First Things First

"As we need food to sustain our physical strength, so do we need Christ, the Bread from heaven, to sustain spiritual life and impart strength to work the works of God. As the body is continually receiving the nourishment that sustains life and vigor, so the soul must be constantly communing with Christ, submitting to Him and depending wholly upon Him." MB19

As we begin a new year- please join me as I try to do a better job of putting God first. This means that my quiet time will come before everything else.

My phone charges overnight on my night stand and in the morning before I even get out of bed, it is easy to reach over and check my phone. And then I can get totally distracted by checking this and that. But what I want to get back to is putting God first. My mind is fresh first thing in the morning. When the distractions of the world are put on hold, I am able to get so much more from my devotional time.

So please join me as we get back to the basics. Let us set aside time to study God's word and to pray and to be quiet so we can hear from God. And let us put that time first before everything else. When we put Him first the rest of the things seem to fall into place so much better.

"The words of God are the wellsprings of life. As you seek unto those living springs you will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought into communion with Christ. Familiar truths will present themselves to your mind in a new aspect, texts of Scripture will burst upon you with a new meaning as a flash of light, you will see the relation of other truths to the work of redemption, and you will know that Christ is leading you, a divine Teacher is at your side." MB20

Sabbath Praise

Today I want to share one of my most recent favorite songs. I absolutely love this song - I think you will too as well. Enjoy! :O)





"O' Lord"

Whoa...

Though times it seems
Like I'm coming undone
This walk can often feel lonely
No matter what until this race is won
I will stand my ground where hope can be found
I will stand my ground where hope can be found

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right

Whoa...

Your strength is found
At the end of my road
Your grace it reaches to the hurting
Still through the tears and the questioning why
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face This I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
(Right, so Right)
Make it Right,
(Right so Right)
Make it Right, Right

I will stand my ground
I will stand my ground

I will stand my ground where hope can be found!
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!

Oh! O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
(Right, so Right)
Make it Right,
(Right so Right)
Make it Right, Right

Make Believe or Faith

As I have struggled with this idea of God loving me personally, I have had some very interesting thoughts that at first I thought were absurd.

I have gone through times of feeling as thought God doesn't love me. And during those times I was frustrated with myself. I mean seriously, I am a Christian. I have sang "Jesus Loves Me" since I was a little bitty girl. Why am I questioning this? My thoughts went to it seems as if I have to pretend or make believe- like I have to manufacture the feelings of being loved by God. That just doesn't seem right. I just continued to work on processing these thoughts.

I spent some time looking up Bible verses on love - trying to understand God's love better. That is when I came across the verses in Ephesians 3 about the "width and length and depth and height" of God's love. These things helped by I kept mulling over these ideas.

I knew God loved me- why didn't I feel hat God loved me and then one day it hit me - this is where faith comes in! I am not having to manufacture God's love- I only have to believe the Word of God- that is faith.

There is a blessing to those who have not seen but believe and we find it in the book of John:

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"

27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

~John 20:24-29                           

 

It's not make believe or fairy tales - it's faith! And even it is provided by God!

 

                                                             looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.                             ~Hebrews 12:2

 

Romans 12:3 tells us "...God has dealt to each one a measure of faith...."

 

So I don't have to make believe or pretend - I can choose to have faith. I can believe what the Word of God tells me.

 

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

~John 3:16

 

                                For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~Romans 8:38-39

                           

 

I choose faith!

 

 

Me Included!

Several weeks ago while our granddaughter was visiting, the weather was just warm enough for us to spend some time in the back yard. SweePea wanted to go explore the chicken yard. As we walked through the gate, we noticed a little sparrow on the ground- it tried to get away from us but obviously something was wrong with it. Just about that time Sweet Pea's Daddy came out side and she told him about the birdy. He came over and picked up a fallen leaf and used it to gently pick the bird up. He moved it's displaced wing into place and softly laid the birdy down.

SweetPea was fixing to have to go back to her Mother's but she wanted to make sure that the bird had food and water available to it. So the bird was laid near a watering can for the chickens and a handful of birdseed was laid on the ground in front of the bird.

Before we left we noticed the bird eat a bit. I was concerned because I didn't know if the injuries were something that the little birdy could come back from or not. I told SweetPea that I would check on the bird. A couple of hours later - I went outside to check on the birdy and it was gone. SweetPea was very happy to hear that.

