Light of Christmas

I've been noticing lots of new Christmas songs this year. Some are based from old, traditional songs but some are completely new.  I sleep with our Christian radio station in my ear, WCIC. I woke up at 2 AM to go to the bathroom and this was playing.  I loved it - even that early in the morning and had to find out what it was.  Owl City and Toby Mac teamed up to do this.  It's a visual extravaganza and it has a message we need to hear in this busy Christmas season.  Your kids will love it! I want to find the Veggie Tales movie it was created for. I hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

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Two New Loves

Since I turned 50, I've developed different loves in my life.

These are the people I love and the things 

I have loved and continue to love:

I "love the Lord 'my' God with all 'my' heart and with all 'my' soul and with all 'my' mind and with all 'my' strength.' (Mark 12:30)

I love my husband and I will continue to love him until 'death us do part. It's not always easy and it's not always easy for him to put up with me, I'm sure of that - but we are in it for the long haul. I know, even if I forget to put gas in the car and I run out and he has to come get me - it's a forever love.  Even if I spend too much money on something like, let's say, ummmm...a bike - it's still a forever love.  We don't show it the same as we did when we were first married but it's more mature now and I like it.

I really love my kids - Ryan, Kristen, and Nik and Kristen has brought Jordan into the family and I'm loving him too.

Of course, I love my parents and brothers and sisters and Jim's family and always will.

I love love LOVE my job and the people and kids I work with. It makes it so much easier to get up each morning.

Okay, well - now that I've turned 50 - 

I have two more loves to add to my list.  

I have a cutie little grandson who I get to love on...lots! I'm so blessed to have him only live about two hours away. 

It's amazing, this connection I have with the little guy! He's six weeks old and 8#. He's growing slowly but I know it's just a matter of time before he shoots up and I'll be wondering where the little baby went. Already, I just missed one weekend and he's smiling a lot and staying awake more.

I love being a grandma! Honestly, it's way better than I ever thought it would be.

The next love in my life, my kids don't understand. I barely understand it.  I LOVE riding my bike! I'll get home from school, grab a Medifast bar and some water, and then I'll take off to parts unknown. I rarely go the same way twice. I keep finding new roads to explore. It is fun to finally find an exercise that I love to do - that I LONG to do.  It also draws me closer to God as I experience His creation.

I've lost 40 plus pounds now since July and I am changing - from the inside out.  Medifast has been the vehicle to help me lose the weight and has given me the energy to hop on my bike and go GO GO!!! Even Medifast was appointed to me by God and is a story in and of itself.

Since I started riding the last of July, I've logged 379 miles - my longest was done at the Prairie Pedal - 42 miles at one time.  I'm on my second bike. I didn't realize when I bought my first bike that I would want one I could ride for long periods of time.  Last weekend, I chose a bike that would let me do just that and since then, I've put 91 miles on it.  You see, I LOVE it!  And I'm not quite sure what drew me to it except maybe it was God.

So you see, now that I'm 50, I have some things figured out a little bit better.  I'm getting this eating thing down and I'm losing weight and exercising. I am living life to the fullest and loving hard and strong!

I'm loving being 50!  
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

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Grandma

I am now officially a grandma!

People told me how great it was and I knew it would be but this little guy has totally and completely rearranged our lives and rooted into our hearts. How can a 6 lb, 5 oz little guy do that in such a short time?

But this is one of the first scenes we came across when we realized Kaden was born and in the nursery. A group was gathered around him. He was certainly popular.

He was wide-eyed and looked right at us. I'm pretty sure he was trying to figure out which one of us was brave enough to get him out of there!

He was whisked away from the only people he truly knew, his mama and daddy, and taken to a bigger hospital for further help.  He finally got to come home a week later.

All Kaden's tests looked good but the doctor said she can't guarantee what will show up in the future.  Of course not.  We just want him home now and the future will take care of itself.

The best thing is, he is beautiful - a miracle - and I'm proud to wear the label - Grandma.

It was hard for Kaden to figure out the nursing dilemma.  Hard to go from bottle to something different.  The poor little guy doesn't even know what normal is yet.  His whole life has been crazy so far. Within a couple of hours, he got to ride in a helicopter. How many of us ever get to do that?

Kaden has his first doctor appointment tomorrow. I'm anxious to see how much weight he's gained since he's been nursing. I'm not worried though. If peeing and pooping is any indication - he's doing just fine:)

Today is Grandparent's Day and we got to spend some time with our little sweet pea.  Not much but just long enough for me to get wet on. Just enough time for me to get my Kaden fix. All's good. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my daughter had a baby. Surely she's not old enough! Can't be! Surely I'm not old enough to be a grandma! Can't be!

This 50 year old stuff is turning out to be pretty awesome! 

