Bangers and Mash

Here's one of the  mini-cards I made for Mommy, a trail of "English-themed" cards that started at the mailbox and led up the stairs to her Valentine's Day presentation.

It was back to work today, although we did work yesterday of course.  But it wasn't Valentine's Day, so today was all business.  One note before moving on:  we had an earthquake just before 10:30 last night.  For the record, we didn't feel anything.  Nana and Ye-Ye - who are just down the road from us - did.  They called right away to let us know, but we had no idea whatsoever.  It had an epicenter in South Carolina, closer to Augusta, and I think it was a 4.5 on the Richter Scale.  Many folks felt it - there was a lot of chatter on the social networks.  Fortunately, a lot of folks did not feel it.  Meaning, we weren't alone in being oblivious!

Anyway, this morning started out later, as we slept in quite a bit.  We'll update this in just a bit!

Until then, here's today's Olympic devotional entry:

“The Lord asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’” Ezekiel 37:3 NIrV

     Noelle Pikus-Pace knows about pain, more than most.  Her dreams of getting on the Olympic medal podium were lost in 2010’s Winter Games when she lost by a mere tenth of a second.  Her heart was so broken to come up short, after so much training.  And four years earlier than that, her dreams were shattered after a freak accident with a bobsled: her bones were broken, and her hopes of an Olympic medal were buried.

    But those bones would come to life again. 
     In the book of Ezekiel, God asked the prophet to prophesy to those bones.  He said speak over them.  And God will breath life into your broken dreams.

     After losing in 2010, Noelle retired to focus on her family more.  She lost so much time with them as she trained hard.  It was time to let go.

     But a miscarriage changed everything.  It was utterly heartbreaking.  Her two children were suggesting what sorts of cute clothing to give their new sister.  Noelle knows her little girl is in heaven, and all she could do was cry out in deep pain.

     Her husband Janson was desperate to help his grieving wife.  He was the first to suggest trying the Olympics again, to get her focus elsewhere.  He knew this was a good idea:  this is a race that requires a lot of focus, as you slide on a tiny sled down an icy track going speeds up to 80 miles per hour. 
     How appropriate that her race is called “the skeleton.”  Those bones would come to life again! 
     Noelle didn’t want to spend so much time from her family in practice, but her husband was willing to do anything to help.  He started getting sponsors together, and scheduling practices.  She would train as an Olympian, but she wouldn’t do it alone:  her family was with her every step of the way.  Together, they spoke over that dream, and spoke loudly as a family.

     And yesterday, they were there as a family at the finish line, watching her speed to her destiny.  Overflowing with absolute joy, she leaped up into the stands to be with her family:  her dream came to life.  She is an Olympic champion.