The last week or two it seems that several sparrows have been hanging out near my bedroom window. It has really gotten the attention of our kitties. As I have watched them- I have wondered if one of these birds are the sparrow that we helped and if it is saying, "Thank you."

As I was watching the birds one day - these verses came to my mind:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:29-31

 

 

As I stood at the window watching the sparrows and thinking of the Bible passage - it suddenly struck me - if God cares about each sparrow- how can I be questioning His love for me. Just as God loves each sparrow - He loves each and every person, me included!

 

 

As I was looking up exactly where to find the scripture passage above - I found another one speaking of birds and God's love for us and I wanted to share it as well:

 

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 

                                                                                                         

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

 

~Matthew 6:25-34                           



It was a quiet day

I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas! Our day was a very quiet day at home. SweetPea does not get here till the 28th so we will have our Christmas after that so she can be included. We did do a dinner for our boys today. So we were together for a bit till our youngest son had to go to work.

I worked on laundry and I made up a couple more diapers for SweetPea's dollies.

 

I also spent some time working on some blog posts. And I have an idea of a great series I will be doing starting in the new year. And I already have my WORD for 2018. This is unusual because in years past - I struggled with figuring out what the word would be. Some years I haven't even come up with a word.

 

Well I better close. I want to get another post typed up since I have a bit of free time right now.
 

Call Back

Today I am sharing a devotional from my "Streams in the Desert" devotional. Blessing :O)

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This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. —Luke 21:13

Life is a steep climb, and it does the heart good to have somebody “call back” and cheerily beckon us on up the high hill. We are all climbers together, and we must help one another. This mountain climbing is serious business, but glorious. It takes strength and steady step to find the summits. The outlook widens with the altitude. If anyone among us has found anything worth while, we ought to “call back.”

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back—
’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perchance, Faith’s light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest’s roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.

Oh, friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your your face,
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s sin-darkened sky
If you have gone a little way ahead, oh, friend, call back—
’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.
—Selected

Trying to Understand Love

I don't remember what all I have shared with you all. So just in case I have already shared about this with you all - I will try to keep this short.

I have no doubt in the world that God loves the world- where I struggle is on a personal level- does He love me. This has led me to study the Bible more. I am looking up verses about love. And I found this awesome passage in the Bible that I would like to share with you all. I thought it was beautiful.                                          

 

 

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,                                                                                                            

15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

 to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

 that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints

 what is the width and length and depth and height--

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

 

 

I plan to get my Commentaries out and do some more research in this area. I just want a much better understanding of this concept. Its been a hard one for me to grasp.

 

I hope you all have a great weekend. :O)

Lots to do

Sorry for not posting much this week. We have had a full schedule - with a lot of things planned. My Son had a court date yesterday - and we are thankful - so thankful that it is now behind us. My husband had a Dr appointment and then our granddaughter had a program at her school. All that was yesterday. Today I help with the food bank that our church does. It is a rainy day here in Texas- if you could please pray that between 4pm and 7pm that we could get a break in the rain. I don't really like to get out in the rain - but the most important part is that I hate to see these people who need help have to get out in the rain so much. And it just might make it kind of sloppy trying to get the food out to people. Anyway please be praying for a break in the rain. I am thankful for the rain because we have really needed it. A lot of this area is under a burn ban due to the dry conditions.

My husband has a follow up appointment with the surgeon on Thursday. By the way - please also be praying for my husband. He has been having some issues this week. He has a new medicine that I went and picked up for him last night that I am hoping will help relieve some of the discomfort. Anyway I would like him to be in better shape before he has to go back to work.

I am super late at getting Christmas cards out this year. I actually kind of thought about not sending any out this year. But I had found some really nice cards and so I just decided to kind of cut down the amount of cards I send. And that seems to be working better for me.

I have a quilt that I am working on this week for a Christmas gift. I know - why did you wait so long? Well it is actually for our son's girlfriends daughter and so I have not really had the time to get it going sooner since we just meant her a month or so ago. Anyway so that is what I am fixing to go work on.

I have to warn you - I may not be able to get back to steady posting until after the 9th of January. I will be caring for my granddaughter from Dec 28th - Jan 8 or 9th - I can't remember. Anyway I will be posting as I can but plan to get back to posting more regularly after the 9th of January.

