Why We Haven't Talked Much Lately....

I haven't been able to talk with you much lately, because I've been:


1. fighting some MS stuff


2. stressed out about moving (duh, remembered today that I am to walk by faith....so, I'm back at that)


3. homeschooling - love it! We're learning about Creation vs. Darwinism; Harriet Tubman - who by the way, Darwin would have not credited as having any value whatsoever - did you know he had his own black slave?! All part of his skewed survival of the fittest theory.)


4. sharing my faith with 3 precious Jehovah's Witnesses that keep coming to my door...we're having quite the Bible study out there on the front porch...please pray that I may show them the truth of Who Jesus is...they believe that He was an angel created by God, and that He is actually Michael the archangel - they also believe that they have to work to earn their salvation, yet they won't tell me this...


Each week finds a new person at my door...they leave the person from the week prior, who was "newer" in the religion, and they bring a more "mature" member. It's quite deceptive, in my honest opinion...to tell me that they'll see me next week, when they full well know that one of them won't be returning. 


There's a lot of deception with them, actually. It's quite sad, because I truly believe that these are sweet women who just want to please God. They've too have been deceived, by the false teachers in authority over them. 


Please pray that God's Word will prevail, and that His Spirit will minister to these sweet ladies (whomever they turn out to be this week) and that they'll coming to salvation in Christ Jesus, and be set free from this false religion. 


I mean this....please, please pray for them and for me....pray me up, friends! 


5. cooking ....and I love you so much that I'm sharing my recipes with you! I forgot how much I love to cook...to create in my kitchen! Oh, I hope my new house has a cook's kitchen!


Love ya'll today!
Enjoy!

Jes’ Homemade Pot Roast

1 beef tip roast, approx 3 pounds

1 onion, peeled and cut into 1/8ths

3 or more cloves of fresh garlic, peeled

Better Than Beef Boullion

2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced

Fresh rosemary

Fresh thyme

A few teaspoons of water

Directions:

Place 1 tablespoon of Better Than Beef Boullion in the bottom of the crockpot. Add water and mix the two together. Add enough water to coat the bottom of the crockpot, so that there will be liquid enough to well coat the vegetables you’ll put in next, but not so much as to cover them with liquid. (You want the veggies’ natural flavors and the flavor of the meat to create most of the liquid.)

 Place the onion pieces and the cloves of garlic, along with the carrots into the bottom of the crockpot and cover the bottom.

Put some rosemary and thyme on top of the vegetables.

Place the roast on top of the vegetables.

Coat the top of the roast with about a teaspoon of Better Than Boullion, and add a little water to it, so it makes a smooth paste to easily cover the top of the roast.

Cook on high for 12 hours, if cooking the roast from frozen.

If cooking it from fresh, I’d guess 6 hours on high, or 10 hours on low…but I haven’t tested this theory.

Additions: Yummy Mashed Potatoes; Easy Steamed Asparagus…

Yummy Mashed Potatoes

10 Idaho potatoes – not russets

Sour Cream

Butter

Coarse Ground Sea Salt

Coarse Ground Pepper

Milk      

                     

These are not designed to enhance your figure, so you gotta get past that!

Once past it, enjoy! (Or just take some of the mashed potatoes and rub them on your tush....there, the damage has been done, now you can eat with abandon!)

Peel potatoes, dice into small pieces and then soak in a cold water bath.

Fill a soup pan with water and bring to a boil.

Put potato pieces into boiling water, and let ‘em alone….let them boil until they’re super soft!

Drain the potatoes and transfer to the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aide mixer. 

Put the wire whipping attachment on, not the paddle…but the one used to whip egg whites.

Pour some milk on top of the potatoes….maybe ¼ c or so.

Start the machine and as the potatoes start getting blended, turn the power up to high.

Stop the machine and add ½ stick of butter, cut into thinner pieces, into the heart of the mound.

Add about 4 tablespoons full of sour cream on top too.

Grind the sea salt into the mix, to taste.

Grind the pepper the same way.

Mix on high.

Transfer bowl, covered with foil, to the oven beside the Sister Schubert’s Dinner Rolls that you’re about to put in to cook for 10 minutes. This will keep the potatoes warm while the rolls are cooking and you get your asparagus steaming.

Then all will be ready for the dinner plates at the same time….hot and yummy! J

Renditions:  

1. Use Tex Joy Seasoning instead of salt & pepper….delicious!

 2. Add grated sharp cheddar cheese to the mixing bowl….and some garlic. Ahh!                            3. When boiling the potatoes, add fresh rosemary, then blend it in when whipping. Ooh!

4. When boiling the potatoes, add a few bay leaves for taste, remove before whipping. Mmmmm!

 Super Easy Steamed Asparagus

The key to delicious asparagus is that you get the baby ones. They are so light and wonderful, you could even pick them up with your fingers and eat them like French fries…but you wouldn’t do that, as it’s bad manners….unless you’re at the Womack’s house….then we’d simply forbid you to eat them any other way. J

Ingredients:

Baby Asparagus

Use my triple pot…the one that has the shallow steamer insert.

In fact, I think this must be some kind of spaghetti pot, as it has those two baskets…anyway, it’s cool and I dig it, and think everyone should have one.

Fill the pot to about ¾ full of water.

Cut the woody ends off of the asparagus.

Lay the shallow steamer basket into the pot.

Lay the asparagus into the steamer basket, lay them out like little sleeping soldiers.

