Out of the mouths of babes...

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions. I was set to drive to Omaha last Sunday. Because there was a storm, I left early. So Saturday, I drove to Omaha and was thrilled to see Jon, Betsy, Simon, Mazie, and the + Six that live with them. I felt great...I walked into their house and got HUGE hugs all around. We had a great couple of days and on Tuesday, Steve flew in to Omaha to join the festivities and preparation for Thanksgiving.

Situation #1:

It is a known fact that Steve is the one to prepare the turkey and the Thanksgiving feast! So, it only made sense that I would entertain Simon and Mazie on Wednesday. Simon got home from school and Simon, Mazie, and I set out for the hotel...about 10 minutes from Boys Town. I turned on Maggie, our GPS, and off we went, confident that we would have a great time in the pool. Finally, Simon said, "Nana, it feels like we are going in circles!" OK, so I felt the same way. And we WERE! After traveling in circles for over an hour, I called Betsy, frantic. She knew where I was, but the panic level didn't allow me to process what she was saying...so she asked if she could talk to Simon (5 year old grandson). She asked him is he could see the way to their church. After a minute or two, Simon made the connection and we were on our way. We got to the hotel, and when I saw the sign...this conversation occured
Me: "Nana is going to cry for a couple of minutes, but it is okay."
Simon: "Nana, there is no reason to cry; we are here. It's okay."
Mazie: "Nana, you are a genius...."

We swam then went back to Boys Town for supper.

Situation #2:

Steve was still needed for the final touches on the Thursday meal, so after supper it was decided that I would take the chiklins back to the hotel. Simon ran to his room and said he had to pack some things. He told his mom that for this trip, he needed to pack a "survival" kit. Loaded with water (2 bottles), socks, books, bandaids, wipes, and your basics for when you get lost when traveling with your Nana.

The conversation when we got to the hotel was a little different that time:

Mazie: "Nana, you made it...you are a genius."

Simon: "Mazie, Nana really isn't a genius, because genius means very smart...we can say Nana is really great."

Do you hear that sound????? It's the sound of a bubble popping.

Situation #3:

When I took the kids into the hotel after that bubble popping comment...I gathered up the things from the trunk. Thus the situation began...however, I didn't know it at that time. The next morning, we got ready to go to the pool. I asked Steve to grab my camera that could be found in my purse! Purse? Not in the room....oh, I remember...it's in the trunk. Keys? KEys? KEYs? KEYS!!!!????????? WHERE ARE THE KEYS???????? A quick search...a longer search...a frantic search.....hmmmmmmmm......PANIC!

For the next 2 days, we called a locksmith, Budget car rental several times...Let's see....Thanksgiving day....everyone was nice but dismissive and each person quoted a higher price. We opted to put it off until Friday morning. I called Budget Rental Roadside Assistance on Friday morning. Thought I would set things up and we would be on our way to Fargo.

PROBLEM: No one can get into the car in Omaha, Nebraska...car needs to be towed to Lincoln, NE. Or option #2: We can trade cars and then after they open the trunk...they will send my purse to me.

Reaction: Sobbing! I called Betsy. I called Jane. I was sobbing. Steve, Mazie, and Simon came in and Steve was concerned. Mazie came to me and hugged and patted my back and said, "It's okay, Nana. Don't cry."

Simon: "Nana, get control of yourself. Take a deep breath. In....now let it all out. Now, get control of yourself."

Yep...I am not a genius, and I need to have self control!

I love my grandchildren...they allow me to be humbled!

Thanksgiving means...

For many of us, it means the comforts of life that we experience.
We look around our thanksgiving table and we are thankful for our family and friends who surround our table...
We are thankful for being able to worship God...
We have many things that we are thankful for...but what if...

you didn't live in a safe home and were fearful of what adults in your family would do to you when they would come home high?
you didn't go to school because you were fearful of what would happen to you?
you didn't have positive friends to influence you?
your grandparents were raising you because your parents died when you were 6 because of drugs?
you were addicted to alcohol/drugs...at the age of 15?
you didn't have a family who wanted you?
you didn't have food to eat regularly?

