Wreck Update

My car was totalled.  Ouch.

Wreck

I was in a wreck last night.  And it wasn't my fault.  (Whew!)  I was coming home from church and came to a major intersection and saw a pickup coming from my right.  My light was green and I thought, "Surely this guy is going to stop!"  And then I saw that he was going to plow on through.  I slammed on my brakes and honked my horn all while thinking, "He's not stopping.  But maybe I can avoid this wreck.  Nope.  I'm going to catch the front of my car on his pickup.  But it won't be too bad.  I don't think I'll be hurt."  I braced myself  (tensed up) for the impact and felt my glasses fly off my head.  Later, I told Andy that it was AMAZING to me how many thoughts can fly through your mind in milliseconds!!  After the impact, the guy came to my car and asked if I was hurt (I didn't think I was at that point).  He asked me whose fault it was and I told him he'd run a red light.  (I thought it was strange that he didn't know---I'm guessing he was on his cell phone.)  We got out and looked at my car.  I was shocked that there was foam inside the bumper!! It appeared to still be drive-able and nothing was leaking.  I asked him if he had insurance and he got his card for me to copy information.  I got in my car and called the police---I thought I might need a record.  I also called my husband.  The guy got a ticket.
I'm so sad that my car has to be fixed.  I love my car...it was a gift...and it has been a great little car.  But maybe it will come out looking like new.
And now I'm on my way to the chiropractor.  My neck and back are a little sore.

The Things I've Learned from Fasting Facebook

I have fasted from Facebook for about a month.  It didn't start out as a spiritual fast--or I wouldn't have broadcast that I was fasting.  I was fasting to break a bad habit.  I knew things were out of balance and I needed to make some changes.  What I didn't realize was just how spiritual my problem really was.

My life was totally out of balance.  I was depending on Facebook to feed me--information and affirmation.   I was spending more time with friends in the cyber world than I was in the real world.   So as I gave up Facebook, I had more time...and energy.  Seriously.  I complained of being tired all the time.  I would be so tired that I'd come home, cook/eat supper, get in my pajamas and sit on my bed and interact with 969 "friends" on Facebook.  And I'd go to bed exhausted.

In the month without Facebook, I haven't had much time in the evenings to myself.  I've helped a friend paint her house every day for over a week, cooked dinner for friends, gone to the movie with friends, had family visiting, spent time praying with friends, visited family, planned a bridal shower, and other things that I can't even remember right now.  The main thing is that my relationship with God has grown.  I've spent more time with Him and He's had the opportunity to point out things which were out of balance in my life.

I guess you could say that I've been involved with friends and family face-to-face.   And it's been much more rewarding.  I could know about and pray about the needs I saw on Facebook, but I found myself overwhelmed.  I'm not sure I was created to carry that many burdens.  If you think about Jesus closely investing himself in others--it was with 12 other people face-to-face.

I've had more energy and have rested better at night.  I had no idea that my surfing the net was actually exhausting me.  But it was.  I've also been much more focused.  I had no idea how distracted I really was.

Am I giving up Facebook?  I don't know.  I do know I can't go back to the way I was misusing it.  It was feeding the wrong part of me.  And as much as I love being in contact with so many people who have been a part of my life over the span of 56 years, I know my world is really meant to be a much smaller and quieter place.  And the most important relationships in my world can't be neglected.

Things Just Aren't Right...

There are so many things in this world that just aren't right.  This world is groaning for the return of Jesus.  And I'm starting to groan with it.

• I know of 4 suicides that happened this past week.  I groan.
• There are so many babies (orphans) who need to be united with their forever families.  I groan.
• There are so many marriages in trouble.  I groan.
• There are brothers and sisters in Christ with broken relationships.  I groan.
• I know godly people who need restoration.  I groan.
• I know churches who need restoration.  I groan.
• I see broken lives every.single.day.  I groan.
• I know people unwilling to submit.  I groan.

God, please heal lives.  Bring restoration.  Bring redemption.  Bring hope.  And please bring those precious children home.  We groan for You.  We desperately need You.  And Jesus?  Please come quickly.

"Now will I arise, says the Lord, because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy; I will set him in safety and in the salvation for which he pants."  Psalm 12:5

Who knows their own heart?