Steam for approx. 10 minutes…the length of time it will take to cook the Sister Schubert’s Rolls that you now have cooking in the oven…that is, if you’re making the asparagus to go along with my Pot Roast Recipe.

Add asparagus to plate. Once seated, pick them up and eat them like the healthy little soldiers they are.

Thank God for yummy food like asparagus.

J Life is good.

I love you, Laura. Only a true friend like you would tell me about the Sister's Rolls!

Testimonies Like This One DRIVE Me....

Precious Friends,


This note was written by Mary Alice, a dear woman I don't think I've ever met face to face, but through whose letters I am DRIVEN to know the Word better, and to carry it deeper, that others may be set free from their prisons, just like I was set free from the one of my own making.


Free Indeed! Thank God Almighty, I know the Truth, and the Truth has set me free!


May you be blessed, convicted if need be, and DRIVEN into the Word of God.


Get the tissue box. Don't say I didn't warn you!


Love you today,
Jes




Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a distant land. Proverbs 25:25

Dear Praying Friends,

        The afternoon class was so excited to get started, they crowded around me like little hungry children as they came in with stories of how they made it to class and "do you have a pencil I can borrow' and "I couldn't bring anything through work exchange, do you have any paper I can use?"  "Can we keep the books?"    "Do I get one?"
         "Please sit down, and we will get started," I chuckled.

        As eager eyes watched me pull out the books, I explained they had to earn the books by perfect attendance and participating in class for a few weeks.  "I do not have enough books for everyone, but if we all have a Bible, we will be fine, I encouraged. 

        I informed the students that this was primarily a Spanish study, but the English students could join us.  I had underestimated the response to this class.  I have 30 books in English and 40 translated copies in Spanish.  I have over 100 students....oops!   This class is 90 percent new to studying God's word!  The old-timers (student that have been with me before) will gladly give up their books because they realize the book is not all important; it's what is learned and applied that is important! (But when in prison, there are few possessions, and these lovely books are a treasure.)

        As the ladies learned how to study inductively and investigate the Scriptures, the excitement grew even greater.  We are studying forgiveness.  At the end of class, two eager students in the front row were amazed how awful and dysfunctional Joseph's family was.  "What?  Are you kidding me?  They threw Joseph in a pit?  They sold him?  Well, that dad should never have showed favoritism...He was just wrong for doing that!"

On the way out I heard one of them say, "I'm gonna read ahead in Genesis 37 and get the rest of this story!...Hey Miss MaryAlice, is it ok if we read ahead?!"

I held back my burst of laughter until they left the room, "Well, if you wanna cheat, ok," I teased. "Of course you may read ahead in the Bible anytime!  You don't need my permission!"

How precious they are and how humbling this service is He has given us.  That's why it's so important you know what's going on, so you know your prayers are necessary.  New believers and malnourished believers (those who have studied little) and seekers are easy prey for the enemy.

        Now for the night class...They too were excited and most were well prepared!  The old-timers in this class were like horses at the starting gate...raring to go!  I had to hold them back so the newcomers could join in!  And that's hard to do in a class of over a 100 students!  We are studying Deuteronomy, as you recall, and in the first lesson I brought in a little review of the previous studies.  I could have leaped off the stage with excitement as they recalled and fitted together past studies.  It was just downright excitin'!

Vanessa was there, front row center.  Still looking downcast, but no cuts.  We had so much territory to cover I did not have time to speak with her.  Please continue praying for her.

Melvenia is harboring unforgiveness, we discovered.  She is wrestling with it along with menopause.  Please pray she humbles herself this week.

All yards were released this week.  Last week, C yard, was not released and the ladies were very discouraged.  Please pray all yards get released.  Many times the inmates stand out in the cold for half an hour to get released and the guards turn them back due to a short amount of staff or a fight or something!  Many have told me they want to cry.  (Of course, in prison you learn to suck back the tears...it's a sign of weakness to cry.  You will get picked on or beat up if you do.  It's only safe to cry in the Chapel.  And they hide it when they do.)

Thank you again dear friends for joining me in this fertile ministry God has given us.

Your Fellow Servant,
Mary Alice
A bondservant of Jesus Christ
Set apart for the gospel of God

When Was The Last Time?

I really am going to be quick tonight.

I just wanted to pop in and ask you a few questions, while we're on this roll of marriage posts...

When is the last time that you asked your husband to flex for you?

I'm being dead serious!

Do you do that?

Ever ask him to flex his muscles for you?

Ever compliment him on his legs?

Ever tell him what a brilliant brick layer/engineer/ditch digger/pastor he is?

When is the last time that you told him how thankful you are for the father that he is?

Ever share with him how much you love his butt tush?

When is the last time that you asked him to make love to you, after telling him that you just couldn't stand 
one more minute without being close to him?

Ever call him at work and tell him what your "plans" are for him when you get him home?

If you're blushing, or balking, I'd challenge you with this.... 

Don't you love it when he says these things to you?!

Remember how it was when you were young and in love?

Is it still that way?

If not...like Janan said...let it begin with you.

MMM....we gotta feed these marriages of ours, and cherish them like the precious gifts from God that they are!

We have an adversary, ladies....and we're foolish if we forget that! He's an enemy...and he desires to rip our families apart....

Are we going to just hand them over on a silver platter, or are we going to fight to the death for them?

If you can't fight for your own anymore, then share your heart in an email to me, and let me fight for you in prayer...

