We have managed to walk 6 of 7 days this week in the church and the mall, mostly for 45 minutes a time. It is great to know I can do this and not have to rest afterwards, just get on with my day! I am hoping to be walking an hour plus by late Spring ~2 miles. It is a gift I will never take for granted.
Speaking of gifts, I ordered two bracelets for myself from JoyWares, which is connected to Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts). Her son Caleb makes the bracelets, engraving the sterling silver with what ever words you want up to 40 characters. The proceeds go to help sponsor children through Compassion International and to buy water filters for villages in need. Caleb does a nice job and since I had been thinking about a bracelet that would be a reminder for me of my healing journey, and I liked the idea of helping others, it was an easy decision. One says "Jesus" which is my focus word for this year....and the other is part of my verse from last year....."In quietness and trust is your strength." I don't know what they cost since I bought them on sale....but you could check out the site. They are the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I take off at night. A nice reminder of God's faithfulness.
I apologize for the blurry pictures.....
The bracelets actually took me back to when during the Viet Nam war we could receive a bracelet through the military with the name of a soldier missing in action engraved on it. This was a reminder to pray for them to come home safely. I wore one for a soldier named Lt. Hunter (don't remember his first name now) and kept that bracelet for years after the war. I never did find out if he was found as a POW or recovered.
This past Wednesday we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's with the staff from the church where Joel is working. While eating, we were visiting with the couple next to us, and the man I was sitting by knocked over his coffee cup and spilled coffee all over the table. We wiped it up and kept visiting, but all of a sudden I thought, "Oh, my leg feels wet and I wiped my thigh...coffee. We wiped up a bit more of the table and then my shin felt wet and by then it had gone down into my boot. I got the giggles and pretty soon Joel was laughing right along with me. The poor guy was concerned of course, but it was funny! No big deal......just part of being me lately. When we left the restaurant to go home it was bitterly cold and the wife said, "Now you will have instant freeze dried pants! Another good laugh! Later that night at church the couple were chuckling with Joel over it all, appreciating my "good attitude". Hey, it was only coffee, thankfully it was not hot, and we have a washing machine! All is good and we had a great laugh over it. We know that laughter is the best medicine.
Our neighbor called this morning to tell us two of our neighbors have been dealing with frozen pipes and have not had water for a week or more! She was now having issues with a lack of water and so she was letting the rest of us know what was going on. So for now we have a steady stream of water going down the kitchen sink to try to keep our pipes from freezing too. We just did not have enough snow cover before the bitter cold arrived, and the ground frost went quite deep into our sandy soil. Spring seems farther and farther away!! We are really hoping to get through February without another water crisis of some kind! We have one in November, December, and January.....
We have been watching a few teachings this week by Leif Hetland. Joel enjoys listening to him speak not only for what he has to say, but because he is from Norway and has a Norwegian accent that reminds of him of his boyhood home. I never think of us as having any hint of a Minnesoooota accent, but I think we may still carry a bit of it with us.
Speaking of teaching, Joel may be doing a Bible study at the church after the first two services and before the third. He does enjoy teaching. Last week the other pastor gave a great sermon. It is nice right now to have just one church to call home.
Did you see any of the Olympics yet? We are hoping to catch some of the ice skating, Joel the biathlon (skiing and target shooting), and a few other things. We did see some of the opening ceremonies last night.
I finished the book, Birthing the Miraculous, and am in the middle of the Cleo Coyle mystery. The Jesus Book is on my end table along with the Greatest Gift on my nightstand. One of our girls recommended The Book Thief so will see if the library has that. What are you reading?
Until next time.........
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