In The Refiner's Fire

Off for surgery tomorrow morning at 7am (arrival time of 545am). Prayers and thoughts are appreciated. I'll be back as soon as I can but it will probably be about a week. Until then, have a great week and enjoy some wonderful fall weather! God Bless! Lea

I don't know much but I know this: Surgery scares me. I'm going in for rather extensive sinus surgery tomorrow morning. Not only are they cleaning me out, but they're removing some excess tissue and buiding drainage passages. Surgery scares me at least a bit at the best of times. This one petrifies me. They're working millimeters from my eyes and my brain. Those are kind of necessary organs - well, eyesight is lovely but ultimately optional. The brain, well, if it doesn't work properly, you don't live. Your body can function but you don't live. All of that scares me. In spite of statistics that say 98.something% of people come out with no complications. My brain keeps traveling to the world of 'what ifs...' But I do know something else. Fear is not of the Lord, but of the devil. It is one of the many tools he uses to keep us from being where God wants us. It keeps us focused on something other than the Lord. So, I cling to the Lord. To His ...

So, now that you saw what we bought, here's what we'll eat this week: Breakfasts: oatmeal or cold cereal (unless otherwise stated) Lunch: leftovers, canned soup and sandwiches, or whatever else we can put together from the kitchen (unless otherwise stated) Sunday: Brunch: Baked Eggs, Pancakes, and Sausage Links Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, Lettuce Salad, Sliced Tomatoes, Apples and Fresh Bread Monday: Dinner: Beef Roast with Potaotes and Carrots, Lettuce Salad, Fruit Salad Tuesday: Dinner: Beef Stir Fry with White Rice, Fruit Wednesday: Dinner: Soft Shell Tacos, Fruit Thursday: Dinner: Leftovers Friday: Dinner: Baked Salmon, Homemade Bread, Lettuce Salad, Fruit Saturday: Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Fruit Lunch: Tuna Salad Roll Ups, Sliced Carrots and Peppers Dinner: Baked Pork Loin, Roasted Potatoes, Lettuce Salad, Fruit Since I have surgery on Tuesday, Mom is actually doing the cooking. If we're out of leftovers, then she'll come up with something more exciting for Thursda...

Today is Sunday. Supposedly a day of rest, a day with the Lord, a day to get my ducks in a row for the rest of the week to come (mentally speaking). This morning was one of the most mornings that just didn't go well. Got to sleep way too late (or rather early this morning) in spite of going to bed on time. Woke up with a headache and a tummy ache, which translated into a lot of time spend in the bathroom. The hose I needed for the skirt I was going to wear today had a run in them. So did the other pair. Then I stuck my finger through the 'backup' pair. So I switched to pants. Which showed too many lines. So I had to dig out the blazer that would cover them. Then I dropped and promptly lost an earring. Then the necklace that I was going to wear was broken (previously and somehow ended up back in my jewelry box). So, I missed choir warmup, almost didn't get my robe (we play musical robes due to having more people than robes), and spend half of the sermon in the bathroom a...

Normally we run errands on Saturday. However, since we have a fundraiser tomorrow, we ran them tonight. Target, Sam's Club and a local grocery store chain (Rainbow Foods) were our three destinations. The "Sort of" comes in that we bought a bunch of stuff for preschool snack that isn't in our regular grocery budget - it comes from the 'school savings' fund that we have. So here's what we got (sorry, no pics - my camera is being a pain!): Sam's Club: Total: $18.62 (groceries); $$35.94 (school savings) 2 86 oz Apple Juice (for us) ($4.18) Vanilla 16 oz (for us) ($6.88) (this will last us about 8 months) 2 Gallons of Milk (for us) ($1.79 each x 2 = $3.58) 80 100% Juice Boxes (for Preschool) ($9.98/40 x 2 = $19.96) 36 cups of applesauce (20 for Preschool, 16 for us) ($8.76) 48 String Cheese (40 for Preschool, 8 for us) ($7.22) 40 Flour Tortilla (for us) ($3.98) Rainbow: Total: $20.05 24 rolls of Toilet Paper ($5.32) 250 Paper Napkins ($1) 1 can kernal corn ...

