Words for the New Year

At the end of every year I ask God what He is asking of me for the upcoming new year. And every year I ask, I get at least 1 word.

The word for 2007 was Sacrifice. He taught me so much about that with little things like giving up social time with friends to work or do fundraisers, to big things like losing friends when they were killed for doing what God called them to do.

The word for 2008 didn't come to me until 3 months into the year and it was Serve. A word I thought would be easy but was everything but easy. However, I did notice my character slowly growing with this action word.

And now as I've asked God to reveal to me something for the year 2009, He's given me Love and Patience. I absolutely love to love, but I have a feeling that the word love is going to have a whole different meaning to me as I patiently press on through this New Year.

I've decided to do something a little different and a little more personal this time. So please watch my 1st video blog to hear a little more about what I am passionate about and also what God's been doing in my life.

Love,
Rebecca Lynne

Grandpa, Did You Hear What I Said?

Yesterday I went to my Grandparents house to clean and do miscellaneous things for my Grandma because she has polio and cannot do easily, and also my grandpa has been in the hospital for about a week. He is not in the hospital for anything serious, therefore I am not too concerned. However, I have a feeling that one of these times he is not going to make it home. He is living with CHF (Congestive Heart Failure), kidney failure, and last year he had half of his right lung removed due to lung cancer. He is in his 80's and he never did take care of himself. Neither him or my grandma have ever eaten very healthy and they also were binge drinkers and smokers (especially on the weekends). But in their defense I don't think that there was much knowledge on the effects of heavy drinking and smoking.

Anyways, so I cleaned for about 2 hours which I only made a dent in it. Then I had to take some things to my Grandpa in the hospital. I was at the hospital for only a short time before I needed to get back home. But before I left I gave him a hug and I told him that I loved him. But I didn't get much of a response from my Grandpa, so I asked him "Grandpa, did you hear what I said?". He shook his head. So I got down to eye level and I said, "I love you". I don't think that I will ever be able to forget his expression. He started to get choked up and spoke words of gratitude of me and my family for all that we do for them.

As I was leaving the hospital I could not remember the last time that I told my Grandpa Gene that I loved him, but really meant it. In our society we throw the phrase "I love you" around like dirty laundry. When will we learn to actually love one another, like the way Jesus loved... the genuine love???