Speaking of 6 degrees of seperation a clean house and Oils

So the lottery winner came forward and it is an older Zephyrhills woman.  We had heard all kinds of rumors of who it was.  We had kept hearing it was a young person....to be honest, I'm glad it is an older lady.  She has lived longer and probably has more sense of how to spend it than some young person!  And I'm really hoping she knows us LOL!  Speaking of 6 degrees of separation....our delivery man knows the delivery man who has delivered stuff to her!!!!!!!   So that is just THREE degrees of separation:)  He said that his friend said she was a nice lady:)  

Selah is happy now that she is back on her normal formula.  No more upset tummy or staying up all night!   She had OT today and our nurse is working with her to have her watch a DVD and wear headphones so she is more focused.  She has an appointment with the cardiologist tomorrow, just to manage her meds and get a new prescription.  Next week she FINALLY starts speech therapy!!!!!  YEAH! 

This morning I went to a class.  Have you heard about Essential Oils?  A few of my friends are really into them.  Me?  Not too sure about them....  but I am interested so I went to a class today with my friends.  After the class, I tried an oil on my neck and it really seemed to help.  Another friend had generously given me a small bottle of pure Frankincense.  A few times I had put some on Selah, but not constantly.  But today I ordered a start up kit of the Oils, not that I really think it will help, but I'm willing to try anything.  My neck has felt less stiffer all day but I think the smell has given me a bit of a headache. 

When I came home, I mixed the frankincense and some coconut oil in to a little roller jar and rolled some on her back and feet.  The lady who did the class is coming out to show me how to do the oils in the next few days.  At this point I'll try it.  If it works, it won't be because I have much faith in it....to be honest.   My close friend that I went with warned me I could not say the word "stupid" while in the class....so I told her my word would be "different"....instead of stupid.  LOL   As in "that is different"  There is the funniest story that really tested me....one of the ladies told me that just the smell of one of the oils had brought a woman out of a coma.  So I asked what kind/why was the woman was in the coma and she told me that the lady had had a terrible car accident.  So of course I wanted to know the final outcome of the lady and the lady telling the story said "well she died the next week"..... OK....I was losing it at this point....  but then the woman explained that the  lady was older and had lots of internal damage from the accident.    But hey this stuff might help Selah and then they can all laugh at me for being a doubting Thomas!  I'm laughing but I bought it LOL!

The boys had a BIG surprise waiting for me when I got home!  They had cleaned the entire house from top to bottom.  They dusted, swept, vacuumed. mopped, unloaded the dishwasher, put up the clean clothes, cleaned Selah's room.... this is not something they have ever done before!  They always helped out some but never done the whole thing by themselves nor did I ask or expect them to do it!   Steve even cleaned on top of the kitchen cabinets and the ceiling fans!   I am very grateful to them and still shocked:)   Our nurse was impressed too!   He said Selah and him got kicked out for a little bit so they could clean her room without bothering her!   Lately I've just been trying to do so much, and getting nothing done....I was frustrated, this has certainly brought down my frustration level.  I like my house clean and orderly and it's always been like that till now...when I have nurses, therapists delivery people...all kinds of folks in on a daily basis!   thank you Steve & Shad, I love you guys!!!! 

So that was our day....looking forward to relaxing in my nice clean house tonight, with all the kids:)

Thank you all for your prayers for Selah.  I even pray these oils will work for her.  We will try anything for her to help her heal.  If they work, you will know about it LOL

Thanks for all the emails, I love hearing your stories! 

Shad's surgery

Poor Selah....we had a glitch in her shipment of formula.  So last night she had to have the pedisure instead of the new more veggie based one.  She obviously had a tummy ache all night long (she gets her feeds at night)  she had awful gas and her heart rate was up.  She did not sleep all night.  her nurse gave her some meds, just over the counter stuff you can give babies for colic/gas, and it seemed to help.  She pooped a lot today and now her tummy is back flat and thank God they finally delivered her formula today!!!!   I felt so bad!  So obviously she is NEVER going to get the Pedisure again!   I'm so thankful her gastro doc changed her formula.  Well I asked him for something so she wouldn't put on so much weight but little did we know that she didn't tolerate pedisure very good.  This made it obvious!!!