I got a huge surprise in my email in-box late last night. I am a class coordinator for an aerobics class. We rent space from a dance studio and have class 10x a week there. I'm responsible for seting up and taking down our stuff and checking poeple in two days a week. In exchange for this service, I recieved a discount on my membership. Honestly, I didn't do it for the discount. I love, love, LOVE the workout. But...I have a habit of talking myself out of going a million ways. So, I signed up to be a coordinator to guarantee I will go at least twice a week. I have a chronic medical condition related to blood flow that is controlled through regular exercise (get that blood flowing, you know!), so exercise is essential. Everything is just better if I go. So, that was my way of making sure I go regularly. Yesterday, I had sent the owner of the aerobics classes an update and a note about the new coordinator I had trained that morning (who did a fabulous job, I might add!) a...

I'm having surgery on Tuesday next week. It's necessary and even encouraged by my doctor (I'm out of other options at this point) but scarey none-the-less. I had choir rehearsal at church last night and was overwhelmed by the power of prayer. In our prayer circle I confided to the group what has been happening these last two years and why I need the surgery and then asked for prayers for the surgery on Tuesday itself. I guess I'm a better actress than I thought or perhaps I just learned, as two dear friends and a family member who live with a chronic illness have said, to live, rather than suffer. Anyway, most people didn't even know I had been ill and said they would certainly be praying for my surgery and recovery. I'm overwhelmed. We sang "Thy Will Be Done" by Joyce Elaine Eilers last night. Very fitting as I've been trying so hard to leave all of this in God's hands over the last two years and with my cousin's death in August, have b...

Thy Will Be Done Words and Music by Joyce Elaine Eilers Sometimes the load is heavy, and sometimes the road is long. And sometimes, Lord, this heart of mine, is not so very strong. But Thy will be done, Lord, Thy will be done. Father I do not ask You to take this cup from me. I only ask your guidance o'er paths I cannot see. And Thy will be done, Lord, Thy will be done. Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Forever. Amen. Now, Lord, I feel you near me, I feel Your guiding pow'r. And know You're standing by me Through ev'ry passing hour. And Thy will be done, Lord, Thy will be done.

I have a treat today. I get to work from home ALL day AND I get to spend some extra time with Buddy and Missy. Usually I work from home Tuesday afternoons - after a good workout at Jazzercise in the morning. That's my day at home - time to catch up on some things around the house, maybe make a complicated dinner, and spend a couple un-interruptable hours working on schoolwork or research. That's a planned day - it happens almost every week and I have a routine. Days like today are rare and therefore a special treat. I have to pick my kids up early today, since my daycare lady has to take her daughter to an appointment. So I get until 2pm to spend on schoolwork, research and household stuff and then I get to spend 2pm onward with my kids! Since I usually don't pick them up until 4pm, I get a whole extra 2 hours! The plan - I've been working on some much-needed writing so far (with a nice pot of tea and some candles lit), started some bread, and, after lunch, will finish ...

I spoke to soon in my posting yesterday about God's blessings! I guess I should have waited until the end of the month, but I just feel so blessed, I had to share. Here's what happened yesterday evening: Squash! Just before heading out the door to his Lion's meeting, John came in with a squash in his hand. Our plant had two more tiny squash on it a few days ago but the whole thing looked REALLY peaked. We now have two squash to eat this next week - which is enough for us and my parents (who get back from their trip on Monday). More Free Apples! John came home from Lion's with a huge ziploc bag of apples. Someone at Lion's was giving away apples from his tree and asked if we would like more. John said "Sure!" so we will be getting a bag or two dropped off at our house as the tree produces more apples! I might just have to can applesauce this year... :) Free Freezer Gallon Size Ziplocs! The grapes and apples we've gotten this week are in gallon size ...

It's amazing to think that we only have another week of September left, isn't it? Where does the time go? It struck me this weekend, that even though we've had to drastically trim our budget in so many ways this fall, we've been so very, very blessed. God has truly provided above and beyond anything we could have asked or wanted. Here's a snippet: Free laundry detergent ! My folks needed powder detergent for a trip overseas and since they couldn't find the trial size, they bought the biggest box, put some in clearly labeled ziploc baggies and gave us the rest. Free Grapes and Apples! We had company this weekend and they brought us home-grown apples and grapes as a hostess gift. I didn't have as much fruit in the house as I wanted, so this is wonderful! Free doll house! A house near our daycare lady's house had a huge doll house in the front yard with a "Free" sign attached. So we stopped and picked it up! It's not in the best sha...

Actual content coming soon! Whoo hoo!