Praying for Sarah

Have you ever had one of those days? Mine was yesterday.

We overslept...every one of us. This was followed by much rushing around, random barking of drill-sergeant-like orders, whining of children (because no one likes to be barked at), sibling squabbles, and a mad dash out the door, backpacks and lunch bags dragging haphazardly behind.

As I threw my make-up in my purse to be applied at some later point, I grabbed for my keys and happened to glance down at my bare toes...my disgusting, chipped-polished, neglected, bare toes. I sighed in complete frustration. "How do those moms do it...the ones with hair and make-up in place, manis and pedis freshly done, children fashionably dressed and coiffed, and arriving everywhere in time?" (As if those moms exist outside my imagination, right? Someone, please tell me I'm right.) I threw some nail polish in my all-purpose purse and headed out the door.

An hour-and-a-half later, I was relieved to make it (on time!) to my first appointment of the day. Both kids made it to the right school with the proper backpacks and lunches. Milk had been purchased and dropped off in the fridge at home. And I had managed to apply my make-up and a fresh coat of toenail polish in the parking lot (after I parked). Whew! I had made it!

I glanced around the waiting room for a seat and pulled out my phone, thankful for a few minutes of calm to check my e-mail and peruse Facebook before my name was called.

"You can sit here," a sweet voice caught me off guard. There were plenty of available seats, so the offer of one right next to a complete stranger took me by surprise. I smiled, thanked her, and, trying to follow social protocol, took the next seat over.

Ahh...back to my phone.

"Are you here for treatment?" came the sweet voice again. That was the first moment I had truly thought about where I was. Of course I knew where I was...my oncologist's office. The appointment had been on my calendar for months; yet another routine follow-up.

I smiled at her. "I had treatment a year and a half ago. I'm here for a follow up."
 
"Good for you!" she gushed. I looked up at a tired, ashen, 60-something face, and that's when I first noticed it...the smile. That weak and weary, yet determined, I'm-going-to-get-through-this-and-be-a-survivor smile. If you've had cancer, or known someone who has, you (hopefully) know that smile.

My beautiful, new friend, Sarah, told me how she had a mass in her side. They had to remove part of her kidney and her adrenal glands. Her husband had lung cancer; they had to remove one entire side of his lung. He was on oxygen now, "but he's doing good." Now her cancer had returned and she was undergoing radiation treatments. If her radiation doesn't work this time, "it's just up to God" she said. "He's big enough. He can do anything."

Sarah and her husband had to sell their home with acreage and move into something smaller and more manageable. Their friends and family had moved them while they were out to dinner one evening. She was never able to have children, but her step-daughter drove her an hour one-way for treatments. They were "holding onto God because He always comes through."

This woman had a laundry list a mile long of things she could be griping about or frustrated over (the least of which was toenail polish!), and yet she chose to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and bring a little encouragement.

Not long ago, I had visited this office every day for 7 weeks. I was just like Sarah...waiting for another round of radiation in my sweatpants and T-shirt. I was tired. I was weak. I was working hard to make it to treatments and get through my days.

Now that my life has (for the most part) returned to normal, those days seem so long ago. When I completed my treatments, a fellow-survivor told me "This gives you a whole new perspective. You'll never sweat the small stuff again." It's true...cancer changes you like nothing else will. Facing it, and surviving it, will change your perspective. It did mine. But my friend had no way of knowing how deep my Type-A Personality runs. Not even two years out, and I'm already "sweatin' the small stuff" all over again.

The all-too-familiar voice came over the loud-speaker, "Sarah Brown to the treatment room." Sarah leaned over and gave me a hug. "Congratulations," she said, "and take care."

I looked around at all the other patients waiting for treatment. Each had a story like Sarah...like me.
I realized I had learned two invaluable lessons from my friend, Sarah:

1. Focus on the positive. An old song puts it this way: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." Philippians 4:8 says to "think on these things: whatever is...lovely, admirable...excellent, praiseworthy..." Sarah could have easily grumbled about her own health, her husband's health, or any other trial she had faced in her long life. Instead, she celebrated with me in a victory that had faded among the busyness of daily schedules and routines. What if I had made the choice that morning to focus on God's blessings instead of my shortcomings? Maybe I wouldn't have been so worried about a little thing like toenail polish.

2. Take the time to show a little kindness and give a little encouragement. If Sarah hadn't gone out of her way to offer a seat and strike up a conversation, I would have been content to keep my nose glued to my phone. I might have read a few e-mails or caught up on Facebook updates, but I also would have missed the opportunity to meet a warrior named Sarah who turned my whole day around.

As she walked off for another round of radiation, I told Sarah I would pray for her and for her husband. I intend to do just that. If you think about it, please pray for my precious friend Sarah.

As you go through your day take a moment to thank God for His blessings. Find someone to be a Sarah to...it might just be what they need today.

Disclaimer

I will be hijacking my own blog for awhile. Let me explain...we used to have a secure web site where we could share photos of our kids with friends and family who live far away, as most of our family does. This allowed us to share everyday moments with those we wish could share them in person.

Unfortunately our site is down for the time-being. So I will be using my blog to post even MORE pictures of my children and our outings to share with our far-off loved ones. (I can't imagine why anyone would NOT want to endure pictures of my GORGEOUS children, but I apologize for any off-putting self-indulgence. ;))

I will still be posting the occasional book review, household ideas, comments on life and faith, or anything else that strikes my fancy; however, as time is limited I'm afraid most of it will be devoted sharing snippets of our life with those we love. Of course, you are included in that, so I hope you will join us for the journey...I'm sure it will be a wild ride!

Designed for Life 2008 Women's Conference

"Life is full of surprises." That sounds so cliche...until you encounter one of those surprises.

Last week I attended our church's annual women's conference. (Thus the reason for my absence here.) Now, I'm not typically one for church women's gatherings. As a not-so-frilly-girl, I've come away from more than my share of women's gatherings feeling like it just "wasn't for me." But for some reason, I felt like I needed to go this year...and surprise! I'm really glad I did.

The speakers were phenominal. Vera Kasevich of Hillsong Church in Kiev, Ukrane, has an amazing testimony and passion for empowering women. She and her husband pastor in Kiev as well as in Moscow, Russia. We also heard from my friend Casey Gibbons, the wife of our youth pastor, Scotty Gibbons. Casey also has a tremendous story of God's faithfulness in her life and an amazing heart for girls and children.

For me, the highlight of the conference was being challenged (and I do not use that word lightly) by Christine Caine of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. Put simply, Christine is a combination of passion, humor, and the power of the Word of God all rolled into a small Greek-Australian woman. She is an tremendous speaker and an amazing woman.

In addition to the powerful speakers, the conference held The World's Largest Baby Shower where nine new and expectant mothers from the local pregnancy care center were showered with gifts of strollers, rocking chairs, bedding and nursery decor, baby clothes, and baby supplies.

Two women were honored through the "Be a Gift" Foundation for their faith and courage in the midst of adversity. They were given makeovers and a shopping spree. One family was given a kitchen makeover (complete with new dishes and a fully-stocked pantry), while the other family received a 5-day getaway and a check to cover expenses for their son's medical treatments.

The conference participants also agreed to sponsor 500 Haitian children through Mission of Mercy to launch their ministry in the country of Haiti!

This was not your mother's women's conference! Gone are the days of blue-haired ladies sitting around knitting and sipping tea. Apparently, the new face of women's ministry is all about empowering women to live up to who God has created us to be. Now that I can get into! (The chocolates and chair massages are nice, too!)

I am definitely looking forward to next year's conference. If you're looking for a reason to visit the Ozarks next fall, this is a great reason to come. I can give you great tips on things to do in the area!

What's been your biggest surprise in recent days?

Wow! My First Award!

I was so honored to receive the "Arte y Pico" Award by Lora from My Blessed Life. Lora is the one who inspired me to start blogging. I always enjoy her blog, not just because it's how I keep up with her life and family. But she also gives so many inspirational and creative ideas. Thanks so much, Lora!

_______________________

Here are the guidelines for this award~~

1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award should have the name of the author

and link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner should show the award and put the

name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.

4) The award winner and one who has given the prize should show the

link of "Arte y Pico"blog so everyone will know the origin to this award.

I've decided to award the "Arte y Pico" to the following bloggers who inspire me. Some are personal friends, some are simply blogs I enjoy reading for their information, advice, and/or inspiration. I hope you enjoy them, too:

I'm an Organizing Junkie

The Howe Family

Under the Bell Tower

Logorrhea

My 5th nominee would be Kickin' It In Crazyville, but since

Lora already awarded them, I'm going to go with I Take Joy.

Better Late Than Never...I Guess?

I realized today that I am a terrible friend. I met up with my lifelong frined, Lora (from My Blessed Life) about a month ago and I never posted pics! How terrible am I! So I hope it's true what they say...better late than never!


We had a wonderful time at the park. As you can see the kiddos LOVED the train! And then lunch at Cracker Barrell...YUM! The girls had fun in the "just their size" rocking chairs. I definitely wish we lived closer to each other so we could do it more often!

Going Home

My trip to KC was a lot of fun. The purpose was two-fold: (1) to promote my book, and (2) to visit my old home church and some family. (The conference was held at my former home church and my parents were attending the conference.)

The book promotion wasn't exactly a huge success. We only sold a few copies (thank you, Lora for purchasing most of them!), but we did have a lot of people express interest in the book. Hopefully they will remember once they get home and order it online. It was good to get the word out.

The kids had a BLAST visiting with "Nanee and PaPa." I'm not sure which my parents enjoyed more...showing off their grandkids to all their friends or bragging that their oldest daughter had written a book!

It was a bit bizarre visiting my "home" church to which I hadn't returned in almost 15 years! The building had changed tremendously (but the sanctuary was eerily the same). There were some of the same faces, but now they had a few more wrinkles, a few more gray hairs, and a few more children in tow! It was like a weird time warp between 1998 and 2008. While it was nice to "step back in time," it's good to be back to my present and the things and people I now know. It's a wonderful church, and the people are great, but there's nothing like "going back" to make one thankful for where they are now!

I was also able to spend some time with my life-long friend, Lora (check out her blog My Blessed Life). Our parents were friends long before we arrived on the scene, and since both our parents were there, too, we had three generations of friendship going on. It was really cool. Lora and I hadn't seen each other in ages. It was great to see her and her beautiful family, and visit some of the places we had hung out together 15 years ago!

Lora and me at The Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MO

Three generations of friendship...me and Lora with our moms and daughters.

After the conference, the kids and I spent a couple days at my grandma's about 30 minutes south of KC. My daughter LOVED the chance to run and play on "G's" property. (The great-grandkids have dubbed my grandma "G.") She also loved playing with G's dog, Lacey.

"G" with the kiddos

And the best part of going home...grandma's fried chicken!! YUM!!

All in all, it was a fun--and exhausting--trip!

New Clothes, New Woman

I actually got to go shopping this weekend with a friend and spend the rest of my Christmas money. Yes, I said Christmas money. And yes, I know it's April. That's how often I actually go shopping (for myself, that is). I only bought a few shirts, but it was enough (for now). It's amazing how a new shirt...nothing fancy, just a simple shirt...makes you feel so good. I wore one of my new shirts today. It was a good day.

Just think how great I'd feel if I had a whole outfit...one can dream. And if I actually got my hair cut and colored...well, look out world! (Now, I'm just talking crazy...I should just go to bed.)

I know I keep promising a spectacular comeback. I haven't forgotten...just needing to make time to do it. But it will have to be another time. Right now it's 11:00 and I'm off to bed!