Mom Seriously

EVENT CALENDAR 2012

2012-01-01T08:00:00.003-06:00

Friday, April 27, 2012
2:1 Conference
Sterling, VA

Wednesday - Friday, May 9-11, 2012
Chicago Homeschool Expo
Tinley Park Convention Center
Chicago, IL

Thursday - Saturday, June 28-30, 2012
Alabama Homeschool Expo
Montgomery, AL

Thursday - Saturday, July 26-30, 2012
Southeast Homeschool Expo
Atlanta, GA

Saturday, November 10, 2012
Pure In Heart Conference
Tampa, FL

Rebecca's 2009 Event Schedule
Rebecca's 2010 Event Schedule
Rebecca's 2011 Event Schedule

Join Me at the 2:1 Conference in 2012!

2011-12-30T08:00:00.008-06:00

So what are your plans for 2012?

More specifically, what are you doing on the weekend of April 27-29? I'm going to be at the 2:1 Conference in Sterling, VA, and I would absolutely LOVE to see you there!

If you're a homeschooling mom who blogs on the side, or maybe a blogging mom who homeschools on the side LOL, then 2:1 is the premier conference for you "mothers, in the trenches of homeschooling, with hearts for God."

I'm so honored to be speaking at the 2:1 Conference on Friday evening. My topic is "Identity Theft." Here's what's interesting: This conference almost happened last April. In fact, my flight was booked. I thought I knew what I was going to speak about (same topic) and I had a pretty good idea of where my focus would be. However, the conference was postponed, and rescheduled for April 27-29, 2012. In May of this year, my sister-in-law Karla was diagnosed with breast cancer. The journey our family has been on since has given what I thought I would talk about a new focus. Not an entirely new direction, but my goodness, I feel like the Lord has taught us so much over these past months. And that will, of course, affect what I talk about.

The Conference is offering a special ticket price right now that ends tomorrow. In an effort to keep an intimate atmosphere, only 200 tickets total are available for this event. Tickets are priced at $259, but today and tomorrow, they are only $199--just use the code 2to1Christmas at checkout.

Go to the 2:1 website and take a look at all that is being offered that weekend. Then register! I can't wait to see you there!

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Merry Christmas *VIDEO

2011-12-24T08:18:00.000-06:00

Get a FREE download of this song HERE.

Merry Christmas!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T16:20:00.000-06:00

Hello Friends,

Some time around May, life seemed to get crazy. With Karla fighting cancer, new writing, editing, and speaking opportunities, and regularly crazy family life, time for blogging has not happened quite so much. To update, everything is going well for Karla. She has battled fiercely and will be having her surgery next week. She is in great spirits and continues to be an example to everyone of facing the opponent with courage, grace, and strength--unswervingly focused on victory.

In reflecting on the past several months and on this year in general, I find that Thanksgiving is a time to ask these questions (see my Thanksgiving post) once again. That article was written some years ago, but I find myself returning to these questions and pondering them anew every year.

Wherever you are in the journey, may you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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Listen to My Heart

2011-10-31T08:00:00.003-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, and homeschooling encouragement. Enjoy!

Sara and Justice (Photo courtesy: The Perry Family)

Friday, October 28, Sweet Baby Justice went Home to be with our Lord Jesus. I invite you to visit the Facebook page, Pray for Justice Micah Perry and read what his parents, Troy and Sara Perry, have written about this baby's 28-day lifetime. Read how Justice impacted so many lives with the Gospel.

Five years ago, when Troy and Sara's son Noah was born with a heart defect, these two Christ followers were quick to recognize that they were on a journey with choices to make: Live what you believe, or live as those who have no hope. In truth, we face that choice every day, but never more so than when we are in the midst of suffering. I wrote an article for ParentLife magazine that detailed this couple's journey then, and I'm sharing that with you today. Five years later, as they both grieve the loss and celebrate the life of Justice, they have once again made it their intent to bring glory to God. I ask that you say a prayer for this family as they bury Justice this week, and especially for Noah, five years old now, as he grieves for his baby brother.

