I made it to the gym this Saturday morning.  My motivation?  Besides wanting to fit into last summer’s clothes (they’re nice and I don’t want to buy new and/or bigger ones) I also make sure to get to the gym at least 3 times a week to justify the monthly membership I pay.  I echo my friend Clara’s sentiment:  “I often have to drag myself there, but I feel SO GOOD when I’m done.”

The gym has quite a smorgasbord of members:  big, small, tall, short, wide, strong, and weak.   Unless you are there with your BFF who is buddying up with your weight work out, a person tends to exercise in their own little world and we try to put the blinders on.  Of course there is that slice of the gym population that is there to pick-up a date (or at least I’ve heard that – really??).  Everyone works out and tries real hard NOT to be caught staring at anyone else.  Bottom line – at least we all made it to the gym and are trying our best to keep our bodies at their best.  And especially to those members who are brave enough to show up carrying probably twice the weight they should be – you guys rock!

But sometimes…

I’m not staring….

Or listening…

But when you are talking so loudly, I just can’t help myself.

Hee hee.

So these two guys are taking turns doing some weight reps.  They were talking about a common friend and the one guy says to his pal, “…yeah … and he’s always posting selfies of himself…”  “What?” the pal questions.  “Selfies,” he replies, “You know, when you take a picture of yourself with your phone – a SELFIE.”  (I know – this guy is brilliant, isn’t he!)  He continued, “…he takes pictures of himself and posts them on Facebook all the time…”

That’s about all I heard.  But I gathered from what I heard that the guys were finding it so weird that this person took selfies of himself – working out I believe – to share on social media.  They made fun of his behavior, but then what did they do next?  Out came their phones and they were looking up the pictures.  Now who’s weird?

Trying to make myself invisible, I quietly worked my way over to the treadmills, put my ear buds in, programmed a workout, and started my treadmill.  Ah…in my own little world!  Next thing I know, the girl on the treadmill next to me is tapping me on the arm.  I pull out an ear bud and she’s saying to me, “Hi!  How are you!” with a friendly smile on her face.  “Hi!” I echo with my own smile as the voice inside my head screams, “Who are you??”  She continues, “I haven’t seen you in a long time – everything good?  Well, enjoy your workout.” And she was gone.

I have no idea who she was.

I wish I could have taken a selfie with her   🙂    but I didn’t have my phone with me.

So – to the girl who greeted me so exuberantly at LA Fitness today, I am sorry I didn’t know who you were and I should have asked.

And to the girl with the black thong sticking out above her yoga pants, you need to apologize to US because that was just NASTY.  (I was NOT staring – but I mean how could you not notice?)

You never know who or what you will see at the gym.  I just chalk it up to entertaining distractions while I push myself through my workout.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!

Just Laurel

btw – here’s a SELFIE of ME and my laptop computer on the kitchen table where I do all my writing from!

Proverbs 31:17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

 

Proverbs 24:5 A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might.

I took my van for an oil change the other day.  Ted and I always go to the same oil change place with our vehicles.  The guys know us there and are always honest and friendly with us.  Ted drives a lot for his job and is in there quite frequently.  The last time he went in for an oil change he had his new(er) metallic blue Ford Escape and the guys all commented on how surprised they were that he finally bought something to replace his old vehicle.  (It was nearing 300,000 miles!)

So there I was with my aging vehicle.  My van runs just fine – no problems – and it is paid for.  Cosmetically, it is getting quite rusty around the edges.  I don’t care.  Paid for and dependable!  The guys commented on how “Gee, this ‘ole van is doing real well for you!”  Interpretation:  “You sure drive an awful-looking rusty old van.”  I laughed and explained how it didn’t matter to me and then I commented on how they had noticed Ted’s new ride.  “Who’s your husband?” they asked.  “What kind of car does he drive?”

Before I continue with my oil change saga, I want to remind you all that I am “Amanda’s Mom.”  That’s it.  That’s my name.  Amanda is so unique and noticeably different with being a tiny blonde adult in a wheelchair – and everyone recognizes her.  “Amanda!” they cry.   “Hey Amanda, remember me?” they query.  And then with a glance at me I hear, “Oh, and you must be Amanda’s Mom!”

