Continuing NF Awareness

In doing some research on Neurofibromatosis, I found a great website. www.reggiebibbs.com . Reggie Bibbs is from the Houston area and sees the same neurologist Hayden does. He has a great website for awareness and has some awesome T-shirts for sale. Check it out.

Teach to the Test

Today I took some time to flip through our May issue of Texas Monthly. We are pretty avid readers of this magazine. My husband is a proud resident of The Republic, therefore we read just about anything pertaining to this great state. I'm so glad one of my favorite writers is now back to his normal post on the last page of the magazine. Even though I don't always agree with Kinky Friedman's views, I will admit he uses common sense when writing and I love when people use common sense.

In his latest article, The Four Questions-An epistle to Texas Christians, one of the questions he asks is, "Would Jesus teach to the test?". I thought this was so funny since I had previously given my spiel about the TAKS test. I have to say I do agree with Kinky's comments on this subject. Kinky states, "Teaching to the test is not the same thing as teaching. Indeed, it is quite often the opposite. Great teachers, who've inspired and guided so many of us, are by nature independent thinkers. Instead of rewarding these people for changing our lives for the better, the state shoves the TAKS test down their throats, drowns them in bureaucracy and political correctness, and monkeys with their Social Security and retirement pay. Today, in our dumbed-down, robotic, Orwellain system, the great teachers of Texas have been crucified on a chalkboard cross." That brings us to the biggest question of all, Would the greatest Teacher of all teach to the test? I think not.

I think about my educational years of the 70's and 80's. I know the system was not perfect during that time but I realize how rich my education was and how cheated I would have been had my teachers had to spend all their time teaching to the test instead of teaching the subject they were hired to teach, but also to teach us about life. To make us out of the box thinkers. We got to know these people. They taught us how to live, love and learn. I would like to thank many of those individuals. Ronnie and Orphie Conner-the best history teachers there ever has been, Walt Staats for peaking my interest in the sciences, Bo Merket for making the world of Algebra make some sense, coach Kathy Marshall for my athletic guidance, Nancy Hanks for just being a friend, David Woods for just making it interesting and especially Coach Rick Robinson for not being afraid to bring Jesus into the classroom. Thanks to you all for making me the person I am.

Who Knew?

Today is a new day. I can honestly say I did some soul searching yesterday and today there is a new take on things. I think I was in a hole for the past couple of weeks and I couldn't really figure out why and then I got a knock in the head from Him and it became alot more clear. Sometimes I can be hard headed and miss all the subtle signs I get.

When my husband and I took on the adventure of coaching a baseball team from the opposite side of town, I had no idea how our lives would change. I wish I could say that it was as simple as coaching these kids a couple of times a week and move on but in reality that is not the case. I began to realize that these boys have such adult problems and they had began to turn to us with these issues. I know I was beginning to carry some burden for these boys and was feeling bogged down by it. It is very hard not to get emotionally engaged by these boys because you realize that you have become their support system. I have never been involved with anything pertaining to kids, that I have seen such little parental involvement.

My husband and I coach this team ourselves with no other help. We have had 1 dad help out at about 5 practices and that is it. Most of the parents do not bring or pick up their kids from practice or games. They either walk or we pick them up. There are a total of 4 parents that even show up at games. It just blows my son's mind that these parents are not involved. He told me how hurt he would be if we were not involved with what he does. This has been a big eye opener for him as well as us.

After some soul searching, I've realized that God has put us on this unique walk for a reason. Shawn and I have talked about doing mission work once our boys got older. We really did not have an interest of going to other countries for this. We have always felt that there is more than enough work needed here in the US. We have always had the interest of going to the inner city like Memphis, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans or even Dallas to do this work. How did we know that that was not God's plan for us for now. Who knew that we would find our mission work in our own town. Now that I look back I know this has been the plan. God planted us at THF a year ago and surrounded us with the spiritual support we needed, (thanks M2 and The Bishop) in order to move us to this mission. I know He will continue to give us the tools to continue forward on this journey as long as we continue to trust Him.

In a lull

We have been so busy with our day to day lives that I have been feeling a little off-balance. Between school, work, baseball, church and now dealing with Shawn's back problems, I feel that I have been losing focus of the important things. We rush from one thing to the next and I think today it is time for a slow down for me. I hate to admit it, but for the past couple of weeks my quite time has been out the window. As my friend, The Bishop would say, I am in a funk. Just not feeling quiet right and I know why. So today I will take the time pick up the good Book and get into some conversation with the man upstairs. Tomorrow will be alot brighter I know. May all of you find that brightness.

