Yes, they did, and I'm back on track after spending a few weeks away from writing and all things business with the hip surgery. Pleasant does not come to mind when I think about this time, but possibly a teaching time, time to heal, opportunity to minister to other patients, patience required--big time.
I'm updating and you will find new book reviews, more information, and general update. Actually, the old energy level has returned. How do I know? I didn't sleep a wink last night until 3:30 a.m. because I remained revved long after I should have been asleep. Perhaps I need to plan more activities during the day and find a way to use up some of that energy before bedtime.
I thought an hour spent shopping for groceries, not on the motorized cart the store provides but walking behind a cart, would do the trick, but no siree. Oh, well, I took the early morning time to reread a most interesting book. Watch for a review of Havah before the week is out. I'll post a review of one of my fav authors, MaryLu Tyndall and her The Falcon and the Sparrow. Actually these books "saved my life," because hours...
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You may have followed my progress through getting used to the cane and adjusting to a disability we thought was rooted in my back. That second opinion proved to be the beginning of the end, because I'm scheduled for hip replacement surgery July 24th. Unless our Lord heals the hip, as He has healed other parts of my body through the years. First there was the gallbladder, then Hepatitis C (Who knows where I contracted it!), stroke, bone in my jaw where it had disappeared from an infection, "millions" of cases of flu, headaches, weariness, on and on.
I'm making all the preparations but still believing for the healing. After all, asking God for a healing is only the first step. Then we hang on in faith until it happens. But--how do I explain it?--I'll be ready for surgery, just in case. I will not be posting regularly for the next few weeks, but please remember this--The Lord is excited about you! He knows your name(Ephesians 1:4), He thinks about you often (Psalm 139), and He loves you more than you will ever know (John 3:16). Write to me at contact4j@cox.net and I will send information on how you can...
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How long has it been since you wanted to grin "big" but knew you couldn't? The other day I turned from a side street onto 120th Street and proceeded toward one of the traffic lights on Dodge Street. As usual, I checked the speed limit and gauged my speed accordingly. I took the right turn against the red light onto Dodge, and headed east toward home, when I noticed a large black SUV race around me, gunning the motor. Obviously the driver demonstrated anger. Then I deducted that I'd been driving too slowly on 120th Street and the driver wanted me to know it! She wasted a bunch of gas trying to convey her anger to me.
I knew better than to smile, but I did get a "kick" out of the lady's behavior. I'd been abiding by the speed limit laws but she was angy because I slowed her progress down 120th Street.. I prayed for her and let it go. Isn't it nice to know we aren't responsible for anyone else's behavior. I didn't need to "own" any of the lady's angst, or experience negative feelings. I could maintain fellowship with our Lord and know that He is...
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At last! I jumped onto the beading bandwagon last week. I signed up for a class on basic beading once before, with my friend Terri. We sat beside a lady who obviously had been making bracelets for a long time. She'd converted a tackle box into the finest well-stocked beader's tote I've seen. She noted my grey hair and (very) few wrinkles before she made her announcement: "You will need to make all your bracelets on elastic "wire" because my mother cannot manage a toggle clasp or any other kind of clasp." She assumed watchdog position and made her announcement again. I had two choices--create a scene and challenge her, or use the elastic stuff that expands exactly 45 seconds after you've tied the knot on the "string". I kept the peace and used elastic. I've worn only one of those elastic-strung projects more than once, and I've regretted allowing the woman to force her illogical thinking onto me. Her mother may have aged faster than I have, because I still have good eye-hand coordination. Besides, I wanted to make bracelets for my friends who easily manage clasps.
Last week I was the only one in the class, and the instructor helped me any way...
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In my last post I spoke of pain, but I found a way to block it! I still have the stiffness that muscle spasms cause, but the pain can be significantly reduced. Hallelujah!
My friend SJ learned acupressure as a young man growing up in Taiwan, and augmented his knowledge with a college course or two on the way to becoming a college professor. Two or three times a week he shows up at my door and massages the pressure points in my feet that are related to my hip pain. I can't explain how it happens, but the nerve endings for every part of our bodies end in our hands, feet and other areas of the body. I found charts on the Internet showing the pressure points for everything from the heart to the back to the hips. We use a small amount of pain relieving ointment because I can't bear to have the pressure points massaged without it, and we pray, asking God to heal the affected organ/area. SJ found an ointment called Muscle Rub at WalMart for less than $3. I soak my feet every evening in the hottest water I can stand, and I feel better. I sleep better,...
