Today as I woke up I had no idea of the news I was about to find as I logged on to my facebook account. Jake and I just found out that one of my and Jake's friends, Todd, lost his dad Ron to a battle with cancer last night 11/28/08 around 9 pm. This was a fast and furious battle from what we understand, as he was diagnosed a little over a month ago. This is a sad day for the De Jong family and we lift up his wife Ranelle, and his children Todd and his wife April, Tyler and his wife Crystal, and Sandra, her husband Chris Borchers and their kids, and all their extended family. I know this time is not easy for them, and I don't even pretend to know what they're going through right now. I do know however that they know and are comforted by the fact that he has gone to heaven to be with Jesus, and that they too will see Ron again one day when they are called home to heaven for eternity.
Ron was a great man, and we have many fond memories of him, especially Figure 8 racing and all the fun we had at those times. We will always remember those moments with him, and cannot wait for the day when we too will join him in singing with the choirs of angels in heaven.
God called a great man home today, he must've needed a very special angel to join him.
We love you Ron, we'll miss you, always.
I have a lot of songs that come to mind right now that I'd like to post on here, but I will only post one. It has really helped me through some difficult times recently, and I hope it will be able to help this family during this time, and it will be a blessing to them.
This is a video of the lead singer talking about the song "Streets of Gold" that you can play on my music player to the right of this message. There are also some other songs after that and mixed in that are very comforting as well.
God Bless.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Giving Thanks in all Circumstances
In honor of the celebration of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fitting that Jake and I compiled lists of the things we are especially thankful for this year. I figured that even despite all the negative things we are all seeing in the news these days and all the happenings around the world, there is still always something to be thankful for, and today just happens to provide us a day to be able to focus on these things and give thanks in ALL circumstances.
These are in no particular order, and no particular amount. And before you ask, no, I did NOT write these for Jake, as for #1, I am not that vain :-)
Jake is thankful for:
1. Nikki, having a loving wife
2. Freedom
3. Family and Friends
4. Health
5. Living in Iowa
Nikki is thankful for:
1. Jake, a loving and understanding husband, such a blessing in my life.
2. Friends and Family who are always there and constantly uplifting us in prayer.
3. God, His rich blessings and grace in our lives.
4. Freedom. Being able to live in a free country (and Iowa) :-) And being able to give Thanks.
5. Life and life lessons. Being able to live and learn even now as I am struggling with my health.
6. Music. So uplifting and moving, helps get me through whatever it is I am facing in any given day.
7. The many gifts that God has given me through Art and Photography, Nature and Song.
So we pray in this day, weather you are alone or spending time with friends and family, that you too are giving thanks. Being able to give thanks no matter what your going through, it's all part of God's Faithfulness in and to all our lives.
I leave you with a video to the song For the Beauty of the Earth, sung here by Barlowgirl. This song is one of my favorite and most cherished songs about the Thanksgiving season and I know it's "old school" but I never get sick of hearing it. "Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise!"
Also, I found a video of the things that little kids are thankful for, very cute!
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from the Boden Household :-)
These are in no particular order, and no particular amount. And before you ask, no, I did NOT write these for Jake, as for #1, I am not that vain :-)
Jake is thankful for:
1. Nikki, having a loving wife
2. Freedom
3. Family and Friends
4. Health
5. Living in Iowa
Nikki is thankful for:
1. Jake, a loving and understanding husband, such a blessing in my life.
2. Friends and Family who are always there and constantly uplifting us in prayer.
3. God, His rich blessings and grace in our lives.
4. Freedom. Being able to live in a free country (and Iowa) :-) And being able to give Thanks.
5. Life and life lessons. Being able to live and learn even now as I am struggling with my health.
6. Music. So uplifting and moving, helps get me through whatever it is I am facing in any given day.
7. The many gifts that God has given me through Art and Photography, Nature and Song.
So we pray in this day, weather you are alone or spending time with friends and family, that you too are giving thanks. Being able to give thanks no matter what your going through, it's all part of God's Faithfulness in and to all our lives.
I leave you with a video to the song For the Beauty of the Earth, sung here by Barlowgirl. This song is one of my favorite and most cherished songs about the Thanksgiving season and I know it's "old school" but I never get sick of hearing it. "Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise!"
Also, I found a video of the things that little kids are thankful for, very cute!
Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from the Boden Household :-)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Love is Here...
I have really been struggling these past 2 months. Jake has also been struggling right along with me. What are we dealing with?
I have been very sick the past 2 months. I won't go into great detail, but I have been having Gastrointestinal and Stomach issues, and a multitude of tests are being and have been run to figure out what is wrong with me, and to no avail. It started with pain in my side and the doctors thought it was my Gall Bladder, proceed to gallbladder ultrasound, and then a scan to see how my gallbladder was functioning, and they still found nothing.
Still having symptoms, I continued to go see my doctor and they continued to draw more and more blood and run more and more tests to rule out various things. Still, nothing. This has been going on and on, over and over for a little over 2 months now, and still there are no answers to be had. As a result of all of this I have missed a lot of work, and while the place I work has been
very good in dealing with all this, and helping me through this, I know I cannot miss much more.
First of all Jake and I need that money and rely on it to help pay our bills, without it we could fall really behind. I have used all my PTO (paid time off) missing work and therefore am no longer getting paid out those hours that I miss anymore, so that is one thing.