Would You Judge?

As a believer, sometimes Satan puts things in our path to see if we will stumble. Sometimes it would be so easy to take up those things in our path and run with them. Have you ever seen others stumble on that path and try to help just to find yourself tempted as well. What if the person that stumbled was someone in a leadership position that you hold in high regard. Does it make you question your faith? Does it make you feel that that person is less worthy of God's love and need to be cast aside by Him or by us? Do we let Satan creep in on us and allow ourselves to be tools for him and become judgemental? Sometimes the further we wander outside God's will, the more we judge others and the less we show mercy.

Lots of questions that I may not have the correct answers to. I know how I feel in my heart. We all know that we sin. I have always been told, "A sin is a sin is a sin." Is this how everyone feels? I don't know but what I do know is that God will forgive the sinner, but He will still judge the sin. God tells us to forgive, he never suggests that we forgive only when someone asks for forgiveness. He simply says forgive. Sometimes for the sinner, even when we know that God has forgiven us, it is hard for us to forgive ourselves. We must remember that God will always lead us to victory, but He will lead us His way.

I believe the biggest target for Satan is a believer in Christ. An even bigger target are those whom are Christian leaders. For if Satan is able to invade Christian leadership, he may be able to place some doubt in the minds of the congregation and help in his works. So as part of our duty as Christians, I believe that we must not only pray for ourselves and our family and friends, but also for those who lead us. They are very big targets for Satan, as stated in Alan Redpath's book, The Making of a Man of God:
Oh, from what heights of blessing it is possible for a man to fall! To what depths of sin a man can descend, even with all that spiritual background! The higher the pinnacle of blessing, authority, and publicity he has attained by grace, the deeper and more staggering can be his collapse. There is never a day in any man's life but that he is dependent upon the grace of God for power and the blood of Jesus for cleansing."

Please pray for yourself, then pray for someone you know who is being mightily used by God.

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently...." Galatians 6:1

Happy Birthday Zach!!!

Just a little stop to wish my oldest son, Zach, a Happy Birthday. It is hard to believe that he will be a teenager in 1 year. It just seems like yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital. I know we have made some mistakes along the way but for the most part, I feel we have done a good job. Zach is not only an awesome athlete, he is truely a good person. The most important gift I feel we have given him is his faith and love of the Lord. Happy B-day Z-man!
(PS--tried to download a pic but blogger is just not having it today).

May is NF awareness Month

This morning was a rough one for my youngest son Hayden. It was a tearful morning for him. He was so adamant about not going to school today. He has many of these morning where he begs me to home school him and not make him go back to school. Even though I know it is socially and developmentally the best thing for me to force him into school, I do have some sadness when I have to do it. Hayden is often the center of some bullying due to a genetic condition he has. Hayden has a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis or NF.

NF encompasses a set of distinct genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow along various types of nerves and, in addition, can affect the development of non-nervous tissues such as bones and skin. NF can cause tumors to grow anywhere on the body. There are 3 different forms of NF, which Hayden suffers from NF-1, the most common form.

NF-1 also know as von Recklinghausen NF or Peripheral NF. It occurs in 1:3,000 births. Characterized by multiple cafe'-au-lait spots(look like birth marks) and neurofibromas(pea-sized tumors) on or under the skin, enlargement and deformation of bones and curvature of the spine(scoliosis) may occur. Occasionally tumors may develop in the brain or cranial nerves, or on the spinal cord. About 50% of people of NF also have learning disabilities.

Hayden's main skin problems is multiple cafe'-au-lait spots, to numerous to count and a few neurofibromas. He has some bladder issues which we have discovered is not to uncommon with individuals with NF. He is fairly clumsy but his coordination tends to be getting better as he gets older. Fortunately, I believe we have missed the learning disabilities but he does get some help at school for speech and occupational therapy to help with his fine motor skills. Even with these problems, I know Hayden is destined for greatness. God choose the right one of my children to give this disorder to because even though Hayden does have some social hard times, he has a certain drive about him and his love for God will see him through. His future plans are to be a policeman, a fireman or a vet. He loves animals so much and they always seem at ease with him.

May is NF awareness month, so if you are looking for a good cause to donate money to or to support, please keep Hayden and those like him in mind. You can donate or look up more info on NF at the Children's Tumor Foundation website, www.ctf.org for NF research so that we can help those all affected by it.