The beeping drone of a heart monitor. The mechanical gulps of a ventilator puffing noisily on behalf of incompetent lungs. The brisk echoes of a nurse’s loafers rushing down the hall. This describes the sounds of the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on a hospital floor dedicated to heart babies. But there is no way to describe the feelings. “Until you are a parent of a heart baby, you do not understand,” says Troy Perry, minister to youth at First Baptist Church in Madison, Tennessee. When his son, Noah, was born with the heart disease Tetralogy of Fallot, everybody asked why. Troy and his wife, Sara, seemed to be the perfect Christian couple. Why shouldn’t they have a perfect baby?

In 2004, Troy was a lay youth leader at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Athens, Alabama. He had only been a Christian for a year when he met Sara Stamps, but he knew how important it was to set an example for the youth in his ministry. On their first date, each knew the other was “the one.” They also knew that their first kiss would wait until their wedding day.

Before they met each other, both Troy and Sara had made a commitment to purity, a radical decision in a 21st century culture. There would be no intimacy, not even a kiss, until marriage. Confident their stand would glorify God and influence their observant teenagers, Troy and Sara took the utmost precautions to protect each other’s purity while they prepared for marriage.

Fast forward a year later. Sara is pregnant a month after the wedding! Troy immediately began praying for the baby. “I just prayed that people would be impacted by his life,” he says. “I didn’t care how.”

But when Sara was six months along, test results revealed the unthinkable: a heart defect. “The hardest part was telling our mothers,” Sara says. “We hurt so badly, but we knew we had to be strong for them, especially Troy’s mom.”

“When I was born I had a hole in my heart,” Troy explains. “I had to have two surgeries to have it fixed.” Troy’s brother, Lance, was born four years later with a more complicated heart ailment. He lived only two months. Yet doctors said that Noah’s heart defect was not passed to him genetically.

“We never stopped praying for God to heal Noah,” Sara notes. “But our ultimate prayer was, Whatever Your will is.”

“I guess we had the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prayer,” Troy adds, remembering the Old Testament story found in Daniel 3:8-18. “Our God can heal, and our God loves us. But even if He chooses not to heal, He still loves us. We surrendered to His power to give and take away.”

“We had one big cry, and after that, we turned our thoughts to, How can this be used to glorify God?” Sara shares.

When Noah was born, he was taken from Alabama to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. The doctors there elected to send Noah to the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital for his surgery. Noah was life-flighted while Troy and Sara made the ten-hour drive. Both admit to initial feelings of anxiety and even fear, but they soon began to feel the prayers of family, friends, and even strangers.

“That peace enabled us to not worry about ourselves,” says Sara. “We knew everything was in God’s hands. It then became our mission to say, What can we do for somebody else? There were so many people around us who did not have that same peace.” Sara especially felt God’s personal touch on the morning of Noah’s surgery. “It was like God just opened the heavens and poured out an amazing shower of grace and love over me, and all I could do was praise Him.” Noah’s surgery was successful, and as he recuperated, the Perrys stayed busy serving others in the PICU.

Troy and Sara were careful to respect the needs of the hurting parents around them while seeking ways to share the hope of Christ. Every day they were in Michigan, Troy wore a Christian T-shirt. “That would open up doors,” he says. “People asked questions, such as, Why does your shirt say, ‘Jesus is my hero’?” He would answer with a brief explanation of the Gospel and his own personal testimony. He and Sara also had cards printed up listing Noah’s CarePage website and their cell phone numbers. They invited people to call or contact them with questions about Christianity.

Often, Troy began conversations with other parents by asking, “What are you in for?” Parents would easily open up to talk about the issues their children were facing, giving Troy an opportunity to ask, “When my wife and I have our prayer time together later, would you mind if we prayed for you and your family?” Often, people would want to pray right then and there.

