A Life of Gratitude

Typically our family particpates in all sorts of acts of kindess during the month of December. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and my recovery from surgery, we haven't been able to do all the things we normally do around Christmas. One of our favorite things to do is visit a local nursing home on Christmas Day and hand out Christmas cards to the residents who are eating tuna salad for dinner. This year we aren't able to visit because of the coronavirus. So, I decided to come up with a different service project/act of kindness of our family to do this season.  Evan is always deeply concerned for the homeless. He would literally give every homeless person the shirt off of his back. He mentioned something earlier this month about giving the homeless a Christmas gift and that's when I decided that care packages for the homeless would make a perfect project for us. This afternoon we packed twelve back packs with a Bible, socks, gloves, hats, hot hands, hot toes, chapstick, toothbru...

 I've been very excited to see the much anticipated "Christmas Star!" This evening, as soon as the sun began to go down, my family took our telescope out to an open parking lot so we could get a good glimpse of it.  Our telescope wasn't working right and the star wasn't quite as big as I had imagined but still, I was touched by this star.   Saturn and Jupiter only align this way every 800 years. Even though this has been a tough year for most, today on the darkest day of 2020, an incredible light shown in the sky. A light that hasn't shown for 800 years prior. That just blows my mind. And that got me thinking, I wonder why God chose to use a star to lead the wisemen to Jesus.  I bet it's because Light overcomes Darkness. Jesus is also often referred to as the Light of the World. Have you ever wondered God chose to use LIGHT as a reference for His Son? Maybe it’s because light is the one thing darkness has no control over . John 1:5 The light shines in ...

Today was absolutely beautiful. I was able to go to the sidewalk for the first time since my surgery a month ago. Not Forgotten Ministries hosted a "Peace in the Womb" caroling event outside of Planned Parenthood in Winston Salem, NC.  These events are happening all over the country throughout the Christmas season. As I walked up the street and saw the huge group of people that chose to stand out in the cold on a Friday morning, my heart was so full. I had prayed for a good turn out and God answered my prayer! Today was abortion day and we did have several clients drive by while we were caroling. The advocates there with us were able to speak with and give literature to a few clients too. My prayer is that our presence reminded people driving by that Christmas is all about a teenage girl with an unexpected pregnancy!    After caroling we welcomed everyone to our ministry office, just a block away from Planned Parenthood. We all enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate. We had so...

On November 19 th I had a hysterectomy. After spending two nights in the hospital I was able to come home. My recovery seemed to be typical and I was feeling a bit better a week after the surgery. At my follow up appointment, the doctor said my two of my incisions appeared infected. She gave me antibiotics and told me to take it easy. Two days later I returned to the doctor because all four of my incisions had re-opened completely and puss was oozing out of all of them. She cauterized them with silver nitrate which was one of the most painful things I’ve ever endured. As tears streamed down my face, I couldn’t help but wonder why this was suddenly happening. I had been healing so well but now it felt like I was back at square one. I have spent the next week in bed, trying to rest and heal and still have a long way to go. Ankylosing Spondylitis keeps me from healing like a “normal person” and everything is much more difficult for me. I have  also been dealing with heightened AS sym...

The past two weeks have been hard for me, but also very beautiful. I had to have a hysterectomy and spent two nights in the hospital. Once I got home I spent several days in the bed and been very weak and sore.  While all of it has been a lot to deal with physically and emotionally, I have experience something so precious. I have had the most loving, attentive helpers.  Dylan, Evan, and Tyson laid a little bell on my nightstand. They said, "Mom, any time you need something, just ring the bell!" They literally fought over who would help me each time I rang it. No matter how big or small the need, they would come running. It warmed my heart so much to see them so eager to help me and willing to work together. Allison has spent a lot of time taking care of me, snuggling with me, and even napping with me.  She also provided lots of company for me when she wasn't able to lay with me.  My sweet kiddos served me breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed.  I've had numerous f...

2020 has been an odd year (that's actually quite the understatement). The holidays will be different this year as well, due to the restrictions in place because of Covid-19. Not only was Thanksgiving different this year because of the pandemic, we also had to celebrate differently because I am recovering from surgery.  I usually spend hours cooking a big meal and then we typically have family over to enjoy the food. We often go to other family's houses as well. But not this year. This year we had a lazy day.  \ We started the morning lounging together on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I still have to lay around most of the time as I recover, so this was perfect for me. How cute are these guys? Later we made Thanksgiving Story Bracelets.   Each bead added to the pipe cleaner tells part of the story of the first Thanksgiving. Allison didn't want to wear hers.   Next we played a Gratitude Game. Allison loved rolling the dice. We shared something ...