The Blessings of a Broken Road

For the last six weeks I have been part of a Bible Study by Beth Moore titled Stepping Up: A Journey through the Psalms of Ascent (I wrote about this briefly in one of my first posts). At the study, we sit 4-5 women at round tables around the room. Each table has a list of questions intended to prompt discussion based on the "homework" done during the week. Following the time of discussion, we watch a video of Beth Moore speaking and fill out notes in our workbooks that correspond to the Session we are viewing. Today's session was titled Blessings From Zion and was based loosely on Psalm 134, the final Psalm of Ascent. I always enjoy listening to Beth Moore. She has walked a difficult path of pain and heartache, but has put her hope in Jesus Christ and thus found forgiveness and freedom to reach out and help others. One of the points she made in today's session was from Psalm 84:5-7.

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion."

Three times each year, the Israelites would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Three Great Feasts in the temple. They would make this journey with family and friends, traveling in large groups of people. Part of their journey would take them through the Valley of Baca. Baca actually means "tears" or "weeping", so their travels would literally take them through a time of deep tears. I know that I can definitely relate to times of deep tears, and as Beth says its not a matter of if we will ever experience times of deep tears, its a matter of when those times will come. Pain is a part of life. We watch others go through something profoundly sad or tragic and say "I could never go through what they are going through". The truth of the matter is, that when we are faced with hardships, God wants us to see that He gives us the grace and strength at that moment to make it through whatever we are facing. That is how we go from strength to strength. In each experience we encounter, we receive a fresh measure of God's grace and strength.

Each of us walks a broken road; we've put hope in people and been disappointed, we've lost people we've loved, we've been rejected, we've sacrificed, you get the picture. The point is, each step in our broken road serves to point us to Christ. He's the one that holds us in our pain, our disappointment, our rejection and gives us Himself and His strength to hold on. He's the True Love that we tend to look for in others. He the One that all of our brokenness pushes us to. God has certainly blessed my broken road and I am so grateful that those broken roads continue to lead me straight to Christ.

Many of you know that I am a music aficionado. During the video, Beth had her worship leader sing a popular song written by Rascal Flatts. It was more than appropriate and I have included the lyrics here for you to read and ponder. Be Blessed!

Bless The Broken Road

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

Adam Just Won $750,000!

OMG! This has never happened before! I don't even know what to think or how to feel right now- I'm still in shock! As the title reveals, Adam just won $750,000 and NO, its not a typo! All we invested was a mere $20 to have a little fun, we never thought we'd win this big. You might be thinking, playing the lottery is really not a good thing, Caroline. Well, my presumptuous friend, that is not what we did because we know better. Instead, we played a game familiar to most of us, like by some, despised by others (Mom).

It's fast, it's fun, but the pressure's really on when you are asked that all important question,

Deal, or No Deal?

Adam and I were neck and neck for a while. I was down to two cases, 20 and 21 - one held $10K, the other $500K. I had decided to press my luck and see it through to the end. When it came time to keep my case or switch it, I decided to switch it because I had a "good feeling" about case 20. Adam tried to talk some sense into me by reasoning that 21 was a lucky number due to the fact that 7 is a holy number and 7x3 (3 being the Trinity)=21 would be the right one. As the final case was opened, I saw my dreams of a larger home, Wesley's college fund, and that Alaskan cruise being flushed down the proverbial toilet. As play switched to Adam, he still had $200 or $750,000 - the difference between a new storm door or a larger home, Wesley's college fund, and that Alaskan cruise we so desire. Well, as luck would have it (because DoND is really all about luck), Adam picked the right case (13) and was the big winner! So there you have it, the amazing story on how we (I say we because what's his is also mine) won $750G's. We also disproved the theory that 13 is an unlucky number. After all, it was Adam's baseball jersey number back in high school, the day in March that we married, and the number that won us $750,000!

P.S. For those readers (remaining nameless) who may be a tad gullible, we didn't ACTUALLY win $750,000 because we were playing the DVD Home version of Deal or No Deal.

My New Favorite Sound

Here is my new favorite sound. I first heard it being used intentionally last Tuesday (2/19). Enjoy.

Three Dog (Night)mare of a Walk

Please humor me as I vent about my walk from h*** today. I decided I would take advantage of a beautiful 60 degree sunny day and take a walk with Wesley and our dog Lijah. I loaded Wesley in the stroller and hooked the leash onto Lijah's collar and off we went through the neighborhood on our usual route. The first half of the walk was great with Wesley pointing out all the cars and American flags he could see. The routes we walk are those that I have determined to be "Aggressive Dog-Free Routes", those safe to take Lijah on. Things were going along great, we were cruising at a good pace, Wesley was enjoying his Matchbox car and a pinecone I picked up for him, when all of a sudden, we were charged by a little black mongrel named "Pookie" or something like that. Pookie's mommy had come outside with Pookie, a lab, and what looked to be the canine version of the Abominable Snowman from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. She was rolling the trash can back up to her house as we were walking by. Now, when Pookie charged us, of course she was not looking, so in an annoyed tone I yelled to her "Can you please call your dog?" At this point, she had seen us and was holding back the lab and Abominable and proceeded to call Pookie. Pookie was slow to obey, but backed off from growling at Lijah and slowly walked back home. I continued walking and thinking about how annoying it was when people's dogs come out at you. Little did I know what I was about to encounter...