Word began to spread throughout the hospital, and soon Troy and Sara found themselves on call as prayer warriors throughout the PICU, praying with many different families. Because Troy wanted to be real whenever he offered prayer, he explained to parents,
“I’m going to pray for your child to be healed, but if for some reason your child is not healed from this disease, still know that God loves you. Still know that God has a bigger plan for your child and for you.”

God put Troy and Sara in unique places to minister to the very people who were there to minister to them. They became involved in the personal lives of the hospital personnel, supporting some through broken marriages and other stressful situations. “Everyone there was open to some kind of comfort,” says Sara. The Perrys wanted to offer people the true comfort that comes only from Jesus Christ.

Noah will face a few more surgeries as he grows up. “When people ask me, ‘Why didn’t God heal Noah?’ I tell them, ‘God wasn’t finished,’” Sara says. “I share our story. We’ve had so much more of an opportunity to glorify Him and to see Him be glorified through Noah.”

First published in the December 2008 issue of ParentLife magazine.

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Please Pray for Justice Micah Perry

2011-10-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody,

There has been a lot going on around here over the past couple of weeks. Karla was in the hospital (She is okay now, and I will write more about her latest journey soon), and also, our sweet baby cousin, Justice Micah Perry, was born a couple of weeks ago with many complications (see video below).

You've read about Justice's dad, Troy Perry, and his testimony on this blog. Troy and Sara (Rich's cousin) are two of my favorite people. I bet after watching this video (just click and it will take you straight to it), they will be two of your favorite people, too. Please pray for them, and pray for Justice Micah Perry.

WZTV FOX 17 :: Newsroom - Top Stories - EXCLUSIVE: Family Asks for Prayers as Infant Clings to Life

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Contacting Me

2011-10-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

If you have tried contacting me over the past few days using the contact button above, please try again. The emails are getting to me, but it is not allowing me to see your email address to write you back. Until I can figure out what the problem is, please include your email address within the body of your note to me, and I will be able to correspond.

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Dr Lois Evans: "Invest in Your Kids"

2011-09-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, and homeschooling encouragement. Enjoy!

One thing that makes my interview with Priscilla Shirer really special is that several years ago, I got to interview her mom, Dr. Lois Evans (wife of Dr. Tony Evans), author of Seasons of a Woman's Life. She shared with me her thoughts on motherhood, after having raised four kids and seeing them walk successfully in their relationships with God. There was so much wisdom in what she told me, and today, I want to share with you some of my notes from that interview.

"It is important to begin training your children early in establishing a daily devotional time. Use age-appropriate material. Start with an easy reader Bible, or even a Bible book of just pictures. Read to them. Talk to them. Sit with your kids around the table and teach them God’s Word. Eventually move them up to the next level of reading. Find Bible story books that you can share together. Once they have listened to a story, have them tell the story back to you. Integrate in their systems their need to be in God’s Word. For older children, start in the book of John. Tell them stories of God’s goodness in the lives of His people. You can even include your children in your devotional life. Start with one day a week, and move up from there. It is never too late to invest in your kids.

I realize child-rearing and the formative years seem long. It seems like you will never get out of this season in life, but you will. Today I am looking at my kids who are all in ministry. I was not a perfect parent—who is? We’ve got lots of stories of imperfection. But I’m grateful that I took the advice of people in my life and invested in this hard work, yes, in this long season of mothering."

Looking for Bible studies to help your middle schooler establish a daily quiet time? Check out Wise Up! and Get Real! for girls and Dig Deep for guys.

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Upcoming Interview for ParentLife Magazine with...

2011-08-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, and homeschooling encouragement. Enjoy!

