Just as the service ended, I got a text from Kriss asking us to wait until 12:00 to leave, because they want to have lunch with us, and we'd just be unpacking; the heavy lifting was done yesterday, by all the brothers Marisela is very grateful for!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
From mixed up to fixed up
Just as the service ended, I got a text from Kriss asking us to wait until 12:00 to leave, because they want to have lunch with us, and we'd just be unpacking; the heavy lifting was done yesterday, by all the brothers Marisela is very grateful for!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Honey's Homemade Granola
What to do on a rainy day
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."
Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am but a youth."
But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, I am a youth, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, " says the LORD.
Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth."
I pray she will be encouraged by these verses, raise a substantial sum, and soon be on her way to obey God's call!
Meanwhile, Steve and I finished our regular devotions and breakfast, and settled down to work on the written Bible study from small group. I think Saturday mornings will be the best time for us, since our online devotional doesn't come up on the weekends and we won't be adding time to our already thorough weekday devotions. Thankful for Jeff and Monica's understanding counsel, we worked on the lesson together, with Steve looking up verses in the New King James version and me using the New Living Translation. We both answered questions for ourselves, and I was the scribe. We were pleasantly surprised to find it only took about 20 minutes. Truly, "two are better than one," as Ecclesiastes 4:9 tells us, "for they have a good reward for their labor." And no where is this more true than in marriage, where the strengths of each person redound to the benefit of the other, to make an unstoppable force for God's glory and a witness to his love!
As the rain went on, so did our day. Heidi went out to pick up an ice cream cake for the fundraiser and I left to buy honey for my project, "Craisin" granola. It's a housewarming gift for Kriss and Marisela when we go to Long Beach tomorrow to help them with their move to their first home, a one-bedroom apartment downtown near Alamitos Blvd. It's a dream realized after 5 months of paying off bills and saving so they could move out of her parents' house. Once again, I have to accept the fact that Kriss has a new hometown, Long Beach, the urban setting he's adapted to and thrived in since 2001 when he began attending CSULB. A mother's prayers are yet to be answered in some areas, but I am so proud of these two and excited for this new chapter of their lives!
As the granola was just about ready to go into the oven, Pavel arrived with a ginormous framed birthday card made of photos of all of us friends and family, posed in a rebus-style puzzle to spell out, "Happy Birthday, Heidi, we love you!" Truly ingenious and Heidi loved it!
My five children are scattered all over California this rainy afternoon, but they have never left this one place--my heart!!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Small group
Thursday, February 25, 2010
What to do on a sunny day?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
See it His way
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Today's Deal
Monday, February 22, 2010
Surviving through the night
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Just do it!

Saturday, February 20, 2010
A huge bright spot in a dreary day
Friday, February 19, 2010
Fix it day
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Nobody's perfect

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Lunch with a heart
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sean, yesterday and today
Monday, February 15, 2010
Found it!!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Fire next time

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Finishing well
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A peaceful night's sleep
Monday, February 8, 2010
What plans?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Olive plants around the table
Saturday, February 6, 2010
My sister's birthday

Friday, February 5, 2010
Stepping out in faith
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A critical step to healing
1:38 p.m. Today's project was to take Steve to our long time doctor and friend, Richard Guzman, to address the breathing problems Steve has experienced for many years.
Steve was actually scheduled for sinus surgery almost 10 years ago, but just before the operation, he cracked his wrist at work! We all agreed, "You're not going to have a cast and a messed up nose at the same time!" So the very bad and noisy breathing, gasping and choking episodes that disrupt our sleep have continued. It has just been a busy decade; dedicated to the Lord, but busy nevertheless with our large family, career and ministry responsibilities.
Now that I have been enabled by the Lord to stay home with Steve, he has made blessed improvements in his cognition and memory, as well as his physical health and mood. Holly, Dr. Guzman's nurse, remarked at the new sparkle in his eyes and his confident manner. God has truly been glorified in making our life choices not just possible, but astoundingly successful! "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven," Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, so the timing is right to address a different facet of Steve's health.
As the doctor paged through the long-ago notes in Steve's file, he came across the recommendation for surgery on the sinuses and the actual date it was supposed to be performed. He remarked that while both mouth breathing and a constant feeling of a stuffy nose during the day point to sinus issues, the night time noise episodes and pauses between breaths point more to sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous condition. We can do without many things in this life, but breathing isn't one of them!
Family history comes into play here, again, like with the Alzheimers, unfortunately. Steve's dad underwent sinus surgery decades ago, and his older brother has a C-PAP machine. I won't get ahead of myself worrying about future remedies, however. Dr. Guzman recommended a preliminary sleep screening test from the neurologist. This test consists of attaching a monitor to Steve's finger that will measure breaths taken during the night, as well as blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of oxygen. Thank the Lord for technology--seems utterly amazing for one little device to yield so much information! After that test, if it seems warranted to Dr. Rai, Steve will go to the office for a full sleep study, and we'll see what the big-time meters and gauges show!
Diligent inquiry is a scriptural value that leads to truth. I like the examples of judges making "diligent inquisition" in Deuteronomy 19:18 to ferret out a false witness; and the psalmist's spirit making "diligent search" as he meditated within his heart (Psalm 77:6). We too need to inquire, and investigate, not just take statements and assertions at face value!
While Steve, Dr. Guzman and I were discussing healthcare, particularly the hoopla over swine flu [and our longstanding choice not to get flu shots of any kind] from a political perspective, the topic came up of the legal department at Loma Linda University, where we fought to let my mother recover from Guillame-Barre disease four years ago, to no avail, due to a friend having a more current power of attorney that allowed her to cause my mother to die in hospice instead.
(That tragic episode still crosses my mind every day, though the Lord has given me peace and even forgiveness toward the offender).
Dr. Guzman remarked, in an almost casual aside as we were all leaving the exam room, "Since you have a family history of Guillame-Barre disease, you should NEVER get a flu shot--it can trigger it!" Whoa!!
Steve and I were blown away by the protecting, providential hand of God, using our personal, perhaps quirky, health choice to save us the devastation of months of Guillame-Barre paralysis, organ failure, and speechlessness from overcoming me! I would have recovered from this condition as people do, but what havoc it could have wreaked on our family!
Meditate with me on Romans 11:33: