Freedom

I woke up today and found the news of Benazir Bhutto's death. I am saddened to think about another life taken in hate and to think of another soul gone to meet her maker. I hope she was ready.

As I've spent all this time looking at news stories of Bhutto's death and her life, I've been thinking about our country. There are many things about this country I don't like, but I am reminded again, as we are coming up to elections ourselves, of just how precious freedom is. Thank you God for being born in a land where we are free to express our ideas, to oppose those in leadership, to live our lives the way we want, all in freedom and without fear of death threats, suicide bombers, or assassination. I know there are threats and increased need for security amongst our politicians, but we are still so much more free and safe in this nation than in so many other places.

Lord, don't let me forget to appreciate what I have, where I live, and the freedoms I have. God, please be with the families of those who were killed; somehow please send them Your comfort and peace and let them come to know You as their God. Lord, please bring peace to all the many places torn by war and civil unrest. Protect Your people in lands all over this world, and let us all come to know Your freedom in this life and the next. And Father, please would You be with "my" two little girls, who are and were my students, and their mom and grandparents, who are now in Pakistan with their family. Please, Lord, keep them safe and bring them back to their father here in this country.

Meniere's STINKS

I am sick of not feeling good!!!! It's Christmas vacation for crying out loud! This is getting old. I'm getting sick of myself. I don't want my husband, children, parents, coworkers to get sick of me.

I just wish this would go away, my ears would not hurt, my head would not hurt, I would not be dizzy and nauseous. And this ringing in my ears- well I've about had it with that. It's driving me crazy!!!!!!!

Oh well, time to get myself up and go on, sick or not. What else am I going to do? I am trying my best, God, to not be a whiner or complain much to Rob or anyone else either. You're the only one who really knows just how awful I feel right now.

A Quiet Christmas Day

It's Christmas morning. The kids and I slept in the family room together last night. Rob stayed up late writing while we all slept and finally went to bed. :) Matthew, who is usually the last kid up and is definitely our "night owl," was the first one to sleep last night and the first one up today. :) He was sitting up on his pallet waiting for us to all wake up, and when I woke up, he said, "Let's open our presents!!!" :) Still like a little boy even if he's the biggest person in the house. :)

It's been a nice, quiet Christmas morning so far. The kids opened their gifts. While the kids made their breakfast, took turns playing their video games, and Rob put his toolbox together, I have written & addressed all my thank you cards. Boy, my hand is hurting now where I broke or hurt the pinky. It has been bothering me more and down into my hand, but I just keep praying for it and letting God take care of it. I'm strongly debating just having my "pj" day and staying in them today. Everyone else has stayed in theirs too so far, and it's been years since we had a family pj day. :)

Last night was a lot of fun!!! We decided to have our Christmas dinner last night like we used to do with my family in Illinois. I didn't want to deal with a turkey, so we had a roast instead. It was a nice, much simpler meal. We used the "Grandma" china and, for the first time ever, I let the kids bring out the crystal from Vietnam that was my daddy & momma's. We watched The Nativity Story; that is a great movie! I cried throughout the movie. We all wrote a letter to God, went out into the yard and those who wanted to, shared their letters with the rest of us, then we all burned our letters as an "offering" to God. Then we came back inside and had the sillies- the kids had Santa on radar (noradsanta.org) and kept watching for him off and on during the evening; it was funny! I called my parents, and we all talked to them. My dad has started a "family joke" about the Waffle House- a different story I should write sometime- so we kidded around about that too. Then we all just crashed on our pallets/couch/chair and went to sleep. Barbara kept telling us to "hush up and go to sleep- Santa is coming." I hung up the boys' stockings before we went to sleep, but I couldn't put up Barbara's because it had a stuffed reindeer peeking out at her. So when she woke up this morning, I told her that Santa had, in fact, come. She saw her reindeer and did her usual "girl, gushiness" stuff- "Oooh, he's so-o-o-o cute!!!!!!!!!!" :)

I sure do love my family!!! Thanks God for this wonderful family you gave me, and for more precious time with them. I am so thankful for all You have blessed me with.

Now, I think I will do some reading and maybe I'll write some too. We're going to watch Christmas movies and I think I'll see if my kids want to play a game with me too.

Merry Christmas to all who are crazy enough to read my blog! :)

Joyfully yours,
Rebekah :)

Merry Christmas Jesus

Thank you Lord for sending your only son down here with all of us. Jesus, what a sacrifice that was in and of itself. That you left heaven in all its splendor (I cannot even fathom it) to be born down here, especially when you knew what the outcome would be and the torture and sacrifice you'd go through after a hard life here on earth. I've already been thinking a lot about the circumstances of how/when/where you were born. Then tonight we've watched the movie, The Nativity Story. I have sat here and cried as I watched the scriptures put into movie form to show the events of your birth.

• You were born to a mother who was probably looked down on and shunned for her questionable pregnancy. In today's standards, we would have looked down on you too as the child of an unwed, teenage mother. Who would believe one who said that it was "God's work" or one who claimed to be a virgin mother?
• You were born to a working class, poor family. Joseph and Mary had nothing- no home, no fortune, no great future... You could have come to a wealthy family or one of great influence.
• You were born in a barn with a trough and hay for your bed. Not in a warm home or a hospital with family standing by eagerly awaiting. You are royalty, and yet you were born like a lowly one- less even- not even to be born in a home, but in the midst of animals.
• Your mother had to go through her delivery in a place of strangers without anyone familiar to be with her in that scary process of delivering her first born. How terrified she must have been with no mother, sisters, female relatives there to be with her and explain and help.
• Your family had to travel away from home at the time of your birth, away from any support system for you. No familiar people, neighbors, places- only strangers and no place for your mother to go when it was her time.
• The "witnesses" to your birth were animals and a group of what was considered "low class" shepherds from the fields. You really did come for every-man didn't you? You are God, and yet, you aren't too good for us "lowly" ones.
• You moved the stars, rulers, circumstances, and more to fulfill the prophecies, to show men your son, to make a way for his miraculous birth. There is nothing you cannot do.

God, you really sacrificed when you came down here, on so many levels. Thank you for what you did so many hundreds of years ago, what you've done in my life, and what you'll continue to do in the future. Thank you for loving your sinful, wicked creation so much that you would give up your comfort, glory, honor, worship by angels and come to live in a corrupt and evil place, in human form to suffer hunger, cold, pain, sorrow, loneliness, homelessness, stress, worry, and more than I could ever know, just to save us pitiful people. We are so undeserving, but those of us who have come to know you are so very thankful.

Merry Christmas Jesus!

clipart from cutecolors.com