Thanks to a concerted effort to deepen my walk with the Lord, most of my days are filled with emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. My newly instituted morning walk with worship music cranked has been beneficial to both body and soul and I can now report a total of 80 pounds lost and immeasurable peace gained. There's still a lot of work to be done on both but I have a fantastic Master Builder who's never let me down. Can you say the same? If you don't know Him, I would be glad to introduce you. Just contact me!

One day, in particular, was marked with extreme sorrow. On Tuesday, February 28, I received 3 bits of bad news:

The first - a friend and co-worker who is bravely fighting liver cancer was told it had metastisized to the bones. The next day though, a sheepish physician called her back and reported that the spots he'd seen in the bones were none other than . . . osteo-arthritis. Praise the Lord for He is great and worthy to be praised!

The second - a dear lifelong friend/father figure/mentor passed away at the age of 56. It was a rather crushing blow to everyone. You see, to know P was to love him. What a wonderful, Godly man he was! How he cared for his family and spread the love of God! A truly gifted musician, he was often heard to say, "I'm so glad to have been saved - but let me tell you about the day I was SANCTIFIED!" I remember that day. In fact, no one who was there could ever forget it. Most certainly not P! He could quote the sermon, scripture and the whole nine yards. He'd been saved at a young age, but lived mostly for himself. That day, a new man was born right before my eyes. He literally became God's instrument overnight. What a stunning difference it was! God did a mighty work in P's life that day, and every day thereafter. He leaves behind a family of the most wonderful people one could ever imagine. A beautiful wife, daughters, 'sons', and grandchildren. All of whom have dedicated their hearts and lives to God's work...some in the secular world and some on the mission field. What a legacy he leaves behind! I loved him so, and will miss him greatly BUT Praise the Lord, for He is great and worthy to be praised. Stated with a still-aching heart, but meant just as much.

And the third. Things WILL seem to happen in threes, won't they?! My precious mother may have cancer that has metastisized to the bones. The doctor said it looks as though she has cancer and that it has already spread. I asked for a percentage of certainty and he gave me 95%. *sigh* Please keep her, the doctors, and family in your prayers. And yes, I'll say it with tear-filled eyes and an aching heart, but "Praise the Lord! for He is great and greatly to be praised!" So nice to be able to say that even when your heart is breaking.

On the home(school) front, darling son is READING! Pretty well! He was a late starter, but thanks to Horizons Phonics and his "Legend of Zelda - the Four Sword Adventure" gamecube game, he's making great strides!! I know, please don't lecture me about the brain-rotting effects of video games. For now, it's really great for him. The dialogue the characters use is proper English and grammatically correct. It grabs and holds his attention and seems a lot more like fun than work. We're already working on fostering a love of books, but had to really grab his attention first. Not to mention the logical thinking skills he has gained solving the puzzles, mazes and the like built into the game. I actually enjoy it as well! ... Now if I could just find a way to justify the 15 minutes a day of the SpongeBob game.