Got a quick walk and breakfast in with my friend and then took Shad to the doctor.  Since we adopted him, he has had issues with not being circumcised.  He was not taken care of very well as a baby and he had some major problems when he came home.  Our doctor, at the time, did not want to have him circumcised and since Shad was young, wanted us to really work on him, lots of warm baths and some topical meds.  It seemed to help some but things were never good.  Last year Shad told us he wanted to be circumcised.  So I made an appointment to see an Urologist but then the accident.....   as always some days were better than others for him.....   Finally we got in to see the Urologist today and he took one look and said he would do it if we wanted him to.   I told the doctor it was up to Shad and he explained everything to Shad.  I asked if Shad didn't have the surgery and again try the topical meds, would he continue to have issues?  The doctor said he thought he would...Shad said "Let's do it"   The doctor loved Shad's attitude.  Shad is looking forward to having it done and not have to deal with issues after he heals.   He has such a good attitude as always and is thankful to have a date for the surgery....July 3rd.  Please remember our sweet funny little boy in your prayers that he will not have any issues with the surgery and a quick recovery.  

After the doctor's appointment we did some running around and he conned me out of THREE dvds at Sam's Club LOL!   He really hardly ever asks for things and he was a mess...he kept saying I needed to buy them for him since he would have three days of resting afterwards:)  I think he is going to do his best to cash in on this surgery:) 

Shad is also going to get a covering for his bad eye.  He was fitted last summer, the week we left for NY.....of course the doctor heard about the accident and actually left me a message right after it.  So now we are rescheduling and Shad is excited about that too:)  It's going to look great, just like his  other eye.  He does not have to have his eye removed as there is no reason to have it removed.  He is beyond blind in the eye, it is basically shredded inside from whatever accident he had a young child.  So this will fit onto the eye, like a giant thick contact.  It is just cosmetic and we are not going to do that for Sam and Sarah as there is some pain involved.  Shad is old enough to decide if it is worth it to him to be in pain for a little bit.  He feels like it is worth it so we're going for it:) 

I surprised my husband with a new bed today:)  Our old one was 18 years old LOL.  It's funny when we bought that bed, we bought it because we got a good deal on a king size after sleeping on a double for a few years.....this time, it was bought with our back/neck and shoulder problems being the main emphasis LOL!   I picked out a firm one since that had seemed to help us when we have slept on a firm mattress.  I'm am really hoping this will make a difference in my neck/shoulder issues! 

And the best news....I've connected with Selah's sister's family:)   I'm so excited to share with them what we know about the girls'  shared history and to get to know them and their love for that little girl:)   So thankful for a family to love and cherish her!!!!!  God is so good!

So a busy day today.  Tomorrow is going to be busy too. 

I'm still loving all the messages and emails I've been getting!  I love to know where you are from and how you found out about us.  It's amazing!   I'm trying to reply to every email and comment that is specifically an introduction from one of you.  Believe it or not, sometimes it is hard for me to comment on my own blog!    Thank you all!!!!

So now please remember Selah and now Shad in your prayers.  I'm sure he will do fine, but ...... my heart is a little tender towards anything that has any slight risk at all for one of my children.  We could get it done a lot quicker at a  out patient center but I wanted it done at a hospital.  It just feels safer.... 

Being a parent is a nerve wracking thing for me!!!!! 

Square Foot Garden

Another good day and night for Selah, thank you Lord!  She is so much more contented and we are again able to take her off Valium, so she isn't on anything that really messes with her mind.  We want her as clear as possible so she can begin to understand things more.  We do that with our doc's permission!   Everyone thinks it is great for her to get off every med she can, much better for her overall. 

This morning on my walk, this is who we saw....

 

 

Can you believe that Mama Duck had so many babies?   We tried to herd them back to the pond and she did not like that.  Can't wait to see them tomorrow.

 

After walking in the sauna...Lord the humidity is crazy right now in Florida.  My kneecaps were sweating, I kid you not!  I don't' think that has ever happened to me.  I then went to my favorite place Lowes...

 

I actually had to go to Home Depot since their wood cutter was broken.  So I started at HD, then went and got my soil/cow poop and peat moss from Lowes.  I like their "Jungle Growth" the best for my square foot gardens.    We are making 3 more square foot gardens:)  ( I have 13 but need more space)  Don't ever think that gardening is cheap or that you will save money on a garden, you will NOT but it is great exercise, a good skill to have and you can get some good veggies that way.  I actually started liking squash because I ate some that I grew!  got home and weeded three of my 13 gardens and Shad did four of them for me.  Tomorrow we will do the SFGs, I need more cardboard boxes and screws for the wood.   

