Reading

I've been very out of the habit of reading in the last few years. I decided to pick up some of the books I've been meaning to get to for a while. So, I'm currently trying to be more purposeful in reading:

Believing God by R. C. Sproul, Jr. - contemplating the promises of God and letting them sink into my soul.

When Helping Hurts by Brian Fiklert and Steve Corbett - an in-depth look at poverty and how to effectively help, avoiding the pitfalls of creating dependence or exacerbating a problem with superficial fixes.

The Valley of Vision, a collection of puritan prayers.

And finally, I'm going to be joining a group from my church to read and discuss the 25th edition of Desiring God by John Piper. I've actually never read it, but have heard many good things about it over the years.

I'm writing these plans here in hopes that will help hold me accountable to the task... :)

New Music

I've found some cool new musicians lately that I've heard on the radio. Just added some new stuff and deleted some oldies from my playlist. I hope you enjoy it. :o) Kim said recently "your blog is my favorite radio station". I'm totally flattered. I hope the new stuff lives up to the expectations.

A song that prays

You know the number of my days
So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head
And come write Your wisdom on my heart
And teach me the power of a moment
The power of a moment, the power of a moment

I get so distracted by my bigger schemes
Show me the importance of the simple things
Like a word, a seed, a thorn, a nail
And a cup of cold water

Chris Rice

Christmas Cards ordered

Mod Merry Ornaments Christmas

Shop Shutterfly for unique, personalized Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Joni and Friends 2010

Well, Denis and I have been back from Joni and Friends Family Retreat for a little more than a week now. I've had some time to adjust back to "regular life", quite a let down after such a joyful and impactful experience. So here's a bit of a report from our fabulous week at camp:

There are many ways that this year's experience at Joni and Friends was very different from last year for me. I'm very thankful that I was able to share the "duties" with Denis. It was such a relief for me to have him there, since he has a different set of skills than I do. His skill set is better suited to the sorts of issues that come up at camp, so I really liked being able to have him to defer to. That's a pretty selfish reason to be glad to have him there... It was also wonderful to get to share the experience with him, because the Joni and Friends family retreat experience is so impressive and Denis didn't get to go last year.

Another thing that was different this year was that we were involved in the planning. We had access to the campers' health information, so we had a much better idea of what kind of situations we needed to be prepared for. We planned the first aid kit from the ground up, so we knew what was there. I also had a much better idea what sort of supplies we should carry with us. Now being more prepared was a very good thing, but it wasn't exactly reassuring. We had some campers with some significant health issues, and it was a bit scary being aware of them... But actually not any more scary than NOT knowing, which is how I felt last year. :o)

Praise goes to God, of course, that we did not actually have any significant health issues arise. The worst injury of the whole week was just a minor thing that only require arrangements made for a tetanus shot. We were kept busy though, with little things. Cuts, sprains, bandaids, little things. Those little problems gave us the opportunities to interact with people, which is really one of the greatest blessings of being at Joni and Friends. When we get to soothe a boo-boo for someone, we get to be a small blessing to them. I'm grateful that so many little things came up, because that meant getting to be involved with the campers.

This year, I felt more a part of the action - less on the fringes. Some of the highlights of my week:

1. interacting with some of the adult campers with disabilities

2. getting thumbs ups, smiles and waves from some campers affected by autism spectrum issues

3. helping a visually impaired camper figure out a better way to use her blood sugar meter

4. being invited by some teens to do the macarena dance with them at the talent show

5. seeing my friend who has Down syndrome blossom with all the attention and encouragement

This family retreat was the first one to take place in Oregon, or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest in about 20 years. The majority of the campers and STMs (volunteers) were new to Joni and Friends family retreats and did not know what to expect. One family feared on the first day that they would get kicked out because their son was pouring water out on the stage during the first worship session. What they didn't know is that at Joni and Friends family retreat, that's OK - it's normal even. God moved in powerful ways this week as families were blessed by the acceptance, rest, love and celebration of their kids offered by everyone at retreat. I also heard reports of how God worked in wonderful ways in the young adults with disabilities group.

My overall statement about Joni and Friends retreat this year is - what an honor! What a privilege to be just a small piece of what God did there. what we did was very little - but what a joy to be a part!

Getting ready!

August is going to be a busy month around here - or maybe not around here. That's why it's going to be busy...

The first week of the month, I'm flying to San Antonio for not quite a week to attend the annual conference for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. I'm going with one of my coworkers. She and I work opposite days of the week, so we rarely actually get to see each other. Our lives are intertwined, though, as my mom provides day care for her adult daughter who has Down Syndrome. Our two families spent Thanksgiving together last year. Joy just got married and we attended her wedding on the beach. Lots of new stuff in her life and I'm really looking forward to spending the time with her.

