hard to believe.

It's hard to believe that its barely going on 9 in the morning and I've already got three hours of work behind me.
This week has been a learning experience, to say the least. For those of you just checking in, Lezlie and Chris were in a head on collision 6 days ago. Liz was in a car accident in Jamacia three days ago.  I promise, I'm  not planning on getting into any accidents today. No thank you.

Lezlie and Chris are both home and resting. Family and friends have been in and out of  the house bringing food, conversation, and laughter. Laughter may not be the best medicine, since Chris has a bruise over his heart the size of Texas. Lezlie can laugh, just shy of killing her broken rib(s).  They both complain that they never get enough time together. No problems there, they'll be sharing the living room  lazy boy chairs for the next two weeks together. Watching them  has the potential to make one sick. The mush is so thick, mom  has to mop it off the floor twice a day.  Imagine two cripples, standing on crutches, bending only at the joints that are still working, trying to kiss, trying to hug. Kissy Kissy Smoochie Smoochie. Yes,  I had to leave the room..

Liz survived her accident just fine. She and the Jamacia team  are on their way home tonight. Grandparents are also on the way into town.  Kim  & Krista, two of the greatest girlfriends I could ever ask for, just made their way back to Florida yesterday. We had a great time this last week, despite the hospital visits, random  trips to walmart and the house. We hiked Amicalola on Friday and I can still feel every single one of those 425 steps, (the equivalent of 21 flights of stairs).  Saturday we truly hit the town (after a random  trip to the hospital and walmart). World of Coke was the coolest place ever. You never realized how brilliant Coca-Cola's marketing team  is, until you realize that 1.6 billion cokes are consumed everyday.  We hit up Atlantic Station for some good girl time shoe shopping. Flip Burger Boutique definitely ruled as the best burger (& atmosphere) in town. Sunday we met up with Charlie Dawes, an amazing leader and mentor friend from  Southeastern.  He spoke truth to our leadership team  and I truly appreciate him  taking time out of his schedule.  Sunday night (after more girlie shopping) we hit up the famous Stone Mountain Laser Show. If you haven't seen this one, it's not the best its ever been, but it's still a load of fun for $10.00.  The fireworks definitely make the show spectacular. It's like the fourth of July :) *wink*

This past week could have been a disaster. It could have been insanity, and though it was busy, it turned out to be a beautiful week.  The Lord was present in every moment. He sent me my girls to hold me up when I wanted to cry. He knew everything that was going to happen this last week and through it all, He's been holding us all in the palm  of His hands.

Continue to pray for healing for Lezlie and Chris, safety for the Jamacia team,, strength for Pastor Gabe & Tami, and increase for the church.  Oh, and I'm  sure mom  could use some prayers for rest and strength.

You are beautiful.

Update 6-26-10

It's going on midnight and the last several days have definitely begun to take their toll. On top of this week's adventures, Liz was in a car accident in Jamacia tonight. From what we understand, everyone is fine. She's just a bit shaken up and mom is also a bit concerned that more accidents are on the way.

Lezlie is home resting tonight. The doctors are still very concerned about her spleen rupturing, so she's on strick no moving around. The next 7 to 14 days are critical to her healing. No travelling. No jumping up and down. Parasailing probably isn't an option for awhile. Her knees are getting more flexible and relaxed as the swelling goes down. She's walking (with crutches) a little easier today.

Chris is still in a lot of pain. He came through the surgery Thursday GREAT. The doctor thought it was going to be a lot more intense of a surgery, but when the twisted the tibia back into place, things started coming together easily. He should be on two crutches for 3 weeks, and then one crutch for 3 more weeks, so hopefully 6 weeks and he's back on his feet. His chest is hurting him a lot today.

There's a quick update.
Again today we are grateful that God has protected them through all of this.
Thank you to those who have dropped food off, helped us move Lazy-Boy's and brought us dinner, tooth brushes, and soap. You guys are wonderful.

Grace & Peace.

Update 9am

Chris and Lezlie are...well...hurting this morning. It's been a long night in a hospital bed.

Chris' surgery is schedule for noon. Please be praying as doctors go into repair his leg and insert a rod and pins and a pain pack. He'll be sleeping the next couple of days, but letters of love and encouragement are well appreciated!

Lezlie's awake this morning and she's hurting. She's stiff and having difficulty moving. Please be praying for her pain management as well. Because of the fracture on her knee, she will be doing some physical therapy (yet to be decided how much), but she won't be on her feet for a while (which poor baby, are really bruised too!)

We're grateful that they are alive.
We know God's Grace.
We've seen it in action this week.
All Glory and Honor goes to Him.

Thank you for your prayers.

saved her life.

Today is a day of Grace. 

Around 5pm this afternoon, Lezlie and Chris were on their way home from Chris' Grandfather's funeral in Kentucky. Twenty minutes away from the house, a gentleman swerved into their lane and crashed head on into Lezlie's little honda. He said that the GPS had fallen off the windshield and he reached down to pick it up. When he looked at the road again, the car in front of him had slammed it's brakes. He swerved to avoid hitting them. He was doing 65 miles an hour when he impacted Chris (on the driver side). Chris was doing close to 55 miles an hour. The airbags deployed and the ambulances rushed them both to the hospital quickly. The car, of which I will post pictures later, is completely destroyed. I'd be surprised if any joint or hinge in the car is still in tact. 

