Are you talking about me???

So, I know we have all had friends on Facebook who say things like “I hate it when people…”.  I know I cannot possibly be the only one who reads these comments and thinks “Oh, no.  Are they talking about me?”  This week, in one day I had two friends post very similar comments and thought both times that they could possibly be referring to me.  Suddenly I got convicted about this feeling.  The first thing I thought about was: I sure am self-absorbed to think that every comment on there is about me.  The second thing I thought was: It irritates me when people think that when I post a comment.  The third thought I had was: I am always telling people that if someone gets their toes stepped on…they likely needed it.  This last thought is where the conviction came in.  If people make a comment on the internet and I feel like they are talking about me…obviously I am guilty of that at some point and to some degree.  As our pastor always says “Can I get an Ouch or an Amen?!”  This was certainly an OUCH for me!

Now I have always been the kind of person who tells you when I have a problem with you, but for some reason, in today’s society, it has become “ok” to tell everyone the problem one has with another via some sort of media or social outlet.  I just wonder why?!  The scripture clearly states that when you have an issue with someone that you are to go to that person ONLY and sort out the problem.  So what has made so many Christians “ok” with the social media method of sorting out a problem?

I will certainly say that I am VERY guilty of this same thing and have been convicted to the point that I will be working VERY hard to stop doing this.  As for the feeling I get that someone is posting a “beef” about me on Facebook…I am going to choose to read such posts and when I feel that it may be about me, I will use that feeling as an opportunity to work on myself and quit commenting like someone who is so self-absorbed to think that every post is about them.

Lessons learned while my daughter is at camp!

Felicity is off at camp…2 ½ hrs away!  After we dropped her off I definitely had a major panic attack and just couldn’t shake horrible feelings.  I couldn’t place my finger on any one thing that had left me so sad.   This morning as I am sitting in my recliner and trying to shake these feelings, it dawned on me that I have been with Felicity constantly for nearly 7 years and she is now gone.  I always knew I had to let her go sometime and told myself that I was ready, but man am I not ready.  By the age of 14 most kids have gone out with their friends alone, had a lot of sleepovers, gone to camp and so much more.  Our lives certainly haven’t been like normal families of 14 year olds, but I always prided myself on having the ability to let go…well, I guess not.  I always told myself that I had the ability to let her go, but I have discovered this weekend that I don’t have the ability to let her go. 

I think that this year Felicity had to go to camp…not for herself, but for me.  I am having to learn that God has seen her through unspeakable health problems and has protected her over the last few years of terrifying things and He isn’t ever going to stop taking care of her.  I know that we have taught her to stand strong in her faith and have watched her witness to other kids and even lead one to the Lord and I now have to trust that we have fully equipped her to do life with God by her side and her momma at home cheering her on!  I don’t believe that it is ever easy to let a child go, but I have to trust that we have effectively equipped her and that God still has her back!  Camp isn’t for her to learn and grow, though I know that she will; camp this year is for this momma to learn and grow!  I am struggling to learn this and yet struggle to understand how I can so easily trust God to protect her life when she is on death’s door in the hospital, but have a hard time trusting Him to protect her at a simple camp.  I can’t answer the questions to the lessons I am to learn and know that God is teaching me as much as He is teaching Felicity; what I do know for sure is this: at a camp just outside of Wagoner, Oklahoma, is an amazing 14 year old girl with her amazing best friend who is turning that camp upside down for God while learning things about herself!  Although I am terrified about this phase of life, I do know that God is holding Felicity tight in His arms just like I have for so many years and He has her far more protected in His arms then I could EVER protect her in mine. 

So, as I think about the memories Felicity is making with her dear friend, I am also excited about the things I will learn this week and the relationships that I can grow by being here building stronger relationships with the people around me and renew my relationship with God.  Although, yesterday I couldn’t wait to pick her up from camp so that she was back with me; today, I can’t wait to pick her up at camp to hear the fabulous things she got to experience this week….just her, her bff, and God!

Seriousness of Celiac Disease and what it means for my child!

