The "D" Word

No, NO, not that "D" word..... the word Depression.

I just wanted to bring that out of the closet.  I was diagnosed with depression when I was in college and have had several bouts with it in the years since.

Unless you know me WELL it is probably not a word you would ever associate with me.  Fun, Funny, outgoing, outrageous, exuberant, Princess of Laughter was what the Garden Club dubbed me.  And all that is true, thankfully, most of the time.

But every now and then a cloud comes over my sunshine and this is one of those times.

A few (hmmm maybe 25 or thirty years ago) I did go for help.  My OB-GYN told me to go back to work that I was bored at home.  And she was right....work does help.  Having something else to put your mind on does keep me from obsessing over being depressed.

Later in another "funk" I realized exercise really helped.  So I know to get out every day and do some running to clean out my internal carburetor.  And that helps!

Still later my GP Doc prescribed an anti-depressant  and it has really worked extremely well for me.  Only downside is I NEVER cry....unless of course I am depressed.

Hopefully, my experiences will help if you have cycles of depression; at least you know "you are not the only one!"  (A tired old line Satan still uses effectively,)  Also now you know that even though my blog seems all sunshine and light..... there are times of darkness and sadness as well.

One more thing.  I have had counseling and will have it again.  I do think everyone should have a counselor they can turn to when things don't turn around or you can't find the way out.  As God says in Proverbs 15:22  "plans fail for lack of wisdom but with many counselors they succeed."

I can say there are some beneficial side effects to depression.  I am a much more compassionate, caring person when I myself am struggling.  Oh, and I definitely need the exercise :)

The Five Days or so Of Christmas

 These are the Girls of Christmas minus two who appear below. (L-R) Nana, Hannah, Caitlin and Niki

                                                  Granny (Age 94) and Ashli age (mmm not sure)

                  In the back the bigget Flocker of all with some small, medium, and extra large Flockers.
                  Otherwise known as Gates and Connor in front of Wayne and Marty....PopPop in the rear.

               The Beach Bums came off the beach for this pic.  We all taught together at Plainview.
                         Marcia Anderson, Sandy Traylor Lindsey, Me and Lesa Polson.

                            This was my holiday sewing project finished Christmas morning.

We did have SNOW Christmas night and it stuck around about 24 hours.  It is in the low twenties today but scheduled to get to 70 on Friday.... and that is what I love about the South :)

Our Monck's Corner Monkeys will be coming in Thursday to celebrate Christmas and New Years.  In the meantime I've been reading some good books that I stored up to read while the library is closed.

First up is Pat Conroy's My Reading Life.  I love Pat's writing.  In this book he tells about books that made a significant difference in his life.  Many I had read but not all.  Now I have a "to read" list.  These are heavyweight classics like Robert Ruark's The Old Man and The Boy, Wallace Stegner's Big Rock Candy Mountian and eight more.  I will keep you posted as I read them and let you know what I thought.

Yesterday I read Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You.  It was an enjoyable lightweight read.

I'm starting Peter Jenkin's Across China which I picked up at the library book sale.  I've read a couple others he wrote and liked them and thought this would be informative.

I will end with some quotes from Pat Conroy's Reading Life:

"the world of books was a sacred grove to him."         "I came as a thief to the poet's ball."

".....as though he were picking up a live jellyfish from a tidal pool."  "Hurt is a great teacher...maybe the

greatest of all."       "...as friendly as a cow turd on an altar step."  "She was quiet at a houseplant."

"Fame can be a killing thing."

And finally...."When I (Pat) pick up a book the prayer that rises out of me is change me utterly so I am not the man who first selected it.  Turn me into something else writers of the world."

Wow!  Are there books that have changed  YOU?  Tell me about them.

Something to Think About

Yesterday I listened to Chris Fabry Live as he and his listeners and guests discussed Luke 1 and 2....Jesus' conception through birth and the things we do and don't know about what happened when God chose to come to earth in the form of an infant.

Of course, I have read and heard and seen the story many times in my 67 years but Chris and his listeners helped me see a back story I had never thought about.

The prelude begins with the angel Gabriel announcing to Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son in their old age and they were to name him John.  Six months later Gabriel announces to Mary that she is going to become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and bear God's son Jesus.  Gabriel also tells Mary about her relative Elizabeth's pregnancy and Mary goes to visit her right away.  The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaps when she sees Mary.

What hit me for the first time, was Jesus and John's relationship.  They were related; I think I knew that; but what all does that imply?  There was six months difference in their ages.  Did their mothers get together and the boys have a first century version of a play date?  Was John along when Jesus and his family took that famous journey to the temple?  Were they close?  The Bible doesn't tell us.

The Bible does tell us they were chosen to be in the same family.  Both conceptions were miraculous.  Their mothers were very close friends and they were related.

What does this have to do with me? with you?

As I pondered these things in my heart, and thought about who was in the family I was adopted into, I thought about my cousin Dottie.  She was the daughter of my Dad's brother.  Our Moms got along better with each other than any one else in Dad's family.  We probably only saw each other a couple of times a year but Dottie found a connection with me.  I was six or seven years younger than she was.  I got some nice hand me downs from her.  (I didn't have any sisters and I wanted hand me downs.)  She asked me to be in her wedding although I was a bratty 14 year old at the time and pretty unattractive.

Dottie's first child, Cathy, was handicapped.  Dottie was an elementary school teacher and she was exposed to rubella (measles) during her pregnancy.  After many doctor consults Dottie decided to take Cathy to the Institute for Brain Damage in Media, PA.  She did a complex program called patterning to stimulate Cathy's brain and regenerate damaged and destroyed brain cells.

Fast forward..... I get married and have twin boys.  The boys are exposed to an infection in the hospital.  The oldest and smallest baby, Todd, becomes infected, has convulsions and is brain damaged.  Eventually, I too make my way to the Institute for Brain Damage and begin the patterning program with him.

Of course, Dottie and I have a bond like no other.  We have a history.  We both become born again Christians.  Our children are pretty close considering we live 500 miles apart.  Was it an accident or a coincidence I was adopted into this family and had a bond with this person?  I don't think so.

I am not sure what all this means to you and to me today.  The Bible says in Psalm 68:6 "God puts the solitary in families."  Family is important to God.... He created Family.  He placed Jesus and John in families.  He placed you in a particular family for a particular reason.   And that is something to think about.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Wolf Pack

 This year for Christmas God gave me the idea to take my grandchildren To Great Wolf Resort in Concord, NC as their Christmas present.  Now our budget for Christmas is very tiny; some might say Scroogelike.  But it just felt right when God said it.  We couldn't manage to coordinate all six grandchildren's schedules so only four went.  I so wish it had been all six but Grandma's don't always get their wishes.

 Caitlin Watts and Hannah Chapman are our girl wolves; Connor Watts and Gates Chapman were our resident male pack leaders.

                                         This is Violet greeting our kiddos.  Her mate Rowdy was there but I failed to get a good picture of him.  He is a Reindeer.  I'm really not sure if Violet is a squirrel, chipmunk or ???  I must not have been paying attention.

 Our room at the lodge had a cabin built inside it with bunk beds and a single bed.  The kids played fast food drive-in window through this hole. In this pic Gates and Connor are working at the fast food place and Caitlin is a customer.

 A lot of time was spent climbing up and down the ladder to the upper bunk.  There is a flat screen tv on the wall of the cabin.  All four cuddled in the top bunk to watch tv for at least a nano second.  At bedtime we only had one child willing to sleep in the cabin.....go figure.  Daughter Gabby had to take one for the pack and sleep in there.

At 8 pm all guests are instructed to come to the lobby in their pjs and slippers for story time with Rowdy the Reindeer.  After his story it started snowing in the lobby.  Not that fake paper stuff they use in the movies and on tv but a very realistic looking and feeling fake snow.  Kids and adults a like looked up with amazement.

I do recommend a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for those with children or grandchildren under 14.  It is pricey $400 plus a night....no meals included.  We went across the street to Chik Filet, and Five Guys for meals. There were at least 25 restaurants within a two mile radius.  There is a Pizza Hut and a Dunkin Donuts in the Lodge.  The Wolf Lodge Restaurant meals were $15 each for children no matter what age and $30 for each adult; they were buffet.  They do have an arcade, a magic quest and other add ons you can do for a price but we only did free things and the kids were fine with that.  I haven't mentioned the indoor water park which is the Main Attraction.  It had many different areas and the kids loved all of it.  I enjoyed the Howling Tornado and all the other water park rides.  Gates could do all but the Tornado due to height restriction.  So think about a trip to Great Wolf Lodge..... I definitely would avoid any major holidays (prices go up on holidays) but it was not overly crowded for us and it was the first weekend after school let out for Christmas.  Some people I talked to said their whole family of adult children and kids were rendezvousing there.  Ask for a AAA discount when you call for reservation for a discount.

Meet Me At the Manger

Last night we journey to Bethlehem to see our grandson Gates in the Christmas program Meet Me At the Manger.

It was very appropriate because it was 39 years ago Hubs and I did meet Jesus for ourselves.  We had both grown up in the church, been Christened as infants and joined the church after confirmation classes....so we knew ABOUT God.

Then in 1971 our church had a Lay Witness Mission.  Couples came from all over SC to our church for a weekend of testimonies, singing, eating and Bible study.  A couple from Pacolet, SC stayed with us.  I loved hearing the testimonies of the people who came.  But when I came home each night, doubts would assail me.  Surely this was some weirdo cult; God didn't interact with ordinary people in their everyday lives, or did HE?

Finally, the last night they were here; the kids were in bed and the adults were sitting around our kitchen table and I confessed my doubts to our guests, Joe and Louise McBride.  What it really came down to was I was afraid to trust God with my life.  He might give me cancer; or send me to Africa.....