I got to the hospital a little after 6pm. Of course, when something serious happens, the town of Dahlonega decides to choose that particular day to repave roads. Sitting in traffic, not knowing the situation at the hospital nor any details of the wreck, you'd think I would have FREAKED out of my skin. Somehow I sat there completely calm, just waiting, knowing today was not the day to cause another accident. My poor mother couldn't handle a two-for-one. See, even in this little detour of my own blog, you're probably wanting me to move onto how Lezlie and Chris are doing.  I knew that it was bad. Mom was close to hysterical and not rationalizing on the phone...but yet I was calm. I only have one answer. Jesus was with me.

I arrived at the hospital and learned the details of the accident, in which I then demanded to see my sister. She's my sister, the only one (of two) that I have and I'm sorry to all the others waiting to see her, She's mine. When I got back to her, she was in severe pain. I've never seen her make that face before. She held up like a trooper, but as the nurse and I undressed her and settled her into the newest fashion trend (blue diamonds, open sling back, ties at top), I knew everything in her was screaming. 

CT Scan and X-Rays revealed that she had two broken ribs, she has a laceration on her spleen and her kidney, and to top the cake, she's fractured her knee. The bruising on her leg is sad. They've wrapped her knee, pricked her with a thousand needles (of which I almost told the nurses off about), taken more pints of blood then she has in her body, and stuck her with a morphine drip for the night. The doctors want to monitor to make sure the spleen doesn't rupture through the night and tomorrow. Why she isn't in worse shape, I have no idea, other than to say: Jesus was with her.

Chris' injuries, although more severe, will take just as much time to heal. He shattered his tibula and his fibula. The Tibula is twisted funky as well. Tomorrow morning the orthopedic surgeon will be piecing him back together. They plan on inserting a steel rod and some pins to help out the bone back together. From what I understand, it's a permanent setup, plate and all. Airport security is going to be fun :) He should be back on his feet, although not running, here in a couple weeks. He's in a cast tonight, morphine drip, the whole shabang. Why he isn't in worse shape, I have no idea, other than: Jesus was with him.

The general surgeon (the organ guy, I like to call him) came in and looked at Lezlie's injuries around her waste and his comment to them both was, minus the seat belts and airbags,  they would have both been killed instantly because of the trauma to the organs. The doctor said: The seatbelt saved your life. 

So as parents sleep in hospital fake pull out couches that really yield no sleep at all, I'm sitting at home preparing for the day tomorrow and continuing to help manage one crisis in the series of many family moments these last few days...and all I can think is wow. The doctors statement was false. Today I see it again that God is the giver of life. Yes, the seatbelt was instrumental in minimilizing the injuries, but Jesus saved their lives. 

I could be planning two funerals tonight and grieving over my sister and my brother, instead, I'm rejoicing that God has given us another day to live life together. It's the reminder: Life is but a vapor....it's here and then its.....

Life today - right now - this moment - is a precious and fragile gift from God. You can waste it being stupid, allowing bitterness, anger, envy, and unforgiveness to swell up in your heart. You don't even have to waste it doing stupid selfish things, like drinking yourself into the grave....Self-righteousness and pride can take it just the same.  Live today. Anger Free. Worry Free. Forgiven and forgiving others. Love today. Love beyond yourself. 

Jesus saved Lezlie and Chris' lives today, but He saved mine too. He saved yours. What are you going to do with it? 

 

from the heart.

Today I decided its time once again to update the world on the craziness of my life. I thought I'd talk about the amazing leadership concepts I am  studying, or the way God' moving in Dahlonega, the connection to new people, or even the life at the coffee shop.

Instead, I feel another conversation pressing its way to the surface, the thing you want to supress and keep to yourself, but you know it will find its way out anyways...so this comes straight from the heart...

Deep in the pit of my very being is an intense desire. It burns as the internal eternal flame... At it's core is the desire to know God in all intimacy and live life at a higher level. It is because of this flame that I move forward, unaware of the pressures and waves of life that tend to overwhelm  most.

But lately, I've been overwhelmed. I've talked before about how the only thing I want to be overwhelmed with is His love, and as life takes its toll, wrapping myself again inside the Father's love changes everything. Lately though, I've been overwhelmed with decisions...decisions...decisions...life changing-defining-shifting-moving-reprioritizing decisions.

Talking with your parents is great when it comes to making decisions. They have mounds of wisdom and years of experience and they may actually be able to shed light on why you do what you do. They have known you (how you behave, think, act, what motivates you, ect) your whole life.

In talking with my mother the other night, she gave me one of life's great lessons when it comes to decision making. She told me that sometimes God doesn't speak loudly, but He sends the Spirit of Peace to mark out the path...check this out:

Phillipians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I don't know what decisions you are making today, but hand them  over again and again and again to the Lord and let His peace guard your heart and mind as you walk it out. Know that the Lord can lead you to the right decision in His perfect timing, and give you peace as you walk through it...

"In all things, I will magnify the Lord...for He's been good to me."

Grace & Peace.