Louie, Louie

We now have an INDOOR dog. We already have Charlotte, a very OUTDOOR dog, but the children wanted a pet that they could cuddle with on the couch in the evenings or to take for a walk on a leash. I think they may be envisioning some film version of child and dog with soft music in the background and lots of slow motion scenes of playful pet bath times.

After the Gold Fish Incident, you all will think I've lost my mind. Actually those are the exact words of my niece when I told her about the dog:  "You have lost your mind." It isn't that she thinks having pets inside is a bad thing. My niece has several indoor dogs. She loves them. But, she has heard me (on repeated occasions) adamantly object to a dog in my house.

The kids have been pleading and as we considered the adopting a dog, instead of pondering all of the reasons NOT to get one, we tried to think of reasons that it would be good to get one.

Dinah has had all summer with her siblings and with them gone to school everyday, I feel it is a bit lonely for her. I can't take her outside to play or to town for a diversion when she wants or needs it because we have to work around Granny's schedule. A dog would be a playmate for her and we could provide a home and love to a pet that needed it.  The older children are (somewhat) responsible and caring for a pet would only foster qualities of dutifulness and dependability. And it would make them all terribly happy.

My mom and I looked at the Corinth Animal Shelter and on Petfinder.com to browse pets that needed homes.  We had decided that an older dog would be better because we wanted one that was more settled because of Granny. We didn't want an excited puppy getting under her feet. We found a Cocker Spaniel in Madison, Alabama at the Animal Rescue Foundation that we thought would be a great fit for our home. He was 3 years old, neutered, house trained and good with kids. I showed Eric and Ty. They agreed that he was wonderful. I e-mailed to get particulars and we readied ourselves.

Then....

We got a call from my niece to tell us that a friend of a friend needed to find a new home for their dog, Honey, because they moved to a leased condo and didn't need to have the dog there. We reasoned that it would be better to get the pet closer to home and this dog was going to be free of charge. So I emailed the Madison foster-owner to tell her that we wouldn't be getting the cocker spaniel. We contacted Honey's owner and planned to pick the pup up on the following Saturday. Through that week, I felt a bit disappointed about the dog in Alabama. I kind-of bonded with his picture. I knew that it made more sense to get Honey but I was sad for the dog that I would never meet. I called Honey's owner Friday night to plan our meeting.

Guess what?

The owner changed her mind.

Surprisingly, I felt relieved. I was so thankful that I had not shown the picture to the girls or told them anything. I quickly e-mailed my new friend at MARF (Madison Animal Rescue Foundation) and let her know that our circumstances had changed again and that if our dog was still available, we would be coming to get him on Saturday. He was still available. Teresa came to sit with Granny while Mom and I drove to the outskirts of Huntsville.

Meet Louie.

Louie was very excited to see us and had no qualms about leaving his home state to travel with us.
He sat in my lap half of the drive home.

(Now all you pet lovers may find this next part a bit cruel. But I have held to a rule of honesty in all my parenting and I felt that I should hold fast to this as a pet owner as well. I wanted to be up front with Louie so that he would not be disappointed.)

I reminded him that all this cuddling with me was only temporary because he was the kids' dog and not mine. I explained that he and I would be friends but that is all. We would not sleep together. I would not let him lick my face. I would not be referring to him as my child. I told him that he would have at least 4 others that would love him sooooo much that he would be glad that I kept my distance. By the time we arrived home, I felt we had achieved an understanding.

We are masters at surprise. The kids were delighted. (As you can tell from the picture above.) Louie loved the attention and got busy sniffing out the house. (He's going to be very useful because he found a moldy tortilla with refried beans in it behind the dining room buffet table within an hour in residence. No. I do not move the buffet when I clean.)

Louie was walked and fed and watered. He had as much love and attention as any dog could want or stand.

There was only one problem.

He kept following ME.

All my speeches and honesty did not have any affect on this sweet dog. He didn't seem to care that I kept pointing him to the children. He didn't notice that I was changing seats around the living room after he came to sit with me. He didn't even get the hint when I went into Granny's room to lose him. 

