My Lifesong

Neighborhood Crime Watch

2008-08-19T17:42:00.004-05:00

I was on my nightly walk around the neighborhood with Smokey the other evening. Dusk was approaching and as we neared the halfway point towards the end of the cul-de-sac, I heard a male voice, forceful and emphatic, bark out the command, "GET YOUR HANDS UP!". Smokey and I slowed as I scanned the yards in the distance, not knowing if it was safe to proceed. I had my phone with me so I wondered if I needed to call 911. Was someone being mugged? Was it a domestic violence situation? I heard the voice again, "STOP MOVING!" My imagination ran away with me as I imagined a person face down on the ground being hog-tied (too many movies!). I could still hear the man yelling although I could not always make out what he was saying. I couldn't see anyone or anything suspicious, so we proceeded with caution. As we cleared a giant crepe myrtle, suddenly the voice shouted, "RUN!" ...and then we saw the source of all the commotion.

The "thug" was actually a father in his front yard coaching his young son in football! Smokey and I continued on our walk as I re-holstered my phone and laughed a little sigh of relief.

Terry's Choice

2008-08-13T18:20:00.002-05:00

My Awesome Husband was working on his laptop last night when he paused, looked at me and asked, "When you are on a website and you have to set up a security question, who do you choose when it asks for your favorite pet's name? Smokey, Simba, or Abby?"

"I would never choose that as my security question," I answered. "That's like asking which one of your kids is your favorite." All at once I was taken back to a Sunday morning at my home church in Franklin, TN. My mother and I always sat on the second pew on the right hand side facing the pulpit. We always sat next to a sweet elderly woman who was never without a roll of Life Savers which she generously shared with me during the service. My younger sister, at that time a toddler, spent the service in the nursery. One Sunday when I was probably 6 or 7, she asked my mother, "Do you favor one over the other?" My mother answered appropriately, of course.

I have always had such a vivid memory of that moment, and as I grew older I often wondered why she asked my mom that question right in front of me. Did she think I wouldn't know what she was asking? Not paying attention? Deaf? I will never know, but as a child and a teenager, whenever thought of that moment, I thought that surely parents DID have a favorite child, it would just be improper to admit it. Especially in front of one of them.

I have never had biological children of my own, but the mystery was solved (for me at least) when I became an adult and began to amass a menagerie of pets. Then I understood that each one is your favorite, but for a different reason. Smokey is my favorite for his jubilant excitement when he sees me in my tennis shoes or with my keys, because it means either a walk or a ride - both immensely exciting! Simba is my favorite for his beautiful green eyes, his cool demeanor, and the way he rolls around on his back in the grass so you'll scratch his belly. And Abby is my favorite because she's always there at bedtime loudly mewing and headbutting whatever book I'm reading just to get some affection.

Now, if you don't have pets or are not an animal person, I understand if you think I'm ridiculous for comparing children to cats & dogs. But hey, give me a break, that's all I've got to go on! If you do have kids, please let me know if my theory is correct. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you have a favorite and I'll let your kids know it! ;P

The FAA: Keeping the Airways Starch Free For Your Safety

2008-07-14T13:38:00.006-05:00

My Awesome Husband is apparently now on some government watch list after violating Title 49 of the Code of Regulations Parts 100-185 by attempting to board an airplane with (gasp!) spray starch earlier this year. They confiscated the offending chemical and sent him through extra security checks, but apparently they didn't think their point was made, so they followed up with this letter:

According to the letter, the FAA now considers the matter closed, so it seems he has narrowly avoided incarceration at Guantanamo. For now.

Water Water Everywhere

2008-06-14T19:28:00.010-05:00

A phone conversation late this afternoon with My Awesome Husband who was in his car, halfway to band practice:

ME: How do you turn off the water?

My Awesome Husband: What water?

ME: The water to the house.

My Awesome Husband: Why?

ME: I broke the spigot off the house & water is spewing everywhere!

My Awesome Husband: I'll be right there.

And he was. The first thing he did was give me a big smile and a long hug. The next thing he did was turn off the water.

I know you have two questions: How did you get such an awesome husband? and...How the heck did you break the spigot off the house? I don't know the answer to the first question; I'm just richly blessed I guess. As for the second question, I was mowing the yard and was next to the house. Unbeknownst to me, the drive adjuster cable got caught on the spigot. However, I thought the reason the mower wouldn't move forward was because the wheels were stuck in one of the many holes that Smokey has dug in the yard. So, I get behind the mower and PUSH with all my might. Next thing I know, my legs and shoes are soaked, the spigot is dangling from the side of the house, and water is spraying everywhere!

