Tribulation...

I read another really great devotional this morning and I wanted to share it with all of you. However, before I do this, I wanted to give you a quick update on my recovery. I am progressing very well with everything although a little slow for me at times! I have sore muscles from needing to pull and/or push myself up all the time but I was blessed yesterday by my neice who is a licensed massage therapist. She came over and massaged some of my sore muscles! This felt so good but she said that it gives the muscles a workout and they may be a little sore today if I didn't push the water. I'm trying to push a lot of water and they don't feel too bad today! YAY!! I also had my last Lovenox injection yesterday! This is a blood thinner to help prevent blod clots after surgery. I had to have one injection for 21 days after surgery and yesterday was the LAST ONE!!!!! WHEW! Now maybe my stomach can heal and the black and blue areas will go away! I also went with Logan last night to Holland for our allergy appointments. It went pretty well but I was sore and very tired by the time we got home. I'm glad I can stay home and rest today.

So... injections being done now is one more step to "freedom"! :) Next week Thursday will be 4 weeks and I'll be able to get rid of the stockings that also help with preventing blood clots. One step at a time... :)

Anyway, the devotion I read this morning was entitled "Be of Good Cheer" and I thought it made some really good points. The scripture to go with it is taken from John 16:25-33 and I'll let you read that on your own if you wish. I'll put verse 33 here for you though.

"In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Tribulation - there's a word you don't hear much nowadays. The word comes from the Latin tribulare, "to press". Tribulation is pressure. In the Middle Ages there was a form of capital punishment called Tribulation. Heavy stones were stacked, one after another, on the victim, until finally the pressure was too much to bear and the poor soul was crushed.

Sometimes it does seem that life keeps stacking heavy weights on us - financial struggles, health issues, family strife, personal sorrows. The pressure can feel relentless, overwhelming. Midway through a counseling session with a troubled parishioner, the man held his head in his hands and sobbed. "Sometimes I feel like I have a ton of bricks on my shoulders," he whispered. "In the world you have tribulation," said Jesus.

The promise of the gospel is not that there will be no tribulation. The promise is that despite tribulation, Christ has overcome the world. Faith does not help us avoid tribulation. Faith is what gets us through tribulation. Faith is what helps us endure the unendurable and bear the unbearable.

Be of good cheer. Jesus has overcome the world. And his victory is your victory. That fact may not change your present situation; but it can change you.

- Lou Lotz

Prayer ~ Lord, help me to bear life's pressures.

Be blessed today!
With Love,
Diane

An Extravagant Gift

John 12:3 ~ "Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume, she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped the feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."

When they pass the offering plates at church, how do you feel in that moment? Is giving a source of satisfaction? Do you give with joy and gratitude? Or are you giving out of a sense of guilt or coercion?

Imagine how this story would read if Mary had given her gift gudgingly, as we sometime do. Listen to this: "Mary took a pound of costly perfume and said to Jesus, ' What is everybody else giving?'"

Or how about this: "Mary took a pound of costly perfume and said to Jesus, 'How much do you really need?'"

Or this: "Mary took a pound of costly perfume and said, 'That's all you ever do is ask for money.'"

Those things sound ridiculous. Mary doesn't give grudgingly or sparingly. She doesn't count the cost. She gives extravagantly and joyfully. The disciples think it is a waste. But it's not a waste; it is a gift of love.

In this season of Lent we are mindful of the cruicifixion. I imagine some onlooker shaking his head at the sight of this young man dying on the cross, and thinking: "What a waste." But it wasn't a waste. It was an extravagant gift, a pouring out, given willingly --- for you.

--- Lou Lotz (from Words of Hope for March 20, 2009)

This really struck me today when I read it... did Mary even think twice about using the expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus? NO, of course not! Why do we think twice about how much we give to church... the body of Christ? In a sense, we are hoarding what God intends to use to further His Kingdom! Mary wasn't comparing her giving to anyone else but gave what was on her heart to give. She gave joyfully and willingly. When this devotional put those quotes in about what Mary could have said... things that members of the church say so often... it really does sound ridiculous!

We need to give from our hearts extravagantly and joyfully! After all, where does any money we've ever held actually come from in the first place? Make God's House fill with the odor of the sweet perfume... give back to Him joyfully and willingly.

I know times are hard right now for so many people but this does not stop the Kingdom of God from growing! God works through those who love Him and put their trust in Him! :)

Be blessed today and remember God is beside you always!
Diane

Good Report!

