Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

October is On the Way Out…and Grace and Truth Link Up

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As this goes to print (figuratively), tomorrow is Halloween.  That means November and Thanksgiving lurk just around the corner.  This season continues to look much different than previous years, and far fewer people talk about the gift of time they received from the pandemic back in March.  It seems busyness returned for many of us, but the inconveniences and difficulties linger.  And yet we find ways to modify and keep going and I am more thankful than ever for the normalcies we still have.

 

My 15 year old stays moving with a challenging course load and driver’s ed!  She has only scared me a few dozen times – actually she is progressing well.  She can taste the independence and she wants it BAD!  She sings constantly – around the house as well as rehearsing with three different choir ensemble groups.  And we finally got to have a full-blown, but socially distanced, choir performance.  Sing Off is an annual solo competition.  The directors selected my girl to open the show and she KILLED it!  I might not be unbiased in that analysis.  But we loved seeing her perform again in the first school performance since their Christmas show in mid December!  Check out her song below!   Taking the PSAT and celebrating her BFF’s 16th birthday basically rounds out her month.

Chuck and Shelby continue to plug along with school and work.  Shelby is having a little more trouble with seizures in the classroom this month and Chuck continues to work hard to learn everything he needs to learn and access all the required systems for his new job.  I would love you to cover both of those things in prayer, if you think about it.  Shelby’s annual ARD (meeting with educators for special needs students for curriculum planning) lasted only 15 minutes online as compared to the usual hour or longer.  I was very aware, however, that Shelby is a short-timer with this school.  I don’t want to think about the next step!!

 

I got to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday at a yummy local restaurant dubbing itself “Tuscan Texan”.  We Texans will claim anything.  (Even our own independence once upon a time.)  I lunched with another friend and meet once a week with a great group of ladies to study Beth Moore’s Chasing Vines.  I had a little hangout with my sister and our friend from high school/ college, but this is still not enough social time for this social girl.

 

My joy at the return of Baylor football last month did not last.  The Big 12 canceled multiple games due to Covid-19 outbreaks within the ranks of the Bears, or their opponents.  And the Dallas Cowboys disappoint me more every week.  Don’t they all get that I need something to look forward to every week!?!

 

I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman.  I’m not sure I recommend it.  The plot was interesting, but sometimes hard to follow.  Next I dove into Dennis Jernigan’s Giant Killer:  A Heart Like David.  I really enjoyed this, learning some things about David and Goliath that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before.  I think I would recommend using it in your quiet time or daily bible study, though.  Jernigan formatted the chapters well for this and filled them with scripture.  I am back to a novel now.  I’ve alternated non-fiction and fiction lately to keep from getting overloaded on any one thing.  I’ve only just cracked the cover on The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray.  I don’t think I would have chosen this book for this particular time in my life if I had known it was so dark, but I will probably persevere through and hope for something happy.

 

The hubs and I tried the series Ted Lasso on Disney +.  Many people recommended this, but I couldn’t handle the language.  Disappointing.  I could really use something funny right now, but with four F-bombs in the first five minutes, we turned our attention to Mrs. America on Hulu.  I love history and this one interests me, at least so far.  It does cover some sensitive topics, though.  Fair warning.  We watched the movie Men of Honor about the first black master diver in the US Navy, and Patriot’s Day – a retelling of the Boston Marathon bombing.  I guess my love for history is pretty obvious.  This one was edited for TV, though, so I cannot vouch for the unedited version. 

 

The Epilepsy Foundation gave me the nerve wracking opportunity to testify before the Drug Utilization Review Board of the Health and Human Services Commission for the State of Texas.  Say that three times fast.  Our association with the foundation grants us cool opportunities to fight for those with seizures like Shelby.  I am always grateful.  And I voted early.  Not as much due to a sense of civic duty (although I have that), but because I wanted to get the thing over with!

 

I close with one of my favorite literary quotes from Anne of Green Gables.  It turns my heart to gratitude, even if this month doesn’t look exactly like I want it to.  “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  And I hope November treats you well.