Allow me to share your story (but change your name) here on the blog, and you'll quickly have a whole host of women fighting for you in prayer!

I've been totally amazed by how many people have responded to the past few posts on marriage, both to the posts themselves and to their subsequent comments. Most of those responses have been in the form of phone calls or private emails...thus my promise that if you do decide to ask for prayer, your name will not be shared.

Marriage in this country is under full-on attack. We gotta get into the bunkers with each other, ladies!

I'm not spell checking or proof-reading tonight, as my head feels like it's going to explode...so I'm off to bed.

But, I do seriously love ya'll tonight!
Jes

Marriage - Let The Younger Women Learn from the Older...

Sweet Friends,

This is from my precious friend Janan, whom you've heard a lot about if you've read much on my blog. She is my spiritual momma, and I love her dearly.

I trust that her words will bless your life, or the life of someone you know. If you find that they do, or that the previous message on marriage did, you can just click the button that looks like an envelope, and forward it to anyone whom you know that may need to "hear" these words of encouragement today.

I've been blown away by how many phone calls I've had regarding the post on marriage that I wrote a few days ago...and by the work that the Spirit of God has seen fit to do in several womens' lives already.

Praise Him!

I love you today,
Jes

Dear Jesica:

I read your post the other night after getting home from a long week of travel. It has pestered me all night and all day, so I decided to tell my story in hopes in can help someone.

First of all, I pray in the Name of Jesus for any and all of you that are dealing with thoughts of separation or divorce. I understand it, as I have been in your situation, and it is only through God's saving grace that my husband of 31 years and I were able to keep our marriage together. And since it was truly a work of God and not our own, our love and committment have grown deeper with each passing day. God not only saves - but also heals.

After about 5 years of marriage, I began thinking about leaving my husband. I had left my first husband, so when things started getting hard in this marriage, I thought maybe leaving was the thing to do. He told me matter-of-factly that, "Kashes don't get divorced."

He began receiving treatment for depression, which helped for awhile, but eventually our lives began spinning out of control. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to put things in order. I would think and pray until my head hurt - if I could just get a vision of what needed to be done, I was sure I could pull it through. This went on for almost 20 years.

I should mention that in our situation, neither one of us was a Born Again Christian. We both grew up in the church, and we knew the concept of Jesus as Savior, but we had never made Jesus our Lord. So it was about this time - after 20 years of marriage - that God was gracious. Within a one-year period of time, all four members of our family gave our lives to Christ. This was after a precious lady, who worked for me in my home 3 days a week for 3 years, prayed for me and my family for those three solid years as she worked in my home. She prayed over our beds, over my children's video games, over our entire home. (We were totally unaware of this.) And after three years, when God started moving in our family, He moved with POWER.

That was close to 12 years ago. What happened was that we allowed GOD to put our lives in order - it was never something we could do on our own. He gave us the vision we needed, the power through His Holy Spirit to hold our tongues with one another, and when we began to attend church regularly and study His word individually, His word never came back void (Isaiah 55).

It took time for me to re-learn how to be kind and respectful to my husband. I pretty much quit asking God to change him, and started begging God instead to change ME.

I realized that the things we do become habitual. Over the years, I had developed terrible habits of disrespecting my husband, talking back, feeling superior, feeling self-sufficient,etc. And for me the change to rid of those things came one day at a time. In an argument or discussion, I would pray for God to hold my tongue, and He did. After awhile of this, my husband quit the arguing because I was not arguing back. Cycles were broken.

I heard something on the radio once, and I decided to try this and friends - it really worked. This is how it went. They were interviewing a lady who had written a book or Bible study - I can't remember which, and I never knew who she was. But she said that in her daily quiet time, she would pray fervently for her husband. She kept a running list of all of his faults and daily she would go down the list and pray for God to rid him of these things. She did this for YEARS. She said that one morning, she heard God very clearly telling her to throw the list away. Instead she was to make a new list of good things about him and focus instead on those. What she came up with is what she called the 30-day challenge - 30 days because this was a period of time when bad habits can be replaced with good habits.

The 30-day challenge works like this. Every day for 30 days, you are not allowed to say ONE - NOT ONE - bad thing to your huband. No matter what - no way. You must instead compliment him in some way. This could be in the form of saying one nice thing about him or his character or appearance, making one nice comment about something he did for you or someone else, leaving him one nice note - you get the picture - one nice thing a day. She even emphasized if you could only find one nice thing to say, you could say it over and over for 30 days.

I tried this myself and it worked. What happened is I quit focusing on my husbands faults and instead began looking at things that were good about him. Many of those things were things that I originally loved about him when we met. God allowed me to see much deeper into him than I had ever seen him before.

It was probably close to 30 days into the challenge when I remember my husband and I were on a trip - we were driving somewhere in Colorado I think. I remember looking over at him and saying, "Can you tell "I" have changed in the way I treat you?" His reply shocked me. He said, "Yes, and I think you really mean it." My point in all of this is that God helped "me" to change and in the process "my husband" changed as well. But it had to start with one of us, and I knew it had to be me.

I have a Bible story I want to remind you all of. It is told in two of the gospels - Luke 9:37-45 and Mark 9:14-32. This story followed Christ's transfiguration. Jesus walked into the scene and some of his disciples were trying, unsuccessfully, to cast an evil spirit out of a boy. Jesus said to them, "Oh unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." The boy's father told Jesus he had been like that since childhood and he said to Jesus, "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

Jesus replied, "If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes". The father replied, "I believe, help my unbelief," and Jesus drove out the evil spirit and the boy was healed. Later the disciples asked Jesus why they were unable to cast out the demon and Jesus told them that "This kind can come out only by prayer."

