Have you ever experienced Vertigo? It is like a non-stop ticket on the tea cup ride. When I was a kid the tea cup was my favorite ride, as an adult, the vertigo tea cup ride could certainly go away.

I get vertigo at times when I’m stressed, the weather changes, or I’m tired. The past couple of weeks I could answer yes to all the reasons. I am blessed with two kids who try to help me out around the house and even type for me so I can blog, do my homework, etc.

The one blessing in all this spinning is that I’ve been able to have my kids in the kitchen and try to teach them to cook. I’ve done this many times before but usually wind up taking over- yes, I’m a little controlling in the kitchen. Right now though, I have no other choice but give directions and let them go for it. It gives me a new perspective for the week about my kids as I see them work away. They have really grown into their person with different thoughts, personalities, etc. from mine. My daughter is meticulous in all she does, she has great faith when it seems life is lost, and loves through her service to others. My son is pensive, quiet, and tries for accuracy but at times is not. He is determined to help, loves the Lord, and has a tender heart for his family, friends, and animals.

This week I’m thankful to God for both Emily and Dale. I’m thankful that God gave them strong, capable minds, attitudes, and beliefs. I pray in the coming years that God strengthens them in their faith but also in their ability to serve, love, and strive for their dreams.

Thanks for being a blessing to me by being a part of my extended family in blogland.

May God bless and keep you and bring His peace to your hearts-

Sherry

Maybe I truly am a child of the 1980′s but when I started thinking about what I was thankful for I started to hum Poison’s song, Something to Believe In. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why that came to my mind but I looked up the song lyrics and could see clearly why. The song speaks of an inner discontent that the writer has for family, friends, and those never truly met that seem to have been lost or forgotten.

The lyrics- “Sometimes I wish to God I didn’t know now
The things I didn’t know then
Road you gotta take me home “
seem to really sound out to me. Why? I’m a little older than the typical Fontbonne student, I’m in my 40′s. There are many things in life that have thrown me off course as far as family, friends, and my education. This lyric speaks to me because I do truly wish at times that I was a first time student in college with all my hopes and dreams ready to come true. Instead, I have a new perspective and life experiences that at 18 I didn’t have. I’ve suffered the loss of my dad a week before my wedding, been graced with two children and a husband, been estranged from my mom I loved dearly only to reconnect with her last year when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. My younger self didn’t have any of these life experiences and was carefree, wow, to go back.

Then, I happened to think that if I went back I wouldn’t have the joys of having my two children and knowing what a blessing it can be to be a mom. By being a mom, I gained selflessness and compassion beyond merit for another. Those are two of my biggest blessings that I’ve got in my spirit the ability to act without thinking of myself and showing compassion and care not only to my kids but to others.

I also wouldn’t know the hurt the loving someone and having them leave your life either through death or on their own. When I take time to have perspective each of those have led me to me to being a stronger and more capable person. When I was younger without this experiences I was constantly relying on my dad or husband to bail me out, to be my knight in shining armor. Through my life experiences I’ve become more capable than I ever thought.

Lastly, is the relationship with my mom. When I was younger my dad told me the sun rose and set on me when it came to my mom. I can never remember a time when she didn’t love or support me. I wish that I still had those feelings when it came to my mom. But she chose to disconnect from me for over six years which is time that is lost. She chose to not see my kids growing up or talk with me which breaks my heart. This Thanksgiving though, I am thankful to God, that He gave me a loving mom as a child and into early adulthood. I can even see a blessing in that she has brain cancer. What? I am able to re-connect with her and see can be a part of my life again. The relationship is not perfect and our time I fear at times is limited but I’m thankful for the cancer because it has brought me back to her.

The song ends in these lines -
“You take the high road
And I’ll take the low road
Sometime I wish I didn’t know now
The things I didn’t know then
And give me something to believe in”. This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for a new perspective that comes from age and experience. I’m thankful that I’ve got a firm foundation in Christ most of all that helps, encourages, and gives me something to believe in daily.

May you all find something to believe in through Christ this holiday season.

Blessings- Sherry

This year got really nasty with comments and jabs at each side of the Presidential debate and that was just on my Facebook among various friends. This year the politics of politics took its toll on my mind and spirit. I consider myself liberal in my views and found myself being called out on several occasions by friends. The weird thing to me about this is that although I am liberal in my political views I don’t tend to tell many people about them nor talk about politics with others.

