Glorious Attempts

"Some causes are so worthy, it is glorious just to make the attempt. Some causes are so worthy it is glorious just to be a part of them. Some causes are so worthy it is glorious just to be counted among those who sacrificed. The Gospel is so worthy it is glorious just to make the attempt."

These words were spoken by Dave Harvey last weekend at our church, They have rung in my head for 10 days now. I am being provoked to examine my life with these words. Even just making the attempt to live a Gospel centered life is glorious in the sight of God. My efforts are seen by Him and He is honored by my heart's desire to try to glorify Him. Paul valued the Gospel above seeing the fruit of the Gospel. So often we will not get to see the fruit of our labor, but we should labor fastidiously none the less. God sees. We should be making great attempts to apply the grace of the Gospel daily. How often do we not do something because we don't think we will do it well? How often do we withhold sharing the Gospel because we are afraid we won't be able to be clear enough or there isn't enough time or we won't remember where the scriptures are?

How often I have been derailed from trying by my own legalistic beliefs that God will only find pleasure in me if I do it all right. How freeing to know now that even my feeble attempts to bring the Gospel or my attempts at making sacrifices for the kingdom, is by His grace, is glorious to Him. I am motivated to attempt more and, I know, with that will come some victories and some shortcomings, but I guess if I am going to go down, I would rather it be that I fell while I was trying to honor God and trying to proclaim His Gospel rather than my failure being that I never tried.

Good Friday

It is Good Friday, a day of reflection. I remember being a child and we were not allowed to play as if it were any other day. It was a day of reverence. I am grateful for that training. It is still a day of reverence to me. This morning I listened to this narrative of the crucifixion.
Please sit down and listen, it is about 10 minutes, but it is so powerful. In order to be grateful for what Jesus has done, we must realize exactly what it is He has done.

Happy Birthday Meggie Girl!!!!!

Today is the first day of spring and today it Megan's birthday! She is 21! It is s hard to believe that my youngest is 21! I am grateful to God for every minute I have had with her. To help her celebrate the big event Mindy and MaryBeth have come from Denver. They have had great fun, all sleeping together in one bed, late night movies, visiting cemeteries (one of Meg's favorite things to do), shopping, movie going, but most importantly, just enjoying the tremendous friendships they have shared their whole lives. Tonight we will enjoy Meg's sisters and their families will come over for her birthday dinner of Green Chili Enchiladas made with these incredible corn tortillas my friend Solange gets for me, chips and guac and GF carrot cake. Yum, I can't wait. Well, Happy Birthday to my baby girl!! I love you Meg!

Where DOES She Get It??

If you read Erin's last blog entry you will know what I am referring to. If you haven't, then go to Erin's Blog and read it. This is a picture of Erin at 18 months, genetics are amazing!!

"We do not know what to do, but we lift our eyes to you." 2 Chr. 20:12. Words that are often said from my mouth. I am regularly puzzled by life and am not sure how I am supposed to respond or act and I often say to the Lord "I don't know what I should do." (Actually, I often speak or act and realize I should have asked the Lord first.) It is a great place to find ourselves. Aware of our need for God to speak and act, aware of our lack of ability to go it alone. We have a great promise that follows this remark by Jehoshaphat, verses 15-17 reads "Listen. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed..for the battle is not yours but God's...You will not need to fight this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf...do not be afraid and do not be dismayed..the Lord will be with you." Yesterday, as I read this chapter I was comforted by these words, that God Himself goes before me and cares for me and defends me and helps me. He already gave his all for me, shed his precious blood for me and conquered sin and death on my behalf, of course I have nothing to fear, I just need to lift my eyes to Him and be reminded of the truths of the Gospel.

Home Again

Well, I made it home from Michigan safe and sound. The week was so wonderful and leaving was so hard. These goodbyes kill me. We kept our goodbye at the airport brief so that helped and I had to go to the bathroom really bad so that helped :) but after I got on the plane the tears began. The man next to me asked if someone had died!! HHMM is there a way to cry without tears so no one knows? A tear ablation of some sort. Well, I hope to see Jen, Ryan and Isaac (also known as Watermelon Bug or handsome) this summer or fall. It's up to Jamie :).

