Health > Sickness

Bleh.

That is an excellent word to describe the way I have been feeling.

Bleh.

I got sick this weekend.

Yuck....

After three years of health, I have been sick twice in the last three months.

Today I am WAY better!

Definitely on the mend!
Actually.... mended, just in need of energy and food.
I am weak....
Super weak.
Weaker than I have ever been in my life.

Maybe it has something to do with not being able to eat in almost three days.
Hm.... that might be it.

But.... now I can eat!

So....It's all good!

+'s to being sick:

- I've had to keep doing my house sitting job....
This is not a plus.
My view of "fresh air and exercise" doesn't work when I am sick.

It was miserable.

But I have amazing brothers...they went with me to do the "heavy work."

Jimmy.... who happens to dislike animals even more than myself, didn't make one complaint when asked to go.

He offered to do all of the jobs I knew he hated.

Jimmy also bought me ginger ale.
He also pampered me the whole day while everyone was at the basketball tournament.


What a sweetie.


- I have had some sweet time with the Lord.
Laying on the couch for hours on end isn't all bad.
"For my strength is made perfect in weakness."


-Beth gave me a pedicure!
It was lovely.

SO sweet.
SO "Beth-ish."
SO refreshing!

- Johanna bought me an adorable shirt!
It's green.
It's cool.
I love it!!!!!!!
I  want to wear it!
It was such a sweet gift!


- I am craving chicken broth/soup.
I always thought that was just what you are supposed to want when you are sick.... but seriously, I want it!
Most other food still makes me gag.... but chicken soup, Mmmmm....

Why is that?

Even though I had to miss dad's preaching at church this morning.... I did get to listen to Nancy Leigh DeMoss and eat some chicken soup.

- My dog never left my side!

- My stomach muscles are super sore.
So, I guess I had a good workout.... :-/

- I have laid on the couch for three days and had everyone asking if there is any thing they can get/do for me.

- I have a super sweet and caring family!

I  still despise being sick.... but I might as well look at the good that can come from it.

A few things.....

1. I made flan.

We have this super easy recipe.... that you can't mess up.

I messed it up.

I did the whole "melting the sugar" thing, and failed. 

Then I couldn't resist dipping my finger in the burning substance.

Now I have a bad burn on my poor innocent finger.

Who knew that it was that hot!

Please appreciate (*"ouch!"*) the pain (*"ohhhh.."*) this post (*"mommy!"*) is causing (*Whaaaaaaaa!*).

2. A friend of mine got engaged...

3. I have been busy sitting on some horses, dogs, a house, and a fire.... (ouch!)

Get it?
*House sitting...*

I've been mucking stalls... in the mud.

I have never seen such deep squishy mud. 

If it wasn't full of horse manure, I would dive into it!

But it is full of horse manure.

So I refrain.

I am enjoying the fresh air... hard work... exercise... money.

4. This weather is trying to annoy me.

I am determined not to let it get me down.

"It's easy to smile when the sun is shining... can you glorify God in the rain???"
(Example of pep talk I've been giving myself....)

I'm thinking of moving...

Somewhere tropical.

Warm!

Green.

Warm!

Beautiful.

Sunny.

Warm! 

Yep. I'm off to the tropics of... Indiana?????

SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Christmas?!?!?!?!?!

"It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!!!"

Merry CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

 

Oh, Wait. 

My bad.... 

This weather is mixing up my holidays....

Happy First Day of SPRING!!!!!!

Inspirations!

I like being inspired.
A few things inspired me today...

Inspiration ONE!

I looked out the window a few minutes ago....
Clouds.
Everywhere.
In fact... there isn't even sky.
Just clouds.
I looked at the weather report.
Clouds.
Rain.
Possibly snow.
For sure... clouds.

It practically demanded people to be depressed.

My customers drove up, drove away....
"Hi.... clouds.....give me coffee."

Then I saw this...

What do you see?

Clouds? Right?

But look closer.

SUN!!!!!!!!

Its behind the clouds!

Its pushing with all of its might!

I am inspired!

There is not supposed to be sun today.

Clouds, only clouds! 

Yet it keeps pushing!

Pushing against the odds....

Spreading it's warmth, light, and hope....

It keeps getting bigger....

It keeps shining.... through the clouds! 

It won't stop....

I love it! 

I am basking in it!

I want to be like it.

Inspiration TWO!

I read this blog....
And they had a recipe....
And it inspired me....

To, MAKE CORN DOGS!!!!!!!!

I stole this picture from....

I don't think I can rest until I do it!

They look so fun.... and yummy! 

Yep... I'm inspired!

Inspiration THREE!

I read this other blog.....

It inspired me....

to eat healthier.

(Notice, no caps, no exclamation points.)

I like healthy food.... lots!