I wanted to call the foundation and ask if he had any hearing problems that they didn't tell us about. Remember what I said about him not sleeping with me earlier. He must not have heard that. This is where he settled in that night when I went to bed. 

Yes, that is a pillow and the head of my double bed. He apparently thinks the doggy pillow we bought him is only for daytime use. I roused him from his comfy place and sent him packing to Ty's room.

On Monday when the children were gone, he assigned himself to help me with the housecleaning. He licked the silverware that I placed in the dish washer to clean. I must not have rinsed them well enough? He sat in my dirt as I swept the floors. Maybe to keep it from scattering? Dinah kept shouting, "Wouie! Get out of her dirt!" (I say that a lot to the kids while I'm sweeping. They always walk through the pile I've made.) He made sure he sat in front of the dryer as I tried to put the wet clothes in. Maybe he thought he would help pass them over?

I reminded him of the 7 day trial period the rescue foundation had written in the form I filled out and I may have mentioned the words foster-care a few times.

All in all, he's a great dog though. He's wonderful with the children. He revels in their affection and tolerates it so well when they try to put sunglasses on him before I can tell them not to. He hasn't had any accidents in the house. He is eating away at my defenses with his constant devotion. Any being that can love me like that is pretty special.

The trial period was over yesterday and he's a keeper.

(I may or may not have referred to myself as his mama yesterday.)

While The Kids Are Away.....

Eric and the children had glowing reports from school yesterday. Eric is excited about his classes. Ty said he had never made so many new friends in one day. Tess talked about all of her new chums like she had known them for years (I'm not surprised). Amelia couldn't remember her playmates' names (I'm not surprised), but she was excited about them none-the-less. After supper she asked for a hot glue gun so she could make something for her new teacher.

After waiting for news during the eternity that was yesterday, it was a relief to learn they had all had such a favorable experience. I know that every day this year might not be as wonderful as the last but as Mary Poppins  says, "Well begun is half done". It means so much to start off well.

What did I do all day long while they were at school and Dinah was at Papa's? I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you.

I came back home after I dropped Dinah off to let Emily get going. Granny had finished breakfast, her devotion and her newspaper. Emily informed me that the only trouble they had was an uncomfortable question that Gran had concerning a topic in the "Dear Annie" column. I will now have to proof the paper and black out all articles that might be a bit awkward to explain to one's 85 year-old grandmother.

Gran went to her room and settled in to her comfy chair. Granny eats lots of sweets. She never feels like eating a real meal. I offer her a plate full of vegetables and meat and she says, "I don't want that. Just something little...like a cookie". I try not to make issue of it until she has consumed the equivalent of a pound of sugar and nothing else. Because when I'm her age and waiting for Jesus to call me home, I think I'll be the same way. In between fetching her coffee and cupcakes, I was free to do what ever I needed to do.

I could no longer put off all that cleaning that I needed to do. I attacked the laundry first. It says something about one's wash load when it is one's dream not to have granite countertops or master suite but to have an enormous laundry room with two washers and dryers.

After the laundry closet was rocking, I moved on to dusting. I've been sneezing ever since. I had on black yoga pants. They became polka dotted black yoga pants because balls of dust clung to the fabric. (I never get to the dusting when the kids are home. Keeping the house picked up, floors swept and dishes done is about all I can manage. The dust doesn't seem to mind waiting patiently.)

The next item to clean was the fish bowl. We acquired a gold fish a few months ago when the girls won one at the fishing rodeo that the church sponsors. (Thanks, JJ.) I think fish are beautiful. I like to look at other people's fish tanks. But when one comes into our house (especially a gold fish) I don't see a fish. I see failure.

This time we have done much better than in the past. Tess and Amelia have been tending the fish carefully. Tess has been cleaning out the bowl on a regular basis when I don't get to it. The problem is that it doesn't stay clean long and then the water stinks. I thought I smelled something on Monday and yesterday morning as I spent more time in that room, I realized it was indeed the fish bowl.

