A Pair of Bartletts

Hello Kitty Band-aids and Sticky Sucker Sticks

 

Well, did I get your attention with the title of the post?  I'm just glad that you stopped by.  I have been on somewhat of a hiatus from blogging the last couple of weeks, but with good reason.  As most of you know, my sweet husband underwent another hip replacement, this time being his left hip.  And the day before his surgery, my precious sister-in-love, Julie, had a colonoscopy and was then diagnosed with colon cancer three days after Rob's surgery.  Our lives have been forever changed in the last month.  But our God, in His divine providence, has met every need of every family member, especially Rob and Julie.  

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is GOOD! For His mercies ENDURE forever. Psalm 118:29 

I get excited just reading that verse of scripture!  But let me tell you, it's honestly only in the last few days that I can actually say that I'm "excited" about anything.  God has been so faithful to us and I know that He will never leave or forsake me or my family.  

Speaking of God's goodness, I have been blessed by being able to get away from work for a few days so that I could travel to my brother's house to be with him and Julie and the four children.  You have to understand, when I come for visits, I'm no longer my regular self...I am "Sissy" when I'm with the kids.  It was the sweetest thing to pull into the driveway this past Friday and see a bunch of little eyes peeking out from the upstairs blinds.  It was even sweeter to come up the front steps and hear a parade of excited short people clomping down the steps while shouting a chorus of "Sissy's HERE! "Sissy's HERE!"  I know that I'm prejudiced but they are the sweetest four kids on the planet.  I love them as if they were my own...there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for them.  

Here's where I let you in on the title of the post.  A five hour drive to most people may be grueling.  But to me, it's the sweetest five hours I could ever spend  knowing that when I get into town, I can fix bo-bo's with Hello Kitty Band-Aids, I can enjoy sweet little giggles when I share a popsicle with my 12 month old niece, and I can have wound up little boys use my purse as the closest "trashcan" for their sticky sucker sticks (say that 5 times in a row really fast).  

Like I've said, my family has had some really major things happen to us lately.  But they are not "chance" happenings...they are not "bad karma", as the world would have you believe.  In fact, they are trials that the Lord is using in all of our lives.  And no one will receive any glory for any outcome but our Lord.  He will be glorified in every outcome. 

My brother preached a very strong message yesterday regarding what it means to suffer together and God's perspective on suffering. The message was titled "Jesus Answers Our Worry" and it was out of Matthew 6:24-34 (click the link in this paragraph if you would like to listen to the sermon). The message was a much needed reminder that worry is not of the Lord. It reminded me that God is never surprised or astonished. He has an absolutely perfect plan.

"Our suffering is in the present, our anxiety is in what the future holds and our theology is caught up somewhere in the middle." ~Dr. Paul S. Lamey

My spirit was so incredibly challenged with this message. Paul asked "do you really want to be beyond the headlights of God's providence?" My answer to that today was an affirmative "no". If you had asked me this question a few weeks ago, I really can't be certain what my answer would have been. Well, I'll tell you...within God's providence is where I want to remain. There were so many "nuggets" in this message that I can't possibly list them all. And if I knew that you could read and understand my notes, I would post them here for you. Since I can't do that, I would highly encourage you to listen to the sermon.  I pray you would be as richly blessed as I was.

Well, I've rambled enough.  There has just been so much going on...I have so much to blog!  Thank you to those who are faithful readers.  Thank you to each of you who have vowed to pray for our sweet family.  

I'll leave you with the scriptures that I have committed to memory many years ago but that have become SO relevant to the circumstances that God is allowing us to experience.  I praise Him for His Holy word.  He is real and He is always on time.  

Philippians 4

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 
⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 
⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Memory Monday--I Peter 2:24

I find this verse more relevant now than ever in my life and on behalf of the lives of my family.  I cannot imagine what my Lord suffered on Calvary's cross for my sin.  But I am thankful that those stripes brought healing both physical and spiritual for me and for those who believe in Him and have had true repentance in their lives.   

1 Peter 2:24

 ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 

 

Marriage Monday--A Week In Our Lives

 

 

First of all, thank you so much for reading along (or contributing, if you are a MM contributor) with Marriage Monday and a HUGE thank you to our precious friend, E-Mom C H R Y S A L I S  for being our most gracious hostess!   

Well, this month is a little different regarding our topic.  Actually, there is no designated topic this month...we're keeping it simple in order that everyone is able to spend the weekend (and days leading up to it) in preparation for Resurrection Sunday.  In light of that, it's pretty simple for me what to write about...just that...the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday.  