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Half Century

It's pretty weird to think I've been alive for fifty years now - a half century. I don't feel much different than I did when I was a teenager, if I can ignore the aches and pains. But when I look in the mirror, my hair isn't the original color - I'm not even sure I can remember what it used to be.  Now if I let it go, it would be white.

I have the same eyes - bright blue. My skin isn't too different if I ignore the wrinkles. I wasn't even aware I had so many until a teen from school took some up-close pictures of me yesterday. Scary!

When I look into the pre-teen Laury's eyes, I wonder if she had any idea she would ever be 50? A 50 year old woman working with special needs kids in a high school? That wasn't my plan. Did she know she would move to Tabor, IL and meet and marry the cute guy next door? I wonder what she would have thought of that? I wonder what she would have thought of the three kids she would have? I know I thought of my future husband and kids but it was distant, not real.

Who would think that in my 50th year I would be a grandma? That my youngest son would be so very independent so young? That my oldest would be almost 30? Now that's really weird!

These 50 years have been full and happy but not without pain. I'm hoping the next 50 will be much better.

"Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout 

the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you;"  Leviticus 25:10

I proclaim this year - my 50th - to be my jubilee year. I've already started to eat healthier, to exercise, and to lose weight. I'm giving this year and every year to God. He navigates me through life much better than I can do it. I get too many bumps and bruises when I attempt it without Him. There are so many unknowns but God knows so I'm not going to worry. 

I wonder how many years I have left on this earth? 20? 30? 40? 1? Maybe a day? I know I'm ready, no matter how long. This half century year is going to be the best one yet - I just know it! 

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The Freak

I do stupid stuff. Like just now. That was a stupid sentence I wrote, but true. I do stupid things all the time. And it's one thing I do consistently. One thing I'm very reliable at. One thing you can depend on me for.  Stupidity. Not in everything. Maybe not even anymore than anyone else. Okay, so can I say that we all major in stupidity at one time or another?

I've heard some people say they would like to go back in time to fix things; a do-over. I've thought about it quite a bit and my conclusion is this:  I honestly think, if I were to go back in time, to the same age, faced with the same decisions, I would do things the same way or maybe mess things up even more. Let's say at age 16. Could we really make a good, rational decision, a different one than we made the first time? And if we did do things different, think how much might be changed down through our history. Hmmm...

You may ask why I'm so philosophical this most warm, summery day. No, it's not from reading Lisa Mikitarian's blog too much, although that might do it! Actually, it's from watching one of the 2012 Oscar Nominated Short Live Action Films, The Freak. All of the nominations are showing on the Starz channel right now. I think you'll enjoy this clip.

Interesting concept. This poor guy tried to get things right for eleven years before his friend intervened. He got one thing right finally, but then there was something else, always something else. It was driving him insane! He was stuck in a time warp continuum of sorts, of his own making, of course. He wanted to get life perfect. Who can do perfect? Who wants to do perfect?

Funny thing is, we don't have to BE perfect. We don't have to DO perfect. God accepts us for who we are...for what we do. He loves us just because. It's that word called GRACE! Grace - God finds favor with us even though we don't deserve it. I sure don't deserve it. He looks at me, at us, with love, not contempt. When I look in the mirror, I see every imperfection I have. When God looks, He sees what I will be.

"We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing Him directly just as He knows us!" -  1 Corinthians 13:12 The Message

We need to be the best we can be, of course, while we are on earth. We need to strive to be the healthiest we can be. Eat healthy because our body is God's house. With our body, we should be spending time with God; praising Him; telling others about Him and that He is coming soon! But you know, God doesn't expect perfection from us. He knows we aren't going to get it right all the time. He is in the business of forgiveness. I'm sure glad about that.

My pastor, Greg Taylor, shared a story about grace this past Sunday. There was a college class preparing for an exam that morning. Some sat confident, having already studied all night long. Others were doing last minute cramming. When the professor came in, he told them to keep the tests face down until every one got one. When he told the class to turn their tests over, I can imagine the silence; and then the murmuring; and then the hands slowly, one-by-one being raised. This professor had taken the test for them. All the answers were filled in. He even had their individual names on each test. Every one received an A, no matter what grade they were currently getting in the class. A. He then asked them if they deserved that grade. Of course they didn't. They didn't take the test. He just taught them the word grace in action. He gave them a life lesson they will never forget.

That's the way God did it. He already had Jesus take the test for us. Because of Him, we don't have to keep re-doing when we get things wrong. We don't need to beat ourselves up. Time machines are fun to think about but really aren't needed, or even practical. I sure did like that short film though. If you can, I would recommend you watch it. Good stuff!

I can't wait until the fog clears and I can see things clearly. It won't be long now. Jesus is coming soon. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

P.S. As I was studying/reading for this blog post, things got a little cloudy in my mind. I think I'm good now though, thanks to a quick FB pm to/from Greg. So, part two will be another day.

Until then...

Laury

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