I took Claire into the kitchen and talked with her as I worked on her home. I washed my hands and did some other things in the kitchen while I waited for her to adjust to the new water temp. I ate a gummy worm in front of her without thinking and felt the need to apologize to her. Then I thought, "She really liked her flakes." She probably didn't even like worms. So I ate another. (Don't you talk to your fish too?)

After I finished cleaning, I placed her rocks, her weed and herself back into the bowl and put Claire back in her place. I fed her and then went on to cleaning the floors. I didn't think about her much after that except that I knew that Tess would be appreciative that I had helped her out with that chore.

In the evening, I noticed Eric standing in front of Claire's bowl and I wandered over there to let him compliment me on how her bowl sparkled. I said something about how quickly her bowl got dirty. He just kept looking as I kept talking. I paused and he said, "She's dead."

I did a double take. She was indeed very still.

"What! She was fine today! And I cleaned her bowl like I always do. I made sure she got used to her water."

"Well, she is still dead."

I had really thought we had turned a corner when it came to fish keeping. We are still just fish killers.

The girls heard and came running.

"Oh, Claire!"

"Poor Fishy!"

I began apologizing. (I did not want to promise to buy a new one. But that is what you do when they cry and are upset, right? You say you are sorry. Acknowledge that no other pet could replace the beloved pet that they lost. But, after some time, if they felt like they could love another, you would let them pick out a new one.)

They just stood there looking for a moment until Tess said, "I get to flush her."

Amelia whined, "But you got to last time."

"It's going to be a lovely funeral," Tess said excitedly.

That response made me feel glad I hadn't told them we could get another. When they asked, I firmly told them "NO".

____________________________________


After the passing of Claire, I began filling out all of the school forms in triplicate.

The forms, while I know they are necessary, just highlight my inadequacies in my memory and as a mother. (It doesn't take much to highlight my inadequacies, even small fish can do it.)

I have to keep asking the kids,

"What day is your birthday?"

"How old are you?"

"What grade are you in?"

"Pull that card back out and make sure I checked Female instead of Male."

I haven't even tried to remember their social security numbers.

I REALLY, REALLY love my kids. I think maybe the forms make me nervous. Like its a test. It's amazing how many numbers are associated with a person and I have so many to remember.

At one point after I had asked one such question of Tess, she said, "You are getting like Granny." as I stated simultaneously, "I'm getting like Granny." She laughed. I sighed.

I'm only 34. Odds are, I have a lot more life to go through. If having all these kids has taken my memory, I pray at least one of them will take care of me.

How did you spend the time while you waited for your little ones to come home?

Fish bowl and accessories available for anyone who needs them.

When Life Isn't Sunshine and Roses

In telling the story of Gran and I, I have tried to be honest and present things the way they really are but also, in the words that Bing and the Andrews Sisters sang, in life and on the blog, I've tried to "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, an' latch on to the affirmative" and not "mess with mister-in-between".



Well, I'm glad you enjoyed that piece because I'm about to deviate from that course of action to provide a little transparency.

I probably don't have to tell you that life isn't always sunshine and roses. It is easier when I write and then edit and edit and edit to tell you how it is all good, how I know that God is at work, and how appreciative I am of this experience. And honestly, I KNOW those things are true. Its just that here in my home, in reality and not on a computer screen with words, there are times I may not look like I KNOW. You might even say I look like I've never even HEARD of all those pious statements, much less believe them.

As I referenced at the end of my last blog post, I believe that God allowed me that rest on Mother's day weekend to prepare me for the coming days (or nights to be more exact).

The problems started on Monday morning. Granny was really confused and stayed awake in that state for 48 hours. On Wednesday night, she finally rested. Poor thing looked so peaked and pale on Thursday. She slept most of that day and all night that night. I thought we had turned a corner and that she would be much better after that. Not so. She slept a total of 2 hours (15 min increments) on Friday night and then slept a total of about 30 minutes on Saturday night.

Needless to say, by Sunday, I was not a nice, happy person anymore. Gran was better on Sunday but I could probably total the sleep and rest that I had for the week counting the hours with only the fingers of my two hands. No sleep=Anna-no-one-can-stand-to-be-around.

