Hey y'all. Now I'm an unofficial Texan. I saw Beth Moore, my heroine, two weeks ago. Tom gave me a get-out-of-jail-free card and I bought a ticket to Living Proof Live in Columbus, Ohio. So I was all ready and pumped for the time of my life. Set off Friday afternoon 8/12 on the I-71 freeway headed for Ohio State University. Made it in time to spare, got my hotel room at the Sheraton, had snacks, and headed back to OSU Schottenstein (sp?) arena to meet my hero....uh....along with what looked like five GAZILLION other women. The line outside was a mile long. Add that to the heat and to my vertigo, and you've got a problem. The solution was to get to the top of the line without keeling over in the heat. This was aided by the fact that I was alone, hence no one to impede my progress. I went there to see...Beth....Moore...and I was bound and determined to get to the front row. So, being the good and obedient groupie that I am, I wended my way through the morass of capri-wearing ladies and I made it to row FIVE. Yes! waited, waited, waited.....then suddenly there we were at 7pm and Travis Cottrell was leadin' worship and I looked and..THERE SHE WAS! My hero(ine)!
Beth is so beautiful in person, even more so? than online or on video. She is engaging, funny, smart, hilarious, all of the above. She somehow couldn't get close enough to me for an intimate conversation :) but we'll work that out and get it accomplished some day soon. Anyway, it was fun.
My quibbles (I'm allowed quibbles because I left my husband and kids for a weekend for this; I paid big bucks to get in; I paid for a hotel room; and I braved crowds and driving ....and I went alone) are .....the music was too loud; the hour was late-ish; the crowds were too big; they would not let us in the building until 6 pm ..why?) and I just .....wanted.....more....of Beth Moore.
IMHO, this speaks of a big gap in the evangelical world. Why are we forced to shell out two hundred dollars just to get a nifty lookin' lady to teach us the Bible? Why did I have to go to Columbus to get a good Bible study? Surely there are other good Bible study teachers closer to Rootstown Ohio. arrggghhh I really missed kids and hubby and the hotel was fine but it wasn't home, if you know what I mean.
My point is that there is a hole in the evangelical world and Beth Moore can't fix it on her own.
Northeast Ohio: surely you can do better than this. I shouldn't have to drive two hours to get a good Bible study.
I was happy to go to see Beth Moore; in fact, I looked forward to it all summer. I just think that she shouldn't have to shoulder the burden all by herself. Anyone?
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Looking Up
Sometimes when you are in a pit, you need someone to pull you out. Right off the bat I am going to recommend Beth Moore's book, "Get out of that Pit." She talks extensively and experientially about how we get into a pit (of self destruction) and how we can get out of the pit.
I don't want to go on about Beth Moore today, that's for another day. This lady has taught me so much about the Bible I cannot even believe it. But I'll get into that some other time.
The other day I was on the treadmill and I was listening to a compilation of sermons sent gratis to me by Moody Radio, and I heard an excerpt of a sermon by Alistair Begg. It was called "Ropes to Rags." It was based on a text in the book of Jeremiah where the prophet has been thrown into some kind of pit. He really needs help getting out. And this big Ethiopian guy comes along and is going to pull him out, but it's going to hurt getting yanked up by this big dude. By the way this is in the book of Jeremiah, the 38th chapter, and our Ethiopian giant-with-a-tender-heart's name is Ebed-Melech. He is a Cushite.
So in verse 12 he tells Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." So Jeremiah takes the advice and Ebed and his helpers gently pull him out of the pit.
That's what I need when I am in the pit. I need someone who is strong but who is also gentle. Someone who can do the deed but who is compassionate about it. Getting out of a pit is not an easy thing and it's going to hurt. One needs help to get out of a pit, and one needs kindness to get out of a pit. Praise God for that Ethiopian, who could have just yanked him out and pulled his arm out of his socket, but he didn't. He provided a good lesson for me, both for when I am in the pit and also when someone I know is in a pit. Help 'em out, but be kind and gentle about it.
I don't want to go on about Beth Moore today, that's for another day. This lady has taught me so much about the Bible I cannot even believe it. But I'll get into that some other time.
The other day I was on the treadmill and I was listening to a compilation of sermons sent gratis to me by Moody Radio, and I heard an excerpt of a sermon by Alistair Begg. It was called "Ropes to Rags." It was based on a text in the book of Jeremiah where the prophet has been thrown into some kind of pit. He really needs help getting out. And this big Ethiopian guy comes along and is going to pull him out, but it's going to hurt getting yanked up by this big dude. By the way this is in the book of Jeremiah, the 38th chapter, and our Ethiopian giant-with-a-tender-heart's name is Ebed-Melech. He is a Cushite.
