1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #95

921.  safely through another week

922.  one week closer to our floor project (we're at the stage when you question why you even decided to do this!) [Barring delays, Phase 1 is scheduled for Monday & Tuesday.]

923.  another great-nephew born on Jim's side!!

924.  a good infusion

925.  LM's special day Saturday with an aunt & uncle, two adult cousins, and grandparents (it takes a village!) Her favorite part was feeding and moving sows, though I don't think she minded the shrimp dinner while watching TV with Grandma either!

926.  safety (!) while driving to Chicago & back (my first time - yikes!) [I did drive to the suburbs once years ago, but this was 40 miles further into the madness that is Chicago traffic.]

927.  a day spent with BK - coffee, doughnut, Chick-fil-A, & sushi [We're in full-fledged teen-aged mode ;)]

928.  spending time hopefully encouraging one of his friends

929.  swim season has started!

930.  fields are being harvested (none of ours yet) - and the horizon is opening up!

And we're off...

My last post was "Summer is Over." With hardly any pause, we are off and running ...

In addition to weekly speech, LM's appointments start this week ... dermatology, orthodontics, eye, dental, ENT, and hearing test in the next seven weeks.  With the exception of orthodontics, hopefully none will require future visits!

Swim practice this fall and winter will be a juggling act.  The pool is (blissfully!) only 10 minutes from our home.  Good news, bad news! LM practices twice a week from 6-6.45 PM, and BK from 6.45-8 PM on the same nights.  I appreciate LM being home by 7 for post-practice nourishment and time to wash the chlorine out of her hair. And I'm very thankful that at least one other mom has offered to bring BK home on nights when Jim can't.   

(Before I knew the schedule, I was contemplating opening our home during practice for other moms.  Several come from towns 20-35 minutes away, and there is nothing near our high school pool, no gas station, no coffee shop, no Dollar General, nothing for miles and miles.  But, with our children having staggered practice times, it doesn't work. Maybe another year.)

Theoretically, the flooring people will be here Monday & Tuesday to replace carpet/flooring in 3 rooms, 3 closets, and a bathroom.  Translated: we have been packing as if we are moving. That is not for the faint of heart! 

LM loves Awana, but now we need to add in time everyday to do her Awana homework and practice her verse.  

LM's class visits the school library every Thursday and has a quiz on Friday of the book they checked out and read for homework! On Thursday, I pick LM up from school early, we drive 30 minutes to speech, she has an hour of speech, we drive 45 minutes to pick BK up from the grandparents', and then she has swim practice.  How can she read a book?!  

She is reading picture books, so she reads while I drive, and I frequently interrupt, asking her to spell a word, so I can help her.  

And ... (drum roll) ... harvest is on the horizon! And the flooring project actually has two parts: the Sept. 14-15 part, and a yet-to-be-scheduled 3-day part. Yikes! 

I read aloud to Jim this morning of a local high school swim team's results, and he asked, "Will it matter in eternity?" Technically, no. But, it's providing a wholesome way for them to spend their hours and be good stewards of their bodies while on earth.  

As I look over the above paragraphs, will it matter in eternity that we got new flooring, went to swim practice, read books, or went to doctor appointments? Technically, no. But hopefully it is part of our being good stewards during our years on earth. Hopefully we are doing all these things as an act of worship. 

And the prayer of my heart is:

Psalm 90

¹² Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom....

¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.

¹⁷ May the favor^[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

Summer is over

Our school district gets out mid-May and starts back mid-August, but summer for many runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. 

We usually go to Wisconsin both Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend (and whatever times in between that we can fit in a trip). 

Even though school started more than three weeks before we went to the lake for Labor Day, leaving the lake at the end of the weekend was hard! It felt like saying, "Goodbye," to summer.  There was a grieving process for most of our family.  Knowing we won't be back for 8 1/2 months was hard.  The last trip to the beach. The last time fishing. The last ice cream at the shop on the corner. The last view of the lake. It has never been this painful! 

LM grieved leaving her friend in Sunday School.  She wants to stay ALL summer next year, and at the end of the summer, keep staying and go to Awana at THAT church! :) 

I cannot promise that, so I took a page from my Mom's playbook, and said, "That would be nice. Maybe someday you can." 