As believers we have been given power to overcome the enemy, but that power is not of ourselves, it is from God. And the way we activate that power is through prayer. We must be deligent to pray!

I know this is lengthy, but I have one more story I want to share which I am sure everyone is familiar with. And this story will, in fact, be my prayer for anyone who is struggling in their marriage. This story speaks to me in a mighty way of what Jesus did to my own marriage.

It is found in in John 2:1-11 and reads: On the third day a wedding took place at Cannan in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jeus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding fom twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridgroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

I think of my marriage as the wine at the wedding. Somewhere over the years, we ran out of wine. But then Jesus showed up and performed a miracle in our marriage. He told the servants to "fill the jars with water." The jars were empty, but Christ had them filled. The part that I love the most about this story is this - he turned the water into wine - but not just any kind of wine - but CHOICE WINE - FINE WINE! And this is what Christ can do with any marriage. He can take an empty marriage - dry - and fill it up and then turn it into fine wine!

I pray that if this message is for you today, that you will 1) Turn your eyes upon Jesus - make sure He is your Savior AND your Lord; 2) PRAY! Don't ever quit praying! 3) Quit asking God to change your husband and ask him to change YOU! 4) Take it one day at a time - pray to God "Give us this day our daily bread."

I hope these words will be a blessing to someone. I love you in the Name of Jesus!

Janan Kash

I Forgot to Tell You....or at least, I think I forgot to...

The Lord answered our prayers, and I was able to have a benchmark MRI done on Christmas Eve.

It was a wierd Christmas here...we were out of town until about Dec. 6th, and didn't get our home set up or decorated until just about 10 days before Christmas. Then, the MRI and much-awaited appointment at Barrow Neuro on Dec. 23rd (this had been a 5 month wait!), all just kind of made the season feel rushed, and unfocused.

I kept having this great stuggle to keep the focus on Jesus, until I realized....we do that daily!

OK.....so here's the big news:

The MRI showed NO new lesions on my brain!

That's huge! It means that the medicine I take each night is working!

Praise God!

Thank you so much for your prayers!

OK...going to bed now!

Love you,
Jes

I'm Struggling in My Head Today...

I'm just going to share my heart with you all today...oh how I pray that you'll give me wisdom...that you'll help me with the answers to questions that are plaguing me.

I want to live as Christ. I so do. I feel I've been doing quite a miserable job of it lately, as I haven't been very faithful in much of anything.

I've faithfully attended my doctor's appointments, given my daily injections, tried not to accidentally overdose myself with all the stuff I'm taking, and have spent much time loving on my family.

Other than that, I question whether I'm truly living as Christ.

Here are my quandaries, I welcome your insight/reproof in the Lord, etc.

This question is what is stealing my sleep...night after night....oh, how I want to fix this...

 What is the church's role in the marriage of other believers?

God forbid someone should get sick as I have, the church is fantastic about that. They bring meals, love on my kids, offer their hearts across the board...anything we've needed, one of God's own has offered to do.

But where are we when we see our brothers and sisters about to throw in the marriage towel? What do we, as the American church, truly do for these families?

Several years ago, there was a woman in my town who was living through much of the same heartache that my own marriage endured, yet survived (only because of Jesus) early on.

A whole hen group of Christian women knew about what she was living through, but because her heart was hardened, no one thought it their place to go and reach out to her...everyone just resigned themselves to the fact that her marriage was over, thus we were to keep our mouths shut.

It seemed to me that they either didn't want to act "out of line" (UGH! Give me a BREAK!) or they were scared of her. She, like myself, was quite the strong personality.

You all know me too well....I couldn't do it. I had to call her....not to condemn her, but to tell her I'd been right where she was, and that God's grace sustained us, and healed our marriage.

In the days since, there have been several couples, and many wives, who have opened up to us about their own marriage struggles. It's been a miracle and a blessing from the Lord to be able to encourage them in the hope of Jesus Christ.

But...my question tonight is, WHY don't we do this more? WHY don't we show up on their doorsteps with food and love and just dig in and get muddy with them?

I mean think about it...if your marriage is in the dumps, and you see no other way for your life to ever improve, but to separate or divorce, and the very night that you're ready to roll, all of your Christian friends with whom you've shared your life (or not), show up on your doorstep to stage a prayer intervention.....wouldn't that at least make you stop for a moment!?

What if those friends were willing to pray over you, and your spouse, and with your kiddos.

What if they fixed you dinner and washed your sheets and held you while you cried, or held up a garbage can lid so you could throw softballs at them....

What if they got real honest, if their walls came down and if one by one, you could hear the amazing ways that God had worked in each of their marriages, thus keeping their families together, and teaching each of them what their God given rolls in marriage were, and how to live them out?

What if they:
cried with you
ate with you
sat silent with you
prayed over you
read the word over you
took your children for a weekend so the 2 of you could get away
took your children for the day, so you could sleep and pray

What if those of them who were victims of divorce, took a few minutes to share with you how hard:
each birthday had been
each Thanksgiving
each Christmas
each ball game
each play
each time they just needed their Mom to hold them or their Dad to roughhouse with them
each night that held for them a bad dream, without the softness of a Momma to help them through it
how hard it when they grew up, trying to parent, yet not feeling that they had their own parent they could call upon for help

the list goes on and on....

