Our trip today up through the Poconos to fellowship with our brothers and sisters (in Christ) was outstandingly beautiful.  The snow had laid a carpet of brilliant white and that in itself was picturesque!   But God had also created a work of art with the rain, as it had covered the mountain top trees with a heavy glass like coating of shimmering brilliance!The ice caused a dancing of lights through the woods.   The already brilliantly white birch trees bowed at the weight of the ice crystals and caused one to imagine them bowing at the presence of their Creator!
I hope the spring's fickleness, tricking us with summer like days only to throw a bit arctic blasts our way, doesn't cause you to be blue.  For Christ spoke of  the hope of better days, as He taught of the end time in Matt. 24:32 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

  It has been a rather hard week, with  to much stress. My blood pressure has been consistently high and I had some strong vertigo to go with it.  I also learned from my doctor that the disks in my neck are not fusing.  But those things seem VERY small in comparison to what we witnessed in Japan this week.  How very devastating for these people! Also the news of the family north west of us, who lost 7 of there 8 children in a house fire.  How can you cope with such a disaster?
During one of my classes at hospice we were told to write, on squares of paper, some of the people, places and things we treasure the most.  Then the teacher came around and took some of them.  She was trying to help us to feel how devastated people can feel over dying or losing a loved one.  She asked us how it made us feel.  I felt I couldn't go on!  The life in me true felt utterly drained from me as I thought of what it could feel like. For you see she had taken my slip of paper that I treasured the most, "God's love".  I thought how horrible it would be to go on living with the knowledge that God did not love or care about us any more.  But then I remembered Romans 8:38  reassures us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  What a relief, not even death can separate us from God's love, because of the awesome and fantastic sacrifice of our Lord and Savior!
May your week be full of reminders that God really cares about you and that He really wants us to talk to Him in prayer because he loves us so very much!

 Just got home from a very hectic weekend.  Springvale scheduled up the entire Sabbath from Fri. night through Sabbath evening at midnight, Sarah was involved in worship both days so we needed to be there.  Travel home was the worst, route 80 shut down before State college at Clearfield.  We waited an hour with little gas when a guy got smart and said for every one to move backwards enough so that we all could squeeze by a tractor trailer and drive on the burm to get to the Clearfield exit ramp.  We slid several times all over the road, we saw numerous  people in the ditch, I begged him to stop for the night but he wouldn't.  After driving in blinding snow for about an hour at about 30-25 miles an hour and passing up many gas stations we again got stranded on a remote mountain on 322 that was shut down.  After an hour of waiting Bruce turned around and traveled many miles to find a gas station only to go back to the same place that was shut down on 322 and wait again.  He actually fell asleep while waiting and he awoke when he started to hear motors starting up.  We got home at 6:30 this morning. Thank the Lord we made it home safely!

During the past two weeks I have enjoyed taking part in a hospice training program. The training lasts for 11 weeks. I have learned quite a bit and have been challenged over some of the material.  The class helps us to council  those who are at the end of their life and also the family and friends who are very much effected by the loss of a loved one.
Most of what we will be doing is listening, comforting and encouraging.  I am finding that the principles being taught in this class should be incorporated in every day interactions with people we meet and those close to us. Listening with genuine interest when you are distracted or tired is a challenge!  But it will mean a lot to the brother or sister who  is struggling. Much of our work as fellow Christians is done through listening with interest and kindness.  Not in solving the problem but rather by asking questions to guide another toward solving the problem themselves.
I was drawn to work for hospice for several reasons.   Hospice helps people who are already at the end stage of a disease to die the way they want to and helps them to make the most of those last days, weeks or months.
I have learned how important a living will is, especially to the care giver.  The guilt can be tremendous for those who are called on to make tough decisions when  you can no longer communicate your desires.  I would urge you to write up a living will and have it simply signed by a loved one as a witness.  These documents can be changed at any time, if you change your mind you can rewrite one or verbally change it.  It will give great comfort for those caring for you to know what your wishes are if you can not communicate with them because of disease progression or if a  sudden accident has left you  with the inability to communicate.
I have the forms for writing a living will, if you would like one I would love to send you one.
Just e-mail me at momchesney@yahoo.com .
I hope your week is pleasant and full of hope for better days ahead!