I missed Violet and was anxious to see her. She came for breakfast on Saturday and then she came Sunday morning and we skipped church together due to the stomach flu epidemic our church has experienced. (we are not sick, just avoiding getting sick.)

But, the main reason for today's post is to show Violet's early hunger for God's word. Notice which books she chose to "read" from Mimi's basket!!

Isaac Elliot

I am here in the land of perpetual snow and cold. The temp. this morning was 1 when I got up, that is not a typo! But, the cold has not bothered me because I am having such a great time with my dear friend Jen, who is as much a part of our family as one could be who does not share our blood. We have poked around town, gone to a gluten-free bakery, grabbed Starbucks, done Target, ran in Barnes and Noble and just plain hung out. Tomorrow we will go meet Jamie for the day. It is so nice to be here, but the best part is my little Isaac Elliot. He is absolutely precious. He is always happy and smiling and Jen is always laughing at him. It is so great to be here!!!! Take a look at this little guy....irresistible!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I woke this morning and was able to have my coffee in this mug. My boyfriend was very attentive to me one day in Starbucks when I declared "I love that mug!" We have no shortages of mugs around here, but my morning beverage is always a treat and a favorite mug to drink it from makes it even more special. I usually get hooked on one mug and use only that one for a long time. This past year I have only used 2 mugs, one my sister Barb sent me and one Meg gave me. For now I will switch to my "I love you" mug. Oh, the simple pleasures in life. I could not imagine my morning coffee or tea tasting nearly as wonderful in some plain mug. Happy Valentine's day to all of you!! And thanks Fred for my mug! You done good!

Quinoa (KEEN-WA)

Yummy! Tonight I made Quinoa for the first time. Prior to going gluten-free, I had never heard of this grain. Now, I love it! It is one of the many new things we are experimenting with. It is originally from Peru and Bolivia, but since 1982 it has been grown in the US. It is packed with nutrition and flavor. Quinoa has as much protein as milk and loads of calcioum too. It is also filled with iron, B vitamins, zinc and potassium. I was anxious to make it and see if we could tolerate it since brown rice can get boring sometimes. I made like a pilaf out of it. It was so good! A must try. Here is the recipe:

Quinoa Pilaf Recipe

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup finely-diced carrots
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped
• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed thoroughly through a fine sieve
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• kosher salt or Maldon sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add garlic, carrots and red pepper, cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add quinoa and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in frozen peas and salt and pepper.

Serves 6.

I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did.

Romans 8

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Rom. 8:5-6

I have been reflecting on this verse for a few days now. I am seeing how often I set my mind on things of the flesh. At first glance, I thought "things of the flesh' would pertain to lust, gluttony etc. but after further thought, I have concluded that any thoughts I have that do not bring God and His super natural power into the equation are fleshly thoughts. They are thoughts that only consider what I see and know (or think I know) right now. These thoughts do bring death for then all hope is left to myself or possibly another person who is fallible.

As I hash this out more, I see that when I look at a situation that I desire to see change in, I must look at it with eyes that also envision the mighty hand of God directing and working in that situation. I must recount how strong my God is, how I have seen Him work and then remind myself of the promises He has given. I need to apply these layers over the current situation I am facing and then look again. Think of it as a room with large windows. The room changes in how it looks and feels if you add some sheers to the window. But, then layer some beautiful drapes with some detailed rods and unique trim and the view is totally different, as is the atmosphere of the room. Setting my heart on the Spirit will bring a whole different look and feel to my thoughts. As I chose to set my mind on the Spirit life and peace become the fruits. Not fear, worry, anger and striving.

For me, this is helpful in many areas of my life. It is especially helpful when I feel myself beginning to despair about something that seems to drag on. Do I believe, that regardless of length of time and seemingly lack of change, that God is at work and He will complete that work? Of course, I believe that in doctrine, but is that a functioning doctrine in my life. Do I speak to my soul and remind it of all that my head knows to be true of God (setting my heart on the Spirit) or do I look with human eyes at what is before me (setting my heart on the flesh)and worry? I know what I want to do and by the grace of God I will chose to set my heart on the Spirit and have life and peace.