So in verse 12 he tells Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." So Jeremiah takes the advice and Ebed and his helpers gently pull him out of the pit.
That's what I need when I am in the pit. I need someone who is strong but who is also gentle. Someone who can do the deed but who is compassionate about it. Getting out of a pit is not an easy thing and it's going to hurt. One needs help to get out of a pit, and one needs kindness to get out of a pit. Praise God for that Ethiopian, who could have just yanked him out and pulled his arm out of his socket, but he didn't. He provided a good lesson for me, both for when I am in the pit and also when someone I know is in a pit. Help 'em out, but be kind and gentle about it.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
What Makes a Hero?
Somehow, the mail we've been receiving, the devotionals we receive, the books in our house, keep shoving me toward the concept of "what makes a hero". I'm currently trying to unload our vast collection of books, and I keep running into biographies and going, "I need to keep that and read it." I also voraciously read current books, magazines, etc., and I noticed I am particularly drawn to autobiography, personal testimony stories, etc. I read one just yesterday in a secular magazine in which a mom was queried about her marriage, her career, her children, etc., and it was just fascinating to me. I finally came to and realized, "note to self: you like biography."
Why? Why is memoir and biography such a fascinating genre? And what does this have to do with heroes?
We read biography to read about our heroes. We want to find out how our hero ticked. What made him tick, what made him want to survive, what kept him going, what drove him. These are human concerns. This is the human condition: the will to survive. Hence our need to read biography and memoir/autobiography.
Memoir is a genre that is definitely popular right now. In fact, I think it has seen its apex, because unfortunately memoirs are all starting to sound the same right now, at least in book review magazines. They all sound the same: "a harrowing tale of abuse, terror, and redemption." Trust me. I've read a lot of them, and they are all the same. Celebrity reveals details of horrible childhood. Celebrity grows up and becomes a celebrity. Celebrity falls into the ditch of addiction, alcoholism, crime, etc. Celebrity goes to rehab and figures it all out. All is forgiven. Book gets written. Film at 11.
I'm not kidding! I've read plenty of them!
So anyway, today in the mail we received Randy Alcorn's excellent newsletter and what is the subject, but .....biography. Specifically, he writes about Charles Spurgeon. In the newsletter he says that he believes Spurgeon may have the most writings in print of anyone on the planet. I couldn't believe it! I've read some of Spurgeon's books but did not realize this about him. I didn't know he was so prolific! Did you? Now my interest is piqued. What did he write? What did he have to say? When did he live? How long did he live? Where did he live? What made him tick? And so on.
Bottom line: don't call me the next few days. I will be checking out all the Spurgeon biographies and reading up on my Spurgeon. Need to find out about this guy. Will let you know what all the fuss is about :). He's probably my next hero.
Love Lisa
Why? Why is memoir and biography such a fascinating genre? And what does this have to do with heroes?
We read biography to read about our heroes. We want to find out how our hero ticked. What made him tick, what made him want to survive, what kept him going, what drove him. These are human concerns. This is the human condition: the will to survive. Hence our need to read biography and memoir/autobiography.
Memoir is a genre that is definitely popular right now. In fact, I think it has seen its apex, because unfortunately memoirs are all starting to sound the same right now, at least in book review magazines. They all sound the same: "a harrowing tale of abuse, terror, and redemption." Trust me. I've read a lot of them, and they are all the same. Celebrity reveals details of horrible childhood. Celebrity grows up and becomes a celebrity. Celebrity falls into the ditch of addiction, alcoholism, crime, etc. Celebrity goes to rehab and figures it all out. All is forgiven. Book gets written. Film at 11.
I'm not kidding! I've read plenty of them!
So anyway, today in the mail we received Randy Alcorn's excellent newsletter and what is the subject, but .....biography. Specifically, he writes about Charles Spurgeon. In the newsletter he says that he believes Spurgeon may have the most writings in print of anyone on the planet. I couldn't believe it! I've read some of Spurgeon's books but did not realize this about him. I didn't know he was so prolific! Did you? Now my interest is piqued. What did he write? What did he have to say? When did he live? How long did he live? Where did he live? What made him tick? And so on.