Joe and Louise had just gotten back from Israel a week before the Lay Witness Mission.  Joe got out a little packet of mustard seeds he had gotten there off a mustard tree.  He shared the verses in the Bible that said "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain (of unbelief) move and it will move," Matthew 17:20.

When I saw that teetiny seed I knew I had exactly that much faith....no more....and I put my faith in God as completely as I knew how..... and oh what joy and filled my soul.  No more fear; no more doubt....peace at at last.

As I said, it has been 39 years now.  Many hills, many mountaintops, many valleys.  I have had times of fear and times of doubt but I have come too far to turn back now as the old spiritual song says.  God has proved himself to me over and over.  He has never forsaken me; even in my darkest hours I have known He was with me and that nothing would change that fact.

I hope dear reader you have put your faith in God and Jesus.  Why you ask do you need Jesus if you have God?  Because God is holy, and sinless.  We are sinFULL we cannot come into his presence in that state.  We would be consumed.  But God built a bridge that would bring sinful man to Him.  He sent His Son to earth to become that perfect sacrifice whose blood would erase our sins and allow us to come into his presence.

Why can't God just wave a magic wand over our sins and Poof they are gone?  Because Sin is costly; it has consequences..... only the blood of the Son of God is holy enough to eradicate Sin and Justify us.....which means make us Just As IF I had never sinned.....amazing!!!!

I pray that if you have never taken this Good News to heart; you would do so today.
Test God....tell Him you are doubtful.....ask Him to show himself to you.....I promise He will and you will never be the same. 

I hope you meet HIM at the manger and follow Him all the days of your life.  If you have questions or comments you want to share with me in private you can contact me at donnagchapman@yahoo.com.

                                            

The EVERglades and EVERlasting Life

 While in Florida, Hubs and I went to Shark Valley National Park in the Everglades.  The tour guide gave us tons of info and I remember some of it.

Well, yesterday I was listening to a podcast of Midday Connection and they were interviewing two ladies who had do hiking trips showing the hikers the connection between God and nature.  They told how to do this at home and I practiced on my walk yesterday.  Today I will try to do the same with the Everglades.

We saw a ton of alligators in Shark Valley.  They were easily recognizable....they are black (not green).  They remind me that the dangerous things in our society are everywhere.  They are not always disguised; they can be in plain sight.

 The fuzzy stork bird in the middle of this picture is a foot feeder...meaning he feels food with his feet because he has very poor eyesight.  A reminder that God can feed us no matter what our disabilities are; He has equipped us!

 These are actually huge nine and ten foot alligators.  The picture was taken from the top of a 25 foot tower.  Remember, big problems look small if you change your perspective.  David and Goliath, case in point.

 This is the walkway up to the tower.  The tower was originally a drilling station built by Mobile Oil when they purchased the land that is now Shark Valley.  They were hoping to find oil hidden in the Everglades.  They did but it was "dirty oil"; too many impurities to be of use.  Mobile gave the land to the US Park Service.  God uses our mistakes, too.  This Mobile Mistake became an educational opportunity to teach people about the everglades.  Is my life producing "dirty oil" to impure to be used?

This a Mama and Poppa Alligator.  We think.  You would have to turn them over and investigate their "privates" to determine their actual sex.  Appearances can mislead.....they look like a happy couple to me....but only God knows what is inside our "private place."

I hope you enjoyed this little trip.  I encourage you to get outside; walk around your neighborhood and look for God in Nature.  He is there!  By the way the name Shark Valley.....was named for the Shark River that flows into the valley between two very small hills.....names can fool you!

A Holly Jolly Season

 This is our son Wayne thanking the ladies of The Swamp Fox Quilt Guild for the quilts we made for the boys at the Billie Hardee Home for Boys.  Each boy at the home will get his own handmade quilt which he can keep as a permanent reminder that he is loved and cared for.

 Carol Lindler is showing the placemats she made after watching the demo at the last meeting by The Galloping Horsewomen aka Lucy and Ethel aka Donna and Rita.  We sold out of the kits we made for making the placemats.

 Moving on to Florida.....we arrived late Friday night so we could go to the market on Saturday.  My brother, Buddy, and sister-in-law, Diane were our hosts for a lovely visit to Naples, Fla.  The Dixielanders Jazz Band lent a festive air to the out door market.  I did break into dance a couple of times :)

 Diane loves these oils and balsamic vinegars.  We tasted quite a few and purchased pomegranate vinegar to make our own salad dressing.

 We were really excited to spy a rat terrier at the market.  He looks almost identical to our Scout.  Rat terriers are not a frequently seen breed even though they are the best dogs EVER!

 This guy is a customer at the Best Of Everything a must see in Naples.  My silver tongue convinced him to try these on and let me photograph him before his wife came and snatched him away before he could take my picture in the very fun New Years Eve Glasses :)

This is a overview of this fabulous store.  I didn't buy anything for myself but I did get a couple of gifties.  One is very large and smiling.....guess who gets that?

In a day or two I will give you an up close and personal view of THE EVERGLADES.  Let's just say they aren't lying about the alligators.  Stay tuned for another exciting episode of Donnamo :)