 

To make a Square Foot Garden

 

buy two pieces of UNTREATED wood ( no it won't last forever but you do NOT want those chemicals on your veggies!)  2 x 6x 8   then have your garden store cut the wood in half ( I have a few that are 10 inches deep instead of 6 for my potatoes.) 

 

at least 8 LONG screws

 

3 bags of vegetable compost/potting soil  (make sure it is for VEGGIES)

1 bag of cow poo

1 bag of peat moss  ( you don't really need a bag if you are only doing one SFG)

 

lots of cardboard and newspapers

 

THEN

 

 

screw the wood together and make a 4x4 box

 

 

line it with cardboard completely...and then newspaper and wet the whole thing

(it kills the weeds and makes a big difference

 

 

 mix the 3 bags of potting soil

cow poo

and some of the peat moss

(my fav part- really it is fun- use gloves)

 

Some folks actually put rope or something across the wood to make grids.  I used to but don't even bother now

 

Plant your veggies...and water:)

 

 

 

 

then you can have this:)

 

I line the walkways between the boxes with a plastic and then I put wood chips on top  it keeps things neater:)  I'll take pictures after we are done, I also bought a PINK Plastic Flamingo   I always wanted one and now I am satisfied:)

 

I LOVE gardening because it keeps me from paperwork LOL   Today I actually made myself organize ALL my paperwork that I need to do something with and things are either filed, taken care of, thrown away or put in a TO DO folder....I've just been paralyzed trying to even think about doing any of it.  It is overwhelming.  And in some weird way it kept from doing other things.  I couldn't focus on even house work or anything cause of the dreaded BOX!  I even bought a pretty box but I HATE it!  LOL  I thought buying the box would help me to organize.  I even am going to pay someone to clean my house, because I just can't do everything right now.  I feel like if I can get on top of things, then I'll be able to stay organized....I don't' know ....I miss the old Yvonne very much and wish this new one with the attention span of a gnat would go away!   I literally can be doing one thing, get stopped, have to do something else and never even think about the first thing....that is NOT me! 

 

This afternoon I spoke with the agency/ministry that is handling  Shiloh's adoption and they are passing our info to her family!!!  Every time the phone rings, I hope it is them:)  but even if we don't hear from them, my heart is very satisfied that she has a family!  I'm thankful to God for them!

 

I am LOVING all the emails and comments I'm getting from you guys.  I feel very encouraged and cared for:)  Years ago I followed a little guy named Dax on Caringbridge..   When he passed away, I thought my heart would break.  I loved his mama (and still do even tho we've never had any communication)  Every day I'd look for her posts, with my fingers crossed, hoping he was better....  so I understand how it is to feel close to someone.  I appreciate each of you, from so many different states and countries who care about us and our Selah!  It really does mean something to me, each encouragement, helps me.  My life is not some movie star type of life LOL, you'd probably freak out if you saw me today all hot and sweaty in my workout clothes and my hair pulled back, no shower LOL   I yell at my boys (sometimes-not too much but we have our times)  I fuss with my husband sometimes (no yelling)  my little ones don't get baths every day....I live in a small little house, out in the country, our church is small and certainly NOT  a "hip" church"  I'm pretty real:)  I'm not a perfect Christian, my mouth and fingers (typing) get me in trouble.....  I don't fit in with too many people.  I seem to make people uncomfortable for some reason:)  It might be cause I have a "habit of saying what everyone else was just thinking"   I do NOT fit the mold of a Pastor's Wife at all....  some people think I'm too judgmental, others think I'm too liberal.... I HOPE I'm right in the middle, balanced....  

 

But I just don't want you to think that I'm some super mom, or super spiritual person....I'm just a very flawed girl who serves a Sweet Savior.   Don't think you can't have faith like me,  God can help you in everyday life and those days when your world is turned upside down.....  He is the one who gives me the strength, all I do is give my life to Him, pretty good exchange for me!  I try to lay my life down daily and take up my cross and follow Him.  I lay it down by laying down my wants and desires.  My focus is not on this world that is passing away...My focus is on eternity and the things that matter for eternity.  Oh please know I have to remind myself of those eternal things often!   When I start yearning for material things, I tell myself, not to hold on to things of this world.  There is nothing wrong with having things...just don't' let the things have you!  BUT my struggle is more with anger, impatience,  sometimes I think I may have "righteous anger" but still it is anger.  I can be very sarcastic...and believe me, I try and keep most of my thoughts in my head!  Thank God no one can really read my mind at times LOL  

