This family has been served yet another helping of a "crap sandwich," as they call it.
Please visit this family and leave them some words of encouragement.
Please storm heaven with prayers for this family.
(If you are easily offended by foul language, be forwarned that you will run into some while reading her post. However, they are at a point where harsh language is all that is left to describe what they are going through.)
Thank you in advance for visiting and praying for this family.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
I thought that I liked roller coasters . . . .
As I have stated before, comparing life to a roller coaster ride is quite an accurate analogy. The nervousness and tenseness over what is coming, the fear as it gets closer, the desire to turn around and get off as you crest, the terror and thrill as you plummet, the amazement that you survived after the descent, the wonderment if you can handle it again as a new climb begins, and finally, exultation at the end that you survived it and could survive it again.
This past week has been one of those roller coaster rides. There were so many emotions that were experienced this week that it has left us a little dazed.
We had 3 gymnastics meets this weekend. (Don't worry, the whole post isn't about gymnastics.) The team that I coach had their very first meet ever. This was also my first meet as a team coach. I was nervous for myself and each of my 15 girls. However, they all did such an amazing job and came in 2nd place as a team! Woo-hoo! My own daughters each competed this weekend as well. M. scored a 9.5 on vault! It was a beautiful vault. She also brought her all around score up by around 2 points from her first meet. (When scores are measured by tenths of points, a 2 point change is quite an improvement.) Her team came in second place as well. Their team score came up by about 5 points from their last meet, which is incredible. J. scored her highest all-around score ever! Her team came in first place, by about 5 points. So, all in all, an incredible weekend gymnastics wise.
However, in the midst of all of this, we got hit with several not so wonderful things. I really cannot go into much detail of the exact circumstance. Even if I did so, it would not do an accurate job conveying the emotions involved. I can say that it struck our foundation really hard. I will try to use a hypothetical situation to help everyone understand. Think of something that is a vital part of your life or someone in your immediate family's life. It could be a job, school, church, a group of friends, a support group, or something like that. Now, imagine that you all of a sudden found out that it was no longer going to be the same. Imagine that it was going to change so drastically that it scared you. If it is your job that you are thinking of, imagine if someone in headquarters was going to revamp your whole department, and your favorite boss or mentor was no longer going to be there. Granted, there are reasons for this decision, whether you agree with them or not. However, you struggle because the people making the decision are basing their decision on what they feel is best for a department that they are not a part of. If you work in the department, you will see this decision completely differently than those that are not as emotionally involved. You also know how the news will be received by those affected. You know that it should have been handled differently. They know it too, but they realized it too late.
You know that there had to be a legitimate reason for the decision. You have to trust that those in charge know what they are doing. You have to have faith that they are looking out for those they are leading. You have to accept what has happened, maybe not quietly, but you have to accept it. You have to. Or else you will self destruct. You have to believe that the entity that is such a strong part of your life will still be there for you. You have to realize that those involved are humans, and that you must have grace.
The hard part is watching your child cry herself to sleep at night. It is hard watching her friends cry. It is hard to see them go through so much inner turmoil - more than they normally go through. It is hard seeing the fear in your child's eyes because they don't know what is going to happen next. It is hard to explain to them that there may be something good that comes from this. It is hard to know that they feel unimportant. It is just hard.
I am at the point on the roller coaster ride where I want to get off. This isn't fun anymore. I want to go back to 2 weeks ago when my kids were happy. When they felt important and loved. When they felt like their opinions mattered to others. However, I know that this isn't possible.
I know that all decisions cannot be based on what we want. I know that these things happen and I cannot change them. I also know at the end, when this ride is over, I will feel exultant to have survived, as will my children. I will feel a little better prepared for the next ride. I am starting to see some of the "good" already. I see my oldest daughter deciding to step up and be a leader to help some of the other kids who are upset and scared. She and several of her other friends talked and decided to step up together to help with this. I see other teenagers so affected by emotion that I know they will never be the same. They will be more approachable and more appreciative. I believe this will force some of the kids affected to take more control of themselves. I wonder if some of them may have gotten too dependant or too comfortable in their comfort zone. This may open some of their eyes to the fact that they alone control their lives. I see people showing passion that before were kind of lackadaisical. Passion, whether positive or negative, is much more effective than nonchalance. Passion shows care. Used properly, it can be a very powerful tool. I see more parents becoming involved. I see leaders realizing that decisions on paper and decisions in real life are two different things.