SO, now I'm sweaty from mowing the yard, I've got to GO really bad, and we have no water for showering or flushing until tomorrow when My Awesome Husband fixes the spigot. On Father's Day. You're welcome.

Happy Birthday Loren!

2008-06-14T16:03:00.004-05:00

My niece, Loren, turned 8 on June 12 and had her birthday party today at Build A Bear in the mall. About 15 of her friends turned out to wish her a happy birthday and to build and outfit a bear of their own. Afterwards, there was birthday cake to eat and gifts to open!

ARE YOU TALKIN' TA ME? oh...never mind

2008-06-09T17:35:00.010-05:00

My 5-year-old niece Chloe recently learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. My sister Rachel & brother-in-law Joel took her to the park so she could practice. Joel was posted at one end of the track and Rachel at the opposite end so they could watch Chloe as she rode her bike around or help her out if she ran into trouble. Joel was shouting encouragement to Chloe as she rode by. "Lookin' good, little lady!" and "You go girl! You're gettin' it!"

While Rachel watched, a woman who had been jogging in the park approached Joel and began talking to him. As Rachel was wondering if it was someone they knew, she could tell that the woman was becoming emphatic about whatever she was saying and Joel was looking back at the woman with a puzzled look on his face. Just then, Chloe whizzed by on her bike, waving and shouting out at her daddy. The woman watched Chloe zing by, then abruptly turned and left.

She thought Joel had been shouting out at HER as she was running so she stopped to give him a few choice words of her own! Can't you just imagine her embarrassment when she realized that he was not talking to her at all, but to a 5-year-old little girl on a bike?

Granddaddy Camp

2008-06-04T20:32:00.007-05:00

Last week, we had an awesome time at Granddaddy Camp! My dad came up with the idea to host all the grandkids for a week at our family farm in Watertown, TN for a summer camp type of experience. His intention was to strengthen their ties to the place where he was raised, a place that has been in our family for over 100 years.

My sister, Rachel, who is blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, was full-time camp counselor and Activities Director. My other sister, Susan, my mom, my brother-in-law, Joel, and I were part-time camp counselors. My mom's name is Barbara, but the grandkids call her "Mona". Don't ask me why. Of course, my dad, a.k.a. Granddaddy, was Camp Director. We also had several visitors drop by during the week; some friends of my nieces were camp participants, and others were extended family members who had heard the buzz and came just to see what it was all about.

The camp counselors collaborated on a daily schedule and Rachel put it to paper. Each morning after breakfast, the kids gathered to learn a song which taught them the books of the Bible. There was a prize for anyone who could recite them all at the end of the week. Next was "Family Tree". My dad has four brothers and two sisters, so a few moments of each day were dedicated to learning the names of all the family members of the "Family of the Day" by looking at their family portrait and naming aunts, uncles, along with first and second cousins.

The remainder of the day was filled with craft activities, culinary adventures, field trips, hikes, and playtime with a break for lunch and naptime for my 3-year-old nephew. After dinner and an evening activity, there was Bible story time, Granddaddy story time, then a movie before lights out (most didn't make it through the whole movie before falling asleep). The kids had planned to sleep outside in a tent with Uncle Joel, but when they heard coyotes howling in the distance, they could not be persuaded, despite our assurances that they would not be dragged off by wild animals in the middle of the night.

I hope you enjoy this photo journal of our unforgettable week:

A Celebration...and Cherries

2008-05-23T14:34:00.011-05:00

Our anniversary was 3 days ago, but we had our official celebration last night. Mark told me last week that he had made reservations but didn't tell me where. I had guessed Maggiano's, one of our favorites, but as we approached downtown Nashville, I could tell by the direction we were going that I was wrong. He went all out and purchased the anniversary package at the Melting Pot, another of our favorites. When we arrived, there were flowers and a card with my name on it already on our table. I know you can't tell this from the picture, but the heart on the front of the card is made of two shrimps pierced by two fondue forks--so cute & clever! The hostess then took our picture and returned a short while later with a copy of it in a nice Melting Pot frame. Of course, we ordered the Big Night Out special and finished it all off with the Bananas Foster Chocolate Fondue. We were stuffed, but it was a perfect celebration!

And this has nothing to do with our anniversary dinner, but I just had to post this picture. I was mowing the grass this morning and as I looked out across the yard, I spotted our neighbor's cherry tree covered in bright, red, ripe cherries!