A few minutes ago I glanced out the window next to my computer and saw a rain pattern against the trees across the street and down three houses. I wondered if I needed new glasses, though, because my next door neighbor's concrete patio remained dry along with the street in front of my house. I checked every few minutes and the rain continued to fall in that one little spot. I checked it a couple of minutes ago, and the downward strokes of the rain pattern had disappeared. Only the wet street remained as evidence that my eyes had seen what "I saw." Our Lord used that little incident to remind me of how He sends rain on everyone from time to time, whether we're good or bad, rich or poor, whatever. I received my own little patch of rain yesterday in the doctor's office. For 14 months I've been slowed down big time by a back condition called Spondylosis of the L5 vertebrae with bulging disk. Google that term and you'll see a diagram of what happens with this condition. My scary x-rays confirmed that I truly did have the back injury. I suffered pain and embarrassment...
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Fox ,a 150-pound Bouvier dog, is a lovable (huge) ball of black fur. His owner Marcia brought him as usual to my house last Monday evening. We asked AP to blow the shofar she'd brought along, as part of our worship. First Fox looked perplexed and his eyes shifted from person to person in the little group. Then those orbs took on a sparkle and he started to smile. His huge feet left the carpet and he danced all over the room! Fox liked the shofar! God speaks through this ancient musical instrument , created from a ram's horn, originally used by ancient Israel in their Temple. Any time the shofar speaks, people (and animals) worship and praise God. He is worthy to be praised!
Last night I watched TV as a horrible story of tornado destruction at the Little Sioux Boy Scout Ranch unfolded. Three 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old died when the shelter they were in collapsed.
Out of this event have come stories of heroism as surviving Boy Scouts performed CPR and other first aid on anyone who needed it. Volunteers rushed to the 13-acre ranch with heavy equipment, shovels, anything to help move trees and building parts or to look for boys who had been on a hike when the storm struck.
But mostly we grieve, because those young lives were cut short. Others lie injured in hospitals, and others may feel guilty because they were not hurt. How do we digest the events of a long, stormy evening, when so many tornadoes appeared in the eastern Nebraska/western Iowa area that meteorologists had trouble keeping track of them all. I sat in my house in a "safe" area and prayed for three hours last night, asking for safety, strength, encouragement, comfort for those involved.
Some may ask, "Where was God while all of this took place?" He was there, sorrowing, comforting those who allowed Him to extend words of peace and love from...
Yesterday at 2:30 a.m a tornado sliced through southwest Omaha. I live in a "safe" area, and I didn't even wake up! But the destruction and devastation turned a hot summer's night into a nightmare for many families.
The good news? No one died and there were no serious injuries. Some suffered cuts and scratches, but the evidence of angel-protection remained as the sun rose. One family had put their 8-month-old baby to bed in his crib, as usual, and left a heavy blanket on the rail in case he got cold from the air conditioner's blast. The parents awoke when their ceiling fell in, and found the baby under the blanket--with ceiling materials on top. Who spread that blanket on the baby???
Another family went camping for the weekend. Their 11-year-old daughter would certainly have been killed or critically injured by flying glass from the window next to her bed. Why did they choose this weekend to camp? The father gave credit to the Heavenly Father.
Why was our city protected when people died this spring in tornadoes? I have no idea, but I offer grateful praise with other Omahans that no lives were lost yesterday and no serious injuries...
Old timers know we're looking at a few basics that help us maintain our walk with God. Today let's talk about sin. Ya, the yucky stuff that Adam and Eve handed down to us.
How did our first-parents sin? The same way we do--by choosing to be independent from God, trying to live separate from Him, doing what brought them pleasure, rather than pleasing God.
SIN is self-pleasing. The sinner says, "I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it." Isaiah 53:6 describes the heart attitude of rebellion against God which brings on disobedience and spiritual death. The person who pursues this path ends up in eternal separation from the God of the Universe, in a place of darkness and torment.
We've all rebelled against the holy God. What to do? Repent. Make a U-turn away from self-pleasing to a life where God "calls the shots," of peace, love and joy where we receive God's forgiveness and make Him Lord of our lives.
If you're in rebellion against God, ask Him to show you what to do in order to move out of this unhappy life into happiness. He paid the price for our peace, He deserves to...
) few wrinkles before she made her announcement: "You will need to make all your bracelets on elastic "wire" because my mother cannot manage a toggle clasp or any other kind of clasp." She assumed watchdog position and made her announcement again. I had two choices--create a scene and challenge her, or use the elastic stuff that expands exactly 45 seconds after you've tied the knot on the "string". I kept the peace and used elastic. I've worn only one of those elastic-strung projects more than once, and I've regretted allowing the woman to force her illogical thinking onto me. Her mother may have aged faster than I have, because I still have good eye-hand coordination. Besides, I wanted to make bracelets for my friends who easily manage clasps.