As you may have read in an earlier blog, one of my favorite things to do when I am not working is to sew. I enjoy the process of seeing a creation come together out of what began as scraps of cloth. Lately, I have been working on a couple of quilts. One will be given to my mother who is in a nursing home in Louisiana, and the other to a friend/co-worker who is expecting his first-born son in a couple of weeks. Here are pictures of my most recent quilts. Not too bad for a beginning quilter.
March 4 was our (Mallard Cove Pantego Home Group) third nursing home visit for 2009. As we continue to grow friendships with the residents, we are blessed and humbled. Our visits and prayers have been graciously and cheerfully received by most. However, there are a couple of residents that would rather not correspond with us. I spoke to a lady in the hallway and was tickled at her response, “I don’t know you enough to say hello.” This is the same individual who repeatedly walked through our meeting with the events coordinator making off-colored remarks toward him and wearing a devious grin of intent. But we will continue to greet her during each visit, and along with familiarity of our faces, she may come around. Then, there are those who are incoherent. You just hold their hand, read to them, sing to them, love on them, etc. They feel your presence and know you are there. Others, seem healthy and able, and love chatting with you about their days and their dreams of returning home and being independen. Let us remember that these individuals are someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, son or daughter, and they need to know and feel the love of Christ just as we do.
Last year for our wedding anniversary, Will and I took a trip to San Francisco. This year, we wanted to keep it simple and cheap so we went to stay on the lake in Rockwall, TX, a great place to visit if you want to relax in the sun near the water, spend time reading, and go fishing or sailing, etc. However, we didn’t get to do any of this because of the 17 mph cold winds . Oh well, that is what we get for getting married the first of March. Thinking back . . . it snowed for three days the week of our wedding; I was convinced that our wedding was going to be postponed. As for our anniversaries, they have always been accompanied by cold winds, low temperatures, ice or snow. At least this time the sun came out from behind the clouds, and if you sat by the glass door and looked out toward the sun glazing off the water, you could imagine a warm sunny day. That is . . . until you open the door and are greeted by chilly winds that have you running back inside. Mabey next year we should plan to travel south to warmer temperatures. Other than the temperatures, Will and I had a great time dining at The Oar House, going to the theatre, reading and relaxing.
Laughter is good for the soul. As children, my sister and I would stay up late, unbeknown to our parents, and make each other laugh so intensely that our bellies would ache. No one could make me laugh like she did. It is important to find things throughout the day to laugh about. Many believed that laughter has health benefits: it relieves stress, protects the heart, and boosts your immune system. E.E. Cummings wrote, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”
Things that make me laugh:
- My husband’s goofy math jokes
- My brother-in-law’s dancing
- The Office , Reba & yes, I still watch Friends once in a while
- My grouchy dog, Callie
- My jokes (Sometimes only I find them humorous!)
- My father’s attempts to serenade me with Elvis songs
- Listening to the 5 guys I work with mess with one another (I grew up with 3 sisters, so working with 5 guys can be interesting.)
- Looking at old 80’s pictures
- Pedicures (My feet are extremely ticklish, and I can barely contain the laughter.)
- Dancing to 80’s music such as Funky Town, Another One Bites the Dust and Hammer Time (Oh, how music has changed.)
- Improvisational comedy
- Old home videos
- My husband mowing the lawn in his goggles
- Weight Watcher’s featuring HUNGRY, the orange furry creature, & Swiffer commercials
What makes you laugh?
I recently heard someone say, ” God promises a safe landing, but not a calm journey.” Life bring us challenges. We will all face physical, financial, or emotional challenges throughout our life. When these events take place in our lives, we often forced to make modifications within our lifestyle, and we must make the choice on whether to complain about our circumstances or to comply to seek Christ through the difficult times.
Psalm 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Our visit to the nursing home this week truly brought me joy. I visited my new friend. Confidentially, I cannot disclose his name and so for this reason, I will refer to him as Robert. Robert has a permanent tracheotomy and is unable to verbally speak. Although it possible for someone to learn to speak through a trach tube, it requires intensive therapy; he is not capable of this yet. It can be challenging to hold a conversation someone who is unable to verbally speak, but if you care enough, you find a way. I learned that he loves to read the Bible, specifically the Book of John. I read through John 3, and then we prayed for him. My prayer for him is that those around him will be attentive not only to his medical needs, but also his emotional and social needs. I can only imagine the loneliness, frustration and isolation he may often feel due to his inability to fully communicate with those around him. I hope that our visits will be of some comfort to him and others living there.
Pantego Bible Church is teaching a series on compassion and integrating the book, Same Kind of Different As Me. They provided each family a copy and encouraged reading it. It just so happens that I finished reading the book three weeks ago. The book is enlightening and opens up one’s eyes on how one person can make a difference in the lives of those who are down and oppressed. How often do we avoid making eye contact in the parking lot in hopes to avoid connecting with someone who is seeking a monetary handout? Have you found yourself looking at someone on the road with a sign that reads I’m Hungry and saying to yourself, “Why don’t they just get a job.” What other excuses have we used to keep from connecting with those who are impoverished?
Who are those who are considered homeless, impoverished, helpless or alienated in the United States?
1) Individuals who lived on less than $20,000 a year are considered impoverished.
2) Those who have stayed in structures that are not intended for human shelter at least three times in a given year: parking lots, garbage dumpsters, cars, etc.
3) Children who live in pay-by-day motels as their parents go out at night and feed their own addictions.
4) Woman and their children who have been victims of some type of abuse and have no one to turn to and no place to go.
5) People who have mental-health disabilities and do not have the means to pay for necessary medication and don’t have anyone to help them with daily tasks such as paying bills.
6) Those whose bills are overwhelming because they were taken advantage of by bill consolidators or signed a contract without fully understanding it, possibly because they have difficulty reading.
7) The 60-year-old man who has lost his job and is unable find work because of his age, so he stands on the road in a suit and tie holding a sign that reads Need a Job.
8 ) Those who have no political or social clout to free them from their situation.
It seems to me that in this economic down slide, we are seeing more and more people in need. Lord, I pray, let us open our eyes, hearts, and pocketbooks to those who need us to pay attention.
For those who live in the area and have read the book, Ron Hall and Denver Moore will be visiting Pantego Feb. 22.
For those of us who grew up in the 80’s, we remember playing Atari video games with our friends for hours and eating Whatchamacallits, Willy Wonka’s and fireballs while big hair band music on cassette tapes blaired from our jamboxes. My sister and I were not privledge to have a video game unit, but all of our friends did. We would sit and play Donky Kong, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, and of course my favorite, Frogger. Today, Marian and I were attempting to pull out of a parking lot and had been sitting there for some time. As I pulled out to dodge approaching cars coming in both directions she exclaims, “And who said Frogger wasn’t educational!” Well . . . we thought it was funny! (Twin humor) What do you remember about the 80’s?
Last month my Pantego Home Group made a commitment to minister to those living in Heritage Oaks Nursing Home. This Wednesday will be our first visit for 2009, and I am eagerly awaiting. Why a nursing home? Because they are too often the forgotten ones. Because they too need emotional & social nourishment, and need to know someone cares. And for those who have not come to understand Christ’s love, maybe we can give them a glimpse of it before they go. We pray that God uses us to change hearts.
David Daniels, Pastor of Pantego Bible, once stated in a semon, ” When you take care of other’s physical and immediate needs and serve them, it allows them to see sacrifice and love and gives them the opportunity to see their life long-term and they can be led to God. When we serve people , we live out the life of Jesus. Jesus was a servant. It makes people want to seek Christ.”