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?" 
Jeremiah 17:9

Recently, God has been exposing my heart to myself.  And I can attest to the truth of the above verse.  We really don't know our own hearts.  Which is why God told Moses to make sacrifices for known and unknown sins.  I just had no idea I had so many unknown sins.  It's ugly, sick and mind-numbing--and hard to face.  But that's the good thing about fasting from Facebook---God has had time to point out some things He wants to change.  I've found that's usually what God does when I fast--He doesn't necessarily change my circumstances, but my heart. 

This past week, God showed me:  He's not as concerned about our circumstances as He is our hearts.  But He'll use our circumstances to change our hearts.

I love that God not only pursues us with His love--but also with His Truth.  He is committed to transforming us and conforming us to the image of His Son.  He wants to change our hearts.

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl

Heart of Ice is the third book in the Triple Threat Series by Lis Wiehl.  I was disappointed when I found out it was the third in a series--and I was reading it first.  From past experience, with other authors, it's sometimes hard to follow characters, story line, etc. if it's not the first in a series.  But I can assure you that this book isn't like that.  The characters were well laid out and the story was easy to follow.

Three female friends from high school realize at their high school reunion that they all fight crime in different ways--a TV reporter, a federal prosecutor and an FBI agent.  They pool their resources, as they can, and fight crime together.  But this crime caught them unawares.  Cassidy, the TV reporter, met Elizabeth in an exercise class.  Elizabeth was the instructor.  Cassidy was drawn to her and desperately wanted to be her friend.  In fact, she introduced her friends, Nicole & Allison, to her--hoping they could all hang out together.  Elizabeth is the person with the heart of ice.  (And is revealed as that early on in the story.)  She has diabolical plans to make sure she's the only person in her boyfriend, Ian's, life.  But Ian has an ex-wife and a son whom Elizabeth has to eliminate.  The rest of the story leads from one path to another to make that happen.  Elizabeth is a pro at hiding who she really is.

There are several twists and turns in this story--but it's pretty easy to see what's coming.  For that reason alone, I give this story 4 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson (BookSneeze) Publishers for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

The Facebook Parable

There was once a beautiful young woman who had fallen desperately in love with a gentle man of quiet strength.  She wanted to be with him every minute she possibly could.  He would call her and they'd meet for coffee and go for a long walk.  They'd drive for hours through the countryside looking at the stately trees and old barns.  They'd stop to pet horses over the fence and watch the calves run and play.  They'd eat quiet dinners together and gaze into one another's eyes over the candlelight.  They talked for long hours of the deep things of their hearts.

Things began to change.  The young woman began to take this gentle man for granted.  She assumed he'd always be there, begging to be a part of her life.  And he was there, but he never begged.  He was a quiet man and was willing to wait for her favor.  He knew how much he loved her and was waiting for the perfect moment to speak his heart to her.

This young woman was vivacious and loved a crowd.  In fact, she was the life of the party.  The gentle man began to find it hard to be alone with her.  Even though she loved him, there were lots of parties, friends, and all sorts of entertainment to garner her attention.  Soon she began to neglect him.

The quiet man knew he had to speak his heart to her.  He rehearsed what he wanted to say.  And he gathered his courage to say it.  He wanted to tell her how much he loved and admired her.  So many admired her, but he most of all.  And he wanted to take her to a quiet place and share his heart with her.  He had to.  He must.

Finally, he had her all alone in her quiet living room.  They began to speak of things from their past.  He reminded her of those long walks, those quiet dinners.  And just when he was ready to speak his heart, she spoke.  "Oh!  I must get my laptop.  I need to check my Facebook, you know."  And as she ran to her room to grab her laptop, his heart plummeted.  What was happening?  Didn't she want to be with him?  Wasn't he enough?  She came back into the room, laughing and opening her laptop as she sat cross-legged on the couch beside him.  "I want to post a photo of you and me from the party we went to last night.  Everyone will be so excited to see it!  And I want to tell them what you said to me."  "Uh...what did I say?" he wondered.  "I don't remember having a meaningful conversation in the past two weeks!"

