I’d like to introduce you to someone who is an inspiration to me. You may read his blog but some of you may not…if not, please visit Ruben.

Ruben happened upon this blog when I first started it and commented; I went over to his blog to check him out and was totally floored by his story. He faces so many struggles each day, yet finds the beauty and the good in some many people and things in his life. Even when he is in pain and feeling low, he tries to turn his focus away from those things and to find the positive somewhere. His post today about his children and his daughter thanking him for trying to be a good daddy brought tears to my eyes.

It is amazing to me that something as simple as a blog can bring people all over the world together. I am thankful that Ruben found mine and that I am able to share in his story & his life, always reminding me that each day really does count.

Ruben & Meg are getting married very soon. I know from what he has written that Meg is his everything – his love, his strength. I pray that their wedding will be beautiful and magical, all that it should be for such special people. And I pray that Ruben will be granted the gift of health that day and that he will feel no pain and no fatigue and that he and his love will enjoy every minute of their special day.

I found this quote on a Christian writers’ blog I read.  It’s from Calvin Coolidge and I thought it was inspiring:

 

Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

 

I’ve had a lot of my mind lately – in fact, sometimes I feel like my thoughts are simply spinning out of control.  But reading this reminded me not to just give up some of the things I was considering giving up just because they’ve become difficult and sometimes unmanageable.  It is a time to press on and persevere, rather than walk away.

A friend sent this to me in an email today and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Prayer Request

I understand the weather in Iraq is very difficult to bear right now. Our troops need our prayers for strength, endurance and safety.

I am sorry but I am not breaking this one. Send this on after a short prayer; please don’t break it:

“Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.
I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Amen.”

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

There’s nothing attached; just send this to all in your address book. Do not let it stop with you, please – of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine deployed in harm’s way, prayer is the very best!!!

Thank you.

Sometimes, a change of scenery does a soul good.

Last night, I went down to a church in West Grove called Church in the Vineyard to check out their family worship program. Families get together the first Saturday of each month to sing songs and learn a virtue through drama & fun. It was really cool! I had seen a similar program at a church nearby last January and really liked the concept of it. So often, it is easy to always separate families into groups at church & church events – children go here, babies go here, teens go here…etc. but this programming is designed for the family to be together and have fun.

It was definitely nice too to just sit back and observe without feeling like I had to be overseeing or doing something. I don’t get to experience too many times like that in my church, especially on a Sunday. We don’t have a building so there is a lot involved in setup and takedown each week, especially in terms of children’s ministry. And somehow, we always seem to be shorthanded. When I took over this ministry a while back, God gave me a vision of what it could be. I spent a lot time working with my very AWESOME team in the beginning to just keep it going, then maintaining the momentum – throwing in some new things here and there. With all the changes about to occur with our pastor leaving, I feel like now is the time to leap. That probably sounds strange; many people would probably rather just keep maintaining things as they are and just “get through this” but I feel like this is the right time. As a team and as a church, we need to kick up the momentum and keep forging ahead…and that’s what I intend to do.

Last night was my first hockey game. We got stuck in a ridiculous amount of traffic, so by the time we got in and got settled, I had pretty much missed the first period. I had basically no idea what to expect and know very little about hockey (except that they need to get the puck in the goal)but it was really a lot of fun. The Phantoms won, which made it even better.

It was Faith & Family Night so there was a Christian concert afterwards with Sanctus Real. They were really good but the acoustics weren’t so hot – what with them playing on the back of a flat-bed truck on an ice rink…. We were all exhausted and ending up heading home before they finished.

Now today will be a day to try to get things done around here but I’ve put off all week. I wish I had the time to keep up during the week but I just don’t. It would be so much nicer to not have to spend my days “off” working so hard.

Tomorrow leads me to a sad event…my friend, Andy’s mom passed away this week after a long battle with kidney cancer. Her viewing is tomorrow night. I believe I only met her in person one time but Andy always had a such deep and abiding respect and love for his mom. It was evident every time he spoke of her. It breaks my heart that he and the rest of his family have to go through this. If you are of the praying persuasion, please say a prayer for them this week.