Are they not gorgeous?!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2008-05-20T06:30:00.000-05:00

Five years ago today, Mark & I were married on the beach at Magen's Bay in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Six weeks earlier, we were excited to have finalized our cruise reservations and wedding arrangements. The VERY NEXT DAY, I received a call from Mark--on his way to the hospital. He had fallen off the roof of a two-story house and thought he had broken his ankle. It turned out not to be broken, but he did need surgery. The doctors told him that by the time of our wedding cruise, he would be able to get around--in a boot and with crutches. We carried on with our plans and showed up at the airport with Mark in his boot, with his crutches. Little did we know what a bonus that would turn out to be. We got VIP treatment all the way! We boarded first at the airport, got the front seat of the bus to the cruise ship, and bypassed all the check-in lines at the port. He got special treatment the entire week. I told him to keep that boot & those crutches and we'd take them on our next cruise! (We didn't. In fact he got his front tooth knocked out on our last cruise...but that's a story for a different post.)

Nevertheless, on the morning of May 20, 2003, we were married on the beach with only the preacher, his assistant, and the photographer in attendance. It was a very peaceful and beautiful ceremony, just perfect. And five years later, we couldn't be any happier together. We're opposites in so many ways, but I think that's what makes us work so well. In honor of our 5-year-anniversary, here are 5 things I love about my husband:

1. His gorgeous blue eyes
2. He still opens the car door for me
3. His truly infinite patience
4. He makes me laugh
5. His entrepreneurial, never-give-up, there's-got-to-be-a-way attitude

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! I love you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!

Welcome Home, Tim!

2008-04-30T17:44:00.006-05:00

My brother-in-law, Tim, returned home to his family from Iraq last night after being gone for nearly a year. You can see how happy they all are to finally be reunited. After spending a couple of weeks alone together at home as a family, Tiffany will be throwing a Welcome Home party on May 17. It's such a relief having him safely home and we can't wait to see him at the party! See more touching homecoming pictures at Tim's blog.

Baby Carrick Needs Prayers

2008-04-30T06:55:00.006-05:00

Baby Carrick was supposed to be born August 10, 2008. Instead, he decided to surprise his parents (my cousin Will and his wife, Jenni) by showing up over 3 months early on April 24. At birth he weighed 1 lb 8oz and was 11 inches long. Shorter than a ruler! He will be in the hospital for at least 3 months. He is doing OK, but he, Will and Jenni really need lots of prayer at this time. This is their first child. You can visit Carrick's blog to see more pictures of him and to keep up with his progress.

Our April Mission Trip to Veracruz Mexico

2008-04-25T19:35:00.002-05:00

Visit my friend Kelly's blog for her slideshows of our trip.

Home Again!

2008-04-20T19:05:00.005-05:00

We're back! We arrived home around 11 p.m. Saturday night, however it is now 7 p.m. on Sunday and our luggage still has not caught up with us! I have to go to work tomorrow and I have no make-up, no brush, no hair dryer, no deodorant, no toothbrush, no clean underwear, etc... Aren't you glad you don't work with me? ;) I will tell more about our awesome trip later, but I wanted to get the shoes pictures posted for Sue, Mike & Lo. The kids were so happy with their new shoes!

Zapatos Para Los Niños!

2008-04-06T19:08:00.023-05:00

............................
SO, I get this knock on my door Thursday night. Mark opens the door, and my niece, my sister and her husband are standing there with ARMFULS of shoes for our mission team to take to the children of Mexico! They are so supportive of our efforts and are always asking how they can help. One year they gave children's vitamins and last year they (along with my other sister's family) donated piles and piles of girls' clothes. My team was excited to receive the shoes and I know the kids will love them! I'll try to get pictures of the kids wearing them to post when we return. Thanks for all your support, it really means a lot!

Slacker

2008-03-31T21:01:00.012-05:00

OK, so now March is practically over and I realized I haven't posted since early February. I was recapping the Mission Possible class I'm taking, but after my last post about Session 2, I got the flu, missed the 3rd class and the slacking began. I'm blaming it on the winter blahs. So, what's been going on?

-I spent Easter with my family at our farm in Watertown, TN. I took my nieces on a very long hike while my mom, dad, & sisters hid Easter eggs. We traversed cow pastures, climbed hills, crossed creeks, and explored forests. Afterwards my the bottoms of my feet were literally bruised because, not expecting to go hiking, I wore dress boots. But it was totally worth it because at some point during our adventure one of my nieces exclaimed, "This is the BEST HIKE EVER!" I wish I had at least one picture to post, but I forgot my camera, and I emailed my sisters and asked them to send me their pictures, but I guess they don't like me any more because I have not heard from them. They must be jealous about the BEST HIKE EVER!

