From Jasper... Please Pray!

This post is from Jasper, our youth minister at PBC. I do not know this family but my heart breaks as I look at this young mom and her family...

PLEASE PRAY!!!

Jasper Speaks:

Please pray for Laurie Coldwell. She is a dear friend of ours who was a youth leader when we were at our church in Maine. She is the woman in this picture:


She suffered a sudden brain aneurysm yesterday and the prognosis is not good. Please pray for healing and for her husband, Don and their three kids. Here is a post from Don's Facebook page:

On Saturday March 13th my bride Laurie Coldwell had a brain aneurysm burst and she fell into a coma. Our brave and courageous daughter Emma immediately called me at work and told me that mommy was sick.

Paramedics took her to Maine Medical Center where a brain scan confirmed the bleeding and emergency surgery was started.

Without going into the gory details...we are praying for survival.

Please lift up my bride and my children in prayer as we face this challenge.

MOTHERING SUNDAY...

...or Mother's Day in the IOM. It occurs the 4th Sunday of Lent or 3 weeks before Easter so it's a different day each year. So I get to celebrate two Mother's Day this year! Love it!! I was so happy to be able to celebrate the day with Malikas! It's actually the first time we spent Mother's Day together. :-)

The morning started with juice, chocolates, tea, a sweet card and funny coaster delivered to me in bed. Later we were on our way to L'Experience, a French restaurant, for a Mother's Day lunch... meeting Chris' mom, Voirrey. The meal was a delicious 3-course lunch. My choices included prawns with a Marie Rose sauce... chicken breast in tarragon sauce with vegetables & roasted potatoes... creme brulee with forest fruits... and finished off with a coffee (which I don't normally drink) but I did... and I liked it... a lot.
We then went for a drive, heading for the "frozen north"... keeping in mind that the island is only about 32 miles long. We saw many sheep with their cute little lambs... went to the Point of Ayre, the most northern point of the island and stopped for gas in Ramsey, the largest northern town. You will note that one of the most southern town is Port St. Mary which is where Chris and Masha live.

The lighthouse at the Point of Ayre...
Perhaps this story will make one think twice before complaining about our gas prices in America. This is the price per liter and calculates to about $7.75 per gallon. Our $2.50+ doesn't sound so bad in perspective. Perhaps I should not complain to Malikas about the price of our gas.
Dinner tonight is curry by Chef Pukhas... and it's almost time to eat. :-)

SO PEACEFUL TODAY...

It's a quiet, peaceful, beautiful morning in the Isle of Man. Masha and Chris had a court hearing today about an immigration issue stemming from a visa refusal for her sister, Julia, at Christmas time. And that's about all I'm saying about that because I don't understand all of it. But I opted to stay home instead of going to court. It is such a beautiful day and that's really the only reason for this post... to show four pictures that were taken from the balcony off their living room.
Yesterday was a trip to the fish market for very fresh queenies (scallops) caught that morning... my favorite and will be my birthday dinner... as well as some smoked salmon for last night's dinner. Yummy!! A short drive to Port Erin so Malikas could show me where she does some fishing resulted in a reason to worry about her climbing on the rocks alone. :-( And then it was a late lunch at the Sound. Pictures to come soon...

ON THE ROCK

Tuesday at noon found me landing at Ronaldsway Airport in the Isle of Man. The flight across the Irish Sea wasn't bad... even in a prop plane. This was the view out my window...
After a lunch of delicious homemade mushroom soup, we headed out for a drive to The Sound - my favorite place on the island and to Peel - a nearby town with castle ruins... and watched a beautiful sunset as we drove home.
Dinner was at home (Beacon View) and then an evening of chatting and Wii. So far, I'd better just stick to bowling - the only game I could win. However, baseball, wakeboarding, archery and sword fighting was also quite fun.

Today is sunny... not sure how warm it is though... so we'll go out and enjoy the sunshine... maybe even some fishing.

LEG #2 - CHECK!!

Boarded on time in Chicago; left about 20 minutes late. The flight attendant just kept staring at the door... then she went to get someone from the main cabin who messed with it... then they opened it and closed it and opened it and closed it and opened it and closed it. I felt like I should use my "mom voice" and say, "Stay in or stay out but quit going in and out!" Finally they decided we could leave so I don't know what the problem was. At one point there were about 5 people messing with the door. The plane was smaller than most that I fly across the big pond so I wasn't so sure about it... just 3 seats on each side... don't ask me what kind it was because I have no idea. The turbulence was minimal... I was able to sleep some... and the seat belt sign was off most of the trip... all good signs of a smooth flight.

