Are you humbly grateful....or grumpily hateful????

Things have been kind of rough around here lately. Nathaniel spent most of last week in bed with a horrific stomach virus. The doctor said it usually lasts around five days!!! VERY early Friday morning I heard footsteps coming toward my room. Benjamin said "Mom, my stomach hurts....bleh..." I shot up and told him to go to the bathroom immediately. (keep in mind that there is another bathroom, right outside his bedroom door. Yet he chooses to walk all the way across the house, just to share with his dear old mom)So of course I get up.

Nathaniel is basically over the stomach bug by this point, but his throat is killing him. He had a strep test done but we may have to go back for a mono test or something. We did not get school done but one day last week. I dreamed one night that we ended not having a break between finishing this year and starting next year. I love homeschool, but that dream was not cool.

So I get up Sunday morning. This weekend was one where Mark had to work. So I have to, uh...I mean get to teach the youth for Sunday School. And do the chidren's message. And have my children's church lesson. At 9:20 I realized that I had not prepared a children's message. I like to be at church by 9:30. Not good. Fortunately, I had been reading in my Tapestry of Grace curriculum. I was able to pull together a lesson on how the Bible talks about plate tectonics long before scientists ever thought about it.

So, I go to church, having to leave two sick kids in the bed. (not something I would do if we lived anywhere other than in the churchyard) I already knew that our sound system person was going to be out due to pneumonia and that a Sunday School teacher would be out. The Sunday School teacher called and told me that she has vertebrae that are hollowed out to the point that her doctor told her they are basically like papier-mache. She has to quit her job cleaning houses, because bending could literally break her back. Through this she said, "Praise God it is not cancer!!"

When I got to church, I found out there are so many people in our church and our community that are going through very rough times. Family feuds, health issues, job losses, deaths. There was so much going on. It made me stop and realize how blessed I am. Yes, my kids are sick. They are not incurable. They are not dying. They feel bad and as a result are whiney. I am having to do a whole lot of extra cleaning to get rid of germs. I am also having to prepare more than one meal at a time most of the time. Thankfully, there has not been a lay-off or job loss, so we have the money for groceries. God blessed us Sunday by giving us a house so close to the church so that I was able to fulfill my obligations(He even blessed my unpreparedness)

This is a week where I have two choices. I can choose to grumble and complain about having to do a little more to keep everybody happy. Or, I can choose to be happy that my children are not seriously ill. I can be the one to say, "Praise God its not __________ " (________ can be filled with many things; cancer, leukemia, AIDS, abuse of any type, sudden death.... the list could go on.)I am going to choose the latter. My theme for this week (especially when things are going badly and I am likely to get whiney) is Psalm 188:24-This is the day that the Lord has made;let us rejoice and be glad in it.