Sometimes I Write

I spent a good part of this week too blue to blog. But now I’m back and starting to be refilled with the spirit and the energy that comes with him. Here’s a recap of last weekend and a few other things that have been happening in my life.

The retreat went very well. Thank you all for praying for me and the women that were in attendance. I think I did a good job for my first big speaking gig. Ofcourse the perfectionist in me knows every little mistake I made and all of the things I forgot to say that I wanted to. Still, the women were touched and I know I made an impact on atleast a few of them. Meeting Michelle G. was nice as well. She’s been a regular visitor of this blog for a month or so and it was good to meet her face to face. (Now you know how NOT normal I am, Michelle!)

The weekend was filled with stressful situations and I wasn’t sure if it was just coincidence or an all-out attack by Satan and his cronies. Friday night my laptop crashed for no apparent reason, not allowing me to print off my notes (which I should have done at home before I left, but assumed I could just do it at the hotel business center). That also meant no power point if we didn’t get it working again…which we did about the time the dinner started. I was to speak following the dinner. Because of the electronic dilemma, I didn’t get my notes printed off and had to speak from my handwritten/scribbled first draft. Yikes! I had rewritten quite a bit of it as I typed it out, so I didn’t remember all of the changes off the top of my head while standing in front of a listening audience. 😦 Later, the laptop worked just fine, so the glitch was unexplainable. And the laptop was used to RUN the power point so I couldn’t just talk using it instead of my notes, though that would have looked strange too I suppose. I winged it and all went well anyway. I feel I lost some of the impact, but they didn’t know that.

Next, a lady insulted me 15 minutes before my first talk on Saturday morning. She was a lovely black woman, and in small talk about colleges and professors and preachers, she began naming off all these people she thought I might know. When I told her I was sorry, but I didn’t know any of them, she said, “Well, I’m naming all the white ones cause I’m assuming those are the only ones you’d know”. I just stood there in disbelief not sure how or if I should respond to that. And THEN she proceeded to tell me why Church of Christ people are the only “true Christians” and the only ones going to heaven. That’s a sore spot with me that I may discuss at a later date. I finally smiled and told her that I totally disagree with her, but we could disagree, be sisters and love each other anyway. I don’t think she listened to another word I said the whole retreat. She upset me so much that I had to leave the room to compose myself before getting up to speak. UUUUGGGGHHHH! Could that have been anything other than Satan using a sister to attack me and throw me off my game?

Despite the annoying crap that happened, there were more positives than negatives, and they were GREAT! My friend Angi flew in from Indiana to surprise me, and boy was I ever surprised. I can’t believe she was actually able to keep it a secret from me! My college friend Keri drove from Springfield, MO to hear me speak, and my friend Cheryl from Wichita brought 3 friends with her for the retreat as well. I also got to meet Michelle, which I mentioned above. My talks went pretty well. I know I touched a few hearts and made some women think about how they view themselves and others versus how God views us all. I talked and laughed with a bunch of women and that alone is energizing for me. I stayed in a 4 star hotel, ate good food all weekend, went to see “The Devil Wears Prada” with my girlfriends, and got paid to do something I love. Overall it was a great experience! And a learning one as well. I’m going to keep working on and improving the message God has given me to share and pray for more opportunities to share it.

I got home Sunday night and CRASHED! I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. and slept until the same time the next morning. THANK YOU BENNY for wrangling the kids so I could do this. Monday I spent a good part of the day in bed resting, then hung out with my family. And then Tuesday came and I was part of a miracle. Tuesday morning (4 a.m.) my friend Heather called to tell me she was going to the hospital. I met her there and MANY hours later, at 2:02 p.m., I assisted in the delivery of her baby boy. It was amazing! I watched him enter the world and take his first breath! I’ll leave out the details and keep this a PG13 blog, but friends, I’ll never be the same after being a part of something so amazing! I have a new kind of bond with my friend and her husband, he was amazing too. Joe was so loving and attentive to Heather – not a guy who would rather be in the waiting room until it was over. Birth really is an incredible miracle!

Tuesday night I had my Captivating study with my ladies group. We didn’t do our lesson, but caught up on each others lives instead. 😉 Have I mentioned how much I love these women??? I have got to get a picture of all of us and post it! I shared about my experiences in OK and especially about the lady who assumed I was a racist, and how offended I was for being judged by my skin color. My beautiful friend Abi just looked at me and said she was mad for me, but that was a regular part of her life. As a matter of fact, she recently blogged about it and how it effects her and her family. I hate it that it’s a normal thing to quickly pass judgment about someone with just a glance in their direction. For instance, Benny is a bit scary looking to someone who doesn’t know him and his heart. Abi and I agreed that what angers us the most is that anyone would assume they know a damn thing about us and who we are just by looking at us. Race is still an issue and we can’t pretend it isn’t. I HATE IT, but it’s true. I may not be able to change the world, but I sure can do my best to change ME and those I love…like teaching my children by example and with words. More thoughts on this later. I’m trying to post a picture of my friend Abi and her family, but Blogger is being testy with me tonight. Maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow. Anyway…

