Life is Good - Peaceful Socks

My dear friend Laura from Chicago sent me this picture today of her friend whose name is also Claudine, wearing a pair of socks that say, "Life is Good."

She said that I could share with you as I felt perhaps there was a message that came with it as I looked at the picture.

Socks represent in a dream world progress on physical plane. When colored with yellow (peace) retrofitted with hiking boots (grounding, things which protect you on your journey through life), assisted by a chipmunk (you have all the tools you need stored away; recognize and use them), standing on a mountain (perspective, clarity, spiritual awareness, climbing up you are going the right direction), says to me that whatever experiences you face, know that you are on the right path for the next leg of your journey.

May the rays of the sun/SON shine down on you as you walk in Peaceful socks - "Life is Good."

Happy Friday dear niece!

Love Auntie

Louis Giglio - Laminin

From Claudine.............

If you all thought the Laminin story was powerful as you read it...watch this video! I'll bet you cry, it moved me and my cousin, my sister in Christ to tears and to Praise our most amazing Creator...thanks for sending!

What Binds Us Together (Note from Claudine)

Thank you to my friend and co-worker for sending this to me!

She thought it would have special meaning for me, and wow does it ever!

Wait until you all read this! Amazing!

A verse I took so lightly before since I was thinking of it in the vaguest sense…. He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER. ' Colossians 1:15-17

And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another... By the cross!

My tests results will hopefully be in by end of this week, so this really was perfect timing on God for me to get this message.

It is actually so amazing, I have goosebumps! Do you see the part that say “collagen binding”? That is the genetic sequence testing the specialists are reviewing at the University of Washington-Seattle right now with my DNA! This part of my genetic makeup is part of what God created to keep all of us together! I know if he can create it, he knows how to fix it and I will trust that if it comes to that…he will give my doctor’s the wisdom they need to answer the prayers of my heart! HE keeps me together in so many ways! What an amazing God we have.

Love, Claudine


The Glue That Holds Us Together

We can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.

This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It's brief, so please read.

(FROM A DOCTOR)

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio... And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned.... But I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is... How He spoke the universe into being... How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire.. . Etc. Etc.

Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .... And I was remembering how I was con-stantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking.... 'How can ANYONE deny this?

And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see.... Laminins are what hold us together.... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)... Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it.... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...(cross picture above)

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us.... Is in the shape of the cross.

Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. 'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; All things were created by him and for him.He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER. ' Colossians 1:15-17 Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool.

Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another... By the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything Other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!

We praise YOU, Lord!

(When I look at the picture what also came to mind is the placement of the collagen binding - the vertical line (spiritual plane/heaven) intersects with the horizontal line (earth plane) and where they intersect is at the level of the Heart (He art - God's masterpiece)
Love Auntie)

Laughter - The Best Medicine

Lately it seems the days have been filled with serious overtones. I watched this YouTube this morning and had one of the best chuckles I've had in a very long time. As we have all heard that laughter is the best medicine, this video will definitely contribute to those healing vibrations.

While I Am Waiting

My dear family and friends,

I fell to my knees again yesterday, for the third time in the past year. I admit, this time it was out of fear and a bit out of anger.

I ask for your prayers.

My doctor called yesterday and said they have been doing more research on my condition after my dermatology appointment last week.

After I left last week, they weren't satisfied they hadn't found a good answer for me. Their research uncovered a rare vascular disease that all my symptoms seem to fit the bill. They walked me through the symptoms and the future issues if I do have this genetic disease. They talked to me about the life expectancy rates and that only 500 people have this disease in the U.S., so it is rare and would be basically untreatable. It would be more that I could watch for symptoms to help possibly prevent additional aneurysm, and other complications.

I will be working with the Froedtert doctors to have the blood test ordered over the next week or so. The test will be sent to the UW-Washington Seattle Hospital and the results will be 95% accurate. They would not spell the name of the disease for me, they do not want me "googling" it before we know the results of the test. (I think that is better at this time too!) If I do have this disease I will work with a team of Doctors as well as a Genetic counselor for "coping" skills.

After I got off the phone with the Doctor, I asked God , why this continued suffering? why this continued test of my faith? why, why, why?

I then talked with my team leader at work about possibly having to be out for some appointments in the coming week. As we talked, he said to me, "We know and thank God for Doctors. But, we know a different healer, God. And, he is better than any doctor! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for that reminder! And, thank you to my friend/co-worker for praying with me in her office yesterday after I got the news. The power of prayer is amazing in a time of uncertainty. And, I thank God everyday for surrounding me with people who love the Lord!