And then, what if you were placed somewhere that you were free to:
feel safe
feel love
know that people loved you
you were able to go to school
you were able to to eat meals...with people who were encouraging you...
you were able to hear about God in this place you were placed...

Today we went to Boys Town Thanksgiving Service and we listened to students speak of what had changed in their lives since they came here. They spoke of the situations that they came from and it was moving.

God directed Father Flanagan years ago to begin a place called Boys Town to help youth in trouble! It is still a place that helps youth who are lost and searching for truth, love, and an environment to allow them to grow in a safe place and learn of God.

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? I am humbled by the abundant life that God has given me...and thankful that my daughter and her husband have introduced me to Boys Town. I am thankful for the girls that live in their home. I am thankful for the loving family that He has given me...

So...what are you thankful for?

Introducing...the newest member of our family

Well, I have waited long enough to try to figure out how to upload my pictures....we are so excited because:

Emma Anah

weighing in at 6# 7 oz at birth

Today weighs a whopping 5# 10 oz

18.5 inches long

born: October 28, 2010

She was early by 4 weeks and she and Jane are doing beautifully. She is a beautiful little girl which, if my pictures would cooperate, you would see that she is beautiful.

I was flying home from a visit...planning to fly at Thanksgiving when little Emma was due. I have change my flight and will be meeting this angel on November 15...am I excited...absolutely.

We are praising God for this little miracle.

Pictures will be added...I am determined!

OH Leviticus? Oh...repetitions... Oh...Grace

I am really trying to read the Bible through...Genesis to Revelation! And I really try to apply what I am reading in the Word to my life. I am S T R U G G L I N G through Leviticus right now. And when I say S T R U G G L I N G I do mean struggling. Yesterday and today, I was reading about the sexual restrictions and the punishments that accompany those acts. There are 30 verses on "forbidden sexual practices" and 27 verses for "punishment for disobedience." I thought...God, you couldn't just say....don't do anything but...if you do you are going to get punished? 1 maybe 2 verses and it would be taken care of.

Then, I smiled! You see, I thought of this sweet little girl when she was 2 and 3. Jane LOVED to write. She wrote and wrote....the problem, she didn't use paper! So, she began her writing career on a quilt that I made for her bed. I put the brand-new-just-sewed quilt on her bed and went out to the kitchen for a MINUTE; when came back into her bedroom...she had written on the quilt with a magic marker. I said (rather loudly and firmly) "you don't write on the bed, you only write on paper!" DONE. She was a smart little girl and she knew I meant it.

Then days or weeks later, she wrote on the wall in the kitchen. Crayons this time. AHHHHH...I knew that this was a teachable moment...SHE had to scrub the wall with a toothbrush and toothpaste....and the same admonition: you don't write on the walls, you only write on paper. DONE! She would remember THIS lesson because the wall was bathed with salt water tears, too!

Several weeks later, the kitchen floor needed to be scrubbed with a toothbrush and toothpaste by the same, smart little girl with the same admonition....

And then the straw that broke the camel's back or maybe it was a particularly tough day...I don't remember...but I came into the kitchen and right on the dishwasher...my sweet and smart little girl had written on the dishwasher. (These were just the large art pieces that she did, we had to have many talks about the books that she destroyed with her "writing," much to the disgust and shock of her older sister, Betsy who NEVER wrote on anything but paper. See note below)

I took that sweet, smart, little girl's hand and we went around the house. I pointed to EVERYTHING and said: you don't write on the walls, you don't write on the floors, you don't write on the carpet, you don't write on the furniture, [downstairs we went...still hand in hand] you don't write on the dryer, you don't write on the washer...we covered the house with EVERY possible place I could see on which she would want to write. Her little feet were flying to keep up with me. When Steve came home, I told him that Jane understood about the proper place to write NOW! Paper ONLY!