I’m content to know where I stand on various issues. Because of this I don’t feel the need to tell everyone how I feel, persuade them to feel what I do, or try to change them. I guess I’m happy to live in a country where so many views can be held and or expressed. I am thankful to the men and women who have served our country in the military to protect this right. If anything I am thankful to be friends with various people with differing opinions from my own. There is something to be said in learning from others is how I’ve always felt.

This leads me to a story about election day. I had lunch with a very conservative friend of mine that chose to talk to me about politics. I told her that she knew that I was liberal and where I stand but I am thankful that we live in the US where we both can have such differing views and be friends. She backed off and agreed she was thankful that we were friends and that no matter what our political view she was glad she knew me. Wouldn’t this be a great thought for our leaders of our country, state, and towns to have?

I know that I’m praying for our current leaders and will continue to do so in the next year as some change and others stay the same. In reality, our leader, is not a man or a woman but God and through Him all things happen. I would much rather pray that God be a part of our country and how our leaders handle things than spend time debating with one another over fine details. I pray that you will join me in the coming weeks in praying for our leaders that they be graced with God presence and work for God’s glory. Together, I pray our country takes a stand not against one another but to pray for God’s almighty presence and will to be done in our country.

Blessings on your week-

Sherry

The thing that surprises me daily about college life that I never anticipated is two-fold. The first part would be that I am a non-traditional student. I went to college the first go around as an 18-year-old freshman and then left my junior year. I started back to college within the Pathways program which was a long awaited answer to prayer.

The second part of my expectation was that I would be considered too old and wouldn’t be able to focus because I would have to juggle my job, family, and school. I have found the professors, my advisers, and the Fontbonne community to be full of support. I have to say that I never think of myself as an outsider based on my age, personal struggles, or goals. Fontbonne has shown me that I have family beyond the boundaries of miles or being face to face with instructors and staff. Fontbonne has given me a sense of belonging and community.

Blessings on your week- Sherry

In my spare time,  since I was little, I have loved being creative and art. My grandma sewed and crafted and taught me to sew and do a variety of crafty things in the summers when I would spend two weeks each year at their farm.

In elementary school I won free art lessons at the Des Moines Art Museum and was always involved in art club and art classes throughout school. I remember being little and getting such joy from looking at what I made and created. When I went to high school I still loved art but you had to pick which form of art to pursue :drawing, painting, photography, etc. and I was confused about which to pick and so I dropped it all and decided to focus on classes that would help me to go to college. I felt that I wasn’t good enough to actually have a career in art but my heart still yearned to be creative.

Now, let’s just say I’m older and wiser but still have the same glee that I did as a little kid when I create something. My son is the same way. A couple of years ago my kids and I cleaned our basement and half of it became a game room for them and the other half an art room for me and the kiddos too. Since then I have started to sew and make things for friends for their birthdays. This summer because my finances are in turmoil (being a college student with a mortgage and utilities to pay will do it to you) my kids and I decided to try to make gas money for the car by selling things that we knew how to make.

So, we started an Etsy business called Mamasunbear2. The name is a whole other story, folks. We also made a Facebook page with the same name for our business. The challenging thing for me is that it has caused my to place a value on what I create and make. It’s opened my mind to self criticism and doubts in my ability to make something that people would actually like or even buy. This fall I have become even more determined to try to make our little business work because my daughter will be going to college next fall. She needs to take her ACT, have money to send in with college applications, etc. and to be totally honest I just don’t have the finances to do that.

Through prayer I feel compelled to continue to try to make our business work since it has been such a bonding experience for all three of us. I make and create the items, my son helps in making things, and my daughter helps to take pictures of our stuff and to ship and deliver orders. It has caused our little family to work together for a greater cause. I know that my son came up with the idea Bowties for Big Dogs for shelter dogs (to make them look more approachable and get adopted faster) and we recently made some of those to sell with the money made from each bowtie going to the Kansas City Pet Project animal shelter where we volunteer. Both of my kids went to church camp over the summer and adopted a little boy through Compassion Child to be their little brother. When we sell things we take part of the money and send to help their Compassion Child, Angel.

I love that my kiddos have learned to pay it forward in the world through selling things that they make. That is what keeps me going and creating. If you would like to see what we do you can check out our Etsy store or like our Facebook page (my kiddos love seeing how many likes we can get). Our name is Mamasunbear2.

