Uniting Family

Happy Sabbath

I have had a good week and thank God for keeping me safe through my travels.  I was stressed at the beginning of the week and although I still have the same problems, it have been able to focus on the good and not allowed the issues to overwhelm me.

The ethnicity DNA tests have done a lot to draw my family together and get us excited about each other.  On Monday, my older sister received her results from Ancestrydna.com.  It was connected to my email so I saw the notice before 6:45am and asked to read it.  Then the following day, my little sister received her report from 23&Me.   My older sister is 93 % African as well, but her breakdown is much different from mine and she carries similar genes to my mother.  She also had 1% Polynesian, and 6 percent mix of Western Europe and Britain.  My little sister came in as 76% African and the rest is a mix of everything from the Iberian peninsula, Europe,  Native American, to east and southern Asia.   The thing we laugh about the most is the Asian gene(s) in our family.  I have central Asian ethnicity and am still puzzled as to how that could have even happened.  The biggest mystery now is Polynesia.  My little sister has a different mother so  the Asia east and Asia south are questions my sister will have to ask her family on that side.  I got so excited that I decided to order another ancestry DNA test to just figure out once and for all what my dad really is. This will also be his birthday gift for next week.

I am thankful that we are in a time where we have this technology and can get these kind of answers.  It’s crazy to me that both my older sister and I are an even 93%.  Other family members are now interested and trying to order this test.  I hope my little sister gets the 23&Me for dad as well.  

This test really can bring families together and help people to connect with family they never knew about.  If you are searching for family, were adopted, or just have questions about where you came from, I definitely recommend this type of testing (Ancestrydna, 23&Me, My Heritage dna). 

As for everything else, I was able to do good work on my job and stay organized.  I gave two of my clients away to a new colleague and am getting ready for the next fiscal year so that is exciting.  Sunday I was able to go to the YMCA and get a little work out in.  I took my son to a dermatology appointment and scheduled him for an orthopedic surgeon appointment in 2 weeks.  I am concerned about vitamin/nutritional deficiencies causing a bone deformity in his legs so this needs to be checked now. 

Today I went slightly late to church and when I was there I ran into a sister who had come back a recently as last week, but I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to her.  I was able to talk to her about services that could help her in our state of residency.  I work out of state and have been familiarizing myself with those services for a different population, but I do want to eventually do similar work in my state of residency.  We exchanged phone numbers and she moved to my parent’s home-town and the town I hope to purchase my first home in.  It was good to talk to her and be able to provide information that could really help her.  She is looking for a job and support to help her find one.  Her counselor may or may not be knowlegable about those type of services. I want to be able to do more and also find a part time job on my own. 

During an agency meeting the CEO announced that we would receive an increase in our salaries starting July 1^st.  I don’t know what this increase is going to look like and I am not expecting an extra 10k (which would make living a lot easier and certainly help me get out of debt faster).  But it sure would be nice to have some extra funds around.  The Lord knows I have been stressed about this debt cycle I’m in and looking for relief. 

I am blessed.  No, I was not saved from a burning car that crashed off the side of a mountain or swept to safety after a boat overturned during a tsunami in the Pacific.  God kept me this week and helped me to enjoy good news about my family, do great at work, and to help people in a different way than I am used to doing.  I want to be useful and I don’t want to waste God’s time.  I thank God for using me and for renewing my interest in following Him and doing what is right. I am still a far way from what I should be doing, but looking at how I felt and how I responded 4 years, 3 years ago, I am thankful for what He has brought me through and the encouragement He has given me.  I’ll end with a note about what I listened to today on 3abn.  A woman had a son who became very difficult and one day he told her he was going to kill himself but she didn’t believe him and responded to him sarcastically that she would bury him.  He killed himself and she became very angry with herself and with God.  She blamed God because her son made this decision, but God was merciful to her and in a time when she felt alone and like there was no hope for her, she asked for one thing (a parking space down by the world trade center at her job) and God provided the impossible.  I never drove in NYC but I can believe it is impossible to find a parking space in the afternoon during the week.  She was crying in her car and someone walked up to her car, knocked on her window and asked her if she wanted their parking space.  God cares for us and is there for us when tragedy strikes.  It may seem small to others what she said.  God can reach us on a very personal level.  Your day can be falling apart and you left your wallet at home and are stranded.  God can have someone approach you who  knows nothing of your situation offer you a ride home without you even sharing what the problem is.  You need $3. 28 cents to pay for some random thing and you walk across change left on the sidewalk for the exact $3.28 you need and what is crazy about it is that this was the first time you decided to even walk down that random street.  God does things like this and He is so awesome.  So thank Him for the smaller things, the ac working in your car, the quiet in your office, the perfect schedule that just aligned right without your input.  Thank Him for the rain, the sunshine, the people you have in your life as He can and does use them in different ways to make life that much better.

