Hale and Hearty Words

February 28, 2013 · 6:00 am

Surviving the Sick Season

When the germs come a callin’, sometimes laughter is the best medicine. 🙂

I love the comic above. I cut it out of a newspaper about 17 years ago (yeah, no joke) and it’s been on my bulletin board above my desk in all the places I’ve lived since.

I don’t know what it’s been like at your house this winter, but I can say with certainty that this is the sickest season the Hale household has ever seen.

Since the first of the year, we haven’t gone a single week with out one of us having something– the stomach bug, head colds all around, the flu, mystery fevers, pneumonia…

I’m sick and tired of everyone being sick and tired. I’m ready for sunshine, spring, and wellness!

And now I’m beginning to worry that people think my house is a cesspool of disease, but I promise folks, we’ve gone through more than our share of disinfectant, detergent, and new toothbrushes! Oh, and we’re all on vitamins and have been since before this sick season started.

And yet the germs seem to find a way in…

Some of our “home remedies”:

When the boys get sick, they love to make a “special bed” on the couch and watch movies.
Chicken soup. Of course.
Chocolate. (That one is for me.)
Rest. Mandatory naps for everyone.
Hot tea with lemon and honey.
For a stomach bug, the BRAT diet– bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.

I want to hope and pray that we’re now on the mend (we’re into the second week of my husband having a pretty bad case of pneumonia that appeared to come out of nowhere), but I’ll give it another couple of weeks before I declare our house disease free.

Share with me: What are your favorite home remedies for the sick people in your family?

The Worst Testimony Ever

I have the worst testimony ever.

At least, that’s what I used to think.

There’s no moving brilliance about being pulled from the pits of despair. There’s no drug use or living on the streets, no emotionally heart-wrenching abuse or moment between life and death where I saw Jesus.

My testimony was boring and I never liked sharing it.

I came to an understanding that I wanted to follow Jesus Christ as my savior when I was six years old.

How would I describe it? Underwhelming, probably.

There was no big epiphany. There was no glowing light or warm fuzzies.

There was only Jesus. There was no other option for me– I would follow him for life because that’s what I knew to be right.

So I always hated sharing my testimony because it wasn’t emotional enough. It wasn’t dangerous enough. It wasn’t riveting and brilliant and “worthy” of being called a testimony.

But here’s the thing– even at six years old, I did make a choice between life and death. And lucky for me, I made it before I had to live through the harsh realities of this world and all of the pitfalls that can befall man. I chose life.

And ever since, God has been working on me, changing me and molding me into the person he would have me be.

Has life been perfect? Absolutely not.

And that’s where my testimony is.

My testimony is the moment on Easter Sunday when I was thirteen years old and I finally realized exactly what it meant for Jesus to sacrifice his life for me.

My testimony is the tumor on my brain that God healed through the guided hands of a surgeon when I was twenty.

My testimony is the infertility issues that plagued my marriage and the blessings and miracles that have resulted in my sons.

My testimony is the daily twists and turns of life, the choices I make, the will of God, and how I relate the two.

My testimony is the blood of Christ that was shed for me, just as much as it was shed for everyone else.

My testimony isn’t one moment– it’s a life full of Jesus.

It’s beautiful. It’s tragic. It’s emotional. It’s riveting.

It might not feature the drama that some others have, but my testimony is a deliverance from sin, the redeeming of the blood, the moment when I was created and God said, “I love you.”

It’s a testimony I’m proud to share.

Share with me: What moments in your life speak to your testimony?

12 Comments

Filed under The Christian Walk

Tagged as bible, choice, Jesus, salvation, testimony

February 22, 2013 · 6:00 am

Is Facebook Really Worth It?

I’m on Facebook, and I’m guessing you are, too. Who in the world isn’t?

In fact, I have a personal page and an author page, so I guess that makes me doubly on Facebook. (Let me plug my author page now– feel free to “like” me so we can connect on a more frequent basis!)

There are two schools of thought on Facebook: the “I hate Facebook” crowd who usually only post political rants, and the “I love Facebook and document my entire life on it” group. Oh wait– and a third group. The regular Joes like me. 🙂 (And the fourth group– those not on Facebook. I think there are seven of you in the world.)

Facebook pros:

1. I’ve reconnected with people all over the world whom I haven’t seen in ages or who live too far away for me to chat with regularly, and it allows me to keep up with them and their families.

2. I enjoy some of the funny stuff and blogs that people post.

3. I like being able to post photos of my family for extended family members and interested friends to see.

4. Occasionally I see a post on Facebook that allows me to save money or take advantage of a special offer.

5. I love being able to connect with my favorite authors via Facebook.

6. I like to be able to get out important news quickly to all of my friends.

7. As a follower of Christ, I can use Facebook to encourage others.

Facebook cons:

1. It is a time vacuum. I jump on just to check and end up wasting precious moments. Perhaps that’s why I’m always behind on folding laundry.

2. I don’t enjoy reading about people’s sinuses. Why do people always feel the need to post about their sinuses?

3. I don’t like reading spoilers to my favorite TV shows in other people’s statuses. It’s not their fault that I haven’t watched that episode yet, but I don’t want to know who dies before I get a chance to see for myself.

4. I don’t like statuses that contain “ugh.” Pessimistic people begin or end each status with “ugh”. These people clearly do not eat enough chocolate.

5. I don’t love that people feel the need to post photos of everything they eat and every move they make. That’s what blogs are for. 😉

6. Facebook is great at pointing out insecure people who are fishing for compliments or those who are incredibly selfish. I actually saw a post in my feed that was complaining about going to someone’s funeral as, “the last thing I want to do today.” Yeah, I bet that person’s family doesn’t want to be attending a funeral for their loved one, either. Thoughtless much?

Is Facebook worth the time we spend on it? Are we actually developing lasting relationships with those we claim as “friends”?

I think that in many cases the answer is yes. Facebook has allowed me to connect with people in my life in a way that wasn’t possible years ago. I consider it a blessing when I can be involved on a regular basis with people I love and care about.

But what about the other “friends”?

I have a rule of thumb when allowing friends on my personal Facebook page and it is this– if I saw you, say, in the grocery store and wouldn’t recognize you or have a conversation with you, we probably shouldn’t be Facebook friends.

If you post in your status that you might cut me as your friend as you “clean house”, well, just know that’s okay with me. I’d love to connect with you, but it’s your choice.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking about your life in terms of, “this is going to make a great status update!”?

I have. When my kids say something cute or something insanely funny happens, one of my first thoughts is, “I gotta post that!” How odd and silly! How much our lives have changed in the past decade! Proof that we might be too involved in social media.

Here’s my general take on Facebook–

Even if I only spend a few minutes on it, they shouldn’t be minutes that I could use on something more important, like time with my family. If I can’t post something either newsworthy, uplifting, funny, or encouraging, I try to refrain from posting at all. I don’t comment on statuses that upset me. What’s the point? And if this form of communicative technology allows me to be involved, even in a small way, with friends and family spread out all over the globe, then I consider it a blessing.

Share with me: What are your thoughts about Facebook? Waste of time or fun way to connect?