As I say to each buyer and looker of our things- thanks for being a blessing to my children and I. Blessings- Sherry

My favorite photo memory from Fontbonne is a little more challenging since I’m a Pathways student up in Kansas City. The one thing that my family does each year since I entered the program is go down to Fontbonne for Christmas Around The Campus. It is truly a bonding 5 hour drive for the kiddos and I, but once we are there we’ve been made to feel right at home. What a sweet blessing for weary travelers.

Attached is my fav pic that I took last December of my kiddos. I think this represents what I have felt since I was admitted into Fontbonne- family. Even though, I’m not on campus going to class, I feel the strong ties of family at Fontbonne. Whether it be through the campus weekly mailer, a prayer request that is sent via e-mail, or the care and concern that my professors and my advisers within the Pathways program have shown me.

I would have to say that I have many great memories from Fontbonne. My son still sits with me through each and every video that I watch online. When I started he wanted to sit with me through the first one and told me, “hey, maybe I’ll learn something too”. My daughter has helped me through my IT issues and shared with me that she draws determination in school from seeing what I’m going through as an older adult. She says she is determined to make it through college no matter what.

I’m thankful for my Fontbonne family even though I have never seen or met most of you. You have shown myself and my children what strength, determination, community, and family is all about.

Blessings on your week- Sherry

One of the best parts of being a Fontbonne student for me as a Pathways student is that I get to make my own schedule and study hours because my classes are all online. I know this gives me the ability to work, volunteer, and be a mom to my two kiddos. It also gives me time to be artsy and have fun.

My confession to you all is that I am addicted, just a little, to Pinterest. I love to see all the fun ideas and pin them all eagerly. If only I had the wardrobe from my Fashion Passion board I would be a happy gal. At my church they were looking for small groups and leaders. My pastor’s wife approached me with the idea of having a Pinterest group and told me that she knew I could not only do it but was the one that they actually thought of when someone had asked about doing one.

So, I prayed on that for a while… can you imagine not only pinning on Pinterest but praying about it too? That sounds pretty funny, huh? Even though I put the idea of the small group on the back burner, I kept it in my mind. One night I thought, hmmm… what if I did Pinterest & Prayer. And, thus, a small group was made that night. I’m using Kay Arthur’s book, “Lord Teach Me To Pray In 28 Days,” for the Bible study portion. Then we go onto the crafty part of our group. I’ve had various friends joke with me about the small group and wonder if we were going to pray that our crafts would turn out.

I should have taken their advice and prayed for the crafts. We made pop tab bracelets last week at our first small group. One of my friends showed me how to do them, and I felt confident enough that I could show everyone… boy, was I wrong. Thank goodness one of the gals in the group is a Girl Scout leader and knew how to make them. She led the group and showed everyone how. I am thankful that everyone made a bracelet and a little ashamed that I was the only member that didn’t know how to make one. I vowed to everyone to do a pin this week that I would understand how to do.

Isn’t it that way if life sometimes? You can prep, pray, and be ready to lead only to falter, fail, and have to give up? I am so thankful for our Heavenly Father who can pick up the pieces, whether it be a pop tab bracelet gone array, finances, health or life in general. We serve a God who is always there beside us and will guide us without fail.

I will share a link for both the poptab bracelet and the pumpkins we are making this week in case you are interested and would like to know how to do either. You can look up my small group on Facebook — we have our own group site. Just request to join. Also, if you decide you want to see some artsy stuff that I’ve done, you can check out my Facebook page- Mamasunbear2. Feel free to check it out and like it if you do.

Blessings on your week- Sherry

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Many times in life don’t you get that feeling of deja vu or that you are literally living, Ground Hogs Day, the movie over again but in your own life? I know from working with students in classes that many times they repeat behaviors or do assignments not to their capabilities for days on end. I talk with them and say that I don’t want to repeat Ground Hogs day tomorrow. I then go on to tell them about the old movie (did I just say that because I remember it being in a theater) starring Bill Murray as a weatherman that is repeating Ground Hogs Day daily in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania waiting for Phil to show his shadow or not. In the movie, Bill Murray’s character learns to be a more patient, kind, and caring person daily. So, I tell my students that tomorrow is a do over and we talk about what they can do to change their behaviors and work ethic. They are also able to tell me openly if something is bothering them or if they don’t understand what is being taught.

