I have not deliberately been remiss in blogging. Simply stated, I lost the month of January. We may have a doctor in the house but we seem to get sick as much as anyone else! Between strep throat, the flu and the stomach bug, I have been somewhat busy.

I think one of the hardest things about being a mom of multiple youngsters is when I get sick. I had the flu for a week and before I could fully recover-came down with a stomach bug. Katherine at one point asked me if I was going to die. Although on day 7 or 8 I was thinking the same thing, I assured her that I would once again get off the couch and play with her. She said, "but when you don't eat you die. And you don't eat." My husband visited every fast food restaurant in town during those two long weeks. And I don't even want to talk about how many hours of PBS Kids and Nick Jr. my children watched! Joshua stayed home from school one of the days, we thought he had the stomach bug. Little did he know that I was sicker than him. He not only took care of me that day, he also took care of Katherine, and did a little laundry.

Anyway, we now have clean clothes, food in the house, I have spent lots of lost time with my kiddos, I'm caught up on my Bible studies, phone calls have been made, the budget is done, parts of the house are clean (it is never all clean), and so now I blog.

February 6, 2011 will go down in history as a day of excitement, elation, and disappointment for our family. For the first time in 45 years of Superbowl history the Greenbay Packers and the Pittsburg Steelers played for the Lombardi Trophy. Those of you who know us well know that Steve is a Steelers fan and I am a Cheesehead. Without going into the details of the game...the Lombardi Trophy came home! The height of my excitement was met equally with the depths of Steve's disappointment.

Disappointment. No one likes it. Everyone deals with it. So what do we do? Some disappointments are trivial such as losing a board game (yes we are still working on that one) or missing a ball game. Others are big such as not getting the job or finding out a friend has been lying to you. Then there are the life changing disappointments...maybe we call them tragedies - the unfaithfulness of a spouse or the diagnosis of a terminal cancer. We pray for a miracle, we beg and plead and maybe even bargain with the Lord God. Only to receive the answer we so feared.

Ultimately, regardless of the intensity of the disappoinment, we have to resolve the issue of Who God Is. This is for both the believer and the non-believer alike. What do I believe about God? Do I trust Him? A roller coaster faith is one that trusts God for what He does. A solid faith is one that trust God for Who He is. Do you see the difference?

One says I trust God as long as things are going good for me and those around me, but when bad times come (and they always do) I begin to doubt either God's sovereignty, His power, or His love for me.

The other says I trust God. Period. No matter what life hands me I know God is Sovereign. God is Good. And God loves Me. I just spoke with a friend the other day who spoke those words to me...she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Partly because of life's circumstances but also because I am reading an incredible book entitled Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free (which I think every women should read!). I am also in a Bible study that is addressing these same foundational issues. Interesting to me that it just all lined up so that I am concurrently reading that particular book (of all the books on my "list"), taking this particular Bible study (chosen by our group 2-3 months ago), and dealing with some hard life issues. Some call it coincidence. I call it Sovereignty.

To get back to February 6, 2011. Being the supportive and empathetic wife that I am, I could only boast for so long. Although my team truimphed over my husbands, I went out of my way to brighten Steve's day on the following Monday. I took a surprise goody tray to his work that included treats such as cheese puffs, queso dip and chips, and cheese chunks. It's a great time to be a Cheesehead!