My nights had been filled with following Granny around while she wandered, answering her seemingly endless line of questioning, listening to her scoff at my answers, holding back hot tears, choking on my self-pity, begging God for at least 2 hours of sleep put together so that I wouldn't lose my mind.

Then the guilt:

I failed Granny. The poor woman didn't know that she had driven me to tears. She didn't know that she was keeping me from sleeping. She didn't know day from night. She didn't know that she had to be supervised all the time. She didn't know that I put her to bed 20 times at night. She didn't know that it was midnight instead of noon when she asked for a sandwich. She didn't know why she didn't want to finish it after I made it. She didn't understand why I didn't want to wash the dishes and let her dry after she was done.

I failed my family. I was short with my husband and shouted at my children. They didn't understand that I couldn't just go rest anytime I wanted. They weren't present for all of it to understand. I vented to my mom who can understand because she's been there and in doing so I made her feel bad for not being there more. The poor woman has no time to herself and I make her feel bad.

I asked for Gran. I wanted her to come here. I knew it would be hard. 

The same cycle began all over again yesterday evening. I think more of my fatigue at this point is mental. I fight the impulse to worry about tonight's rest or to be upset about something that I think will happen.

I know she is where she is supposed to be and that I am doing what is right by taking care of her. I love her. I know I want more comfort for HER and not for myself. I pray I change. I pray I rely on His strength and not my own. I pray that I can practice true selflessness someday and throw resentful selflessness in the garbage (because that isn't real anyway, is it?)

I don't write this to complain. I write this to let you know that it is a demanding, draining, difficult mission at times, and, that for now, those times are more often than not.  I write so that my fellow caregivers will see that when they feel like they aren't going to make it another night, they aren't alone in their struggles. It isn't easy all the time for me either. I write so that if you remember to, that you might offer up a prayer for us caring for our elderly loved ones. And most of all, I write to remind myself of what I KNOW.

Beautifully, after the darkest night, morning comes, I drink a strong cup of coffee, and everything becomes alright again. Gran laughs at me for looking so be-draggled and cranky and tells me I need to go back to bed. I laugh with her and say, "You know it." I make toast and know I'll be able to keep it together for one more day.

Then, like a balm for my wounds, Granny hands me her wrinkled, well-read (she reads it 10 times a day at least), paper copy of "The High Calling of an Everyday Life", and asks me if I've read it. I tell her that I wrote it. She smiles modestly, and says, "I didn't know I was that good." I give her a squeeze and tell her I love her. I thank God for one more night, even if it was a hard one.

Like always, God ministers to me through the songs of others. Right now this is the one that I'm feeling the most because, OH, how I need Him!

"Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You,
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh, God, how I need you."

"Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay"

Matt Maher - Lord, I Need You Ft. Audrey Assad (Official Lyric Video) from matt-maher on GodTube.

Weekend Trip to Lawrenceburg-Part 1

Well, while all of you were pampering your mothers for Mother's Day, I left my mama with my kids and my Gran and jaunted off on an overnight trip with my husband. We were gone a total of 28 hours but they were well spent and were just what we needed. We hadn't been away since after Christmas and with Granny here we don't get "alone" time very often. Mother graciously offered to come and stay at our house. Amelia and Dinah went to stay with and be spoiled by Papa. Ty and Tess stayed here at our house and got a break from helping out with the little ones. The arrangement worked out wonderfully.

We like to try and stay close to home when we get away so that we don't waste time just riding in a car and so we can get back quickly if needed. We thought we might get to stay in Pickwick but that didn't work out. So, we decided to go to Lawrenceburg, TN to check out the Amish scene. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? We had a wonderful time so don't rush to judgement.

Mom came over and spent the night on Friday night so that I could get good rest before we left out early the next morning. Eric and I went to Selmer that evening to go to their Wal-Mart and get groceries. We like to change up the routine a bit sometimes. :) On our way out of the store he wanted to look at the RedBox to see if they had a movie that Coach Daniel recommended. The box had it so we rented Parental Guidance with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal. It was really funny. I recommend.

The next morning we left out around 7:30 and began to mosey our way to Tennessee. We stopped in Savannah and had breakfast at The Toll House. It was our first time there and we enjoyed it. I would describe it as Savannah's version of Martha's Menu. The bacon was excellent and our waitress was attentive and nice without hovering too much.