-I'm very excited to be leaving in less than two weeks for Veracruz, Mexico, traveling with some great friends from my church for a medical/dental mission trip to the Totonac Indian people living in the mountains there. Our team has been to Mexico several times before, but this is our first time to this area. We are very excited with a little apprehension mixed in. Please pray for the safety and health of our team, wisdom for the dentists and nurses in diagnosis, the boldness and effectiveness of our witness, and that God would prepare and make receptive the hearts of the people we will meet.

I found a quirky podcast on iTunes called Coffeebreak Spanish. It's a Scottish couple teaching conversational Spanish in 15 minute clips. It is quite entertaining and effective and apparently it has become a very popular download, at one point challenging Oprah's "A New Earth" podcast for the #1 download spot. I still continue to learn by self study using the Behind the Wheel Spanish CDs by Mark Frobose which I LOVE and it has helped me immensely (just ask my mission team). This series is available in other languages too if Spanish isn't your thing, although since I've only used the Spanish, I can't vouch for the others.

I bought a book, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, to read on the long journey to and from Veracruz. I'm already over halfway through it, so it looks like I'll have to get a new book for the trip. If you're a non-fiction reader like me, I highly recommend this book. It is the story of a mountain climber who had to abandon his attempt to climb K2 in order to save the life of another climber. Lost and exhausted to the limits of human endurance, he wandered into an isolated Pakistani village where he was welcomed and cared for by the inhabitants. Touched by their kindness and moved by their poverty, he promised to return and build a school for their children. The obstacles he and the inhabitants of the area faced in fulfilling that promise and his subsequent accomplishments are both astounding and inspiring. I just found out that if you order the book through a link provided through www.threecupsoftea.com, a portion of the proceeds goes to build even more schools! I wish I had known that before I bought my copy. (Update: I finished the book and although at one point it began to veer into political commentary I don't agree with, it wasn't to heavy handed and I still enjoyed the story overall and would recommend it.)

-Tonight I started a bible study, "Are My Roots Showing?" written and led by Tina Hutchison. Judging from the first session, it promises to be an awesome journey of self-examination and spriritual growth. Although self-examination can be difficult, I'm looking forward to getting into the daily homework lessons and opening myself up to a little transformation of the inside kind.

-My brother-in-law, Tim, got word that he and his troops will be returning from Iraq in mid-May! SIL Tiffany has planned a big bash in Indiana for his homecoming. It's hard to believe there could be any bad news as a result of this, but there is...this means Mark will have to return the motorcycle Tim asked him to keep for him during his deployment :( Mark & I have had lots of relaxing evening & weekend rides on that bike. I guess we'll have to get our own now! Anyway, we'll be glad to have Tim back home safe with Tiffany and their 4 kiddos.

Yay! Got a March post in right under the wire! I'm aiming to do better in April...

Mission Possible-Session 2

2008-02-08T18:52:00.000-06:00

First off, I just have to praise God for the beautiful warm sunshine we had today! It really lifted my spirits! I kept finding things to do outside because I did not want to go in, and finally I just pulled up a chair and sat and soaked it all up. So, thanks God! That was awesome! However, earlier this week, there was great devastation and loss of life in the tornadoes that swept furiously accross our state. Please pray for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the storms and especially for those who lost family members.

On Wednesday we had our second missions class, Theology of Missions. First, we learned that all mission begins with God. Mission is God's activity, and missions is Man's activity--our response to what God begins. God's activity always precedes what we do.

God first began seeking after people who were separated from him right off the bat in Chapter 3 of Genesis. After Adam and Eve had realized their sin and were hiding from God in the Garden of Eden, God went looking for them, asking, "Where are you?" (Gen 3:9)

Next we discussed missions in the Old Testament and how God's plan from the beginning was to reconcile ALL people to himself. In the Abrahamic covenant, God promises that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Gen 12:3) Moses was the first missionary, sent to Pharaoh to tell him that God is the one true god and that Pharaoh needs to let God's people go so they can form their own nation and worship their God. We read several passages from the Psalms and the prophets (about Isaiah, Jonah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) that reiterated that God's message of salvation is for ALL people, ALL nations. We concluded that all the great Old Testament bible characters such as Joseph, Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah, etc--they were all missionaries, sent of God to proclaim his greatness. The gist of this segment was that "missions is not something we come up with; it is what God has been doing all along."