I am so blessed to get to interview some really cool people for ParentLife magazine, and I'm really excited about an upcoming interview with--YES--Priscilla Shirer! If you've read any of her books or heard her speak, you know she is just amazing. In addition to her public ministry as a Bible teacher, she's a wife and a mom, parenting three growing boys. If you were me, what would you ask her about her parenting style? About being the only female in a house full of males? About what she's teaching her sons and what she's doing to point them to Christ? I've got plenty of questions of my own, but I'd love your suggestions, too! What would you like to know?

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Upcoming Pure In Heart Conferences

2011-08-29T09:00:00.006-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? WELCOME! Be sure to sign up for my daily email newsletter, full of practical tips for purposeful parenting!

Exciting news: We have two more Pure In Heart Conference events scheduled for this year, coming up in October and November. If you live in the southeast and you've been waiting for a Pure In Heart Conference to come to your area, here's your chance!

OCTOBER 1, 2011 -- RICHMOND, KENTUCKY

NOVEMBER 12, 2011 -- CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE

If you are thinking about going, register now. These conferences are sell-outs, and there is limited seating.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Back to School

2011-08-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, and homeschooling encouragement. Enjoy!

Have you started school yet? We've been at it for about a week now. We got our groove on pretty quickly, not surprisingly, as I have teen sons who require mainly just management from me. They are immersed in the Notgrass history studies--which we LOVE--and this year (drum roll please) we are using Rosetta Stone. I got a real deal on it at the Southeast Homeschool Expo, the kind of deal that dismisses any excuses, and so we are locked in. We are doing Spanish (Latin American) and we will just see how it goes. I actually made the purchase for my youngest, Derek, a freshman this year, but I got the first three levels, and my older son, who had Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 through a tutorial program, wants to give Level 3 a try. If we love it, of course, I will wish I had gotten it with the first child rather than the last, but I think it will be worth it's weight in gold if we can just learn how to better communicate with the folks in our own community.

It's good to be back in a school schedule, although we are all having to be weaned off summer.I have so enjoyed my bloggy vacation/summer break. We've had tons of things going on around here: DANYA's new EP was released, David bought his first CAR (and with his own money, too!), Derek got a Facebook, and my sister-in-law is doing tremendously well as she fights breast cancer. Praise the Lord! I will be sharing some pictures with you over the coming weeks.

By the way, the Mom's Tip of the Day (MTOD) has been moved to my Facebook page. It makes more sense to put it there, and save me a bunch of time, so if you haven't "liked" my author page yet, please do! And the tips will go up on my Twitter, as well.

Check out all this week's Weekly Wrap Ups at my friend Kris's blog. Have a great weekend!

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Courageous Parenting Conference in Florence, Alabama

2011-08-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, and homeschooling encouragement. Enjoy!

If you're close to Florence, AL, I'd love to have you join me at the Courageous Parenting Conference at Woodmont Baptist Church. This is a four-day parenting event, with lots of excellent speakers (and FREE childcare) presenting on a variety of parenting topics and concerns. An added bonus: Tickets to the opening night of the movie “Courageous” (brought to you by the same folks who did Fireproof and Facing the Giants) will be awarded as door prizes for those in attendance. I'd love to meet you there! For more details, go here.

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Chicago Homeschool Expo: Links

2011-08-04T15:00:00.002-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, homeschooling encouragement, and every day, a Mom's Tip of the Day. Enjoy!

If you joined me today at the Chicago Homeschool Expo, here are the links I promised you, listed by session:

*Relax--Your First Year of Homeschooling is Your Training Ground (9:00 AM)*

Links

Books Referenced/Recommended in this Session:

Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman
Baby Boot Camp (The "vision" that I read aloud is here.)

=============

*Beginning Right: Developing a Lifestyle that Promotes Homeschooling Togetherness and a Family Team for Success and Load-Sharing (11:00 AM)*

Links and Book

Flylady.net
Mom Seriously: Sibling Rivalry Series
Children Who Do Too Little by Patricia Sprinkle

=============

*Gems for Beginners

Links

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Southeast Homeschool Expo: Links

2011-07-28T15:00:00.001-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, homeschooling encouragement, and every day, a Mom's Tip of the Day. Enjoy!