Bottom line: don't call me the next few days. I will be checking out all the Spurgeon biographies and reading up on my Spurgeon. Need to find out about this guy. Will let you know what all the fuss is about :). He's probably my next hero.
Love Lisa
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Running a 5K
Hi, I'm sorry it took me so long to followup. I promised I would write about my first 5K. Now I have officially run my second 5K so I really have to follow through on my promise, and I will write about both 5Ks.
Yesterday was my 2nd 5K. This was again the Tallmadge (OH) Memorial 5K race. Two years ago I ran this race for the first time ever. Keep in mind I am totally not an athlete. This activity is simply for the purpose of staying in motion (bodies in motion stay in motion, bodies at rest stay at rest, simple physics.) Ever since I turned a certain age and started having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, I realized the wisdom of this statement.
This year my time was 5 minutes slower than that of 2 years ago, for which I will not apologize. I was accompanied again by my friend from church, and we got to talkin' during the race, and I just lost track of what was happening, and next thing I knew we were pullin' up the rear so to speak. But when we "came to" and realized that the oldest runner in the race, a 79 year old lady, was ahead of us, we knew we had to get to work. So we sprinted down the last stretch and we dusted that lady. whew! so 36 minutes and some odd seconds for our time this year.
Two years ago, my inaugural race, I had made a huge mistake. I thought I was being cool and I started running the race route ahead of time so as to get to know its little intricacies, etc. However being the novice that I am, I read the map wrong and I made the turnaround earlier than I was supposed to, so my pre-race times were excellent by virtue of running a short 5K. So on race day I had Erica and Tom running with me and when we got to the supposed turnaround, I..uh.. turned around. And my compadres informed me we were not to the turnaround yet. I was floored, devastated, stunned, hurt....and exhausted. I could not believe I had made such an egregious error in map reading. So we kept going and somehow, somehow, I ended up with a time of 31 minutes and some odd seconds. Google the 2009 race results and you'll see an official time, but you won't see the truth of the matter, that our church's elder and children's director had to basically pray me in to the finish line. it was so embarrassing. My tongue was hanging out of my mouth, face was beet red, and I thought I was gonna die. My bad. Next time I'll know better.
anyway this year it did go much better even though our times were slower. My goal was not to gain a better PR but to keep at it, just be diligent and keep in motion. I know that we are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. Paul tells us that. He fought the fight, he stayed in the race. He ran to win. But to finish is to win.
Many Christian athletes use the "running a race" analogy to talk about their faith. I love the metaphor. Really, the Christian life is not a sprint nor a 5K. It is a marathon. It is one foot in front of the other. It is to get back up when you fall. We did see a poor young lady who fell at the first turn and she was crying. Help was on its way but it still hurts when you fall down. And falls will occur. That was a good reminder.
So I like running/jogging/walking/racing as both a way to keep myself limber and as a reminder of my faith walk with Christ. I am grateful to those who walked/ran before me and showed me how to run the course. I need to remember to read the map correctly and to follow it. I need to not mis-read it and thus try to take any shortcuts. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Praise God for His Word!
Yesterday was my 2nd 5K. This was again the Tallmadge (OH) Memorial 5K race. Two years ago I ran this race for the first time ever. Keep in mind I am totally not an athlete. This activity is simply for the purpose of staying in motion (bodies in motion stay in motion, bodies at rest stay at rest, simple physics.) Ever since I turned a certain age and started having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, I realized the wisdom of this statement.
This year my time was 5 minutes slower than that of 2 years ago, for which I will not apologize. I was accompanied again by my friend from church, and we got to talkin' during the race, and I just lost track of what was happening, and next thing I knew we were pullin' up the rear so to speak. But when we "came to" and realized that the oldest runner in the race, a 79 year old lady, was ahead of us, we knew we had to get to work. So we sprinted down the last stretch and we dusted that lady. whew! so 36 minutes and some odd seconds for our time this year.
