Wellspring Women’s Ministry Blog and Online Community

Well, I have succumbed to all the pressure to sign on to Facebook. I can hardly believe myself, actually. And I am not sure exactly what happened to make me take the plunge, but I did sign on to Facebook last week. I just did it. I got the umpteen hundredth invitation to be someone’s friend on Facebook and I just did it. I said yes and signed on.

Now what is really amazing is that I am actually enjoying it! I have enjoyed connecting to people I haven’t heard from in ages. I am enjoying being able to carry on short conversations with people I love but don’t see often. I am loving the opportunity to deepen some casual friendships that I haven’t had time to develop through in-person contact. I am fascinated and surprised by the intimacy of some of the immediate-message moments that spring up. I love the comments friends make about the pictures I post on my wall, and I love being awakened to the reality of their lives as I look at their photos. I am shocked to find that I am really delighting in my Facebook experience!

I was expecting something superficial from Facebook and part of my resistance to joining was that I didn’t want to trivialize my life or the lives of others. Instead, I have found just the opposite. I am getting to know people at a deeper level, getting to know what they really think about things, and being introduced to the thoughts and opinions of so MANY different people! It’s a strange phenomenon, don’t you think?

And the young people are amazing! There is something about Facebook that makes them banter with me (an old lady of 62!) and also carry on serious conversations like they have never done with me face to face. What a hoot that is!

So I am eating my words. I am trying to do it graciously, but I am jumping up and down inside with the thrill of doing something “techy” and enjoying it! I don’t even mind admitting I was wrong! And I hope you will all sign up and be my friend on Facebook — right after you make a comment here on the blog!

My brother is The Mountain Man.  He lives about 40 minutes outside of Boone, in a 400 sq.ft. cabin on a few acres in the mountains of Tennessee.  Just him and his pure bred German Shepherd, Hunter, who looks scary but is one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met.  Joseph, my mom, and I went to visit my brother on Sunday, and came back Monday. It was a short trip, but so worth it.  It was great to spend time together, to get a small glimpse of the world he lives in, and to enjoy the mountain air.  And let me just say that now I understand why my brother hates the city!  Once you’re up there you realize you can live without the fast-paced pressures life has to offer.  It’s a laid-back, simple life up there and I LOVED it.  Here are some of the highlights from our 24 hours in the mountains of Tennessee:

1.  Huge tracts of land, rolling green hills filled with wildflowers and Christmas tree farms that amazingly were not being taken over by townhomes and condominiums.  Here in Greensboro, everywhere I look they are building new apartments or condos.  I don’t understand why a city needs that many!!!  Just keep the trees up and let us breath a little but, for cryin’ out loud!!  :-)

2.  Seeing my brother’s land for the first time.  We went down one road, then turned onto his “street”, which is just a gravel pathway big enough for one car to fit on, and drove up and around and around again until we saw his cabin.  It was the cutest thing ever!  So tiny, but just perfect for him.  He has his own vegetable garden growing out in the yard, and he has a storage shed that he uses to, well, store stuff obviously, but also to set up equipment to record music.  So cool.  Lots of trees all around, a nice view of the mountains beyond, and total peace and quiet.  He’s done pretty well for himself.  I was proud of him.  

3.  One of my worst fears came true.  I forgot to pack my underwear.  Yes, I did.  And yes, I said it for the whole blogosphere to read.  I’ll say it again.  I forgot to pack underwear.  Now, remember, this was only a 24 hour trip, so although you might scoff at the idea, I am not too high maintenance to wear the same pair of underwear 2 days in a row.  Sometimes you just gotta live a little.  And live I did, with the same dang pair of underwear I arrived in.  I thought it was funny, and thought that us sharing a laugh together would make it even funnier!

4.  Nature.  I love being outdoors, so I had the best time walking around the Appalachian Trail, climbing up rocks to see a waterfall, sticking my feet in the clearest, cleanest, freshest water.  It was so beautiful.  

5.  Nighttime.  FREAKY  Seriously, it was a little creepy at night when we went to bed because it was so quiet and so dark.  I turned off the lights and thought, “Is this what it’s like to be blind?”.  I had my eyes open but could not see ANYTHING.  It was pitch black.  So eerie.  And on top of that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Took me a while to go to sleep because I like a lot of noise while I’m sleeping.  

