Decompression Complete

I'm really content with my 35-year-young life. I mean, being a grown-up definitely has its advantages! I enjoy the "freedoms" I have in my adulthood. I like drinking coffee after 7 PM if I want, then staying up as late as I like. I enjoy driving my car into the city without a map. I appreciate choosing the music I fall asleep to at night. I really love being Mark's wife and momma to Hannah and to Matthew. Some people say they wish they could return to their childhood. I don't wish that, as wonderful as my childhood was. I like where I am.

But I just spent two days at a place where I felt like a kid again, and I have to say... it was pretty sweet.


The four of us went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound. It actually exceeded my expectations. Of course, I expected to have fun and relax. But I didn't expect to lose every ounce of tension in my body for hours at a time!! I think I had forgotten what it feels like to have the kind of carefree FUN that I had as a kid. To be silly and laugh really loud and scream if I feel like it, and not care about what anyone is thinking or who is watching me. It felt so good! So freeing!

For the better part of Tuesday, and all of Wednesday, I went from the wave pool to the hot tub- to the water slide to Starbucks to the hot tub- to the wave pool to the water slide- then to the hotel room to the Pizza Hut- to the hotel room to the fudge shop to the hotel room. It was SO. Much. FUN! I could not keep from smiling. I felt NO pressure from school or chores or bills or work. I felt NO burden by any immediate responsibility. It was the most therapeutic getaway I've had in awhile. I even fell asleep in the sun - at two different times- to the sound of falling water.

Today we came home--back to reality. Kind of a bummer, but it was OK. I am immensely thankful that we could even go on this little vacation. I am officially decompressed, just in time for the start of school preparations. I can approach these next two weeks with a new energy I didn't have a few days ago.

Three emphatic cheers for some serious R & R!!

The Steps of a Good Man

It has been one week since Joel's accident. And today he WALKED!

With the help of a walker and several caregivers, Joel got out of bed today for the first time since the accident. He walked from his bed to the wall and back- then later, to his room door and back to bed. This was a serious workout for him, but he DID IT! He is showing all the improvement that he should be at this point. He is out of ICU and in a regular room now. He might be transferred soon via ambulance to a rehabilitation center in Abilene, where he will receive 3-4 hours of physical therapy every day, and he'll do more walking. He will be there for approximately 2 weeks and then he may get to go HOME.

When Joel was hit, he was thrust against the hood of the oncoming car--so hard that his helmet seriously dented the hood and ruined the car battery underneath. His face hit the windshield, and the driver saw Joel's face against the glass. Joel was then propelled 81 feet from the point of impact, into a field, where he was safe from the other cars on the road. He was not unconscious, but could not breathe well, and he thought he was going to die there in the field. He prayed there...the kind of prayer that you can imagine a person praying when he thinks he's going to die. He asked God to care for his family. He made some things right before the Lord, and communed with Him there. He did not feel a panic, but instead a huge peace came over him. Even moments later when he was lifted into the ambulance, Joel asked the paramedics if he was going to make it, and they did not know. He had complete peace even then. The LORD MINISTERED TO HIM!!

A week later, Joel still has that peace. I believe this will continue to be true. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for Your unfailing comfort!

Joel is able to be himself in the hospital. The nurses all say he is their favorite patient (of course). He is kind, gentle, and of course funny. He keeps apologizing to them. :) Renee gets to be in his room a lot, and aside from being emotional and tired, she's doing well! She can safely lie next to him now and hug him. The kids will be with them tomorrow and will be able to see Joel for the first time since the wreck. Mending has begun!

I don't know much about the financial part of things, but the young man that hit Joel was insured for $25,000 injury for Joel. Joel's auto insurance will also likely cover a portion of his medical bills, and he does have health insurance also. I know that there will be needs, but I don't know the extent of the needs yet. The Holy Spirit knows and will see that Joel and Renee have all they need for the weeks ahead. Brothers and sisters have already responded to the Spirit's promptings and have given to them. Renee's family has really helped her, too, by being there with the children and staying with her there in the hospital. Kendra and Nathan and clan will be there soon to liven things up! It's hard for me to not be there. But I've talked to Joel on the phone and my soul is soaring knowing that he is having a good attitude and embracing the Light and not the darkness. We must continue to intercede on his behalf, for the emotional/mental aspect of all of this! Continuing to pray for his physical body, of course, but praying for the WHOLE JOEL...the tri-part JOEL... spirit, soul, and body.

When imagining Joel walking, I am thinking about those verses in Psalm 37: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down! For the Lord upholdeth him with His hand!"

MORE than "a Good Read"

I've never proclaimed myself to be "a reader". I've attempted to make myself into that, even when I was a kid. I have a deep appreciation for books and a huge admiration for good writers, and I do enjoy reading very much. But I usually end up frustrated with myself for taking way too long to finish a book, or not finishing it at all. I seem to lose interest in it too easily, even after a few chapters. Or I keep falling asleep reading it because the only time I spend with it is late at night when I'm already exhausted from meeting the demands of the day. Or, when I haven't even made time to read God's Word, I feel like reading anything besides the Bible is unjustified-- like if I'm going to read anything, it should be that. And sometimes I would just rather do something else that makes me feel accomplished or more productive.

But every now and then, I start into a book that I cannot possibly NOT FINISH. For me to "not be able to put it down", a book has to REALLY speak to me in my heart of hearts. It has to inspire me beyond mere entertainment. Or it has to broaden my knowledge of something I actually WANT to know more about. I feel this way about movies, too, especially lately. If I am going to spend two hours on a film, I prefer it to somehow appeal to my soul, my spirit, or my hunger to know more about something--and not just please my eyes and ears.

I just finished reading, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I knew nothing about this book when I started it, so I had no expectations. A friend at school actually gave it to me, because some friends were going to get together to talk about it, and that was my friend's way of making it more likely for me to make it to the discussion, I think. The way this summer has been (busy and hectic), I probably would not have bought the book. But since my friend gave it to me in the most genuine way, I told myself I was going to do my best to actually read the whole thing start to finish, with no skimming and no skipping around, whether or not I made it to the book group. But I kind of wondered if I actually would. I haven't made it to the book group one time. But I just read the end of this story about a story, and I feel like I might just read it again before school starts, this time with a highlighter in hand.

I really associated with the author because so much of what he said, I could relate to. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I sometimes think about writing a book. And while reading this one, I felt like I actually could. I analyzed for awhile what has kept me from doing that. I felt compelled to consider what has prevented me from doing things I always say I want to do. I fell asleep crying the other night, after reading the part where the author goes to Machu Picchu. I cried because of the beauty of his description, because of my own desire and failure to get to South America, because of everything he communicated around that experience. It was very thought-provoking. Emotion-provoking.

So this is me recommending a book which may or may not get a hold of your heart and cause you to think about meaning in your life. It's nothing earth-shattering...and it is certainly not like other "Christian books" I have ever read. But it got me excited to be alive. And inspiration is something I need heavy doses of at this time.

A student gave me a book store gift certificate the last week of school. I now know what I will spend it on (another book by Donald Miller). We'll see how it goes...