The Way In the Wilderness

Ty had his fourth grade Chapel program today and I managed to not sleep through it this time (poor Grace). They did a little skit of Moses being placed in the Nile as a baby and then they did a second skit of Moses after he'd led the Israelites out of Egypt. Ty was in the second skit as an Israelite. I did film the entire second skit and it is available to watch - all seven minutes of it - on YouTube.com and it is rather funny at times but I clipped just a small piece of it for you guys.

First a couple of pictures. The pillar of fire was awesome; it glowed from within. Ty is off to the far right.



Afterward I took a pic of Ty (left) and two of his buddies. When I looked closer at the pic I had to laugh at the kid in the background beating the papier-mâché rock the minute the show was over.



Ok, ok so here's the video.

A Huge Answer to Prayer

I thought maybe it was a little too sensitive for the internet at the time it was happening so I didn't blog this but we were having some major drama over here. Just before Christmas when Steve was in Italy he got an email from work. There is a buy-out going on with his company and the new owners wanted him to sign a contract that basically said if he left or was fired from this company he couldn't work for another in this industry or for any of their customers for a year.

Well I don't know if you've noticed or not but he's married, has four kids, a mortgage, two cars and three private school tuitions to support. Not working for a year is not an option.

Adding that to the amount of work and stress and the lack of financial expressions of gratitude for all the work and stress and Steve was ready to walk. I fully supported that and maybe even encouraged it but secretly I wanted to vomit. By Christmas we had no idea if Steve would even have a job in January so when one of the girls on 11-7 broke her foot and full time hours became available we decided that I should take them just in case we needed to live off my salary for a while.

I'm pleased to say that Steve has managed to negotiate everything to an extremely satisfactory level on both salary and contract ends and we are not going to have to sell our youngest child to be able to pay the mortgage this month. It's a good thing too because she's really cute. I'd hate to have to give her up.

Thank you for your prayers for our unspoken request. Jehovah Jireh!

God's Blessings

One of the girls on 11-7 broke her foot and my scheduler called and asked me to pick up her full time hours. The timing of the request was good but I worried about S3. This is the last month of basketball games and while I would still be able to come to home games, it was much more doubtful that I'd be able to get to the away games. His away games are at schools that are several hour drives away and I'm not sure I'd get home in time to make it to work. So before I accepted the hours I sat down with him and made sure it would be ok with him if I missed half his games this month. He said it was ok and I accepted the hours.

Last night I got my schedule and put it all in my Outlook calendar. It turns out that every night he has an away game, I do not have to work. Work overlaps a few home games but I can still go to those and make it home in plenty of time.

Although I never made a direct request to God to be able to make those games, He knew the desire of my heart and made it so that I can still go. I'm overwhelmed with the demonstration of His love.

Poof, She's Gone

Sorry for the disappearing act. Steve's in Genoa, Italy and I've been working. I keep having experiences that I think, "Oh I should blog that," but by the time I get the chance, I've forgotten what happened! I hope I'll be back later this week but for now I'm just trying not to go under. I think this week my kids have spent more time at my parents' house than home in their own beds. Thank God I'm off tonight.

After all this time, last night I had my first fall. Some of the residents tend to roll out of bed at night or they'll try to transfer themselves without calling for help and they'll fall when I'm not in the room but last night was the first time I was actually in the bathroom with my resident when he fell. He's the sweetest man who says the funniest things but because he tends to fall, he has an alarm and when he's not in bed, someone has to be with him. He'd finished using the facility, had washed his hands and had pitched the towel toward the trash can but had missed. The same thing had happened when he used the toilet at midnight too and so I started to say, "Mr. L, don't worry about it, I'll get the towel," which is what I'd said at midnight too. Unfortunately I didn't even get the "Mr. L" part out and he was falling forward and about to crack his head on the counter. I tugged him back onto my legs and he and I managed to slowly lower to the floor without injury. Luckily for me the med nurse was down my hall so I hollered out to her that we were on the floor and she came in and helped me get him back up on his feet. It was a pretty scary experience. I always wondered if the time came if I'd be able to lower someone onto my own body the way the textbooks instructed or if my reflexes would be too slow. I really thank God for his protection last night. I believe otherwise my reflexes would have been too slow and also we'd have been in a real pickle if the med nurse hadn't been nearby since Mr. L's room is all the way at the end of the hall and the other aides were down their halls doing their rounds.

This morning the kids had their six month cleaning at the dentist. I believe I had mentioned in a previous post that our last dentist has retired so this was our first visit with this dentist. Ironically before we left my mother's house this morning she asked if E would be ok in the car since she'd had breakfast (E tends to get carsick very easily - we have a bucket in the car just for those moments) and I had replied that she'd probably be ok since we'd be on all highways. G and Ty went first for their cleanings and E danced around me the entire time asking when it was going to be her turn. Finally the dentist called her back and about twenty minutes later she came back to me with something brownish and wet staining her shirt and pants. This poor dentist! He said he sat her up so she could get a sip of water and she just spewed all over. He was amazed that it didn't faze her at all and she was indeed running around playing as if nothing in the world odd had happened. Well I guess for her spewing up her guts isn't that unusual but OMG that poor dentist. Can you imagine that surprise? HA! I feel bad for laughing but I just keep replaying that scene in my imagination.

Steve called a minute ago. He says Genoa is gorgeous. He told me to picture that scene in one of the Star Wars movies (I think it's the #1 movie, fourth one released) when the ship is landing on that planet that the queen is on - can't think of her name either but she is Luke and Leah's mom - and the way the city is on the cliff side with the sea below and that is a lot what it looked like when he flew into Genoa. So far he said he had a stromboli for dinner the other night and he could tell the cheese, mushrooms and ham were all really fresh. He's hoping to get over to Christopher Columbus' home at some point but since he forgot to take the digital with him, it'll be a while before we get to see any Italy pictures at all.

