Countdowns!

I am in countdown mode in a couple different areas of life these days.

I am counting down to my sons graduation from Auburn! War Eagle!!! He graduates in 9 days with his degree in Aviation Management. I am so so proud of him. He has worked hard and overcome some very difficult obstacles (this past year in particular). His faith has been amazing and an inspiration to me. The boy that left for college is very different from the man who is graduating 4 years later. This was then:

This is now:

I'm also counting down to the last day of school. We have 22 days remaining, 2 of which I will be on vacation, so really, that's 20....but who's counting? The last few weeks of school drag; like come to a screaming halt kind of drag. I love my job but I LOVE my summers even more!

 I'm counting down to my days at Blue Skies. I have 51 days until I leave! That's less than 2 months. Soon we will have our first group meeting. I can't wait to meet the other volunteers and hear more about what our week will be like.

I'm counting down to reaching my fund raising goal. I am more than halfway to my goal of $2500 with a total of $1447 raised so far. Thank you to everyone who has already partnered with me!

I remind myself, that while I'm busy counting down, life is still happening all around me. So I'll anticipate the days ahead, but enjoy the ones right now.

The Family Plan!

So yesterday's picture reminded me of yet another very cool thing about this ministry. Whole entire families often volunteer together! Moms and Dads with their kids volunteer together to love on these families of kids with cancer. How awesome is that? Do you have any idea how I wish I could go back 10-15 years so that my family could have done that too? These parents are encouraging their children at a young age to have a servants heart both by modeling it to them and by giving them an opportunity to put it into practice. The leaders for the week work very hard to pair up volunteers with just the right family, whether it be by the ages of the children or common interests. I can only imagine the life long friendships that are formed in one short week.

Here is a picture of my family, about 10 years ago (or so).

They would have made GREAT Blue Skies volunteers! They have been so supportive of my trip this summer.  Both kids are busy with work and school and my husband will be kept busy trying to keep my vegetable garden going while I'm gone. Maybe one year, we can all go together. But for now, it's just me. I love being a part of the family above and I can't wait to be a part of the Blue Skies Family as well.

Back to the picture from yesterday;  it just reminded me about the relationships that will be formed between the kids who volunteer and the kids who are being served. What an awesome gift to all involved. Blessed to be a blessing...

Wordless Wednesday

Rested and Ready

Gordon and I had a relaxing and restful time at Orange Beach this past week. The weather was beautiful, the beaches were empty and there were no waits at the restaurants. It was pretty much perfect! Just what I needed!!!

After breakfast each day, we packed up our beach chairs, suntan lotion, books, sunglasses (I even bought a special pair of sunglasses that are readers!), towels, cooler of cold drinks and my iPad. I love the beach and couldn't wait to soak up every minute of it that I could.

There's something so special about just staring out at the ocean while listening to my "Jesus music." It's a very worshipful experience for me. There's a song called "Hosanna" by Hillsong United that we have been singing in church a lot lately. I literally pray the words while I sing them; these in particular:

"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from Earth into Eternity"

"Break my heart for what breaks yours..." Oh how my heart breaks for the families dealing with the disease of childhood cancer. It's awful enough that they have to go through the illness but then to know that so many families are broken apart by the process. I prayed this past week for the families who were on retreat just 100 miles or so to the East of us. Prayed that they would be strengthened through the ministries of Blue Skies.

In my previous post I told you about my friend Salli who would be serving. Gordon and I were able to meet with her and her husband Mike for dinner one night. She had just returned from her time at Blue Skies. She shared a little about her time there and what it meant to her. We'll get together again soon so she can share some more. Salli told me about the first night when the families and volunteers symbolically release their worries by releasing lanterns over the ocean. What a beautiful sight!

Rested and Ready! Just 63 more days until I get to experience this ministry too! Some of you have already partnered with me in helping to send a family! I am in awe of the response and thank you from the bottom of my heart. In Genesis 12 we read that Abraham was blessed to be a blessing. We too are blessed and I know that the families will be blessed through this minstry.

Wordless Wednesday...Resting!

SPRING BREAK!!!

I have left the building! School nurses get just as excited for Spring break as students, teachers and anyone else who works in a school. It's been a long winter with more flu, strep and stomach virus than I've ever seen. I'm tired. I am ready for a break! We have six more weeks of classes (and CRCT!) before summer vacation but this week, I am going to rest and get ready for the final push.