If you joined me today at the Southeast Homeschool Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, here are the links I promised you, listed by session:

*Relax--Your First Year of Homeschooling is Your Training Ground (9:00 AM)*

Links

Books Referenced/Recommended in this Session:

Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman
Baby Boot Camp (The "vision" that I read aloud is here.)

=============

*Beginning Right: Developing a Lifestyle that Promotes Homeschooling Togetherness and a Family Team for Success and Load-Sharing (11:00 AM)*

Links and Book

Flylady.net
Mom Seriously: Sibling Rivalry Series
Children Who Do Too Little by Patricia Sprinkle

=============

*Gems for Beginners (with special Q and A time with homeschool graduate Danya)

Links

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Revive Our Hearts Broadcast with Rebecca and Danya Begins Today

2011-07-25T08:00:00.014-05:00

QUICK LINKS

Visiting today after listening to the Revive Our Hearts broadcast? Thanks for stopping by!

Listen to all this week's broadcasts with Rebecca and Danya. (These are no longer available in transcript form. You must order the CDs.)
Season of Change: Parenting Your Middle Schooler wtih Passion and Purpose is available from Revive Our Hearts along with the audio set of the 4-part interview with Nancy Leigh.
Purchase Season of Change for Kindle here.
Take a look inside the book.
Take a look at Rebecca's Bible studies for girls: Wise Up! Experience the Power of Proverbs (6th grade-9th grade) and Get Real! Embrace the Reality of Ruth (7th grade-up, with Danya as contributing author)
Get the new DANYA EP on iTunes or Amazon.
Interested in learning more about the Pure In Heart Conferences this fall? Go here.

Guest Post Today on True Woman Blog

2011-07-25T07:45:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Please head over to the True Woman blog to check out my guest post: There's a Reason They Call It a Catfight.

I hope you'll find some tips you can use for helping your tween and middle school daughters find their way through difficult friendships.

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For Crying Out Loud

2011-07-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone for your prayers for my sister-in-law Karla (to read all my posts about Karla’s journey with breast cancer so far, go here). Every week, the after-effects of chemo have been harder to deal with. She has her last chemo treatment of this first round of treatments tomorrow. Then, she will have a week off before beginning a second round of 12 weekly chemo treatments with a new drug. Our prayer request right now is that she doesn’t continue to experience the debilitating sickness and emotional trauma that she has had to deal with thus far.

Karla has been dealing with a lot of emotions lately. When we were at her last chemo treatment two weeks ago, she just started crying; she was angry, she was frustrated, and she was sad. She knew what was coming when she sat down in that chair—and she was dreading it. The actual chemo treatment is not so bad, actually. We’ve done our best to create a party atmosphere in the healing room, to get to know the folks around us, and to keep the smiles on our faces. But Karla knows that she has a scant amount of time before her body rebels and she is sick, depressed, and depleted—and so not herself. In many ways, we as her family feel like we are on this journey with her, but we are just at her side. We are not walking in her shoes. We can only understand her to a certain point. And that’s got to be frustrating too.

Karla has one particular friend who has walked this road and worn those shoes, and she’s been a great comfort. She can tell Karla about some of the detours on this journey: the bumps and potholes, what the traffic is like, and the best places to refuel. Suzanne knows what Karla’s feeling because she’s been there. She’s been angry, frustrated, and sad too. She knows—really knows—what it’s like.

There’s a grieving going on here that’s inevitable. Karla grieves for her health, her body, and her familiar life that has become this Where in the world am I? kind of place where nothing—her own reflection included—is recognizable. She’s missed time with her kids, a planned-before-cancer summer trip, and just regular family life. And she's mad. I know she's mad because she's told me so. She's asked why, and she's questioned, and she's probably thrown things, too. But she has a freedom to be herself before the Lord because she knows He can take it. (If you don't believe me, look at the psalms. Emotions are all over the place there, right alongside a heart of worship and an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty.)