"She Looks to the Future and Laughs"

I am starting a little tradition that at the beginning of each month I will blog about what I am looking forward to in that month. The women is Proverbs found delight in looking ahead. I tend to fear, so this is one way to combat that.

The thing I am most looking forward to in February is going to see Jennifer (Zeerip) Pazdur. Well, even more than that, I am looking forward to meeting Isaac Eliot, her precious lil' peg. I will get to spent 5 days with them and just hang out and get to see Jen's home and what her life is like.

I am also looking forward to the weather breaking. Mid February should bring a 10 degree rise in our daily average temp. I have been cold this winter and I am ready for the warmth to come. Spring begins early here in Texas. (Of course, I will be in Michigan in mid February, so I doubt I will be too warm). Very soon the flowers will begin to bloom.

I am looking forward to Valentine's Day. I always love a chance to express my love to my boyfriend. Any creative ideas out there? After so may years it is sometimes hard to come up with something new, plus I am married to a man who never wants anything.

Well, those are my thoughts. We will see what the Lord has planned. What are you looking forward to this month???

Catch Up

Well, January is almost gone so I thought I would update you on the latest in the Shaw household. Meg is doing very well. She is on a gluten free diet since they now wonder if gluten is the trigger to her seizures. For various reasons, I have joined her on this journey to a new way to eat. We are learning new recipes and finding so many good foods to eat. Today I will make bread from sorghum flour. A few weeks ago I did know what that was, now a whole new world of foods are opening up to us. It is amazing how many foods we do not have in our American diet. I am excited to learn and hope it will also be the answer for Meg that we have prayed for.

Our care group is going well. I love the ladies in my group and we are all working on growing in one spiritual discipline this year. This has brought on lots of emails back and forth encouraging one another and sharing God's word with one another. It is so great!!! Our care group is also memorizing a chapter from the Bible together. My brain has to work hard on that one, memory isn't what it use to be!!!

Fred and I are going to Oklahoma City this weekend and I am so excited!!! There are many reasons for my excitement (I am sure some are wondering how one can be excited about a trip to Oklahoma). The main reason is that for a few days I will get to be with my favorite person and not have to share him with anyone else. Another reason is that we just need to few days away to relax. Another reason is that we are going to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Oklahoma City Art Museum. He is a world renown glass artist. I first saw his work, I believe at the in the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas. It was beautiful. Then I read about him recently in our Dallas paper and told Fred I would love to see his collection someday. Three days later, the trip was planned by my husband and we leave tomorrow!!! We will also go the the Oklahoma City National Memorial and for a hike at Thunderbird State Park. I will post pictures when we get back.

That's about it for now....

Maybe I am Fickle!

I crawled into bed last night and declared, "I am freezing!" My husband radiates heat like one of those heaters that hang at the doors of Costco so I snuggle up and then declare, "Promise me we will never live anywhere were the winter is colder than here. (Keep in mind it was 52 today). I won't be able to survive." He laughs. Then suddenly I realize that just yesterday I was missing Colorado where the high was 16 degrees! HHMMM Texas looks even better!

WAAAHHHHH!

For some reason, I woke this morning missing Colorado. Maybe it was reading a blog about Breckenridge or maybe it is that I am still a bit tired from last week, but I woke up missing our life there. I love my life here in Texas, I love having my girls near, my church and the friends we are building with. I am full of hope for the future and I don't want to be anywhere else. I guess I miss those who have embedded themselves deep in my heart and now live so far away. I miss my boy and him slamming the front door every time he came home and wore his shoes up the stairs as I would remind it to take them off. I miss the friends who knew me deeply and therefore would know what I needed whether it was a spanking or a run to Target. I miss Jenny not being near and I hate that I haven't met Isaac yet and I won't be able to see every little accomplishment. I miss the blue, blue sky and the mountains as I entered the neighborhood from the east. I miss how my husband loved the weather and how he would go ski for the day all by himself because he loved being out there so much.