Thank Him today and enjoy your Sabbath.  J

Thankful

Happy Sabbath

Today is a beautiful day and I had a good week too. 

I am thankful that the tests went well for my mother.  They were looking into the reason for her back pain that she has had long term and discovered it was due to a bulging disk.  I spent time thinking it could be cancer and was hoping it was not.  They are able to give her shots to help with the pain and increase her mobility and I’m just thankful that we finally know what it is.  I am thankful that she has Medicare, which has allowed her now to get the tests done without going broke.  This is not a strike against the ACA because I know that if that were not in place, she would not be able to afford insurance.  ACA made it a little more affordable, but Medicare really lifted the burden and now she can get all the check ups she wants without having to worry about paying out of pocket costs for every random test a doctor wants to order.

I am thankful for my own insurance through my employer.  I have great insurance through them and was able to have a successful dental appointment on Monday.  I had to reschedule it to Monday because the previous week I was sick with the stomach virus and trying to stick it out would have been disastrous. 

I am thankful for a successful and productive week this week at work. 

I am thankful that all the heat I put on my hair did not severely damage it and I have the shrinkage that I have today.  I went back to a small two-strand twist style I have not worn since 2011,2012 and it looks great. 

I am thankful that I was able to jog around the track at least three times on Thursday.  I hurt my knee on the third day going to the YMCA working out and although it’s over a month later, my knee is still not 100% back to normal, but I am able to walk without pain and climb the stairs.  My mother has rheumatoid arthritis and I’m sure it’s in my future or trying to become active now.  I am thankful for an opportunity to exercise, and a clean facility where I can work out with my son and not have to worry about childcare or having a perfect body to fit in. 

I am also very thankful for a church brother who helped with my son today.  His wife teaches the Sabbath school program and I’m not sure why he offered to watch my son today, but it went well and I was able to sit in and hear the sermon in full without interruption.  The church brother is a family doctor and really is the best person to watch him because my son decided upon himself to eat a snack someone else had which warned of possible exposure to nut products.  My son is extremely allergic to nuts and if he had a reaction, I could just jump in the car and bring him 2 minutes away to the hospital I prefer for him.  That hospital has an excellent pediatric wing and they provided the best care for him compared to another hospital that is about 30 minutes away. 

I heard several testimonies at church today but one in particular stuck out.  A man was sick and his heart stopped 25 times and he was resuscitated 25 times.  The woman who spoke about it sang a song, the Lord’s Prayer and she sang it so beautifully.  It was only when I saw someone escorting her up to the podium to sing that I realized the person she was talking about in her testimony was her husband.  He was walking and praising God and thankful for life today.  I had never seen her husband before today as he had been sick for a long time and she would request prayers for him.    I also saw another person who had not been to church in months and it sounds like to she moved to my hometown with her family.  I am thankful that she is doing well, that her dad did not deport her husband and that they are working hard to live together in peace.

I am thankful for this week and this Sabbath.  God has held everything together and is allowing me to keep going. 

Adventurer Induction

Happy Sabbath 

Today is such a wonderful day to finish off what was to me a nonsense week.  Today my son was inducted in the Adventurer group at church.  Despite having his uniform not completely set up correctly, him coughing complaining that he needed to go to the hospital because he was coughing so much, and me messing up on the piano playing the theme song despite being so confident, the highlight was seeing him complete the ceremony and sit with a Pathfinder for the entire service.  I sat in the back of the church anxious of course waiting for something to go horribly wrong, but he stayed pretty much in one place, didn’t do what he did two days prior which I’ll talk about, and didn’t pee or vomit on himself.  Each family went up with their child and had their child write their name on the altar, take a candle, and pledge to be there to support their children on their journey with Jesus. 

For earlier this week, Sunday we had the farm trip which was splendid.  We walked a trail and saw beautiful plants and creatures and came upon a path that smelled like chewing gum (possibly licorice plants some where, not sure).  We saw a waterfall, butterflies, identified different types of plants/habitats, and were able to pet a cat-bird that a worker was trying to save.  My son was feeling still sick on Sunday but I expected the egg from the Rita’s water ice to wear off that day. He was sick from the custard on the water ice he had back on the previous Thursday.   It was a long drive but a wonderful outing and time to appreciate God’s creation. 

On Monday moving forward, the challenges started.  I started feeling sick at work and after throwing up, ended up leaving an 1.5 hours early.  When I retrieved my son and returned home, I was a mess.  My son followed my directions and really helped me through it because the last time I had a stomach virus, I was perhaps 5 or 6 years old and throwing up everywhere.  I took paid time off on Tuesday and Wednesday, I returned to work.  Thursday I embarrassed myself at work, not thinking clearly through the process.  Friday, I went to see my first appointment for them not to answer the door.  I went to my second to meet with someone else who was coming and the person we were going to meet was not at the building.  The first appointment called me and I decided to turn back and meet with them because there was no way to reach the second one (who knows where they were). 