I was excited that they checked my luggage from STL to IOM. When I arrived at Manchester I even asked someone if I needed to pick up my luggage and explained that it had been checked all the way through... and she said, "Oh, no, it won't even come in the terminal. It'll be put on your flight to the IOM." So being the not very trusting person that I am, I decided to hang around the carousel for a bit... and sure enough, here came my luggage with the frog tag on it. Then it was time to find the Flybe desk which I did with no problem. However, there were about a gazillion teenagers in front of me. Thankfully, a nice Flybe agent took me around them and I rechecked my bag and now I wait for my flight to the Rock. It will take less than an hour on a little prop job and I'm not excited about those kinds of planes. However, I am excited about seeing Malikas so it'll all be OK. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

There is fighting again around Jos, Nigeria, where Sara lived. Here's a link to a story that the Baptist Press did... http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=32451.

Here's a portion of a devotional I read this morning from Proverbs 31 Ministries written by Melanie Chitwood: A legacy can be defined as "something handed down." Every day through our words and actions we are developing a legacy to be carried in the character of our children. It's easy for the busyness of life to keep you from being purposeful in your parenting. Let's decide today to leave the legacy we really want. Let's make sure it's a legacy not born of busyness and urgency, but one born of purposefulness and prayer.

For Young Moms

I just read this on an email I received from MOPS occasionally... struck a cord as I see all the busyness of young moms... take it to heart...

Come Enjoy Us

By Jeanne Rohrs

The other night my boys and I were sitting down to dinner as my husband entered the room. My three-year-old looked up and said, “Daddy, come enjoy us!”

I love puns, but this one stood out to me because it revealed the heart of my child.

I often miss out on enjoying my children as I herd them from one errand to another. Most of the time I join them but don’t enjoy them. Why aren’t those words synonyms for me as a mom?

Maybe it’s because no matter what I get done, there’s always more to do; more that I think I should have done; more that I think I should be. And there’s guilt over all that I have yet to do. That’s how it happens – my kids become roadblocks.

But when I stop keeping-up-with-the-Joneses and trying to be like June Cleaver, and I really look at my kids, I see their desire for me to enjoy them – to delight in them. It’s then that I ask myself if my agenda is really that important, and if the floor is really too dirty.

Lord, you delight in your children. You quiet them with your love and rejoice over them with singing. Give me your perspective. Help me to enjoy the gift that my kids are.

FIRST LEG COMPLETE

...but then it was only a very short one... STL to ORD. Now I wait, patiently, for the next, much longer leg...

As I sat in my AA seat in STL, I had to chuckle at the small Asian man standing in the aisle. He was obviously quite perturbed that someone had "smashed" his backpack by putting a larger one next to his and he couldn't get it out. The flight attendant explained that they were not to remove another person's bag... actually 3 attendants told him that as he continued to complain about his bag being "smashed". The little man was persistant and preceded to walk the aisle looking for the "guilty" party. He found the person who insisted his bag was just fine and didn't move. After more complaining, it was suggested that he sit down so we could take off. He said "no, I don't want my bag smashed." Finally a male attendant removed the carry-on that was "guilty" of "smashing" the backpack. He handed the small backpack to the Asian who then said, "No, I don't want it... put it back but don't put back the big one." The attendant explained that his backpack would fit very nicely under the seat (and there was no one sitting next to him). The Asian man said, "No, I want it up there and I don't want it smashed." I'm pretty sure I heard the attendant mumbling on his way to find an empty spot for the suitcase. And that began the first leg of my journey.

I checked out the AA magazine to see what movies would be playing the way across the ocean... and I'm not at all happy with what I found out... "Where the Wild Things Are" - saw it with Sara, didn't like it, no desire to see it again; or "Star Trek VI" - never been a Star Trek fan and don't plan to start now. So I'm seeing sleep, books and the iPod in my near future.

Of course, no post would be complete without pictures of those beautiful grandchildren. Sammy is obviously quite taken with his new baby sister even if he did want a brother.