<sigh>

So back to the oil change…

“My husband used to drive an old gray Ford Escape.” I told them.  “Oh yeah!” they cried.  Apparently they immediately knew who my husband was.  Then one of the guys commented, “Yeah – he’s the guy who is always … umm … like incredible … no he’s UNBELIEVABLE.”

Oh dear Lord.

If you don’t know Ted – quick story to bring you up to speed is that, when Ted is asked “Hi, how are you?” he ALWAYS answers, “Unbelievable!”

So the guys were all chirping about “Yeah … I know your husband … haha … Mr. Unbelievable … nice guy … yeah.”  And then they said, “So YOU are Mr. Unbelievable’s wife!”

(I should have said, “No, I’m Amanda’s Mom” but I didn’t.)

But now I’m Mr. Unbelievable’s Wife, too.

 I could have an identity crisis, but I won’t.  I’m okay. 

HE knows my name 🙂

But on that day down the road when I shall stand before the pearly gates – well – I hope they call my name twice in case I don’t answer the first time!  Who’s Laurel??

John 10:3 The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Isaiah 43:1 But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Just Mr. Unbelievable’s Wife
just Amanda’s Mom
just Laurel

If you have ever flown on a plane you are familiar with the safety speech that is presented before take-off on every flight.  Emergency procedures are explained to all passengers including what to do if the cabin loses air pressure.  At that time those yellow oxygen face masks are supposed to pop out and you are shown how to put it on and adjust the straps.  (whew – so glad I’ve never had to do that!)  If you have a child or someone who needs assistance in your care, you must put your OWN MASK ON FIRST before assisting that other person.  Why?  Well, what if you tried to help them and after getting an oxygen mask on them, you find yourself so starved of oxygen that you pass out.  Now who is going to help YOU?

The point?

A person cannot be much help to another person if they forget to tend to their own personal needs!

Now I know there are a ton of caregivers out there.  Statistically according to the CDC, more than 34 million unpaid caregivers provide care to someone age 18 and older who is ill or has a disability (AARP, 2008) and an estimated 21% of households in the United States are impacted by caregiving responsibilities (NAC,2004).

That’s a whole lot of caregiving!

I know who you are – lots of you moms out there taking care of special needs children and plenty of you taking care of aging parents.

BUT…

You cannot be a CAREGIVER and GIVE CARE if you have tired yourself out, exhausted your resources, and given ALL you’ve got because you will be EMPTY and you will have NO CARE left to GIVE.

My dear caregiver:  My heart goes out to you.  If you’ve been keeping up with my latest blogs, you now know that you are the third group that I write for.  We have to encourage and support each other.  Caregiving can be exhausting – but who takes care of the caregiver?  After Jesus’s disciples had cared for the crowds of people, they returned and were told by Jesus to retreat to a quiet place to rest:

Mark 6:30-31 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

So now you have the triad of WHO the YOU are that I have a heart for and desire to reach.  I am a CAREGIVER because of how my life has been impacted by my daughter, Amanda, who was born with SPINA BIFIDA and the only reason I survived was because of my FAITH in God.

Women of FAITH, CAREGIVERS, and my SPINA BIFIDA friends.  I’m talking to YOU!

Just Laurel

On a warm August day over thirty years ago I lay in a hospital bed in Detroit after giving birth to my firstborn, Amanda.  Amanda had been transferred to the Children’s Hospital down the street within hours of her birth.  Marilyn, a very sweet social worker from Children’s was at my bedside and had gifted me with a booklet that was all about spina bifida.

Spina bifida.

Spina bifida is the birth defect that Amanda was born with.

Thirty years ago, I had never heard of it.

From having absolutely zero knowledge of what spina bifida was, how it would affect my daughter, how it would impact our lives over the years, what things I needed to do for my daughter, and what I could expect or anticipate was all wrapped up in the booklet from Marilyn.

Here are pictures of the booklet (which I happened to come across recently).  The first is the cover, the second is showing how ‘thick’ it is while lying on the counter:

Not more than 8 by 6 inches in size, with a whopping 34 pages – A complete comprehensive view!

