As some of you know, my wonderful mom departed this earth last week for a beautiful home where sickness and pain can’t go. We’re in her original hometown this week for a second memorial service, and as we await that service tomorrow morning, I wanted to share with you some of the thoughts I shared at last week’s memorial service. Thank you for all of the prayers – we miss her dearly, but know we’ll see her again.
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My mom and I were as different as day and night. Literally. She was day and I was night.
She was serious and I was comic relief.
She was The Hunt for Red October and I was Gone with the Wind.
She was painting pictures with an artist’s brush and I was taking pictures with a camera.
She was crossword puzzle books with the answers torn out and I was just a quick peak if I get stuck.
She was music and I was theater.
She was logic and I was emotion.
She was dainty cotton nightgowns with ribbons and eyelet and I was fuzzy footie pajamas.
She was schedules and lists and I was last-minute and forgotten things.
She was a rush to the scene with lights and sirens (as a paramedic) and I was a silent observer.
She was history, biographies, classic literature, and college course required reading material and I was The NY Times Bestsellers list.
She was Norwegian Elkhounds and Miniature Schnauzers and I was kittens and wild animals.
She was an endless source of answers and I was an endless source of questions.
To state an obvious one…she was tall and I was not.
It’s amazing to me how God can take two polar opposites, put them together, and somehow, just make it all work. On Sunday night, as my dad and I stood at my mom’s bedside, we thanked God for being the difference. The difference in each of us, the difference between sickness and health, the difference between hope and despair, the difference between death and eternal life, and the difference between what we need and what we think we need. I’m so thankful that in our relationships that are filled with so many differences…God is the difference that unites us. In all of our differences…He makes the difference.
Yes, she was sand on a beach and I was snow on a mountain…but God was the bridge that closed the gap between the two.
It’s true – she was pearls and black onyx and I was diamonds and sapphires…but Jesus was the chain of gold that held us together.
She was Mumma and I was Jenny…but the Holy Spirit was Comforter for us both.
I wish there was time to tell you all the stories I remember about my mom from my childhood. In the last three days, I’ve looked through every old picture in our possession and been reminded of things long ago forgotten – but her life was not about looking back. It was always looking forward. And as I look back on the life I saw her live, I need something of her to carry forward. Not just for myself, but for my family, and for all of you.
During her last few days on this earth, I couldn’t help but ask “why?” My mom was no stranger to pain and sickness. There’s not time enough to recount all that she went through in her 62 years, and I don’t even know a quarter of it, but I’ll condense as much as I can into a couple of sentences. As a teenager, with broken bones and missing teeth, she survived an auto accident that took the life of the other passenger in the vehicle. As a young adult, she was diagnosed with diabetes and ovarian cancer, went through surgeries, chemo and radiation, and pneumonia. As I was having children of my own, she went through kidney failure, dialysis, a transplant, and a stroke. In the last few years, she’s had incurable blood and bone infections, broken legs, an amputation, skin breakdowns that left her bones open to the air, loss of vision, and countless diabetes complications.
My mom spent so much time in and out of doctors’ offices, hospitals, and treatment clinics, that even some medical staff have commented that they’ve never seen one person go through so much. When I thought about God’s plans for her life, I saw every health issue as an opportunity for miraculous healing. I never stopped believing in that outcome – something so easy for God to do – something He had already done for her many times before. But as we look at our own lives and the lives of those around us, it’s so easy to set our eyes on a perfect fairytale ending, even though we’re not writing the story. When life doesn’t fit my fairytale, and I find myself asking “why?”, I thank God for His words in Isaiah 55:
My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,
And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
We sometimes think that a healing (from problems in health, family, relationships, finances, or anything else) is the best outcome possible and anything short of that is just second best. That if we don’t receive that instant and complete healing, then we just weren’t good enough in God’s eyes. And we can look around us at people we’ve judged to be less worthy than our loved ones, and we can become bitter toward God for the unfair mistreatment. But I thank God for being the author of our life stories, because sometimes the roads we travel during the struggles lead us to a place much higher than we would have known otherwise. If we were the authors, we would never write our lives that way.
