Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Happy New Year

This is my prayer for 2011.

What a faithful God we have! As another year draws to a close, I remember all He's done for me this year. I look forward to this new year for a fresh start, but eternally grateful that each day I get a new start with the Lord (His mercies are new each morning, great is His faithfulness [Lamentations 3:22-24]!)

Sunday, December 26, 2010

All Hail Buc-ees!






Off of I-45, there is a place called Buc-ees. It's hard to describe unless you've been there, but I guess you could call it a truck-stop/gas station/texas store/restuarant extrodinaire. They advertise this place all the way from Dallas (180+ miles away). They are known for their clean restrooms--seriously!





Buc-ees has its share of Beaver/Buc-ees merchandise of course, including "all I want for Christmas is my two buck teeth" t-shirts, etc., etc., etc., etc. It's really fun to walk around. They have tacky gifts but also very nice, beautiful Texas-made gifts like crosses and plaques and books and candles, etc. There is a large selection of preserves and every kind of candy you can think of (and probably more).
It's DEFINITELY a Southern/Texan type destination/pit stop. No high society here! It's a great place to stop, though, and I just had to share! So if you find yourself on I-45 near Madisonville, plan to stop by Buc-ees! :)

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christ-mas


If you aren't familiar with the Christmas story (the real one), please read it here. I don't know who reads this blog and I further don't know what your relationship is with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I do know that He longs to be your Savior and your Redeemer if you will come to Him, confess your sins and place your full faith and trust in Him for your salvation.


If you aren't a believer, please take a moment today and ponder the true meaning of this day. We celebrate Christ-mas (literally, birth of Christ) because Almighty God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a helpless baby. This baby was born to a virgin named Mary with her fiance Joseph. His birth was not regal as it should have been (He is the King of Kings). Rather, he was born in a stable and placed in a manger for His bed. He lived a very humble, simple life, learning the trade of His earthly father Joseph (carpentry) and then around the age of 30 began His ministry on earth, helping and healing people and pointing them towards God the Father. A few years later, He paid the ultimate price for our sins by dying on the cross. You see, everyone sins (Romans 3:23) and our sins demand payment of death (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ died in our place and if we trust in Him and Him only to save us, we will have the gift of God, which is eternal life in Heaven forever with Him.


So today, the day we set aside to celebrate His birth, is the beginning of the wonderful truth of Emmanuel, God with us. As much as I love the sights and sounds and traditions and stories of Christmas, we mustn't forget the Reason we celebrate is Him, our Infant Savior King. It truly is a miracle that the Creator of the universe, Almighty God, would humble Himself and come to earth to save us. I'm so eternally grateful He did, and while we should celebrate this everyday, especially today, let's remember the true meaning of this very special day.

Merry CHRIST-mas, everyone!




Thursday, December 23, 2010

Madison's Christmas Miracle

I got the wonderful news earlier today that Madison is going home! Her family will be re-united, this Christmas Eve-Eve! I want to thank each and every one of you that prayed or thought of Madison and her family, especially since you haven't ever met them in real life. God has quite a story of faithfulness in Madison & this sweet family's life, and we know that He has something amazing in store for this precious little girl. My heart is full of praise to the Lord for once again reaching down His healing hand and sparing Madison's life and giving her healing! He is still in the miracle business!

"Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people! His love has taken over our lives; God's faithful ways are eternal. Hallelujah!"--Psalm 117, The Message

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Madison's Christmas wish-update

There is a significant chance that Madison might go home tomorrow! There are some issues that need to be resolved before that happens, so please pray these will be resolved so the family can spend Christmas together at home. Thank you!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Madison's Christmas wish

Well, sweet Madison is doing pretty well. She still has a way to go with regards to eating and then some lung issues that have cropped up. However, it is apparently not out of the realm of possibility for her to gome home in a couple days.

Would you pray with me that Madison and her Mom will be home for Christmas to spend with her Dad and 2 brothers? What a great gift that would be. Our God is able. Thanks for your prayers.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Furry Friends

Because Madison is doing well, I feel like I have the freedom to post about something frivolous. I dog-sat for a co-worker the past 4 days. My charges were 7 year old Rat Terrier Annie (aka "cranky old lady"), Chili 2.5 year old HUGE Brittany Spaniel (aka "bull-in-a-china-shop") and Maggie, a 4-month old Toy Sheltie (aka "the baby").