I hope you all are doing well, staying dry and warm. :O)

"The word trust is the heart word of faith."

Today I wanted to share a devotional from "Streams in the Desert" devotional- this one was what I read yesterday. May you be blessed. :O)

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Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity!

—Ps 37:3

 

 

The word trust is the heart word of faith. It is the Old Testament word, the word given to the early and infant stage of faith. The word faith expresses more the act of the will, the word belief the act of the mind or intellect, but trust is the language of the heart. The other has reference more to a truth believed or a thing expected.

Trust implies more than this, it sees and feels, and leans upon a person, a great, true, living heart of love. So let us “trust also in him,” through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, in the face of all the denials, notwithstanding all the seemings, even when we cannot understand the way, and know not the issue; still “trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.” The way will open, the right issue will come, the end will be peace, the cloud will be lifted, and the light of an eternal noonday shall shine at last.


“Trust and rest when all around thee
Puts thy faith to sorest test;
Let no fear or foe confound thee,
Wait for God and trust and rest.

“Trust and rest with heart abiding,
Like a birdling in its nest,
Underneath His feathers hiding,
Fold thy wings and trust and rest.”

Essential Oils and the Brain

So today we are doing to look a little at the affects of essential oils to brain health.

 

The next two photos - are the same one - they are the only two that I was able to get. And neither is all that clear. I am hoping that you can click into the photo and see it better. If you are interested in a certain list - if you would leave me a comment- I will do my best to try to get figure out what they say and let you know.

 

 

A Way of Living

So during my husbands stay at the hospital - being in the hospital for 12 of 15 days - I was not able to eat the way I enjoy eating. I did the best I could but I was not able to do as good as I usually try to eat. I did my best to get exercise as much as I could but I wasn't able to get in as much as I usually try to do.  And I have found my self up about 3 pounds. Thankfully I had gotten back down to my low weight- before this - so I just have to work on getting back to where I was. And then I am hoping to be able to lose some weight.

What I have figured out - is that this is a lifestyle - this is not a just lose weight and then do what I want. I already knew this - but I just realized that if I want to lose this weight and keep it off - I will have to always stay vigilant. I will have to stay on top of any weight gain. And do what I can to keep it at a minimum. That is what I did while Jason was in the hospital - I did my best to eat a good breakfast. The rest of meals - were not as healthy as I usually like to eat. And I did work to get in at least several good walks in. So I did continue to make small choices here and there towards my goals. I admit that I also made a few poor choices - when I bought a small bag of peanut M&M's.....or two.... :0( Not real happy with myself about that but that is just part of stress eating - sometimes you pick poor choices - especially when you don't have as many healthy choices.

Health - isn't a goal...it's a way of living~ isn't that the truth!!

 

And when we are thinking of taking care of ourselves - it is about more than just losing weight - it's about taking care of our selves - physically, mentally and spiritually. We need to be balanced. :o)

 

A Happy Surprise

This is a post I have wanted to share for quite some time. I just have not had the time to sit down and get it typed out.

 

When I offered to send books out - a fellow blogger accepted and suggested that we do a book trade of sorts. That sounded awesome. Little did I know that it would be so much more than just a book swap.

 

After a very demanding day - I got home and pulled a box out of my mail box. When I opened it up I found some lovely surprises!!  

She even crocheted a dishtowel and some wash clothes! Love them!!! 

I am not really into necklaces - but this is a necklace that I love!!! I love the nesting dolls on the placard and I love the beautiful detail on the beads. And the clasp is awesome - such a cool design.  

 

And this:

This is a beautiful Thomas Kinkade journal. I love it! I love Thomas Kinkade - In fact - he is probably one of my favorite artist. It's too bad that his live ended so young.

 

What a happy surprise this was! Thank you R! You made my day - and many days since when I have seen these lovely gifts! :O)

Recouping this week

Hello~ Sorry it has taken me a while to get back on here. I have just been very busy. And I am still feeling like I have a lot to do. I am going to take a few minutes later to sit down and write out what all I want to accomplish the rest of the week. That way I can prioritize the most important things to get done and work on those first.

Jason is still sore but he is very happy to be home. He has been running a fever - this morning was the first time that he was not running a temp. It has gone up a bit this evening, but that is normal.

