I have been so busy with summer stuff lately that I haven't had time to do my regular "blogging". I apologize in advance for any stupid spelling/grammar mistakes. It is past midnight right now and I keep nodding off..,
I usually would check out my pal's blogs, some priests blogs, news blogs, then random ones for a little while. I save the "caringbridge" ones for last. I think I do this because I don't want to be depressed before I check out the fun or funny blogs. I want to go to bed praying and thinking about all the people that I know (or know of) that need prayers. I thought I'd share with you which ones I have in my "favorites" so you can pray too.
(I check out other ones sometimes but they usually leave me sobbing and a mess so I try to stick to just the ones I'm going to tell you about. I know some of these people and some I don't know at all, I'm just awed by their strength and abilities. Be aware that some of these people don't share any of my beliefs about faith issues and they might be a little miffed or put out by someone commenting something about their faith. Please don't tell them I sent you if you do decide to comment.). I think God must have a hand in the way I found out about some of these people and I figure that He must also not mind so much if I spread the word this way so you can pray for them too:
I worked with a lady a long time ago in a nursing home. Years later, I heard her son drowned and became brain damaged (around age 3, I think). He is the same age as Matty and I found her caringbridge journal about him. She is a very sweet mom and loves her boys very much.
I never knew anything about mitochondrial disorders until I started to read about Noah. I'm not sure how I found this one but I am so amazed by this big, helpful, happy family and all the love they have to give (all while running a business and homeschooling).
I heard about this little guy from my friend K's blog. His mom reminds me to not get so mad at Niklaus when he acts up. Neuroblastoma is no joke. I can't even begin to imagine the suffering of this horrible disease or how it would just break my heart if my little Bocker had to face such a thing.
This man had an accident while setting up a deer stand with his son last year. He's been through so much and has come a very long way in his recovery. He and his wife are full of faith and love for their family. They are relatives of people that go to my church and they know a lot of the same people I know (they live a few towns away).
This kid is the nephew of an old school friend of mine (and a relative of mine...somewhere up the line, I'm sure) from our town/church. I wrote about him when he first had his accident (shot in the face with a shotgun while target practicing and lost an eye). The picture on the front page right now is him after his surgery that he recently had to fix some of the scarring (I think) from last year but he really is doing quite well and adapting to his disability with much humor and grace (his whole family is really like that).
I first heard about this lady from an old school friend. She really was in trouble not that long ago and I really thought she wasn't going to pull through but she's had some good times lately and there is a lot of hope for her as far as her cancer goes. Her little boy is such a cutie and they always post the funniest pictures of him. No matter how bad things got for her (she's even had to seek alternative therapies in the past) she always seemed to have so much hope. I think sometimes that's what keeps people moving forward and healing themselves from within.
Here is a man who only got sick mere months ago and now the doctors can do no more for him other than keep him comfortable (and even that's proving to be difficult) at his home. I went to school with his children (they lived and still live just up the block from my parents) and I was on the liturgy committee with his wife for a time. She is one of the sweetest ladies and obviously dedicated and loving wife I've ever observed (her children mostly update the site and they are so good at articulating what's happening with their father's care).
And finally, I'd like to tell you about these super cute boys that I heard about from my neighbors (Eric and Laura). They had a preemie (who was a twin but one of the twins didn't make it, rest his soul... and they directed me to Evan and August's site a while back). I love this one because they ended up having another little boy last year and they always update with pictures. I've read every post in fascination that anyone could do that much stuff in one day. It's such a busy life for them and one of the twins is very special needs and probably will be forever.
So, if you ever want to curb some of the whining that's welling up in your heart on a particularly stressful day...check out one of these (or one of the many caringbridge sites) and say a little prayer for someone who is really suffering and may need a little or BIG prayer boost to get through a tough time.
