The Importance of proper perspective

About thirty years ago, Canon had an ad campaign with the slogan "Image is everything" with some current tennis star as their spokesperson. It was a creative campaign that managed to send two messages at once--"our camera takes the best images" and "how you look is most important". The second message, can be contrasted by what the Bible says in Isaiah 16:7 and in Matthew 15:18, in which God says that what is in our hearts matter most.

God has been revealing a certain uncleanness in my own heart one morning while Eric and I were hiking up the Echo Summit Trail on Camelback mountain. The trail description said that this trail was for "experienced hikers" only, which definitely does not describe me. At this point in time, I am not in shape at all. However, we reasoned that we could always turn around before we reached the peak. As we walked up the "steep" incline from the street to the start of the trail, I was already huffing a little bit and thinking "Wow, we aren't even on the trail and this is steep." The beginning of the trail was very steep series of steps made to discourage erosion and "help" people walk up. After a very brief level section, the trail turned and become extremely steep. Throughout it all, I managed to make it up each section. Then came the "Holy Moses!" section of the trail, which was divided into two parts. These two sections required you to use a handrail to get up because it was so steep and there were very few toe holds/hand holds to help propel you up. By the way, I gave these sections the name "Holy Moses!" because that is what you said (or some other variation) when you saw them. After mastering these two sections, we walked a brief gently rolling section until we came to the "Wall of Boulders" that seemed like a slightly smaller version of the "Cliffs of Insanity" that Wesley scaled in "The Princess Bride" (okay, I am exaggerating here a little bit). When I reached the top of the boulders, my legs informed me that they were getting REALLY tired and that if I wanted to return (alive) to the car, I should turn around without delay. As in NOW.

So, after a brief rest, Eric and I turned around and climbed down the small hill of boulders, down the two steep handrail hills, down the pretty steep section and the fairly steep steps down to the gentle incline to our car. Did you notice the change in description? Well, my atitude definitely was different on the way down than on the way up, and it wasn't because going down steep hills are any easier than going up them. My legs shook from the exertion because they were so tired already and had to work hard to stay in a controlled descent. However, I had managed to get through each section, so it wasn't as daunting the second time. My perspective had been altered. At this point, God started talking to me about the move and how I have been reacting to it. He showed me how I have been so focused on all the work that has to be done to get ready for the move and all the friends that I have to leave behind that I have forgotten that He is taking me from a place of blessing to a place of blessing and that He is coming with me and my family. I know that God is okay with my grief at having to leave my friends and family and move away from a home I have grown to love. However, it's not as if I have to purge my friends in Illinos (and Indiana, Kentucky, etc.) when I move to Phoenix. I am still grieving because I am still going through the process of saying "good-bye" to people. However, I am trying to train my thoughts so that I remember what a great place we will have in Phoenix and look forward to all the new "hellos" that I will be saying in a short time.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Corinthians 1:3


"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. " 2 Corinthians 10:5

Dedicated to the memory of Julie Kloos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH9__ickHmU&feature=related

Today, Granny Kloos passed to the other side of the Jordan and was re-united with her husband, where I know they will be forever very happy.

I look forward to seeing them both again.

Death and Moving

Doesn't that sound like a great title for a really bad horror flick with a Freddie Krueger-type persona terrorizing all the hosts on the HGTV home decorating shows as well as Martha Stewart? However, both of these things are imminent in my life right now.

My Granny Kloos is entering the final stages of life. She is no longer eating and her lungs are filling up with fluid. After living as a widow for over twenty years, living with fibromyalgia and other worries, she is finally starting to let go of this world. I visited her on Wednesday, right before seeing my brother, and my heart broke because she looked like someone entirely different from the feisty go-getter that I remember. I can only pray that God takes her quickly so that her suffering is minimal. I would like to spend a lot more time at her side so that she isn't alone much in her last days. She has two daughters and a grandson nearby who can be with her, too, but only for limited times. The rest of her grandkids and her two sons live far away and can't necessarily come. I have one huge obstacle preventing me from fulfilling my desire: the fact that we need to be in the Phoenix area before April 27th, when my husband starts his new job.

That's right, we have only a month to get the house ready for sale, find a new house in the Phoenix area, figure out what we need to pack until we move into our new house and say good bye to all of our friends and family. It is a little overwhelming. Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who is doing most of the painting, finalizing other home repair projects and dealing with my emotions, which are a little unstable now (no comments from the peanut gallery about the overall stability of my emotions, please!). Also, I have a great God, who tells me to take one day at a time, helps me figure out what needs to be done and helps take away any guilty feelings I have for (simultaneously) neglecting my grandmother/friends/kids/husband/house and reminding me that this job and this move are truly a blessing from Him and that, even though there is some heartache in moving away from one set of family and friends, we are moving closer to another set of family and will develop a new set of friends. He also reminds me that even when no one person is with Granny Kloos, He is there, comforting her and helping her make the journey to Him in heaven, where He can "wipe every tear from (her) eyes" and "where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Revelation 21:4). Below is a hymn we learned in January that I have learned to love, in spite of the rather depressing title: Come, Ye Disconsolate.