Mike and I just got back from the doctor's office for my 2 week follow-up. I had x-rays taken again and saw the proof that I actually have a new part inside me! :) The hip looks great and the incision looks really good too. I got the steri-strips taken off and just a few more put back on. No more bandage needed to cover it!

I will be going back in about 4 more weeks to meet with the surgeon. He will do an assessment to make sure that the 50% weight restriction can be lifted at that time. Once he gives me the green light, I'll be able to ween myself off of the walker and crutches!

In a couple of weeks I should be able to drive again or maybe sooner if I'm off the pain meds before that and I feel comfortable with it. Also in 2 weeks, I'll be able to ditch the stockings that I have to wear every day! YAY!!!

Overall, great report and it felt good to get out of the house for a little while. I am, however, tired now again and think I'll be trying to take a little nap here soon. :)

I am praising God for His healing power performed through me and I give Him all the glory for bringing me this far! His Hand has been on my hip throughout all of this and I am very thankful for that!

Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts offered up for me and my family too. They are so much appreciated... I can't even begin to explain the peace and comfort that comes from having prayer warriors lifting me up! Thank you again!!!!!

Love you all!
Diane

Devotional about Hope...

My good friend Bernie lent me a devotional to read during my recovery time and the one I read this morning needed to be shared. Yesterday was a little bit stressful for me and I am finding that I am not up to handling too much extra stress yet. I was a little emotional and still am while typing these words. These are the times when God sends just the right words to us to speak to us and give us comfort and a little pep talk when it's needed.

The devotional is titled "Hope for Everyday" and is taken from the book Hope For a Woman's Soul... Meditations to Energize Your Spirit.

Hope For Everyday

God has given me much on this earth to enjoy. I love the joy on my son's face each evening as he gets ready for his bath. He looks at me and grins as he sees all his friends lined up along the side of the bath waiting for him in a long... long... long line. He picks up each one, says "hello", and throws it into the soapy deep. When he's finally fast asleep, I gather up all his stuff and put it to one side.

Perhaps there's a lesson for all of us there. The psalmist David writes that in the midst of the stress and confusion of everyday life, God has made known to him the path of life.

So each night now as I gather up my little lamb's bath mates and drop them into the boat, I also gather up the concerns and cares of the day that have filled my heart. Putting them to one side, I make room for Christ, the incarnation of grace. I stop to take notice of the gift of his presence. And he fills me with joy.

~ Sheila Walsh

Hope to Fill Your Heart

Some of us are like cats; we don't know what we want, but we want more of it. Others are like dogs; we don't want much, and we are overjoyed when we get it. Regardless of our personality type or temperament, our Creator takes great delight in lavishing his extravagant grace upon us.

Sometimes grace comes as wisdom - or an empty parking space, a pat on the back, a beautiful sunset, an unexpected act of kindness. Grace might mean finding your lost dog, running into an old friend at the mall, or hearing a wacky joke that doubles you over with laughter. Grace is when the customer service department refunds your money, sends you another item without charge, even hands you a certificate for $10 off on your next purchase, then asks "Is that satisfactory?" Grace turns the corners of your mouth up when things in life are trying to turn them down.

~ Barbara Johnson

Meditations on Hope for Everyday

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." ~ Psalm 16:11

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises... You are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true." ~ Psalm 119:147-148, 151

"Jesus said, 'Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" ~ Matthew 28:20

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." ~ James 1:17

Be blessed today and remember that God is in control of every little detail of our lives and His Will WILL be done!

Diane

I'm still here...

Due to popular demand I am going to post something... I have been told that with all my spare time now during recovery and since I have the use of a laptop, I should be able to post more for you! To be honest with you I haven't had a lot of energy lately. I've also been told that my body is using all it's energy to heal my hip area and I'm thinking I would have to agree with that.

This post is mainly just an update for all of you to let you know how my recovery is going. I think I'm doing very well! I do physical therapy at home 3 times a day which involve 8 different exercises. All of them are getting easier as the days go by but there's still one or two that I really don't like to do because they're hard and cause me pain. The pain is in my muscles that were cut into so they need to strengthen again and heal... PT is very good for this!

I went to church this morning and was very excited to go! I used a wheelchair and still found myself totally wiped out by the time we got back home again!