So, am I happy about these events? No, absolutely not.
Do I think that it is what is best? For my family, no, definitely not. As a whole? I'm not sure yet.
Do I think good can come out of this? Yes
Am I scared of the changes? No. I am terrified.
Do I trust those that made the decision? Yes
Am I a barrel of contradictions? Yes and no. :-)
Do I believe that God will help guide us through? Oh yes!
So, if you have read to the end, kudos to you. It probably makes no sense whatsoever. I just needed to get it all out.
Thank you for listening. I would love to hear how any of you have dealt with unforeseen life-altering events. I want it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This past week has been one of those roller coaster rides. There were so many emotions that were experienced this week that it has left us a little dazed.
We had 3 gymnastics meets this weekend. (Don't worry, the whole post isn't about gymnastics.) The team that I coach had their very first meet ever. This was also my first meet as a team coach. I was nervous for myself and each of my 15 girls. However, they all did such an amazing job and came in 2nd place as a team! Woo-hoo! My own daughters each competed this weekend as well. M. scored a 9.5 on vault! It was a beautiful vault. She also brought her all around score up by around 2 points from her first meet. (When scores are measured by tenths of points, a 2 point change is quite an improvement.) Her team came in second place as well. Their team score came up by about 5 points from their last meet, which is incredible. J. scored her highest all-around score ever! Her team came in first place, by about 5 points. So, all in all, an incredible weekend gymnastics wise.
However, in the midst of all of this, we got hit with several not so wonderful things. I really cannot go into much detail of the exact circumstance. Even if I did so, it would not do an accurate job conveying the emotions involved. I can say that it struck our foundation really hard. I will try to use a hypothetical situation to help everyone understand. Think of something that is a vital part of your life or someone in your immediate family's life. It could be a job, school, church, a group of friends, a support group, or something like that. Now, imagine that you all of a sudden found out that it was no longer going to be the same. Imagine that it was going to change so drastically that it scared you. If it is your job that you are thinking of, imagine if someone in headquarters was going to revamp your whole department, and your favorite boss or mentor was no longer going to be there. Granted, there are reasons for this decision, whether you agree with them or not. However, you struggle because the people making the decision are basing their decision on what they feel is best for a department that they are not a part of. If you work in the department, you will see this decision completely differently than those that are not as emotionally involved. You also know how the news will be received by those affected. You know that it should have been handled differently. They know it too, but they realized it too late.
You know that there had to be a legitimate reason for the decision. You have to trust that those in charge know what they are doing. You have to have faith that they are looking out for those they are leading. You have to accept what has happened, maybe not quietly, but you have to accept it. You have to. Or else you will self destruct. You have to believe that the entity that is such a strong part of your life will still be there for you. You have to realize that those involved are humans, and that you must have grace.
The hard part is watching your child cry herself to sleep at night. It is hard watching her friends cry. It is hard to see them go through so much inner turmoil - more than they normally go through. It is hard seeing the fear in your child's eyes because they don't know what is going to happen next. It is hard to explain to them that there may be something good that comes from this. It is hard to know that they feel unimportant. It is just hard.
I am at the point on the roller coaster ride where I want to get off. This isn't fun anymore. I want to go back to 2 weeks ago when my kids were happy. When they felt important and loved. When they felt like their opinions mattered to others. However, I know that this isn't possible.
