The Simple Life at Home

Today I'm thankful for the sacrifice that Christ made for me on the cross.

24 years ago on Easter Sunday, I finally understood what that sacrifice meant. Even though I had been attending church for several years, I had not truly understood what that meant. Church was more of a social event for me. My life outside of church went pretty much the same as it always did, with the life (and death) of Christ having no real impact on me.

Then, on a bright and sunny Easter morning in the mountains of Arizona, I got it. I realized that His sacrifice had been so tremendous and that He deserved my very best. He deserved all of me, not just that part that I had set aside for Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. I begged forgiveness and committed to live my life for Him.

The change was instantaneous, and yet has taken all these years. It's still not complete. I still find myself coming to the cross daily to lay down and be changed. I fail miserably every day and yet He never gives up on me. This process of sanctification is a long and challenging one. While we often hear stories of people who accept Christ and are instantly changed, there are those of us who struggle daily with renouncing our sinful nature.

I think I can say that the reason for that is that the closer we come to Christ, the more obvious our sins become. Yes, it's easy to see those big things that we might have been doing before we were Christians. When compared to those things, the "smaller" things (by the worlds standards) seem to be no big deal. But the closer you come to Christ, the more you realize that often those things are a bigger deal than the major "sins" the world considers a bigger deal. Pride, envy, lust, anger - these are all things that the world may make jokes about, but in reality they area bigger problem in the life of a Christian than many of the "big sins." Those big sins are usually just symptoms of these internal, heart attitudes which Christ found so offensive.

Ok, I'm getting off track. My point is that I'm so very thankful that Christ has an unending well of love and mercy for me. As I learn every day, that well is deeper and wider than I could ever imagine.

Ok, ok. I know I'm not actually going to die. It just feels like it and probably would feel better than how I feel right now.

Hubby insisted on taking me for a second opinion this evening. We visited a very close hospital's ER. We were totally impressed by the place and will be going there from now on for our medical needs.

Anyways, the doctor I saw there actually agreed with the other doctor's diagnosis, but did believe that I need antibiotics. Hooray!! So I started on them a few hours ago and hope to be feeling better soon.

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes!!

So, I've just returned from my first ever visit to the doctor's clinic here in Qatar. Apparently I do not have bubonic plague, despite my conviction to the contrary. I have been diagnosed with "tracheitis."

The doctor, a very cute little girl who was maybe 14, said that my lungs are clear (even though I've been coughing up all kinds of stuff which might lead me to believe otherwise) and that it's a viral infection of my trachea. Anti-biotics, she said, were definitely not necessary. Which actually relieved me, because of the huge tendency here to prescribe anti-biotics for everything from the common cold to, oh, I don't know, a sunburn.

I've been given three different remedies - an anti-histamine (though I have no sign of a runny or stuffy nose), a cough syrup, and a mouthwash (I swear I popped a mint right before I went in!!). All this for the grand total price of six riyals - about $1.50.

So here's the problem. Being the naturally curious girl that I am, I went online to look up tracheitis, which I had never heard of. Apparently it is a bacterial infection (which means it DOES require anti-biotics) which most often strikes children. Oh, and it can lead to death. It seems that the windpipe can become so irritated that it can actually close up.

If this is my last post for a while, you may want to send Hubby flowers.

Why can't I catch a break with doctors? I mean, can I just remind y'all of the time I went to the doctor with a shooting pain in my head and the doctor instantly diagnosed me with depression because I was upset he dismissed my pain? That was fun.

Ok, I'm now off to bed. Well, a reasonable facsimile of bed anyways - the couch. I think I'm gonna veg out while I watch Pride and Prejudice. Hubby and I watched Sense and Sensibility last weekend, so it seems that there's a Jane Austen thing going on lately.

Hallelujah!!! This week we are Easter Break (even though it's called Spring Break) and I couldn't be happier! Who would have thought 20 plus years ago that I would be looking forward to Spring Break so I could cook and clean for my family? Wierd how life changes, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the cleaning part hasn't been happening so much. I've been pretty much knocked out by a horrendous cough and sore throat. I'm pretty convinced it's the bubonic plague, but so far no one is believing me. Anyways, it's leaving me sore, achy, and exhausted. Last night I went to bed at 8:30 and that is something I can NEVER remember doing! Unfortunately I woke up at 5:30 am, so that kind of seemed to cancel out the benefits of going to bed early!!

Anyways, I am still determined to do some delicious cooking this week. Since I started working a few weeks ago, dinner has been pretty hit or miss, so this is my week to redeem myself. Here's what I have planned:

Sunday - Well, I had planned lasagna, but I forgot to buy mozzarella so we did Spaghetti with meat sauce. I'll do the lasagna later in the week.

Monday - Pot roast in the crockpot - (Put the roast in the crockpot along with chunked up carrots, potatoes and onions. Combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with a packet of onion soup mix. Add to mix one chopped onion and stir well. Pour over top of roast and vegetables and cook for 7-8 hours on low.)

Tuesday - Lentils & rice with a lemon dressed salad

Wednesday - Lasagna, tossed salad and garlic bread (see, I told you I'd work it back in!!)

Thursday - Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya over white rice

Friday - Chicken and broccoli casserole with a tossed salad

Saturday - We're having Easter dinner a day early since Sunday is a work day here in Qatar. We've invited over a few guys from our church that are here alone in Doha. I'll be serving a turkey (ham is not sold here), with sausage and apple stuffing, vegetables, mashed potatoes, devilled eggs, spinach and strawberry salad, and some yummy yet-to-be-determined dessert.

So that's what we will be having. For more great menu plans, be sure to visit The Organizing Junkie!!

I know, I know.  Millions of women work full-time jobs every day.  

My daughter has pneumonia.

And I would never have taken her to the doctor.

Thank God for Hubby who has more sense than me.

She's been coughing for a couple of weeks now and it has been getting worse, but I figured it was just something she couldn't shake. No complaints of chest pain or anything. It never even occurred to me to do anything but give her an OTC cough medicine.

Please pray for her. She is going to Jordan on Friday with the youth group for an outreach trip during her spring break. She is supposed to stay home from school for the next two days, but she insists she HAS to go tomorrow because it's her 14th birthday and she doesn't want to miss her friends celebrating it for her. So I guess I'll let her go and then stay home Thursday. But if you wouldn't mind praying for a speedy recovery so she feels better for her trip and is able to fully participate in all their work they've got planned.

And you might want to pray for her mother to be more discerning and sensible.

I'm just sayin'.

Lately, I have found myself with a new best friend. Except it's not really a good friend. There are no encouraging words being communicated. No loving embraces. No friendly phone calls.