Queenies Little Kingdom

Today will go down in history as one of the most out of control days of my life.  I am completely relying on God.  I can't be any of the places I am needed and even if I could….I still have no real power over any of the situations at hand.

F R O G  — Fully rely on God!  Right?

My mother went in for the last of her cancer surgery.  The doctors thought it would take approximately 3 hours but since that would be too easy of a wait….instead it took over 5!  She's only 16 hours away from me.  How helpless could I feel, right?  The good news is that she is out of surgery and in recovery.  The procedure took longer because of the scar tissue they encountered once they got in there.  While the end results are that she will forever have a colostomy bag….she is alive and has a future ahead cancer free.

Praises to the Lord!!

The dog that wouldn't heal needed a trip back to the vet today.  Since I work for a living and two of my kids had the day off….they drew the golden ticket of taking her back.  They drove the hour + to the doctor's office, making it there about 11:30am where they have been waiting all day (it's now 4:40pm) to see the doc.  It is hot & sticky here in Indiana.  Not the kind of weather to be stuck at a dusty animal hospital with a very anxious dog.  As a mom, I feel helpless.  The good news is that they've been seen and the doc says it's healing fine and she can take off her cone of shame.  Plus, no charge.  Worth the wait?  I think so!

More praises, Lord!

My hubby is out of town on a work trip.  A trip that he's been very nervous about since it's a meeting with the new company employees & bosses.  He isn't any different than most of us in that he gets a bit anxious over "new" situations.  The unknown has a way of invading our peace and spewing out negative vibes!  He was feeling pretty stressed the days & week before the trip but I think he's survived it.  I'm sure now that it's behind him he's wondering why he bothered with worrying so much.

Lord, you are the peace giver!

All of this, today.  On THE DAY that I finally meet up with my Bible study girls.  You think satan had anything to do with that pressure? I can't say.  But I wouldn't put it past him to try any old trick to push me off course.  I needed to study (I've tried) and I needed to pray (I have) and I needed some sound mind in the midst of the whole day.  Now that I know the outcomes of everyone's issues….I can relax (which is what I should've been doing anyway).

I get it, God!  Always, fully rely on YOU!

Romans 5:3-5 The Message

We continue to shout our praise when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever GOD WILL DO NEXT.  In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.  Quite the contrary–we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God gererously pours into our lives through the HOLY SPIRIT!

Amen!

I work with teenagers all day long.  My patience or lack thereof can get in the way of being effective….if I don't keep a lid on it.  So, what do I do?

I surround myself with scripture.

On my desk (table), I tape down THE WORD!  Sometimes I never look at a single verse….other times I practically snort them up my nose.  Everybody has one of those days, right?

I know every job comes with its challenges and mine is no different but I don't want to lose my saltiness when God has given me opportunities to touch young lives at my job.

Know what I mean, Vern?

When I think back to my school days (yea, that was a long time ago) I can still remember the quality that made the biggest impact on my life — my FAITHful teachers.  The ones who lived for Christ, outloud!  I felt safe in their care and I understood their consistency.

Kids still need that today.  Matter of fact, they need it today more than ever.

I wish I could say that I'm on top of my game all the time but that just wouldn't be honest.  I struggle to stay positive when the same kid never does his homework or assignments.  I fantasize about boxing his ears just want him to succeed in class and see him mature into a "productive" human being.

Is that too much to ask?

Ingesting God's word is the best weapon against discouragement.  That's why I surround myself with it.  It beats groveling in the pit and it does wonders for the spirit.

What do you do to make your day successful?

Lord

You've given me a job that requires me to love others.  Whether they are lovable or not isn't the question.  What I do with my time with them is what matters most.  Help me to be LIKE YOU in word & action.

Amen

This past weekend was glorious! It was perfect weather for working outside and cleaning up what winter destroyed. Our pond took a beating this year.  The ice that formed on top sliced through the liner and caused a major leak.  Not good.  It drained out and left an ugly mess.

Not nice to look at, huh?  Imagine being one of the fishy occupants.  Not the best place to call home.

During the big drain out… our last two surviving fish nearly lost their slimy lives. Hubby scooped them out but never saw them until it was almost too late. Now they're swimming safely in a small tank while they wait patiently for their big pond to open back up again.

These little darlin's decided to help dad.  At least that's what I thought.  They really just wanted to hang out with me while I watched him do the work.  He built a great little stone flowerbed around some lilies that have lived at this house much longer than me.  I like it.  He does good work!

See how these gals help!

I helped too.  I planted the tulip bulbs (yes, I know….I'm too late) that I bought and totally forgot about.  I won't be surprised when nothing pops up.  I have a way with plants….no matter how you slice it!  I'm a killer!

Pink tulips are my fave too!  Darn it!

I took this last picture to show you how dull and lifeless it looks around my yard.  It's the first weekend of April but don't you be fooled….in just a few short weeks, these same trees will be so full of lush green leaves there will be no seeing any neighbor's houses.

I love spring!  Don't you?  Even if it means a little work.  Remind me how much I love Indiana when we have another crazy cold snap that drags in more snow.

This week has been a long one! After last Saturday’s emergency vet trip, I knew it would be.

The doctor told us he didn’t think the stitches would hold and he was right. But that didn’t stop us from trying our best to keep her all together like all dogs should be.

So…we did this! It worked well until I noticed a very swollen leg and had to take it off.

Taking off the bandage led to this! A licking nightmare! Which then led to this—>

Most of the stitches GONE! The only ones left are the ones on the very ends of the wound!! Yowzers!

We had to get radical! The next few attempts to put her back together were rough on all of us.

How do you keep a sweet young ACTIVE pup together when they can’t understand what in the world is happening to them?

Sadly, you put them in THE CONE of SHAME! It looks awful! And no way do they like it. She tried some pretty fancy moves to get this sucker off.

Didn’t work!

But hey, this girl is much better today. She’s eaten some scrambled eggs & had her coffee.

Maybe….just maybe this leg will heal and our lives can go back to normal craziness!

Fingers crossed!!

My Bible study group hasn't met for 2 weeks and I've missed them! From what I can tell my ladies feel the same.

Fellowship together is important!

Through the magic of Facebook I've heard some of the struggles each of them are having and I can totally relate. Satan knows when we're "on our own" and he loves to wreak havoc.  Even little issues seem big…when you're facing them alone.

Fellowship together is power!

I'm not the least bit embarrassed to admit I need my friends from my Wednesday night study group. I need them — their love, understanding and their willingness to pray with and for me no matter the issue.

Fellowship together is a punch in the face to satan!

And tell me, who doesn't want to punch him…right?

Forsake not the gathering together…

Dear BS Friends,
I'm pumped that I'll see you gals in 5 short days. Between now & then I want you to know that I am praying for each of you. I know you've felt out of whack because that's exactly how I've felt too. God sees you and He gets what you're going through. Hold on tight–and make sure you read Chapter 5!!
Love
Wanda

After being a mama as long as I have . . . I’ll never get tired of taking our family Easter Sunday picture.

The real celebration is the assurance we each have because of the victory over death by our Lord Jesus.

I’m so amazed that Jesus would die…for me!