I know that all decisions cannot be based on what we want. I know that these things happen and I cannot change them. I also know at the end, when this ride is over, I will feel exultant to have survived, as will my children. I will feel a little better prepared for the next ride. I am starting to see some of the "good" already. I see my oldest daughter deciding to step up and be a leader to help some of the other kids who are upset and scared. She and several of her other friends talked and decided to step up together to help with this. I see other teenagers so affected by emotion that I know they will never be the same. They will be more approachable and more appreciative. I believe this will force some of the kids affected to take more control of themselves. I wonder if some of them may have gotten too dependant or too comfortable in their comfort zone. This may open some of their eyes to the fact that they alone control their lives. I see people showing passion that before were kind of lackadaisical. Passion, whether positive or negative, is much more effective than nonchalance. Passion shows care. Used properly, it can be a very powerful tool. I see more parents becoming involved. I see leaders realizing that decisions on paper and decisions in real life are two different things.
So, am I happy about these events? No, absolutely not.
Do I think that it is what is best? For my family, no, definitely not. As a whole? I'm not sure yet.
Do I think good can come out of this? Yes
Am I scared of the changes? No. I am terrified.
Do I trust those that made the decision? Yes
Am I a barrel of contradictions? Yes and no. :-)
Do I believe that God will help guide us through? Oh yes!
So, if you have read to the end, kudos to you. It probably makes no sense whatsoever. I just needed to get it all out.
Thank you for listening. I would love to hear how any of you have dealt with unforeseen life-altering events. I want it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Where in the world are you?
As usual, our minister Jody, got my wheels turning this weekend.
Have you ever thought about the demographics of our planet? It has crossed my mind, but I have not really dwelt on it much.
Have you ever really thought about the difference between how those of us that live in America versus those that do NOT live in America? Again, I have thought about it. I’m sure you fellow Americans have thought about it as well.
Have you ever gotten frustrated that you could not get in touch with someone because they did not read their email often enough? (Yes for me.) What about ones that did not even have email? (Oh my goodness yes.) And the ones that don’t answer their cell phones? (Um, certainly.) How about those that don’t even have cell phones? (Yes, yes, yes!) Do you ever find it hard to believe that there are people in the world that don’t have email or cell phones? (Resounding YES from me, again.)
Well, our minister mentioned a website called 100 people. They took the worlds demographics and converted them into numbers we can wrap our minds around. Look at this:
If the World were 100 PEOPLE:
50 would be female
50 would be male
5 would be from North America
9 would be from Latin America & the Caribbean
12 would be from Europe
61 would be from Asia
13 would be from Africa
31 would be Christian
21 would be Muslim
14 would be Hindu
6 would be Buddhist
12 would believe in other religions
16 would not be religious or identify themselves as being aligned with a particular faith
17 would speak Chinese
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
3 would speak Bengali
2 would speak Malay-Indonesian
2 would speak French
45 would speak other languages
82 would be able to read and write
18 would not
76 males would have a primary school education
72 females would have a primary school education
66 males would have a secondary school education
63 females would have a secondary school education
1 would have a college education
83 would have access to safe drinking water
17 would use unimproved water
17 would be undernourished
I live in one of the most affluent counties in my state. We live paycheck to paycheck and often feel inadequate around our more affluential friends and neighbors. This list helped me to realize that, truly, I am “rich” by the majority of the world’s standards.
While my head has known this fact for a while, the numbers broken down this way really helped me to get my mind around it.
The challenge I am issuing to myself, and to you, is this: What are we going to do with this knowledge? Do we try to introduce Jesus to those that don’t know him? Do we try to get drinking water to those that thirst? Do we try to get food to those that hunger? Do we try to teach those that cannot read? These seem like overwhelming tasks for you or me.
There are people who have devoted their lives to helping these people. If you are a member of a church, you probably support missionaries. Increasing your giving to church will help support those that are already out there working on these issues.
If you are not sure what to do about this, prayers for guidance and clarity are always beneficial for the person praying and for the issues and people being prayed for.
**I am not asking you to become a missionary or to sell all that you have to try to change the world. I just want to strike a chord within your heart. If we all changed our way of thinking just the tiniest bit, we could change the world. Compassion and generosity are contagious. If you display these traits, those around you will start trying to be the same. If you impart these traits on to your children, it will spread even faster. I wonder how long it would take to change the world?