And last of what I can remember I wanted to tell you, I know one of the things I'm getting for Christmas! Before he left, Steve and I were in the mall looking for a gift for Ty and passed by a Kay jeweler. On a whim we stopped in and they happened to have the anniversary ring I've been wanting for three years (since our tenth) and it was 40% off. Yay! It not only looks fantastic next to my somewhat unique wedding band but also I can wear it to work. There are no prongs so there's no worry that I might accidentally scratch a resident with it. I'm very excited.

Ok friend, I'm off. I have a basketball game in Lansdale to watch. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow! Ciao!

Who Really Cares?

I read this op in our local paper and was wowed. I'm not particularly a fan of O'Reilly but I would like to read Mr. Brook's book now...

RELEASE: WEEKEND OF DECEMBER 2-3, 2006

CHARITY: IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO

So what are we to make of the fact that conservative Americans donate 30 percent more to charity than liberal Americans? A new book called "Who Really Cares," by Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks, is not going to please the Howard Dean crowd. The book states flat out that religious Americans who vote Republican are far more likely to be generous to the downtrodden than secular-progressives.

The big question is, of course, why? Liberal philosophy is all about "nurturing" people who need help. The "tax the rich" crew can't yell loud enough that more money needs to go to Americans in need. Just not their money.

That may be unfair but probably is not. The cornerstone of liberal economic thought is "income redistribution," that is big government taking assets from the affluent through taxation and giving said assets to the less well off through entitlements like subsidized health care, housing, educational scholarships and the like. The left is also big on imposed "economic justice," things like guaranteed wages and lifetime job security.

But a funny thing happened on the way to socialism. Americans who believe in "income redistribution" give 75 percent less to charity than Americans who do not, according to Dr. Brooks. That is a stunning differential.

I believe this is a religious thing. Secular-progressives believe in individual gratification, and that often takes money. Buying that jazzy new SUV and a vacation home can deplete disposable cash fast. If it's all about you -- then you are thinking about you -- not about poor Dave down the street.

But devoted Christians, Jews and Muslims are compelled to help the poor by their beliefs. Personal gratification is not a big theme in Scripture. Jesus was a huge "help your neighbor" guy. For J.C. it is all about Dave down the street, not the latest material possession.

The statistics say that religious Americans give four times as much money to charity each year than secular people and are 23 times more likely to volunteer to help people than folks who never attend church. And here's another crushing stat: If liberals donated blood at the rate conservatives do, the nation's blood supply would rise 45 percent.

So in this season of giving, Christmas, a word some liberals don't like to say, it might be worth pondering just who is really looking out for the have nots. The leftist media often portrays conservatives as mean, cruel and insensitive to the plight of the downtrodden. But, as the tax returns of multi-millionaires Dick Cheney and Al Gore prove, the media image is false. The vice president gives millions to charity, Mr. Gore very little.

So the next time you hear a big government liberal bloviate about helping the poor, please trot out the statistics mentioned in this column. And then tell that person that in America today giving money to charity seems to be the right thing. What's left is not even close.

Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" To find out more about Bill O'Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. This column originates on the Web site www.billoreilly.com.

COPYRIGHT 2006 BillOReilly.com.
Originally Published on Saturday December 2, 2006

E Ponders God's Omnipotence

On the car ride home from KOP Wednesday morning, E says to me, "Mom, God is like a fairy."

Just moments before we were discussing the small container of bubbles left over from a recent wedding we'd attended so when E said "God is like a fairy" my first thought was just like that picture over there on the right. So I argued with her. "No E, I don't think God is much like a fairy."

But she was insistant. "Yes He is. God is like a fairy."

Finally I thought to ask her why she thought God is like a fairy. She told me, "When you ask God for something He makes it come true, just like a fairy."

God Speaks to G

Yesterday while I was pressing my skirt for church, G came in the room and started her usual chattering. On most occasions I admit I only listen with half an ear - believe me that girl can talk! - but this time she caught my full attention with a question. She wanted to know what language I thought God uses in heaven. She wondered if He speaks English or Spanish or what.

I told her that I didn't really know but that I thought maybe it was a language we may only be able to understand once we're there. Her reply?

"Maybe it's Pig Latin."

Lost: Wedding Band

A lot of you who know me know that I lost a lot of weight a couple of years ago - almost 100 pounds. I didn't manage to hit my goal weight however and since then I've put some of that weight back on. Anyway one of the biggest changes that I noticed was in my wedding band. It's entirely too large for my finger now. I don't want to have it resized since I'm not to my goal weight and I don't want to have them cut the band too often. So it's been safely nestled in my jewelry box waiting for the day when I wear it again.

Today I decided that I wanted to wear it just for the day so I put it on and went on my merry way. Much, much later in the day I looked down at my hands and noticed that my ring was G.O.N.E. gone!!! I was totally freaked out because I had been to so many places today, including the hairdresser to get S3's hair cut (whole 'nuther story). I tore the house apart, pulled my pockets inside out and dumped my purse out onto the floor.

I was crying when I finally decided to pray that God would let me find my ring and then I sat down to work on a video of my nephew that I knew would cheer me up (whole 'nuther story). A little while later Steve came home and when I told him the story, Ty overheard. I was crying again and started to dump my purse out on the floor again when I heard Ty call, "I found it!" He'd done a slow, careful search up the steps and into the office while I was crying to Steve and there it was on the floor in the doorway.

Thank you God and thank you Ty!