Funny little things are hard for the child of a divorced family...and that "hard" starts the minute that the family splits.

What if those children of divorce took the time, during this Christian intervention, to share with you how much their lives had changed....how the minute that they found out one of their parents was leaving, a switch in their head went off, and life was never the same again?

These are the things we don't talk about....we're not open and honest about....yet, if you are a believer who is thinking about walking away from your marriage, instead of trusting God to work THROUGH your issues, you have no idea how great the ramifications will be....

SO again my question.....

WHY DON'T we as believers do this for those whom we know and love?

In essence, what if we did whatever they needed so that they could focus on forgiveness, or on making a true apology and what if we as their friends took their kiddos for them so that the two of them could work out a game plan for how they were going to keep their family together?

WHERE IS THE CHURCH WHEN IT COMES TO THIS?????

I mean, aren't we being naive if we think it has to be the church proper, when the true church, the Body of Christ extends well beyond the roll call of our given denominations and specific church fellowships?

So...my question to you today, my sweet blog readers, is WHAT are we as the Body of Christ, to do in these situations?

Please give me practical ideas....practical steps, and Scripture would be superb!

Your comments are deeply requested.

In the interim, please pray like front line soldiers!

Love Ya'll,

Jes

What to Make of It All - Part 1

I'm sure that all of you millions of my blog readers will be as shocked to hear this as I will be to share it with you, but here's the truth of it. 


I'm about to turn 40 years old. 


That's not the shocking part, really. The shocking part is the fact that I feel so ill-equipped to be writing a blog that was originally crafted as an encouragement to others...in the Word.


The older I get, the more I realize that you don't need me, or anybody else to make God's Word come alive in you. You just need Him, and His Word, and a commitment to both of you that you'll dig in, and dig deeper, and keep on digging.


And then, you need grace. 


Grace for yourself, knowing that there will be things in life that hit you right between the eyes and will make you question everything you have come to know about God....about life....about everything you've ever even questioned....for that too, will seem to come into question.


Have I lost you yet?


It's the valley, my dear friends. Sometimes those valleys are brief, and you jet right through them like a gazelle. 
Sometimes, they are deep and rocky and dark and smelly and confusing and you get cut up just trying to walk through them. As you make it along your merry way, "SLAM!" you hit a rock overhang you didn't see coming.


Or, maybe there's a pointy craggy rock poking right out from the side, one that you felt sure you'd be able to hold on to for support for your next step, and yet instead it cuts right into your side and leaves you bleeding.


Unexpected.


Painful.


Life.


What are we to do in times like these? Where do we go?


How do we make it through them?


Ah, I have more questions, but my Lord, he just laid down in bed...my invite to warm myself by his side, and spend the best hours of my day with the one whom I love beyond words.


To be continued...

I Just Don't Want To Talk Today

I remember many years ago, when I was a waitress in a cool little cafe' in Houston and Derek Webb of Caedmon's Call would come in and we'd chat over coffee when my station wasn't busy.

I frequented the Bible study that he, as a part of Caedmon's Call, played for each Monday night at the First Baptist Church of Houston, and loved their music even before they had hit it big.

One of the days when he came in, Derek explained to me in detail about why he'd written the then recent song, "I Just Don't Want Coffee Today."

As I was thinking of a title for tonight's post, his song title came to mind.

So as a tribute to my then friend Derek I will say, I Just Don't Want To Talk Today....

I'll hit the highlights for you though....
I'm sick of MS...sick to death of it
I'm tired of all that it entails
I'm bummed that I was in another city for 2.5 weeks, where the humidity is higher and the elevation lower, and I felt great...but I come home to Phoenix and am tanking by the day....
I want to honor God through all of this, yet often don't feel that I am doing a very good job of that
I need to hear the voice of my Lord...I long for a fresh word from His Word...I miss Him when we haven't had our sweet time together, and it feels way too long since I've had enough of that time with Him

Forgive me if I say, "I Just Don't Want To Talk Today."

My First Blog Award - Thanks, Paige!

I received my first blogger award last night from Paige @ Some Days You Gotta Dance.

Thanks Paige, I'm so excited! :)

I am supposed to pass this along to five bloggers who show great attitude or gratitude, and they are to return the favor to five bloggers as well.

Here's the deal though, most of the blogs that I read either have way too many followers to have the time to deal with all of the  blog awards they likely receive, or they are very personal...of their family and such, and I am hesitant to share them only for that reason.

So, I've just nominated two blogs, as I feel pretty sure that these two won't mind being promoted. and I love reading them!

1. Kim @ FeedTheFlock.blogspot.com

2. Laura @ LaurasLunch.blogspot.com

Please take a minute today to go by and visit these ladies and their blogs!

Here I Sit......

In the middle of a downpour.


At the farmhouse table in the middle of the kitchen which belongs to the woman who is my Mom, and she is not here with me, to hear the rain go plop-plop-plop atop her tin roof. To sip hot cider with me and listen to my children snore.


I'm so bummed! I'm missing her big time!


Here I sit.


All my family deeply in dreamland, and me very ready to go there as well....


Just wishing I could describe to you how exciting it is to be in the middle of this storm!


And after hearing the coyotes cry and fight and cry some more, two nights in a row, I am exceedingly thankful that I cannot say with the famous actress whose name escapes me, 


"The dingo ate my baby!"


