Do you hear what I hear?

I have a newfound favorite old Christmas song this year.  You probably know it, it's called "Do you hear what I hear?" sung by anyone with a Christmas album, really.  Two versions that I love are by Copeland and Carrie Underwood.  This song is humbling.  Sometimes we think we know everything, and it's in our best interest to leave our own opinions at the door and submit to the one who is all-knowing and all-powerful. Listen to the song and truly think about the lyrics.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you are with the ones you love tonight and tomorrow.
Blessings, and of course much love,
V

I'm Dreaming

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Actually, my white Christmas is right outside already, no dreaming necessary.  We have had some amazing snowfall lately, I love it! Summer is my favorite season, but this time of year I like to think that the worse the weather is, the warmer it can be inside. For that, I am blessed.

The movie White Christmas touches my heart.  It is so sweet with the cute little couples and the lovely music.  A song that they sing right in the process of falling in love is about having trouble sleeping.  Really, it's about counting our blessings.  Here's a simple page of the lyrics if you haven't yet read them.

Bing Crosby: Count Your Blessings

How beautiful is it to know that we can have peace this holiday season in the comfort of our home with our families and friends.  We have so many blessings and reasons to be glad.  No matter if your cash supply is getting small, if you are worried about the future, you are in conflict with a family member or co-worker, if you are missing someone, or even if you just are feeling down, please remember that there was once a time when you were in a worse situation, and that there is someone right now who is struggling more than you (and me).

Be generous this season.  Make a small commitment to yourself to give $10 more than you gave last year. Even $5 more, or (if this is the case) start giving!! It won't hurt I promise.

Much love,
V

Coasting on the Blogs of Yesterday

The point of my story is, you can't.

Yesterday is dead, and what's relevant is here.  Some convicting things I've heard the past few days have given me some encouragement to dedicate myself to be the best that I can be.  For you and me to follow Christ and be a living sacrifice, we must not do just what is convenient.  The theme that the Lord has been putting on my heart this school year has continued to be to stay away from what makes me just like everybody else.  WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO A HIGHER STANDARD.  Do not be conformed to patterns of this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Repetition has value...
"Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind!"

I want to be changed so much that when I make a decision that shocks or surprises the people around me and maybe even causes persecution, that I do not even need to think twice about it.  I want to make the hard choice every time, and I want it to mean something to me as a lover of Jesus and to others as a witness for Jesus.  It is that important to me.

Obviously, it is also important to look back at how we once were, to see how we've change, and what we can do to not fall back into that.  To use my mom as an example, for years we would tell her, "Mom, you have come so far! Your improvements over the last month have been amazing.  Remember two weeks ago when you couldn't move your left leg and now you can walk?!"  She would simply reply with, "I don't remember that."  My mom was always so discouraged and had no motivation to improve because she felt like after 2, 3, and 4 years, from the day of her car accident, that she hadn't gotten any better.  But this was wrong!  When we can see how far we've come, it encourages us and spurs us to go on.  Do not dwell in it, but take note of it, and take heed! We are moving forward constantly, and it is exciting!

Much Love,
V

When All Else Fails...

the Word of God can bring me peace, the Psalms are a cry to the Lord from David.  He shares these human emotions that we relate to so well. I hope that they encourage you too.  

Much Love,

V

Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.


Psalm 142
1 I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.

3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.

5 I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”

6 Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.

Five Years Ago Today, My Life Changed

I believe my life story is different from that of a normal girl my age. Although I was born into a family of believers, none of us were prepared for what would happen exactly five years ago when I was 15. My mom, 13-year-old sister and I were let out early from church to drive home because of the poor weather. We were almost home when we approached the left turn a street away from home. The black ice didn’t allow us to stop, and so we slid through it, forcing a truck driving perpendicular to smash into us. The truck driver was going over twice our speed, and T boned us on the driver’s side. Ironically, the truck driver was my biology teacher of three months. Our car was pushed through the intersection and into the opposite ditch, where we all immediately lost consciousness.