 

Anyhow I just want you guys to know, God is no respecter of persons!   He can be real in your life too if He isn't already.  That doesn't mean you'll be come some perfect person, but you will change:)  I can promise you if I didn't serve the Lord and try and "crucify the flesh" I'd be a out right MESS!  LOL  Just think Madea.....(if you know the movies of Madea/Tyler Perry)  she is a big black woman who "doesn't suffer fools"  I LOVE her character in his movies:)  I always say I want to meet her in real life and my son gently tells me "Mom, Madea is not real....that is Tyler Perry dressed as a woman"  LOL  but I think she is real:) 

 

 

Love you all, have a good night and thank you for every prayer you have prayed for us!!!!!

 

 

 

Amazing News....

My blog was posted all over the place, by people sharing about Shiloh.......well I got a message on FB that she has a family coming for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Seems she was hosted by an American family sometime last year and they are working on adopting her!  the country the girls are from does allow "hosting programs" that are wonderful for the children and young teens, many kids end up being adopted through that program! 

So one of the volunteers working with the hosting program, contacted me and we made sure it was the same girl.  They have a beautiful picture of her that looks so much happier than the ones I have!  Tomorrow the director will be told about us and he or she will give our info to the adopting family.  We are just hoping and praying that they will chose to contact us.  I have no idea where they are in the process of adoption or if they are fully funded but I hope to help if they need any help.  As you can imagine I am on pins and needles hoping they will contact us!   But even if they chose not to, I am so very very happy that this little girl will soon have a family!  but at this point I feel like a stalker lol  I really hope to hear from the family!

When we adopted Selah, I had decided I wanted to do something for Shiloh, I felt we had a responsibility as her sister's family to help her out although all ties were legally cut.  But we were busy over the summer......then the accident......  Every time I thought of Shiloh, I felt very guilty.  I thought we were her "only" hope and here we were doing nothing......BUT GOD  had other servants who were busy about the kingdom's business!  It's a blessing to know someone, many someones were working on the behalf of this small girl!   He had a ministry I'd never heard of, that was working actively to find this child a family!  How good our God is!!!!

I've just been in AWE all day long, fighting happy tears, looking at her new picture, seeing Selah in her face even more so.....   Thank you God for putting the lonely in families.....Thank you for watching over this little girl that we felt so much responsibility for...and who we couldn't help. 

My life...this journey....it's wilder than anything you could ever make up!   Who would have dreamed last night, I'd wake up to this today!!!!!   God is good!

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Shad just got some new clothes as he is getting so tall.  I took some pictures of him modeling.  He told me that you all like his smile:)  He is a HAM!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

he is standing by "elephant ears"

 

 

 

Selah continues to do good thank God:)  She has a busy week ahead, all kinds of appointments.  Thank  you all for your prayers and emails....I LOVE all the emails and comments I'm getting!  I really do want to hear where you are from   and how you started following our story.  I've gotten some amazing personal stories....I feel blessed to have folks share with me!  

Shiloh- Introducing Selah's biological sister!

My Big Surprise for you!

 

Shiloh!

 

 



Let me introduce to you Shiloh (not her real name)   She is Selah's older sister.  Shiloh currently lives in the same country that Selah is from.  She is in a "boarding school" for children with some type of special need.  It is more like a regular orphanage.   She does not have a diagnosis and her delays might just be from being removed from her home and placed in an orphanage at a young age.  She would have been about 5 years old when the removal happened.   She is now 11 years old. 

 

 

 

Her face haunts me, she resembles Selah so much. 

 

We are blessed to be able to get the info on her and to be able to let you know about her.  I want to see her get adopted.  She has no hope without a family.  When she ages out, she will either be put out on the street, where 90% of girls turn to prostitution or if her delays are more severe  she might be sent to an institution.   Either way, her life is hopeless without a family. 

 

Please pray for her, share my blog, share about her, and give towards her adoption fund.  Grace Haven Ministries so graciously agreed to start a fund for her.  This month she will be my orphan emphasis and she will remain on my blog page until she is adopted.   Since she is our daughter's biological sister, it means a lot to us to see she has a family. 

