Come Taste and See

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Today I cried...

The Bible says that tears are cleansing to the soul....today I cried but it didn't cleanse my soul. After 13 days with acute vertigo I am at the end of that rope that is hanging off of the cliff. My legs are giving out on me, I am dangerous w/a knife and tomato, can't fill the dishwasher w/o doing a 2-step.

Part of me is anguished b/c I am plain tired of feeling like I am in a drunken stooper, not in control of my body, my head still feels like it is a helium balloon that if I left go, it will never come back down to earth.

Another part of me feels so ashamed to be complaining over such a minor thing as vertigo when I know of so many who are struggling w/ more serious illnesses or financial issues. So I continue to cry. Is it desperation b/c I have so much I want to be involved in? I miss my kids at small group, I missed adul small group last night. I haven't enjoyed an evening w/my husband for 13 days now, even the Buckeye game last week was no fun. I really miss not taking care of my mother who has been so ill lately. I have Christmas to buy for before Thanksgiving, and Operation Shoe Boxes to complete before Nov 15th. So I cry!

But I just finished reading Luke 4:1-13, it talks about the temptations of Christ. After 40 days of fasting, satan revealed that He as Christ could turn the very stones into bread.....the answer: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

HUMMMM, satan thinks again. taking Jesus to the highest point to show Him the kingdoms of the world and assures Jesus that all of this will be His if only He would bow to him....the answer: "Worship the Lord your God ,and serve Him only."

Well than , satan thinks again. Just jump off of this temple and surely God's angels will not allow your feet to hit a stone.....the answer: "Do not tempt the Lord your God."

Finally satan in V13 "had finished every temptation , he departed from Him for a time."

So I stopped my crying. I must live by the Word of God DAILY. I will WORSHIP God and SERVE Him only and I want to keep my eyes OPEN to temptations of satan. V13 warns us that he (satan) will return to tempt us.

BTW: my sweet husband came home when he heard my cries, fixed me lunch, and then told me that tomorrow he was taking me out to get my hair washed and styled!!!! Now that dried my tears. Also, I got a phone call from Peggy, a dear friend, who is bringing over fru-fru coffee (that's what Kelly calls it) at 4pm today! I look terrible but coffee w/a friend , who cares what I look like! ( I mean I have enough oil in my hair to fill a frying pan.)

God answers prayers in the most unusual ways. And I am so glad He does! Well I gotta get off of here b/c my turtle caramel coffee w/whip cream is on it's way! Thanks for listening blogworld.

Can this be called Coffee for the Soul?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Growing Up Ogle...

Our pastor asked Steve n I to help lead a discussion w/him and his wife directed toward our youth parents while their teens were in group session called EPIC. One of the things he wanted us to do was to talk to our daughters about what they took away from "Growing Up Ogle."

So Steve emailed them both and within 2 days their responses came back. What we were shocked about was that they both had the same list, maybe worded differently but still the same. I had to make a family crest from these 4 items: Compassion, Integrity, Obedience and Trust. It really wowed us to know that our daughters felt the same way.

They always heard the defination of Integrity: doing what is right even when no one is watching. Did they always practice that, no, but they heard it and saw it in action thru their parents.

Obedience/the Word, they said was something they saw us diving into and praying about and reading it to them when they were in a decision making situtation. Giving our obedience to God first.

Trust was something that was earned in our home....and if was stolen then it took a long time to get it back. We would take many positions on different situtations but lying was a deal breaker.

Compassion was acting out LOVE and the neat thing is to see them w/their children acting out love in service toward others...just like they did as children. Jill n Warren volunteer so much of their time in their community and that does my heart good.

Did we do many thing wrong, yes we did. If we could have do-overs that would be great. I tell my daughter who is a mother that she is a GOOD MOM never GREAT b/c we all have room for improvement. Maybe to you that sounds harsh but it's the truth, we are good moms who love our children unconditionally.