Appreciating Each Day

Yesterday was the BEST Friday of the year! School is out!!! (except for a couple of final reports and clinic wrap up tasks). There's something about that Friday night when the entire summer looms ahead. Past experience tells me that it will be over in a flash so I have come to learn to appreciate each and every day of the break. As much as I want to slow every day down, I can't wait to get to June 15th when it's time to travel to Port St. Joe, FL for my Blue Skies week.

Appreciating every day is something these families we will be hosting know better than anyone. None of us knows what the next day will bring but not all of us live like we know that on a daily basis. Selfishly, I'm looking forward to the inspiration these families will provide for me and the other volunteers as we are reminded of this.

 

As we start summer on this Memorial Day weekend, let's remember the reason for the weekend and give thanks for those who have given their lives in service to our country.

Happy Summer Y'all!

The Packing List

At our meeting a couple of weeks ago we were given a sort of "packing list" with suggestions of what to bring:

• Comfy casual clothes - I have plenty of those! I rarely wear anything but. Check!
• Khaki shorts - part of the Blue Skies "uniform" on arrival day is khaki shorts and the Blue Skies tee shirt we will get when we arrive. Khaki shorts - check!

• Running shoes - hmmmm...definately not a runner but a morning walk on the beach is right up my alley - Check!
• White shirt for spa day - Plenty of those too. Check!
• Hawaiian Shirt - Well, this calls for some shopping. Working on that one.
• Pirate Night costume - someone help please?
• Red, Whitie and Blue Western Night - got the red shorts but will need to shop for a cute white and blue western shirt. Love an excuse to shop!

The physical preparation and packing for Blue Skies is easy. It's the spiritual/emotional preparation that can be a little more challenging. Part of the application process for Blue Skies was a bit of sharing about our individual faith journey. This morning I sat at my computer, preparing my lesson for our adult Sunday School class tomorrow. We're studying the faith journey of Moses. Through Moses, God gives us so many wonderful examples of the importance of faith, of following, of allowing to be led. My lesson tomorrow focuses on the victories that Moses experienced as a result of his faithfulness to God's call and on those mountaintop experiences that I hope everyone experiences at some time. But the journey to the top of the mountain can be a rough one. God led the Israelites out of Egypt to the Red Sea in a very roundabout way and he had very specific reasons for doing it this way. As they got to the Red Sea and looked back they saw the Egyptians, hot on their trail, and they respond with grumbling and doubts about the path they were on. They asked, wouldn't it have been better to have remained slaves in Egypt? I love what Moses tells them. He says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still."

The families coming to Blue Skies have been fighting. I have been privileged to be a witness to many a family's fight. Part of my faith story is a result of this witness; faithful families who leaned into their faith during incredibly difficult times and showed me what true faith was about. I pray that during the upcoming retreats, these families can "be still" and let the Lord fight for them, as he promised he would.

Next item on the list? Bible - Check! Wouldn't leave home without it!

25 More days!!!

A short update

Update #1 - At our meeting last week we were told that there are still slots for families who would like to be a guest at Blue Skies this summer. If you know of a family affected by childhood cancer, would you please pass this information to them? They can visit the Blue Skies website to get more information http://www.blueskiesministries.org/ or they are welcome to contact me and I will help them out as well. I have spread the word to all Cobb County school nurses but maybe we can get the word out to the churches and neighborhoods in the area as well. Of course, any family from anywhere is welcome to attend! They only need to be able to get themselves there and back. The rest is provided at no charge to them. I know there are more families who can benefit from this opportunity.

Which brings me to update #2

I am getting closer and closer to reaching my fundraising goal of $2500. That is what it costs to send one family to Blues Skies for a week. This week I passed the $2000 dollar mark!!! I have been humbled by the response to my fund raising letter and thank everyone for partnering with me.

Our First Group Meeting

This past Sunday Week 3 retreat volunteers met for the first time. Here are a few things that I learned:

• There are a LOT of volunteers and they come from all over. A group from Alabama will be trained separately as will a group from South Georgia. Lots of volunteers means lots of names to learn. I am TERRIBLE with names. I hope they are forgiving!

• A lot of these volunteers have done this before. I will be glad for their guidance and experience. My mantra will be, "I'm new here..."
• As each person shared what they were most looking forward to about the week, the overwhelming response was the friendships that will be made. The second most common response was the opportunities for a whole family to serve together.

• We will be up and going early each morning, preparing for the day. There is a volunteer meeting for about an hour each day starting at 8 a.m. I will be bringing my coffee!
• Each day is different. One day the families go horseback riding, one day we go "into town" for lunch, etc. The schedule is packed full. The volunteers are expected to be at all activities (can't wait to experience each one!) but the families do only what they want. This is their week. The opportunities are endless!

• One day, the moms of the families go for a spa day. How cool is that?
• While we are there, the dads will be celebrated for fathers day. I was too late for the sign up for making pancakes. I'll try to help out with that anyway.
• There were about 30 sign up sheets for various opportunities throughout the week to be of assistance. I hardly remember which ones I wrote my name on. I do know that I will be tying balloons one morning for 2 hours.

• One thing that scares me is being assigned to anything artsy crafty. Remember how I said earlier that I believe God gifts us in different areas? Well, as of today, I still have not felt gifted in this area. It scares me and I avoid it. I'm a much better worker bee!
• I learned that this will be a week like no other. Can't wait to get this party started!

The graduation countdown ended this past Saturday. Michael is officially an alumnus of Auburn University. WAR EAGLE!

We have 13 more days of school but as I write this, I am on a mini-vacation, enjoying having my kids at home for a few days...a rare treat!

In just 37 more days, we will be headed to Port St. Joe for Blue Skies!

Dreams

I knew I had it somewhere. I knew I had saved it. I spent an hour looking for it the other night and finally, I found it! IT was an essay that my son wrote in third grade. It had to do with his future, how he saw his life playing out at the tender age of 8 years old. I just had to find it because I knew he had written about his plans to one day be a pilot. This Saturday he graduates with his degree in Aviation and his dream fulfilled of becoming a pilot.

As parents we have so many dreams for our kids. From the day we know we are expecting a sweet baby we start dreaming about what this little person will be like, but the one thing you hear from most all parents is, "we just want a healthy baby."

The parents of the children at Blue Skies are living a sort of nightmare. Their dreams have been interrupted by cancer and they just want the nightmare to end. Well for one week, the volunteers of Blue Skies do everything they can to end these families nightmares and give them time to focus on being a whole family again. No appointments, no being pulled in five different directions, just time together, playing and having fun.

I'm feeling particularly nostalgic this week. Key life events do that to me. I'm praying that the families I will be serving this year will also have the opportunity to one day reflect and remember the happier times. I'm praying that Blue Skies Ministries will play a part in the healing process of the nightmares they have had to endure. I believe that in all lifes trials, blessings can be found. I pray that these families will feel the blessings of the ministry of Blue Skies during their life trials. I pray that nightmares will turn to sweet dreams. (still thinking I want to learn how to fold a towel animal before I go!)