It is amazing how good God has been to us that I can say that in each season and in each place, our life has been very full and rich and I have so much to be grateful for. Each place we have every lived holds ones that we love so much and holds so many special memories for us. That gives me such hope for the future. Like the hymn reads "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow." Someday, we will go on another church plant to some other city and I will cry because I am missing Frisco, Texas! Kind of ironic!

Day 5

We are going home. After much thought and questions we decided that we are going home today. She s exhausted after almost no sleep since Monday and the benefits of staying no longer outweigh the benefits of going home. It is not unusual for someone to not have seizures when they are here and if we stayed the weekend she would have to be moved to a different hospital and then moved back here Monday. Meg will continue back on hers meds and she will also be on a special diet that may help. We have some new things to consider and try and hopeful one of those will be our answer. Thanks for praying for us and caring for us. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

Day 4

Well, we are now in NO SLEEP WHATSOEVER mode. (They obviously don't know how old I am and how risky this is). They keep telling us many people ever have seizures while they are here, so I wonder why they do this to people? If there is no seizure activity by tomorrow afternoon, we have decide to take Meg home. There is a lot of reasons for this decision, too many to blog. But we do have some leads on how to go if all the tests are negative today. Please pray she can stay awake all day and all night tonight. It will be nice to be in our own bed soon. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wish we had more answers to the source of the seizures, but we do feel hopeful that we have some things to try.

Day 3 part 2

Hi Everyone, Well the story gets even better. It was not an infection I had this morn, but. alas, a kidney stone! Fred picked me up this morning to take me to the doctor because I knew something was wrong, was having a little discomfort ;). While in the office I passed a stone! So, I am now back on Mother Monitor Duty and the patient is eating chips and is cheerful. She will be deprived of sleep again tonight (so will I :)) and hopefully tonight she will show us her greatest seizure. Thanks for praying for us, keep it up, we don't want any more chapters to this saga.

Day 3

Good morning from the holy child (since they are yet to find anything wrong with me)
After staying awake all day yesterday they let me sleep from 2am-6am. I thought they were the nicest people. Until Speaker Mama wakes me up and continues to do so every 13 seconds until she's convinced i'm not still sleeping even with my eyes open. I thought about setting traps for them around the room for when they come in, but those technology addicts can watch my every move so what's the point in trying to surprise them? I also thought about running into the bathroom and just sleeping in the tub. That one's still an option...
I'm also thinking about getting my video camera out and recording them every time they come in.
So this morning my mom woke up sick. Thinking it might be an infection of some sort, and since she's in a lot of pain, she left to go to the doctor. Pray for her if you will.. she's in a lot of pain and pretty exhausted after being awake for so long with me.
Today I'll be awake all day (or so they think) and if something happens i'm pretty sure they'll let me sleep through the night tonight. Thank you all for the prayers and encouragement. I'm blown away by how thoughtful everyone has been!
-Megan

Big Brother is Watching

I feel as though I am in an Orson Welles novel. A while ago Meg closed her eyes and this voice comes out of the wall..."MEGAN YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAKE....MEGAN OPEN YOUR EYES" Then a while later..."MAIAIAIAIAGN, MAIAIAIGAN ARE YOU CHEWING GUM? NO GUM CHEWING." I am about to laugh so hard, but, alas I, too, am on camera and everything I say is heard, so I grab my laptop and pretend to laugh at something there. Meg smirks. I think I am slap happy from a lack of sleep. Can't wait to see how we are tomorrow.

Day 2

Well, last did not produce any seizures, so today we begin sleep deprivation. Every time she closes her eyes this voice calls out "Meg you need to stay awake." She is on video surveillance 24/7. She will not be allowed to sleep at all now. (guess I won't be sleeping either). This will be hard since she always has been a sleeper. Sometime today they will do the strobe lights again and more hyperventilation. I will let you know what happens.