It was quite an adventure. Prior to this, I had only pet-sat for a lady that had 1 dog and 1 cat. Since I'm not a cat person, I enjoyed the 3 dogs this time much more, even though it was considerably more work. You have to feed them in a certain order, let them out in a certain order, etc. In many ways, they are like kids. Trying to get away with things like stealing and "playing" with Christmas decorations, being defiant and standing on forbidden furniture, not listening/obeying, etc. But who can resist the sweetness of a furry one who puts his head in your lap while you're on the computer? And any fellow dog-lovers/owners out there can tell you that this is one of the most expressive parts of our furry friends:




I'm so glad that God created dogs. They make me happy, because they are happy to see you (evidence: rapidly waving tail) no matter if it's been 5 seconds, 5 minutes or 5 hours since they last saw you. They don't care if you are overweight or don't have makeup on or whatever-their love is almost unconditional (I have a theory that they love us because they are smart enough to know where their food comes from!) One of the things they're best at is keeping you company--they want to be where you are. And when you have a dog, you have live-in constant entertainment. Annie, Maggie & Chili were quite comical during my stay with them. Each of them has his/her own personality and quirks (just like people!)


I'm thankful for this "doggie fix" (as well as a little bit of spending money) that I received. Someday, Lord-willing, I'll have one or two of these delightful critters of mine own. But until then, I enjoy being able to spend time with them from time to time. :)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Praise the Lord re: Madison

I'm very happy to share that Madison's 5th open heart surgery in her 6 years of life last night went well. They removed a blood clot that completely filled her chest. The doctors were amazed at how huge it was, and then they told Tom & Jennifer (Madison's parents) how worried they had been beforehand. It's safe to say Madison was in a grave condition prior to the surgery. But praise the Lord the surgery went well. Please continue to pray that there will be no complications this time and that she will have a smooth recovery. Also be in prayer for the family and extended family. Thank you so much for praying! Praise the LORD :)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Madison's 5th Open Heart Surgery

Praise the Lord for enlightening Madison's doctors yesterday. They discovered that she has a massive blood clot in her chest. So they will have to go back in and do a 5th open heart surgery today to remove it. While she is weak and this is not ideal, at least they know what they is dealing with. Having 2 open heart surgeries within 2 weeks would be difficult for anyone, but Madison is not just "anyone". She is extremely fragile even when she's well. We are trusting the Lord to protect her and sustain her so that she can begin to recover. Please continue to pray for this family. Thank you.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Please pray fervently for Madison

I don't know how many of you out there in cyberland read my blog. I further do not know if you pray or not. Even if you have never prayed to God, your prayers now would be very much appreciated. God hears every prayer!

Madison took another turn for the worse and the doctors have no idea what is going on. Her parents are more worried now than they have ever been and that is saying a lot. Please pray that the Lord will have mercy and spare Madison's life...and give the doctors wisdom and her parents strength and peace.

Our God is able! Thank you for praying.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Urgent Prayer Request for Madison

Madison was doing great yesterday and even got moved to a regular Peds floor. Overnight, she quickly and severely detiorated. Her breathing is rapid and her lung condition is very poor. The fever is back and the doctors know she has an infection. They just don't know if its viral (which would just have to run its course) or bacterial. She's on the strongest antibiotic there is just in case. The doctors are concerned the infection is in her heart, and obviously that would be incredibly serious. They won't know that for a few days. If it is in the heart, she will have to be in the hospital a MINIMUM of 6 more weeks (meaning over Christmas of course). Please pray for her parents Tom & Jennifer and Madison's doctors as well as her brothers Dallas and Jackson. This family has very strong faith but they are human and are very concerned. Thanks for praying! God is able!!!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Remembrance


While I don't know anyone that was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, I know countless men & women were. On this day of remembrance, let us all remember to pray for the safety of our troops as well as peace and encouragement for their families. Thank you, service men & women, for serving us selflessly!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Update on Madison-good news!

I'm happy to share that Madison has had a couple good days in a row. They have made the switch from Lovenox (short-acting blood thinner) to Coumadin (long-acting blood thinner) which has been troublesome for her in previous hospital stays. I don't know if they are talking about when she'll be able to go home, but it's just encouraging that she's doing better. Thanks for continuing to pray.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Update on Madison

Madison has had a rough couple of days. An echocardiogram revealed that her heart is enlarged and she was totally without energy (unexpected at that point after surgery, especially since she had had more energy earlier in the week). She was actually passing out at one point, too. They did a blood transfusion yesterday and she was a new woman--back to eating her ice cream bars (her fave) and talking. I'm not sure what the plan is for the enlarged heart, but we're praising the Lord that the blood helped. Hopefully she'll have another good day today. Her Mama especially is really weary so please pray for her (Jennifer) as well as wisdom for the doctors and strength for Daddy (Tom) as he goes between the hospital and home to take care of Madison's two brothers. Thanks.