God's grace and faithful friends...

Well, we've been in Tampa (acutally, Brandon) since Wednesday.  Claude's brother, Tony, is still on the ventilator.  They say if they take him off right now, he would not breathe on his own for more than a minute and would not make it, so they are leaving him there right now.  They have to do an EEG of his brain to check for brain damage, but they have to take him off of the meds in order to get a "real" brain scan (which makes sense, since the meds are dulling his brain right now).  They can't take him off the meds quickly.  They need him to slowly come out of the medically induced coma so that everything he's hook up to won't freak him out.  It's a long process and still a critical battle, but at least he is stable and everything so far has been for the good (as far as change).  

My grandmother is still in the hospital at UCH.  She is loopy right now from the meds they had her on.  The general practice MD said they found a hiatal hernia, ulcers in her stomach, and some mild lesions.  They believe this is what caused her to throw up blood, but the gastroenterologist was not making rounds while we were there so we didn't get anything definite from him.  They will keep her a couple more days to monitor her.  

Our friends in Tampa, Brandon, Valrico, Greenville, Winterville...THEY ARE THE BEST!  We have had so much going on that we haven't thought too much about anything else, but thank God, our friends have thought about everything else for us!  

Bethany - taking care of our home and "kids"!  U have no idea how much that means to me to know I don't need to worry about the animals!  Thank you and I love ya!

Jason & Lora - holding down EVERYTHING while we are gone.  You are the greatest friends we could ask for.  We love ya'll and miss ya'll so much!

Aron & Cessie - taking care of childrens church for us!  WHEW!  That's a HUGE blessing!  We were just going to have the kids go to big church!  Thank you both for doing that for us!  We love ya'll!

Emily Whitaker - allowing us to borrow her car while we are here so that my parents don't have to "taxi" us back and forth to the hospital!  We love you girl!  You are MY girl!!!!

Tamara Fish - for calling and offering to do anything we need.  This is a true friend!  We haven't seen each other in years, yet she is willing to do anything for us!  FOOD is always a great way to maintain friendships!!!!!

The Nassars - for the visit to the hospital to let us know that you love us and are praying for us!

We miss ya'll and we certainly miss hanging out and going out to eat with you~

Jim Bird - for passing the word around and asking our old church for prayers!  That was awesome man!  We love you!

Pastor Chuck - for coming to the hospital twice to check on us and see how Tony was doing!  Thank you for caring about your flock even when we aren't part of your flock anymore!  You truly love people and you certainly showed it in spades!!!!  We love you!

My parents - for allowing us to come and go as needed.  for allowing us to crash at the house and eat the food!  for taking care of our needs financially!  We love you so much and there are no words to say how thankful we are!

The CROSSLINK youth group - for stepping up and taking over the "Kearley move"!  We miss you all so much and love you guys!  We are so proud of you and the way you serve others!  

1 Timothy 4:12

There are others that I know I haven't mentioned.  Too many to remember them all, but we are so thankful!  God bless each of you for the blessing you've been to Claude and me.

We love you, Discovery Church!  We'll be praying for you this weekend.

A little steam

OK, my blog is MY BLOG...so I am going to blow off a little steam!  Bear with me and hopefully, you'll be sympathetic to what I am saying!  

One of the hardest things to deal with being a pastor's wife is the "talk".  You know what I mean!  Let's all admit it!  We've ALL talked about what our pastors are doing "wrong" and what needs to happen to "fix" the problems and issues going on in our churches.  I admit that I've done it.  I look back now and after walking just a short while in the "pastor's wife's shoes", I am SO SORRY that I ever did it.  

It's so difficult for me, the fighter, to sit back and keep quiet when people talk about Claude or people have issues with choices/decisions Claude makes.  I can't even imagine what my sweet friend, Lora, must go thru.  She's much more sensitive to others feelings than I am.  Most of the time, when it's an issue with something in the church in general, my thoughts are, if you don't have any positive input on how to correct the situation, keep your thoughts to yourself and pray about it!!!!

However, when the words are specifically directed towards Claude and what he "should've done", then I really get riled up!  I love him and I know his heart.  He tries with his whole heart to follow Christ.  Yes, he fails sometimes.  He IS human.  However, I know that when he does make a mistake, he takes ownership of it.  He's not afraid to say that he screwed up or it could've been done differently.  