If you say that with an Australian accent, having seen the movie, it's quite funny.


I'm hoping you have seen it...otherwise, I'm going to look like an oaf.


OH well, been there before.


Love you all tonight....I'm going to get the best sleep of my life!


A farmhouse in the middle of 40 acres, under a tin roof on a stormy night....nothing better!


Jes

I Learned That It Bathes My Soul!

We sat tonight, me and my three. We sat as Daddy read the Word over us.


Oh, how I love and cherish those sweet times.


How I am ever amazed how the God of the Universe still speaks through His Word, directly to the hearts of those who seek Him.


Really, through the tears that now are pouring over my eyelashes, I have to ask you, is there anything in the WORLD better than the Lord of Hosts ministering straight to you?!


It's been a crazy week for the Womacks.


Some of it I am at liberty to share with you, some of it I can't.


I'll lead with this...I saw an MS Specialist yesterday, and she was so very good! I'm still processing much of what she told me, but am incredibly thankful to have met with her.


She opened up all of my MRIs and walked us through every lesion. She was clicking through those films like an accountant on an adding machine, lightning fast, and it was so apparent that she knows her stuff. 
An image would be on the screen for mere seconds, and she'd have already identified the lesion(s)....


With several of them she said, "Oh yes, this is classic MS."


Ouch.


Don't know that I was ready to hear that. I guess that part of me has still been living in the world of 
"Maybe this has all been a big mistake."


Uh, those days are past...and with their passing, I'm finding a new level of mourning.


I don't think I've really mourned this yet. 


I think I kept telling myself that there's NO WAY that both I and my best friend from childhood could have the same incurable disease.


That's a bit insane, don't you think?!


I also think that I felt so crummy for so many months on end, that I didn't have much time to think about MS, I was just trying to get through it.


One of you asked recently, "How are you dealing with it in your head, the reality that this could kill you? 
That it likely will?"


The truth is, I just can't spend much time on that in my head. I'm scared today...I'm sorting through the emotions of all that yesterday's appointment brought up, but within a day or two, I'll be back in the game.


When I let myself think about the future, it's terrifying. I don't so much think about me, but I do think a lot about the impact that my disease could have on my family, and that about makes me want to jump off a cliff.


See why I don't go there?


I mean, the reality is that this is life.


People get sick.


Life changes.


What am I to do?


I'm a fighter. It's just who I am. I will give myself the grace I need, room to cry some much needed tears, and then I'll start afresh with the reality that every single one of us will die one day. 


You know, it's not dying that I'm scared of....it's more the progression that this disease could take that can strike fear in me.


Yet, I know that people live with it for many years...15 and up.


Remember when 15 years seemed like an eternity? It doesn't feel that way to me anymore.


I see the faces of my precious kiddos, and I'm scared.


I hug my darling, and the hugs never seem long enough.


I don't care too much about anything but them right now...as it should be.


OK, so I take that back...I care deeply for my precious friends...oh how I love my amazing friends!


What I should have said was, "I think my days of leading classes, setting up trainings, volunteering left and right....those days are over for me..."


I love being an armchair quarterback, though. I have deeply enjoyed being available for my friends who have stepped into leading Precept classes. 


Each time that one of them comes over to sit in one of my cushy red armchairs, and allows me the privilege of listening to them reason through a question they have regarding leading, and then makes me feel like someone of great brilliance just because I might say, "Have you considered ___________?"... all the while giving me the unspeakable joy of hearing them say, "I did think about that, I just wasn't sure....but now that you ask, I know how to handle this!"


AH...and then they S-O-A-R!


I love it, ya'll. I just love that more than I can explain!


It's such a moment of pure bliss to see a leader grab their God given confidence in Him, and in how He is leading them, and then run out in obedience!


Ah, better than fudge, it is!


I dare say, better than PEANUT BUTTER fudge!


Those who know me well, know there is little in life that is better to me than peanut butter fudge. :)


A few questions for you. I do hope you'll comment...


How did we go from my being bathed in the Word by my precious husband, to my unnatural love for something that is going to make my butt expand?!


Rapidly.


I'm just asking....


How did we go from my crippling crazy fear of this crazy crippling disease to my pure joy over seeing my friends step out as Precept leaders?


How is it that I'm up at 3am writing this post?!


This is nuts.


Can you tell it's leg shot day?


I dread leg shot day...the legs hurt the worst. So, those nights I write blog posts instead of taking my shot on time.


I wonder if it would help if I drank that bottle of wine with a straw?


I'm kidding!


That's redneck.


Love ya'll tonight!
Jes

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!

Remember this post?


Yep, that's the one...the one that was sure to have you clicking back to my blog over and over again, to see if you'd won one of  the Auntie Anne's pretzels?


The pretzels that I assured you would be given away on Friday of I don't even remember which week?!


I'm not sure I even know what day it is, truth be told.


Well, I've got good news and bad news...which do you want first?


OK, fine...we'll go with the bad first so we can wrap with the good. :)


Bad news....my kids have been sicker than dogs. 103+ fevers, and many a yick that I won't detail for you, so as to help you enjoy your breakfast. 


I know there are moms out there who just blog right through all of that kind of stuff....and quite eloquently. Jennifer is an example of that. How she does it, I simply don't know.  But, does it she does...amazingly.
She's my blogging hero!


Just a side note, Jennifer's son Stellan just made it through a very difficult surgery, and God has answered our many prayers by not only sparing his life, but by healing his little body! You gotta go check out her blog!