But I like unhealthy food, too....

So.... I am inspired to eat healthier!

Yay! 

See... I really am excited!

:-/

So.... how's your Monday?!?!?!?!?!

Hairs....

I cut Marian's hair today.

I have always had this great desire to be able to cut peoples hair....

I ruined many a doll trying to "fulfill my calling!".

A few years back, Johnny needed a hair cut.
Mom was busy, and in sheer desperation, Johnny allowed me to take the knife scissors to his hair.

It was that same year.... Marian decided short hair would suit her.
I got mom's permission and chopped away.

Both episodes turned out similarities....

Mom did her best to salvage Johnny's head.
Marian wore her's  up until it grew out....

I gave up my dream.

Until today....
Today I decided I should have pursued being a hair dresser.

Marian wanted a haircut.
I asked if she would let me do it... she said I could.
Mom said I could.

I got the scissors.
Took some... before pictures...

I

"Frown, baby!"

All "before" pictures are horrible.... they have to be!

Started cutting....

And cutting...

And cutting....

Guess what?!?!?!?

It turned out!!!!!!!!!

She LOVES it!!!!!

But... it was way too stressful! 

So I think I will stick to coffee....

Enjoy the rain!

My Hero!

My dad is amazing....
I know lots of kids say,"I have the best dad!"
But, for real.... I do!

Dad...

- Has showed us an example of a man that loves the Lord. A man that lives life to serve and glorify God.

- Looks for the best in people... always.

I was one of those kids....
You know... the one that pinches people and scares little boys.
When I was getting older, people that knew us when I was little, would mention what a tyrant I was.
They would tell stories of me pinching them with an evil grin, etc.

Dad never believed them.
He told me what a great kid I was....  mom did the same.
They refused to beleive that I was in any way a bad kid.

Recently we were reading our, "when we were little..." journal.
It said, "Well you, my little sweetheart,have been the bully in the family, so far. You have a reputation in the church for being too rough. Some of the other boys, even older than you, see you and run. "Baby Helen is there!" they scream in terror..." After explaining that I "had to be more aggressive" because of my older sisters, they went on to tell what a wonderful little girl I was.

Mom and Dad just loved me through it all....
Dealt with it.... but loved me!

Dad always see's me with eyes glossed over with love.

- Has a  great sense of humor!
He tells jokes like no other, and will laugh at my jokes even when they aren't funny.

- Really did "raise me up to more than I can be...." and truly was, "the wind beneath my wings!"
Many times, dad had me do things beyond my comfort zone.
"Helen, would you sing for us?" These words were very common for me to hear between the age of 10-18.
Whether it was at a party, church service, dinner, etc, dad would ask me to sing.
Although I hated it at first because of my self-consciousness, I never feared that dad would embarrass me.
 I knew that he would never put me in a position that was uncomfortable or awkward... and he never did.
Those times stretched me and gave me confidence in the best ways.

- Is so wise. There has never been a "problem" too big or small to take to dad.
Dad used to be a pastor and still teaches his own little church.... that would be us.
Because dad works in an office that is twenty feet from our front door....  it is an easy trot to bring him all of our "emergencies."
Each time my life feels close to ending, five minutes with dad will put it all in perspective.


- Is my hero.

Dad, Mom, and Jo

Some girls like Darcy, some Tarzan.... my greatest hero is and always will be, my dad!

- Has my heart.
I gave it to him.
I totally and completely trust him with it.

- Is my protector.
Not just from the boogie man... :)

- Is my greatest fan.
When I was preforming in "Cinderella," my parents came to as many shows as they possibly could.
Dad got just as excited as I was.
We would revel in certain scenes and sing the songs together.

When I was in volleyball, dad and I would sit at home with chess pieces on the table, going through all the great plays...

- Takes his role as "dad" very seriously.
My dad is our leader.
He doesn't just hope that his kids will turn out, he has a vital part in each of our lives.

~

The older I get and the more pain I see, the more I realize how ridiculously blessed I am.
Not only was I raised in a Christian home, have the best of friends, and live in beautiful North Idaho, I have parents that not only love me...they are flat out awesome!
My dad isn't just a "parent," he is my protector, guide, and loves me unconditionally.

I really believe that the relationship between a father and daughter is super important.
I think that many girls get themselves in loads of trouble because they didn't ever have a father that loved them. They end up searching for love and acceptance in all the wrong places.

Throughout my life, there have been so many times that the Lord has used my dad.

When I was younger, I struggled with being extremely insecure. Dad didn't just tell me that I was wrong, he pointed me to Christ.
We learned a song that is still "my song."
"Only Jesus tells me who I am...."

My dad's wise and loving counsel affects my life each and every day.
I love him more than a little blog post could ever express.....

Thank you, Lord.... for my dad!