A couple of days later, it was Sunday and Steve and I were in the living room. Jane came in to announce...Daddy, I made you a picture! Both Steve and I looked at each other...I said...don't worry it's on a paper... To Jane we said, show us your picture. There in the kitchen (it really is the room where she did her best work) Jane had taken a pen and drawn a picture for her dad inside his sports coat. (She did a great job, she had covered one side with scribbling.)

What did I do? Laughed. I looked at Steve and said...it's my fault. His look was anything but understanding at my response...it was HIS coat... I explained that it was my fault because...I didn't tell her not to draw on his sports coat. That really was the last thing that she wrote on other than paper after that.

I realized when reading Leviticus that the reason those 50 some verses exist is because the Israelites had DONE all of those things and God was taking them around the house and giving them instruction. We really aren't much different now. There is always a loophole. There will always be the shade of gray. We will always look for a way to change it up and do things that we are not supposed to do. And what happens when we realize what we have done (or gotten caught doing something wrong, what do we receive from our heavenly Father? Grace. Amazing grace. I am so thankful today for a Heavenly Father who gives us the rules and forgives us when we break them. And then covers us with His Grace.

[NOTE: After reading this, I know my girls. Betsy will again think and declare that she was the perfect child. I only need to remind her of my first "quilting" project. I quilted a phone book cover. I had just put it on, and Betsy doodled 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth in ink while she was talking on the phone. And she wasn't 2. And mama wasn't happy."]

And without my children, I would have wondered why God needed 50 some verses to deal with forbidden sexual practices.

Realization...confession...Grace...Amazing Grace

REALIZATION:

Sunday morning: When I was getting ready for the usher/greeter team that I co-lead, I realized that for the last several weeks, I was choosing the opening scripture on Sunday morning instead of taking it from a scripture that had encouraged me during my quiet time...I didn't have to wonder why...I knew...I had not had a quiet time for a long time.

I then realized that throughout this past week, God had whispered to me to come His Word. He created a longing to draw me near to Him. I knew that He was calling but I did NOT respond to His gentle nudge. I ignored the Creator of the Universe.

Instead of responding, what did I fill my time with? Oh very important things! Let's see... I read 2 other books. I sewed. I went to the gym a few times. I sat. Yep, I just sat. I directed my thoughts to my life. Centered directly on ME!

CONFESSION:

As I was sitting there yesterday the realization washed over me of what I had done and how I had treated my Savior, I humbly bowed and asked Him to forgive me. Forgive me for being so self-directed. Forgive me for wasting the time He had given me. But most of all, forgive me for not responding to Him.

God reminded me of a man that He called "a man after God's own heart." A man who had succumbed to temptation, committed adultery, and instigated the death of this married woman's husband; yet he was called "a man after God's own heart." God reminded me of David. I went to Psalm 51 which was written as a confession when David recognized his need for God's grace. It begins:

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me from my guilt. Purify me from my sin....Against you and you alone have I sinned...

GRACE:

Grace...that is what I received. If someone had ignored me and refused to respond to my calls, I have to say that I would have been really ticked. I would have complained. What I received from God for ignoring Him was forgiveness and grace.

But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being. Purify me from my sins and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow...Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me...

Amazing Grace:
I think that is what I find so attractive about the God that I love. He can take what is unlovely and unworthy and clean it up and declare that person: A man after God's own heart. David was a man after God's own heart...Perfection? No, that wasn't David. Honest? Yep! David was honest with God.

Last night I prayed as I closed my eyes...Father wake me so we can have time together. Today, at 5:30 am He gently moved me from my bed to come before Him. I had no lightening bolts or great insights. I didn't have a vision or hear Him speak audibly. I really didn't read anything that was earth shattering in His Word (I am in Leviticus trying to read through the Bible...something I have never done). What I felt was a peace and a joy of being obedient. Oh, how I wish that this would be the turning point for me. That I would never again push Him away or disappoint Him. I will. I know it and so does He. But what I also know...when I come to him with a broken and contrite spirit, He will give me GRACE. Amazing Grace!