It’s not only what we learn through our own struggles, but what others learn from watching, and what we learn by watching others. Through unimaginable physical pain, long-term disabilities, and what had to have been continuous emotional travesties, I never once heard my mom whine about the unfairness or even sigh in frustration. She never gave up, even for a minute, and she never asked for recognition.
There is only one way to endure as she did, with the grace that she had…and that’s to know the safety and comfort of the Lord’s arms no matter the obstacles that seem so inescapable. On March 1st, 2010, my mom received her instant healing – it wasn’t my way. And it wasn’t my dad’s way. It was God’s higher way. I praise Him for sending me an example of HOW to endure the struggles of this world, because we’ll all have struggles…daily. But by watching my mom, I know there’s grace and strength…and true reward…in trusting the Lord with the pen and paper that writes our story. Once again, I thank God for being the difference between what we need and what we think we need. I know she found sweet rest in Him daily…that He delivered her daily…and that she now dances with the angels daily.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Swag Bucks, and thanks for another day (and another year) of birthday gifts! Swag Bucks, a search portal that pays everyday internet users like you to use their search engine, released Swag Bucks 3.0 today AND…a swag code worth 60 Swag Bucks for new members!! (For those of you who already enjoy the perks of Swag Bucks, SBs are now worth ten times their previous value…though prizes cost ten times more than before, so it all evens out.)
If you’re new to Swag Bucks, click HERE to register (it takes less than a minute), and enter the IMOMMIES1 code to start off with 60 Swag Bucks. (In case you’re wondering, 60 Swag Bucks is enough to purchase one of a couple hundred of the lower end prizes, including a $5 DiNG gift certificate.)
All users can follow Swag Bucks today on their blog, Twitter, and Facebook to earn more free 2nd birthday Swag codes!
What else is new/happening today at Swagbucks.com?
1.) More ways to earn Swag Bucks every day: With Swagbucks.com 3.0 users will be able to earn by logging in to the Swag Bucks toolbar on their browser and also by simply viewing ‘No Obligation’ special offers. This means that in addition to all the regular ways to earn, the more you are engaged with Swagbucks.com, the more you will earn!
2) New look home page, Swag Store, and rewards store: Swagbucks.com 3.0 will include a revamped, cleaner interface that promises to provide a better user experience.
3) Launch of the Swagstakes Portal: Swag Bucks currently runs about a dozen on-going sweepstakes (called Swagstakes) at any given time. With the launch of 3.0, they have a brand new, fully stocked Swagstakes portal in which there will be dozens of Swagstakes running at all times! Some contests will be limited entry (meaning a set number of entries will be offered) so the odds for a user to win are greater. The tentative list of items that will be offered during initial launch include: $100 Amazon Gift Cards, Sony Bravia 32″ TV, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPod Touch, Flip Ultra HD Camera, Panasonic Blu Ray with Remote, Apple iPad, Sopranos Complete Series Box Set, Rachel Ray 10 piece cookware set, Playstation 3 system + games bundle, Canon Powershot Camera, Seinfeld Complete Series DVD box Set, Vizio 22″ LCD TV and plenty more!
(Hi, all – we still have some medical issues going on here, but your prayers are helping…and appreciated. Will post as I’m able!)
20/20 Research is recruiting individuals to participate in an online bulletin board on the topic of grocery items. The online discussion will take place on Thursday, March 4th and Friday March 5th, and qualified respondents will be asked to log in a couple of times each day to respond to questions and participate in the discussion. Those who complete the study will receive a $100 online gift certificate.
Click HERE to complete the prequalification survey.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day! I hope your holidays have all been wonderful! Our family has had several hospital stays, including two ICU visits, throughout the season, so things have been a bit hectic here. I will be back as soon as possible for those of you who can forgive the lack of updates and return again later! Thanks again, for your patience and prayers! Drop me a note – I’d love to hear from you, too!
