Question Of The Day

You know how kids just say whatever they think sometimes? And they wonder about everything under the sun. Well, today it was bath time so I was in the bathroom with the kids taking turns bathing each one. Then all of a sudden my four year old son asks, "Why do they build a drawer that does not open? That does not make sense!" You know the non-functional drawers they build into many bathrooms? I could not help but laugh. Couldn't they actually make them into drawers that served a purpose as apposed to wasted space. Who couldn't use some extra drawer space?

Prayer Request

Being a blogger myself and having been through some tough medical ups and downs with my own children. I enjoy keeping up with and reading stories of other families, through their trials and triumphs. Sometimes you just can't help but be deeply affected by other's stories. This one has brought me to my knees.

I do not know this family personally, just through reading their family blog. Here I will share a short synopsis and you can check out their blog for more information or to keep up with this dear family if you wish.

After struggling with several ear infections that did not seem to be getting better, the doctors ordered other tests, and they found out that Cora had "Neuroblastoma (a form of cancer). They had removed the tumor and some lymph nodes. The cancer was a stage 4 (it had spread all over) and she had over 100 spots on her liver." Apparently all of this happened in a very short period of time, from the time they found out was she was sick, till now. She immediately began chemo and has been through multiple surgeries. After another surgery which she had on Friday, and she was stable. Apparently, there was a turn for the worse. Sweet baby Cora Paige died today and went to be with Jesus.

Please remember the McClenahan family in your prayers.

Random Facts

(After being tagged several times recently on Facebook I put together this list. I thought since I'd share it here on the blog...just for fun.)

25 random facts about Liz Dixon---

1. I love having a tall husband. Just makes me feel gitty inside to be able to look up to him all the time.

2. I’m a reality tv-junkie!

3. If I could go back to school to have any career, I would be a nurse. All my medical experiences have taught me so much about the importance and role of a nurse. I had some amazing nurses throughout my hospital stays and also had many awful nurses. But I will always be thankful for those wonderful nurses, and I would want to be one of those nurses that really cares for her patients.

4. I have five kids under 5.

5. I have a magazine fetish. I read and collect magazines.

6. I do not use salad dressing. I eat my salads DRY. Always have, always will.

7. I make up words all the time. Ask Donny!

8. After 10:30pm I am a very silly girl. You should see me playing Scatagories at that hour.

9. I love to cook.

10. My first car was a white convertible Mazda Miata! His name was Snoopy. I LOVED that car!! Thanks’ Dad!

11. I’m an 80’s girl! I LOVE 80’s music!! Takes me back to many fun memories with my sister.

12. My relationship with Christ is by far the most important part of my life. Everything I have been through is a testimony of his grace and mercy, his strength and his healing powers. I believe in the power of prayer!!

13. I LOVE, LOVE being in front of large crowds. I majored in Personal/Interpersonal Communications and Public Speaking. I prefer to prepare a speech and then present as apposed to speaking off the cuff or impromptu speaking.

14. I love planning and making preparations for events...birthdays, game nights etc.

15. I LOVE thunderstorms…but I am afraid of the dark. (Yes, I still get scared at night when Donny is out of town and the house is dark. I usually end up singing Jesus loves me or whatever the first song that pops into my head to give me comfort).

16. I had a hysterectomy at age 27.

17. I go crazy over SNOW. Even though I was born and raised in Texas and have never really experienced a real snow filled winter.

18. I repeated 10th grade. ( I transferred to a private school, after being out of school for some time due to illness)

19. I am a candy-holic.

20. I had brain surgery the week after I graduated from high school. Thankfully, I was able to walk the stage to receive my diploma.

21. I’m a HUGE Rachel Ray fan!! I love her 30 min meal shows, cookbooks, talk show, and personality. I find that either people love her or hate her…I’m LOVIN Her!!

21. I love keeping up with celebrity gossip. I know, silly… but I do.

22. In high school I was a cheerleader, mascot, student council vice president, in the drama club and key club.

23. I’ve always looked up to and respected my Dad. He was my biggest role model growing up. I learned what having convictions, morals and beliefs really meant, from watching him. I am the person I am today because of my Dad.