With full stomach's we hit the road again with our eyes toward Lawrenceburg. Thankfully, we could listen to KLOVE almost all the way there. It's inspiring songs were the soundtrack for our countryside drive.

Before we got to Wayne county, I started seeing signs like Bigbie Ranch and Flat Gap Creek, Persimmon Lane. The fit the landscape perfectly as we passed grazing land with goats and long-horned cattle. When we weren't surrounded by rolling hills, we were flanked by beautiful layers of rock that had been blasted out years ago to make the road. It wasn't surprising to see the Wayne Co. Rock Company a ways down the highway where piles of different sized gravel and beautiful slate encircled their building.

17 miles outside of Lawrenceburg, we saw our first Amish buggy and team, traveling down the 4 lane. Even though there were no signs asking us to lower our speed, we had read online to make sure that we were watchful for the Amish travelers. The sides of the the highway had extra wide, shoulders. Buggy-wide shoulders, I believe.

The scenery changed and corn silos and wheat fields appeared. Then just before you enter Lawrenceburg, the highway narrows, becomes two lanes and curvy. David Crockett Elementary School welcomes you with a blue tin roof.

We went directly to the downtown area. We found it easily from the highway. After parking we walked to their square. The weather was beautiful, not too cool, not hot. In the center of the roundabout inside the square is a gazebo. As we walked, I heard fiddle music. We found out later that they were playing bluegrass music in the square every Saturday in the month of May. These men were just setting up for that. We antiqued all morning to the sounds of a bluegrass band. 

We headed toward Ethridge, TN to tour the Amish community around noon. We stopped at The Amish Mall to get a map of the farms and the goods they offered. We had read about that map when we researched the trip on the internet. The map is just a pencil drawing, but it helped us greatly. Each farmhouse is numbered and at the bottom of the map the numbers are listed with the products that each farm sells. 

Before we set out to the farms we did some more antique shopping and then we ate at Country Mill Restaurant. There was a buffet of country cooking at which you were served your choice of meat and vegetables. I got a barbecued chicken breast and Eric got country-fried steak. The food was delicious. They did bring me sweet tea instead of unsweet, and seemed too busy with the customer load to come by and check on that. Maybe if we hadn't been there when it was so busy the service would have been better. 

With full bellies, we set out on our Amish adventure. We drove slowly with our windows down, making the most of the experience by absorbing as much of the setting as we could. All of the Amish houses were white farmhouses. Some of the ones that we stopped at sold their wares from the porches but others had set up small sheds by the road. They sold things like furniture, tack, candy, baskets, hats, quilts, baked and canned goods, tomato stakes and small garden plants. We bought fresh bread, butter, peanut brittle, chow chow, "pool room" slaw (like a hot mustard slaw), small cedar sticks for my dresser drawers and closets, and small bead bracelets for the girls. 

Before we left we looked at several options for a hotel room. After some research online, I found out that the only places to stay in Lawrenceburg were motels. I haven't stayed in a motel since high school. I am not really thrilled about the doors facing the outside instead of inside a secure building. We said that if we didn't like the looks of things we could always drive to Florence that night and spend our Sunday there. After seeing Lawrenceburg, though, and scoping out the most recommended motel, we decided we wanted to stay there. We checked into the Richland Inn that afternoon and could not be more pleased with the room considering the price we paid for it. It was clean and had everything that we needed. It was quiet and I never felt unsafe.

After resting a bit, we hit the highway again to find a place to eat supper. We just drove until we saw a restaurant that looked like it might be good with a lot of cars in the parking lot. Those parameters took us to the Kuntry Kitchen.

 Ok, I've already revealed my snobbery with the motel experience, so I guess it won't surprise you that I also have preconceived notions about restaurants that use K's where C's should be (This one misspells the word entirely). Also, "fine dining" alongside a catfish with a top hat and cane don't seem to go together. We knew from the motel that my prejudices could be wrong so we gave it a try. We had the recommended catfish and it was mighty "fine". So, I guess they were right. Their other specialty was onion rings and I regret not having any. Maybe I'll make it back to Lawrenceburg to get some. 

