A Loving Parent...

I've heard before that you can better understand God's love when you have children. We are His children and He loves us more than anything. Here's what happened today...

I decided to take some "quiet time" after putting my toddler, Micah, to bed for a nap. I've been so busy and distracted lately that I started to feel a disconnect with God. So, after discussing it with my Grandma on the phone I knew it was important to schedule quiet time to "Be still...and listen". I put on my Dad's CD... very anointed keyboard music played by my loving earthly Father. I lied down on the living room floor and set my phone alarm for 5 minutes. I calmed my thoughts and relaxed my body to just receive God's anointing and listen if there was something He wanted to say. About 1 minute in to it Micah yelled "Mom!" I had already answered his previous "mom" request for water so this time I didn't reply. He yelled a few more times getting louder each time. "MOM!" Then he said "I want my tee-tee!" (his favorite little stuffed animal) I saw tee-tee in the living room and I knew I would bring it to him when my quiet time was up in 2 more minutes. (I knew I planned to answer his request but he didn't know it) When I finished with my quiet time I headed towards the stairs to bring tee-tee to Micah. I heard him crying softly. From the stairs I said "I'm coming, Micah." He got quiet immediately. With tears in his eyes I handed him tee-tee and all was well. I wiped his tears, covered him with a blanket, kissed his forehead and told him I loved him. I told him I didn't go anywhere and I was right there, he just needed to wait a minute for tee-tee.

Then it kind of hit me...This is what God does to me. He hears all of my prayers and requests. Some He answers right away, others I have to be patient and wait for and sometimes He has a completely different plan. Sometimes I yell and cry when I don't hear an answer or feel He is not close. But when I do feel His presence I am comforted. I feel Him wiping away my tears. I can feel peace knowing that He is there and I just need to "Be still and know He is God." All things in His timing. He is my Heavenly Father. He knows what's best for me and when it's best for me. He loves me more then I can comprehend. I need to "Let Go...Let God."

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you got something out of it too.

Love,
Linda

In a nut shell...

I did a 2 week detox/cleanse. My body feels much better! No bloating, clothes fit better, I have more energy. That's the good news. The bad news is, I've had 3 migraines in 6 weeks. I had a CT Scan for abdominal pain and they found inflammation in my colon and enlargement in my pancreas. I've been having severe neck/back pain and spasms. Train Wreck...I know!!

I am working hard to help take care of all these ailments. Just started seeing a Chiropractor, and I see a Nutritionist in a few days. I'm being referred to a GI Specialist for my colon issue and my family doctor is keeping an eye on my progress. I also start physical therapy in a couple weeks. I really don't like seeing so many doctors BUT I want to take care of these issues ASAP so I can get back to good health.

I read an interesting article the other day. It was an interview with Sheryl Crow talking about how she stayed strong and fought cancer. She said something that really hit a cord with me. She said we are always told to "stay busy" and "stay tough". What happens is we bury our true emotions and it manifests in sickness and disease. I thought..."Oh no! That's what I've been doing!" I have been staying busy, and staying tough. I haven't been allowing myself to cry when the urge came. I think this has really taken a toll on my body. SO...I am going to try and embrace the emotions and not be afraid to feel them.

I will still set goals for myself and be on a schedule but I will let myself "feel" again. I just have to figure out how because I've been numb for a while. I'll let you know how that goes!

We had a professional photo shoot before Jarod left. It took a while to hear back from the photographer but she called a few days ago to inform me that all our pictures were lost due to a computer crash. I was devastated! We have no professional family photos and I wanted pictures all over my walls. She was also supposed to make an album to send to Jarod, as a part of Operation Love. Not sure what to do about all this. Bummed about our pics. :(

The boys are doing well. Micah likes talking to Jarod on the computer but not on the phone. Aiden has good days and bad. He thinks of worst case scenarios and worries about them. He is so much like how I used to be. I'm thinking and praying about having him see a therapist. I reassure him all the time and I pray for him but he still cries a lot and calls himself the "worst kid ever" if he makes a mistake. So, we're working on him...

Business is good! I have a new amazing team member who is rocking the business! LOL She's fantastic and it is such a pleasure to work with her! I am going on a Mary Kay retreat next week. It's to get us pumped up with our business. And it's casual!! I never thought I would hear Mary Kay and casual in the same sentence! Jeans and t-shirts! WOOHOO!!! No panty hose and high heels! So, that will be next weekend. The boys will stay with our awesome neighbors.

Jarod is doing pretty good. He has good days and bad days...naturally. He misses us. We are all counting down the days!

Until next time!
-Linda