The generation before us remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot. I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded, when the Berlin wall came down, when the Columbine shootings happened, and I remember exactly where I was while the horrific events of 9/11/01 were taking place. My 7th grade science teacher, though not the chosen one, had been one of the finalists to be the first teacher to go in space. I remember the gut wrenching scene as we all watched the live launch and then the sickening sight of the explosion. T.V. was also how I watched the Berlin wall be torn down. I have a real chunk of it sitting on my book shelf – a reminder to me of radical times. I was a Coloradan during the Columbine ordeal and cried as I watched everything unfolding on the news, rubbing my pregnant belly and thinking, “what in the world am I bringing this child into?” On 9/11, I was at BSF. We watched on the big screen as the towers fell, and we hugged and cried. I felt the deep need to get home to my husband and baby boy yet I was glued to my spot, totally entranced in what I was seeing and listening to the news reporters. I kept praying, “Lord, have mercy, save those people!”

Today I spent the morning recovering from my weekend in OK and once again sat glued to the T.V. taking in all the media had to offer on this anniversary of that awful day five years ago. As you know, I have a love/hate relationship with the media. (Mostly hate I’m afraid) I did love hearing about the heroism portrayed through the ordeal. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their fellow man. My friend Bill wrote an article for a newspaper – you should read it. He volunteered at Ground Zero and will never be the same because of it. http://www.christianchronicle.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=456

President Bush is addressing the nation in a little while and I plan to hear what he has to say. I hope you do too. Whether you voted for him or not, he’s the leader of our country and he needs our prayers. Say a prayer for all who were effected by the tragic events of 9/11, and thank God for the men and women who are fighting for us right now – trying to ensure our safety and our freedom. Bless them all! Don’t forget where you were…But more importantly…don’t forget.

Thanks for your continued prayers for my friends!

It has been a while since I let you all know how Brandon and Tana are doing. First, for Tana. She saw the Orthopedist yesterday and received encouraging news. He was excited about how she was healing and is now allowing her to increase her activities. The brace on her left arm can come off in about two weeks. Her right shoulder and ribs are still tender; but, he was please with how well she is healing and allow her to do some light duty tasks and even drive her car. His prognosis is that when he sees her again on October 3rd, he will probably release her completely. This is good news and she was very happy.

Brandon still remains much the same. Technically, he is still in a coma. He is moving around more with his legs and does keep his eyes open for periods of time. While his eyes are open, he doesn’t seem to recognize us and is unable to respond to commands in a repeated manner. I have to say, though, that periodically and very briefly, he does seem to focus and will seem to respond to requests. The real challenge is for this to be repeated. Right now it could only be called random. We are being told that this is normal, to be paitent and that healing of the brain takes time (a lot of time). His Neuro Surgeon is ordering an MRI this week to evaluate how his brain is healing. We hope this will show some progress. In the meantime, we continue to work on the pieces which will allow for him being moved from Greenville, SC to Charlotte. We have completed the paperwork for Social Security, Medicaid and an Attorney to gain general gaurdianship. Now we wait for the beauracracy to work through the details. Once this occurs, the challenge will be to find a place in Charlotte which will agree to accept him and a physician to manage his care. Please pray for this to happen.

Your prayers for both Brandon and Tana have and continue to be answered. Continue to pray for God’s continued presence in their live and for healing to occur. Kathie and I are thankful for all who have and continue to pray for our childern. It is a blessing to be part of a body of believers who believe so strongly in Prayer.

Dean Turner

O.K. So I snuck into the blogosphere…sue me! I knew my friend Chris was going to be posting about his experience with us here in Denver and how Dry Bones is changing his view on loving like Jesus loved. How could I possibly stay away??? Check out his post and leave him a comment. No lurking – he needs your love too! 😉

We had a great time while he was here and he was such an encouragement to our family. The kids loved playing with him and he even got to witness the Nowell helicopter trick. Our kids are tough and great for keeping up our laughter quota. I didn’t get to make his favorite foods for him while he was here, but he’ll be back…I’m sure of it. What sane Texas boy can resist a woman’s promise to make him good Chicken Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes???

Well, back to the retreat prep and getting ready for the baby. My friend Heather is due soon and I’m going to be her doula (look it up)/birth coach. She’s not due until the 17th, but signs point to her going into full labor any day now. We’ll see. She said she’ll try to avoid Friday – Sunday so I won’t miss it. haha My cell phone is fully charged and I’m ready to hop in the car as soon as she calls me to say it’s time. So be expecting a post on the miracle of birth sometime in the next few weeks. Guys, you can skip that one or just suck it up and bask in the glory of it all with me. Either way…I’ll be back next Monday with an update on the retreat and my trip to O.K. I know, I know, you’re on the edge of your seat salivating with anticipation…