Friday, January 27, 2006

ASSUMPTIONS

I received an e-mail the other day and was so excited about the possibilities! Then later, I received another e-mail and realized I had made some assumptions about the first one that were not there. Boy! I hate that! Talk about disappointment! Oh, well.

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My former boss, Fred, had a 10 1/2 hour surgery yesterday for his brain tumor. Wow! Can you imagine. It turned out he had two tumors! The e-mail I received concerning this stated that the disappointment for them was that they had to sever the facial nerve. That does not sound like great news. It also stated that they would implement several things to help compensate for this, so I am not sure what the outcome of that will be.

I realize how blessed we are health wise. Our friends from Argentina were here and he has cancer and now Fred and his brain tumor and Tollie's dad and his brain tumor and my dad and his neck surgery and my mom's health is not great. Whew! It seems like every where we turn we are facing huge medical crisis. Please continue to pray for all these people who are important in our lives.

I want to be a strong influence for Christ at work and it is at times like this that I think I can be. Most of our co-workers are Catholic and for our openness about Christianity, they depend on us for prayer. When I told Fred I would be praying for him, he stated that he was glad since he knew I had an open door for that! I was stunned by his comment. I know they see as "religious" but I want more than that. So please pray for these people and for us to have influence on them for Christ.

I got to get well so I can get back to my routine. I did not feel like doing anything today. I have sat here at the computer, took a long nap, slept in this morning and virtually done nothing. I watched a little television and now I am so disappointed in the subject matter of Brokeback Mountain. I had heard it was a love story. Just didn't know for sure that it was until today! A love story between two men! Ugh!!!!! It is moving more and more toward acceptance of homosexuality and we are being forced to accept it.

I accept the people where they are, but when they continue to choose to practice this lifestyle, then I have a problem. You will have a hard time convincing me it is natural. God had a plan and I believe his plan was for one man and one woman. That is the "natural" way. Otherwise, there would be no procreation in this world. Some things cannot be explained away by what we want, not matter how we try.

God help us understand how to deal with this to bring about resolution and not anger. I fear the impact this is having in our own families and lives.

Here is a link I found interesting:
http://www.nextreformation.com/index.html

Thursday, January 26, 2006

CHA CHA! HA HA!

We had our third dance lesson on Monday night and wow. We learned the foxtrot first and have done okay with it. But Monday we learned the Cha Cha and I can honestly say we were the star students of that class!

Tollie really got into it and as our instructor says, the men have to lead. It may be the one last chance for men to lead and get their glory! I know that the more confidence he has in leading the dance, the easier it is for me to follow that lead.

When we danced the foxtrot we have several hindrances. One is the confidence I mentioned and secondly, our heights. Tollie is 6' 1" and I am about 5' 2". When our instructor told the ladies to look over your partners shoulder, I laughed and asked for a stool! I have to look at Tollie's shirt pocket the whole time! The other problem is the length of the legs. In other things we do, like walking, I take about three steps to his one! When he takes off dancing I either take several steps or stretch a lot and get caught up in his feet! Needless to say the foxtrot is tolerated but not our favorite dance so far.

But......the Cha Cha was so much fun. We only hold hands and I can circle and we can do dips together! It is great and not dependent on our height, but our endurance. Sadly, I lack somewhat there. My tougue was hanging out and I was breathless during that dance. But I love it. It is great exercise!

We have not had time to practice since the class but hope to do some practice of it before our next class. We have to get some good music for it, though.
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We had a great weekend. Alberto and Jane Pata were here for Buenos Aires and stayed with us. These two are some of the mostly Godly and humble people I have ever met. We have known the Pata's for about 20 years and our friendship just keeps growing. Please pray for Alberto. Alberto has cancer. It started out in the prostate and has metastisized and he now has cancer in his bones. It has some back pain and shoulder pain. Although he is doing really well, the prognosis is not great.

But we know that our Lord can heal him and we ask that you join us in this prayer for this wonderful couple who is working hard and long to bring the gospel to the lost in Buenos Aires.

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Today, I keep thinking of my previous boss and his wife. My heart goes out to Debbie. She is waiting to hear on Fred's surgery. Fred is in surgery as I type this for a brain tumor. The surgery could last up to eight hours. That is a long time to wait. I think I would rather be in surgery than waiting for my loved one to come out of surgery! There is belief that the tumor is benign and he should do well. Please pray for Fred and Debbie and all their family.

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I have done well with my health routine. Although this week I have been under the weather and yesterday just did not do it and then today was feeling bad. But tomorrow, I will get back on that "Horse" and go again. Between the routine and the dance lessons, I should be in better shape before long.