Toes & fingers

There's nothing wrong with praying for our aunt's big toe, but sometimes I confess to having a bad attitude.

Our Sunday School class has actually been praying for month's for one member's toe, which has been in almost dire straits.  And we are praying for someone else who is in a much bigger crisis, but their pre-existing broken toe complicates healing. 

But, my bad attitude about praying for toes (& fingers) changed most dramatically (of course) when I myself needed prayer for my fingers (& elbow)!  Convicted!

Almost two weeks ago, as I walked into the dentist office (where one has to fill out a multitude of forms on an iPad), one of my fingers on my left hand had a shock of pain go through it.  Some days are better than others, but it's almost unusable, and thus that hand is often unusable. 

Last night, while getting a spoon out of the silverware drawer, somehow (!) a fork came up and pierced through a finger tip on my right hand.  It is the wildest story! I cannot do it justice. 

And several days ago, my right elbow was amazingly painful. Perhaps that was from over-exertion.  I rested over Labor Day weekend, and am trying not to overuse it now.  

But, we need our hands and elbows and toes and fingers!  Prayer welcome! ;) (And let me know if I can pray for your toe or finger.) 

I cannot help but think of Paul's words: 

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (ESV) 1 Corinthians 12:21–26

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #94

911. 2.4 weeks of school under our belt


912. Week of heat advisory is behind us


913. 3 IEP meetings and 1 Zoom with an advocate lined up


914. Wise & compassionate counsel from Joni & Friends and from a nurse, regarding how to shepherd our children as they process the tragedy a family from church is walking through


915. Prayer meeting


916. Time, place, and opportunity to rest over Labor Day weekend


917. Glorious church service last week- orchestra, each song (which had been chosen weeks in advance), lunch together afterwards, seeing the Body of Christ welcoming and ministering to outsiders


918. Slowly getting back in the swing of extracurriculars - speech, Awana, swim, and Bible club


919. Leisurely breakfast out with really good food and my favorite tea


920. Running into our carpool friend (from 2017-2020)!!! It made my day!! I love him so!

Medical Puzzle

Creating any schedule is like working a jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box cover. 

LM had speech at the university clinic from 3-4 PM on Monday afternoons last year.  There are a lot of Monday holidays, but I went ahead and scheduled her for Monday again this year. 

Then we learned of a new after-school Bible club on Mondays, so I requested a change to Thursday. Amazingly, the clinic was able to switch her! 

But then I realized she was double-booked for a hearing test at the same time on a Thursday.  Turns out that the clinic only does pediatric hearing tests on Thursdays ... until 4 PM, so I had to schedule it during school hours. 

Once that was scheduled, I could call to schedule her annual ENT appointment. He only comes to our nearest city on Thursdays, so once again, she will miss some school for an appointment. (But that's better than driving 70 miles one-way!)

Yesterday afternoon at speech, I re-scheduled her hearing test.  Today I scheduled her ENT visit.  I also scheduled my podiatrist appointment.  (3 new appointments...)

I also had a portal message from my rheumatologist in Chicago, replying to my message about some new symptoms.   

And I thankfully had a portal message from one of LM's providers, answering a question which will hopefully help her get more sleep. (Not being able to sleep has dire consequences when school is in session.)

Someone asked recently if I work, and I said, "I spend all my time on the phone with doctors, pharmacies, and insurance." Slight hyperbole. 

Paige Brown Bible Study

Are you looking for an online Bible study? I like Paige Brown's teaching style, and sometimes have done her online studies.  Below is the info for this fall.  Be sure to sign up for the livestream link at the end of the email below if you're interested.

Happy studying!

J~

Email from Paige:

Let's study together this fall! Starting Sept. 9, we will meet Wednesday mornings to study 1 John. The length of the study is TBD, but will be between 5-7 weeks. I will know more once we get started!


Here are the details we have now:

Topic: 1 John


Date: begins Sept. 9 and will be off Oct 14 for fall break


Time: Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.


Place: In-person in the Worship Center


Livestream: Available weekly during each study until the following Wednesday at 10 a.m. (subscribe to our channel here)

No registration necessary; everyone is welcome

If you received this email, then you are on the list to receive the livestream link each week, as well as any announcements about the study. If someone sent this to you, you can sign up to receive the emails by submitting your email address here.

Looking forward to it!

Paige