I penned some words in the last few days regarding the "goings on" in my family, specifically with my husband and my sister-in-love (I love that sound much better than "in law"...thanks to my sweet bloggy sister, Trish at A Joyful Heart.  She has a "mother-in-love"!).  If you haven't read my post titled "Breaking the Silence & Some Other Urgent Prayer Needs", you might want to read that first so that the rest of this post will make better sense.  At any rate, I have been doing so much reflection in the last few days with regard to Rob's hip surgery on Friday before last and with my sister-in-love's colon cancer diagnosis the day before his surgery.  

Needless to say, there has been an incredibly HUGE range of emotions that has manifested in my life (and the lives of others) since last week.  Rob's surgery had been scheduled for a good bit of time, but in the scheduling, never would we dream that our sweet Julie would receive the news that she did Thursday before last.  Rob and I had prayed for many weeks leading up to his surgery.  We prayed that it would be just like his right hip replacement in May of '08....an absolute breeze.  We prayed that recovery would be quick and that no one would be inconvenienced any more than necessary.

WOW...were our prayers ever so shallow.  It's amazing to me still how we didn't know that the whole time that we were praying, this nasty thing called "cancer" was growing inside our sweet Julie's body.  My first reaction in my heart was "Lord, if only I had known, I could have prayed more, I could have prepared, I could have been on guard and ready to receive this news".  

Funny, why do we wait until  we're in the midst of a crisis to have the gall, the absolute nerve, to ask the Lord...the King of Kings, the one who died on a miserable cross to save our sins....to have given us more of a "warning" prior to receiving bad news?  

What I do know is that in James 5:16, the Lord has already given us everything we need to know about where our prayer life should be:

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

It wasn't that I had not prayed before receiving this news.  But I'll tell you, the best litmus test to tell you how "fervent" that you are is to have news like what our family received to hit you from left field.  I love talking to the Lord.  I love praying.  Up until Thursday, March 25, 2010, I considered my prayer life to be "pretty good" by my standards.  That's the problem....my standard is not the Lord's standard.  I want to have my prayers be a part of the "avails much" part of the text above.  I want to be so deeply into my prayer and communion with the Lord that my response turns from "Why Lord...Oh, woe is me Lord" to "What next Lord? Show me Your will Lord!".  

Rob's Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis attacks and diagnosis didn't catch our great God by surprise in 1979.  Nor was He astonished that our sweet Julie would come to face the trial of cancer.  But He did promise in Philippians 4:13 that:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Our God is great and our God is good.  He never sleeps or slumbers.  He IS going to see my sweet husband through recovery and healing in his hips.  He IS going to see our sweet Julie through treatment and surgery for colon cancer.  He IS the same yesterday, today and forever.  

I heard some of the sweetest words the other day that I think I've ever heard in my marriage.  "Jen, I want to pray more than I ever have....and there is nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for this family". Thank you Lord for a praying husband.   Thank you Lord for giving Rob and I the same prompting by the Holy Spirit.  Thank you Lord for showing us the areas of our prayer life that need to be strengthened like a mighty fort against any attack of the Enemy or any bad news that may come to our family.  

Forever in His service,

 

Want this button?

He's ALIVE!

Luke 24

He Is Risen

 ¹ Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,^[a]came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³ Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were greatly^[b] perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

⁸ And they remembered His words. ⁹ Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the otherwomen with them, who told these things to the apostles. ¹¹ And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying^[c] by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. 

From my family to yours, I hope that you have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday!  Christ is ALIVE and on HIS THRONE!

 

All Of Our Eggs In One Basket

 

Strawberry Pretzel Salad (A light and refreshing Easter dessert)

We are keeping it light and easy for Easter dinner on Sunday.  This salad has been a long time favorite of mine.  It's called a salad, but it's really more of a dessert, but it makes me feel better to still call it a "salad"!  I hope that you will give it a try.  The first time I heard about it, my first reaction was "strawberries and pretzels? what kind of salad is that?"  But I promise you...it's got a wonderfully unique flavor.  The sugar that is cooked with the salty pretzels and then topped with all of that strawberry and cream cheese yumminess (yes, it's a word).....it's divine!

Let me know how you like it!

STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD

1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. melted butter
1 (6 oz.) box strawberry Jell-o
2 c. boiling water
1 (16 oz.) frozen strawberries
1 (9 oz.) Cool Whip
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 c. sugar

Crush pretzels, not into a fine powder, but just crush them.  You still want to recognize that there are pretzels in the crust.  . Mix together pretzels, 1/2 cup sugar and butter. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes in a 9" x 13" pan. Beat together the Cool Whip, cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. Spread onto the TOTALLY cooled crust. Add boiling water into Jello. When the Jell-o is thoroughly mixed and free of any powder, add strawberries. Place Jello in refrigerator until it becomes partially gelled. Place on top of the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate covered with Saran Wrap. You can place toothpicks around the dish so that the plastic wrap doesn't stick to the top of the pretty dish.