The $15 coupon from The Limited is back again! There’s no minimum purchase requirement for using this printable coupon – customers may select any regularly priced item, and take $15 off the purchase price (if the item is $15 or less, it’s free). An individual item priced at or above $100 will qualify for a $30 discount. Unlike the last coupon, the discount excludes markdowns and accessories, so no free jewelry or sunglasses, but you could probably find a cami in the $15 range.
Click HERE for the printable coupon. Click HERE for the store locator.
If you received this coupon via direct email from The Limited, you should also have a coupon code (restricted to one-time use) that can be applied to online purchases. The coupon linked above, however, is only valid in stores.
Hope you’re all doing well with your Christmas shopping! I’m a little behind this year, so let me know if you see any must-haves! This isn’t one of those “gotta have it” items, but if you’re out shopping anyway (anytime through December 24th), visit your local Hallmark Gold Crown store with a printed coupon and take $5 off your purchase of $5 or more. Even if you’ve already finished your shopping, you can still pick up a greeting card or a small ornament for a gift topper.
Click HERE for a list of Hallmark locations. Click HERE to print the coupon.
Hello, friends! Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving – and are now ready for the next big holiday! It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten how to write, so I’m starting off with something easy…yet still a pretty good deal. The Restaurant.com promotion codes occasionally come with a free gift certificate to another retailer, in addition to the discounted restaurant certificates. This weekend’s promotion code, however, doesn’t come with any restrictions – purchase any gift certificate from Restaurant.com at a 70% discount, and receive a free $15 gift certificate valid for any purchase at RedEnvelope (it can even be used to cover shipping costs).
The current coupon code applies a 70% discount to gift certificates purchased by midnight on Tuesday, December 8th. Pay as little as $3 for a $25 gift certificate – and you can even print the gift certificates after you’ve placed your order
Click HERE, select your gift certificates, enter the PRESENT promotion code at checkout, then recalculate the total to apply the 70% savings. (The restaurant choices, terms, and available certificates, vary by geographic location, so check the selections in your travel destinations, as well as your local areas!) After placing your order, the RedEnvelope promotion code will display on the confirmation page.
To make the most of both promotions, click HERE to shop RedEnvelope through Ebates and earn 6% cash back (plus a $5 bonus from Ebates for new Ebates customers).
For those of you who aren’t on Facebook and may be wondering where I am…my husband was in the hospital for a couple of weeks undergoing plasma exchange treatments. A few days after he left, my computers (two of them!) crashed and I was left with the very archaic Blackberry method of communication.
Things are settling down now – my husband’s home, both computers have been rebuilt, and I expect to be back in a few days. As far as my husband’s condition, the plasma exchange didn’t have the dramatic impact we had hoped for, but there have been some minor improvements and all antibodies have been removed for the next three months, which means there shouldn’t be any new exacerbations within that time frame. On the flip side, his immune system was completely “disconnected” – an intentional process in which the potential benefits outweighed the risks. Thank God we know a master healer personally!
Drop me a note and let me know how you’re doing! I’ll be back very soon!
If you missed out on the free $15 coupon code from Kodak Gallery last week, the coupons have been reset, so you can now sign up! As part of the “Million Thanks Campaign”, customers (new and existing) can register to receive a free $15 gift code. Shipping is under $4 for most items, so this is a fabulous deal on a gift item (photo book, album, photo mug, etc.).
Click HERE to access the giveaway and enter your email address in the space provided on the right. You should receive your unique gift code via email within the hour. If you miss out on the free $15 gift code, try back during the next phase (click HERE to view the schedule). Happy Holiday Shopping!
20/20 Research is recruiting individuals to participate in an online bulletin board on the topic of health conditions. The project will take place over the next two months and qualified respondents will be asked to participate in four online interviews and an online discussion. All sessions will take place over a set time period and you’ll be able to log in at your convenience to respond to questions and participate in the discussion. The total time of participation throughout the entire study is expected to be between 10 and 15 hours, and those who complete the study will receive $500.
Click HERE to complete the prequalification survey.