The time that Jason was in the hospital was draining to me not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I think that is another reason why I have not been able to get on here and do more writing - I am still in recovery mode. It's during difficult times that we learn a lot about ourselves. That is what has happened - I had one of those moments like - "oh... that is the reason I am like that." And in the process of trying to figure out - what to do with the newly acquired information.

I am reading through an Elizabeth Elliot book - it is just the perfect book for me - it is a keeper for sure. I will be sharing a few little tidbits from it soon.

Hope you all are doing well. :O)

We are home, thankfully

I've been trying for a couple of hours to get a page to come up so I could write out this post, but for some reason it would not bring up a post page. Thankfully now I have an opportunity to give an update. I am happy to report that my husband was discharged from the hospital today! I was so happy to hear this news. Last night I struggled with the repercussions of all the stress that I have been under for the past two weeks. 12 of the last 15 days my husband and I have spent at a hospital. It drains you. The stress of node ring what is going on is a lot and then there is the stress of trying to keep up with as much as I could here at home and the driving back and forth. Anyway this morning I began feeling the stress build up again, I was afraid that I would get the dreaded news of Jason having to stay in the hospital another night. And I came to a place of acceptance about it. But I am thrilled he was able to come home. He is running a fever so we are keeping an eye on him. Tomorrow we will be calling the Dr office to set up appointment.

I am so exhausted that even though it is only 8:45pm- I am really thinking I will finish this post up and then I will finish getting ready for bed. I need to recoup from the last several of weeks- they have been stressful. This week I want to get back into eating better- and I want to get more exercise in. I've done the best I could but last week I only got 2 walks and one workout with weight. Hopefully this week will be a more successful week for me.

Ok- I better close. Hoping I will be able to get back to posting soon. :0)

An over due update

 So sorry to be getting on here so late for an update. Thankfully Jason was able to have surgery today. He didn't make it back to his room till almost 3pm. The surgery went well. He was in the recover roomy twice as long as I had thought he would be and it really worried me. Even after he got back to his room-  His oxygen level were low causing him to have to be on oxygen for a while. He was able to get up walk around his unit a good amount. This evening he was able to eat a regular meal!! That is big news! It had been since Thanksgiving since he had been able to eat a regular meal.

 In the 8 days that my husband has been in the hospital this time- when I have left the hospital - there has been a wreck at one particular intersection two different days. I think that this intersection needs something done for safety. I've been very thankful that I did not get to that intersection any earlier than I did. Today I went by his wreck before the cops had made it out- that's how recent the wreck occurred. As I drove on by - I not only prayed for those involved, I also thanked the Lord for His protection.

I am exhausted and my battery is running low- so I will close for now. The plan is that every thing goes well that Jason will be able to come home tomorrow. I sure hope so!!!

Thank you for the prayers, they mean a lot. :0)

surgery scheduled

We are still waiting to hear from the Dr. But we hav heard that Jasin will have surgery tbremove his gallbladder tomorrow morning at 9:45. Please keep him in your prayers. I'll try to get on here and update as soon as I'm able to do so tomorrow.
Thanks for the continued prayers. :0)

My Best Deal

So last week - in the middle of all of the hassles of my husband's medical problems I was able to make a quick stop at a local thrift store and I got a great deal! I didn't realize how good of a deal I got until I got home.

This book as a brand new price on it at $14.99

 

I thought they were going to charge me $1.99, but when I got home and was looking at the receipt - I noticed that I had only been charged .49 cents! What an awesome deal!! It has a lot of new pages in this book - along with pages for each month so you can plan what you will be doing in your garden each month. It really is a cute book. I can't wait to start planning our next garden. I am thinking this book will be an awesome resource for years to come.

What awesome deals have you guys gotten lately? I know you get good deals - cause I see your posts about them. Finding great deals is just another bright spot in life!! :O)

Before you get confused and think I'm perfect....

So before you get confused by my last post and think I am perfect, I need to do a "rest of the story" like Paul Harvey used to do.

My husband had the scope done. Nothing conclusive from the scope... That was disappointing.  My poor husband is suffering and these tests all come back normal and it is frustrating to him. They have another test they want to do before they head in the "gallbladder is causing this issue" direction. Sadly it couldn't be scheduled till about noon time tomorrow. Another long day for my husband not getting to eat.