The third week of the month, Denis and I both have the privilege of serving as the medical team for the all new Oregon Joni and Friends Family Retreat! As you know, I was able to go to the California camp last year, which turned out to be a fly by the seat of my pants sort of experience. This year, Denis and I are getting to organize the entire medical plan for the Oregon camp, determine what supplies we want to have, etc. I'm so excited to get to share the experience with Denis, not only because his skill set is so much better suited for the job, but also for him to see first hand what a blessing this ministry is to the families that attend. It's hard to believe that it's just three weeks away! Things are falling into place, but there's still some planning left to do.

Hard times

I'm listening to a song by Jill Paquette that contains comforting words.

One of These Days

it's been so long, said it's been too long

can't remember when i've felt so known

You're so warm shelter me from the storm and the fears that are just so cold

they're telling me things get messy when you care

things are messy everywhere and don't i know it, don't i show it

every time i look away 'cause what can i do? what can i say? to help myself

or to help anybody else

You meet me in my need

You bring new life to me, and You go beyond what i feel

Your life brought more than freedom

Your love brought time just what i needed, to see i needed You

One of these days it will be easier to mean what i say

if i remember each and every day

that this world is not my home and i never walk alone

and before time began my days were known by You

You meet me in my need

You bring new life to me and You go beyond what i feel

Your life brought more than freedom

Your love brought time just what i needed, to see i needed You

Movie reviews

At a friend's request, I'm doing some more movie reviews. As always, * ratings are out of a possible ***** (five stars)

"7 Up" Series ***** - a series of documentaries that followed a set of children in different parts of England every 7 years into their adulthood. The premise was that the kids with different social advantages would turn out differently as adults, a bias that became increasingly annoying to some of the subjects. The last one was "49 Up" and I suppose there will eventually be a "56 Up".

Enchanted *** - a cutesy fanciful movie about Disney-esque characters accidentally wandering into the real world. Enjoyable fluff.

Emmanuel's Gift **** - documentary about a young man with a disabled leg who embarks on a campaign to inspire better lives for his compatriots in Ghana. His story was very impressive and the influence he has made in his home town was very hopeful.

Crazy Love **** - Wow! This one was weird and fascinating. About a very strange relationship featuring overbearing possessiveness descending into abuse. The thing that was fascinating was to hear both parties justifying their actions and choices. This kind of film reminds me how capable the human mind is of committing heinous sin and denying it.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly **** - another documentary. Are we seeing a pattern here? This one is an amazing story of survival.

The Lady Vanishes **** - Black and white Hitchcock. Nice!

Julie and Julia **** - I really enjoyed this movie. How could you go wrong? Meryl Streep does a very endeering portrayal of Julia Child. We learn about how she built her remarkable career. Amy Adams is always nice to watch, though her character was rather self-absorbed. And lots of cooking. Made me want to go out and buy Julia's original cookbook. (but I didn't)

Doubt **** - Meryl again, this time with Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is one of our favorites. Did he or didn't he? (the priest abuse the boys in the school) Surprisingly, Denis and I came to different conclusions!

African American Lives **** - This was a television series special. A handful of stars trace their roots back in time through the slave era in the US, and for some back to a specific region of Africa. This was quite interesting.

Pixar Short Films *** - some of these were really cute and funny! Some were less so. But it was also an interesting look at the evolution of computer animation through the years.

The Blind Side **** - This one is rather main stream for our tastes, but it was a good film with a positive plot. Nice.

12:08 East of Bucharest ** - Gosh the critics loved this film, but what a dud. So slow, Denis fell asleep pretty quick. I stuck with it to the end, but there was no payoff.

My Sister's Keeper *** - Ok, we actually quite liked this movie. But a disclaimer - we found the medical situation quite unrealistic. With suspended disbelief, what we enjoyed was the character portrayals and acting. It was an interesting dilemma for the characters to be in and we went along for the ride.

new stuff

I was getting bored with my playlist, so I changed out a bunch of the songs. I hope you like the new mix. Remember, you can always skip a song you don't like.

I recently downloaded Google's web browser called Chrome, which is supposed to load pages faster. One of the main things that I like is how it magically syncs all the sorts of stuff that use your google ID to sign in. The browser has an extension called "blog this" that lets you go immediately to creating a new blog post from any webpage that you find interesting. I creates a link to that page and it will also bring over any text that you highlight before hitting the button. I used it to create that last post about the disability friendly family fun center.

Overall I'm liking it. it organizes the bookmarks a bit differently too, which I couldn't figure out for quite a while, but now I get it and it's easy.

Morgan's Wonderland - The World's First Ultra Accessible Family Fun Park

A friend of mine from the local Joni and Friends chapter showed me this exciting new fun center. Unfortunately, it's in San Antonio, TX! What a fantastic idea and blessing for families with a member who has a disability.

I'm actually going to be in San Antonio in early August for the National Diabetes Educator's conference, so I think I will look into whether I might be able to volunteer for a day. It would be a neat experience. A bit of a long shot that it would work out, though...

Morgan's Wonderland - The World's First Ultra Accessible Family Fun Park