the view from out-of-control

this is the view from

out-of-control

and this is the truth from 

out-of-control - 

in his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind

my family covets your prayers this week as dad struggles in cardiac care and mom endures chemotherapy. how may i pray for you?

linking with - 

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, kathy for titus 2 confessions,  joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, jennifer for tell his story, jen for soli deo gloria, emily for imperfect prose

my mom and dad, on saturday

and this was my dad on saturday
one blue sock, one black
asleep in his chair
one hand fluttering,
the other resting on a half-eaten nutty bar
that had fallen to his chest
he startled awake
and knew me and his place
he finished his nutty bar while
asking about the boys and chris
and this was my dad on saturday
in his earth body
that aches
and
doesn't do as it's told
and this was my mom on saturday
robe and slippers
blue bandanna tied on the side
covering her hairless head
she welcomed me to the new chair
in the living room and
asked about the boys and chris
this was my mom on saturday
in her earth body
that's tired from
cancer and chemo
and i feel some sad about
their earth bodies
with the aches and pains and loss
but what glorious hope i heard
from the pulpit today
if there is a natural body
then
there is a spiritual body....
and just as we have borne
the likeness of the earthly man,
so shall we bear the likeness of the
man
from
heaven
amen.

continuing to count his gifts to 1000-

738. eggs from our six hens
739. finding eggs, easter-egg-hunt style
740. impromptu finley family party
741. grading papers
742. happy facebook messages from my girl, the one i mentor
743. my football boys' safety
744. chocolate chip cookie dough for second breakfast
745. husband beside me

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

on seeing like grammy

writing for five minutes on see

a splatter of tropical punch kool-aid
greeted me this morning
it's on the floor
between the kitchen and living room
but
a slight smile,
not irritation,
accompanied the sight
it reminded me of that
grammy* feeling
i've had since my brother-in-law's
family moved close
and i find myself
buying coloring books in target
whipping up double batches of chocolate chip cookies
gushing into the phone yes come on over
when a five-year-old voice
asks to come visit the new kitty
i love this,
seeing like grammy

*grammy is my mom, the nicest person on the face of the earth

linking with -
the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday
beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

on comments lost and virgil unveiled

i've been wanting to reply to people's comments here at a spacious place. so i enabled a new-to-my-blog widget that will allow me to reply to comments directly on the blog. (because i want to tell erin at it's grace that yes, i have read richard scarry books. and that yes, virgil the doodle worm and lowly worm are cousins.) after a little research and clicking, i loaded up disqus commenting. and my other comments disappeared. how terrible is it that i gasped? that i felt bereft? am i that dependent on attention? yikes. i did find the old comments through my dashboard, so i can see them. but what about readers who come by and see 0 comments at the end of a post? they'll think no one reads me. or likes me. i should have an inspirational verse right now. or insight. but all i have for you is honesty. and a picture of virgil from last week's post.(click here to read it, but you won't see 26 comments.)

and for these i am thankful:

69. my mom who gives out valentine's treat bags!
70. my sister katie who says things like
     "so i called my tow truck driver...."
71. my girl (the one i mentor) who took a big big step this week.
72. chris, my husband, who took the boys skiing one day and frisbee golfing the next!
73. NC weather that allows #72 to happen.
74. my cheerleaders (did you know that i am a coach?)
75. parentheses

the links:

izzy

Izzy is a lady from my parents' church who has been in a nursing home about two years.

answered the phone

at mom’s today
it was izzy – i knew that from caller id
but she didn’t identify herself
just started with
what’s purplish-pink?
after the second
repetition
she added
i’m working a crossword
and i need a seven-letter word for
purplish-pink
aha
she said the third
letter was r
i conducted extensive research
but
never
found
the answer


Linking up with Emily today over at Chatting at the Sky.