When his tray of food arrived- it was a hamburger and fries... Poor thing he is hungry and would love to eat and got frustrated. This time I wasn able to just stay quiet- I tried to be as nice as I could be but we did have words. I need to spend some more time in prayer and in my Bible so that tomorrow I can be more patient.

So the test will be run around noon. The positive for me is- I don't have to get everything done at home in a rush and then leave my house early to make sure I am here before test is run- like I have done for the last 3 days. The negative is that more than likely if a surgery is needed- which I think there is- it probably won't happen till Thursday. And one more day of my husband not getting to eat.

Please continue to pray. I know God is still listening- I got a text from my mother in law telling me of her looking for a couple of things and God telling her where to look. So He is still listening.... Just not answering in the way or in the time I'd like him to answer.

And continues...

Seven out of the last ten days I have spent at the hospital. It gets old, really old. What makes it even harder is that my husband is grumpy- which hurts my feelings.  My selfishness wants to say, "Hey, I hate coming to the hospital every day- the least you can do is be nice to me." What good would that do? Plus it's a very self-centered way to act. So I dab the tears away and ask God for an extra measure of patience and kindness and trust that He will comfort my heart.

I can't blame my husband though- it's been a whole week or more since he's gotten to really eat and feel decent. Over two weeks of throwing up and feeling bad. He is hungry and can't eat- I'd be grumpy too.


So the GI Dr. had a full schedule on Monday so the scope was not done. My husband continues to get very nauseous and throw up or at least dry heave any time he tries to eat. Poor thing he is very hungry and really wants to eat but feels like crap if he does. So he is in a lose/lose situation. No matter what he does he is miserable.

So the scope will be done this am. We were told 9:30am- but it's 9:15am as I type and they have not gotten him from his room yet so who knows. Please continue to pray for answers and comfort. Thank you so much.

So at 9:25 we found out that they are running behind and so it will be an hour to an hour and a half- so another day of hurry up... Only to wait.... So test will be closer to 11:00am area.

The Questions Continue

So we had been hoping for more testing to be done on Sunday but the Dr on duty is a Dr that we know caused some major ongoing health issues for another family member - so we had to pass on having that Dr do the test and wait until today. We are hoping that they can get the scope done - and the Dr also said they may want to do a colonoscopy- so maybe that will be done as well.

All I know is that we want answers. J tried to eat a couple of times - he is hungry - poor thing hasn't been able to hardly eat anything at all since Thursday. And of course not too long after eating he was throwing up again. It is frustrating to see the ones you love suffer. He has suffered long enough really. Something needs to give.

Please continue to pray for him - that we will get answers and that they can fix what ever the problem is. Thank you so much.

The Saga Continues....

I was gonna wait till later to share this post but I wanted to post and ask for prayers - that the Drs can figure out what the problem is. Spending this much time at the hospital is frustrating to both my husband and me. Thankfully there are some positives about the hospital we are at this time. 

********

 So first all I need to say a few things - thankfully we have Jason at a different hospital this time. This one is not down town - a big plus as the hospital he is at now is one half the distance as the down town hospital.

Another wonderful plus - is that at this hospital - you don't have to pay to park. When a loved on is in the hospital - you already have extra expenses - bills, food, and then at this hospital - you have to pay to park - $1.00 an hour or $5.00 total. And to me - that is annoying- especially when you  are leaving the hospital  without any answers.

As an added bonus this hospital has a walking trail around it. With these lovely benches and Bible verses along the path

There is lot of "Faith" needed along the journey of life. It is hard to let go and let God. He is in control - we may not understand, we jut have to leave the problems in God's hands and have faith He will take care of it.

"Hope" is another gift from God that I am thankful for. Life throws us a lot of trials, but we can put our hope in Him!  

He also gives us strength and "endurance" for the journey of life!  

"Joy" and "Peace" are a couple more wonderful gift that we get from God.

These things come as a result of a personal relationship with Him.  

The First Hospital Visit in our Saga....

So last week I shared about how we have had a rough week. A rough week that started off with us losing our sweet Wally. Well now I have time for part two of the story - the story that is still continuing as I type this up.

 

This part of the story actually starts the Monday before Thanksgiving. My husband started feeling sick on Monday, in fact, he had to pull over and throw up on his way to work A couple of weeks before I had been sick and part of mine was feeling nauseous - so we didn't think much of it. He continued on going to work for the next couple of days. Feeling lousy and throwing up here and there. This sickness just held on....

