge, manned up, whatever you want to call it. I definitely have a secondary infection of the sinuses, and he gave me samples for the prescriptions – which is awesome so we don’t have to spend a bunch of money on them! He was a great doctor, and the nurses were cool too. I even got a shot in the butt, which I took like a man, as opposed to the child in me that wanted to run out of the room. We definitely found our doctor’s office… the one Trish has been going to is too big to get personal care, and that is why I think it has taken her so long to get well. The big doctor’s offices seem to treat people’s ailments generically, if there is an outbreak of flu, everyone gets this particular medication, if it is allergy season, they get this … you get the idea, and they have missed something in Trish’s healing process by not diagnosing the underlying problems. So we are changing offices – a good thing I think.
I also did something else. I signed up for a Facebook account. I am learning more and more that community in the 2000’s doesn’t just happen face to face. A lot of connections are made through blogs, Twitter, and social networks like Facebook. I am plunging in, in favor of connection to as many of you as possible. I don’t really know what I am doing though, so help me out! Log on, get an account if you don’t have one, and let’s be friends. It looks like a great way to stay connected with folks, and it is more personal than email or commenting on blogs. Please continue to comment though; I love to hear what you are thinking.
So what are your plans for the 4th? Some of you international readers are you taking the holiday overseas? Those of you in the U.S. what do you traditionally do on the 4th of July?
I hate going to the doctor. I will avoid it at all costs, putting off the inevitable until the very last moment. In the past three years I have been to the doctor once. (Yes I did have to go to the ER in Feb when I was really sick, but I didn’t want to, so if you count that visit it makes two times.) I hate the paperwork, I hate the questions, I hate the table you have to sit on, I hate being reminded of how I have not worked out in the past couple months when you have to step on the scale, I especially hate the needles. So I try not to go.
But here is the problem. I have had a cough, nasal congestion and sinus problems for about a month now, maybe even longer. I thought they were allergies, the pollen counts are off the chart in CO right now, but the Sunday before last I came home from church with an excruciating sinus pressure headache. It lasted three days. By the end of the week my snot was green. (I wont post a picture of my green snot, although I am tempted to) We called to get me into the Doctor, but they were booking into Friday last week. So Friday comes, I look forward to getting some relief, and the office calls – they have two doctors out to sickness. (I wonder who do the doctors see when they get sick?) They cancelled my appointment. Now this is the same office that my wife went to 5 times before they got serious about treating her, so they have a very low score in my book right now. The office said they would call Saturday and fit me in – but guess what? No call.
My Pharmacist friend has recommended a totally different doctor’s office. He even called and told them to take care of me, which I thought was really nice. But now my symptoms have changed back to what seems to be just allergies. And keep in mind I am keeping about three over the counter allergy medicines in business right now. So the question is, “to go or not to go?” I don’t want to, I am sure they will want to do all kinds of nice things since I am a new patient, all things I dread, and maybe even some other things that I don’t even want to think about.
I guess I should call and try to get in.
What do you dread doing the most?
I woke up this morning and quietly went to the dining room table to begin my day. I love it because I open the blinds on our sliding glass door and get to look out at Pikes Peak – a 14,000 foot summit mountain that overlooks all of Colorado Springs. It always looks different, and today I was blown away by the hot air balloon that was floating right in front of it. I ran and got the camera, not so quietly, and snapped a couple photos. I hope you enjoy the scene. 
This weekend was full of great times… We hung out with my in-laws Thursday night, it is good to be with family. Friday we sold all our old furniture that was cluttering up the garage, flew the stunt kite, and took the kids to ice cream. (My favorite is Peanut-Butter-Chocolate what is yours?) We sat out front while they rode their bikes around the neighborhood, it was nice and relaxing. Saturday night my dad through my mom a surprise 65th birthday party… 28 of her closest friends surprised her at a restaurant! It was really fun to see her speechless. She is still recovering – you probably shouldn’t surprise someone that age (just kidding mom!).
Sunday was great. The music was awesome, although Kevin our new worship guy was sick as a dog, so his friend Jeff stood in for him. It was great to see how willing these guys are to step in and help out on short notice. The message went really well too, I love it when it all comes together – and I take no credit for it… After church we went over to Henry’s house and ate steak and hung out. It was good to be with friends. Then last night we went to my folks house and caught up with them after the big surprise – mom was still talking about it.
I think that is exactly what weekends are supposed to be – full of friends and family. It was very fulfilling and enjoyable. It makes it easier to go into the week when we are filled with great relationship. That is what I hope you all experience on a regular basis, friends that are like family, and family that is close. There is nothing like it. That is also my hope for the small groups we are developing at our church. So many people don’t have this kind of community… sometimes because they have relocated, sometimes because they are too busy with stuff that pushes this kind of relationship out. Some even choose to isolate themselves; that I just don’t understand. But if you can find a group that can become life giving, I would move heaven and earth to become a part of it! There is nothing better!
I am a nursing student at the Decker School of Nursing in Binghamton, NY. My life is full to the brim with lectures, clinical rotations, projects, papers, demonstrations, reading and lots and lots of studying. Before I entered nursing school I worked as a nurse’s assistant and as a secretary in a local hospital in Binghamton, NY. Being a nursing assistant, entailed much more then I originally thought.