So, here I am waiting. Waiting for more answers. Waiting on God's plan.

At 4:10 p.m. today driving home crying. Again, pondering my life, pondering the thought of leaving this earth early, and pondering the thought of leaving my kids behind and on comes this song on the radio. It is from the movie, Fireproof, which I have not seen, but here it is really great.

"While I am Waiting" by John Waller.



"I will move ahead bold and confident. Taking every step in obedience, while I am waiting, I will serve you, while I am waiting. I will worship, while I am waiting, I will not fail, I'll be running the race, even while I wait. I am waiting on you Lord, and I am peaceful. I am waiting on you Lord, I will move ahead bold and confident. I will serve you will I am waiting..."

My promise to myself and my kids is: I am going to do all those things while I wait. While I am waiting on the Lord....

Please take a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y&NR=1

I ask for your prayers. For peace in knowing either way. For trusting and not doubting. For knowing his promise, "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you."

Thank you my dear friends. I'll be back in touch as soon as I have the results.

Love, Claudine

What a Wonderful World

Sweet footage of a deer and kitten with the lovely sound track of Louis Armstrong! I thought Anna and William would enjoy the animals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco&feature=email

Claudine's Update

There is a time for everything,

a season for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.

At time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to lose.

A time to keep and a and time to throw away.

At time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

--Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Timing is important. Timing is everything. And, all timing is God’s timing. What my NLV bible says about this verse is, all the experiences listed in the above versus are appropriate for certain times. And, the secret to peace with God is to discover, accept and appreciate God’s perfect timing. The danger is to doubt, resent God’s timing. And, this can lead to despair or moving ahead without his advice.

I have been thinking, reading and praying a lot about timing since I returned to work. And, about the seasons of life.

The first two weeks I returned, I wondered if I returned too soon. I was so tired each day and everything seemed very overwhelming. But I knew if I just took one day at a “time” – it would get better, and I would adjust to being at work again.

Quick update on my doctor’s appointments. The first was at the end of January with the Neuro Opthamologist. Since my last appointment (about 1 month ago) my eye is improving. The eye is open, blinks and reacts with the other eye! Good news! It moves to the right, up and down more than it did at my last appointment. More Good News! The pupil is now pulling to the right of the eye because the nerve that controls movement to the left and creates most of the double vision I am experiencing is lagging and not healing as quickly. I went to my appointment praying I’d be ready for prisms so maybe I could stop wearing the patch. No luck, it is not “time yet” the doctor said.

Last week I had my dermatology appointment, they were to do a biopsy to see if I had a collagen DNA issue. Well, the doctors never did the biopsy and said there was no indication I had this very serious Collagen DNA disease just by looking at me. Good News! However, they did tell me that my skin is very fragile for someone my age, and I did look “older” than I am – I don’t think this is Good News! J They asked me to come back for further evaluation by other members of the dermatology team. They told me that maybe next “time” they would be able to tell me more.

So, not much is new here. It is just about timing. And, waiting on God’s timing. Psalm 40’s theme is Doing God’s will sometimes means waiting patiently. While we wait, we can love God, serve others and tell others about Him.

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry…

He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what he has done and be astounded.

And, they will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3

So, I continue to wait and pray. And, learn along the way.

I’ve been convicted in so many areas this past month that I know God is teaching me—and all of what my life has brought and will bring is only for the glory of the kingdom and in His honor. If we know who we are, all we have and what all lies ahead is HIS—we have nothing to fret, worry or cry about. What we have is the peace of knowing each day is a day for HIM. Our days, our thoughts, our prayers, our gifts, our talents, our situations should be used to the fullest so we can give Him all of our glory by thanking Him for another Day!

Thank you for your continued calls, emails and prayers.

I’ll be in touch…more doctor’s appointments and more of God’s plan awaits….

Love, Claudine

The Wild, Wacky (and Often Terrifying) Search for a Better Life

I read a blog post this morning from a friend in Chicago, and her words of wisdom seemed to follow a "One Day in Time" theme. It's a good post and timely reminder and thought it worth sharing.

The Wild, Wacky (and Often Terrifying) Search for a Better Life

Have you ever noticed that once you start to make significant changes, a disturbing number of things in your life can begin to shift, dance and, quite frankly, crash around you all at the same time?