So WHY am I writing my blog and WHO is the YOU I am writing for?

My  belongs to all you spina bifida families out there.  Thirty years ago I hungered for more information and more families like ours who we could relate to and become friends with.  Because of medical advances in the treatment of spina bifida as well as the marvelous ability to network with others through computers – knowledge and camaraderie is so readily available today.

Whether you are touched in your lives by someone with spina bifida or not, this blog serves to inform you more about it.  And for all my SB peeps – thank you for being such a great community of computer connections – and friends.  I hope I can serve you all well as my new blog site will include resources for all of us.  (Pass it on.)

Just Laurel

(For those of you a few days behind on my blog updates – a new and improved web site is coming!  I plan to keep my focus on my faith ‘cuz I am nothing without Him – but my second focus group is the spina bifida community.  Stay tuned for the third and last group that will make up my triad!)

On a warm August day over thirty years ago I lay in a hospital bed in Detroit after giving birth to my firstborn, Amanda.  Amanda had been transferred to the Children’s Hospital down the street within hours of her birth.  Marilyn, a very sweet social worker from Children’s was at my bedside and had gifted me with a booklet that was all about spina bifida.

Spina bifida.

Spina bifida is the birth defect that Amanda was born with.

Thirty years ago, I had never heard of it.

From having absolutely zero knowledge of what spina bifida was, how it would affect my daughter, how it would impact our lives over the years, what things I needed to do for my daughter, and what I could expect or anticipate was all wrapped up in the booklet from Marilyn.

Here are pictures of the booklet (which I happened to come across recently).  The first is the cover, the second is showing how ‘thick’ it is while lying on the counter:

Not more than 8 by 6 inches in size, with a whopping 34 pages – A complete comprehensive view!

So WHY am I writing my blog and WHO is the YOU I am writing for?

My  belongs to all you spina bifida families out there.  Thirty years ago I hungered for more information and more families like ours who we could relate to and become friends with.  Because of medical advances in the treatment of spina bifida as well as the marvelous ability to network with others through computers – knowledge and camaraderie is so readily available today.

Whether you are touched in your lives by someone with spina bifida or not, this blog serves to inform you more about it.  And for all my SB peeps – thank you for being such a great community of computer connections – and friends.  I hope I can serve you all well as my new blog site will include resources for all of us.  (Pass it on.)

Just Laurel

(For those of you a few days behind on my blog updates – a new and improved web site is coming!  I plan to keep my focus on my faith ‘cuz I am nothing without Him – but my second focus group is the spina bifida community.  Stay tuned for the third and last group that will make up my triad!)

If you read my last blog, then you are aware that I am in the process of having a new blog site created.  I mentioned that, in the design process, I have been forced to define my goal, or my mission.  That’s a good thing!  I needed to clarify what my site was to accomplish and who the YOU are that I hope to reach.

There are three groups of people I am seeking to reach.

Today I will tell you who that first group is.

I blog for other Christians.  Period.  If you are a person who is a Christian and try daily to live a faithful life with Christ, well  I am right there with ya!  We all know that we should attend worship regularly, study God’s word, live a righteous life, and seek Him first in all things and we are ALL daily challenged by that!  My desire is to share with you what I learn and see.  Heaven knows we all need to pull together and pull each other up!

I honestly don’t know how women today can survive without faith.  If you are a mother and/or you work and/or you participate in multiple activities, then you know how busy life can be.  But when the good life becomes tainted by someone in the family with poor health, declining finances, struggling relationships, or other challenges – what or who holds you up and gives you the strength to go on?  If you try to carry that load on your own, you know that the fatigue will grow and you will weaken and probably crumble over time.  However – the women I’ve seen lately that do not crumble but rather show great strength are all women of faith.

There’s my friend whose aging mother is in the hospital trying to adjust to a new pacemaker, another friend whose young daughter with spina bifida is in the hospital with shunt problems, I have a family member who has been deployed overseas and leaves behind a family with a baby on the way, friends whose hearts ache for children who have turned away from the church, and yet others who have faced the loss of a loved one or face their own personal struggles.  The one common thing that all these women do?