 

You can give in one of two ways, just like last month.  You can give directly to Grace Haven by sending a check to them at:

PO Box

Rogers AR

72757

 

or pay on line at:

 

http://gracehavenhome.com/?page_id=4

 

just write in FOR:  Shiloh - Selah's Sister

they will have her picture up soon but you can already give towards her, just designate it!

 

 

 

Or you can mail a check to our church

Grace Church

7060 Berry Road

Zephyrhills FL 33540

 

attn: Orphan Ministry

 

and I will mail one big check at the end of June to GH.  I'm committing to $200 for Shiloh!  I have someone else who has committed to $200 so we are already at $400 for her!  I LOVE opening envelopes with checks in them:)

 

Either way is tax deductible for you  

 

Please give!  She needs a family!!! 

 

 

If you are interested in knowing more about her, you can contact me at  theclanton5@aol.com  we don't  have a lot of info but I can tell you how to get started on your adoption and let you know the qualifications for their country and the process and I can pass on your info to someone who can help you more. 

 

We want to see her in a family!!!!

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For the month of May we raised $820 for Sally/Patricia  THANK YOU!!!!!!

 

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Last night we didn't have a nurse but Selah slept till 6am:)  To be honest, I was very worried, the last time we didn't have a night nurse, I was up 3 days and nights straight.  So right when the nurse left, her alarm went off....we thought "on no here we go"  but it was just messed up LOL 

I'm so very thankful for these antibodics she is on!  They have finally made the difference for her.  What a relief to her and to us!

 

Today I had planned on doing two new square box gardens but we went to Lowes and their wood cutting machine was not working so I couldn't do the gardens because the wood has to be cut in half.  I hope to do it next weekend.  I have potatoes ready to be planted.  Such a pain!

 

Thank you all for your emails and your comments.  I truly have enjoyed reading & commenting with all of you!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food Fun and Trusting through a panic attack

Look at my sweet girl out walking this morning!!!!!!  She is such a hard worker.  Sarah has an amazing sweet spirit.  I know there had to have been someone who cared for her, maybe a nanny in the baby house loved her.  Even tho Sarah has been through so much, she just is so very joyful.  I'm so proud of all she does!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Food Section......

I've never been much of a kitchen gadget person till we kept having kids!  Now I use a griddle to make pancakes, grill cheese,  all kinds of things on....  No more one thing at a time in a skillet on the stove LOL

  I SWEAR by our Magic Bullet!  It is the greatest thing ever.  Sarah still has not learned to chew her food.  She was served big spoonfuls of whatever kind of mush and she would just let it go down her throat....I saw it one day...NOT a good day.  But with the Magic Bullet, I can puree anything for her and she is so happy!

Now I have two new friends to join my kitchen team.....

 

I just got this.  Yonanas....  you take a frozen banana push it through, followed by strawberries then another frozen banana....it comes out like ice cream custard!  Sarah and me can eat us some bananas and strawberries!  But it is not the easiest thing to use or to clean, I think it's worth the extra time because it is soooo good!

 

Today my bread machine was delivered.  I had wanted one for a long time and finally found the one I wanted and ordered it.  Right now I am making gluten free cinnamon raisin bread.  In case you are wondering, none of us have an issue with gluten, it was just the only quick bread mix in the grocery store.  I thought it would be easiest to figure it out with something simple.  I'm just now starting to really use flour and things like that!  It was very easy once I read the book.  Everyone including the nurse is really excited to see how it turns out:)  Smells good! (update, it tasted good too!  I am a bread maker!  whoohoo!!!!)

 

Well I finally made one of the crock pot recipe I wanted to share.....

1 pound of ground meat (we use grass fed beef)
1 can  of Ro-tel tomatoes & chilies
16 oz box of the low fat Velveeta  cheese
1 can of refried beans

Brown the meat and drain it

Combine everything into a crock pot, put on high and in an hour you have a good appetizer.  I served it with Mexican chips.

Believe it or not, the Velveeta cheese is not that unhealthy.  I got the lower fat one and it had no terrible ingredients and was not high in fat. 


This trying to eat healthy is HARD!!!!!!   I'm really trying.  I figure if we eat healthy at home, and only eat out once or twice a week then it should even out.   One thing I've done is go back to drinking sweet tea instead of Pepsi.  For years I did not like my own tea, but either I 've gotten better or something but it tastes good to me now.  I read that ANY kind of tea you drink is good for you.  I prefer black tea, I know it's not as good as green tea but I can't get past the taste.  My whole family ALL drank tea by the bucket loads and lived long relatively healthy lives.  I put in just a little sugar and lots of lemons!