Our week on the Cruise with the family

Personalize a slideshow design

We just got home from a week long cruise with Steve's siblings and their husbands. We left for New York City on September 11. We got to NYC on the 12th. We met the family and went to the send off party. As we left New York harbor...the fog was thick and wrapped around the city. The band was playing and there was a feeling of anticipation as we left. While we were leaving the city, I struck up a conversation with a New Yorker. He pointed out Ellis Island and some of the other landmarks...including the vacant spot in the city scape where the twin towers stood. As we passed by the Statue of Liberty, the band began to play and sing...

I am proud to be an American...

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

A moving tribute to the faith that needs to bathe this land at this time. After traveling all night, we were in our rooms and we even beat our cabin steward, Randy, to bed. He didn't have time to turn down our beds...8:30 we were all in bed...and woke up the next day around 11:00. But we were able to eat 3 times that day...don't worry.

The first day we spent on the water. We explored the boat and enjoyed each other. I think it had been over a years since we had gotten together with the whole family. It was good spending time with them.

Our ports of call were Halifax and St. Johns Bay in Canada, Bar Harbor, Boston, and Newport in the states. We took tours in all of the cities but Newport. We learned and saw so many things. History was evident in the buildings and of course the stories that were told. Although we may have forgotten much of the details, there are some things that remain.

Each meal, we bowed our heads and thanked God for family and food.

We were able to talk with family and spend time with them. We laughed at what had happened in the past and laughed at what was happening in the present. I sat back and reflected the first time that these family members entered my life. I met most of them on the Tuesday before we were married. I have come to love each of them. While we were on the boat, we celebrated Merl's 81st birthday, Merl is married to Paula, Steve's oldest sister. I looked and realized what a blessing it is that we get together as frequently as we do...and that is thanks to Gus, Margo's husband who encouraged her to rally the troops and keep in touch. I looked at Carol and Allan and was so excited that since we have moved to Washington, they have become friends who happen to be relatives. We traveled to the airport and spent the day with John and Leslie and enjoyed some one on one time with them...for part of it...John and I rested our eyes....

I thank God for the people that He places in our lives. What a joy to be able to spend time with family, enjoying the time. I know that not every family enjoys being with their families but God has given us families that we love. I praise Him for the family that He has given us. What a joy to share the foundation of Christ.

Before she was a glimmer!!!

Before she was a glimmer in her daddy's eyes, her Father had her pictured in His head.
Before she giggled for the first time, her Father had captured just the right sound to come from her mouth when she was tickled.

Before she spoke her first word, her Father had placed a vocabulary in her that included her dolls, Laquisha and Sandy; the Bible story about Me-shack, you-shack, and A-bendie-girl; her hu-hu (tutu).

Before she uttered a sound, she was filled with sounds that would pierce the silence and the heart.

Before there was a sweet girl named Mazie, there was a Father who knit her together in her mothers womb.

Before there was a hint that something was wrong, her Father knew and knew what needed to be done.

Today was surgery day for Miss Mazie. For all of the details check out www.tengesdal4.blogspot.com which is Betsy's site.

For me...I just want to thank God because of His love and His care in the lives of those we love. It hasn't been a time absent of tears or fears. It hasn't been a time when I haven't been anxious but...it has been a time of building faith, of stretching me and testing me if what I say, I believe. Jesus and I have had many conversations over the years and "why" creeps out of my mouth.

The Israelites wondered for 40 years in the desert. They complained and questioned Moses and ultimately God. And after the complaints, the questions, and all of the whining...God still loved them. It's what makes my questions and complaints humbling...God still loves me...and I praise Him for that. Thank you for praying for her and for our family...