I was blessed with the strength to go to church this morning. The worship was sweet and the fellowship was edifying. What a difference it makes to start the week with such a privilege.
Here's the words to one of the hymns we sang:
Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope to the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.
Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Up from the Ashes
Conversation Friday at our lunch table: "What'd we do yesterday?" asked Erin. "Don't you remember? You died," stated Brady flatly. "Oh yeah...," started Erin. "But then you came back to life like Fawkes the Phoenix in Harry Potter," added mom with a big grin.
We all got a chuckle from this. And what a grace to be able to laugh about something that was not funny at all the day before. We've all "died" a few times in the last 15 months...days when we just don't know how we will be able to survive another minute. We really feel as if we are on the way to our earthly end. It was Erin's turn on Thursday. Two days of the stomach flu (added to the everyday symptoms of fatigue and other aches) had left her miserable. She couldn't read another word, she couldn't sit and stare at another movie, she couldn't google one more thing on the Internet; yet she felt too awful to do anything else. I got out a two hundred piece puzzle and started putting it together in front of her hoping she would join in. She didn't, but it kept her entertained a bit. Suddenly she knew what would make her feel like a real person again. "I need to go to the library," she said. She said this hesitatingly as though remembering she couldn't possibly go out without taking a shower. I could tell the fight within her had started (sign #1 of new life.) It was the fight "of needing to do something so badly vs. not being up to do prepwork that was necessary." Which side would win? I prayed. Finally she got up to shower - it wasn't a pretty sight, the battle was raging both within and without by now. Getting up the stairs won half the battle. With victory in at least glimpsing distance, Erin continued to fight. Not long after, Erin was downstairs with wet hair and fresh clothes (sign #2 of new life.) Rest was needed. But in not too long she was ready to eat a snack (sign #3 of new life.) Then it was off to the library with dad as chauffeur. I knew at that point that she was out of critical condition. Later, Erin walked into the house with an arm full (not an armful, but an arm full) of books. She displayed and told me about each book as if it was a rare jewel that she had excavated from a cave rich with treasures. They had also picked out a movie that she thought both her and Dad would enjoy since she knew she wouldn't be able to sing with us in choir that night. She sat down and chose a book to start reading. Battle won! Erin had new life once more. Thank you God! After choir, my new bud greeted me bursting with new blossoms. The movie she and Dad had watched was a perfect one for the two of them to enjoy together. As I tucked her into bed she was in full bloom, talking, talking, talking. (Why is it that full bloom time for Erin often occurs when other blossoms close up for the night?) I said another prayer. God is good - Amazing doesn't even begin to describe His grace to us.
We all got a chuckle from this. And what a grace to be able to laugh about something that was not funny at all the day before. We've all "died" a few times in the last 15 months...days when we just don't know how we will be able to survive another minute. We really feel as if we are on the way to our earthly end. It was Erin's turn on Thursday. Two days of the stomach flu (added to the everyday symptoms of fatigue and other aches) had left her miserable. She couldn't read another word, she couldn't sit and stare at another movie, she couldn't google one more thing on the Internet; yet she felt too awful to do anything else. I got out a two hundred piece puzzle and started putting it together in front of her hoping she would join in. She didn't, but it kept her entertained a bit. Suddenly she knew what would make her feel like a real person again. "I need to go to the library," she said. She said this hesitatingly as though remembering she couldn't possibly go out without taking a shower. I could tell the fight within her had started (sign #1 of new life.) It was the fight "of needing to do something so badly vs. not being up to do prepwork that was necessary." Which side would win? I prayed. Finally she got up to shower - it wasn't a pretty sight, the battle was raging both within and without by now. Getting up the stairs won half the battle. With victory in at least glimpsing distance, Erin continued to fight. Not long after, Erin was downstairs with wet hair and fresh clothes (sign #2 of new life.) Rest was needed. But in not too long she was ready to eat a snack (sign #3 of new life.) Then it was off to the library with dad as chauffeur. I knew at that point that she was out of critical condition. Later, Erin walked into the house with an arm full (not an armful, but an arm full) of books. She displayed and told me about each book as if it was a rare jewel that she had excavated from a cave rich with treasures. They had also picked out a movie that she thought both her and Dad would enjoy since she knew she wouldn't be able to sing with us in choir that night. She sat down and chose a book to start reading. Battle won! Erin had new life once more. Thank you God! After choir, my new bud greeted me bursting with new blossoms. The movie she and Dad had watched was a perfect one for the two of them to enjoy together. As I tucked her into bed she was in full bloom, talking, talking, talking. (Why is it that full bloom time for Erin often occurs when other blossoms close up for the night?) I said another prayer. God is good - Amazing doesn't even begin to describe His grace to us.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
flu bug
Keeping with the routine of these last 15 months, if we push ourselves a little too much we get sick: sometimes a cold, sometimes the yeast overgrowth gets worse; this time the flu. I got it first on Sunday, Brady followed on Monday, and Erin came down with it on Tuesday. It hasn't been as rough as it could be and lasts about 48 hours. Usually when we push ourselves and overdo, it is because the event or activity is worth it emotionally: it's something we really enjoy doing. Like the Proverb says: "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." (17:22) We know these physical setbacks are temporary and that our health has been nourished greatly by doing things that make us smile and laugh.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Weird things are happening
I don't want to scare you all. No new weird things are happening around here. But I'm reminded of the babysitter's lines in the movie, "The Incredibles," as I consider a few things about our lives. It's weird that we have less energy than my 92 year old grandfather who has recovered from pneumonia after nearly dying this Thanksgiving. It's weird that we're taking supplements to help us that are made by a company called "Young Again Nutrients." It's weird having a disease that doctor's are unsure of how to fix, but anyone with cancer knows what that feels like. Weird things are happening, but the weird things in Jack Jack's life were used for good for him and his family. And we know, because of God's promises, that the weird things happening with us are being used for good in our lives too. Yes, we have special needs...but doesn't everybody?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Erin's 15th!
Erin is pictured playing the role of Elizabeth Montgomery at her murder/mystery dinner party held at the Mazzing Mansion (McIntosh home) on Friday, the 13th. Seven other girls, Brady, a friend of mine who played the maid (what a kind friend!), and I also had parts. Erin's character turned out to be the murderer - much to everyone's surprise!
Why Blog?
This blog started out as "schoolwork" for the kids. They weren't healthy enough to dig into their history and science books so I had to get creative in helping them to keep their minds working a bit. They were wanting to post our trip (England/Wales '04) pictures on the web and I encouraged them to do that on a blog where they could describe the pictures as well.
We're still not healthy enough for school days. In fact, it is often difficult for us to talk on the phone. After waivering back and forth with the idea of keeping this blog going, I decided this might be a fun way to communicate what's going on with us. The opportunity for my readers to comment makes it convenient, too.
Hope you can sit down with a cup of tea for a visit with me once a week or so.
We're still not healthy enough for school days. In fact, it is often difficult for us to talk on the phone. After waivering back and forth with the idea of keeping this blog going, I decided this might be a fun way to communicate what's going on with us. The opportunity for my readers to comment makes it convenient, too.
Hope you can sit down with a cup of tea for a visit with me once a week or so.
New Blogger and New Name
I've adopted this blog from the kids. The previous posts have been entered by Brady and Erin. They've moved on (Erin has her own blog and Brady has his own website - see links.) I'll try to post on this with some regularity.
Why did I name it "just me?" More and more, I meet people who say, "Oh you must be Brent's wife. He's my pharmacist," or "You must be Mrs. McIntosh, Erin's mom." You get the idea. It's actually a wonderful compliment when this happens...as a wife and mom of a wonderful family I wouldn't have it any other way.
Why did I name it "just me?" More and more, I meet people who say, "Oh you must be Brent's wife. He's my pharmacist," or "You must be Mrs. McIntosh, Erin's mom." You get the idea. It's actually a wonderful compliment when this happens...as a wife and mom of a wonderful family I wouldn't have it any other way.
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