Those are the main highlights of my 24 hours deep in the mountains of Tennessee.  Not a very gripping tale, I know, but at least the part about me forgetting my underwear was interesting.  There I go bringing it up again.  It must have been really life-changing for me to think about it that much!

What did you all do this weekend?

Jessica

Have you all read the “5 love languages” book by Gary Chapman?  (I highly recommend it, I read it the first time years ago and continue to reap the benefits of its wisdom.)  My husband, Thom,  and I found out that our love languages are a little different.  He ranked quality time first and I ranked words of affirmation.   Touch  was second for both of us though and we supposed that was a good thing!    We both ranked gifts last and service just above last.  

okay… last summer Thom spent a lot of time painting the outside trim of our house. (I only helped him on one of the four weekends that he spent doing it, and then only for a few hours….was it my fault he picked weekends that I was busy?  or that the temperature was in the 90’s??   Yes, I thought you would see it my way!)  Also, unlike the lady in the “Love and Respect” videos, I didn’t sit outside and watch him do it either… which would have been quality time I suppose.   

 When he finally finished, he came into the kitchen and informed me that it was all done.  To which I replied, “Great!”  But I guess my response was not what he was hoping for… he looked at me and wistfully said, “Gee, I wish service was your love language.”  Which made me laugh out loud and I told him I would work on it.

Ever since then we have looked for opportunities to do acts of service for one another..large and small things…out of a motivation of love.  It is amazing how much it makes you appreciate one another simply by acknowledging that the other person didn’t have to do the dishes (or whatever) but that they did it because they love you!  Of course, we are constantly saying to one another now (no matter which end of the giving/receiving we find ourselves on), “well, you know that service is my love language!”  

Try on some of the other love languages…do it deliberately…do it because Jesus loves us in every one of them and we should be able to speak them all (and receive them all too!!)  It is pretty fun I think.

Which one are you?

Quality Time?  Acts of Service?  Words of Affirmation?  Gifts?  Touch?  

blessings,

Sheri

Last night after dinner I was really craving some ice cream.  This is actually an every day occurrence.  I usually have to have something sweet after a meal.  Even if it’s just a little bit of dark chocolate.  But, boy, when there’s ice cream in the house, WATCH OUT!  Joseph and I devour it.  Every night.  And sometimes I even sneak a bowl during the day when he’s not around.  I don’t know why I feel guilty eating ice cream during the day, but I do.  And so I’d rather no one know about it.  Now, of course, the whole world can know about it since I’m posting it on the internet.  Oh well.

Back to last night.  I was craving some ice cream as we were sitting on the couch watching some online TV.  I did a quick mental checklist of everything I had eaten that day to see if I “deserved” a bowl of ice cream.  How many vegetables had I eaten?  How many fruits?  Well, yesterday my diet consisted of cereal, pizza, and some beans, rice, and a little bit of broccoli.  So I knew I hadn’t eaten enough “good for me” things to deserve the ice cream.  

But deep inside I knew I didn’t care.  

So I said to Joseph, “I’m really craving some ice cream but I know I should have some fruit instead.”  He didn’t really reply so I knew I was on my own in making the decision.  I thought a little further about it and decided to just go for the ice cream.  I knew I needed the fruit, and that it would make me feel better, but I couldn’t resist my cravings!!  What is a girl to do?  Well, choose the craving of course!  But here’s the thing.  I didn’t stop at just ice cream.  Oh no.  I scooped the vanilla fudge swirl in to my bowl and it looked lonely.  So I added chocolate fudge sauce.  Then I decided there was an absence of color and texture in the bowl, so I added colored M&M’s to it.  As I’m making the sundae, Joseph walks in and starts laughing.  At me.  Because when faced with the decision to have fruit or ice cream, and KNOWING I should have the fruit, I choose not only the ice cream but the fudge sauce and the M&M’s.  I piled on everything that is the total opposite of fruit.  Anything that is not fruit basically went into the bowl.  

I mean, what else was I supposed to do?  Seriously!

I am getting pressure to join facebook. I keep getting emails from people who want to be my friend. I feel vaguely guilty for turning down their friendship request, but I cannot imagine finding the time and energy to keep up with another communication demand! I actually considered joining until I read what it involved. How do people keep up with all that?

