The Fence

No Greater Joy Ministries

"The Fence"

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a... nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.” You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.

- Author Unknown

Happy 7th Birthday My Son, Samuel

                          Dedicated to Our Son...Samuel Jacob Benedict
                                             Stillborn or Miscarriage?

     Today, my beautiful son, you would be 7 years old.  How can 7 years have gone past already, if I still feel like it was just yesterday that you were born?  Do you realize that you are only 8 days older than your nephew, Kaden?  And only 27 days older than your niece, Alona.  You were supposed to be born last, but were born first.  I miss you...still today and always.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of you.  I held you in my arms, played with your tiny fingers and toes, and kissed your tiny little nose. Mommy knows that you are in Heaven with Jesus, and I am thrilled that one day I will see you again, but some days, I still feel that initial pain, the day they told me that your heart had suddenly stopped beating.  I prayed, I begged that they were wrong, but 28 hours of labor later, you were born.  I don't regret one single split second for the time  that I carried you inside of me.  It was almost like "you and me against the world."  I love you my son, Samuel Jacob Benedict, now and forever.  Happy Birthday my son!!  Mommy loves you more than you will ever possibly know!

     If you are a mom who has ever had a stillborn baby that you've held in your arms and clung to the hope that miraculously your baby would take a breath, or a mom who has had a miscarriage, after already so closely bonded that it was like your heart beat as one, and lost that baby...you are not alone.  I can feel your pain, and I empathize and sympathize with your feelings.  I have been there, and I would be so happy and blessed to take your pain away for you.  Truly I would.  That is a promise I would make you if I had even an ounce of hope of making it come true.  I hurts.  It hurts like heck!  You will never know how sorry I am for your loss, or that of my own for that matter.  But one thing I do believe, is that one day, in Heaven, I will see and hold my son again.  One day...I don't ever want to do ANYTHING that would ever stop that from happening.  I know that he is with Jesus.  He is happy, healthy, content, and that he knows who I am personally, and that Jesus will take wonderful care of him until the day I get there to see him.  He will do the same with you.  God will not let your child even be alone, sad, lonely, unhappy, hungry, or anything else bad.  Only good can come from God!  So your son, or daughter, is in a wonderfully remarkably beautiful place.  Have no doubt, not the slightest glimmer of doubt, that they are happy and waiting, just for YOU!

     If I can listen to your story, pray with you, share my story with you, support you, walk you through the rough times, or anything else you can think of...please contact me here, or feel free to email me.  I will ALWAYS be here to do whatever I can, if only just listen.  I will do the very best that I am able to do to help ease your hurt.  And please know, no matter how recent it has been, or how long it has been, I can feel the pain, and am ever so sorry for your loss.  A child should never die before their parent, in my opinion.  Please know that I will do my best to be here for you.

     God Bless you, your family, and your child/children,
Kelly

Our 2015 Theme..."HOPE" (for our True North Family)

 

"HOPE"

 

      I have just finished taking a one year training course through True North, on Charlotte Mason and her theories and philosophies.  We were a small group of 11 students and our instructor, Shelia Carroll.  This was an awesome year, we bonded together, prayed for one another, and learned and grew close over this past year.  These wonderful ladies have become a part of each other's lives in a real way...Sheila Carroll (our instructor), Terri Hitt, Elizabeth Falckh, Nichelle Bilinski, Yuko Muhling, Katrina Snyder McAllister, Annie Zimmerman, Dana Combs, Charissa Deuser, Michele Miller & myself.

     I believe that we all have a common theme this year..."HOPE"

     This is the verse that God brought to mind to Annie, which is very fitting for our group.

     "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 
                                                                           Romans 15:13

    

Make The Ordinary Come Alive

            

You Can Homeschool With a Chronic Illness

MERRY CHRISTMAS to each and every person who reads my blog!! 

And most of all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET JESUS!!!!!

This has been a long year, with both good and bad, as I am sure we all can say.  In the past 16 months, I have had 6 surgeries, 8 hospital stays (including a rare kidney infection and blood clots in my right leg.)  I also had a basic routine colonoscopy at the end of May, which showed that I had Stage 2 Colon Cancer, that if it hadn't been caught when it was (which I give ALL praise to God for pointing us on the right direction), my colon and intestines would have burst within 2 days, my oncologist told me, and would have been dead with no one even knowing I had cancer.  So, now this required the removal of 3/4 of my colon, and 5 ft. of intestines from the right side of my abdomen!!  (Mind you I had already had a tumor in my uterus removed, a hysterectomy, a belly button hernia removed, my gallbladder, and my appendix removed.)  However, now my body started rejecting the stitches on the outside of my stomach from the cancer surgery, for some unknown reason, requiring my surgeon to cauterize each hole that popped open.  Just as I was feeling really, really good, and having lost 53 lbs., I developed a hernia from the surgery, and required a mesh net to be sewn into my abdomen.  Thinking that was all done, and this time my stomach was stapled closed with 14 staples, and this time that part healed well, but my body started rejecting the inside stitches holding the mesh net in!  UGH!!!!  So since then I have had 2 abscesses with staph infections that needed cleaned, packed twice a day, bandaged, and with little to no bending, lifting, etc., for going on the past two months.  I still have a small opening for drainage now, and will until Jan. 2nd.  I am believing in Jesus precious name, that I am completely healed now!!!!  That has made for a long 6 months!!  The cancer surgery was at the end of May, when this part all started.  I am healing slowly, but surly, and though my body is very worn down and from the stress of it all, I am on Deplin for my MTHFR now, 50,000 units of Vitamin D, Biotin, Progesterone, Kelp, and Probiotics, not counting the other meds for the Fibromyalgia, low thyroid, etc.  In time, I will be as healthy as a horse, as the saying goes!  :0)  I want to thank my SW, bffff, true sister, and her family, for opening up her home to me to take care of me each time I was going through all of this, packing my disgusting stomach, making sure I ate healthy, and making me rest and not overdo it!!!  So I owe a HUGE thank you to Tammy Smith Cooperrider for all she and her family have done for me when my husband and sons weren't able to stomach the gross severity of it all.

In the meantime, I was blessed to not only homeschool our 5 kids still at home (well one being our granddaughter), for our 23rd year, and using Charlotte Mason philosophies to do so, I also was blessed to be able to have taken the online college course, "True North, an in-depth study of Charlotte Mason's theories, philosophies and ways of seeing children as the true people they are."  It is based on Charlotte Mason and her way of teaching.  It has been a year long course, and I am blessed to say that I have made new friends within our class group and with our instructor, Sheila Carroll.  This has been a VERY important course to me this year!!  And not only have they been patient with the cancer, fibromyalgia and all, but have been there for me through prayers and encouragement every step of the way.  Thank you guys!!! 

Here's to an AWESOME, GOD BLESSED, GOD FAVORED year...2015, here I come!  And go to my other website at:    http://www.mytruenorthtocharlottemason.weebly.com