As I rest, the folks of Blue Skies Ministries will be hosting their first retreat of the year. As I rest, they are making final preparations to serve a group of families who need the rest more than most of us can imagine. As I rest, they will be serving and playing and forming lifelong friendships as they minister to these precious children and their parents. As I rest, I will be praying for all of them, volunteers and families alike.

My friend Salli will be one of those volunteers. She's the one who introduced me to Blue Skies Ministries. Salli knows the perspective of a parent of a child with cancer. Her son was diagnosed with lymphoma his senior year of high school. That was 3 years ago and he is doing great! God used that time in her life to equip her for this ministry. He is using her in a mighty way to share hope with families from one who knows the heartache they are going through. This will be her second retreat. She will go on her third retreat the week that I go.

My "vision" of the week is incomplete. I can't wait to experience every minute of it. Here's another glance of some of the fun our families can expect!

I can't wait! But for now, I am going to rest. Have a blast week 1 people!

True Confessions

I have to be truthful here...I really feel uncomfortable asking people for money.  I spent a year as co-president of the PTA many moons ago. Now, PTA is heavily about fundraising. Somehow, I was able to avoid a lot of that. There were plenty of other people also involved that year who were so much better at it than me so I just let them handle it. They must have done well because we met our budget and even had some left over.

 Like any other mission trip, a missionary has to fund their way. When I heard the amount I was responsible for to attend the retreat I thought to myself, Gordon and I can handle that ourselves and then I won't have to ask anyone for money. But when I went to orientation, we were all asked to seek support EVEN IF WE PLANNED TO PAY OUR OWN WAY. DRATS!!! I am not off the hook!

I truly believe that when God calls you to service, he equips you for it. I have been asked to raise support for Blue Skies and that's just what I am going to do. I still plan on paying my own way but wouldn't it be awesome if I could raise enough money to pay the way of one of our families? It costs $2500 for a family to attend a Blue Skies retreat. That's my goal...to raise $2500! I am growing more and more passionate about this ministry and am unashamed to ask for your support. There's information at the bottom of this blog about how to donate.

Over the next several weeks I hope to share more details about what this ministry does and the impact it has on families of children with cancer. Truthfully, I believe the bigger impact will be on me and the other volunteers and supporters. Until the next time, here's a glimpse into some of the fun our families will be having.

Where Skies Are Blue

Christian Service...that's what we were studying in our adult Sunday School class sometime in the past several months. I believe we are all given gifts and talents and that God calls us to use them to serve in a way that is glorifying to Him...he equips us when he calls us. The founder of Blue Skies Ministries agreed to come and speak with us about her equipping for this ministry she has been called to. While listening to her tell her story, I couldn't help but notice that we had both shared similar experiences throughout our careers.

 I spent my early years in nursing working with seriously and terminally ill children. The stress on these families and these marriages led to divorce more times than not. Any health care professional knows this, but Melinda Mayton answered the call she felt on her heart to offer these families an opportunity to reconnect and to begin to grow stronger once again.

Several weeks a year, she and many volunteers offer week long retreats to bring the hope of Christ to families with children who are suffering from pediatric cancer. The hope is that children who are sick will laugh and play; siblings, who often compete with cancer, will feel cherished and valued; and marriages and familes will grow strong.

As she spoke, I wanted to jump out of my chair and yell, "sign me up!" I completed my volunteer application and will be serving at my first retreat the week of June 16th! I could not be more excited! I recently attended my orientation and have only begun to get a picture of what it is I'll be doing that week. The best way I know how to describe it on my limited understanding is I will be assigned a family to serve for the week. I will be their host. It is my pleasure to do everything I can to give them treatment worthy of a 5 star resort...only better. I will clean for them, do their laundry, help provide their meals, care for their children, laugh with them and probably even cry with them. At night I will turn down their beds and maybe even leave a fun little folded towel animal with their nightly message.

One of our volunteer responsibilities is fund raising. Each volunteer has a financial commitment to cover their own stay. I am blessed to be able to provide that for myself. My hope and prayer is that I can raise enough money to sponsor a guest family, the cost of which is $2500. I will be sending out my "support letters" in the very near future and will trust in God's provision.

My purpose in starting this blog is to spread the word about Blue Skies Ministries. I will share my journey with you as I come to better understand and learn about this ministry that I feel I have been called to be a part of. I have already begun to pray for the family I don't even know yet. Please pray for them with me...that they will be strengthened as a couple and a family during their week at Blue Skies. http://www.blueskiesministries.org/