Praising God with you and your sweet family, Jennifer! I hope you all just get to snuggle in and enjoy every stress free moment you can over this Thanksgiving and Praise Day....(Did you know that was the official title of Thanksgiving? Abraham Lincoln named it that! Perfect for all of us, but especially for Jennifer's family this year!)


OK....now for the GOOD NEWS!


We finally have two Auntie Anne's Pretzel winners!


Yay!


Yippie!


Horray!


High Fives all around!


Are you thinking, "Enough Already! TELL ME IF I WON?!"


Well, I gotta start by saying that Janan is requiring me to tell you that SHE won both of the pretzels, by the popular vote. But, since there's not an Auntie Anne's anywhere by her, she's giving them back for a regeneration of the winning numbers. 


Yet, I gotta end by telling you, we don't work by the popular vote in this highly democratic society of ours. :)


Janan knows that!


:)


But you know what's crazy? She really DID win the first go 'round! 


Ha! Go figure!


Yet, I reselected, and we have new winners!


So......drum roll please......


Here are our winners!


Chandy - whose blog, and heart are precious! You gotta check it out....blogschmog...check out her children, they are the precious ones! :)


and 


Shauna - one of my favorite blogs ever on faith and the Word of God! Love you, girl!


Congratulations you two! 


Oh, and just a little aside...thanks to Laura for showing up on my doorstep with 3 Auntie Anne's pretzels when we were so sick...they were great, but the time together with you, my precious friend, was the best!


Hmmm...just wondering, if I write a post subtly suggesting my love of convertible BMWs, any chance that one of you will show up with a cherry red one for me? 


;)


Love ya'll today,
Jes

How To Answer, "How Are You?" When You're Really Not So Great...

This is a note from my precious friend Janan, referring to a conversation we had last night.

It's so perfect! 

I hope you'll take the time to read what she has to share. 

I love you so, Janan!

I woke up this morning contemplating our big question we talked about last night - how do we answer people when we just don't feel good and they keep asking, etc.

 

As I thought and thought, I kept remembering how for me, complaining can become habitual.  And when I don't feel good, I want to complain to someone.  It's the only way to make my loved ones understand that I don't feel good - help me - I'm sick, etc.  And I know that complaining like that is a sin. 

 

Then I started thinking about being honest in telling someone how things are really going, and my mind went to Job.  (Yesterday at church we sang Blessed be the Name of the Lord - He gives and takes away - so Job was on my mind - I am particularly sensitive to that song because several years ago, it was sang by the congregation at a Catholic funeral service I went to for a 7-year old boy who died.) So I thought about Job and how through it all, he didn't sin. And how his friends gathered around him - and he could have really gotten into some complaining/gab sessions with them, but he didn't.  In the end, Job said, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord. 

 

And I thought about Satan before God wanting permission to wreak havoc on this earth and God saying, Have you considered my servant Jesica?  The thought went through my mind that if you have MS, it is because God has entrusted it to you.  That through it all, even when you don't understand it, you can be assured God does.

 

And just now as I am remembering this, I want to share with you my memory verse from a few weeks ago - it has been a tremendous help to me and I hope it can be of help to you too.  I have mine written on a spiral index card and I sit it up at my kitchen sink for a reminder.  Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inhritance."  Psalm 16:5-6 NIV

 

I guess the bottom line is when we are being honest about our grief and pain, we must not sin.  And we must continue to praise God, because we know all of his judgements are right.  Hope these words can motivate you somehow. 

 

Oh, one more thing. I talked last night about "going to bed"  - I don't mean that going to bed always has to mean going to sleep - I mean that more in the way of "escaping" - getting out of the mainstream of things.  "I'm going to bed" can mean I'm going to meditate, I'm going to study, I'm going to watch TV, I'm going to knit - but it is happening in my bed. 

OH MY GOODNESS! I'm Famous!

As of today, I'm famous!


I'm so excited! 


Here's why I'm famous. 


I got so excited about my Auntie Anne's giveaway from a few days ago, that I sent this email to them in hope that they'd be excited too...


Oh my GOODNES, I love your pretzels! 


I just wanted to share with you that I am doing a giveaway on my blog for one of your pretzels, and then the thought occurred to me to share this with you, in case you'd like to donate any more to be given away. 


My blog averages about 100 people a day...not enough to break any records anytime soon, but some days it goes close to 200. Will that break any? :)


All that to say, I always post to Facebook when I've written a new post, which I'm about to do, so that adds about 250 more people as far as exposure goes.


I love your product and the service I get, and I just wanted to say "thank you". 


Have a super day! 
Jesica


This is the reply that I received...the response that makes me famous! I mean, it may not be from Auntie Anne herself, but I'm just pretending that it's from her daughter or a neice. :)


Good Morning Jesica,


Thank you for contacting Auntie Anne's and we love hearing from customers that love our pretzels and we appreciate you blogging about us on Facebook. Please look forward to receiving a $5.00 gift card that you can use as a giveaway on your blog. Also, I will be forwarding your request to the franchisee that owns Outlets at Anthem in Arizona to see if she might be interested in connecting with you. Again, thank you for contacting us and make your day a Pretzel Perfect Day!


Barbara


Whoo-hoo! One more pretzel to give away! Have you yet commented on the "Call Me a Pretzel" post? 


If not, you only have until tomorrow to be registered! 


