Not exactly according to plan...

"I may end up cheating on the first FOG post tomorrow..."  was the message that popped into my chat window yesterday.  "I may have to as well..." was my reply.  Not an especially auspicious start for our new joint blog venture!

Just hours after I posted our announcement post last Thursday, I found myself in the ER, thanks to a sudden and severe infection that totally derailed the rest of the week.  Thanks to some heavy-hitting meds and lots of mandatory rest, I am finally beginning to feel something akin to normal.  However, all my plans for a photo-filled weekend fell completely flat.  No Christmas card pictures, no birthday photos of our oldest, no Keyboards at Christmas photos, no nothing!  I did take a few backyard bird photos, but my arm wasn't steady enough to get anything approaching a great shot.  

Poor Tauna didn't even get her camera out during that time.  She was hit hard by a nasty bout of bronchitis and ended up in bed all weekend.  

As Tauna suggested, it almost seems as if Satan is working overtime to discourage us from focusing on God's glory and sharing it in this way.  Not going to work, though!  :)  I may not have the photos I intended to have, or even anything close, but I'm going to use what I have and share regardless.  

I don't know if Thursday night was the sickest I've ever been, but if it wasn't, it was certainly in the running. But God worked in that time in such a precious way...He showed His faithfulness and glory in the cold (quite literally, as I was shaking with chills), sterile (well, until the poor paramedic bumped a syringe and shot blood all over the exam room...yes, it was a fun night for all :)), and sometimes lonely (Billy was bouncing back and forth trying to take care of me and checking on the kids) ER room just as greatly as He shows it in a gorgeous waterfall or in the amazing view off a mountaintop.  

I posted this on Facebook on Friday...

I have the best husband, the best children, and the best friends anywhere. And I am so very, very thankful for them. And thankful for our ever-faithful God, and for His Word, which is a comfort and help in any situation. I was also reminded in the wee hours of the morning how thankful I am for Marie K's parents, Steve and Heber M, who encouraged not only me, but our family and our church, in systematic Scripture memory for many years, and for my parents, who made that a priority. We tend to think that it's just in case we ever end up persecuted and have our Bibles taken away, but sometimes it's just a simple matter of not having a Bible available when we really need one, or not being in a position to read one if we had it. There are a lot of things I can't quote verbatim, but it is such a blessing to be able to meditate on what I do remember when I can't pull out a Bible and read it.

I am so thankful for all the ways God showed His faithfulness and glory that night.  One of the biggest ways was through my sweet husband.  I posted this on Facebook later on Friday...

I have to go back and say how thankful I am for my husband. He worked 10 1/2 hours yesterday, came home and went to the Living Nativity with us, and then spent 5 hours in the ER (where he'd worked all day) with his sick wife. He came home and slept for not-quite-two hours, got up and ran a bunch of errands that I couldn't do (and brought home warm, fuzzy socks for me!), did laundry, and then went to the store to help me get the essentials since it's two-week grocery day and there was no way that was happening. All without complaining at all. I am so blessed and thankful (and more than a bit spoiled).

I am very blessed (and yes, spoiled :)).  I am so thankful to have a husband who shows the love of Christ for the church in his love and care for me and for our children.  His birthday happens to be tomorrow. :)  So even though this is not really the type of photo I had in mind for this feature...it's actually just a snapshot from a quick birthday dinner tonight (because of church tomorrow)...I decided it was an appropriate one for this "not according to plan" "focused on Glory" feature.  

I'll work on more creative, technically correct photos for the coming weeks. :)  In the meantime, here's a quick bonus I did take this morning. Not a great shot for all kinds of reasons...particularly some irritating purple fringing I've been dealing with lately (I'm not sure why that has suddenly become an issue, but if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!)....but there was something about this shot that I loved, with all it's imperfections, so I did a little playing in PSE and decided it was a keeper.   I am more amazed all the time at God's glory shown in these feathered creatures.  The more I watch and photograph them, the more they fascinate me.  Today was a gray and dreary day, and the tiny bursts of color of the cardinals in the trees were definitely glimpses of God's glory. 

Be sure to visit Tauna's "focused on Glory" post as well...her Haiti photos first caused me to fall in love with her photography, and she shares a few of them in today's post.