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts,
here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate,
light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent,
fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter,
tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”

Here see the Bread of Life,
see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God,
pure from above.
Come to the feast of love;
come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Kitchen update

In the middle of painting the upper part of the wall, Eric and I decided that the green I had originally picked is too dark, especially with the potential moving issue. I went out and got a lighter shade of the color. We are currently trying to figure out whether or not to re-paint the wall above the cabinets to be the same color as the wall below the cabinets and we would like your input. I am including two pictures of the kitchen--one with a flash and one in natural light. We are setting up the polls to be run Illinois style so you can vote early and vote often. At stake is Eric having to move the refrigerator to paint behind it again. BTW, would anyone like a gallon of herb green paint?

My husband's work

My husband, like his father and grandfather, doesn't like to sit around much. He has to be doing something. Fortunately, he has a long list of "home improvement" projects that require his attention. He is definitely working hard. He is in the final stages of painting the cabinets in the kitchen. By next week, the cabinets will be done and the kitchen painted. Below are some pictures from the kitchen. Please ignore the clutter. The first picture shows the last little bit he has to do. Now that we have the cabinets painted, the faux butcher block countertop doesn't look quite as bad. Next week, we will have pictures of what the kitchen looks like with a new coat of paint.

Eric started on what we thought would be a quick, "clean up" job of re-cauking the shower. It turned into more work than he expected when he encountered black stuff behind the tile. Today was demolition day, where the sounds of his hammer and chisel could be heard most of the day throughout the house. Below are pictures during the demolition. We filled eight bags total with moldy tile and dry wall. The irony is that I spent a couple hours one day scraping soap scum off of the base so that our shower would "look" new. That seems like time well spent now that we will be replacing it. We will probably be replacing the floor tile, too, which means that I can carry the blue of the bedroom into the bathroom. Woo Hoo! Only the sink will bring back memories of the 70's now.

Here is Eric after a hard day's work. Advil will be coming next!

Lowe's may get stimulated by our family in a couple of days when we buy a new shower surround and base, along with the accoutrements needed to install it.

We hope you have enjoyed this segment of "Home Improvement"

For those of you who are wondering, Eric is also finding time to look for a job in between house projects. No offer has been made as of yet, nor has he been called for any interviews.

Have fun everyone!

lessons learned from my son

I thank God that He continues to teach me things about my kids when I really sit and listen to Him. I consider my oldest son to be "challenging", which is another way to say that sometimes he and I butt heads over issues. I have already figured out that he is a very slow adaptor. I learned something new about him on Febrary 20th. That night, he and I had a "date" night sponsored by the park district. I thought that I had told him that there would be sports, but I used the word "games" which made him think that we would be playing board games. He kept insisting on getting "dressed up" (sweater and brown shoes) even though I told him that we would be running around playing games. Needless to say, he was very disappointed when we walked in and he was given a choice to play basketball or hockey, neither of which he has played much in the past. As I saw his face drop, I pulled him aside and we started talking about what he wanted to do, since it was obvious he had no intention of playing either sport. We decided to stay and watch hockey instead. As I watched Kyle, I saw him observing the game closely and how they used the stick to move the ball around (a nice soft squishy ball). I realized that he is totally a visual learner and must observe for a long time (being a slow adaptor) before he will participate in a sport because he doesn't want to fail or even to play badly. I tried to get him to play a little later, but he declined. After dinner, everyone else switched sides. In the meantime, I had found scooter boards they were using to make basketball fun. Instead of joining the group, we found an empty area and used a hockey stick to pull and push each other around on the scooter. Eventually, it became almost like a dance. We had so much fun doing our own thing and that is all that matters, isn't it?

In regards to my own personal development, I have learned to like dodgeball.

The Tribute Series Continues--My brother

My mother remarried when I was five. Fairly soon after they married, I remember asking her if she would supply me with a brother or sister. She said that we had to wait for a while until my dad graduated from college (another reason to admire him). I had to wait until I was eight and a half to get the brother I dreamed of having. However, because of the age difference, most of our lives have been spent apart. He was about 10 when I left for college. I totally missed his high school years and all of his football games. I didn't meet his future wife until the time of my wedding. However, there are two things about my brother that I really admire.

First of all, he is so kind and loving. When he was younger, I saw him help out his friends and defend them. I think if he had been older than me, or at least closer to my age, the people who teased me would have had to deal with him, too. He makes friends easily, probably because he is a good listener as well as a good conversationalist.

He is also a very calm person. I have seen him upset a few times, but it is a quiet anger and he can quickly shrug it off and deal with the situation. I wish I had his calm, cool demeanor when my kids start arguing and whining. Both of these qualities will make him an excellent father.

He is the little brother I always wanted and I am glad for the times we have had together and for any time we can spend together.

I love you, Bill!