Again, thank you for reading my ramblings!
Let me know you were here! I love to know that I am not talking to myself. Also, look through some of my previous comments and pay some of my visitors a visit as well.
Have you ever thought about the demographics of our planet? It has crossed my mind, but I have not really dwelt on it much.
Have you ever really thought about the difference between how those of us that live in America versus those that do NOT live in America? Again, I have thought about it. I’m sure you fellow Americans have thought about it as well.
Have you ever gotten frustrated that you could not get in touch with someone because they did not read their email often enough? (Yes for me.) What about ones that did not even have email? (Oh my goodness yes.) And the ones that don’t answer their cell phones? (Um, certainly.) How about those that don’t even have cell phones? (Yes, yes, yes!) Do you ever find it hard to believe that there are people in the world that don’t have email or cell phones? (Resounding YES from me, again.)
Well, our minister mentioned a website called 100 people. They took the worlds demographics and converted them into numbers we can wrap our minds around. Look at this:
If the World were 100 PEOPLE:
50 would be female
50 would be male
5 would be from North America
9 would be from Latin America & the Caribbean
12 would be from Europe
61 would be from Asia
13 would be from Africa
31 would be Christian
21 would be Muslim
14 would be Hindu
6 would be Buddhist
12 would believe in other religions
16 would not be religious or identify themselves as being aligned with a particular faith
17 would speak Chinese
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
3 would speak Bengali
2 would speak Malay-Indonesian
2 would speak French
45 would speak other languages
82 would be able to read and write
18 would not
76 males would have a primary school education
72 females would have a primary school education
66 males would have a secondary school education
63 females would have a secondary school education
1 would have a college education
83 would have access to safe drinking water
17 would use unimproved water
17 would be undernourished
53 would live on less than 2USD per day
50 would live in poverty
76 would have electricity
24 would not
34 would be cell phone subscribers
17 would be active internet users
1 would own a computer
A similar website had the following statistics:
18 would be white
82 would be non-white
89 would be hetero sexual
11 would be homosexual
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
80 would live in substandard housing
24 would not have any electricity
So, apparently, I am quite the minority. I am a white Christian female with a college education, I speak English, I have a cell phone and access to the internet, and I do not live in poverty.
A similar website had the following statistics:
18 would be white
82 would be non-white
89 would be hetero sexual
11 would be homosexual
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
80 would live in substandard housing
24 would not have any electricity
So, apparently, I am quite the minority. I am a white Christian female with a college education, I speak English, I have a cell phone and access to the internet, and I do not live in poverty.
I live in one of the most affluent counties in my state. We live paycheck to paycheck and often feel inadequate around our more affluential friends and neighbors. This list helped me to realize that, truly, I am “rich” by the majority of the world’s standards.
While my head has known this fact for a while, the numbers broken down this way really helped me to get my mind around it.
The challenge I am issuing to myself, and to you, is this: What are we going to do with this knowledge? Do we try to introduce Jesus to those that don’t know him? Do we try to get drinking water to those that thirst? Do we try to get food to those that hunger? Do we try to teach those that cannot read? These seem like overwhelming tasks for you or me.
There are people who have devoted their lives to helping these people. If you are a member of a church, you probably support missionaries. Increasing your giving to church will help support those that are already out there working on these issues.
If you are not sure what to do about this, prayers for guidance and clarity are always beneficial for the person praying and for the issues and people being prayed for.
**I am not asking you to become a missionary or to sell all that you have to try to change the world. I just want to strike a chord within your heart. If we all changed our way of thinking just the tiniest bit, we could change the world. Compassion and generosity are contagious. If you display these traits, those around you will start trying to be the same. If you impart these traits on to your children, it will spread even faster. I wonder how long it would take to change the world?
Again, thank you for reading my ramblings!