But she was already posting her photo, sharing funny anecdotes, and making sarcastic replies to many of her friends on Facebook.  His heart wilted.  She was willing to talk about him...but not to him?  What had happened to their intimacy, their longing to be together?  Where was the...power of their relationship?  His spirit was broken.  He didn't know if he'd ever be able to share what was really on his heart.  Would she even hear?  And most of all...did she even care?  He got up and went to the door, ready to go home but with a message still on his heart.  And the sad thing was...she didn't even notice.

*I know...it's a sappy story, but it has a deep meaning for me.  I'd been praying about and trying to decide whether I should keep my Facebook account.  And then today, I was with a dear friend and something very similar happened to me.  I was all set to have a heart-to-heart talk and something was more important to them than me.  I felt rebuffed and rejected.  Instantly, God spoke to my heart---this was how He felt when I had time to spend with Him and instead picked up my laptop to get on Facebook.  I'll be fasting from my recreational laptop for a few weeks.  I want to hear the sweet messages God has for me.


II Timothy 3:4b-5a
"[They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.  For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it..."


Ouch.

Nicknames

My cousin asked me to enlighten the world as to how we came up with so many nicknames in the Dietz family.  It all started with...

Caitlin (far left--and the oldest and tallest Dietz grandchild).  Caitlin was 2 1/2 years old when she came into our family and talking quite well.  Andy & I had to come up with our own "grandparent names" and Caitlin began calling us by those names--Gran & Pops.  Alexis (2nd from left) came within a year of that and picked up on the same names Caitlin called us.  Still Pops & Gran.  That was Family #1 of grandkids.

Here you see Pops & Gran 

(Andy & Becky)  

Then Isaac came along (3rd from left) about 9 months later.  Family #2 of Grandkids.  And he changed everything.  Jay & Amy moved in with us when Isaac was about 4 months old and lived with us about 9 months.  So we had plenty of opportunity to teach him our names.  This grandmother works pretty hard to get the grandbabies to start talking.  We tried to teach Isaac to say "Pops" and it came out "Barf" for about 2 weeks.   The adults of the household loved it!  But alas...Isaac changed it to Buff.  We have no idea why.  But it stuck.  I began trying to teach him how to say "Gran" by saying the "G" sound over and over.  (G-G-G-Gran.  It actually sounded kind of like Guh-Guh-Guh Gran.)  And Isaac began calling me Guh.  But somewhere/sometime, it changed to Gee.  And that stuck.  Each of his siblings called us the same names--Buff & Gee.

About 10 months after Isaac was born, Ryan came along--Family  #3 of Grandkids.  We began teaching him to say Pops & Gran...by the same methods.  He stuck with Pops, but my teaching of  Guh-Guh-Guh-Gran ended up with him calling me Guh.  So he and his sister call us Pops & Guh to this day.  Addie playfully began calling Pops "Popsy" a lot.  We'll see where this leads.

This past year, Dax was born.  I asked Zach & Shanna what they wanted Dax to call us and Shanna chose Pops & Gee.  I've been teaching Dax to say Guh-Guh-Guh-Gee---but we'll see what he comes up with!

So...for now...we are Pops/Buff/Popsy....and Gran/Gee/Guh.

This is Uncle Matt & Aunt Lisa.  Amy's kids had another Uncle Matt on the other side of the family and it caused quite a bit of confusion for her kids.  So at one point, they asked Isaac what he wanted to re-name Uncle Matt so it would be easier.  Uncle Matt became Uncle Joy.  (We have no idea where he came up with it--but we thought it was quite funny!)  Aunt Lisa is Aunt Lisa (there are only 3 adults with their original names.)

This is Uncle Jay & Aunt Mamy (Amy).  Uncle Jay is the 2nd adult with the same name--mainly because Isaac (tallest child) is the one doing the renaming of adults.   Amy was named Aunt Mamy by Caitlin.  Babies all call Amy "Mamy."  It's just too hard to say Amy.  After she was named Aunt Mamy, she refused to let any child rename her Aunt Amy.  