Voters, Ahoy!

We get to vote tonight!!!!
YAY!
I love voting!

The whole family is getting into the mood of elections this year.....

Marian and Pete have been running around with signs for the last week.

Marian is for Ron Paul, Peter for Mitt Romney (We can't figure out why....). 

During school this morning, Johanna was helping them draw a map and label the states with who was winning so far.

It brings back memories of way back when I was Marian's age.

Al Gore and George Bush were running for office. 

I wrote Al Gore a letter.

I told him about the Lord and about abortion being wrong.

I really believed it would make a difference. 

When others said anything bad about him... I stood up for the "poor guy!"

I still can't figure out why I liked him so much....

Thank goodness be didn't become president.

Anyways... I am SO excited to vote at this caucus.

I took a government class in school and am now a firm believer.

Voting gives "the people" a voice.
I love it when they say, "Helen Soderberg has voted!"

*Sorry about the blurry pictures... it was from my cellphone.

The Scoop

I thought I would give you the scoop of whats been going on in my life.... or, what is going to be going on.

Last summer, I graduated.
I had absolutely NO idea what God was going to do with my life.
All I knew was that I wanted to take this time while I am single to "serve God without distractions."
FYI...This sounds a lot easier than it really is.
I started praying.

I forget when... I was praying about what God wanted for me, when I randomly remembered a talk I had with a really neat girl after a volleyball game.

She had just come home from interning at a home for troubled women.
She told us about the home and the wonderful experience it had been for her....
Wow.... that's awesome.
And then... I didn't think about it for another two years.

Anyhow... I couldn't get the thought out.
The next day I found it online.
Vision of Hope (Click on it to see the site....)
It is a REALLY amazing place.
They have an internship program that I started looking into.

 *Insert a ton of details about God guiding that I don't feel like typing out because it would be long, just like this sentence, which I already know is a run-on, but you can't expect me to always keep the rules! *

Eventually, I started the interview process.

Two interviews later, God used the wisdom of the Intern Coordinator to really impact my life.

I spent the next few months reading amazing books (Aka.... life altering books!), and went for a ten day visit and conference.

During those ten days, God dealt with my heart on a lot of things, to an overwhelming extent.
When I thought God had showed me all that He possibly could.... He showed me another aspect of my life that I had to surrender.
It was life changing.

Oh, and Vision of Hope was incredible.
Flat out.

I came home and had absolutely NO idea what God was going to do.


Did GOD want me to go....
To Indiana?
For a year?


The fact that Indiana is 2,000 miles away and the commitment is a year long, definitely made the decision a bit harder.

Maybe a great family isn't so great after all....
JUST KIDDING!
People leave for longer than a year all the time...  but this is all new to me!

I waited.
Surrendered.
Cried.
Prayed.

God overwhelmed me with HIS peace.
I wasn't worried or scared....
But I was curious.

On Wednesday the Intern Coordinator called and officially invited me to be an intern at Vision of Hope.
I had the final decision to make.

AHHHHHH....
OK, God!
Now can you shout it out....
(Slow learner right here....)

I spent the next couple of days praying. A lot!

By day two... It wasn't a question.
I knew.
God didn't have to shout it out....

He made it clear.

Long story short.... or at least less long, I know that this is what God has for me.

I know that I will be all emotional for the first week.... and probably a bit longer.
I know that I will get homesick.
I know that it won't always be easy.
I know I will miss people.
I know the devil will try to discourage me.
I know I won't be able to make coffees for my customers.
I know it will be different.
I know it is way out of my comfort zone.

BUT!

I know that God will be with me.
I know that I will have to depend on Him.
I know that I have a blog, a phone, mail, email, texting, and I'll get skype.
I know that I will be a part of a wonderful team down there.
I know that I can visit home.
I know that distance makes the heart grow fonder... so I will still love my family and friends when I get back.
I know that doing God's will isn't always comfortable.... that's not what Christianity is about; it is about becoming more like Christ.
I know that the Lord has burdened my heart with hurting woman and He can use me with these women.
I know that the experience will be life changing.
I know that being in the will of God is the most wonderful place to be.
I know that GOD is more than enough.

Above all, I know that God is great.
I know that doesn't necessarily have to do with leaving.... but it is everything to me.
I serve an awesome God.
I sure wouldn't go 2,000 miles away if I didn't believe that!


Because of all that....
I am SO excited!
Excited to see all that God has planned for this year!
Excited to start a new adventure.
Excited to be a part of Vision of Hope.
Excited that I am God's.
Excited to pack a years worth of clothes in a couple suitcases.... oh, maybe not about that.
But, I am super excited!


He is in control.
He is leading.
He makes no mistakes.
He is faithful.

I trust Him.


Post summary: I'm going to Indiana for a year!