Have you ever had one of those situations where you try to explain something as best as you can and people still just don’t get it?   I have been having this situation when it comes to Felicity’s need to be Gluten-Free.  Some people understand that Celiac Disease means that Felicity cannot eat anything containing Gluten; this is absolutely correct.  However, there is so much more to it than that!  For example: If I want a piece of toast at home that is made from bread containing Gluten, I must either toast it in the oven or on the stove OR I can use the toaster, but then have to thoroughly clean the toaster so that Felicity can use it.  If we are having hamburgers and I lay a bun with Gluten in it on the counter and then lay Felicity’s Gluten-Free (GF) bun where the other one was laying…it is now contaminated and she can no longer eat her GF bun.  Sounds tricky, I know, but once you get the hang of it…there really isn’t anything tricky about it!  Well, I take that back…getting people to understand the concept of “cross-contamination” is nearly impossible.  I have a few friends who have latched on to the GF idea and anytime they bring us food or anything I know that the mom has taken great care to be sure Felicity is safe! 

Felicity is attending a camp this week and we are so excited; I hate that it is not a Christian camp, but there are no Christian camps in Oklahoma (that I have found) that offer GF selections.  Felicity is able to go to this particular camp because their first week of camp is GF Week!  This camp works with the Celiac Disease Foundation to make sure all food and snacks are GF and have no cross-contamination!  She is so excited because without this option, Felicity couldn’t go to camp this summer!  Later this summer, our church is taking kids to a 3 day camp in Southern Oklahoma and Felicity would love to attend with her friends.  Everyone is encouraging us to send her, but are not understanding how difficult this is.  I know I can pack her food and package it carefully and put it in a cooler; when she gets to camp though, that food will need to be refrigerated.  Now, suppose the kitchen staff tries to be helpful and put Felicity’s food on her plate and then add other things to her plate, things that contain Gluten or the pre-packaged food comes into contact with something containing Gluten like someone's glove; Felicity then can no longer eat any of the food on her plate because it has been contaminated.  THIS is my dilemma.  I would love to send Felicity to camp with all of her friends, but struggle because we feel like most of the people going to this camp with her do not understand the severity of our food dilemma! 

I do not, for one second, believe that people would intentionally harm my daughter.  I also believe that people are not stupid about this…they are merely uneducated.  The purpose of this blog is not to condemn people for their lack of knowledge about the situation, but rather to educate people.

EDUCATION:  There are over 3 million people in the United States with Celiac Disease.  With Celiac Disease a person cannot consume ANYTHING containing Gluten.  This means that it cannot be made with Gluten, cannot be processed where they process items with Gluten, it cannot come in contact with anything that contains Gluten and cannot be prepared with things containing Gluten.  In our home, this means that when I cook something that contains Gluten (which is rare), I have to sterilize and clean ALL surfaces that the Gluten containing item touched BEFORE I can place any of the Gluten-Free food on the same surface.  I have been told that you can liken Celiac Disease to a peanut allergy except there is no anaphylactic shock involved requiring a shot.  The ramifications of consuming Gluten for a Celiac patient is more of a long term type effect for some and for others they can feel sick immediately.  In a person with Celiac, as they consume Gluten it damages their intestines.  In Felicity’s case, it damaged hers until she became malnourished and was becoming more and more ill daily. 

So, yes…she could go places and take her own food, but if she doesn’t know exactly how it was handled she cannot eat it because it could be contaminated.  No, this is not a parent being paranoid at all.  This is all coming from a parent who nearly lost her daughter once and then was losing her to malnourishment because this disease went undiagnosed.  Am I over-reacting?  Possibly, but I am not willing for one second to take a chance with my child’s health.  Would you be willing to take that risk with your own child?  I would venture to say that no parent out there would risk their child’s health just so that they can go somewhere they think their child should go.  Will Felicity go to camp with her church friends?  We haven’t decided yet, but know that we are tired of feeling pressured by lots of people around us to send her because, after all, we can just pack her some food.  Our goal is to educate people about Celiac Disease and help people to realize that packing some food is not all there is to this illness…it spans so much further than that for us and millions, yes millions, of families in the United States who have a loved one with Celiac Disease. 

