Thursday, March 25, 2010

Get Your Official T-Shirt



The image above is the image that appears on the official team shirt for Megan's Mates!

Megan's Mates, is my Walk MS team. It was created last year, the year I was diagnosed.

You can not find this design any where else!

A company in Tulsa, Gorfam Marketing Inc., was kind enough to create this shirt for me. I have 50 of these beauties in a box, ready to be worn.

The lettering and the pirate's bandanna are orange. Wondering about sizing? I wear a Medium.

How can you get one? Click on the PayPal button on the right. It will take you to PayPal's website and just follow the steps. Once paid, I will mail you one! OR if you live close to me, I'll drop it off!

I'm new at this so, if I've missed something let me know!

ALL proceeds will be sent to National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Spring Is Here


When I'm in the car, alone, with the radio off or sometimes with the radio on, I listen and I observe.

I love being in the car alone. It's good listening time.

On the way home from the kids' school, I was listening and thanking God for a wonderful morning. I was thanking Him for the nice weather, for the sprinkles of rain hitting the windshield and for the daffodils perking back up after the snow.

Then He whispered.

"Don't you find it funny, that people expect I will bring the seasons but don't trust I will be there for them?"

I pulled in the driveway and sat there. I looked to the neighbors house, their Bradford Pear is starting to green up and soon it will blossom. I looked at the neighbor across the street. She had a lone daffodil blooming in her front yard.

All of these things happen every spring. Or every fall the leaves turn a color only God can create, they fall from the tree and in 5-6 months they green up again.

It doesn't happen because of evolution! It happens because 'God is in Heaven and He does what He pleases' (Psalm 115:3)! Not because we planted the bulbs or because we throw out grass seed, or water our lawns. These things happen because God does it.

We expect God to bring the seasons, lets trust Him to bring seasons into our lives.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I am a Recovering Christian Atheist

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” -Brennan Manning

Back in November, Craig, my preacher, did a series titled "Practical Atheist." I remembered how good it was, so over the past few days, I've been listening to the podcast of those messages

Some of you may know already, but I've been off my MS drugs since Mid-February. We are wanting another kid and my doctor doesn't want me on my meds while we are trying. Since then, I have felt this need for everything to go fast, "Chop, chop, chop." I need to get prego by this date, I need to have the baby by this date, I need to start my meds again by this date and on and on and on.

The past few days, I've been going back over and listening to some of Craig's sermons. He has a book coming out next week titled, "The Christian Atheist." In preparation for the book, I've been listening to his series called "Practical Atheist." It's such a good series, please please please listen to it.

Today, I was working in my mini flowerbed, listening to the Number 2 part of the series. It was then, while incorporating poo smelling dirt into the regular soil, that God hit me over the head with what felt like a shovel, had to have been.

"Megan, when you were diagnosed with MS you trusted me with your health. Why not now?"

OUCH!

At that moment, after I asked God to please drop the shovel, I realized my Practical Atheism!

I will trust Him there, but not here. I will trust him to get me through this disease, BUUUT I won't/ can't trust Him to get me pregnant, or keep my symptoms at bay while off my meds. I can't trust that His timing is perfect, mine is better. I haven't trusted him since Mid-February.

I deserve to be vomited out of His mouth. What a traitor I have been.

I say, "God I trust you here, but ya know what I don't really think you're gonna come through for me in (Fill in the blank) area."

I feel embarrassed today. I have been walking around moping (mow-ping) because I'm not sure if I'm pregnant. I've told Matt and others, "If I don't get pregnant in March, then I think I'm done trying."

What an IDIOT!

When I look back on things that have happened in my life, lets use MS as an example. When I look back to the day in Claremore that I had my first serious episode, and how many doctors could not figure out what in the tarnation was wrong with me, I was frustrated.

But looking back, God had it all planned perfectly! Perfectly! Had I got diagnosed then, my insurance company would not have covered me today. It would have been deemed 'pre-existing.' All the things in life that are perfect because God timed it just right. Now I want to all of the sudden call the shots? Geez louise.

*big sigh*

If I have caused you to doubt this amazing God, because of my whining, please forgive me. If I begin whining again, tell me to 'shut my pie hole.'

Monday, March 15, 2010

Whispers

Last December, Bill Hybels spoke at my church, lifechurch.tv. I didn't see the original sermon, but I ran across it today on lifechurch's podcast. I had just finished with one of Craig's sermons and in it he spoke of Bill Hybels. After I finished with Craig, I wanted to listen to another. I scrolled through the podcasts and ran across Bill's. I missed church the weekend he spoke, the kids were still napping, so I listened...

Bill opened with a story from Samuel.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.


6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

He gave examples from his life where God had whispered to him. He could trace back things that had happened in his life, things that were great, all to whispers from the Lord. (For the bulk of all of this, listen to Bill's sermon here. It's only 30 minutes.)

It all got me thinking. I am tracing my steps.

I am pondering where I am today and what whispers from God I heeded. I know there are many I have not listened to or even heard, but I am praying that going forward I am more like Samuel.