Two years ago, my inaugural race, I had made a huge mistake. I thought I was being cool and I started running the race route ahead of time so as to get to know its little intricacies, etc. However being the novice that I am, I read the map wrong and I made the turnaround earlier than I was supposed to, so my pre-race times were excellent by virtue of running a short 5K. So on race day I had Erica and Tom running with me and when we got to the supposed turnaround, I..uh.. turned around. And my compadres informed me we were not to the turnaround yet. I was floored, devastated, stunned, hurt....and exhausted. I could not believe I had made such an egregious error in map reading. So we kept going and somehow, somehow, I ended up with a time of 31 minutes and some odd seconds. Google the 2009 race results and you'll see an official time, but you won't see the truth of the matter, that our church's elder and children's director had to basically pray me in to the finish line. it was so embarrassing. My tongue was hanging out of my mouth, face was beet red, and I thought I was gonna die. My bad. Next time I'll know better.
anyway this year it did go much better even though our times were slower. My goal was not to gain a better PR but to keep at it, just be diligent and keep in motion. I know that we are to run with endurance the race that is set before us. Paul tells us that. He fought the fight, he stayed in the race. He ran to win. But to finish is to win.
Many Christian athletes use the "running a race" analogy to talk about their faith. I love the metaphor. Really, the Christian life is not a sprint nor a 5K. It is a marathon. It is one foot in front of the other. It is to get back up when you fall. We did see a poor young lady who fell at the first turn and she was crying. Help was on its way but it still hurts when you fall down. And falls will occur. That was a good reminder.
So I like running/jogging/walking/racing as both a way to keep myself limber and as a reminder of my faith walk with Christ. I am grateful to those who walked/ran before me and showed me how to run the course. I need to remember to read the map correctly and to follow it. I need to not mis-read it and thus try to take any shortcuts. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Praise God for His Word!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Bible Study Fellowship
Great study this (my first) year, the book of Isaiah. My understanding is next year will be the Acts of the Apostles. Anyway, I have really enjoyed BSF. It was hard to get into the strict and streamlined format, but it is meant to get you into the Word daily and to figure out answers for yourself, not to be spoonfed any answers. This week we studied the "Little Gospel" Isaiah 53. As we studied it I remembered my Dad. He memorized this passage and recited it in church one year long ago. After he died I wanted to honor him somehow so I memorized it too and recited it in church last Easter. This week as we pored over it in BSF, I realized that having memorized it, I was better able to actually study it and remember phrases and sentences. This truly enhanced my ability to understand the passage. I have heard about people who memorize whole passages, whole books of the Bible, not just merely as a feat of "look what I did," but rather, to really immerse the self into the Scriptures. To really have that buried deep inside. When tough times come, the passages, having been rooted down into the mind and heart, get called up and can help one to bear fruit (blossom) at that difficult time.
The AWANA program at churches is a great start to this. Kids get the Word buried into their hearts at an early age. Years and years later those words can bear fruit in lives. Praise God.
"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him; there was nothing in his appearance that we would desire Him. He was bruised for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that was meant for us was put on Him; and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned each one to his own way, and the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all." .....He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. ....by oppression and judgment He was taken away...and who can speak of his descendants? He was cut off from the land of the living. ........Yet.....it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. ... and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and will prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand."
The Word of the Lord is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is powerful.
The AWANA program at churches is a great start to this. Kids get the Word buried into their hearts at an early age. Years and years later those words can bear fruit in lives. Praise God.
"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him; there was nothing in his appearance that we would desire Him. He was bruised for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that was meant for us was put on Him; and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned each one to his own way, and the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all." .....He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. ....by oppression and judgment He was taken away...and who can speak of his descendants? He was cut off from the land of the living. ........Yet.....it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. ... and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and will prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand."
The Word of the Lord is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is powerful.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Back On!
G'day.....back on the blog after a lengthy absence. Short posting today to get myself reacquainted with this site an' stuff.....
Today I am promoting our church's "Run for the Rug" campaign. We are asking folks to participate in the Tallmadge Memorial Day 5K and Fun 1-Mile Run, as we are raising funds for carpet for our youth room and nursery areas. (Oh! Better tell the church's name! Tallmadge Alliance Church, Tallmadge Ohio!!)
Erica Smith and I are starting a get-ready class; this will begin the first Saturday in April. We'll go for one hour (I think it starts at 9:30 am) and this class will hopefully assist us in gaining confidence and endurance to run the 5K. (The class I took two years ago for this was called "Couch to 5K" if that tells you anything about me!!!)
Next posting, I'll tell you about my first 5K experience. What a joke!! I did survive it though.
p.s. If anyone needs a laugh (and I needed one last night), go to the library and pick up past issues of Consumer Reports. It's a good magazine but the reading can be tedious, especially all those rankings with the red dots. Whoa! Need my glasses for those! Anyway I'm not saying, read the magazine, (but read it if you so desire). Instead I'm saying...... go to the back page of the magazine as they have product "bloopers". People send in pictures of product packaging, advertisements, etc., with all kinds of errors and weird stuff. It had me in stitches last night. Tom said "you and I don't have exactly the same sense of humor" when I showed him what I was cackling about and he went, "huh".