I also have been known to yell, “Ground Hogs Day” at my children when they leave their dirty clothes on the floor for a couple of days, or don’t do something to help around the house and it has taken me a day to realize that it wasn’t done. They know when I say this that they need to take care of something that should have been done earlier. I also say “Ground Hogs Day” when dealing with situations that reoccur in my life and no matter what I’ve tried in the past they keep coming.

I am dealing right now with a “Ground Hogs Day!” moment. The first time I went to college my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer my junior year. She told me that she couldn’t pay for my college anymore and that I would have to find a job and go to school. This is when I dropped out of school, tried to care for her, work full time, and go to community college (you see I had not done my math and science requirements for my degree). I couldn’t keep up with the pace of it all and the stress of it. So, even though my mom recovered from the cancer I didn’t go back to school because it was too hard to try to do it all.

Now, leapfrog, through time 20 some years later and I’m back in school through the blessing of the Pathways program at Fontbonne .The Pathways program has given me the ability to work and go back to school to finish my degree. It has been a sweet blessing to me and to my children. Last year, my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent surgery to remove the parts of the cancer that they could. Other parts of her brain they couldn’t treat or remove because it would literally kill her. My mom’s pastor called me last Thursday and told me she was in the hospital and not doing well. My brother had moved to California about a month ago and so my mom has had no one to take her to her doctor’s appointments and so she hasn’t been going. She shared with me over the weekend that she is thankful that she had both my brother and I. But she wants us to go and live our own lives now and not to worry about her. Since there really aren’t a lot of treatment options for her and she is getting weaker she had decided that she doesn’t want to go to the oncologist weekly or the other doctors that she sees. She simply wants to live what is left of her life and is ready to pass on. I literally called out to God last Thursday, “Ground Hogs Day!”. How could God have taken me so far in college and life and now thrown a Ground Hogs Day moment at me. I am ridden with guilt for not living closer to my mom, not having enough money to drive back and forth to Des Moines to make sure she is going to the doctor and her spirits are up. I can say this morning that I have the same despair and hopeless feeling that I had some 20 years ago in college.

This has me thinking this morning about all the times we all have a Ground Hogs Day moments and what are we to do? I think that we are to thank and praise God first and foremost for getting us through them the first time around and have faith that He will do it again. Although, the second time around or so the results may be different we have to realize that our God is not different. He is the same steadfast, loving, and resourceful God that He was the first time around. For this we are all blessed today.

I leave you this week with a renewed spirit that God will get me through this Ground Hogs Day and the next one too. I pray for each of you to know that God will do the same for you.

Peace Be With You- Sherry

I got e-mail messages about “pet-a-pup day” on campus. I also saw some adorable pics of various students with the dogs. From the pictures I saw online, it looked like the dogs came from a local shelter in the area. I have a particular fondness for the plight of shelter dogs since some of my family’s best furfriends have been shelter dogs.

15 years ago in October, we adopted Toto, a lab and hound mix that was 3 months old, for my daughter, Emily, who was 3 at the time. It was my goal, because of where we lived at the time, that Toto would not only be Emily’s companion but protector as well. A few months passed and we were at Wayside Waifs, the shelter we got Toto from, bringing in dog food and going to visit the other shelter dogs, when we found Buster, an Australian sheepdog puppy, who, with his litter, had been thrown out on 71 highway in Grandview. There was something special about Buster, who had one blue eye and brown eye, and was a ball of fuzz when I spotted him — it seemed like he needed me. So Buster came to live with us too.

When we moved out to Pleasant Hill, our two big dogs came with us, and they loved the new countryside and big fenced in yard where they could play, roam, and guard. We came to call Toto and Buster our furchildren and treated them as such. When our son Dale was born, he instantly had a liking to Buster and they became fast friends. The years have been a struggle for our family with going back to school for both my hubby and me, changing jobs, having our kiddos grow up, but the one consistency we’ve had was our furchildren in the back yard. This summer we heard a yelp come from the back yard, and Buster was laying down in the ground unable to move. I contacted the vet who told me that if he didn’t pass in the evening, we would put him down in the morning. We were blessed to have had our Buster for 15 years and see that he passed on our deck with our family surrounding him and loving him. It was truly an emotional time since we had Buster for 15 years and he had been so faithful to us. Last month, Toto, Emily’s best friend, got a virus in her lungs. Within two weeks, her lungs had filled and her heart had enlarged. Toto was barely able to get up on her own and her breathing was raspy at best. We had to decide to put Toto down, and it was heartbreaking. You see, we had let both Toto and Buster become an integral part of our lives; they were so much more than just dogs to all of us, they were our friends, confidants, and protectors for 15 years. It had been a tearful summer for both my children and myself as we had to put two of our best friends to rest.

