myjourneyspath

Ebenezer... what does it mean???

2009-09-15T08:30:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed that I changed my profile pic. This is the word "Ebenezer" in Hebrew. As many of you already know, there is a new mission in Haiti called Ebenezer Discipleship Training Center. It trains Haitian pastors how to "make disciples". The first part of the training is literacy... how can you teach others about Christ if you cannot read the Word of God? The second part of the training will be based on the book "Discipleship Essentials" and will teach them how to be disciples themselves and in turn make more disciples. This mission is looking to change Haiti FROM THE INSIDE OUT! What a great and awesome God we serve to fill the hearts and minds of those who have a passion for Haiti to come together and begin this training.

You can find out more about it at www.ebenezerdtc.org to find out more of what it's about, get updates on the progress of the mission and even donate to this mission if God has put that on your heart!

This is what I've found to help explain better what an Ebenezer really is...

The term comes from Scripture, so let’s see what Scripture has to say.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. (1 Samuel 7:12-14 NRSV)

The word "Ebenezer" comes from Hebrew and is actually two words pronounced together: Even Haazer. Written in Hebrew it looks like this:

It is usually transliterated as a proper name by dropping the definite article (Ha) from the Hebrew word for "help" (Ezer) and putting it together with the Hebrew word for "stone" (Even) to create: "Ebenezer." The etymological roots of the word, thus defined, should demonstrate that an "Ebenezer" is, literally, a "Stone of Help."

In 1 Samuel 4:1-11 and 5:1, the Ebenezer is strangely identified with a particular site, about four miles south of Gilgal, where the Israelites were twice defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant was stolen. These battles took place, however, before the site was actually named Ebenezer. It was like someone saying that Dinosaurs once lived in Dallas county -- they did, but not when this area was called "Dallas." Likewise, the two battles mentioned in 1 Samuel 4 and 5 took place at Ebenezer, but some time before it was so-named.

The site wasn’t named Ebenezer until after the Israelites finally defeated the Philistines, and took back the Ark of the Covenant. To commemorate the victorious battle, Samuel set up a marker-stone, named it "Stone of Help," and thereby the site became identified with the stone and with the place where God’s miraculous help aided them in their victory over the Philistines. The stone, standing up-right, was called "Ebenezer," and the site naturally took on that name as well.

Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are "Ebenezers."

Be a blessing as you are so richly blessed today!
Diane

Isaiah Project coming soon!!!

2009-08-31T08:36:00.005-04:00

Our church is sponsoring the second annual Isaiah Project on September 18 and 19... that's coming up fast! If you are at all interested in learning more about how to be involved in missions, whether in your community or abroad, please plan on attending! This is a mission 'equipping' conference and it is packed full of wonderful information to help you figure out where God may be calling you!

To find out more, go to our church's website at the link below...

http://www.lighthouse-ministries.org/missions/global-missions/isaiah-project

I hope I see you there!!!

Blessings to you!
Diane

I'm still here...

2009-08-25T16:46:00.005-04:00

Just want to first of all apologize for not blogging more often. For some reason I just have not been in the mood for it. It's most likely because of facebook and how much easier it is to do updates on that rather than here. Anyway, I'll try to get some bullets posted here with a few highlights...

summer is going by WAY TO FAST!!!!!
our church had Vacation Bible School in July and it was awesome!!!
Mike, Tori and I went to Haiti from July 29 - August 6 (actually got home on August 7 at 3:45 AM)
THE TRIP WAS AWESOME!!!!!!
I fell on our way up a mountain to do another VBS
I scraped up my left shin and ankle quite bad and sprained my ankle
God protected me from getting hurt worse!!!!
We stayed most of the time in Petit Goave at the new Ebenezer Discipleship Training Center
It was the best trip so far!!!
Tori and I went to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago to visit Mike's sister and family
Mike and Logan just got back today from Cedar Point
We also just got back from Mike's uncle's funeral... very sad
I am now looking ahead to a very busy week...
Wednesday is the Back to School Fair in the park
Friday and Saturday is the Boulevard Days
... I will be working at both of these events
The kids start school in 2 weeks
Logan will start GVSU next week I think!!!
Manna Meals will be starting up soon
We have almost no money
and almost no product
but God will provide what we need when we need it
Please pray for this ministry!