Secondly Jake is having to deal with all this right along with me and I know that it is very frustrating to not know, and having me be sick all the time, but he has been so good about everything and very understanding; yet another reason why I married this man.
Thirdly, me. I have been dealing with a lot of stress lately and I believe that is adding to all the symptoms that I continue to have, as well as depression. This depression is not a new thing for me, in fact I have been dealing with this as far back as when I was in High School, and probably even before but I never realized it until then. My depression has gotten worse, and has become so bad that I have a harder and harder time getting out of bed in the morning, I cry at almost everything, and most of the time for no reason whatsoever. I often find catch myself taking this all out on Jake and my mood-swings have been all over the place lately. I am tired all the time and it seems as if I can never get enough sleep, so I am always fatigued. I also believe part of this depression is because I am homesick and miss my family, as I have never been away from them for this long a period of time.
Anyway, my point being after talking to my doctor she believes that that I am truly depressed, and that this might be causing the Gastro and Stomach problems that I've been having, or at least adding to the problem. I have to meet with her further to discuss all of this next week, so hopefully all that I have been going through will be able to be resolved, and soon!
Jake and I are both frustrated at this point and I am beginning to feel hopeless about the situation at hand, sometimes I wonder why me? Why am I going through this?
Then I am reminded of this : "the Lord gives no trial to the faithful that will not in the end prove to be a blessing." Just some encouraging words from a friend. How great it is to think that through all of this, despite the not knowing and the uncertainty of these trials I am going through, that God is blessing me, and continues to bless me, even in this.
This is why I tell you this, not for you to feel sorry for me, because there is no need for that, but to tell you that even in this I am feeling God's love, and I know that no matter what you are going through in your life, Gods love and grace is there for you too! How amazing!
I finish by saying just how thankful and grateful I am for all that I have been given in my life despite my current "sufferings." I thank God every day that I have Jake here to help me get through every day and know that no matter what he will always be here for me. I thank God for supportive friends and family that are constantly uplifting me and Jake in your prayers, and constantly continue to do so.
So I leave you all with this. One of my "Sisters" introduced me to this group Tenth Avenue North, and I found this song to be healing and helpful to me, especially in my struggles today.
It is entitled " Love is Here." So for your listening and viewing pleasure.....
I have been very sick the past 2 months. I won't go into great detail, but I have been having Gastrointestinal and Stomach issues, and a multitude of tests are being and have been run to figure out what is wrong with me, and to no avail. It started with pain in my side and the doctors thought it was my Gall Bladder, proceed to gallbladder ultrasound, and then a scan to see how my gallbladder was functioning, and they still found nothing.
Still having symptoms, I continued to go see my doctor and they continued to draw more and more blood and run more and more tests to rule out various things. Still, nothing. This has been going on and on, over and over for a little over 2 months now, and still there are no answers to be had. As a result of all of this I have missed a lot of work, and while the place I work has been
very good in dealing with all this, and helping me through this, I know I cannot miss much more.
First of all Jake and I need that money and rely on it to help pay our bills, without it we could fall really behind. I have used all my PTO (paid time off) missing work and therefore am no longer getting paid out those hours that I miss anymore, so that is one thing.
Secondly Jake is having to deal with all this right along with me and I know that it is very frustrating to not know, and having me be sick all the time, but he has been so good about everything and very understanding; yet another reason why I married this man.
Thirdly, me. I have been dealing with a lot of stress lately and I believe that is adding to all the symptoms that I continue to have, as well as depression. This depression is not a new thing for me, in fact I have been dealing with this as far back as when I was in High School, and probably even before but I never realized it until then. My depression has gotten worse, and has become so bad that I have a harder and harder time getting out of bed in the morning, I cry at almost everything, and most of the time for no reason whatsoever. I often find catch myself taking this all out on Jake and my mood-swings have been all over the place lately. I am tired all the time and it seems as if I can never get enough sleep, so I am always fatigued. I also believe part of this depression is because I am homesick and miss my family, as I have never been away from them for this long a period of time.
Anyway, my point being after talking to my doctor she believes that that I am truly depressed, and that this might be causing the Gastro and Stomach problems that I've been having, or at least adding to the problem. I have to meet with her further to discuss all of this next week, so hopefully all that I have been going through will be able to be resolved, and soon!
Jake and I are both frustrated at this point and I am beginning to feel hopeless about the situation at hand, sometimes I wonder why me? Why am I going through this?
Then I am reminded of this : "the Lord gives no trial to the faithful that will not in the end prove to be a blessing." Just some encouraging words from a friend. How great it is to think that through all of this, despite the not knowing and the uncertainty of these trials I am going through, that God is blessing me, and continues to bless me, even in this.
This is why I tell you this, not for you to feel sorry for me, because there is no need for that, but to tell you that even in this I am feeling God's love, and I know that no matter what you are going through in your life, Gods love and grace is there for you too! How amazing!
I finish by saying just how thankful and grateful I am for all that I have been given in my life despite my current "sufferings." I thank God every day that I have Jake here to help me get through every day and know that no matter what he will always be here for me. I thank God for supportive friends and family that are constantly uplifting me and Jake in your prayers, and constantly continue to do so.
So I leave you all with this. One of my "Sisters" introduced me to this group Tenth Avenue North, and I found this song to be healing and helpful to me, especially in my struggles today.
It is entitled " Love is Here." So for your listening and viewing pleasure.....
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