Let me know you were here! I love to know that I am not talking to myself. Also, look through some of my previous comments and pay some of my visitors a visit as well.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Gymnastics pictures
Well, competition season has started. J. has had 2 meets and M. has had one. Below are a few pictures from their meets.
Before I get any harrassing comments on my pictures, let me provide the following caveats:
* All of the pictures are taken inside a gym
* Lighting inside gyms is not conducive to picture taking - think flourescent bulbs
* You cannot use a flash while taking pictures at a gymnastics meet.
Therefore, the pictures are not great. Some of them are not even very good. Some of them are outright bad. These are the best of the lot, though.
If any of you have any suggestions on how to improve these pictures, please let me know!
Thanks.
Here is J's dismount off of the beam:
Split leap on the beam:
The bars are her best event. Below is her handstand on the high bar:
Part of her floor routine:
Back tuck in floor routine:
M. in the middle of her tumbling pass at her first meet:
Split leap:
Not really an exciting picture as far as action goes, but it turned out well. This is during the dance part of her floor routine:
Dismount on beam:
Scale:
In dance portion of beam routine:
Preparing for 1/2 turn:
Rebound:
Stretching out:
So, if you are not a close family friend or a gymnast, these are probably not that exciting to you. However, it is the icing part of a gymnasts life.
If you have never been involved in gymnastics, it is hard to understand. I am working on a post to tell you what the life of a gymnast and their family is like. Here is a quick snapshot:
J - 18 hours of practice a week
M - 9 hours of practice a week
This is every week. There is no off season. The girls get 1 week off a year. There is anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes of conditioning in each practice. This is hard work - and the meets are where they get ONE CHANCE to show off what they can do, so it is a pretty big deal to them.
Here are their stats from their first meet:
J: - 1st on all 4 events and 1st All-Around with team placing 1st
M: - 1st on vault, tie for 1st on floor, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, and 2nd all-around with team placing 2nd.
At J's second meet, she placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on floor, and 4th all around with the team placing 1st.
This past weekend was homecoming at our school, so I will be posting some pictures from there soon.
Don't forget to leave me a note and let me know you were here.
Thanks for stopping by!
Before I get any harrassing comments on my pictures, let me provide the following caveats:
* All of the pictures are taken inside a gym
* Lighting inside gyms is not conducive to picture taking - think flourescent bulbs
* You cannot use a flash while taking pictures at a gymnastics meet.
Therefore, the pictures are not great. Some of them are not even very good. Some of them are outright bad. These are the best of the lot, though.
If any of you have any suggestions on how to improve these pictures, please let me know!
Thanks.
Here is J's dismount off of the beam:
Split leap on the beam:
The bars are her best event. Below is her handstand on the high bar:
Part of her floor routine:
Back tuck in floor routine:
M. in the middle of her tumbling pass at her first meet:
Split leap:
Not really an exciting picture as far as action goes, but it turned out well. This is during the dance part of her floor routine:
Dismount on beam:
Scale:
In dance portion of beam routine:
Preparing for 1/2 turn:
Rebound:
Stretching out:
So, if you are not a close family friend or a gymnast, these are probably not that exciting to you. However, it is the icing part of a gymnasts life.
If you have never been involved in gymnastics, it is hard to understand. I am working on a post to tell you what the life of a gymnast and their family is like. Here is a quick snapshot:
J - 18 hours of practice a week
M - 9 hours of practice a week
This is every week. There is no off season. The girls get 1 week off a year. There is anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes of conditioning in each practice. This is hard work - and the meets are where they get ONE CHANCE to show off what they can do, so it is a pretty big deal to them.
Here are their stats from their first meet:
J: - 1st on all 4 events and 1st All-Around with team placing 1st
M: - 1st on vault, tie for 1st on floor, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, and 2nd all-around with team placing 2nd.
At J's second meet, she placed 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on floor, and 4th all around with the team placing 1st.
This past weekend was homecoming at our school, so I will be posting some pictures from there soon.
Don't forget to leave me a note and let me know you were here.
Thanks for stopping by!
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