Whew... I think that gets you caught up with my life for now anyway. I will try to get some pictures on here from our Haiti trip. Thanks for all of your prayers and support! All were so appreciated and your prayers were heard and the trip was richly blessed! Continue to pray for Ebenezer and check out what is happening at www.ebenezerdtc.org to find out more about it.

God Bless!!!
Diane

Haiti bound...

2009-07-26T16:55:00.005-04:00

We will be leaving this week Wednesday for our Haiti mission trip! I probably won't even go to bed Tuesday night since we're meeting some of the team at church at 12:45 AM and then leaving from Nate and Brenda's house at 1:00 AM!!! We're flying out of Detroit since the airline tickets were $400.00 less per person than flying out of Grand Rapids!!! I think I can handle a little drive time!

We'll again be doing Vacation Bible Schools while there among other things that need to be done. So far we have 4 VBS's lined up in various villages. We've never been to this area before so it will be new to all of us! We're planning on 150-200 kids per VBS. I have 900 crafts and 1000 snacks packed so I hope we don't run out... if we do, we'll just love a lot on the kids there and praise God for them!! :)

We'll also be doing prayer walks after each VBS and some of the kids will be handing out tracts around their village. This is the plan at this point but we always go knowing that all of this can change... God knows what will happen and that's all that matters.

The first night and the last 2 nights we'll be staying in (or at least very near) Port-Au-Prince. The other 5 nights we'll be staying at Ebenezer with some pastors. This is located in Petit Goave a little west of PAP along the ocean.

I will try to put our itinerary on this blog in the next day or so in case any of you want to track our flights and tentative schedule. We will most likely be out of touch while gone and I'm actually looking forward to an electronic free zone for a while!

God is awesome and is doing amazing things in Haiti. I am very humbled to be a part of His plan and I'm looking forward to seeing what He has for us to do! I'm asking for your prayers for us during this week and next... safety and God's will to be done!

Be a blessing wherever you are planted today!

Diane

Pics of earlier this week...

2009-07-09T20:55:00.008-04:00

As promised, here are some pics I took from Logan and my trip to MIT earlier this week...

This one I took in the MIT museum but I can't remember what it was exactly...

I thought it looked cool though! ;)

Here is the dome... a lot of pranks are done on this dome - a lot of stories...

The next 2 are pics of the Stata Building - this is where Logan would be spending a lot of his time if he gets accepted since it holds a lot of the computer science departments including the AI department.

This is one of the classrooms in another building - I actually could only get about 1/3 of it in the picture.

MIT is known for it's many practical jokes known as hacking. These are some of the big ones!

Here is the actual fire hydrant water fountain that is shown in the above picture.

Logan and I had a lot of fun and got a better feel for the college. It obviously focuses more on academics rather than sports. There isn't much competitiveness going on because a lot of the work requires group effort.

The freshman year is graded on a "pass" / "fail" system so that they can have a chance to get better acclaimated to the college life. Cambridge/Boston area is a scary place to drive but the public transportation system is exceptionally good!

Logan will definately be sending in his application there and we'll just have to see what happens. I know that if it's God's Will for him to go there, that is where he will end up going.

So much more to say on this school but I will save it for if Logan gets in. :)

Be a blessing!

It was a long 3 days but so worth it!!!!!

2009-07-09T11:02:00.003-04:00

I have spent the last 3 days...
driving... 34 hours ... 1,700 miles
walking... estimating about 10 miles
spending time with my son... PRICELESS!!!

I will be posting pictures of our visit to MIT later... I am just too tired and sore to do a lot right now and I should get some laundry going and unpack! We didn't get home until about 11:20 last night and I am exhausted! I'm not sure if we could pack much more into three days than what we did! We probably should have had one more day in Cambridge but schedules just did not allow that right now.

Better get to work now!
Be blessed today!!!
Diane

MIT visit

2009-07-07T20:21:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Logan and I drove all the way to Cambridge, Massachusetts! It took us about 17 hours! That was a long drive and we were very tired last night by the time we got to our hotel but we were able to get a pretty good night's sleep. We headed out after breakfast this morning around 9:30 to catch a tour that started at 10:00 with an informational talk until 11:00. We then went on a tour that lasted until almost 12:30. We then booked it over to the admissions building since we had set up another tour at 12:30. We were a little late but were taken over to where the others were. This tour was only us and another boy and his dad. Logan was able to ask all the questions he wanted and after the tour we were able to talk to a lady in admissions. Logan was given a packet about MIT. This lasted until about 2:00 so we went to get a bite to eat in the Strata Center. Then we headed over to a few other places Logan wanted to check out including the MIT museum... really interesting!!

