Love and Thanks!

Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.  -  Matthew 7:12

Last night my family participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night fundraiser. I am so thankful to all of you that made a donation to Team GG! It might sound cliche, but donors absolutely make a difference in the lives of blood cancer patients. Together donations amount to millions of dollars that fund research, treatments, and aid to patients that need assistance.

 

Team GG flexing our muscles!

 

As I was walking around with Ernie before the walk, we stopped at the donor registration booth. I was looking at a book by a woman that chronicled her bone marrow transplant in pictures. It was really beautiful and brought a flood of memories back to me. I was overwhelmed with emotion. The Light the Night event does that to me. It leaves me feeling so blessed and so thankful for all of those in the past that helped LLS to develop the treatments that saved my life.

While at the donor registration table we engaged in conversation with a young man serving in the Army. He was a volunteer and quite a wonderful young man. Having no personal connection to anyone with leukemia he spends time raising funds for leukemia patients that need financial assistance, and here he was volunteering at the donor registration table. There were so many people like those on my team, family and friends of a survivors or those that lost their battle. We all gathered together raising money to find a cure for blood cancer. I am so amazed by all of the volunteers, and especially the caring young man that is not only serving our country but also giving so much out of the kindness of his heart. All of those participating in Light the Night were truly living out the Golden Rule.

 

As we continued to walk around we saw young children as well as adults that are in the midst of their battle. This was evidenced by those that had lost their hair to chemotherapy treatment and those with wearing masks. Then there were so many others like me that you would never know were recovering from treatment, or newly diagnosed with blood cancer. You never know what the person next to you may be going through. I hope that this serves as a reminder to be like Jesus to everyone you meet. Be kind and patient, thoughtful and caring.

 

I can't explain in words how beautiful Light the Night was. It was so easy to see God in so many in one place. It was a night filled with love and joy! Thank you to my awesome team; Ernie, Ashley, Lo, Ruben, Connie! I couldn't love you more!

 

Yours in Christ,

GG

Oh No it's Friday the 13th! But wait, it's my anniversary!

 

Triskaidekaphobia (from Greed tris meaning "3", kai meaning "and", deka meaning "10" and phobos meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is fear of the number 13 and avoidance to use it; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th called paraskevidekatriaphobia.

 

-Wikapedia 

 

Oh no! Friday the 13th is here. Is everybody out there ok? I do not have triskaidekaphobia. In fact I love the number 13 and consider it to be my favorite number. Lucky some might say.

 

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to be married to my soul mate, my best friend, the love of my life. We actually met thirty two years ago in college. I have told this story often, so humor me if I've already told it to you. The year I met him I was watching him walk down a set of stairs on campus and I heard God tell me "He is the one." It wasn't an audible voice, and I can't even tell you what it sounded like. Those words came to me in the clearest way. I was't looking for love but I was open to it. Now, I have to tell you I had never been in love before I met Ernie or E as I call him. It wasn't love at first sight or anything. It was more than a physical attraction, it was deep and soulful for me. Now, it took him a little longer to figure out that we were meant to be together, but that's his story to tell. I knew without a doubt that God chose him for me. After that I was committed to see where our relationship would go and was totally open for love for the first time.

 

We have been totally committed to love one another, to honor one another, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live. In the course of our marriage we have faced tough challenges-especially the leukemia. His love and devotion to God, me, and our family have been so strong and never bending.  In my most difficult days fighting leukemia he stood beside me holding me up, caring for me in the tenderest way, always having total faith in God. While we have had an amazing passionate love affair our entire marriage, we have had something deeper- a spiritual love that is bound by God's love. I love E more today than I ever have. We know how precious each day is and we try to honor Our Lord by loving one another and living as God wants us to. We have been so blessed! Our hearts are overflowing with all of the love and blessings we have been graced with.

 

Back to the 13th and why I consider it my "lucky number." Our birthdays, our kids birthdays, and our anniversary all have a 1, 3, or 13 in them. Coincence? Maybe, but I like to think of it as our lucky number!

 

Love and Blessings,

gg

The Greatest Book on Earth

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. - Hebrews11:1

 

No Ashley (my daughter) I am not writing about Harry Potter, Divergent, or Hunger Games. I am referring to the Bible. I have never read the Bible all the way through from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament. I am now in the process of doing so along with my husband. We are reading it along with the book I highly reccommend, Walking With God by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins. A great companion to the Bible that makes things clear and understandable. Reading the two together makes a light bulb go off in my head and I can see clearly for the first time. I have gained a totally new view and understanding of the amazing stories that are our rich history and I am seeing the Bible stories in a whole new light. I now understand that it is so important to read the Old Testament before the New Testament. It is the beginning of the story and is crucial to understanding and making connections to what happens in the New Testament.

 

My hubby and I have a great love and a passion for The Lord and our faith. Deepening our faith is bringing us closer together, and bringing us so much peace and joy. We have always been pretty devout Catholics, but are becoming so much more knowledgeable and passionate about our faith and the church's teachings. Our prayer is that we serve God with joy and enthusiasm. We pray that our children find the same passion that we have found; they have the foundation to get there. I pray that we are able to be the loving Christians that God has called us to be. So, if you are thinking about reading a book, pick up the greatest book ever written- The Bible!

 

Yours in Christ,

GG

Remembering Childhood Days of Summer

Well, Labor Day is upon us once again. That means The Taste of Colorado and the State Fair. It means that school is in full swing and all of the summer fun is over. .

As a kid I recall playing outside nearly the whole day. We didn't watch much TV,  but we definitely didn't miss classics like Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, or the Partridge Family. On Saturday morning we would get up do chores, watch Saturday morning cartoons, and American Bandstand. Most days we would come in only to eat, and then at the end of the day when it was time to get ready for bed.

Growing up in a time when families were quite large made for no shortage of kids to play with. There were so many children in our neighborhood. Of course growing up in a family with twelve children there was always someone close in age to play with too. My siblings and I would always look forward to family camping trips, our church festival, and the State Fair. Those were the highlights of the summer. Then, we would go back to school, the days would grow shorter, and we would be stuck inside again.

I remember all of the fun that I had with my own kids in the summer. They would play in the backyard a great deal of the day. They spent hours on their swing set and in the sandbox. They splashed around in their deluxe plastic swimming pool. You would have swore that little pool was ten times it's size with all of the fun my kids had. Later we would spend time watching them play a variety of sports.

I miss those care free days of my youth. They were so long ago, yet I remember them like they were yesterday. Summers that seemed like they would never end. Summers filled with so much fun and so much joy. I miss even more watching my Josh, Ash, and Lo playing during those hot summer days. I never dwell on those days for they are so bittersweet. Instead I have learned to enjoy each day I have now, and I am looking forward to watching my grandchildren enjoying summer days. God has graced me with new life. I am so thankful for each summer day I had this year. I tried to live each one as joyfully as I could. I hope that you all had a wonderful blessed summer.

My favorite things to do in the summer:

• Ride our bikes.
• Go swimming at the neighborhood pool.
• Camp out in the backyard.
• Stay out in the dark and tell scary stories.
• Play in the little house my dad built for us girls.
• Bake easy bake oven cakes with the jiffy cake mixes.
• Play jump rope.
• Play baseball or kickball (there were always enough kids to scare up teams).
• Play tether ball in our back yard. 
• Play jacks..
• Play paper dolls.
• Play four two square on the sidewalk.
• Play pickle.
• Play Tag, Red Rover, or Red Light Green Light.

Yours in Christ,
gg