All of my sons and their wives have facebook pages. My husband has a facebook page. Our office has a facebook page. You probably have a facebook page too. And everyone I know who has a facebook page is bragging about how many friends they have. Some are brazen braggers like hubby Michael. Others are more casual with their boasting, finding subtle ways to drop their numbers into a conversation. Still others never mention how many friends they have but invite you to visit their page where the number of friends is posted prominently — not exactly humble but at least a passing nod in the direction of humility.

Michael says, “It’s all about how many friends you have on facebook.” He even said this while he was preaching in a guest pulpit about a month ago and got 3 invitations to be friends (I called them sympathy invitations) from people in that congregation. I think he has mentioned his need for more friends every time he has been in a pulpit since then and his numbers are rising exponentially. (Christians are really soft touches!) One teen friend recently accused him of cheating, using the pulpit to get friends, but he is unflinching in his pursuit of higher numbers.

What is this new phenomenon? Several of our family have not only facebook pages but also myspace, and something called Twitter pages. Two of them have personal blogs in addition to the public pages. And another two have additional blogs connected to their professional life and webpage. What is it that motivates all this communication? When I ask my family members, they say, “It’s fun.” When I ask Michael, he says, “It’s a way to connect with a lot of people at one time. Just look at all the old friends I’ve been able to reconnect with!”

A few months ago, when we started this webpage for Wellspring and the blog, I was quite proud of my 61 year old self for being able to adapt to the new technology. Well, facebook has given me a come-uppance. I am not adjusted at all! I find that I am very resistant to this new thing! It looms like a bottomless pit into which I could throw inordinate amounts of time!

But then, perhaps I am being short-sighted and much too rooted in outdated modes of communication, even, perhaps, a fuddy-duddy?!?

After all, maturity is flexibility!

I saw this video on another website last week and I’ve been wanting to share it with you all. It is really precious and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Have a great day!

When our oldest son turned 13 we decided he was old enough to handle pet ownership. So for his 13th birthday we got him a dog, a black Chow/Springer Spaniel mix. Our son was thrilled with his dog. He named the dog Frodo Baggins Jones.

We have a nice fenced in back yard that the dog enjoyed very much. Frodo was thrilled with the yard. He had great fun chasing/terrifying the squirrels, lazing in the sun, playing with the children when they were outside. In the evenings, we would let him in the house in the mud room. Life was good.

When Frodo was around 3 years old, all of a sudden, the yard Frodo loved so much didn’t seem that great. He started jumping the fence and running around the neighborhood. We scolded him but that didn’t seem to matter. We started putting him on a chain when he’d run off but that too didn’t deter him. We talked to everyone and tried just about everything that was recommended to keep the dog in the fence. We even got another dog, Baron, for companionship. Nothing worked. The momentary freedom Frodo had when he jumped the fence was worth it to him to pay the price of punishment. Eventually, we had to get a very strong, very long chain and choker collar in which the dog has to stay on when he is outside. It’s sad, the dog has a decent sized yard that he could enjoy but instead he’s on a leash.

One day I was talking to one of my children who, at the time, was going through some rebellion. The Lord gave me the following lesson from the dog which I shared with my child and now you. Frodo has boundaries that have been given to him by us, his owners. If he would stay within those boundaries, he is protected, safe and has the freedom to enjoy all of the space he has. Unfortunately, Frodo doesn’t think these boundaries are good enough. He wants to roam “free”. What he doesn’t see is that instead of momentary freedom, if he lived in obedience, that obedience would afford him greater freedom.

God gives us all boundaries to live within. When we live within them, we are free to run and truly live. When we choose to go outside God’s will, His boundaries for our lives, we actually put ourselves in chains. Those chains can look different. They can come by way of sin and its consequences, woundedness, loss of relationship with God and the list goes on and on. God longs for our hearts. If our hearts desire is to serve Him, those boundaries won’t be seen as walls rather as a place of security.

I thought having 3 babies had taught me to let go of my dignity when it was necessary for survival. I thought going through menopause had taught me the value of finding humor in ANYTHING. What I learned from those experiences was beneficial, to be sure, but those lessons moved to an all new level this past week when I had a colonoscopy.

It is only marginally helpful to know that everyone in the US who is over 60 is having to get this highly (read on) invasive test. In fact, the hidden message in my doctor’s saying, “everyone your age must get one” is “YOU CAN’T COMPLAIN!” I hate that!