"Speak, for your servant, Megan, is listening."

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I Imagine

I was thinking today about the "19 kids and counting" family.

When a woman has a baby, the doctor suctions the baby's mouth & nose & tosses them up on the mom's chest while the dad cuts the cord. This is a usual scenario.

The "19 kids and counting" mom had to wait 39 days until she held her new born baby.

39 days! I can't imagine having to wait 39 minutes after the birth, let alone 39 days.

But that all got me thinking.

Imagine how Christ feels when we finally accept him into our life after 39 years or 25 years or 13 years, however many years. Imagine how happy He is when we invite Him into our hearts after all that time.

I imagine He feels the same joy as a new mom getting to hold her baby for the first time after 39 days or 39 minutes.

I imagine.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Coming of Age

The kids are coming into an age where they are fun to do things with. Not that they were boring before, but you know the stage of pack baby food, pack millions of diapers, pack 10 outfits for one afternoon, pack yourself a backup outfit in case you become a target of bodily warfare, pack formula or a pump, pack more diapers, pack bottles..
You may know that stage.

Well, we are slowly climbing out of it. We can leave half a million diapers at home, bring one outfit for the boy, I no longer need a backup, leave formula and/or pump, leave diapers and baby food.

It's a glorious time.

I decided we needed to start doing fun things together instead of counting down the time until nap. So last weekend we went bowling.

We roll into the alley and I am super stoked. "We are going to have so much fun." I say to Matt.

Enter turn of events.

Cooper begins yelling, "BALLLLSSSS, BAALLLLLSS," and disappears amongst them. To an almost two year old, the bowling alley is 'ball' heaven; 6-10 pound balls, but in his eyes-balls nonetheless.

"Chloe, do you want to wear these really cool bowling shoes?" I ask, knowing prying her pink wedding shoes off her feet would cause a war. (The pink wedding shoes are the same style as the brown ones she wore in my cousin's wedding, only they are pink. Hence, 'pink wedding shoes.') Chloe refuses to wear the shoes.

We grab a few 'balls' and the thingy that helps kids bowl and start bowling.

Coop goes first. Matt teaches him how to push the ball down the thingy and he does it! It's awesome. I cheer, Matt cheers, I run after Chloe and Matt runs down the lane after Cooper. The dude made a mad dash after his ball!


Then Chloe goes. She pushes it and says, "Done." She wanted nothing more to do with it.

Matt and I take our turn.

Cooper chases Matt's ball. Matt chases Cooper.

Finally, we learned to stay near Coop and he began to catch on.




He began using his head.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Lifechurch.tv's Interview With Satan

A RE-POST because I've been lazy.

An "off the record" interview with Satan and his thoughts on money. Used as an illustration the LifeChurch.tv series called How to Be Rich. Also appearing in the video is Craig Groeschel


Another interview with satan about his views on the church. A teaching video for LifeChurch.tv's "One Prayer" message series. Check it out at http://www.lifechurch.tv and http://www.oneprayer.com ... This video brought you by LifeChurch.tv where Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor.


Craig has done these little interview with Satan a few times and they are so funny, but yet very true. www.lifechurch.tv

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Where I'm At

My 12th grade English teacher always said, 'don't put at after where.' Aside from being grammatically correct, it sounds better. But since I no longer need an A in English, I'm going to rebel and put at after where.

Last month, I began bleeding for no apparent reason. Random bleeding is not normal for me. After a week and a half, I called the dr. She checked and said everything seemed ok from her end (hehe) but she wanted me to have an ultrasound to make sure.

I had the US last week. Today I went in for the results. I was as nervous as the day I found out I had MS. I felt the need to vomit. Instead I prayed and prayed and prayed.

The dr came in and after small talk she said there was a cyst on my left ovary. "It isn't very big. It looks as though it might have a little blood in it. It doesn't look cancerous, those look a certain way. See every month your body creates a cyst on your ovary but it goes away. Either we just happened to see yours or it isn't going away. Now, we can either go in through the belly button, look at it and look around and see why you haven't gotten pregnant or we can do another US in 6 weeks and see if it is still there."

I took a deep breath and responded, "Well we haven't been trying long enough to try and figure out why I'm not prego. I think I'd rather wait and do another US and see what is going on then we can go from there. Can I still get pregnant and everyone be ok?" She said, "Yes."

So that's where I'm at. I am praying that my body isn't revolting against me and this is nothing and we get prego soon. I'm off my meds and feeling ok. We are praying for another blessing and that my body is fine.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Olympic Rehab

I haven't blogged in a while. I was glued to the television, watching the Olympics.

Hi, I'm Megan & I am an addict. My drug of choice....Olympics.

Now that the O's are over, I guess I'll resume normal evening activities such as, dishes, cleaning, showering, blogging & talking with those around me.

I guess I will become a member of society again. I guess.

Ah, well, I'm sure gonna miss curling.

You think I'm joking?

I'm not.