Anyway one of my favorites is the picture of the "black hole award". This is when you buy a box of something in the store like pasta or healthy bars and you open up the package (good-sized box) and there lo and behold in the wayyyyy bottom is five small healthy bars or some pasta or something and the rest of the package is just......air.
My next favorite is the "complete salad" concept. The package will say "contains one complete meal" and it's some kind of big salad thing in a package, complete with bacon bits, cheese shred, croutons, dressing in a packet, plastic bowl, some chicken cut up for you........only read the fine print and it says "Add salad." Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The last one was touting the "Oregon Department of Educaton" ...."aren't you tired of incompetant educateors" or something like that. We were like, uh, yeah, we are tired of those.
More later......"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; new every morning; great is thy faithfulness, O Lord; great is thy faithfulness." Love, Lisa
Today I am promoting our church's "Run for the Rug" campaign. We are asking folks to participate in the Tallmadge Memorial Day 5K and Fun 1-Mile Run, as we are raising funds for carpet for our youth room and nursery areas. (Oh! Better tell the church's name! Tallmadge Alliance Church, Tallmadge Ohio!!)
Erica Smith and I are starting a get-ready class; this will begin the first Saturday in April. We'll go for one hour (I think it starts at 9:30 am) and this class will hopefully assist us in gaining confidence and endurance to run the 5K. (The class I took two years ago for this was called "Couch to 5K" if that tells you anything about me!!!)
Next posting, I'll tell you about my first 5K experience. What a joke!! I did survive it though.
p.s. If anyone needs a laugh (and I needed one last night), go to the library and pick up past issues of Consumer Reports. It's a good magazine but the reading can be tedious, especially all those rankings with the red dots. Whoa! Need my glasses for those! Anyway I'm not saying, read the magazine, (but read it if you so desire). Instead I'm saying...... go to the back page of the magazine as they have product "bloopers". People send in pictures of product packaging, advertisements, etc., with all kinds of errors and weird stuff. It had me in stitches last night. Tom said "you and I don't have exactly the same sense of humor" when I showed him what I was cackling about and he went, "huh".
Anyway one of my favorites is the picture of the "black hole award". This is when you buy a box of something in the store like pasta or healthy bars and you open up the package (good-sized box) and there lo and behold in the wayyyyy bottom is five small healthy bars or some pasta or something and the rest of the package is just......air.
My next favorite is the "complete salad" concept. The package will say "contains one complete meal" and it's some kind of big salad thing in a package, complete with bacon bits, cheese shred, croutons, dressing in a packet, plastic bowl, some chicken cut up for you........only read the fine print and it says "Add salad." Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The last one was touting the "Oregon Department of Educaton" ...."aren't you tired of incompetant educateors" or something like that. We were like, uh, yeah, we are tired of those.
More later......"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; new every morning; great is thy faithfulness, O Lord; great is thy faithfulness." Love, Lisa
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The Day our Black Lab Saved Our Lives
We have all heard stories about how dogs have saved people's lives.
Here's our own story. It occurred last Saturday February 6, 2010, when northeast Ohio got one of "those "snowstorms" that we used to get in the 1970s and 1980s, that just never seem to be "popular" anymore.
So that day, Tom and I are supposed to be at our annual church meeting at 9:00 am. I am "out to lunch" mentally as I usually am; I have no clue about the snowstorm, and I am just checking my email, reading my books, and Tom goes outside starting to shovel/plow/etc. as he is more aware of his surroundings than I am. After he comes in at 7:30 am I say to him, are you going to be done in time for us to get to the meeting by 9 am?
He looks at me like, do you even KNOW what kind of a storm we got overnight? and he says, we are gonna be lucky to get out of our driveway by MONDAY at this rate. I look out and then start to get a clue as to how bad the storm was.
So Tom calls Pastor John and tells him, look, we are not getting out of this place any time soon, as we have four feet of snow in our driveway and the plow went out on us - AGAIN. So Pastor John cancels the meeting (not just because of us, obviously, as Tallmadge also got a foot of snow). So Tom goes out to deal with the driveway. The plow is not working, again, (who'da thunkit?) so he starts shoveling by hand. I am thinking that by noon he will have had a heart attack.