You may feel free to share this education with people!  Feel free to also get more information from the Celiac Disease Foundation online at www.celiacdiseasefoundation.org.  I am also more than willing to answer any questions or concerns that you may have about this disease.  There is no cure for Celiac Disease, but there are things that we can do to help those with this disease…we have to start with educating ourselves and others!

The VISION

Last night I randomly woke up at 1:30am and could not get back to sleep.  I laid there for about 10 minutes before I finally asked God, “Ok, who am I supposed to be praying for?”  I then laid there and started just praying for different situations I know of and then just laid there and listened to what God may be trying to say to me.  Then, clear as can be…I literally saw inside my storefront that I have been dreaming about.  I saw the counters and layout of the Decorating Room, I saw the whole layout of the Baking/Work Room, I saw the Offices, and I saw the layout of furniture when you first walk into the store.  When I told Felicity, the first thing she asked is “How was it decorated?”.  I didn’t see that, but I do have some ideas on potential color scheme and a “proper” logo.  Around 2:30am, after I had seen every room of my storefront, I fell peacefully to sleep.

I don’t tell you all this to make you feel weird about visions from God or to make me sound good because I woke up and started praying for other people.  I tell you all this to let you know that it is ok to dream big, it is ok to ask God for a vision and it is ok to tell God the desires of your heart…in fact, He wants us to!  Yes, He is God and already knows the desires of our heart, but He wants US to ask for them.  This simple act of asking shows Him that we have full faith that He will deliver on His promises.  It is like handing a gift to someone.  If I take a gift to a friend and hand it to her, she must reach (the act of asking) for it in order to receive it into her hands.  The same thing applies to God!  He has our gifts sitting and waiting for us, we just have to reach out and receive them from Him!

Another lesson is to have the vision, plan it out, dream about it, pray about it and trust God for it to come to pass in HIS timing!  God knows when you are to have the desires of your heart and when you are ready for them.  My personal vision is to open a storefront in 2012, but I have to think about this…When does GOD want me to have it?  He may be ready for me to open it in 2011 or it could even happen later; I just have to listen to HIS leading and He will guide me where I am to go.

The next lesson, which I glean a bit out of Felicity’s desire to know how it was decorated.  As much as I would have loved to see that part of the vision, I have to trust that God knows what He is doing.  If He showed me the entire vision, it would probably scare me to death; that’s why He doesn’t show us everything at once.  This also allows me the opportunity to trust God more and allow HIM to be the one in control of the vision!  I fully believe that this vision is from Him; I don’t think I would be at all successful if it wasn’t.  I fully believe that He knows what is in store for A Taste of Heaven and that it is likely so much bigger than I have even dreamed it to be.  This is why I have to completely rely on Him with each step I take.

I have a dear friend who sees the vision God has given and has jumped in with both feet and is walking out the vision with me.  I love that God puts people in our lives that are there to hold us accountable, pray with us and cheer us on!  Without those people, I think the vision would be less fun and so much harder to work through.  You have to have people come alongside of you that have your best interest at heart and that are passionate about your vision!  The great thing is…you can be this person’s cheerleader, pray for them and hold them accountable in their visions too!

I am so blessed to have a friend who understands the vision and can see it unfold!  I am so blessed to have a husband who believes in me and believes I am talented and have the ability to do this! I am blessed to have a daughter that gets the vision and knows that I am not ignoring her because I am being selfish, I am stepping away for a moment for the sake of the vision and so she comes with me until I have done what I need.  I have these 3 people in my life (and so many more) who are cheering me on, believe in me, catch the vision and know that God has huge plans for this vision!  They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of what they know God has given me as a vision!

I pray that in reading this you gleaned even a little bit about trusting God for the visions in your life!  If you have a vision and you don’t know which way to go…start with praying to God and listening to what HE has to say about your vision!

All I can say beyond that is…Get ready!  A Taste of Heaven is about to explode and it is gonna be huge!