Today marks two big milestones...
1st: It has been 2 years since my husband's four-wheeler accident which resulted in a traumatic brain injury changing our lives forever.
2nd: My book "How I Survived My Husband's Brain Injury" is released.
I never imagined the night of the accident the change that would happen in our lives. We have been through many ups and downs since then.
Those first few months were just a roller coaster of emotions.
But now, I can look back and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with. We would never be where we are today had it not been for the trials we went through.
I love that God chose us to watch Him work miracles in our lives.
So go to www.howisurvivedmyhusbandsbraininjury.com and get your copy of my book so you can see how God got us through the most difficult time in our lives, and made us better because of it.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Real Love
I was recently introduced to the Twilight Saga. Oh my goodness, that is the best movie series I've ever seen! I got sucked up in the love story between Edward and Bella.
There is something about the way that he looked at her. The way he interacted with her, he couldn't live without her. It's the kind of love portrayed in the movies. The idea of a soul mate. That one person that you are drawn to. You don't have a choice but to love them.
I had that love in high school. There was a guy, and when we were together, it felt like we fit. We were made for each other. You just can't explain that feeling. It was the love in the movies.
But it was the love that the world offers.
And just like anything the world offers, it seems good at the time. It provides instant gratification. But in the end, it was a feeling, it withers, it causes pain.
Nothing that the world can offer will last. There is a love though, that does last.
It is the love that God offers. It doesn't always seem appealing. There is heartache and pain with it too. But it lasts, and while it may not have the instant gratification of the world's love, it provides so much more than we could ever hope for or imagine.
That is the love I have now. It's the kind of love that gets you through the difficult times. It lifts you up in the high times of life, but it carries you through the low.
I have experienced the love that God offers. I have turned my back on God a few times in my life. Yet, he still loves me. He calls me back to Him, no matter how far I run.
It is the love that discipliines. It may not be romantic, but it is real, and lasting. It isn't just a feeling.
Because I have experienced God's love, I am able to love my husband more fully. Obviously, I'm human and therefore my love will never be as perfect as God's. But I have an example to go by.
It may not be the dramatic, can't exist without you, soul mate feeling kind of love, but it's so much more than that. I choose to love my husband. Love is a feeling, but feelings fade. So true love, the love that lasts, is a choice. It is an action. It's not some unexplainable emotion that I have no control over.
And that is the kind of love I want, and am blessed to have. No matter how appealing the movies make their love look, it can't compare to real love.
I was driving in the car as I was thinking about all this, and the song "Oh How He Loves Us" by David Crowder came on the radio. It was like a little love song from God, reminding me once again, how He loves me.
And He is jealous from me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me
And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all
And He is jealous from me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me
Oh, how He loves, yeah, He loves us
Oh, how He loves us, oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves
And we are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
Oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves all
How He loves
Yeah, He loves us, oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us, oh how He loves
Oh, I love
Yeah, He loves us, yeah, He loves us
How He loves us, oh, how He loves us all
DAVID CROWDER - HOW HE LOVES LYRICS
How has God shown you His love?
There is something about the way that he looked at her. The way he interacted with her, he couldn't live without her. It's the kind of love portrayed in the movies. The idea of a soul mate. That one person that you are drawn to. You don't have a choice but to love them.
I had that love in high school. There was a guy, and when we were together, it felt like we fit. We were made for each other. You just can't explain that feeling. It was the love in the movies.
But it was the love that the world offers.
And just like anything the world offers, it seems good at the time. It provides instant gratification. But in the end, it was a feeling, it withers, it causes pain.
Nothing that the world can offer will last. There is a love though, that does last.
It is the love that God offers. It doesn't always seem appealing. There is heartache and pain with it too. But it lasts, and while it may not have the instant gratification of the world's love, it provides so much more than we could ever hope for or imagine.
That is the love I have now. It's the kind of love that gets you through the difficult times. It lifts you up in the high times of life, but it carries you through the low.
I have experienced the love that God offers. I have turned my back on God a few times in my life. Yet, he still loves me. He calls me back to Him, no matter how far I run.
It is the love that discipliines. It may not be romantic, but it is real, and lasting. It isn't just a feeling.
Because I have experienced God's love, I am able to love my husband more fully. Obviously, I'm human and therefore my love will never be as perfect as God's. But I have an example to go by.
It may not be the dramatic, can't exist without you, soul mate feeling kind of love, but it's so much more than that. I choose to love my husband. Love is a feeling, but feelings fade. So true love, the love that lasts, is a choice. It is an action. It's not some unexplainable emotion that I have no control over.
And that is the kind of love I want, and am blessed to have. No matter how appealing the movies make their love look, it can't compare to real love.
I was driving in the car as I was thinking about all this, and the song "Oh How He Loves Us" by David Crowder came on the radio. It was like a little love song from God, reminding me once again, how He loves me.
And He is jealous from me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me
And oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all
And He is jealous from me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me
Oh, how He loves, yeah, He loves us
Oh, how He loves us, oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves
And we are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
Oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves all
How He loves
Yeah, He loves us, oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us, oh how He loves
Oh, I love
Yeah, He loves us, yeah, He loves us
How He loves us, oh, how He loves us all
DAVID CROWDER - HOW HE LOVES LYRICS
How has God shown you His love?
Monday, June 10, 2013
Blessings in Disguise
As the date for my book release approaches, I've been working really hard to get the word out about it. Of course, my target audience are spouses of those with TBI. So to get the word out, I've been visiting some of the hospitals that Jeff stayed during his recovery.