The time I spent working in the hospital was priceless. Not only did I gain information and experience that helps me in nursing school but I meet some very fantastic people. What I enjoyed most was caring for people when they were at their weakest. On the floor where I worked, patients were mostly very ill, in pain, miserable, vomiting, bleeding, terminally ill and definitely uncomfortable- to say the least. As an aide, I was charged with keeping our patients safe, dry, warm, well nourished, well hydrated and anything else that might make their stay more comfortable (within reason of coarse!)
My job was very simple at times. When someone was thirsty, I brought them water. When someone was hungry, I brought them food. It was a blessing to be able to serve in such ways. If someone was dirty I helped them clean-up. If someone had to use the bathroom I helped them get there safely. When someone was crying I brought them tissues. The one aspect that I felt I could not bring someone anything physical was when someone was dying.
If someone was dying I made sure they were comfortable, bringing them as many pillows or blankets as possible –anything they wanted. The family of the person who was about to pass on got the same treatment. I would have a complimentary food cart brought up for the family with drinks and snacks. But, no matter what I tried to bring them they really didn’t want or need anything physical.
I learned working at the hospital, that as a nurse there will be times when I cannot fix a patient; there will be times when I cannot make someone better; there will be times where it seems like I cannot do anything at all. And it is those times, when I will be able to do the most.
AWESOME POST Emily! I loved it. Thank you so much for participating!
I just got back from the property, check out the new pics and update under Page “New Building Project.”
I have heard the phrase “we can’t do that” over and over throughout my life. Someone that has been a part of an organization for a long time usually says it. They have seen it all, tried it all, and seem to know it all. It is one of my pet peeves.
The biggest problem I have with that kind of statement is it takes no account of change. New leaders, new technology, new ways of doing things… it is all discarded because somewhere along the line when something new was attempted it didn’t work, and now and forever it is believed that it cannot ever work. We have a small dog-named Sampson, he is a Shih Tzu and he is not the brightest bulb in the socket. When he was younger and smaller he could not jump up on our bed. So he learned that if he stood on his hind legs and scratched at the bed I would lean over and pick him up. Now he is bigger, and could easily jump up – in fact he jumps on other things in the house at the same height level as the bed – but he still wont jump up on the bed. He still stands on his hind legs and scratches at the side until someone picks him up. His head is even with the bed so he can see the top, but he doesn’t even attempt to jump up. In his little head he has decided he can’t, and once that is decided, he is absolutely right – he doesn’t even try.
My point – stop thinking that you cannot do something just because it didn’t work in the past. Things change, and you may have learned something new that makes all the difference in the world. You may have grown a couple inches and become stronger, the markets may have changed, or the environmental conditions (not weather) may be different enough that this time it may work. It may be a relationship, it may be a business venture, it may be that new career you are looking for, and the window of opportunity was closed last time you tried, BUT it may be open now. It may be there are different people involved in it, whatever it is… don’t stop trying. Failing at something does not mean it cannot be done, it means that this time, or the time you tried it last, it didn’t work…
Don’t give up… keep trying. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work, give it a shot and remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary entirely!
Finally, there is nothing like things starting to take shape. We have been watching the dirt for a long long time… Everything that has been involved in the building project up until yesterday morning has been in the ground. The grading, the big hole they had to dig, the foundation walls that go underground, it has all been in the dirt. Now, finally, we have stuff going into the air. It is becoming a building instead of a big hole in the ground filled with concrete. I cannot tell you how good that feels.
On the other hand, my iphoto has been acting strangely ever since Taylor got her new camera. It shuts down every time I import photos. It is really frustrating because I think I just lost a bunch of pictures I don’t have backups for. That makes me angry… I usually do a good job backing up stuff, but I think I lost some important photos. Somehow when she makes movies on her camera it messes with the iphoto and I wind up with a ton of backup folders. Hers is the only camera we have, and let me tell you how funny I feel at a construction site taking pictures with my daughter’s pink camera! Yes pink.
Enjoy these pictures… see ya on twitter! (I saw some of you signed up to follow, now for the rest of you!!!)
Okay, all of you with that desire to remain continuously connected – You, yes you, need to get on the Twitter bandwagon. It is a blast. I love getting messages from friends and people I admire all over the country. They put silly things in like what they are doing or thinking and we all get to see it. You don’t have to have the messages sent to your phone, you can have them pop up on your desktop while you work. It is like IM but a whole lot more mobile. Get on the Twitter website, (click here) set up an account, (follow the instructions and you will be fine) and get tweeting!
I have downloaded Twhirl as a desktop widget to download the tweets I get and send the ones I type. It runs in the background alerting me when I get a new message from someone I follow, so I don’t have to leave my browser open to twitter the whole time. Here is the catch though, there are only one or two people doing this that I have a close connection to… I would love you to get on so we can build our community together and enjoy seeing what everyone is doing at any given time! (you shy people control how much info you send out by the way…)
It is simple – throughout the day just enter in less than 150 characters (yes that includes spaces) the answer to this question, “what are you doing?” COME ON join in I am dying to know! When you sign up tweet me, or put your twitter address in the comments section so we all know you are on!