So why not cry, Karla? The Lord's shoulders are big enough for even those loud and long, heaving sobs that come up from the bottom of our souls. And you know that I think it's okay if you feel compelled to scream and holler too. We might not be wearing the same shoes, but we’re your family, and we're on the same untraveled road…together.

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DANYA'S New EP!

2011-07-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

DANYA (L to R): Matt Morris, Danya Powell, Asa Wiggins

DANYA's new EP is now available on iTunes! Head on over to the band's website to listen to clips.

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Shorn Identity

2011-06-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

"What pretty hair!"
"It's a good hair day!"
"Love your hair!"

I'm on my way to Karla's to videotape the shaving of her head. Her doctors said her hair would be falling out by Day 13...man, they pegged it. She was able to pull it out by the handfuls today, so it's time. She wants this saved as a permanent record of what is taking place. My younger son was asking me, "I don't understand. Why does she want this on video?" And I tried to explain, but in so many ways, this is about our femaleness. I am just not sure that even my best words and my most thorough explanation could enable my 14-year-old son a glimpse of the female psyche and what is really going on here.

"She was born with a head full of hair!"
"Come let Momma fix your hair."
"You need some ribbons for your hair."

Over the past six weeks, only family and friends have known about Karla's cancer. Just the people she has chosen to tell, and of course, the people they have chosen to tell. But you certainly don't know she's sick by looking at her. If you were behind her at Kroger, you wouldn't know. If you passed her on the street, you wouldn't know. If you saw her at the pool with her kids, you wouldn't know. But once the locks are shorn--once the head is shaved--she will be clearly identified as a cancer patient.

"I HATE my hair!"
"But everyone else has highlights! Why can't I get highlights?"
"It's called a straight iron..."

I was at Hobby Lobby last week picking up some scrapbooking supplies, and a beautiful, hot pink Princess wall art caught my eye. It is obviously for a little girl's room, but I felt such a nudge from the Holy Spirit that I was to pick it up for Karla. It was unmistakable--one of those times when there was absolutely no confusion about what the Lord wanted me to do. I thought I was supposed to give it to her when we went for her second round of chemo tomorrow, but no--it's for tonight.

It's a collage of words, words that our Heavenly Father wants His daughter to hear and to remember:

Beloved, Holy, Princess, Treasured, Beautiful, Honored, Light, Daughter of the King, Cherished, Redeemed, Favored, Blessed, Daughter of our Father, Miracle

I pray Karla will read those words again and again, because this is the only identity that counts. Sure, she's been known as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a student, a tennis pro, a physical therapist assistant, a wife, a stepmom, a mother, and now, yes, a cancer patient. But when Abba Daddy looks at His little girl, He sees a Princess. He sees one who is washed in the Blood. He sees her journey. And He sees it up close.

Karla with husband Doug, who showed his support by
shaving his head too.

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Our Verses for the Battle

2011-06-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

iChemo sending healing courtesy all kinds of drugs, iPod playing
Karla's favorite band (who else? DANYA)

When Karla first called me with the news of her cancer, I knew I needed God's Word, and I knew that she would need His Word. But I couldn't think. And when I opened His Word, the type was fuzzy...I couldn't focus. Everything had so quickly become overwhelming. So I emailed my new friend, Caroline Boykin, author of The Well-Versed Family. "Caroline," I wrote, "If you have a list of healing verses or verses of comfort easily accessible, would you please send them my way?" That sweet lady sent me these verses (below) within just a couple of hours. What a comfort! I'm sharing these with all of you today, and I hope that they will bring the same comfort , hope, and healing to you, in whatever your life's situation may be.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. (Psalm 57:1-2)

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8)

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10)

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Psalm 94:18-19)

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)

You hem me in—behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me. (Psalm 139:5)

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary

and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands. (Psalm 63:1-4)

Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me. (Psalm 71:12)

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Party in the Healing Room

2011-06-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

Karla and I had no idea what to expect from her first chemo appointment. We have both heard stories about how debilitating chemotherapy can be, so there was a lot of apprehension. She just had her port placed the day before, and she was very tender and sore in that area from the surgery. But we had a lot to be happy about, however, because her PET scan had come back clean--Praise the Lord! The cancer is confined to one area and it has not traveled anywhere else.