The Crockett Theatre was right across the street from the Richland Inn. We saw that they were showing the movie Home Run. I had not heard what the movie was about except for it being a baseball movie that had a great message. The movie wasn't released in all theaters so we were glad for the opportunity to see it. It made me laugh and cry and think and feel. I encourage anyone who loves a good movie with a good message, to go see this movie. Here's the trailer:

It was a lovely ending to a beautiful day. 

I'll fill you in on our Sunday morning in another post.

(My favorite Antique stores were New Moon Antiques and Arts on the square in Lawrenceburg and Rusty Nail Trading Post in Ethridge, TN.)

What If God's Plan Is "Everyday"?

The theme for May at Mississippi Women Bloggers is "Women Who Inspire Us". My friend Megan ('Tis So Sweet) asked me to participate by submitting a guest blog. I'd had some thoughts in my head for a while and had not been able to get them to flow into my fingers yet. I believe God saved them for this topic. I hope you will read "The High Calling of an Everyday Life" over at Mississippi Women Bloggers.

Mighty Mamas

This morning reviewing all the tweets I missed while I was sleeping, I found this:







Lisa-Jo Baker put a huge part of my life into words.


And in light of my post from yesterday, you know that choosing to mother is a hard choice sometimes--choosing to mother the baby from your body or choosing to walk the long road to adoption. And whether it was a hard choice for you or not, you now know that it isn't easy, no matter how much you wanted it in the first place. Lately, I find myself repeating, "Anything worth doing isn't going to be easy." Mothering is worth it. My children and your children are worth it.

God bless you, Mighty Mamas. Press on.

Special shout out to my own dear Mama. I love you much.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Dinah has taken to carrying a little, pink New Testament around with her. She will sit down, open it and "read" her little Bible. The other day our family was gathered around the kitchen table visiting with my Aunt Brenda and her family, when Dinah asked me to read to her from the Bible. 

The Bible fell open to 1 Corinthians 15. After I turned the book right side up (she was reading it upside down--talented, little girl), I scanned the pages and began to read a few verses. 

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
New International Version (NIV)
⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

I paused and said, "Do you understand that?"

Without hesitancy she replied, "Yes!"

We all laughed and smiling I asked, "What did it mean?"

She grinned and shouted in her best almost 3 year-old voice, "JESUS! JESUS! JESUS!"

We all agreed that was the gist of it all really--Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  

A few nights after this happened, I sat in a room with a group of ladies that I didn't know. We had come together to study and learn how to be different. We sought understanding, help and community. As the evening progressed, I had to keep asking God to reveal what He wanted to show me. I asked Him to help me not dismiss the information as for "them" and not for me. 

It crossed my mind that I didn't have any right to be there. That my problems weren't really problems compared to theirs. Like if I spoke that they might laugh me out of the room for being such a weenie. Or as if I was trying to compare first-world problems to third-world ones. 

You would think with all this conversing in my head that I wouldn't have heard a thing. :) But I did. I heard the hurt that sin could cause, whether it was our own or someone else's. I heard the lies that fell upon lies that Satan loved to whisper, plant, water, and provide a warm place to grow. I listened to stories of women struggling to believe the Truth to kill the lies that had taken root. I saw the battle scars from the war against sin and self. 

After hearing all that, I knew that no matter what we looked like on the outside, or how different the places were that our struggles had led us--we were the same. We are all just sinners that desperately need JESUS. We need to empty ourselves of our hurts, our insecurities, our selfishness, our weakness, and fill up with Jesus. We need Jesus to heal us. We need Jesus to lead us. We need Jesus to save us--the way that only He can. 

1 Corinthians 15:42-44New International Version (NIV)⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Only with Jesus can what is sown that is perishable be raised imperishable. Only with Jesus can what is sown in dishonor be raised in glory. Only with Jesus can what is sown in weakness be raised in power. 


I didn't read it to Dinah that day but I read it today and share it with you. Later on in the chapter it says:

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?    Where, O death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus