Life's Not the Breaths You Take

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS5X2V5s58A

I have nothing to add! What a great song - Life's not the breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away!

The Breath You Take - George Strait

He looks up from second base dad’s up in the stands

He saw the hit, the run, the slide there ain’t no bigger fan
In the parking lot after the game he said
“Dad I thought you had a plane to catch”
He smiled and said “Yeah son I did”


Chorus
Life’s not the breaths you take
The breathing in and out
That gets you through the day
Ain’t what it’s all about
Ya just might miss the point
Try’n to win the race
Life’s not the breaths you take
But the moments that take your breath away




Fast forward fifteen years
And a thousand miles away
Boy’s built a life he’s got a wife
And a baby due today
He hears a voice saying “I made it son
He said “I told you dad you didn’t have to come”
He smiles and says ”Yeah I know you did”




Chorus

Just like it took my breath when she was born
Just like it took my breath away when dad took his last that morn
Life’s not the breaths you take
The breathing in and out
That gets you through the day
Ain’t what it’s all about
Ya just might miss the point
If ya don’t slow down the pace
Life’s not the breaths you take
But the moments that take your breath away

I Love the Elderly!

I love the elderly! This is my grandmother.

And this is my grandfather.

I love visiting the assisted living home every other Friday! I just have so much fun. This week when I visited my grandfather got up from his favorite chair and went to get his desk chair on wheels so he could sit across from me, facing me. I asked what he was doing and grandma piped up from the seat next to me, "Oh he is just going to sit on His Throne." I burst out laughing and giggling! It was so cute! For some reason when we get older, we are no longer afraid to say what we really feel and think. It's like the innocence of childhood all over again. My grandma is stubborn and doesn't like people to tell her what to do...like her exercises! But she is a blessing to me. We have a lot of fun just sitting together and enjoying the moments and reminscing about days gone by! My grandpa now says, "I don't tell people how old I am. I just tell them that together grandma and I are 185 years old!!" And the other amazing part is they have been married for 69 years!!!! Wow! You know, if my grandfather had a high school class reunion he would be celebrating 75 years this summer! How many people do you know who can say that!?
Today, I drove back to Alma (for the third day in a row) and surprised my grandpa. He didn't know I was coming but he had mentioned on Friday that he was singing in church on Sunday! When I snuck up in the pew and asked if the seat next to him was taken, he didn't quite know what to say. He was so happy for the support and to know that I cared enough to come! And oh, it was beautiful! He sang, "What a Wonderful World" and "His Eye is on the Sparrow." I think the real surpise (and blessing) came to me! I truly drove away knowing I was so incredibly blessed!

A Blessing

This morning the dog woke me up at 4:30 am.! He had chased a raccoon up a tree. And he barked uncessantly! I tried earplugs but it didn’t help much! Upon discovery, indeed it was a raccoon!

Oh the simple life…

This morning after I found the raccoon I decided to slip on my Wellies (while still in my pjs of course) and take a walk. It was a blessing walk. Everywhere I turned, a blessing...

The pigs enjoying an early morning cat nap. (hehee and morning breakfast!)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sheep curious as to what I was doing...

 

 

 

And the hens and chicks peeking the ground in search of a little food!

 

And then my favorite, the goats. Oh the baby goats how fun they are! They had just gotten their morning bottle.

Then I continued on and walked through the pasture.

Can birds really read? "Welcome birds."

And when I returned I was filled with joy and awe at the God who provides endless blessings right there in front of me.

And the dog cried for his raccoon that he really wanted….

One dead raccoon but one lucky dog! Isn’t that what we all do...cry for what we really want and God knows best and we are lucky; blessed beyond belief!

Life is Short

"Doubtstorms," Max Lucado calls them. "Turbulent days when the enemy is too big, the task too great, the future too bleak and the answers too few."



There are those times in life when there is nothing we can do to change the situation, nowhere we can go to get away from the loss, no one who can make things better. When life hurts we would like God to pick us up and let us soar above the heartache so that even though we know it is there we don't suffer the deep pain we know is coming.

Little do we know that the greater miracle in the midst of the our most grievous storm is when God gives us what we need to simply walk and not faint. At first, this hardly seems like a miracle at all. Because we really do believe that we could soar but then realize it is out of the question and there is no more running to be done. The only thing left is the helplessness of a reality that has forever changed the shape of life as we have known it and love it. Then comes the "keep on keepin' on" stage, when all we want is to go somewhere so we can coddle the gaping wound we have been left with and try to survive the unbearable pain.

