It's official!!

We are celebrating and praising the Lord. My dear hubby passed his board re-certification test. Yesterday was my birthday, and today we have this great news. I couldn't have received a better present.
As some of you may know, we have been through this process three times in the past year and a half. The first two times we were quite disappointed with the failing scores. But we now see that the Lord was working with us to let go of all control and let Him handle it. That is so hard to do! With this test, we were finally able to say, "okay Lord, whatever you decide to do, we will praise you anyway." We determined to praise Him even if it was a failing score. What a trial it was to get to that point! The trial is over, and we both admit seeing spiritual growth through it all. Growth is painful, I see that now! But oh what joy when we overcome in Jesus!

We won't even go there...

I'm not even going to touch the fact that I haven't blogged in oh....forever! I have good intentions but...anyway, no excuses. On to my post.

I was very blessed last week. I went to Atlanta and stayed at the Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge with a friend. This is a lodge run by the American Cancer Society. My friend Judy has leukemia and had a stem cell transplant. She stays at the lodge because she has to go to the hospital every other day for treatments. Since her immune system is so suppressed, she needs a caregiver to stay with her and support her in every day activities. That's where I came in. Last week was my turn.

There are so many guests at the lodge who are facing such enormous challenges, yet they are always smiling and caring. I can't tell you how many times someone came to me to ask how Judy was doing if they didn't see her with me. They have genuine concern for each other. They check on others after doctor's appointments, they encourage each other when going through severe pain, and they rejoice together when milestones are reached in their recovery. We all celebrated together when one couple "graduated". The husband's treatments were done, he was doing well, and they were allowed to return home. It was a great moment.

There are some there who are very discouraged, scared and down. Others come to stay at the lodge alone, because they have no one to support then in their illness. Other guests are quick to rally around them, include them and encourage them.

Throughout the week, I praised the Lord for my health, and also thanked Him for the lessons learned in caring, compassion and encouragement.

I was only there one week, but it was a week I will never forget. It was such a privilege to care for Judy and meet each of the guests there and learn a little about them. I wouldn't trade that week for anything!

I pray daily for Judy and her husband. Now I have new friends to pray for and I am grateful.

It's been a busy couple of weeks....

The past couple of weeks have been super busy. I had two graduations (my two nieces), camp meeting (what a blessing, can't wait for General Conference), and an anniversary trip to Callaway Gardens (3 years). It was all enjoyable and fun. Everything however , happens at the beginning of May. I almost wish it was more spread out , then I would have other things to look forward to in the summer. Oh well, I will enjoy quiet time at home with my dear hubby and my garden. I'll post pictures of my garden later!

I'm DONE!!

I 'm just a little excited because I am done with school! I'm not a teacher, but a minuteman. My kindred spirit, is the head girls dean at the boarding school near me. Not content to have me just living nearby, she convinced the principal that I needed to step in any time they needed assistance. Well, that's what I did... for a whole year. I enjoyed the time with the students, but I missed my time at home baking bread, sewing, cleaning, and gardening. Yes, even cleaning. Now the school year is over and I almost don't know what to do with my time! Almost. Trust me, I'll find things to do. I'll keep you posted.

Wet and soggy, but we have our seeds!

Some friends and I took a girls road trip the first weekend in May. It was to to the Baker Creek Spring Seed Festival in Mansfield, Missouri. It was a soggy mess, but oh so much fun. In all, we traveled about 15 hours to get there, through washed out roads, rain storms and mud....lots of mud! We would do it all over again to get our seeds for our gardens. That's what I call determination!

A wonderful promise to remember...

Red barns along countryside, Vermont

"Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved" Psalms 55:22

I woke up very early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up to do my Bible reading, and this was one of the verses. It was just what I needed to see. I hope it's just what you need too.

Blessings!

May God bless all of you mother's out there with wisdom, patience and grace. I hope you all have a wonderful day!