Probably 10 minutes later, I was approaching an intersection when a little pug-like puppy came charging out at us. Picture the most hyper dog you know and then picture the most hyper dog you know on crack - that was this dog. It kept jumping on Lijah and even tried to jump in the stroller with Wesley, who was still sweetly playing with his car and pinecone. I continued walking, hoping the dog would just go home, but it didn't leave. Lijah was really getting annoyed at this point and even growled at the dog, telling me he was pushed to his limit. Since I knew where the dog lived, I turned around, walked up the driveway, parked Wesley and Lijah, and picked up the little dog and walked to the front door. The kid that answered the door looked at me like I was crazy, but I just handed him the dog and said "I was trying to take a walk and your dog wouldn't leave me alone. Here's your dog." No "thanks for bringing our dog back" or anything. Maybe they were so annoyed with the dog that when they saw me they sent it outside hoping I would feel sorry for it and keep it. Kid, you picked the wrong lady on the wrong day. Okay, back to walking. No sooner had I picked up my pace than a little beagle (who typically does nothing more than bark wildly at us) came tearing down the hill and proceeded to ATTACK Lijah. Lijah began yelping and I started yelling. The beagle let up but continued to lunge at Lijah growling and showing its teeth. I pulled Lijah close and stomped my foot, hoping to frighten the dog off. Lijah was still yelping, so I walked further up the road and stopped to check him. Clumps of fur were coming off his body, and in two spots I saw blood. I was crying and shaking and it was then I heard the owner of the beagle (who we happen to know) calling her dog. I yelled out to her that her dog bit my dog and she came running to grab "Buddy". She was very apologetic and said that "Buddy" was current on all his vaccinations and that if Lijah needed any treatment, they would take care of it. She inspected Buddy's lower lip and saw that it was bleeding. She said that he probably bit it or skimmed it on the asphalt as he was hurdling off the curb to get to Lijah. I looked at Lijah again and the blood on his fur was only superficial, giving me the idea that it was "Buddy's" blood and not Lijah's. She offered to drive us home, but I declined. By this time, I had stopped shaking and crying. I just explained to her that its frightening when strange dogs come out and you don't know what they are capable of. Its especially frightening when you have to protect not only yourself, but your child, and your dog as well. Wesley or course, was not at all affected by the yelling, growling, and crying, and was still sweetly playing with his car and pinecone. By this point, all I wanted to do was go home and make sure Lijah was okay (It turns out he's fine). However, I have a message for my neighbors:

To my Neighbors who own dogs:

I, as you most likely do, love our neighborhood. Its shady streets and rolling hills beckon me outdoors to exercise almost daily. I would consider our neighborhood very safe in general and safe to walk in as well. Unfortunately, I have had several encounters with aggressive dogs coming out at me, my child, and my dog. It would behoove you to keep your dogs within secure confines so as not to attack innocent passersby. Otherwise, I might be forced to whip out my 55-gallon drum of Animal Control on you. For your convenience, I have included our county's Animal Control Ordinance, specifically the section on Animals Out of Control/Nuisances. Please peruse this (particularly the section in bold) so that your dog isn't featured on the next episode of "When Neighborhood Animals Attack".

B. Animals Out of Control
1. Nuisance
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess, or maintain an animal in
such a manner so as to constitute a public nuisance or a nuisance to neighbors.
By way of example, and not of limitation, the following acts or actions of an owner,
harborer, or possessor of an animal are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and
are therefore unlawful:
a. Having an animal that disturbs the rights of, threatens the safety of or damages
a member of the general public, or interferes with the ordinary use and
enjoyment of their property; or...
g. Maintaining an animal that habitually or repeatedly chases, snaps at, attacks or barks at pedestrians, joggers, dogs walked on a leash by owners, bicycles or vehicles...

Well, there you have it. I find it kind of ironic that sweet little names like "Pookie" and "Buddy" belong to dogs who would want to hurt my Lijah. For now, we will keep walking, but you can rest assured that Animal Control will now have the number one spot on my speed dial.

A New Venture

I am trying something new that I've wanted to do ever since Wesley was born. I am going to run a 5K! Back in the 9th or 10th grade I started running and actually got pretty good. I wanted to try out for cross country in high school, but I was too afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the other better runners on the team, so I never even gave it a chance. That was then, back before I'd pushed a 7lb 3oz baby out of you know where with 6 people watching. Wesley's birth and being a mother sparked something in me that says "You know what? I don't really care as much about what other people think of me anymore!" I'm willing to take risks because I have this great husband and child to support me. I also heard my sister (who has run a 10K) and my cousin (who has run a marathon!) talking about running and it really excited me, so I decided to go for it.