When a storm comes along of sufficient force to wipe out our livelihood, our health, our most treasured relationship or perhaps our lifelong dreams, and we are left standing in the rubble of our shattered life, we are in many ways reduced to infancy. So much has been lost and so much changed that we must essentially start over again. We must begin to walk before we can think about running or soaring. Sometimes I wish people who haven't lost someone or experienced these feelings could just get a glimpse of what it is that we feel. Indeed we need help just to be able to stay on our own feet. When we can't carry ourselves, when the loss is one we cannot rise above or work through but no amount of prayer or effort can restore, our most immediate need is the grace to survive the intensity of emotional despair and the physical fatigue that accompanies it. It is here that our faith is being soarly tested at the same time it sustains us!

 

It is here we often cry out from the depths, "Where are you, God?" It is also here that God can do His deepest work in our lives because here we become aware that we have nowhere to go but to Him. We can pour out our screams of unfairness to God until we are empty and broken enough for Him to begin to teach us His absolute faithfulness. We can come to see God, ourselves, and our faith journey with new eyes as we simply hold out our hands and allow Him to lead us into a greater awareness of His wisdom.

I wrote some of this after my mom passed away and I read an incredible book (no longer available at bookstores called Riches Stored in Secret Places by Verdell Davis). It helped me get through the grief of losing my mom. To say that I struggled for months on end was an understatement. It rocked my world. But looking back on the last several years, God was ever needed, ever faithful, and ever present. I had longed for the pain to be gone, the lessons to be learned and the light to shine again. He gave me the grace to walk in the impossible places, taught me to trust and that I will again run and even soar.

Yesterday a friend passed away and my heart aches for the family. I do feel their pain and their struggle. O Lord, please comfort this family in their time of grief.

It is a gentle reminder that life is so short...gone in an instant. O, take that time today to tell someone how much they mean to you, how much you love them, how much they've had an impact on your life. You will never get the chance after they're gone!

Pondering Quotes

I found this quote and have been pondering it ever since!

God is not always silent, and man is not always blind. In every man's life there are moments when there is a lifting of the veil at the horizon of the known, opening a sight of the eternal.... But such experiences are rare events. To some people they are like shooting stars, passing and unremembered. In others they kindle a light that is never quenched.

It just struck me today after experiences this week and I wanted to share. Not sure why but there it is and do with it as you like. Perhaps it will cause you to pause and open your eyes to see glimpses of heaven!

P.S. I took this picture at my dad's house at sunset. It does make me think of the quote above..."a lifting of the veil at the horizon of the known, opening a sight of the eternal"...hmmm

a Picture is Worth a 1000 Words!

Today was a beautiful day! And I mean that in all respects! What started out as a cloudy overcast day turned into a sunny evening and tied with a beautiful sunset on top! We prayed and many prayed for no rain and God showed His faithfulness! Family pictures took place at my dad's lake house! My sister was there with her family! Dad and Sharon both cried some but smiles seemed to ease the thoughts in the back of each of our minds! To top it off the photogragher was amazing! I love her! She captured each moment, each relationship and I can't wait to see the results!!! Today is definitely a day I will always cherish!

A Dream

I had a dream the other night. After I woke up I was really shaken because it was so incredibly real. In my dream, Sharon called me and told me my dad had passed. I kept repeating, "I never got to say goodbye. I never got to say goodbye." She told me to not worry about it. She said because of the circumstances, even though he just passed that morning, they were having the funeral at that afternoon. I was so upset because no one would know and no one would come. And I continued repeating, "I never got to say goodbye." Then I was at their house but there was a dining room in the bedroom. I was so upset and I sat at the table. Then my dad was at the table. Oh how the tears came and I told him how much I missed him. He reassured me that everything was going to be alright and that he would be watching over me.
The dream was incredible. It was so real.

Dad had a rough day. He slept for quite a while this morning. My brother in law told him he'd take him sailing because it would give him something to look forward to that day. Chad went with my two nephews, Trent 16 and Caleb 10. Everything seemed like it was going to be smooth sailing until they got out from the bay. Dad started slumping and felt like he couldn't sit up. Trent moved next to papa and helped him sit. He seemed fine. After they got back to shore, Dad couldn't get out of the boat. Chad and Trent helped carry him out and set him in a chair on the shore. Chad thought perhaps he was dehydrated and they got him some water. He seemed to be doing better but they carried him in the chair back to the house.
I see each day failing a little more and a little more. It's so hard to watch. We are traveling to Jackson to have family pictures taken on Sunday. I'm looking forward to the evening and I pray it will all go smoothly.
I visited the grandparents again today. I love going to visit. The hard part about today was breaking the news to my 93 and 92 year old grandparents that their beloved son only has months to live. Grandma doesn't always seem to understand but she repeated several times, "How is he doing?" "You mean, they can't do anything else?"
Tough days are ahead but I know in the end without a shadow of doubt that my dad will be watching over me. And not only my earthly father but my Heavenly Father has us in the palm of his hand; he sees the tears and he cries too.