J is for....

Ok, so this blog carnival is technically to capture moments in our kids' lives, but I don't have kids, and still wanted to participate. So if you are curious about what others have chosen for "J" head over to 4 the Love of Family and check them out! :)

"J" is for....

John practicing his jump ball...hahaha (Sorry, couldn't help myself!)

Quite possibly the reason that cute little jacket now has a rip in the back....

A Few Favorites....

1.) First of all, my most favorite thing right now is the fact that STELLAN IS GOING HOME!!! He has a long road before him, but he and his sweet mama are jumping on a plane home tomorrow today to be with their whole MckFamily because Stellan is well enough to go home! Praise the Lord! Our Lord is mighty to save, isn't He?!

2.) New found love- my Chi flat iron. I have no idea how I ever lived without it with this head of hair!

3.) This weather! 80 degrees in APRIL! Short-lived, but nonetheless, wonderful!

4.) All the beautiful flowers in bloom!



5.) Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus. I am most definitely eating it with Fire Roasted Tomato & Olive Oil Triscuits not eating it right now after midnight.

Livelihood

Watching my grandmother over the last few weeks, I have really learned about the impact your husband or wife can have on you. Of course I know marriage is a large part of life for many, but for my grandmother, I believe it was her livelihood. She cooked, cleaned, basically catered to my grandfather for 57 years. While I never really understood why she did everything for him, I think I understand now. She loved to take care of him. She loved to make him breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, do all his laundry, stand on her head to make him happy. The last 2 months of my grandfather's life were months filled with moments of sheer confusion as he showed signs of dementia. The symptoms came on so suddenly and very aggressively. Hard to believe he was completely coherent on Christmas '08, and Easter '09 he is no longer with us. Anyway, back to my grandma. I have learned she took great delight in him and meeting every need and desire. As I watched her with him in his last day and hours, she could not let go. We all told her she had to tell him "it was ok to go", but she kept saying she could not do it. "I am nothing without you" she told him repetitively. We all knew this to not be true, but I truly believe my grandmother believed what she was saying. Even to have him laying there in a comatose state would have given her "hope".

I cannot help but think about this situation as an analogy. We can live without many things and people in this world, but we are nothing without the Lord. What reason can we give for living without Christ? To live a good life? To do good deeds? To just be a good person? This cannot be. We are all sinful, and without a savior, we are all on the path to hell with no way out. No way to save ourselves. Nothing to live for.

My grandparents are Greek and my grandfather's name was John, "Yanni" in Greek. In the early hours of the day he passed away, standing around his bedside, waiting for his body to completely shut down, for him to take his last breath on earth, for his heart to stop beating, my grandmother lay her head on his chest and cried "my Yanni, my Yanni!"

My prayer is I would always lay my head at the Lord's feet and cry "My Jesus, My Jesus, I am nothing without You!"

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

So this week I most definitely did not catch an 8 year old playing with fire and about have a heart attack!

I did not think about cleaning my room several times, and never get around to it.

Someone did not take an AXE to my car in the middle of the night. The police did not show up and tell me it looked personal and then left. That certainly did not happen. DARN Helpful police officer.

I have not thought about so many blog posts I want to write.

I did not save about $250 this week by going to a dental school to have my teeth scraped from 2 years of tarter cleaned. I did not gag by accident while having x-rays taken.

I am also not so totally consumed thinking and praying for little Stellan! Come on, baby boy! :)

And finally I did not complete most of my school work after midnight every night this week because I was so busy working.


Those are all my do's did not's this week! :)

Standing at the Cross

I can hardly picture it in my mind without shaking- running my hands down His face, across His nail pierced hands. When I think about the nails driven into His hands for my sins, for your's, I tremble. My mind cannot fathom that kind of love. That kind of forgiveness. Inconceivable.

I can stand knowing I am loved more than I can fathom.

Today I stand forgiven

Thank You for the cross.