 

Breaking the Silence & Some Urgent Prayer Needs

It has been quite a few days since I've posted.  I truly have missed it, but honestly, my heart just has been occupied on some other very important things.  First, my husband has been scheduled for the last few weeks for a total left hip replacement, which was scheduled for last Friday (3/26).  We were nervous, but not nearly as nervous as we were two years ago when he had the right hip replaced in May of '08.  We have anxiously awaited the surgery for the last 2-3 months...as it got closer, all we could think about was how great it would be to get it done, get it behind us and sail through recovery. 

The day before surgery was like any other.  I went to work, Rob stayed home resting due to the impending surgery and life seemed to be somewhat "normal".  I left work early that day so that I could hurriedly get home and finish the final preparations for surgery and his stay at the hospital.  I had LOADS of washing to do and things to pack for, you see, recovery was to take place at my parents house since they live in a one story house and we are in a two story.  

I got home last Thursday, kissed Rob, gave a pat on the head to our little dachshund (Buddy), and I was off to the laundry races.  Not long after I got my clothes changed and the first load of laundry rounded up, the phone rang.  Rob, who loves our speaker phone, answered since I was busy.  I was at the top of the stairs, so I was able to hear that it was my Mom calling.  You know how you can just hear that the tone of someone's voice just doesn't sound right?  Well, I could immediately tell that something was really wrong.  You see, that day, my sister-in-love (Julie, married to my brother, Paul) was scheduled to have a colonoscopy that day (she had noticed in the days prior that there was the presence of some bleeding, so for precaution, the doctor decided to do the test).

Well, what we all thought was going to be routine and what would turn out to be nothing....wasn't.  There was a "mass".  The doctor immediately did a biopsy,  but the results would not be back until Tuesday....Tuesday....that was five days away!  So, with heavy and weary hearts, Rob and I pressed on, went through the surgery on Friday and then spent the rest of the weekend praying, crying, and pleading to the Lord...the King of Kings.  

Rob was discharged from the hospital and came home on Monday to Mom and Dad's house.  Again, more silence, more praying...Tuesday would be tomorrow.    The phone rang on Tuesday.  It was my brother.   What was our worst fear was now reality. Cancer.  Our sweet Julie...cancer.  Thirty six years old, mother of the year to my two nieces and two nephews, wife of the year to my baby brother.....cancer.  CANCER!  A mass.  A concerned doctor....cancer....not Julie.  No Lord...not Julie.  Lord, pick me, don't pick Julie.  Lord, not our family.  Lord, the children...Lord, they are just 7, 5, 3 and 11 months!  Lord, my sweet brother! Lord....do anything...just not this Lord!  I pleaded, I begged...no God...not Julie. 

And then, the Lord delivered overflowing measures of peace.  Not just to me and to the others, but to whom it mattered to the very most....to Julie.  She has served the Lord with gladness for many many years.  She has the true definition of a meek and gentle spirit.  She leads and nurtures her children with grace.  She is devoted to caring for my brother and for their home.  She is a Proverbs 31 woman, from beginning to end.  

Our journey into the world of cancer is fairly new.  We have all known people who have had it, but never as close to home as our sweet Julie.  Amazingly, the Lord has brought thousands of people to their knees in prayer for our sweet Julie.  I am not kidding.  I ran the numbers.  By the time that we got the word out to the hundreds of people that we knew among churches, Facebook, email, my brother's blog (Expository Thoughts) etc., the numbers literally added up exponentially.  Not only were the numbers evident in my calculations, but they came to light as Paul and Julie were literally FLOODED with emails and Facebook messages by the hundreds.  Then, Paul established a page for Julie on Caring Bridge so that the masses could keep up with her story and her progress.  (If you would like to read and follow, you can click on this link: Caring Bridge: Julie Lamey's story).  It has truly been amazing how many people have had their friends, family and entire churches praying for Julie, just since Tuesday of this week.  God has poured love overflowing over our entire family, especially Julie and Paul.  

As you go through your day to day routine, I would ask that you too would add our sweet Julie to your prayer list.  Please also remember my sweet nephews and nieces and my precious brother in your prayers.  We covet every single prayer offered on her behalf. As you pray, I will leave you with these photos below that I have made into a prayer card of sorts.  I included some of the Proverbs 31 verses on the card, since our sweet Julie is a beautiful example to our family and to everyone that she comes in contact with of the image of a Proverbs 31 woman. 

 

I pray that you will be blessed and encouraged through her story.  Please feel free to leave her any encouragement that you are lead to leave for her on the Caring Bridge site.  She and Paul are reading each and every one and rejoicing over each shred of encouragement and prayer.  

May you and your families have a truly reflective and refreshing Resurrection weekend.  

HE'S ALIVE....HE'S ALIVE.  HE'S ALIVE AND I'M FORGIVEN, HEAVEN'S GATES ARE OPEN WIDE....HE'S ALIVE!