 

On Saturday night his chest started hurting. We gave him aspirin and also a zantac. We took his blood pressure and everything seemed alright. So he decided to wait on going to the ER. Sunday he felt even lousier and decided to go to the ER. They decided to admit him and took him to a hospital downtown.

 

At the hospital - they followed what I call and one track tunnel vision protocol - that involved a stress test to see if it was his heart. Monday he was nauseous and throwing up and they basically gave him prescription for Zofran and sent him home. Problem not found... problem not fixed.

 

While at the hospital on Monday - my sister suggested I try to get a walk in. After my lunch in the cafeteria - it was such a beautiful day that I decided to go for a walk around the block. I had never walked in this area - downtown- but decided I needed the exercise and sunshine would do me good. He was in a room without a window. 

I saw a few neat sights that I took photos of to share:

 

 

And I discovered something that will be helpful to me in 6 months.

At my last visit to my oncologist, I was told that they would be moving soon - and if I am correct - I think this could be the new location:

So now back to our story:

 

He continued to be nauseous and throw up.

Thankfully he was able to get in to see his Gastroenterologist- and he set up an ultrasound of his abdomen. That was done Wed. By Thursday we found out that the ultrasound came back normal. But we had been told that sometimes gallbladder problems don't show up on this test and that if nothing showed up they would send him for a gallbladder function test.  The only problem was that the soonest they could get him in was Wed. And he was miserable - nauseous most of the time and throwing up most everything he ate. He could not go on like this... So on Friday I took him to the ER. And I will have to have that post another day.

Please be praying that answers are found as to why he is so nauseous and throwing everything up. Thank you so much.

 

Beloved Names of God...series.."Living Stone"

"Living Stone"

 "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men,

but chosen of God, and precious."

1 Peter 2:4 KJV

 

• Name of God the Son
• Jesus is referred to as a "living stone" twice in the KJV.
• The living stone is a reference to the fulfillment of the prophecy which talked about the arrival of the Chief Cornerstone.
• Peter was encouraging Christians not to be distracted by the ways of the world but to cling instead to "the Word." Jesus as people in previous times had God's promise that He would send them a "precious cornerstone"  (Isaiah 28:16 NIV), so the people of Peter's time had seen this stone arrive and live! They also saw Him live, die - and live again!

With the Cornerstone of Jesus in place, Peter encouraged those who heard his message- both then and now- to play their parts in the spiritual building that rises from that wonderful foundation. Ancient Sparta boasted that it needed no city walls; each of its soldiers was a brick in its defenses. In much the same way, you and I get to join the Living Stone as building blocks in His lively and living church.

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Come back next week when we will look at "Eternal Spirit"




Back to the Basics

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, Friday was my birthday. And you know what that means.... it is time for a 50 by 50 update. July of 2016 I began a new journey. A journey to lose 50 pounds by the time I turned 50 years old and to not only lose the weight but to keep it off. I have lost 50 pounds before- but I haven't kept it off. It takes a lot of work and determination for me to lose 50 pounds. And every since my hysterectomy in 2013, I have been finding it even harder to lose weight.

I have lost 37 pound, however over the last several weeks with getting sick and not feeling good enough to exercise and then having my granddaughter for a week and feeding my family and not having as much time to fix my healthier meals _ I actually went up 2-3 pounds, but I have been working towards losing that weight and I am down to only 1 pound above my lowest weigh in now! And I plan to lose that other pound - if not more before the Christmas dinners begin. Hoping if I just work at keeping it off at least till the beginning of the new year - I can begin to lose weight again. I have been on a plateau long enough now. It feels like forever.

I have already spent time thinking about all of the healthy strategies that I have been using in order to lose weight and I have been getting back to the basics.

Setting my goal for long term has really made this a doable goal for me. I am so thankful that I did. I had been told that it was harder to lose weight during menopause and afterwards, and they certainly were right. Giving myself plenty of time has made it possible for me to lose the weight. And not give up. I have gotten discouraged especially over the last couple of months that I have felt like I am sitting still, but I am not giving up. I have come too far to give up and go back.

Sometimes while we are working towards our goals we get off track, but the key to reaching our goals is to get right back on track as soon as we can. Decide today what are some things you can do today to take better care of yourself and then implement them into your day. You are worth taking care of!