This is Um-D (David) and Aunt La-La (Lindsey)  Actually, the kids could say Uncle David.  But because Zach had a different name, Isaac labeled Uncle David with a similar sounding name.  Lindsey is like me--she works hard to get the kids to say her name by saying La-la-la-Lindsey.  The "La" sound is very easy for babies to say.  Isaac was immediately able to say La-La.  And it stuck.  In fact, at Christmas, she was working with Dax to say La-La and he did it!

Zach was still in high school when Jay, Amy & Isaac lived with us.  We were teaching Isaac to say Uncle Zach, but it was just too hard for him to say.  One day, he just began saying Um-Zee which eventually became Mumzee and it stuck.  Then when Ryan came along, Zach was still home.  Ryan would run into his room in the mornings and throw open the door and Zach would rouse and look at him and say, "Hey."  This was a game Ryan would do over and over.  And Zach would always oblige with a long drawn-out "He-ey."  So Ryan began calling Zach "Hey."  And it stuck.  The kids were all older when Zach & Shanna got married, so Aunt Shanna is Aunt Shanna and sometimes affectionately referred to as Aunt Shanny.

And there you have it!  How we came up with our unusual names.  (At least, how I remember it!)  I always say it's a good thing I have 3 names (potentially 4).  I will always know which family is calling me when the grandkids address me as Gran, Gee or Guh!   

Out with the Old...In with the New!

2011

• Our year started out with doctors testing Zach for a parasite (which he had) and then Ryan for gluten intolerance (which he also had).  It also involved Zach, Shanna & Lindsey being in a car wreck.  Thankfully, everyone was ok--including baby Dax who was still unborn.
• The HIGHLIGHT of 2011 was the birth of Dax Chandler Dietz (grandbaby #8)!  He came a couple of weeks early and was also born with a broken collar bone which made me so sad.  He spent a week in NICU.
• Another special process was begun--the adoption of baby Hadassah, the daughter of Jay & Amy--and grandbaby #9.
• Andy & I flew to Florida for Jay's ordination in April.  It was very special and we're so proud of him!  We also got to celebrate the boys' birthdays.
• Matt & his workers came and spent a few days.  They repaired our porch.
• I'd promised Zach & Shanna I'd come spend a week with them and help in the transition as Shanna went back to work.  That was in May.  What a fun time!  (And they really didn't need me.)
• Lindsey & the kids came and spent a week with us to go to VBS at our church.  We had a grand time playing in the water in the afternoons.
• We had our house painted--a big event around here!
• David & Lindsey moved into my brother's house in Amarillo--what a blessing!
• Caitlin & Alexis came to visit alone...and then while David, Lindsey & their kids were here.
• Jay & Amy moved to DALLAS!!!  We're so excited to have them so close.
• Matt was baptized--our entire family was there for the event!  
• I went to Lubbock to help with Dax and took Caitlin & Alexis with me.  We experienced the DUST STORM!
• Zach & David & families came.  The parents went to see Courageous while we babysat.
• We kept Ryan & Addie while mom & dad had an anniversary weekend.
• We had 3 families here for Thanksgiving---the Thanksgiving we hope to never repeat!  We all got sick and everyone was throwing up!  Lindsey went to be with her grandmother who was dying.
• Took the Wright kids and went to see Caitlin & Alexis perform in the Nutcracker.  
• Jay & Amy went to Ethiopia to go to court for the adoption of Hadassah.  They finally got to meet their beautiful daughter.  We kept the other three kids.
• A wonderful Christmas with the family.

If I could sum 2011 up, it would be family.  I'd made a commitment to the Lord when the year began that my job wouldn't come before my family.  I wouldn't say "no" to babysitting because of a paycheck.  And as I looked back over my year, we had lots of grandkid time!  And always enough money.

It was also a very hard year.  There were so many challenges and disappointments.  But God was faithful--just like He always is.  

2012

I don't know what 2012 will hold.  I'm praying it's a gentler year.  And I'm praying Miss Hadassah Melat Wright comes home within the first two months of the year!  I believe there will be change.  But life is all about change, right?  I'm praying about what I need to give up to spend more time with the Lord to know Him better.  I want to be more focused and balanced in my life.  I want more rest and more fun.  I just want to see what God wants for our lives and follow closely--with excitement!  And I'm praying your life is blessed, as well.  Happy 2012!