When we got to what our new friend Carilu (another cancer patient who is just two weeks ahead of Karla in her treatment) refers to as "the healing room," it was very quiet. Several people were sleeping as the medications were being pumped into them, and it was really just a sober, reverent kind of atmosphere. Karla asked the nurse, "Is it okay to laugh? Because we're going to talk and laugh!" (And that is just us. Wherever we are, we are going to talk and laugh!) The nurse smiled and said, "Sure," and Carilu, who had been curled up resting in her chair, sat up and said, "I would love to hear laughter." And so began a new friendship. Karla and Carilu:

both have breast cancer.
both have sons named Luke.
both are losing their hair.
both are going through the greatest trial of their lives.
both love Jesus.

That last thing--they both love Jesus--that's how come there was a party in the healing room. Karla was cranking up some DANYA music on her iPod, and Carilou asked, "Is that Christian music?" Then they just started sharing with each other about their faith, their families, and their feelings about having breast cancer. They will be a great support to each other, and God definitely provided and prepared for the two of them to meet. Amazing, and oh, how very sweet of Him!

Let me just tell y'all something about my sister-in-law, who showed me a living example of one who rests in her identity in Christ. Karla was learning each nurse's name and trying to get to know each one a little bit as they came over to poke her with drugs during those three hours of chemotherapy. (After all, they will all be traveling this road with her, and she is into building relationships!) One young nurse came over and something was obviously troubling her. Karla picked up on it right away, and she began gently asking her if everything was okay. Really. That is so like her! Even in the healing room, Karla was not focused on herself. She was focused on those around her.

The next few days after chemo, however, well, let's just describe those as the chemo hangover, LOL. She has battled nauseau, tremendous achiness, and the all-over feeling of yuckiness multiplied. Tomorrow I'll be sharing our verses for the battle, a listing of several Scriptures that we are praying on this journey. If anyone has any tips to share for those after-chemo days, please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for each and every prayer!

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This Thing with Our Hair

2011-06-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hair is a big deal.

My niece, Karla's daughter Summer, upon being told of her mom's cancer and about the things that will be happening--that Mom will be tired, sick, and that her hair will fall out--said, "I don't want to see you bald!"

I guess that would be rather disconcerting for an (almost) eight-year-old, wouldn't it? I was thinking about Summer's gut-honest reaction the other day, when I was at the hair salon (oh, and I do spend a couple of hours there every four weeks--I do!) and I saw a girl Summer's age. It made me remember going to the salon with my mom when I was a little girl. I remembered how it smelled of chemicals and sprays. I remember how it sounded: the murmur of the ladies talking with frequent outbursts of wild laughter. I thought of the "honor system" Coke machine (You reached into a cooler for an icy drink and put your $.20 in a nearby cup) and the bottle opener on the side. And I was reminded of how my mother always left there with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. The little girl I saw the other day wasn't a mere spectator, however. Nope, she was there as a participant. With foils resting like stairsteps in her hair, she looked like a mini-version of the other ladies there. I wondered what amount of pleading she had to do to negotiate the highlights she was getting, and I thought, It starts early, this thing with our hair.

Karla has explained to her kids, "Well, the chemotherapy is killing the bad cells in my body, and when it does that, it will actually kill some of the good cells, too. And that is what will make my hair fall out."

Danya (@danyamusic) and her Aunt Karla (@kpmartin1026)
Danya just got Karla set up with a Twitter account!