I have 3 friends from church who are nurses that have agreed to set a schedule and come over every day to give me an injection that's a blood thinner. I need to be on this for 21 days after surgery so the last injection will be on the 26th of this month. That will be a great day! :)

Mike has been awesome with helping me and running the house! The kids have pitched in a little more and things seem to be going pretty well. I haven't really gotten too bored yet since I'm tired yet a lot of the day. I've still been taking Vicodin about every 4 hours just to keep ahead of the pain. But I must say... the pain I have now is more muscle pain and doesn't seem to be too bad. The pain I had before is pretty much GONE! PTL!!!!

I've been put on 6 week walker usage with a 50% weight restriction on my left side. This basically means that I can stand sqarely without any aid but if I want to walk I'll need to use the walker or crutches for 5 more weeks.

We've been having some meals taken in that have been unexpected but VERY WELCOME! This helps us out so much... especially when Mike goes back to work again and doesn't have the time to put into all the household chores. This week he's agreed to only go back 1/2 days so this will help me a lot yet!

I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers being offered up for me and my family! Specific prayer requests could be that I continue to be careful with not bending the hip more than 90 degrees. I am getting more comfortable and confidant and I just don't want to get overly so and dislocate it! Also, God continues to work on my patience... prayers for this would also be appreciated!

I will try to update as time goes on with anything further. This coming Thursday I have my follow up appointment at the surgeon's office so hopefully I get a fabulous report! :)

Love you all!

Diane

Goin' Home!!!!!

I'm goin' home today...
I'm goin' home today...
Hi Ho the Derio...
I'm goin' home today!!!

Lame, I know but I bet I made you smile! :)

YAY ME!!!!

BTW - THANKS FOR ALL THE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS FOR ME - KEEP 'EM COMING SINCE I STILL HAVE A SOMEWHAT LONG RECOVERY TIME AT HOME!

Love Ya!
Diane

New Part... New Me!!!

I'm writing this post from my hospital room... sitting up in my chair... one day after receiving a total hip replacement! I can't believe how quickly the human body can heal and what modern medicine can do now! I've been up twice already today with physical therapy and even walked across the hall this afternoon to the gym. I will need to use a walker for 6 weeks since I'm only allowed to put 50% weight on my left hip. I won't get into detail of the surgery but it all went very well and my surgeon is awesome!!! His PA is very sweet too and I know that God put us together for this time! I should be able to go home on Sunday and will probably be pretty tired after that ordeal.

I just want to say how much I appreciate all of you prayers and concerns offered for me and my family! I've already received some cards, flowers, balloons and a certificate for as many Biggby coffees as I need! :) Meals are scheduled already and I can't even begin to explain how overwhelming it is to have so many great brothers and sisters in Christ!

Pastor Mathieu, Daphne, Mike, and his sister Michelle were here yesterday during surgery and were in my room when I got out of recovery! The kids came up last night to see me and Tori has a letter for me to open every day I'm in the hospital - quite the fabulous daughter I have wouldn't you agree? :) Today I had Amy, Kim, Kam, and Karen come up to visit on their way to Kalamazoo for an overnight Praise and Coffee (?) outing. I also had Jona and Martha stop by during their working hours to see how I was doing - both are nurses here at Blodgett.

Thanks so much for you prayers and thoughts for me this week. Therapy is going very well so far and I anticipate good progress with that too! YAY!

God bless you and keep you in His care and please continue to keep me and my family in your prayers over the next couple of months! It will be a long road to recovery but ... maybe not so long! ;)

Love you all!
Diane

Surgery Scheduled for tomorrow!

I just got off the phone with Blodgett Hospital and have now found out that my surgery will be at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning - Thursday, March 5. I am asking for your prayers for me and also for my family as we go through this together.



For those of you who might not know yet, I will be having a total hip replacement surgery on my left hip. I have been diagnosed with hip displaysia and have had progressive arthritis for over a decade. The pain has been increasingly worse over the years and especially over the last 6-9 months. I've been walking with a cane for the last few months which has helped somewhat but I'm really looking forward to the time when I won't need any help with my walking and ESPECIALLY when I won't have the pain anymore!!!



God will watch over me and take care of me so I'm not afraid of the surgery. I am not looking forward to the recovery time since I don't have a lot of patience and this will require a LOT OF PATIENCE!!



Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers offered up for me! I love you all! I will try to put an update on here when I'm feeling up to it again but Mike will be putting updates on his facebook too.



May you be as blessed as much as you are a blessing to others!

New Award!

I received another award from my good friend Mari! She's an awesome friend and sister in Christ! Thank you so much Mari for being such a great prayer warrior to me and a fabulous friend!!! :)