Listen to Your Inner Voice

Have you ever ignored that little voice inside your head that tells you to do something? Talk to a stranger who looks hopeless. Help someone you don't know...like a mother walking along the roadside, carrying groceries, with her three kids dragging behind. Offer someone a hug who's been crying.  Strike up a nice conversation with a colleague who nags the living hell out of you. Well this evening, that voice spoke to me. Not once, but two times...

Praising Him in the Storm

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

- Casting Crowns -

It's been a rough few days. 

I'm on spring break, and I was looking forward to some rest and mental distance from work. Instead, I've been spending the past few days caring for a very sick Buddy Roller who suffers from asthma. If you have a child with asthma, you can relate.

It started on Sunday. He woke up with a fever and cough. The fever has lasted three days now.  So has the cough. We've been to the doctor, and he's on a slew of medicines and breathing treatments.  But it seems this thing just has to run its course. 

He's been cranky, clingy, and needy. He has not been eating nor sleeping well. As a result, I've had some sleepless nights myself. I think I'm becoming cranky. The days, it seems, have all blended into one. This morning I actually had to go in search of what day it actually is. I have lost track.

As I was getting Buddy Roller dressed this morning, I really wanted to cry. I am tired, but most of all, I hate seeing my child sick. It just breaks my heart to see and hear him cough all day to the point where he can't even finish a sentence. But as I almost gave in to my tears, I was reminded to praise Him. 

When we face challenging times, so often our first reaction is to complain, blame someone else or worse, take our anger out on an innocent person. I've been there. But today, thankfully, I remembered to praise Him. I took Buddy Roller in my arms and I praised God and thanked Him for all the blessings we have.  As I listed blessing after blessing, one by one, speaking them out loud, I truly felt better. 

As a Christian, I know not to let the storms of life get the better of me. I'm grateful that this morning I remembered to give thanks and praise to the One who truly takes it all away. 

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

- Casting Crowns -

No Matter the Storm, the Anchor Holds

The Hubs, Buddy Roller, and Gram-Paw

He turned 80 this year. He has a boisterous laugh, is quite the character, and he is full of vigor and vitality. He is wise, very generous, and has a warm spirit. Of course he has his quirky ways too, who doesn't? He does not use a smart phone and he loves completing Sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. For the more than 20 years I have known him, he has very much been like a father to me. He is my father-in-law or "Gram-Paw" as Buddy Roller affectionately calls him...