Knowing that hers is going to fall out around 13 days after the first chemo treatment (which is tomorrow), Karla took the initiative and got a short cut a couple of days ago. It's really adorable. But in a few days, her husband is going to shave it all off for her. It's kind of empowering--to take the hair off before it falls out. "I’m so not in control right now," Karla admits. "I have very little control of my life." So she's going to get the jump on the hair thing. "It will be a shock," she says candidly, "and I know I will be emotional, but it is what it is. There’s nothing I can do about it. Hopefully, I will have a nice-shaped head."

I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am a soul that lives within.
~India.Arie

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Mom's Tip of the Day #77

2011-05-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

Glad you stopped by! Mom's Tip of the Day is a power-packed parenting truth, posted every weekday. Looking for more tips? Check out my Archived Tips (#1-50) and Tips By Topic!

Parenting is challenging, but it should be fun, too! Laugh at yourself. Lighten up.

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Scaling a Wall Called Cancer

2011-05-30T08:00:00.003-05:00

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, homeschooling encouragement, and every day, a Mom's Tip of the Day. Enjoy!

When I first met her, I didn't like her.

She had long straight hair--swingy hair--the kind that curly-haired gals like me only dream of. (And she was constantly swinging it, LOL!) And her figure? Well, she was like a Barbie doll come to life. She was athletic and sporty, and she was a risk-taker. She actually scaled the brick wall around the courtyard of our dorm at Middle Tennessee State University once, jumping from the top of it to then climb in the open window of the lobby on the second floor. (Why even attempt this? Because, she said, she had been thinking about it...she came up with a plan, and once she knew she could do it, she just did it.) Despite the coveted hair, the enviable figure, and the lapses of sanity, we became best friends, then roommates, and a couple of years after she introduced me to her older brother, we became sisters-in-law!

Karla with children: (L to R) Baylee, Summer, Luke

Karla and I have been friends for over 25 years. We've been sisters for 23 of those. We have argued, laughed, and prayed together through a lot of living--marriage, babies, raising our families--all the stuff that goes with being a woman and a mom (and Karla is a stepmom, as well, to her husband Doug's older kids, Christi and Jon). Recently, we've started another journey together. A journey no one wants to travel. A journey we never expected to travel.

About three weeks ago, Karla found a lump.

Several doctors' visits later, her diagnosis is breast cancer, stage 3. So, in just a few weeks' time, life has changed. It's changed a lot.

As she approaches chemo and after that, surgery, there are a lot of things that will be changing. The beautiful hair (which has gotten curlier over the years, actually) will likely fall out. The figure will be altered too. As for lapses of sanity, upon experiencing "Karla on Valium" after her biopsy last week, perhaps the best is yet to come, LOL!

But that risk-taker?
That sporty competitor who was the first girl in her town to play Little League baseball...
A tennis pro...
A never-say-die card player...
A wall-scaler...
That doesn't change.

Karla, this is how I see it: This time, the wall you're scaling is called cancer. You've been thinking this through for a few weeks now, mulling it over, thinking about how success will be accomplished. Now the plan is in place for this wall. Every time you think about it, you go back over the basics, step by step, in your mind: The wall is high, but not that high. And the window on the second floor, well, it stays open all the time. It might be tricky, that leap from wall to window sill, but all you have to do is grab it and hang on. Your friends will be there to pull you in the rest of the way.

You can do it...and while I might have let you scale the dorm wall on your own, we'll do this wall together.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are the one I praise. (Jeremiah 17:7-8, 14)

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Mom's Tip of the Day #80

2011-05-27T14:00:00.001-05:00

Glad you stopped by! Mom's Tip of the Day is a power-packed parenting truth, posted every weekday. Looking for more tips? Check out my Archived Tips (#1-50) and Tips By Topic!

When a parent acts according to the Word of God, obeying the Lord’s commands in her own life, she’s setting a great example for her kids.

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