The final segment discussed missions in the New Testament using the Great Commission passages as our text. We recognized that God is the founder of mission and Jesus is the model of mission. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says that all authority has been given to him by God. It follows then, that our obedience to what he directs us to do next is not optional. The main thing we are told to do is to "go and make disciples". We are to develop followers, imitators...not just learners. Secondary to this is going, baptizing, and teaching. These teachings are relevant to all people in all times.

In Mark 16:15-16, the main instruction given is to "preach the good news to all creation". In Luke 24:46-49, it is that "repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations..." It is noted that Luke was himself a Gentile and that he recognized the significance of these instructions from Jesus. In John 20:21, we are instructed to preach a message of peace, power (from the Holy Spirit), and forgiveness. Acts 1:8 serves as an outline for the entire rest of the book of Acts, with instructions to take the good news to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth. This is meant to be done simultaneously, not progressively. And another great relevant maxim, "the light that shines farthest must shine brightest at home."

Finally, the next people group that we've been asked to pray for are the Maninka of Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Cote d;lvoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and also for the missionaries living and working among these people.

Next week: Philosophy of Missions for Our Church

Mission Possible-Session 1

2008-02-02T19:18:00.000-06:00

To date, I have had the privilege of participating in 4 medical/dental mission trips to the Mexican border town of Nuevo Laredo with a wonderful team of professionals and lay people from my church. Today, our associate pastor began a pilot seminar for mission trip veterans designed to strengthen the effectiveness of future mission endeavors. I was very excited to be a part of this course because we have a very passionate team that is open to anything we could learn from our pastor and from members of other teams that could help us grow and achieve God's purpose for us.

After an introduction and overview of the 9 session course, we all introduced ourselves and told how we became interested in pursuing missions and what has impacted us the most from our experiences. There were 14 of us, representing trips to India, Brazil, Africa, Mexico, and various cities in the U.S. The most prominent theme evident from this discussion was how one person's decision to participate in missions ignites a passion for missions that eventually spreads throughout the entire family.

Next was the meat of the session which was based on Luke 10:1-12 where Jesus sends out the 70 (or 72 in some translations) disciples, two by two "to every town and place where he was about to go" and instructs them to "heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'the kingdom of God is near you.'"

Main points we lingered on in this study:
1. Jesus sent them out to towns he was about to visit. (v.1)
Wherever we are sent, Jesus is about to show up!
2. The harvest is ready, so the labor will be fruitful. (v.2)
3. Sending the laborers out in pairs promotes credibility (2 Cor 13:1), allows for encouragement of one another, allows the utilization of complimentary talents & abilities, & increases security.
4. Jesus instructed them to travel light (v.4).
This makes us completely dependent on Christ for all our needs.
5. In each town, the disciples had two duties: heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God has come near to you. (v.9)
Wherever we visit in His name, the kingdom of God has come near that place. Awesome!
6. If the message is rejected by the town, they were to shake the dust off their sandals and move on.

Last, we will be asked to pray for a different unreached people group at each session. This session we were given a sheet of prayer points and asked to pray that the love of Jesus would come to the 54 million Yadav people of India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. We were also asked to pray for our missionary family living and serving there.

"Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession." Psalm 2:8

Next session: Theology of Mission

5 Great Things About January

2008-01-31T19:14:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely HATE winter. If I were an animal, I would want to be a bear so I could just hibernate right through winter and wake up to warm, happy, colorful Spring! But, since I'm trying to cultivate a more positive attitude (and I haven't posted anything this month and it's almost over), I challenged myself to come up with 5 things to like about January:

1. No humidity = no frizzy hair!
2. The hours of daylight are increasing each day
3. Two work holidays (New Year's Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
4. French Onion Soup at Panera Bread
5. Slashed rates at most of the island resorts

I know #5 because my husband and I have decided that our Christmas gift to each other from now on is going to be a January vacation at an island resort, and it's never too early to start shopping.

Feel free to add your own to my list. I need all the help I can get!

Oooo! Just thought of 2 more: My good friend Julie's & my cousin Amy's birthdays!

The Gratitude Campaign

2007-12-22T09:22:00.000-06:00

Have you ever encountered a service person in uniform and wanted to say "thank you" but didn't? Next time, say it. It's easier than you think. Here's how...

Congratulations, Honey!