I had my test done at 7:30 AM this past Wednesday, in Cary. They said to be there at 6:45. Cary is about an hour’s drive from my house. So we were up at 5:15, on the way by 5:45. EARLY! But, of course, the worst part was the evening before. Michael had had his colonoscopy about a year ago so I knew a little about what to expect. But it is one thing to watch and another thing completely to experience it first hand! (It’s good for Mikey that he did not smirk at all as I was running, running, running Tuesday evening!)

The good part is that this test does prevent colon cancer, which used to be the number one cancer killer in the US. The doc uses a lighted scope to view the INSIDE of your colon. He removes any polyps he finds. Did you know that all colon cancer begins from a polyp, though not all polyps become cancer? He found a minuscule polyp in my colon and removed it. Hooray.

I was asleep during the entire procedure so I felt nothing. I was awake only to turn on my right side and be aware of the nurse exposing the appropriate part of my anatomy — the last thing I remember. When I woke up, the doctor came by to proudly give me the PICTURES he had taken of the inside of my colon. (I will not post them on the website!) Can you believe it? PICTURES!

As I listened to the doc describe in detail what he had observed of my innards, I could not help but be reminded of that old gospel song refrain about King David, “I’ll become even more undignified than this!”

Ah, the indignities of life . . .

This week we welcome Marion Jones, one of the delightful leaders at Wellspring, to the blogosphere!  For those of us who know Marion, her humorous stories are one of the many things we look forward to when hanging out with her.  For those of you who don’t know her, let’s just say that you will by the end of reading this post!  She’s real, she’s unpretentious, and she doesn’t take herself too seriously.  As you’ll see…

I have dreaded writing a blog ever since I found out I had to. Why?  Because I couldn’t think of anything to say… for those of you who know me, I realize this is a shock.  I have had some ideas mulling in my brain however, so I decided to humble myself and tell you a funny but true story that happened last summer.

      My husband and I have very dear friends from when we lived in Virginia Beach.  We have known them for close to 15 years.  They started out as our kids’ Sunday school teachers and it morphed into a wonderful friendship. The husband is a Christian film maker.  Most of his films have gone to video however, last summer one of his films was released in the mainstream movie theatres.  My friend called me and invited my husband and me to the movie’s premiere that would be in Charlotte.  All the “stars” of the show would be there as well as the author of the book that inspired the movie.   We were very excited with the exception of one thing, the dreaded Dress!  Men have it somewhat easy, they put on a suit, shave, maybe get a haircut and they are good to go.  Women however, have a whole beast we have to tackle.  Nails, makeup, how to wear our hair….. the list goes on and on.  

After exchanging several e-mails with my friend, I finally figured out that a black, mid-length dress would be appropriate. The kicker for me is that I am very tall (6 ft.), I am overly endowed and I had gained several dress sizes in the previous year and a half, something I was trying to forget.  My first thought was to go on a crash diet but with only a few weeks till the premiere, I realized I did not have time, I was stuck wearing a dress two sizes bigger. 

 I called one of my good friends to go shopping with me, put on my fairly worn out girdle and we were off.  In the first store we looked at, I found a dress but I looked fairly lumpy in the dress in spite of the worn out girdle I had on. I decided to try one of the “miracle girdles”.  The ones sworn to take you down a dress size magically. I got one in the correct size and went to the dressing room to try it on.  I know why they take you down a size… you sweat away at least one dress size off trying to get the thing on. It took me over 5 minutes to get the thing up and tuck in skin that had “muffined” over the top.  I put the dress back on.  It looked better but I wasn’t sure so I decided to continue looking.  I went back into the dressing room and was faced with the option of taking the girdle back off.  I opted to purchase the girdle and keep it on.  I took the tags to the cashier and explained that it took me too long to get the thing on, I was still dress shopping, could I please just purchase it?  She smiled politely and let me pay without seeing the actual thing I purchase. 