In order to heal our hearts, my children and I have started to volunteer at the KC Pet Project, which is a local animal shelter in the KC area. My son who is 12, decided to make bow ties for big dogs and does weekly. Dale believes that if he can make a bow tie for each big dog at the shelter to wear, they become more approachable and people prayfully will adopt them rather than bypass them. My kids travel weekly into KC to go walk the dogs and talk with them, which has healed a magnitude of their hurt.

On my daughter’s birthday, August 5th, we went to the shelter to go walk some dogs and became attached to Nike. He is a collie and lab mix and has one blue eye and one brown eye. After walking him and playing with him, my son refused to let him go back in the kennel because, “He’s a spirit dog like Buster, and we can’t let him go back in that place.” My daughter also thought Nike was special, and so that day, Nike became Blue Snider. He loves our backyard and redecorates our deck daily by moving the furniture around on it. I have started to call him the “Nate Berkus of Breezeway Lane” because he is so “yard proud” after each “redecorating” session. We have come to love another lab mix named Milly at the shelter and became her foster family within the past two weeks. She is loving, kind, and afraid of the dark. Yes, Milly, the big black lab mix sleeps with the back porch light on as her night light. The kids and I prayed about what to do for Milly since we have come to love her, and last week, she found her forever home her with us. I got her paperwork from the shelter this week and it shows that she was surrendered by her owners. It shows that she is officially two years old because her birthday was September 14, 2010. Just knowing that made Dale, Emily, and myself feel like we did the right thing.

So, as you can tell, I do have a fondness in my heart for shelter dogs. I would encourage any of you to find a local shelter and see if you can go in occasionally and walk one of their dogs. It really is therapeutic for both yourself and the dogs there. The ability of a dog to heal your heart, make you laugh, and give you joy is purely from God. After all, dog spelled backward is God.

May you have many blessings this coming week and be a blessing to each person and creature you meet. Peace be with you.

Blessings- Sherry

I’m currently a Pathways student, who is majoring in Special Education. If you’ve read my blogs before, you know my story but here is a little about me. I went to college when I was 18 at NWMSU and majored in English and then switched my major to Elementary Education with an emphasis in English ( couldn’t lose all those credits, could I?). When I was a junior my mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and my world fell apart. My parents couldn’t afford my education and I didn’t qualify for financial aid based off of my parents income. So, long story short I had to quit school, get a job and try here and there to continue my education. Through this time, I always prayed to God to allow me to return and finish the degree, that I promised both my parents I would.

I’m now 41 and blessed to have found the Pathways program through Fontbonne two years ago (my how time flies). It gives me the ability to work, go to school online, and have my family. I am thankful daily for the Pathways program because it will allow me to live my dream of being a teacher within my own classroom soon. I currently have three classes online. This year has been filled with stress and strain in my personal life, from health concerns to a separation in my marriage. I am blessed though to have three awesome cheerleaders in my life, God, Emily (my daughter), and Dale (my son).

This week in my health class. I saw that I have an assignment that is doing a stress test. I literally laughed and cried at the thought of taking it and then writing about it. I think this could be the most cathartic assignment that I have had in all my college classes. I have to physically take a written test but also get to grade it and then write about my findings. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately in my life because of guilt over my marriage, inability to pay my bills and mortgage in a timely manner, and guilt over not being able to provide for my kids like I want. This is why this health class assignment literally came at the right time for me. It will give me the ability to express my feeling and emotions that have me hurting so bad onto paper and then more importantly help me to give all those feelings up to God.

I’m thankful for the assignment because it reminds me that I have to give away all of guilt and fears of the future to God because He is truly in control and will love, bless, and guide my path. He did put me on the path to finish my degree when He placed Fontbonne in my path. For that I am so grateful today.

I want to share a Bible verse from the church service I attended this Sunday. It is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”. My pastor talked to us about not seeing all the stress, strain, etc. when we look into the mirror but challenged us to look daily in the mirror and see the face of God. So, there’s a challenge for both you and I this week. Let us take time daily to look in the mirror and no see all the imperfections, stress, or beauty but see the face of God. It is the face that God loves and cares about and wants to set out into the world and be the face, feet, and hands of Him so we can bless others around us with His love and face.

Blessings on your week- Sherry