2007-12-01T22:44:00.000-06:00

For the past two weeks, my husband and his extremely talented and hardworking employees have been working full days, then coming back to the shop at night to work on constructing a float to enter into the local Christmas parade. He has been coming in at 12:30 to 1:00 a.m. every night, then getting up early the next morning to go right back at it. Friday night, the night before the parade, they worked until 3 a.m. making sure everything was just right. Since he owns a chimney sweeping business, the float featured Mary Poppins, several adult and child chimney sweeps (me included), real smoking chimneys, all rolling along to the sound of the song, "Chim Chim Chiree." All the hard work and late hours were rewarded when the judges handed the guys the 1ST PLACE trophy for the commercial division. They were so proud! As we traveled along the parade route, many spectators commented that they thought it was a great exhibit and some could even be seen singing along with the music. Check out the award-winning entry below:

Good Job!

2007-11-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

I was at my sister's house a couple of weeks ago, working a "shapes" puzzle with my nephew who turns 3 next week. After I placed a couple of shapes in their proper place, my nephew looked at me with a big, bright smile, clasped his hands together and excitedly proclaimed, "Good job, Aunt Terry!!" Similarly, a man from our Mexico mission team told us how his daughter greets him as he comes out of the bathroom with the same smile, clapping hands and an excited, "Good job, Daddy!!" As funny and cute as that is, I have to admit just hearing someone say that to you, even if you're being praised for something so simple as putting a square puzzle piece in the square hole, or for something so natural as going to the bathroom, lifts your spirits and makes you feel great! As I was relating these stories to a friend we wondered where that excitement goes and what the reaction would be if we started praising others with that same enthusiastic spirit for small accomplishments. So I've been mulling that over on and off today and have decided I'd like to try finding at least one thing about one person each day for which I can smile at them and give them a hearty, "Good Job!" I'm sure it won't be as cute coming from me as it would from a 3-year-old, but...we'll see what happens!

Trailblazin'

2007-11-17T21:33:00.000-06:00

Today I had great fun horseback riding with my nieces, my two sisters, and my dad. Abigail's birthday is next week; Chloe's was last month, and I told them I would take them riding for their birthdays. Loren's birthday is in June, but of course we couldn't go without her! Or my dad, a.k.a. Granddaddy. It was a beautiful cool but sunny Autumn day. We showed up at the stables at 10 a.m. and were greeted by three friendly dogs, an orange Tabby and several species of birds; ducks, geese, & some spotted birds that could run really fast! After checking in, we were soon mounted atop our horses and following our guide, a cute high school student named Katherine, into the woods, across open fields, and through shallow creeks. Our guide-in-training, Katherine's friend, Savannah, followed behind. Everyone had a great time; Chloe said she felt like Mulan, except than Mulan had a black horse--so cute! Katherine even let Chloe lead for a good stretch of the trail although Chloe readily admitted that she didn't do much because our horse, Big Dolly, probably already knew the way. Afterwards we had burgers, corn dogs, fries & onion rings at Red Robin. All in all, a great day!

Overcoming Evil With Good

2007-03-14T18:02:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, I went to the 13th birthday party of Chanelle, my friend Julie's daughter. I won't be going to her 14th. Not because I didn't have a great time or because I would not be invited back. No, it's because Chanelle will not be celebrating her 14th birthday here with us. Her party was held at the hospice where she is spending her last days surrounded by her family and friends. A little over two years ago she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in her leg. After a year of courageously braving brutal treatments, including having the offending bone replaced in her leg, she was pronounced cancer-free by her doctors and the family took a victory trip to Hawaii, sponsored by Make-a-Wish. Except for the occasional follow-up doctor visits, life for the family was finally back to normal, until 10 months later when the cancer made its cruel and unwelcome return, as it so often seems intent on doing. And this time it was relentless, refusing to be tamed. Witnessing precious Chanelle's innocent and graceful passing, and watching Julie press on through the unimaginable pain has shifted my attention from my insignificant irritations (which used to seem much larger) to the things that really matter. Now when I find myself irritated or getting upset about a perceived slight or injustice, I think of Julie - and I don't feel better, but I'm not thinking about myself and my pride anymore. The enormous outpouring of love, prayers, gifts, cards, visits, meals, personal services, and offers of help seems like one giant collective defiant attempt to make a difference by overcoming evil by doing good. That insidious cancer may destroy the body, but it has only served to ignite the love and goodness in the hearts and souls of scores of people touched by the life of this little girl and her family.