My friend and I continued into the mall.  I could barely walk.  The spandex in the girdle made it feel like I was walking with a very thick rubber band that held my legs together.  Every time I took a step I felt like my legs were being snapped back into place.  I got a mean leg workout by default.  Slowly we walked on to a few other stores, no luck.  Then I realized I had to use the bathroom, blasted diet coke!!!  We went to the bathroom and tried not to laugh too hard so I didn’t have an accident while I struggled to get the tummy tucker down.  It was a close call but I made it, then it took me another 4 ½ minutes to get it back up.  Yes, I had shaved off a whole ½ minute by “stretching it” out while walking.  After several hours of trying on dresses, we decided that the first one was the best.  Then I had to by a bra because the way the dress was, I had to have one that didn’t have normal straps.  Now ladies, I will not tell you my actual size but I will say I LONG to be a small DDD.  I typically can only mail order my undergarments.  At this point, I only had few days left so there was no time to order one.  I went to the store where I usually order from to see if by some miracle there were any returns that had moveable straps.  There was one in one size smaller.  I tried it on.  Another ordeal…      

  I had never owned anything but a normal bra, never one with straps that could be used in 10 different ways.  It took me close to 10 minutes to figure out how to get it on with the straps in the right place for the dress.  It was a little snug but would work.  I went home with it all in tow. 

      The night of the premier, we had a great plan. My daughter and her friend were going to baby sit the children in the hotel of the after party.  We were to arrive around 4:30, drop off the girls and get dressed in their room.  Then we were going to go over to the premiere and wait for our friends to arrive with the actor/actresses by limo.  I got my make up and hair done by my friend’s daughter.  With a pound of make up on (so it would last all night) and an entire bottle of hair spray in my hair, we were ready to go.  We arrived at the hotel 2 ½ hours later and went straight to my friend’s hotel room.  After saying the hellos, I went to the bathroom to get dressed.  I was praying it wouldn’t take me a half hour to get my undergarments on.  You may think I’m exaggerating but it was a real fear.  Bless the Lord, it only took me 10 minutes to get them on.  I had practiced.  After all that stress, we had a great time at the movie and party afterwards.  It is as close to stardom we’ll ever come.  We stayed at the party till midnight but then it was time to drive the 2 ½ hours back home.

  By that point, I could barely breathe and I had to use the bathroom desperately so I went into the hotel lobby bathroom and pealed off the girdle.  Midnight struck, and I was turning back into the lumpy woman I truly was.

Hello everyone, this post has nothing spiritual in it, so if you’re looking for an encouraging devotional, please see the other posts!  This one is just me rambling…

I often come across things in life that disappoint me, things I don’t understand, and they cause me to think, “Why hasn’t anyone invented something to take care of this problem yet?!”  So I would like to propose a list of things that I think should be invented, so that in case anyone who reads this blog is rich and moves in influential circles, they can perhaps take action and make my ideas a reality.  

Things I would like to see invented

1.  A deodorant that truly does go on clear and offers long-lasting protection against wetness and odor.  I have tried several brands that say they do this, and yet every time I wear a black top, the white lines appear.  And for someone like me who happens to sweat like a pig, wetness protection is a must.  I have not found a deodorant that lives up to it’s word on this.  I know there’s a new one out that says it’s prescription strength, but it has an ingredient in it that causes breast cancer and I don’t want to risk it.  So why doesn’t anyone invent a deodorant that works and doesn’t kill us while it’s working?

2.  A hand-held device that doctors can use to simply point at a patient, and it tells them everything that is wrong and right with the patient’s health.  Much like what they use on Star Trek.  I believe it’s called a medical tri-quarter.  No poking or prodding, just a machine that is pointed at you and in a few seconds the doctor knows everything about your internal organs and what is functioning properly or improperly.  It’s genius.  Why do they not use these things now?  Seriously?  It NEEDS to be invented.  Doctors and nurses just need to give up their control issues and their weird enjoyment in making us suffer.  (Sorry if you’re a doctor or a nurse, please understand that last statement was just for added drama, I don’t actually mean it.)

3.  Re-chargeable batteries that never die.  I don’t understand why batteries are called “re-chargeable” when there actually comes a point in their lifetime that they can’t be recharged anymore.  To me the term “re-chargeable batteries” means that they last forever, because you can keep recharging them.  But that is not true.  Re-chargeable batteries actually reach a point when they die and can not be used anymore.  Why, then, are they called rechargeable batteries if, at some point you can not recharge them anymore?

That’s all I can think of right now.  I’ll let you know when I remember more things I would like to see invented.

 For now though, what are your ideas of things that need to be invented?  We can make the world a better place, ladies, so just voice your ideas!