I call sister Debbie at 10 am to see if they will dig us out and no one answers the phone. I start to think maybe she is avoiding me? Who wants to dig out a driveway that is an eighth of a mile long, when you have your own long driveway to clear?
So I do what you are not supposed to do; I open up the YELLOW PAGES and start looking for snow plow guys. I call one guy and he says "Do you know how bad this storm was? It'll be a miracle if I get to you today". Additionally, Tom, unbeknownst to me, has asked our neighbor to plow us out, but he was not sure if he would be able to come over.
So I decide about 11 am that since we are snowed in, I will do an "oven clean" -- supposedly automatic thing you do - push "oven clean" and it "cleans the oven." So I push the button and think nothing further of it. About a half hour later I notice a couple of things:
1) Ginger our Leonberger, 8 years old, is very sleepy and simply, well, not moving.
2) Jenna our 4-yr-old starts crying and says, Mom I dont feel good. !!
3) I don't feel so good myself.
4) Princess, our beagle, is acting frantic - but this is per her usual activity, so I am unfazed.
5) Hoss our black lab is acting normally - a spazz. I ignore him.
6) So then I am upstairs folding laundry and Rocky our other black lab, who has "a couple of extra pounds on him" (we call him "portly" rather than fat) somehow manages to climb up the stairs and just starts huffing and puffing at me and looking pleadingly at me. I said, what's wrong, Rocky? and he just waddles that body back and forth pleading with me, and I said to myself finally, "something is wrong".
I go downstairs and Ginger is still not moving and the kids are crying and saying they're sick. So I look around and the place is filled with smoke and I realize - finally - either
a) it is carbon monoxide poisoning or
b) just smoke from the OVEN as it is being cleaned and Tom just baked a pie in it the other day so there is sugar dripping and now it is baking and smoking at 500 degrees and basically we are getting ready to have a fire here or we are carbon monoxide poisoned.
So I "come to" and figure out what is going on, and I yell at the kids to get upstairs NOW and shut all doors and I get the dogs outside then I turn on all fans and open up all windows, etc., then I yell at Tom to come in, this is an emergency, and all the while I am thinking, if I have to call 911 Fire, there is NO WAY they can get up this driveway as we don't have it plowed!!!!
arghhhhhhh
So we finally get things under control, turn off oven clean, keep fans moving, kids are ensconced safely upstairs with windows open, etc.
I prayed to God for help. Like this: "HELP US!" (not mincing any words this time)
After a while things are better, the oven finally starts cooling down, the smoke is clearing, we can breathe. I start to realize that we nearly died. Just at that moment I begin to hear this really loud noise outside and there is another angel of mercy, our neighbor, plowing us out.
I also realize that Rocky our black lab saved our lives.
So later that night I reward him with a big juicy steak and we all hug him and thank him for saving our lives. He's laying, "resting" on the couch, and he looks up at me as if to say, "well, you guys are my family, and I had to do what I had to do .... I love you guys and I would do anything for you. I would only ask for one thing ... it would be a small smackerel of food"... (like winnie the pooh).
I also realize that Ginger our 8 year old Leonberger had probably been thinking, in her coma-like state, "Well, I guess this is the way I'm gonna die.....smoke inhalation..... huh... what a way to go" (she was doing better very quickly after the smoke cleared, by the way).
I realize that Hoss our other black lab simply thought there was a roast in the oven that we were going to feed him as he is always mooching food. This is a dog with legs and arms like Gumby that can stretch and leap onto countertops and scarf down whole steaks and roasts and your entire dinner if you don't watch out.
So, just wanted to share this story to say that we are glad to be alive; we are glad that Rocky saved us from an untimely death; we are thankful for our neighbor; we are thankful that we can pray to God even in a panicky way, and that He hears our prayers.
Love, Lisa
Here's our own story. It occurred last Saturday February 6, 2010, when northeast Ohio got one of "those "snowstorms" that we used to get in the 1970s and 1980s, that just never seem to be "popular" anymore.
So that day, Tom and I are supposed to be at our annual church meeting at 9:00 am. I am "out to lunch" mentally as I usually am; I have no clue about the snowstorm, and I am just checking my email, reading my books, and Tom goes outside starting to shovel/plow/etc. as he is more aware of his surroundings than I am. After he comes in at 7:30 am I say to him, are you going to be done in time for us to get to the meeting by 9 am?