On Thursday afternoon, I completed my work and spent time with my son.  He was tired but I held him and we talked about school and other fun things he did that day.  I treated him to ice cream and soon after the nightmare began.  He began acting like a baby and was breaking stuff and when I tried to have him go to bed, he had a horrible melt down that would make anyone in ear range think I was harming him and want to call the police.  I decided to take him over to my parents and he continued screaming and behaving badly.  He finally went to sleep there and I was going to stay but I couldn’t take hearing my dad talk about my parenting through the walls and I’m not able to sleep in a proper place.  I decided to go home without him and return in the morning.  On Friday morning, I came back to hear that soon after I left that night, a girl was fighting her boyfriend outside of the house.  I guess because there is a forest across the street and low lighting, people like to stop their cars to duke it out right there, I don’t know.  She was screaming for someone to help so my mother called the police and strangely enough when they came and they arrested her (perhaps she had drugs on her).  The boyfriend they said was just let out of jail, but he was permitted to drive the car to follow the cops, despite hitting her and doing who knows what else.    When I came back from the cancellation/switch up at work to get my son, he was acting up yet again and my older sister was there.  She shared some bad news about her job and I think there were some other announcements. 

Monday through Friday, nothing went right.  I didn’t even have an opportunity to go to the grocery store, deposit a mileage check, or pay bills I planned to pay early.  I can add a bunch of other things to the problem list, including fungus gnats that continue to attack my plants despite different insectides and DIY treatments I’ve been trying.  So much has happened, but I am so happy that I was able to walk out with my son as an Adventurer today at church. 

I remember sitting in my old church seeing baby dedications wanting to go up with my child (unborn at the time) and my husband and doing everything the right way.  That church didn’t have an adventurer group, but there were youth activities available and children went to a neighboring church for those types of things. 

When I had my son, I went to my current church in search of something that would feed him spiritually and the first day I went, there was a Pathfinder event taking place during the service.  I could have gone to a different church.  God has such perfect timing. 

I pray that we continue to go and I will be a good mother and child of God.  I pray that he learns more than just songs.  I want him to have a good relationship with Jesus.  I am the only person pushing for this out of the people who surround him each day and he has a small circle.   

Jesus is the only way we both can make it. 

Good Week Again

Happy Sabbath

My testimony is that I had a great week this week.  God allowed it to be so that my son and I could go to the beach. The last time we went to a beach together, he was 1 year old.   We went to a new beach, which was an extra hour away on Sunday and were able to enjoy the ocean, the breeze, and hear the waves crashing from the privacy of our tent, which I set up.  I had a time trying to find my tent and am thankful that the Lord allowed me to find it in time for the trip (not having to put out more money for another one).

I had a long and enjoyable six day weekend, which I rarely get to do.  On Friday, I was able to go to a consignment shop and sell some of my son’s clothing, go shopping in a mall I used to work in some 14 or 15 or so years ago, and took my son to the dermatologist who prescribed a cream that has helped my son’s eczema heal faster. 

I had a good and productive three-day work week this week.  I went to church today and was able to hear most of the sermon. 

Tomorrow, the church is going to a farm and I am looking forward to that trip. 

My son is still allergic to egg, tree nuts and everything else.  I purchased a gelati from Ritas and gave it to him and my mother to try, just to give him something different.  I heard them say the word custard, but I just didn’t think too hard about it.  Being strict vegetarian (not quite vegan because honey consumption and regular use of leather goods), I have been one over like 8 years to scrutinize every item that comes any where near my mouth.  I can count on one hand how many times I have purchased something not realizing something I shouldn’t consume was in that item because of my diet.  I’ve done the raw food diet for a month, the whole foods, the no artificial ingredients, no caffeine, and no sodium. I started cold turkey and when I commit, I go hard for it. 

When I get home with the ingredients lists I’ve read over, I will cook and stand reading the same lists over again to always be sure.  Back during my early teens, custard was a big thing in my household and my parents would make this from scratch as a treat.  Well, I forgot that custard uses egg yolks and my son ate a good bit of the “ice cream” on top of the cherry water ice.  Within the hour, he complained of a tummy ache and when he got home, he turned into a sprinkler system of vomit which was no fun cleaning up out of the carpet.  Friday he was okay, but today, he did vomit up water he drank at church.  He’s doing better now and is able to stomach good fluids and veggie fruit popsicles. 

I am thankful that he had the testing done to show what he is allergic to.  I am thankful that this did not end up in being an ER visit as his first hospital visit was for asphxiation and vomiting reaction to soy milk.  It could have been worse.  I am thankful for going through self alternative nutrition education over the years so I can know what to look out for and avoid it to help him stay healthy.  I had one slip up and I intend to be even more ingredient vigilant than I have been. 

He is resting and looking out the balcony door.  It is a beautiful quiet Sabbath afternoon and I am thankful for the challenges this week and the successes.