Category Archives: Church

Word of the Month – Gratitude

Chris and I help teach on Sunday mornings in the children’s ministry at our church. Each month we have a word that we focus on and with November being the month that Thanksgiving falls, we are talking about gratitude. I thought I would take a few minutes to discuss what Chris and I are grateful for since this journey began.

But first, an update. I am currently sitting at Texas Oncology receiving my third AC chemo treatment. Last week I came in for my treatment as scheduled only to discover that my white blood count was too low to do the infusion. They want the white blood count to be at a 3.5 or higher and I was sitting at a 2.6. Our only real option was to postpone treatment for a week. While this was a minor setback, it is small in the grand scheme of things. My body was allowed an extra week to recover and clearly it needed it. I spent the week resting. I had a rollercoaster sleep pattern. I slept a great deal for the first week or so after chemo. Then i went several days with little to no sleep only to fall back down and sleep for several more days solid. I believe this is the hardest part on my family. When I’m sleeping Chris takes on everything. When I’m awake I feel up to doing a few things, but tire out quick. Just when I think I could go to bed and sleep the insomnia sets in and i’m up until 5 am.

Other than fatigue and crazy sleep patterns the side effects have been minimal. The pre-meds they give me prior to chemo are wonderful and prevent a great deal of the side effects associated with chemo. So much research has been done to improve breast cancer treatment, but there is so much more that needs to be done. I pray that in my lifetime a cure for breast cancer and other cancers can be found!

Now for the actual subject of my post. Gratitude. One definition of the word I found said it was a “warm feeling of thankfulness”. I like that. I wanted to take a few minutes to thank some people who have helped us thus far.

First, our family. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles have been wonderful. Whether it’s coming to clean my house prior to surgery, coming to take care of my kids while I was having surgery, sending gift cards for meals, gifts that are meaningful and some that bring much needed laughter, my family has been there. They are constantly checking on me as well as everyone else in the house making sure we are okay. Asking what we need an offering to drop everything and come to help if needed. I have known for a long time they were awesome, but this past few months have shown what family is all about. Oh, and did I mention some shaved their heads and beards in support of my first chemo treatment?!? But I am not just speaking of my blood family here, I am speaking also of my “in-laws”. I actually hate that term. The day I married into Chris’s family and my brothers married I gained moms, dads, sisters, and brothers that mean just as much to me as my biological ones! I love you all!

Second is our church family. Wow! Seriously, all of you rock. Starting well before my surgery you have been in constant prayer. I have felt them. With most of our family being so far away, you have filled a gap that we so greatly needed. So many reach out to us to check on us. So many speak to Chris on Sundays to make sure we are all okay. In addition, starting very shortly after my surgery you took on feeding our family. For three solid weeks you provided meals for us every other day. It was always delicious and fed us for far more than one meal at a time. Each meal may have filled us physically, but it also filled our hearts with love. There have been very sweet gifts, gift cards, cash, and notes that I will cherish forever. When we stepped into the church building a little more than four years ago for a visit we had no idea the impact you all would have on our lives. Even before the cancer diagnosis you have taken care of us and been, truly, a family. We thank God daily for all of you!

Finally, friends. People from as far back as high school have reached out, called, texted, and sent cards. These truly do lift our spirits. All of this has made me realize just how vast our community of support is. There are times I am, for lack of a better word, overwhelmed, but not in a bad way. I have found so much joy throughout this journey and that is thanks to everyone in our lives being there for us.

Through all of you our boys are being taught what love and support means. They are seeing that even in the midst of a battle there can be joy. Though we may find ourselves in darkness that there are always people there to be the light we need. When we feel weak and scared there are others to hold us tight and calm our fears.

As we move into the Thanksgiving season, please know how truly grateful we are. Our hope is that we will one day be able to bless some of you in the way you have blessed us.

They Are Not Just Kids…

I have taught fourth grade Sunday School in the Kid’s Zone at FBC Hurst for two years now. The things I have learned from the kids is amazing. The more I try to teach, the more they teach me. It is incredible. I never thought I would learn all of their names, but it happened. I have specific kids for specific needs, like my resident dancer Kayne, as an example.

We get into a routine each week. We start with some pre-class play, usually building with cups, or other things, then we get into the music, lesson, memory verse, snack, and if we have time, we usually finish with one last game. It is easy to become complacent, and just operate according to the schedule, and then go home, until next week. Shame on me. I’ll tell you why.

In the routine, I tried to see the needs in the kids. I would wake up Sunday morning, go to the church early, in order to drop of my oldest for orchestra rehearsal, make coffee, and help setup. Afterwards, I would sit down, and study the lesson, a few minutes before class was to start. This was a major disservice to my kids, that were hungry to be taught. I justified this by saying “They are kids. They will be fine.” All it took was one little thing in order for God to get my attention, and show me how stupid I was being.

Recently, the radical change in me came from the time I passed out cards like normal. Had them write something down, if the needed, and pass them back to me. One kid stood up, and said you can read mine, even though it is folded. A careful “are you sure” came from me. He then told me, in front of all of his fellow 4th grade peers, I miss my dad. I haven’t seen him in a long time, because all he does is drink. I haven’t seen him in probably six months; I miss him.

What am I doing? My wicked justification of “They’re just kids” is awful. Here is a kid in desperate need, and week-by-week, I simply treated the class as an afterthought, whether I realized it or not. They are not just kids. They are the most IMPORTANT age group in church. They are the future. I understand that all ages are important, but children are very tender, and I hope that my indifference did not negatively impact a single kid. I have changed my heart, changed my mind, and now see these kids as the most important group.

I hoped to step it up a level by giving the kids an index card, so they could put pray request on it. For those that are still uncomfortable with this, they could fold them in half, and I promised them I would NOT read them, but offer them in prayer, knowing that God knows what these little children need; seeing what is going on in their lives. This was a step up from just the regular schedule, and allowed them to have a place to come, just in case.

As our new children’s training says:

Not only do kids matter, but kids matter more than adults.
What you do for kids matters more than what you do for adults.
What you do for kids matters more than you think it does.

Joiner, R. (2016). A New Kind of Leader. Cumming, GA: Orange Books.

I could not agree more now. I guess this is part of the growing, and maturing process.