When faced with trials – they do not run away from God, they run towards Him!  And they ask their sisters and brothers in faith for prayers to strengthen and uphold them.

To all my brothers and sisters in Christ out there – I write for you!

I pray that what I write will inspire you, make you sometimes laugh, give you encouragement, make you more knowledgeable, and help us all along our paths of faithfulness to God and the ability to trust Him.

There are two other groups of readers I am targeting.  More on that in my next blog!

Just Laurel

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous RUN to it and are safe.

It’s time to move.

As I search the scriptures in my attempt at being a better student of the bible, I am amazed at how I can be directed to certain verses at the exact time I need to read them or at how something I’ve read in the bible suddenly takes on new meaning or becomes so clear.  The latest ‘ah-ha’ moment I had was when reading John 5:1-9.  This is the story of how Jesus comes across a lame man who was lying near a pool.  It was believed that when the waters of this pool suddenly churned and stirred, that the first one to go into the water after such a disturbance would be healed of whatever sickness they had.  The short story that most of us read in verses 1 through 9 is that Jesus heals this particular man.

But this time when I read verses 1 through 9, I saw the long story.

The lame man had been lying there for thirty-eight years.  Thirty- eight years!  THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS!

Jesus happened to notice the lame man lying there and asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

Well, the lame man replied that he, of course, wanted to be healed but that everyone else beat him to the waters when they churned and he was just waiting around for his chance.  Waiting for 38 years!

Jesus simply said to him, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk!”

And the man was cured and he picked up his mat and walked.

How often do we all sit and wait for things to happen??  Especially when we are praying for something – God certainly loves to hear us talk to him and to seek Him in all things.  But do we just sit back and wait for it to happen?  I truly believe that God wants us to trust Him and pray about things and then we are to get moving!  How long do we sit and wait when we could be moving forward under God’s prayerful guidance?

So, yeah, I wrote a book … and I blog … and I want to share my faith with other moms … and I wrote a bible study … and I want to write more … but what to do next and how should I do it?

It was time for me to get moving.  Especially when God has put so many opportunities in front of me:  I have an invitation to speak at a school, I’ve been requested to write a review on a women’s devotional, I am recording an audio version of my book, Amanda, Perfectly Made, and I think God is laying out a roadmap in front of me – I just need to take the first steps and start moving down that road.

So …

I am in the process of having a new blog/website designed that will provide so much more info for all you readers out there – and I am redefining who “you” are … I feel God’s nudge to encourage other women of faith … and of course I have a special bond to all you caregivers out there … and I especially have a tie to all you wonderful spina bifida moms.  I hope to provide resources and inspiration.  It’s taken a couple of big commitment and financial steps to get moving … but I couldn’t lie back and just pray about it … it was like God answered my prayers with the question, “Do you want to get moving with this ministry?”  He kept laying all these road signs in front of me … so … of course I wanted to get moving.

<gulp>  (a “ministry” ??)

So things are moving …. Look for a new website and other new things.

Please pass this on and be patient while the new website is under construction.  I shall try to keep you all updated … and will share more of what’s coming in the next several weeks.

John 5:1-9

Just Laurel

I was thinking …

What if women were present in the place of men during some of the interactions between Jesus and the people of His time?

Imagine Jesus explaining to a woman about how man needed to come to God by being born again?  “Oh, I’m not going to go through THAT again!” she might blurt out before Jesus would have time to explain.

Or, when those five thousand people showed up to hear Jesus speak, and Jesus asked his followers if they could buy enough bread to feed everyone?  If the disciples were women, they probably would have disappeared to run home and cook up a lunch.

At the last supper, as Jesus was breaking and passing bread around the table, it would be just like a woman to say something like, “Oh, my Lord, this is lovely pita bread.  Can I have the recipe?”