24. I always wanted to be a mom, because I wanted to be just like my mom: Making special snacks for us after school, being involved in PTA, volunteering for school events, leading Bible studies with other moms, etc.

25. My favorite color has always been red…but as have grown up I’m falling more in love with the color orange. It is in the red family after-all. The color orange just makes me happy! And I did marry a huge TENNESSEE fan…so it’s always “Go Big Orange” around our house.

His ways are Higher!

I love routines. I like knowing where I am going and when. I like knowing money is in the bank when bills need to be paid and food is in the pantry for dinner. It's just the way my mind works, and how I keep from feeling stress. Although there are times where breaking routines can be a lot of fun. As I look at my walk with God, though, I find that His “routine” isn’t very well-defined for me. It’s not that He doesn’t have a game plan, because He does, but my mind still doesn’t fully see His hand at work or His plans for my future. As the Bible says, “his ways are higher than our ways…” So my plans may be organized, but ultimately He will determine my steps. Hmmm. That sounds like a very “un-routine” way of doing life to me. If people can’t see what God is doing,they stumble all over themselves, But when they attend to what he reveals,they are most blessed. Proverbs 29:18 As I move into 2009, I will continue to appreciate our routine, but I will also be searching for what God is doing in and around me and my family. My hope is that I will be flexible enough in my routine to see God’s hand and shift gears if I need to. :)

I'm getting a RED NOSE for Christmas...Cause I wanna be like RUDOLF!

Tomorrow morning, I am scheduled for Complex Septoplasty. Otherwise known as a nose job! No not really! I'm not getting a nose job. They are correcting my two deivated septums. It's nasal surgery. My nose will still look the same. Even though the doctor is a plastic surgeon. I can't believe I'm having a well known plastic surgoen perform surgery on me and I'm not coming out with a flatter stomach or bigger boobs. Something is really wrong with that! Maybe he will throw in some botox for no extra charge. I have been seeing more and more wrinkles everytime I look in the mirror. Haha!

According to The Mayo Clinic.com, "The thin wall inside your nose that separates your right and left nasal cavities is called your nasal septum. Ideally, your septum is situated in the center of your nose, equally separating the two sides of your nose. In about 80 percent of people, however, the nasal septum is displaced to one side, making one nasal passage smaller than the other. When your septum is significantly off-center, you have a deviated septum.

When a deviated septum is severe, it can block one side of your nose and reduce airflow. Resulting signs and symptoms can include difficulty breathing, nasal congestion, nosebleeds and frequent sinus infections.

Deviated septum may be present at birth or, more commonly, the result of an injury. Initial treatment of a deviated septum may include medications to manage signs and symptoms. But to correct a deviated septum, surgery is necessary."

My Greater Purpose...

I have come to the place in my life where I have embraced my greatest purpose. That is, to worship God with more than songs of praise, but with my LIFE. I am to spend my life showing off my God through one of the most important acts of worship. My obedience to Him. EVERYTHING on Earth was created to point to God's GREATNESS. That includes myself. What an AWESOME calling. I want to do my best to try and reflect HIS GLORY in the greatest way possible. I want to give God my life in worship. MY everything...not just my song, my hands or my heart...EVERYTHING COMPLETELY!

Change Of Perspective

One of my favorite life verses is Romans 5:3-5,

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

I love it when God sends reminders of His promises. I started the day asking the Lord to help change my perspective. I continue to remind myself that I need to choose to be thankful and find the good things in life, instead of focusing on the negative. I realized that the heaviness that I was feeling was as heavy as I wanted it to be. The word says that His burden is light, so it’s up to me to release the heaviness and let Him carry it. If I’m feeling the weight of the world, then it’s not because God put it there. That is why and how I can go forward each day, and face the challenges raising five children and keeping our house running, while at times it feels as if my body is falling apart. He gives me the strength to go on!