So, people remember that God has called those in authority to be in authority.  You may not always like what is done.  You may not always agree.  You may even have a better way (if so, share it!).  But, if you're not praying for the leaders in your church and there are "issues" in your church,  you might be contributing to the problems!

Feeling blessed

I have to say thank you to some people in my life that, I hate to admit this, but I haven't told them enough how much I love and appreciate them.  

So, I am going to do some of that now.  There are dozens of folks that need a thank you, so if I don't mention you, please know that I am thankful for my friends!

My Mom, I don't think that there are enough words or even the proper words to explain what my mother is.  I know that she would deny it, but in my eyes, she is the epitome of a Godly woman.  If I could idolize someone, it would be her.  She loves her God, her husband, and her family with a fierceness and passion I admire!  I love her so much!

Lora, she's my encourager!  I know she gets tired of being the strong one sometimes, but she keeps on going!  She's my prayer warrior!  I love her!

Laci, the word for her is sweet!  OK, sometimes annoyingly sweet!!!!  I wished I could have such a sweet nature.  She always has a smile and a kind word.  AND, if she doesn't have a kind word, she bites her tongue!  Wish I could do that!!!

Lindsay, strong, resilient, kind!  I have been blessed to see her grow over the last couple of years and she is a beautiful Christian lady!  Hallelujah for the trials that come to purify us!  YOU GO GIRL!

Kim, thoughtful Kim!  She's kind and she's always thinking of others.  I admire and respect her so much for the way she cares about others.  She has a true heart for people!  

Lisa, FEISTY!  She just is!  I love that Lisa tells it like it is and she's not afraid to be bold.  She's learned how to be tactful and still be truthful!  What a beautiful woman she is!  

Jennie, this woman is so gentle.  Her words are kind and wise.  She's truly a beautiful woman, inside and out.  I admire and respect her!

My dearest friend, Cindy.  Man, do I miss her!  I love her so much.  She's my "Barnabas"!  I can be completely myself with her, not hold anything back, and she's ok with it.  She lets me cry, laugh, joke, be annoyed, be a jerk, (calls me on being a jerk!) be a girl!  I don't think I'd be where I am today if it weren't for my friend, Cindy.  I love her so much.

Hurdles to jump

I am lying here in bed amazed that God could possibly love someone with so many flaws and so much "baggage".  I was listening to a dear friend last night as she talked about how she always feels like she's never good enough at the things she does.  I kept thinking to myself, "WOW!  I'm not the only one who thinks that way about myself".  

As every year goes by, I am thankful for the time on this earth, but I question what I've done and what I've brought to those around me.  I, like my sweet friend, sometimes think that I am so inadequate.  I have always felt so "average".  No aspect of my life truly stands out as extraordinary.  I remember comparing myself to my younger brother and thinking that his life was so perfect and easy.  He's brilliant (seriously, he IS brilliant!  Top 10% of MENSA!)  He is a natural leader.  He's well liked by most who know him.  He has a beautiful, sweet, kind wife and 5 gorgeous kids!  Overall, to look at him you'd think he has everything any man would ever want.  Well, I learned something last year about my little brother.  He has always felt jealous of me and felt like I was the favorite of my dad.  He opened my eyes to something I had never even seen.  His "perfect" exterior covered up his inadequacies.  He has obstacles in his life that challenge him.  He struggles daily with things that I don't.  

So, I guess what I'm writing about is that we each have our own flaws and obstacles.  Some are physical, some are mental, some might even be emotional.  Whatever those obstacles are, as God's children, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made"!  He has loved us with a Love we will never truly understand while we're on this side of eternity.  You know why?  Because God IS love.  So, I will remind myself (and you should too) that if I am worthy enough for the King of kings to love me and care for me...how can I not love myself...flaws and all!  I will continue to work at becoming more like Christ.  But, when I fall down, I will cry a little while, then I will ask my Father to help me get back up and try again.  I will keep on going!  And hallelujah!  When I get to Heaven, I will be PREFECT - Just like Christ!!!!

Isaiah 40:31

They who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.  They will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary and they will walk and not faint.