Gabe Me a Code

For some reason, I remember reading this Garfield cartoon  as a kid, and it has really stuck with me.  I guess I thought it was pretty funny!  Well, poor sweet Finn is struggling through a cold!  He is just so congested! He can’t eat, he can’t sleep well.  *sigh*  It is really heartbreaking! And tiring for Mommy and Daddy, too.  He is only eating about ½ at one sitting of what he was, so he is also eating 2x as often.  Add to that the getting so congested in his sleep that it wakes him up, and you get the picture…  This started about a week ago, so we are really hoping we are on the downhill side.  

In the meantime, there is some good that came of all this!  When you are congested, and your oxygen flow is only 1/32 L, there comes a point when the cannula in your nose plus the swelling is more of a fight than a help.  So, after asking about that Monday night when we saw our pediatrician at a school function (I know, I’m *THAT* mom), we started weaning him pretty aggressively.  He was off oxygen support most of the day Tuesday – only putting it back on for feedings, then was on overnight on Tuesday.  Wednesday, we followed the same routine, but I know I forgot to hook him back up for at least 2 feedings.  Plus, he had completely removed the cannula and tape in time for his middle of the night feeding, so we just left it off the rest of the night.  Thursday, we went on another excellent adventure (more on that in the next paragraph), and we had him on O2 in the car to and from, but the rest of the day he was off – including overnight!  So, by Friday, we has COMPLETELY OFF OXYGEN SUPPORT!  He has done great since then – even with fighting the cold!  So, here are the first few pictures of Finn with no oxygen support!  No more cannula and no more adhesive on his face!

Room Air test on Tuesday

 

No Cannula on Wednesday

 

So, Thursday was one of the BEST days I have had in a very long time!  After we got up and got around to get the big kids off to school, Britt, Finn and I loaded up and headed for Edmond.  First stop, my friendMel’s house!  Melissa is a sorority sister of mine and thanks to facebook we have been able to keep up with each other over the last few years.  She had agreed to watch Finn for a couple of hours while Britt and I got to go to a special event for our church.  I am so thankful for loving friends who care about our family!  She and Finn has a good time getting to know each other – and the treats we brought for her and her 1 year old to share helped, too!  Next stop, LifeChurch.tv Edmond.  Pastor Steven Furtick  (author of Sun Stand Still, lead pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina, my own personal spiritual leader) was scheduled to tape two sermons on God’s Favor, and the host team coordinator at our Stillwater campus MADE SURE we had a spot for this taping since we are both such HUGE Furtick Fans (Finn is the result of many Sun Stand Still prayers)!  It was everything we expected, and more.  He is such an amazing man of God, and excellent preacher, and just plain fun to be in his presence!  The first week of his talks, “Finding Favor” can be found this week on Church Online.  Don’t miss next week, when he talks about “Walking in the F.O.G.”  It’s incredible!

After we came down off that spiritual high a little bit (I have heard week 1 twice now, and I’m still high – might watch it again this afternoon), we went back to Mel’s house to get our baby, and just chatted for a bit.  It was nice to be in the presence of another Mommy and to just talk about our kids.  But after some time there, it was time to minister to another Mommy I have recently been introduced to.  Next up – Mercy NICU – Finn’s old stomping grounds.  We had alerted a few of the staff that we were coming (and bringing treats; that seems to be Finn’s (Britt’s) trademark), but we were also there to meet a new friend who had just started her long micro-preemie NICU journey 2 weeks ago.  After much ooh’ing and aah’ing over Finn in the little lobby area of the NICU by nurses, nurse practitioners, and one of his neo-natologists, I scrubbed up to head back and meet little baby Savannah.  She is so tiny, and has such a long way to go.  Being in that room immediately flooded me with memories and reminded me just how far Finn has come.  After just a few short minutes in her room, the door opened, and in walked Britt.  Without Finn.  My first question (as, I am a GOOD mom) was WHERE IS MY BABY???  Well, the nurse practitioner said she had a report to write, so she just took Finn from Britt, and off she went with him!  It was really nice to have Britt in the room, too.  We asked lots of questions about Savannah, prayed over her isolette and for her family, gave her the book Finn had brought for her, and spent a long time just being in there with them.  I know how much I cherished visitors to help the long days go by faster.  But, we had to be getting back to Stillwater, so it was time to find my baby.  Which was a little harder than I thought!  I went out of the baby’s room, looked to the nurses’ station, and did not see him.  There were several nurses there (none I recognized, of course), So I just said “Um, Where’s my baby?”  He was around the corner with the nurse practitioner and one of the doctors.  Just chilling out, being a big boy!  I forget how far we have come until I see a tiny 1 pound 9 ounce baby in an isolette with all those wires and tubes, then a few moments later see my big 10 pound son sitting up in someone’s lap, watching the flickering screen of a computer.  Savannah’s Mom thanked us for coming and said seeing Finn gives her hope.  That makes me happy.