It has been encouraging to visit with some of the people that took care of him during those uncertain days. Everyone is so amazed to see how well he is doing. Espeically the first hospital he was in.
He was unconcious the first 8 days, and when he did wake up, nothing looked promising. They were so excited to see him walking and talking. Then to hear that he is working full time, and leading a normal life...it brought huge smiles to their faces. We were able to give them a little hope that what they are doing makes such a huge difference.
This weekend I had a book signing at another hospital Jeff stayed for about a month. At that hospital, they were working on his memory, and everytime someone saw him, they asked if he could remember their names, most of the time he couldn't.
But this time, he did remember, and was able to joke with them about it.
It was just another reminder of how much God has done for us. We continue to be blessed every day.
At church this Sunday, there was a couple who shared their testimony. She found out she had breast cancer during her 6th month of pregnancy. Yet there they were, a year later, beautiful baby in their arms. They were able to share the blessings that God brought through such a difficult and uncertain time.
I just love when God takes the bad and turns it to good. I love it when God's people turn to Him during difficulty and are then allowed to see the wonderful blessings in the midst of tragedy.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Road Rage
I have road rage issues. I know it, I try not to, but sometimes I just can't help myself.
When I see someone trying to cut in front of me in traffic on the highway, I quickly try to speed up and get as close to the bumper in front of me as possible, so that person can't get in. Or, when I'm merging from 2 lanes into one, and there's someone next to me, I speed up and cut them off. I know you do it too, don't lie.
Oh, but if you cut me off in that traffic line, or speed up so I can't be in front when merging, then you're just a mean person. I mean, I'm usually in a hurry when I'm driving, and whatever I'm on my way to do, is much more important than whatever they are on their way to do. Right?
That is of course, until I see that it's the pastor, or someone I know... then I pretend like I didn't see them at first, and give them the right of way.
I do this with many things in life, I feel entitled. I feel like I deserve something. I've worked hard, I've been through a lot, I deserve happiness in my life.
But then, I look at the cross. What did Christ deserve? Surely not to be crucified for MY sins. The Bible says "the wages of sin are death" (Romans 6:23a). It doesn't matter how much good I've done, or how hard I've worked. I have sinned at some point in my life. Some times more than others (depends on how much I have to drive).
So really what I deserve is death. I'm not entitled to anything. I deserve to live a life of misery and punishment.
But the verse continues "but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23b). I did nothing to deserve it, but God chose to give up His seat in heaven, come to earth, become human, suffer and die...for me. I've known this for a long time, but I still can't wrap my head around it. Why would a perfect God love me so much? It doesn't make sense, but it's true.
I work with kids, and we use an illustration to help them understand what it means to follow Jesus. It's a car with 2 holes one behind the other. In the front hole sits a person. That person represents you. You are driving the car. Then you ask Jesus into your life, and He gets in the backseat. So now you are still driving, but you have Jesus in the car with you. As you grow and trust Jesus, you switch places and let Jesus drive.
So the next time I think I'm entitled to cut someone off, I have to remind myself to "let Jesus drive". The next time I feel I deserve better than the life I'm given, I have to remind myself to "let Jesus drive". He died for me even though I did nothing to earn it, the least I can do is trust that He knows best. Who knows, maybe He will even take the bad things I didn't "deserve" and use them to help others, or write a book. ;)
I want to hear from you. When have you received something you didn't think you deserved, good or bad?
When I see someone trying to cut in front of me in traffic on the highway, I quickly try to speed up and get as close to the bumper in front of me as possible, so that person can't get in. Or, when I'm merging from 2 lanes into one, and there's someone next to me, I speed up and cut them off. I know you do it too, don't lie.
Oh, but if you cut me off in that traffic line, or speed up so I can't be in front when merging, then you're just a mean person. I mean, I'm usually in a hurry when I'm driving, and whatever I'm on my way to do, is much more important than whatever they are on their way to do. Right?
That is of course, until I see that it's the pastor, or someone I know... then I pretend like I didn't see them at first, and give them the right of way.
I do this with many things in life, I feel entitled. I feel like I deserve something. I've worked hard, I've been through a lot, I deserve happiness in my life.
But then, I look at the cross. What did Christ deserve? Surely not to be crucified for MY sins. The Bible says "the wages of sin are death" (Romans 6:23a). It doesn't matter how much good I've done, or how hard I've worked. I have sinned at some point in my life. Some times more than others (depends on how much I have to drive).
So really what I deserve is death. I'm not entitled to anything. I deserve to live a life of misery and punishment.
But the verse continues "but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23b). I did nothing to deserve it, but God chose to give up His seat in heaven, come to earth, become human, suffer and die...for me. I've known this for a long time, but I still can't wrap my head around it. Why would a perfect God love me so much? It doesn't make sense, but it's true.
I work with kids, and we use an illustration to help them understand what it means to follow Jesus. It's a car with 2 holes one behind the other. In the front hole sits a person. That person represents you. You are driving the car. Then you ask Jesus into your life, and He gets in the backseat. So now you are still driving, but you have Jesus in the car with you. As you grow and trust Jesus, you switch places and let Jesus drive.
So the next time I think I'm entitled to cut someone off, I have to remind myself to "let Jesus drive". The next time I feel I deserve better than the life I'm given, I have to remind myself to "let Jesus drive". He died for me even though I did nothing to earn it, the least I can do is trust that He knows best. Who knows, maybe He will even take the bad things I didn't "deserve" and use them to help others, or write a book. ;)
I want to hear from you. When have you received something you didn't think you deserved, good or bad?
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