So, on April 26th, I'm going to run in the 5K Health Run here in town. I went online to www.coolrunning.com and found a training program called "From Couch Potato to 5K". Its a 9 week user-friendly program to get you running 3 miles in 30 minutes and I have really enjoyed it. I'm on week 5 and this week I'll be running 2 miles without any walking! I'm pumped about this and looking forward to the race. There are some great resources for runners out there. Another cool website I found was www.mapmyrun.com which lets you plot on a map the routes that you walk/run and will tell you the distance and elevation. You can also keep a training log on your workouts. Membership to mapmyrun.com is free, you just sign up with a username and password. You can check for races in your state and city by going to www.runningintheusa.com and selecting your state. They list races going on in different cities each month and give you links to the websites of the races. I've set my sights on April 26th and who knows what will happen after that. But, come April 27th, I'll be able to say I've run a 5K!

Wesley's Cahs

Its a Saturday and I've got both my men (big and tiny) home with me today. Adam has a rare Saturday off of work and is installing our new front door! I'll send out a picture when he completes the task. For now he's off to Lowe's to buy some much needed parts for the door so we're not stuck with a big hole in the front of our house tonight! Wesley has been fascinated with what his "dah" has been doing. We had to block his access to the front door so that any flying debris or tools wouldn't hurt him and he definitely let us know that was not acceptable in his world. He has been pretty whiny today. Up until today, we had a string of very good behavior days, so on our trip to Wal-Mart yesterday, I decided that it was time to reward Wesley and add a few more cars to our already growing collection. Wesley loves his "cahs" and trucks and will entertain himself for hours just pushing them along the carpet, rolling them around in the kitchen, playing with them on the coffee table or entertainment cabinet. Here is a picture of the new acquistions: A cartoonish classic car, a Matchbox Camaro Concept car, and a CAT truck. He favors the Camaro - I know, I know, Matchbox cars are for children ages 3 and older, but I had a moment of weakness. Like father, like son (Adam loves Camaros)!


So, that's been our day thus far. The tiny man is down for a nap right now which is good for all of us in the house. I always look forward to nap time (we're down to one a day now). Its a good time for me to shower, sleep, or work on my Bible Study. I'm in a group study on Thursday mornings and we've been working on Beth Moore's Stepping Up: A Journey through the Psalms of Ascent. It has been very good, but I admit completing five days of homework each week can be a little tricky with a toddler in the house. I have never done a study on the Psalms before and I didn't realize that there were even Psalms of Ascent, but there are! Psalms 120-134 and they talk about the pilgrims journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Three Great Feasts (Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles). I enjoy the depth that Beth goes to in her Bible Studies. She really digs into Scripture and pulls out things that I never would have seen in certain verses. It makes me really want to study the Bible more and I have to be careful because I sometimes think that I can be like Beth Moore when studying the Bible. I have to remember that she has a lot of resources to help her in her studies, and while I can have those same resources at my fingertips also, sometimes its just good to sit under someone and listen.
Since Wesley is napping right now, I'm going to take advantage of this time and go do something else that's productive!

And So it Begins...

So, I decided to start blogging today after a not so subtle request from my dear sister Sarah. I had given it some thought recently as several friends have been blogging for a while and it seemed like a great way to keep up with them and share my thoughts on life. I'm not really sure what to put in this first blog, but just to get started, here's what's going on at my house right now. It's pretty obvious what I'm doing, but Wesley (my 16 mo. old redhead who will be the topic of many a blog), is watching "Little Bear" on Noggin and pushing a mega blocks train across the floor. He calls a train a "Ba", please don't ask where in the world he got that! We have just returned from Wal-Mart where we purchased way too many inconsequential items and spent too much money. We also got to see Adam at the bank. Its so sweet the way Wesley just lights up when he sees his "Dah". I have really seen how meaningful having two parents (mom and dad) is to a child and how much it is needed. I bring certain things to Wesley that Adam doesn't and vice versa. I am so thankful to have a husband who is such a loving father. Adam said yesterday, "I wonder if my dad kissed me when I was Wesley's age as much as I kiss Wesley . I am so glad that Adam doesn't withhold affection and love from Wesley. Because of that, Wesley has become so loving. He gives kisses liberally and even gave a kiss to one of his nursery workers at church last week. I just put him down for bed and every night we have to say I love you several times in sign language. Wesley has learned to sign the "I" and "Love" parts, its just pointing at the other person that he doesn't quite get. He just melts my heart. What a blessing children are! Well, its off to make dinner (pizza - YEAH!). More thoughts tomorrow.