I’ve lived through it many times. Maybe you've said these things, too:

“I can’t deal with that now, I have to finish this first”.

“Why did this have to happen NOW, just when I was getting ready to start working on this dream I've wanted to pursue for years?”

“When it rains, it pours!”

It’s as though we have the notion that if we try really hard we can separate our lives in to sections and work each section, one at a time, so that it is neat, tidy and convenient. First I have to work on my house, then I can work on finding the right job, then I can get back to exercise and work on my body, then I can take a nice vacation with my honey and work on our relationship.” Liberally intersperse a few prolonged periods to "think some more", as needed before moving to the next big issue. Everything lined up like little ducks in a row.

Man, it would be so cool if these were (well behaved and orderly) ducks we were talking about.

In case your life isn't so nice and neat it might help to think of the matter this way:

Picture your life more like a mobile, you blow on one to shift its position and the whole thing starts to turn. Your life is a system in balance, but the balance is dynamic. I often hear people talking about wanting more balance in life in this way: “When everything is SET, then I can relax and enjoy this wonderful feeling of serenity.” Then, when it doesn’t happen that way, they feel they’ve failed and often choose one of two routes in reaction. Either they start working harder to get that balance established, get burned out and say, “you know, I’m basically happy,” and give up the whole concept that life can get any better for them. (Maybe life balance is some sort of urban myth propogated by personal development professionals but entirely unrealistic in practice). OR they retreat further from life, convincing themselves that with a little more head-space and time they'll be ready for...their big debut? It often gets a little fuzzy here.

Try looking at balance from a third perspective. When you are making significant changes in your life, everything else has to respond to that change because our lives are integrated parts of a whole. The changes may not always be what you expected, and, yes, some of them may not be changes you thought you wanted and they often cost a lot more money than you had anticipated shelling out at the time, but they will occur. In fact, the more significant your shift, the more subsequent changes you can expect.

The trick is to not fear change but FLOW with it. Recognize change as an affirmation that you are, indeed, doing significant work on your life, not necessarily a sign from God that you should stay put and forget all your plans. If you look honestly, you may discover that all the stuff that suddenly needs to be handled has really been building up for a long time. Health issues suddenly can't be ignored. Or maybe it's a relationship problem that you can no longer deny. Maybe it's mechanical stuff in your home that you've been putting off. The things that blast you may not really be as "all of a sudden" as you like to tell yourself. That's good. It means you are being forced to deal with your foundational cracks so that when you do move forward you can do so on solid footing.

It's going to force you to do what you need to do to go into the future clean.

And while you are in the throes of this chaos, recognize that you might (read: will) need to get a support system around you to help you keep a sense of balance in what might be a VERY disorienting time in your life. You may find you need to set stronger, wider boundaries and maintain a strong commitment to self-care to keep yourself well during major transitions. You may have to ask for help that you didn’t need before (and get your Ego out of the way to let yourself do this!) You may find yourself challenging a lot of beliefs and judgments you hold about many things, yourself included.

So, as you join the rest of the country in our annual flight from all things New Year's Resolution-y, I'd like to nudge you back ever so gently to the mirror and encourage you to take an honest look at your life. What would you like to release yourself from this year? What would you like to grow? What will begin to change when you do? What supports will you need to help you get where you want to be? What one honest, sincere step could you make today, no matter how small or symbolic?

Now, go do that one thing.

Post by Laura Young at

http://laurayoung.typepad.com/

From Sea to Shining Sea

We've been quiet here for quite sometime, as Claudine is settling back into her work regime, and the old saying, "No news is good news" seems to apply. This morning an email came in with an inspirational video (click on words to view) "A Born Again American" that caught my eye and it was worth seeing.

It is encouraging to watch, feel and listen to the souls of our human family stir with excitement and passion as renewed energy takes hold, and people are beginning to understand that change towards the positive, begins within each one of us.

As the days unfold, our system will see more and more of the old guard falling away, to allow for a new foundation to be laid. It's much like remodeling a home. While we are in the process of doing so, at times it can be very unpleasant to live with all the dust, dirt and chaos, and then when it's all done and our home once again is cleared from the old clutter, etc., we feel renewed and know it was worth the effort spent.

May the challenging days ahead for each of us on a personal, national and world level, be born again in the spirit of brotherly love. For the truth in the words, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall," once again reminds us that our collective future depends a great deal on whether we can make the leap in consciousness.