I used to buy frozen pancakes, now I buy flour, make them and freeze them myself, They are healthier and probably cheaper in the long run.  The kids love them.

Before Selah's accident, I was such an organized person.  I wonder where in the world did that girl go????   Now I am so not like that at all and I HATE it.  Right now I have so many different projects I should be doing but I can't wrap my mind around them, important things like pay bills...make deposits....  I did with the help of my friend and our school secretary, get Shad enrolled for school next year and his scholarship packet done.  Thank God, since the scholarship program closed today!   So Shad is going back to the private school the kids have gone to for years but Steve is continuing in home school.  When we started him on a home school program this year (which we had to do) legally he had to go under "an umbrella" that our school could not do.  So we joined a national home school program that uses the same curriculum that our school uses.  They have different requirements so if Steve were to go back to his old school some things would not transfer and I am afraid, he would not graduate next year!   He did some books last fall when we thought we'd be home in a few weeks and none of that counted towards the other program!!!   I feel bad for him but he doesn't seem to care about the whole thing.  I think it bothers me more than it bothers him!  

Anyhow, the organized Yvonne has disappeared, I don't know or like this unorganized person at all!  Honestly I read about PTSS post traumatic stress syndrome and that is one big sign of it.  I have no doubt that I have something like that.  I just thank God that somehow He continues to bring me through it.   This morning I woke up on the verge of a panic attack, it was like it was there grabbing at my throat all morning.  I had an overwhelming fear of death....it was crazy...and this while I was just going about my business.   I took one "happy pill" and a hot shower....I almost took another pill but I just focused on Who God is....NO MATTER WHAT....   He is still Lord of All, even if I drop dead, He is still the Creator of this world, even if I get cancer... He is still the Almighty God, even if we have an economic  collapse !!!!    (ok these were just a few of my fears this morning....LOL I like to cover ALL the bases with fears of what can happen, I try not to leave out any disaster) 

I can sit back and objectively look at all we have been through in the past year and understand why I have this crazy panic attack stuff but I won't let it rule my life.   I'm not too sure I have a choice about the waves hitting me, but I have learned how to ride the wave most of the time.  I've not had to take a pill in weeks but I've felt a few coming on, and I just rode them out.    The waves of sadness come like that too.  Laying in bed the other night, memories just flooded my mind...of last summer, how perfect life was....   I know some people wouldn't understand how or why I thought life was perfect with 3 extremely handicapped kids BUT it was handicaps we were used to and it was nothing to us.  We were in love with our GIRLS and couldn't believe how easy their adoption had been and the bonding.  I can remember standing in the laundry room, doing laundry and Jon came in and I told him "I have never been anymore happier in my whole life than I am right now"  I can remember being in the shower and praying and thanking God for the life He had given me.  One specific prayer I prayed was "God keep us all healthy, let us have a long time together on earth and keep us safe"    To me, my life was perfect last year.  My heart was so very thankful.  You have no idea how happy I was.   I want to be able to give thanks in every situation  (not FOR every situation but IN every situation)  but it is HARD to do sometimes.  Looking back, I'm glad I had those few weeks, 13 to be exact...I really do not think I'll ever be that happy again, this side of eternity. 

Sometimes when I am alone (not too often) and driving the down the road, looking at the beautiful summer Florida sky, it seems like I can see into eternity and I can grasp that HOPE for just a split second.  But that split second is enough for awhile to carry me through.   It's a daily, struggle, a daily fight to be able to trust and not to be afraid.  There really aren't words to describe how I feel sometimes.  But I am so thankful for His strong arm, that I can lean on those Everlasting Arms...

