Monday, September 24, 2012

Hey Mama!


Kanye West sings a song entitled Hey Mama.  [Yes. I know who Kanye West is and I actually bought a CD a while back. This was before he said he was equal to Jesus and before he messed with my girl, T. Swizzle, on that awards show.  But, I like this song.]

Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I'm so proud of you
 

My mom, who will turn 60 in November, competed in her 4th triathlon this past Sunday. Is your mom a triathlete?  Yeah, I didn't think so. [Of course, I don't know all of your moms but seriously...who can answer yes to that question?]  How awesome is she?  It's was just amazing to watch her and be able to cheer her on to the finish. 

My mom is pretty cool [Seriously...where did you think I get most of my coolness from anyway?] and my hero.  She is such a fantastic role model.  Her compassion and kindness is never ending.  She has taught me that it is always better to give than to recieve.  I am constantly in awe of her generosity with her gifts, herself, and her resources. 

Many people work a lifetime at a job and only expect to gain.  My mom is a nurse and she has made a life by giving to others.  She went to nursing school when I was in elementary school and graduated when I was in the 6th grade.  She earned her graduate degree when I finally recieved my undergraduate degree from UNCC.  She has owned her own business, is well known in the field of nursing for her publications and talents, and has traveled extensively to share both.  But, if you asked her right now, what are her biggest accomplishments in life  she would answer her children. She wouldn't even give herself credit for all that she has done but would, as she has so many times, shine the light on us. 

She really is a miracle. When she was 6 months pregnant with my sister, she found out she had stage 4 melanoma.  She and my dad lived across the country from any family because my dad was in the Navy and stationed in San Diego, California.  Cancer had plans for her.  God had bigger plans.  She is a 36 year survivor of stage 4 melanoma. My sister was  born a happy and healthy baby in 1976. [Sidenote: Support Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen, and ANY  and EVERY other organization that helps cancer survivors and their families.]

As I watched her cross that finish line on Sunday all I could think was that I hope my children look at me and see her. She is the greatest mom ever and I love her dearly.

As always [being the daughter of a triathlete] is awesome.



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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Consumed and Loving It

If You Say Go ~ Rita Springer
If You say go, we will go
If You say wait, we will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can't be done
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
We'll gaze into the flames and look for You

Rooftops ~ Jesus Culture
Here I am before you
Falling in love and seeking your truth
Knowing that your perfect grace
Has brought me to this place
Because of you I freely live
My life to you, oh God, I give

So I stand before You God
I lift my voice because you set me free

So I shout out your name from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am yours

All the good You've done for me
I lift up my hand up hand for all to see
You're the only one
Who brings me to my knees
To share this love across the earth
The beauty of Your Holy Word

So I kneel before You God
I lift my hands because you set me free

So I shout out your name from the rooftops I proclaim
That I am Yours, I am Yours

All that I am I place into Your loving hands
And I am Yours, I am Yours

Here I am, I stand with arms wide open
To the one, the Son, the everlasting God
 
Hey Jesus ~ It's me again!  Just wanted to say a ginormous [I know You know what that means but these blog stalkers don't get my made up words sometimes....it means big] thanks for all that You've done for me.  I wouldn't be who I am, right now, if it hadn't been for Your persistence.  You didn't give up on me, even when I wanted to turn as far away from you as possible.  I feel like I let You down, daily [more like hourly] but I am working on that and I thank You for loving me despite knowing me [incidentally I think I've said that to other people a time or two].

Thanks for entrusting me with such a wonderful family.  I look around and know that this wouldn't be possible if we didn't put You at the center of our lives.  Yes, we stumble, but You pick us up and let us know that grace and mercy are real. [Funny story...Gabe asked me tonight what mercy was on the way to church.  Emma piped up and said, "It's like when you do something you aren't supposed to do and you don't get fussed at."  I couldn't have said it better myself.]  Wow and thank you for making me mom and wife to such a wild and crazy bunch like the Shorties.  Thank you for the countless times You kept us afloat, kept us sane [well there was that one time...or those couple of times...and that fourth time maybe....well, You know how many and what happened], and kept us coming back for more.

Jesus, I come to you, to ask you to consume me still.  This hole in my heart, created by desire to have the world's approval, is becoming smaller. Just as it says in Colossians 3:23,  I am looking upward instead of outward. There isn't anything out there that I want more than being closer to you. Consume me. I cannot be all that You have planned for me if I stand in the way.  "Come be the fire inside of me.  Come be the flame upon my heart." Consume me. "I need you Jesus to come to my rescue.  Where else can I go?  There's no other name by which I am saved." Consume me. 