I was the first to wake as I began to realize what had happened. We were all safely removed from the car (using the “Jaws of Life” for my mom), and, after my dad had arrived to the scene, were rushed to the hospital. Our injuries were then identified. My mom had been confirmed as being in critical condition. They also said she had universal brain damage, fractures in her ribs, fractures in her pelvis, and other injuries including in her lungs and heart. My sister, Sabrina, was stung with microscopic and pieces of glass from the impact of the window in her cheek and wrist. She would need reconstruction of her cheek due to the depth of the cuts. Finally, I was impacted with a broken tibia. Days later, after complaining about the pain in my butt, the doctors discovered that I had an additional five fractures in my pelvis, and I was placed in the intensive care unit right next door to my mom. Thanks to God alone, my mom’s critical injuries had healed miraculously overnight; this is what the Lord did to give my dad hope, and show him that he could trust God’s plan and power in the situation.

My sister was released the next day, and so she stayed on a cot in my room as my family spent that next week between my mom and my room. I was released at the end of the week, living almost every moment of the next month on our living room couch.

After Christmas, my mom was sent to a nursing home in our hometown where my dad continued to visit her daily. It was a struggle for my sister and I to visit as often; primarily because of my lack of mobility, and also because it was so difficult to see her like that. My mom was slowly entering a coma, and the doctors had shaved most of her head because they needed to cut open the back of it for tubing and pipes, etc.

As mid-February came, she started making improvements; it was an ideal time to move her to a specialized brain injury facility.

For the next year, 13 months, she lived about two hours from home, at the Clearview Brain Injury Center, where she was treated with daily therapy so that her brain could try to rediscover what she already had learned how to do and to re-teach what she couldn’t simply remember.

After my mom graduated from the program, there was still so much that was different. She could talk a little, remember a few names and places, answer some of our questions, feed herself (with one arm), drink thickened liquids, and stand with assistance. We were finally able to have her live at home, as long as my dad was there to care for her.

She lived with us at home from the spring of 2007 to the summer of 2009. After having her at home for so long, it became difficult for my dad to keep the upkeep with the house, care for my sister and me, and be the caregiver for my mom. Some nights, he would wake up to walk her to the bathroom up to five times; most others it was about three times. The option we were presented with was to place her in a home for assisted living, which was a duplex with three residents and a twenty-four-hour caregiver. She would continue with the therapy she had been receiving from home, a five-days per week program that provided speech and physical therapy, and still be able to have visitors, her own room, and do the things she loved. Incredibly, this street of duplexes was only five minutes from our house. This is what the Lord was calling us to do as our next step.

Since the time she has moved to the assisted living home, she has been very discontent. She hates not living at home, and tears usually flow every time I visit. As a college student, I promised my mom to stop to at least say hello every time that I am home. Even though she has changed so much, she is still my mom and I will always love her that way.

I miss who she used to be, the way she spoke, the way she held my sister and I, her beautiful red, curled hair, the ways she smelled, the way she came home after her biweekly stamp club in heels to kiss me on the forehead after I’d pretended to go to sleep and then walk back out to the living room to talk with my dad. I miss the way she danced, her smile, her creativity, soft heart and her stubbornness, the way she looked at my dad, and her theatrical voice and dream to one day be the voice in an animated Disney movie. I miss the way she always encouraged me to do what was right, and her memorization of the book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” I miss her love of books on tape and her dedication to each of her best friends. I miss the way we cuddled, and I miss her frustration with any type of technology. I wish I could have learned her promptness, she always was five minutes early; I wish she could have taught me about love, and how to bake a cake. I wish I could have heard more about her young life and how she fell in love with my dad. I wish she could see where I am today, and could’ve helped me to get here.

I have seen so many other changes over the last five years, but I also believe that I have really grown and seen the Lord shape me as I have learned to trust God’s plan for me. No matter what happens, He is sovereign. God’s plan is for my prosperity, He is going to give me a hope and a future. I do not have to worry; I can be sure that God is using this to further His kingdom.

I can find joy in my story. Things could have been so much worse, yet I am here, blessed, and taken care of. He has brought my family together; we are continuing to grow closer. I am striving to be the big sister and role model that God has called me to be, and I feel like He has given me this story to share and encourage others when they feel like there is no hope. God has given us His son Jesus Christ who has gone through more than we could bear—death at the cross. But He lives AGAIN and wants to bring us the love and protection that we seek.

God has done so much for my family and overwhelmed me with incredible love. As I use today to reflect on where I have come, I hope you will too. Recognize what is important, and chase after God, because He is the only thing worth living for.