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

Self-doubt and self-condemnation come easy to me.  I am my own worst critic in so many areas of life.  Parenting, evangelism, health and fitness, you name it.  Sarah Howley of Inspirit Encourage wrote a post that was a balm for my soul.  Self-control:  Thoughts of Self-Doubt reminded me how much God loves me and is pleased with me – no matter what.  Click over to read if you struggle in this area too.

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

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Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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For the Love of a Cow

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We flew to California for one day passes to Disneyland.  We had to.  We were on a mission to get my special girl Shelby to see a life-sized Clarabelle Cow.  At lease that’s what we thought we were doing.

 

To back up, our 18 year old daughter has the mental and emotional intelligence of a toddler.  And my first born baby is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Some of you got to outgrow that phase with your children.  We probably never will.  It can be annoying at times, but it brings her so much joy that I can’t help but enjoy it too.  Because Shelby struggles to communicate, I might never have known that Clarabelle, a minor character in the show, was her favorite.  But we got her a Mickey Mouse book, and she kept it turned to a picture of the singing cow all the time.  She was only ever interested in looking at that page and talking about her.  Once we found a Clarabelle stuffed animal on ebay (for entirely too much money) and presented it to Shelby, we knew FOR SURE that the cow is her favorite.

 

Stuffed Clarabelle is now Shelby’s almost constant companion.  That 15 inch toy only leaves her hand under duress.  Bath time, meal time, school and therapy.  When our daughter went away to summer camp for a week with the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas, we told her counselors that they would have to pry Clarabelle out of Shelby’s unwilling hands for activities and that Shelby would tell them she was sad.  We assured them this was necessary and that Shelby would rebound quickly when her beloved was out of sight.  Those tender-hearted counselors must not have been able to deal with anyone being sad at summer camp.  Every picture of Shelby they posted on social media that week included her doll.  Clarabelle went to the mess hall, rode horses, kayaked, did arts and crafts and swam in the pool.  She was a sad and tired mess after 6 days.  And Shelby was exhausted too.  The love of the cow runs deep.

 

When we got to Disneyland the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend (they set an attendance record – wouldn’t recommend going then), we trucked it to the guest services desk post haste to find out when and where Clarabelle would be appearing.  The answer stunk.  She would not be present in the park that day.  Now we knew when we started planning this trip that there were no Clarabelle guarantees, but I confess that I bummed hard.  For the love, we made a cross country trip.  *Sigh*  Anyway, our next hope was Clarabelle’s Creamery – a popular ice cream parlor.  We imagined her image adorning the walls and memorabilia for sale in the gift shop.  No such luck.  There was not a picture of Shelby’s best friend, or any other cow in the whole place much less a t-shirt or keychain for sale.  All of this prompted my husband to caption his social media photos with

#Disney #fortheloveofacow

Click To Tweet

 

With all of our musical cow dreams dashed to bits, we got about the rest of our day enjoying the park.  And did Shelby enjoy the park!  We discovered that our meek and gentle girl LOVES the speed, thrills and potential spills of roller coasters!  She rode rails that would make this mama mess her britches and whooped and hollered the entire time.  Smiles and giggles ALL DAY LONG.  Turns out that Chuck and I were the only ones disappointed.  Shelby had no expectation of seeing a bigger than life Clarabelle.  Her mind can’t even fathom the possibility.  She was as happy as I’ve ever seen her just hanging out with her people, and making some death defying turns – at least that’s how it appeared to this scaredy chicken.

 

In retrospect, I think the coaster-love was God’s sweet little surprise for us.  We made plans for what we thought would delight Shelby, but God knew what would do the trick.  In a silly and whimsical way, Space Mountain illustrates Proverbs 19:21.  “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  We most often use this verse to remind us that God knows what’s best for us, which is absolutely true.  But I think it also points to our God’s propensity to surprise us.  He loves us so much that He delights in our delight.  As much as the sound of Shelby’s laughter brings me joy, my love for her is dwarfed by our Heavenly Father’s pleasure in us.

 

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.”  Isaiah 30:18

 

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