Last week at our first LOL Bible Study, we learned how God made us purposefully and individually.  We are all unique!  He also made us specifically male and female.  We are all different!  We can laugh at our differences, but we should also celebrate them.  If there is someone you idolize and would love to be ‘just like them’ – well you can use them as an example of some ways that you would like to be like – but why would God want to make you exactly the same as someone else when He’s already made one of those already?

Women do things differently than men.  And that’s okay.  Women are nurturers and more creative.  We can be useful servants of Christ – just in different ways than men.

This week the LOL Bible Study is going to look at how women were treated in the time of Jesus.  We are also going to take a look at how women may have been portrayed through the ages, and today as well.  You may be surprised to know that Jesus actually treated men and women equally and gave a voice and respect to women!

Stay tuned to my blog if you want to hear more of what we are learning through bible study.  Join us if you can – Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9pm.

Just Laurel

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I find it curious how the stores all have ‘organizing containers’ and bins as the featured special each January.  I guess as part of our New Year resolutions to slim down, unclutter, make better, and re-do areas of our lives, it means we are cleaning out and organizing our closets and basements as well.  Maybe we clean out in January because we have old toys to throw out and new toys to put away along with all the other Christmas stuff.  It may also be because it is too stinking cold outside to do anything but find something to do INSIDE.  (Well, at least in the northern states.) The “cleaning out bug” bit me yesterday – my dresser top looks polished and cleaned off now!  As I was sorting through some stacks of papers, I came across this Q&A that I cut out ten years ago from the magazine, “Focus on the Family.”  God bless you Dr. James Dobson.  Posted in the February/March 2003 issue was the following question with Dr. Dobson presenting the answer:

Q  You have said on several occasions that a society can be no more stable than the strength of individual families.  Specifically, you said sexual behavior is directly linked to survival of nations.  Explain how that principle works.

A  A book could be written on that topic, but let me give you a short answer.  This link you referred to was first illuminated by J.D. Unwin, a British social anthropologist who spent seven years studying the births and death of 80 civilizations.  He reported from his exhaustive research that every known culture in the world’s history has followed the same sexual pattern:  During its early days of existence, premarital and extramarital sexual relationships were strictly prohibited.   Great creative energy was associated with this inhibition of sexual expression, causing the culture to prosper.  Later in the life of the society, its people began to rebel against the prohibitions, demanding the freedom to express their internal passions.  As the mores weakened, the social energy abated, eventually resulting in the decay or destruction of the civilization.
Unwin concluded that the energy that holds a society together is sexual in nature.  When a man is devoted to one woman and one family, he is motivated to build, save, protect, plan, and prosper on their behalf.  However, when male and female sexual interests are dispersed and generalized, their effort is invested in the gratification of sensual desires.  Unwin wrote:  “Any human society is free either to display great energy, or to enjoy sexual freedom; the evidence is that they cannot do both for more than one generation.”
It is my belief that the burgeoning social ills seen in Western nations, including rising crime rates, drug abuse, sexual exploitation of children and the disintegration of families, can be traced to the disintegration of traditional values and biblical standards of morality.

Oh my!

The United States used to be a country with strong traditional values and passionate patriotism. This country is going quickly to hell in a hand basket!   Where have the standards of right and wrong, good and bad gone?  It’s more of a “if it feels good, do it” kind of society.  <sigh>  What happened to respect, responsibility, and religion?

Today I saw a news story of how members of a Satanic Temple insist that a 7-foot tall statue of the devil be located at the Capitol building in Oklahoma.  Seriously?  Here’s the story if you want to look it up:  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/01/08/satanists-seek-spot-on-statehouse-steps/
Looks like Satan is getting a strong hold.

PewResearch just released statistics on religions in America.  Included in their results was this finding:  “Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.”  That is very sad.  Here is the link if you were interested in the complete report:  http://religions.pewforum.org/reports

Folks, it is a new year and you probably have aspirations to ‘make better’ and re-do areas of your life.  Why not ‘make better’ your relationship and commitment to God?  The results can be far-reaching.  As you walk closer to Him, perhaps you will influence friends and family and they will influence more people along the way.  It’s time to clean up our act and stand strong.  Show a little backbone and recognize a right from a wrong.  We need to save the next generation.

Stand strong.

Just Laurel