Yesterday during my time out with my friend, we heard a bit of a conversation at another table.  Some lady was saying to her friends, something like "you Are rich in Jesus's name"  And they were talking about finances, we could hear enough of the conversation.  Of course my eyes were rolling out of my head....my friend probably thought I was having a stroke or a seizure from stress LOL!  So she and I started talking about how having money and NOT having to depend on God, keeps you poor in spirit.  We both were able to share how God had come through for us time and time again (remember we both have FIVE kids so you know we need God!)  We both had times we needed financial help and an unexpected check was in the mail box that very day....and you know that is so sweet!   It's not like we laid around and waited for God to take care of us, we have spouses that work, she still works a job, I worked as long as I could with Sam.....so it's not like we don't' believe in working BUT there are times when you can work 2 jobs and still have a big need!   And we have been blessed to see God work those kinds of miracles for us!  She has a friend whose husband recently became unemployed and God did a big miracle right on time for them.  Her friend was in AWE because always before, she trusted in her and her husband's abilities to meet their needs, so they didn't need God in that area, but when they needed Him and rested on Him, then they saw a miracle that just blew their socks off because they knew they couldn't make it happen themselves!    So I do think of myself as "rich in Jesus' name" but Rich in experiences of how God has come through in my life time and time again. 

In the same vein, I'm rich with the experience of trusting in God when there was no one else to lean on.  This past year (the good and the bad) has deepen my life, it has caused me to turn to God in a way I'd never dreamed of before.  I've seen Him be so very faithful to us.   If I had the choice NOT to walk through this, of course I would have said "not thank you" in a nanosecond....  but in having to walk this walk, there is a depth of God, I've never experienced before and it is so sweet.  He is truly a God who is near to the broken hearted.   I say time and again, God was with me, the second I started running down that road to the emergency vehicles.... He wrapped His arms around me.  Somehow I knew it was my family....But God was there!  My heart is so grateful for that presence....

I pray each of you experience God in a deeper way.  I don't pray that you will have to walk through valleys to do it  but valleys and hard times seem to have a way of coming into all our lives at times.   So I do pray that when valleys and hard times come into your life that you will know God is right there with you.  And I pray that God will make Himself real to you before those hard times come.  When I was running down the street, I was shaking and praying out loud "Oh God Help"  that's all I could say....even if it hadn't been my family, I KNEW that someone needed God's help.   But you see, I knew that God that I was calling on, He wasn't a stranger to me.  I pray that you will let God into your life, surrender your life to Jesus Christ and get to know the God of this Universe if you don't already know him.  He will be there for you in the good and bad times, that I can promise you because I know it is real!   But there is a responsibility  of surrendering  your life to His hands.  Sometimes I have to surrender on an hourly basis LOL.  Not to say that I have to "get saved" over and over again but that I have to keep this "living sacrifice" on the altar.  The bible talks about giving our lives to God as living sacrifices in Romans 12:1  "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship."  I've heard a preacher say one time that living sacrifices have a way of getting up and walking off.....I've been guilty of that a few times too .....  But I do urge you to pray and ask God to make Himself real to you, give your life to Him and walk with Him. 

Thank you all again for your many thoughts and prayers for Selah and our family!  I am LOVING the emails and comments I'm getting!  Thank you!  I'd love to hear from you....  theclanton5@aol.com  or comment on here.  I read every comment and try to respond to many of them!  Thank you all!

Audience

On my blog I have a stat counter and it also shows what countries my readers are from.  I'm amazed when I see folks from all over the world who read my blog.  Russia, I get a lot of hits from you!  But never a comment.  Some countries like Dubai or the United Arab Emirates   I KNOW who that hit is from, a friend who lives there:)  I got a few hits from the Isle of Man, had to look that one up:)   Every area of the world, from South America to Asia, Europe, Africa has shown up....it is amazing to me.  Thank you for caring about our family!

Anyhow I'd love to hear from you.   I know it is not easy to comment on my blog....I know sometimes it is hard for me to comment LOL  but you are always welcomed to email me at  theclanton5@aol.com    I'd love to hear about your life and how our lives connected!   thank you for caring! 

This is "Family Fun Friday" as Shad calls it.  My husband is off on Fridays and we love to spend some of it together.  He often has things he has to do for the church, but it's always a good day.   We recorded a show about travel in Ukraine and plan on watching it tonight:)  We love Ukraine!!!!

Selah had another good night and is doing good this morning.  She will have therapy today and we are hoping that if she does good over the weekend, to put her back on the passy muir valve on Monday.  We want her to work off the trach but we've had to take it slow because of the infection she was fighting.  She seems to tire easily.  

You still have time to contribute to our Orphan of the Month.....we have $810 so far to send into Grace Have.  You can give directly to them or you can send a check and I will send one check next week.   Tomorrow we will have another child....there is an amazing story to tell!

Thank you for all you do and the encouragement you bring into my life:)