Get on it, you! :)


Mmmmm....preztels. Me love pretzels. 
Mmmm....(say this like Cookie Monster, and then it'll be funny.)


Love ya'll...surely you know that, I'm giving you pretzels!

Pro-life Conversion at Planned Parenthod, per Denny Burk

After you watch this, I encourage you to jump over to Denny Burk's blog, and take a quick read of his additional comments on the story.

Abby Johnson's quote to The Houston Chronicle is especially telling.

Would you pretty please join me in praying for Abby Johnson?

Pray too, that God might move on more hearts within the Planned Parenthood organization, and even upon the hearts of their customers.

I believe that God honors those prayers, you see I was once a PP customer.

My guess is that many of us were.

Our eyes were blinded, but now we see.

What is the seeing woman to do, once her Savior has granted her sight?

Abby is going to need the prayers of the saints to keep her strong through what may very well become a tough legal battle.

I hope and will pray that it doesn't, but let's lift her up before our King as often as He reminds us to....doing battle for her through our petitions before the Lord God Almighty.

Won't you stop right now and say a prayer for Abby Johnson?
Say a prayer that some unborn babies might be saved today.
Say a prayer for Planned Parenthood, that more hearts there would be changed today.

Love you today,
Jes

Call Me A Pretzel

No, better yet...take me out for one!


This post was meant to be a subtle rant, and then I started thinking about pretzels (you'll get it in a minute), and then started looking for an image of one online.


That's where I messed up!


Because of course, (yes, I do know not to being a sentence with "because," thankyouverymuch!) 
that little trist onto the internet landed me at Auntie Anne's, by far the YUMMIEST pretzels in the world! 


Oooh! 


Just the thought of walking into the food court of the local outlet mall, and being assailed by the wafting scent of freshly baked pretzels is enough to make me want to jump out of this chair and make a beeline for their little storefront.


Aaah....freshly baked, with salt and a tub of that over the top icing.


Somebody shoot me!


OK....so by now you're likely wondering WHERE in the world this post is going.
Or WHAT in the world has happened to me.
Or WHY in the world I'm not resting like I'm supposed to be.
Or WHO in the world is going to be the first to show up at my door with pretzels I'm treating to a pretzel.
Or WHEN I'm going to get a life.
Or HOW I could have EVER turned a post about pretzels into a shout out to Precept Ministries. :)


Alright...let's get this train back on the track, shall we?


WHY you should call me a pretzel is because I'm so bent out of shape that it's not EVEN funny!


I had my much anticipated appointment at the Mayo Clinic today, only to find out that the doctor couldn't view the MRI cds that I had worked so hard to have copied from the hospital, and which my sugar bear sweet husband had jumped through his skin to go and get just in time for today's appointment.


It took an act of congress to get them copied, lemme tell ya. Good thing we're on a first name basis with Senator McCain!
(For all you literalists, I'm kidding!)


The kind doctor assured us that the computer whiz people there at Mayo could get the cds to work, but then I came home and put them into my computer, only to find that 2 of the 3 truly are nonfunctional. 


So, grab your partner 'cuz here we go...


The process now starts again...


Back to the hospital for another pick up of MRI cds. 


(This time, I'm taking my computer with me and I'll check to make sure they work while I'm sitting there!)


The good news is that my Mayo doctor went ahead and ordered new MRIs, as it's been 5 months since the last ones.


Alas, all was not lost.


Yet, I have no more answers today than I did yesterday, and I had so hoped for some.


OK...enough whining and complaining in one post...


It's time for a GIVEAWAY! (Whoop! Yay! Alright! Cool!)


I want you to experience the joy that is my Auntie Anne's pretzel with icing. 
(No, she's not really my Aunt, but let's just pretend that she is for goodness sake!)


Register a comment below to be entered into a drawing for a your very own Auntie Anne's pretzel! Since I'm still under quarantine, save a trip to the Dr's office, I'll buy online and send the winner a gift card.


You'll get bonus entries if you find a creative way to tell me that I'm funny. I don't know how many...guess it depends on how complimentary your comment is. :)


On Friday, I'll use my random number generator to choose a winner.


Mmmmmm...just taste the thick icing running down your face as you lick your chops!


Gotta run....the outlet mall bed is calling me! 


Love ya'll,
Me

The Crippling of MS

This is what happens to my hand with MS. It goes into a total crippling. 

The picture of the most recent crippling is from just moments ago, it started as I was brushing my teeth.

Any small motor skill type activity can trigger it....writing, plucking my eyebrows (I looked like I had two chincillas on my face for 3 weeks, because I just couldn't use my hand for plucking), brushing my teeth, etc.

The pain is excruciating, and I have a very high tolerance for pain. But this is terrible.

Still trying to work through the fact that some people say that I am wallowing in this..or that I just need to fight harder.

I know, it's an opportunity for me to exercise grace...clearly, they do not understand even a little bit what I am going through...the severity of this disease.

Amazing how we judge others, isn't it?

No, I don't wish they were in my shoes for just one day....I wouldn't want that for anyone else. 

Yet, I wouldn't mind having them come and visit during one of these exacerbations...just to see what it's like to live in our shoes...

Don't judge other people, ya'll. There is only one Righteous Judge, and His judgements are always preceded by mercy.

Love...mmm, what a gift to give to others! Love and compassion.

Thank you to all of you who have shown us exactly that...the love and compassion of Christ.

These pictures don't do it justice...

I love you guys!

Jes