Changes

Dear Friends,

I'm taking a bit of a break from my furious house cleaning and organization to sit down and talk to you all.  Why?  Because I love to talk to friends.  And because I'm sure you love to read what I have to say, trivial or not!  ;-)  haha!

So lately my husband and I have been working on our home.  Wish I had some before and after photos to show off.  Sorry to say, I didn't think to take any. Does it count that the before and after look is in my head?  At any rate, we have made considerable progress, enough that it is quite easy to visually see a difference in practically every room of our entire house!  That gets me excited!

In the meantime, however, I unfortunately took up a bad sinus infection which seems to be exacerbated by all the dust we've been stirring up, however great or little. (before you worry about me, please be assured that I did go see the doctor right off so I'm on medication for the infection, but so far it doesn't seem to have made too much of a difference, I'm sorry to admit! I hope it does soon!) Oh well. The sacrifices one makes to have an organized, clean home!  Just hoping for a face that feels normal again in the near future . . .

One of the reasons I've had to work with more furiously than before is because I recently found out I have a list of allergies that can provoke something referred to as contact dermatitis.  Perhaps some of you know what that is?  I had the most thorough testing available done to be certain of what I truly could or could not use on my skin, skin I already knew was more sensitive than some.  Turns out I was allergic to more than I thought, unfortunately!  Thus I have had to go through every single personal care product (trust me, the list is soooooo much longer than you can imagine when I say "personal care"!) and literally throw away or give away pretty much every single item in my stash.  No, I am not kidding.  Let's just say that out of the shelves in my bathroom, my products if put all together would take up a container of approximately 12"x12".  Easy to move, anyone?!?  That's the positive side of the picture, I guess?!?  I have three grocery bags of things to toss and another 1.5 bags of items to give away.

Has this been trying?  Yes, in a word.  As you may recall, I also started taking physical therapy a few months ago.  I just realized I never mentioned it again after I first said it was another obstacle to overcome.  Therapy went well, now I just have to keep it up for the rest of my days.  Do I sound discouraged?  I feel that way sometimes.  Do I sound like I'm complaining?  I certainly do my best not to . . . . because I realize that, although these obstacles I face are anything but common to the majority of folks out there, and I have had to face a few more unique situations than others my age, it is my life.  My life is what I make of it, and most of all, what I choose to let God make of it.  Is it easy?  Rarely ever.  I'm being honest here. It has been anything but easy, especially over the last several years of my life.  But somehow, even on the hardest days, God gives me grace.  He holds my heart, my life, my body in His hands.  I have to remind myself of this truth sometimes.  But it gives me just enough strength to make it through each day, and to face whatever may come . . . . including annihilation of my bathroom storage and pain through physical therapy!

My First Book Review for Blogging for Books!

 Do you recall how I mentioned that soon I'd be posting some book reviews through a neat program called Blogging for Books? Well, here is my first review!  I highly recommend this book.  It's not only touching and inspirational, it is a REAL to life, contemporary story, presenting a radical way to approach many confusing aspects of any relationship, and definitely an effective way to reach out to those lost in homosexuality! I gave this book a 4-star.


*Please note that I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  My opinions are entirely my own.


My Review for "Out of a Far Country" by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan: 


"I shifted in my seat. I'm almost always in the right.  So isn't that a good thing? Doing right, being right?"

So says Angela Yuan, at one point in this book when she faces the tyrannical side of herself that she must overcome with a power greater than her own -- the power of God and His redeeming love.  She is a woman living in a marriage suffering from callous disinterest and deafening silence.  She is a mother who did all she knew to raise her two sons to be successful and happy . . . in her eyes.  But she finds out all too painfully that even best laid plans and the strongest intentions are not enough to see dreams come to fulfillment, or to fill a void that only One can fill, in her heart or in the heart of her son, Christopher Yuan.  She thinks she's been right almost always all her life, till her world suddenly is turned upside down by the unconditional love and convicting truth of Jesus Christ.

This true story is about Angela, and about her son, Christopher, who constantly struggles with homosexuality and the bondage associated with it, even as he puts up a proud, unapologetic front.  His lifestyle seems to be "all that" until one day, everything changes.  This story shows the power of the earnest prayers of a righteous man (woman), the surprising power of forgiveness, the healing balm of grace.  Beautiful story, filled with hope. There were so many thoughts, so many passages I found pertinent and applicable even to other areas of life, obstacles I have faced and am facing in relationships! It offers a radical way to effectively reach out to those lost in the maze of homosexuality. There is hope for the lost, even for those lost in homosexuality or in the chains of a lifeless, godless marriage!