On Friday, we did take Finn to the doctor to make sure he didn’t have RSV or the flu (which he does not) He weighed in at 10 pounds 13 ounces, and we captured this cute giggle on camera:

After a pretty lazy weekend, and suffering through the dreaded time change, today it was back to routine.  SonnerStart was here earlier for Finn’s evaluation, and he is right on track!  Even showed off a bit by “dancing” and smiling to his favorite song:

 

Here’s to another week!  Knowing I cannot ACHIEVE favor, I have to RECEIVE favor (-Steven Furtick).  Finding Favor with God in the things I do, nurturing my family and making sure they are all where they need to be when they need to be there, and watching Finn grow (and get over this cold), preparing him to be a world changer in the future.  Easy, right?

Sun Goes Down

This week was the part 2 of Steven Furtick’s Sun Stand Still message (The one where he compares LifeChurch.tv to the 1990’s band Nirvana and Kurt Cobain!).  In it, he address the “What if the sun DOESN'T stand still” side of things.  The haters that get in your way, your own doubts that become obstacles.  The nay-sayers, the gossips, the Debbie Downers!  My favorite quote from the beginning of the talk was “If you want to do something that has never been done before, maybe it’s because God has left it for YOU to do.”  Just because SOMEONE is telling you no, doesn’t mean GOD is telling you no.  Pastor Furtick tweeted “Not a single #1 in the Final Four. Don't let anyone else's ranking define who you are or what you can do.”  This was from Sunday night – referring to the fact that not a single #1 seeded NCAA basketball team made it to the Final Four of the end of season tournament this year!  That rankings and statistics and numbers don’t always hold true to what is happening in our lives.  PREACH!

One of the points he made about obstacles that really stuck with me was when he talked about the “Why Bother” attitude.  He used the passage from Mark 5:21 – 43 where Jairus was taking Jesus to his sick daughter so Jesus could heal her, and Jesus was detained by another woman seeking healing, and the daughter died while they were waiting for Jesus.  One of Jairus’ close advisers told them Jairus’ daughter had died.  Saying to him “Why Bother?”   Why bother the teacher anymore?  It’s useless – she’s dead already… I find myself sucked in to that attitude A LOT sometimes.  I get discouraged with how poorly my kids listen to me, so I give up and say “Why Bother?”  I diet and exercise and the pounds stay right where they are so I give up and say “Why Bother.”  But Jesus said, “Don't be afraid; just believe."  

Towards the end of the talk, Pastor Furtick references a Journey Song (recently made popular again by the TV series Glee  - another of my favorite topics) encouraging us “Don’t Stop Believing.”  But not to hold on to the feeling, but to hold on to our FAITH!  Faith that God will do greater things.  Faith that just because we can’t see the end result, yet, to keep up the work.  Faith in God’s promises for our lives. Acts 20:24  says “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.”  (This is my husband’s life verse, BTW)  We have to “tune out the doubt” (as Pastor Furtick says) and hold on to our faith to see us through. Don’t be afraid. Just believe. Don’t stop believing!

I think one of the reasons I look up to Pastor Steven Furtick so much, is that he was the guest speaker the first time I ever stepped foot on a LifeChurch.tv campus in the fall of 2008.  It was week 3 of the Kaleo series, and Pastor Craig Groeschel introduced him as a pastor from North Carolina that has a 2 year old church with 4,000 members.  (Little Stevie Furtick with is BLOND hair! And already referencing Sun Stand Still! I remember saying to my husband "If this guy is a friend of the pastor at this church, I want to go HERE!") When he was introduced last week, Pastor Furtick’s church is now 5 years old and I can’t even remember the HUGE number of people it influences!  This guy is the real deal! Don’t stop believing in the BIG THINGS God can do when you just let Him!

And as an aside, it was weigh in Monday at my house today.  I am down 1 pound from the last time I weighed 2 weeks ago!  Small victory, but I won’t stop believing! 

(And because it’s funny, every time I see the title of my post a little Kenny Chesney song goes through my head!)

Fork in the Road

Yogi Berra is quoted as saying "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!"  I kind of like that!  Life leads you down a lot of long and winding roads, and the one God has me on now, has led me back here, to a blog I started AGES ago, to refresh it, revive it, and bring new life into it.