He looks at me like, do you even KNOW what kind of a storm we got overnight? and he says, we are gonna be lucky to get out of our driveway by MONDAY at this rate. I look out and then start to get a clue as to how bad the storm was.
So Tom calls Pastor John and tells him, look, we are not getting out of this place any time soon, as we have four feet of snow in our driveway and the plow went out on us - AGAIN. So Pastor John cancels the meeting (not just because of us, obviously, as Tallmadge also got a foot of snow). So Tom goes out to deal with the driveway. The plow is not working, again, (who'da thunkit?) so he starts shoveling by hand. I am thinking that by noon he will have had a heart attack.
I call sister Debbie at 10 am to see if they will dig us out and no one answers the phone. I start to think maybe she is avoiding me? Who wants to dig out a driveway that is an eighth of a mile long, when you have your own long driveway to clear?
So I do what you are not supposed to do; I open up the YELLOW PAGES and start looking for snow plow guys. I call one guy and he says "Do you know how bad this storm was? It'll be a miracle if I get to you today". Additionally, Tom, unbeknownst to me, has asked our neighbor to plow us out, but he was not sure if he would be able to come over.
So I decide about 11 am that since we are snowed in, I will do an "oven clean" -- supposedly automatic thing you do - push "oven clean" and it "cleans the oven." So I push the button and think nothing further of it. About a half hour later I notice a couple of things:
1) Ginger our Leonberger, 8 years old, is very sleepy and simply, well, not moving.
2) Jenna our 4-yr-old starts crying and says, Mom I dont feel good. !!
3) I don't feel so good myself.
4) Princess, our beagle, is acting frantic - but this is per her usual activity, so I am unfazed.
5) Hoss our black lab is acting normally - a spazz. I ignore him.
6) So then I am upstairs folding laundry and Rocky our other black lab, who has "a couple of extra pounds on him" (we call him "portly" rather than fat) somehow manages to climb up the stairs and just starts huffing and puffing at me and looking pleadingly at me. I said, what's wrong, Rocky? and he just waddles that body back and forth pleading with me, and I said to myself finally, "something is wrong".
I go downstairs and Ginger is still not moving and the kids are crying and saying they're sick. So I look around and the place is filled with smoke and I realize - finally - either
a) it is carbon monoxide poisoning or
b) just smoke from the OVEN as it is being cleaned and Tom just baked a pie in it the other day so there is sugar dripping and now it is baking and smoking at 500 degrees and basically we are getting ready to have a fire here or we are carbon monoxide poisoned.
So I "come to" and figure out what is going on, and I yell at the kids to get upstairs NOW and shut all doors and I get the dogs outside then I turn on all fans and open up all windows, etc., then I yell at Tom to come in, this is an emergency, and all the while I am thinking, if I have to call 911 Fire, there is NO WAY they can get up this driveway as we don't have it plowed!!!!
arghhhhhhh
So we finally get things under control, turn off oven clean, keep fans moving, kids are ensconced safely upstairs with windows open, etc.
I prayed to God for help. Like this: "HELP US!" (not mincing any words this time)
After a while things are better, the oven finally starts cooling down, the smoke is clearing, we can breathe. I start to realize that we nearly died. Just at that moment I begin to hear this really loud noise outside and there is another angel of mercy, our neighbor, plowing us out.
I also realize that Rocky our black lab saved our lives.
So later that night I reward him with a big juicy steak and we all hug him and thank him for saving our lives. He's laying, "resting" on the couch, and he looks up at me as if to say, "well, you guys are my family, and I had to do what I had to do .... I love you guys and I would do anything for you. I would only ask for one thing ... it would be a small smackerel of food"... (like winnie the pooh).
I also realize that Ginger our 8 year old Leonberger had probably been thinking, in her coma-like state, "Well, I guess this is the way I'm gonna die.....smoke inhalation..... huh... what a way to go" (she was doing better very quickly after the smoke cleared, by the way).
I realize that Hoss our other black lab simply thought there was a roast in the oven that we were going to feed him as he is always mooching food. This is a dog with legs and arms like Gumby that can stretch and leap onto countertops and scarf down whole steaks and roasts and your entire dinner if you don't watch out.
So, just wanted to share this story to say that we are glad to be alive; we are glad that Rocky saved us from an untimely death; we are thankful for our neighbor; we are thankful that we can pray to God even in a panicky way, and that He hears our prayers.
Love, Lisa
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