Thanks for listening Jesus! I know usually these talks are private but tonight I felt this tug on my heart to share my prayer [and I give You the credit for that tug] with the world [or at least the 2 people, besides my mom, that read this blog] ~ TTYL :)

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Food, football, and Facebook

Tonight is the first night I have had time to actually sit down and string together an intelligent thought.  It's been a very busy two weeks since the wasp nearly took me down. [Killed 'em dead by the way...] Gabe has managed to do OK at school [but home is a completely different story...boy is giving us a run for our money]. Everyone else at the Short house has managed to have a good start to the school year but we are super busy.

I had this idea [OK...I stole this idea from Pinterest....don't judge me] to make our lunches a little more appetizing and healthy this year.  It's been a hit with my family [except Coop because he eats so much that I would need to make three lunches for him each day...he prefers to fix his own] and so far, I've managed to keep wowing them with my combos.  [Yes, I took pictures to show on my blog.]



 
It makes lunch fun:) Craig has even commented on how full he gets [we cut out the bread] and that he enjoys not knowing what he is having for lunch.  Honestly, we cook dinner at home every night but having leftovers when you have Gigantor eating doesn't usually happen.  This takes me no longer to fix than sandwiches and stuff.  [Plus, I must admit, it's been kind of fun coming up with combos to put in the containers.]  Good stuff!!

Since college football is in full swing Craig has been sitting [literally] in his recliner for the last two weekends.  [If I would allow him to urinate in a two liter bottle from the chair he wouldn't have to get up.  So far he has not won that battle.  He won't.]  Last night App State played on ESPN 3 online so we had [please note the sarcasm] to hook up Molly's computer to the flat screen, flip between that game and several others, and watch something else on the iPad.
 
Yes. Our house looked like the TV aisle at the Wal-Mart. And that blue cup you ask?  Hmmm...that's a cricket holder until Craig decided he was going to let the poor thing go outside.  College football or bust is his motto...and he sticks to it.
 
[You may want to exit at this point because I am about to bring out ye old soapbox and stand squarely in the middle.]  Apparently it is OK to just say what you want on Facebook, with total disregard for anyone else.  Its also, apparently, acceptable to make a statement that blankets a group of people and puts them in a very negative light [like the football coaches at the high school] without speaking to them first.  Now don't get me wrong...you can say whatever...it's a free country.  But just because you can doesn't mean that you should.  And you should use a little bit of tact when making such a negative and bold statement about a group, from this community, if you are choosing to post your statement in a public forum. 
 
It simply irritates me to see parents that want to do nothing but make assumptions about the coaches.  I live with one of them.  I know how hard he works to do his job.  Does that make him perfect?  Heck no.  Does that mean that every single decision made on the field is the absolute correct one?  Heck no.  In fact, [I do know a thing or two about football] there are a lot of Fridays when I say, "Hey why did or didn't  ya'll do this or that?" And his reply? "Well we don't have the personnel to make this happen." Or "We tried something new." Or "This kid has never played this position." Or "The execution was not good." However, I've NEVER heard him say, "Well we just didn't have a game plan." Or "We don't care if we win or not." 
 
The other thing that perturbes me about this situation on Facebook is that it was made in a public forum for the whole world to pass judgement on without knowing the facts. To make a bold statement like these coaches are  "unsportsman like" was way off base.  Again, if there is an issue then speak to someone in private and get the ENTIRE story.  If you have an issue then take care of it like an adult.  Yes, I have kids and I will fight to the death for them.  We stick up for our kids.  But throwing others "under the bus" without knowing everything is not very mature. 
 
What you don't know when you are talking about how the coaches don't do this for your kid or that for your kid is this: They spend numerous hours [for free, on their time] planning for games, making sure uniforms are washed, painting,  cutting, and caring for the fields, before and after practice, watching film, discussing plays, driving back and forth to games, making sure pre-game meal is ready, and countless other details that the average person doesn't even begin to understand. They don't cuss the players. [There are some schools, close by that cannot say that.]  They try to get to know the players and help them out when there are issues, even off the field.  At the end of the day, when its all said and done, their OWN children and families pay the price.  Yet, we see that they love what they are doing so we are willing to support their efforts to teach character, discipline,  and yes, a little football to these young men. 
 
They, as coaches, make mistakes on the sidelines.  They make mistakes at practice.  They are human. But year in and year out they work, year round, to make sure that each player on the team is a part of something that means more than wins.  You see, I can say [with 100% certainty] that coaching is more than Friday nights to every single one of them.  I can say [because as a coach's wife there is alot of venting from my favorite coach♥] that they wear any loss, any mistake, any situation on their sleeve and it eats them up way more than those of you who aren't "on the inside" would EVER know.  Support them. Tell them thanks for giving of their time.  [Honestly, that goes for EVERY coach your child may ever have while playing sports.]  No one will ever agree with every single thing that is done by a coach...that is OK. 
 
You are entitled to your opinion but don't spew negativity all over Facebook before having the facts.  Coaching is a hard job and they need support.
 
[Soapbox put back neatly until next time.]

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