Another great fork story (and I am not referring Forks, Washington, home to some illustrious fictional Vampires that I have been known to talk about) was told by a mentor of mine, Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church.  The story goes like this:

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. She asked her Pastor to come to her home to discuss her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, and what scriptures she wanted read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in. Then she said, “One more thing… I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.” The pastor was surprised.
The woman explained, “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably say to everyone, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite time of the dinner, because I knew something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie – something wonderful. So, I want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and wonder, “What’s with the fork?” Then, I want you to tell them, “Keep your fork, because the best is yet to come.”
The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he bid the woman goodbye. He realized she had a better grasp of heaven than he did, and knew something better was coming. At the funeral, when people asked him why she was holding a fork, the pastor told them of the conversation he had with the woman before she died. He said he could not stop thinking about the fork, and knew they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.

“Keep Your Fork.
The best is yet to come.”

 

I am still dedicated to my weight loss goals, and you can still ask me about Beachbody and how to purchase Shakeology, but the thing that brings me greatest joy is my life in Christ and my family.  So, the focus of this blog will be there.  Thanks for following me over form the other blog, and WELCOME if you are new!

Here's to Spring Break -and Forks!

Audacious

My husband and I got to experience a rare event yesterday.   He saw an invitation to a sermon taping for LifeChurch.tv on Facebook Monday, shared it with me.  We were intrigued, so we both used some vacation time from work and spent a couple of hours at the Edmond campus yesterday.  But this was no ordinary taping.  You see, it wasn’t our senior pastor, Craig Groeschel (whom I adore and feel gives God-breathed messages straight to me week after week), but another incredible man of God who is a close personal friend of Pastor Craig’s doing the talking.  A man whom I have come to admire since the first time I heard him speak in October of 2008 (it was the first time we ever went to LifeChurch Stillwater, and I said to my husband as we left, if this guy is a friend of the senior pastor here, I want to go to THIS church!).  A man who believes we can all pray miracle prayers and God will not only listen, but deliver.

We got the honor and the privilege of listening to Pastor Steven Furtick preach 2 “Sun Stand Still” messages yesterday.  I don’t think I have recovered yet.  Steven is the senior pastor for Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.  His church is only 5 years old and already has 4 locations.  It is the fastest growing church in the nation right now – surpassing LifeChurch.tv’s growth at this point in its life.  AMAZING.  His first book called “Sun Stand Still” came out last fall – it was one of the books (along with 2 of Pastor Craig’s) that my husband had pre-loaded on the Kindle I got for my birthday in October.  This book will ROCK your world and your thinking!  And it’s all God!  Doing amazing things through a truly talented and spirit filled pastor, teacher, author and leader.

As a part of their 5^th year anniversary, ElevationChurch put together a documentary, which is available to view online for free this week only.  My husband and I watched it Monday night, and were so inspired!  It is so refreshing to see how God moves like that!  I follow Pastor Steven on Twitter, and I read his blog several times a week.  There is a video clip from one of his sermons earlier in the year that really fires me up and makes me want to share God with others.  This guy is the REAL DEAL, and if you need to be encouraged or filled up, I urge you to take a few minutes and read or listen to some of his thoughts on the Kingdom.  You won’t be disappointed.

And, join my husband and I at a LifeChurch.tv campus, a network church or church online in a few weeks to hear Steven Furtick’s “Sun stand Still” messages.  I’ll be sure and remind you when they are coming up.  I can’t wait to hear it all again! In the meantime, I am re-reading the book…

Momma said there’d be days like this…

Remember those tests I mentioned in the last post? Well, God threw a good one my way the last 24 hours. Luckily, nervous energy and excitement kept hunger at bay – I didn’t really eat much of anything the last 24 hours so the fasting was easy. But I prayed! BOY! Did I pray! And late last night, I listened. And early this morning, I listened harder and longer than I have in a long time. God showed me his answer a couple of hours ago.

Dreams are a funny thing. I used to tell my husband that I didn’t really dream about bigger and better and more because I would never have it anyway, so why bother. My husband is a dreamer. In the best way! He always has plans and dream and schemes to share with me! I love his outlook and his energy. Me? I’m more “practical.” But, over the past 5 years of our relationship, I have learned the value, and the FUN in dreaming – big bold dreams. I read Steven Furtick’s book “Sun Stand Still” and he calls it audacious faith. Finding that thing God leads you to that gives you a spark, then going for it! Craig Groeschel said in his message last week “You do what you can do. And trust God w/ the rest.” I did what I could do. Now it’s up to God.

And my dreams…