We didn't get back to our hotel room again until almost 7:00 so we're just chillin' the rest of the night. We plan on leaving tomorrow morning around 6:00 and we'll just see how far we get. Logan thinks we can drive the whole way again and just get home REALLY LATE! We'll see how that works out...

I will post some pictures later when we get home. I took some video too... only about 1/2 hour since some places didn't want you to take any pics.

Fun day... busy day... tiring day... but all very worth it!!! :)

'Til next time...
Diane

College Visit Number One... Check!

2009-06-19T20:30:00.004-04:00

This has been a very eventful week for our family!

Tori received her learner's permit yesterday and already has almost 4 hours of driving in! She's doing pretty well and has only driven over 2 curbs! :) She's really doing quite well with it despite the curb incidents and I trust she will improve considerably as time goes on.

Logan was invited to attend a Green Carpet Day at MSU this summer and we chose today for that. They invited a certain amount of juniors (now seniors) to attend one of these days and find out more about Honors College. This was good for him to hear more about MSU and what they have to offer. Michigan State University has just moved into 2nd choice for him.

We really should check out his first choice sometime soon... Massechusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This means, however, that I will need to go with him on a somewhat long road trip since Mike doesn't have enough vacation time left. MIT only takes about 1,100 freshman each year and Logan would really like to one of them next year. Compared to MSU the campus population is considerable lower. MIT has about 4,000 underclassmen whereas MSU has about 45,000! These 2 schools seem to be very different but both are excellent schools!

Now to figure out when to go to MIT for a visit! ... I wonder if we could take a train there?! hmmm...

Be blessed!
Diane

Hitchhikers!

2009-06-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to put a shout out to all of you about some people that have been seen hitchhiking recently! BE CAREFUL... they kinda have shifty eyes and I'm not sure if they can be trusted or not!

I was just driving through our church parking lot this past Monday morning and BOOM... there they were!

I tell ya... guard yourself because you never know who'll hop on your vehicle!!!

The little one in the middle is the shiftiest one of all I think! She might be the mastermind!

Updating Awards...

2009-06-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

Ok... now to get these awards updated! I so appreciate getting them and want to recognize those friends who have passed them on to me. Thanks so much all of you!!! (Please forgive me if you've passed one of these awards to me and I don't have your name included by the award - I really tried to keep it all straight over the last few months!) :)

"Berry Sweet Blog Award"

received from Jennifer, Kim & Melissa

"2009 Friendly Blogger Award"

received from Mari

"Zombie Chicken Award"

received from Mari

"Sisterhood Award"

received from Jennifer (?)

"Outstanding Bloggery Award"

received from Mari

"Makes My Heart Smile Award"

received from Mari

"Golden Heart Award"

received from Mari

Whew! I think that gets me caught up! Hopefully I don't get this far behind again! Again, thanks to all of you who passed these awards on to me!

Another driver in the family!

2009-06-04T06:00:00.002-04:00

Tori started drivers training this week and will get to do her first hour of driving today! I'm so excited for her and I think she'll do very well at it. It's hard to believe that she's old enough for it but she is and that means I'm that much older too! :)

We got another car a couple of weeks ago that Mike is driving now and the kids have access to the Lumina. This makes life somewhat easier on me now that Logan can just take the car. He might just be doing some errands for me this summer... we'll see.

Be a blessing to someone today!

This part is especially for Mike! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!!!! I can't believe it's been 21 years since we had this picture taken! I honestly have a hard time remembering my life before you were in it! Even though we've had a lot of ups and downs over these years, I know that I am right where God wants me and that you are my soul mate. I love you very much and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you! ~ All my love, Diane

Wow... I am so behind on this!!!

2009-06-03T19:39:00.005-04:00

I am going to attempt to do better at blog posts but it's been so crazy around here and this is one of the first things to be put on the back burner. This means that I miss doing posts on all these crazy things that happen in my life and by the time I do a post, I forgot what I was going to post about! ;)

Today I'm just going to quickly post about my kids! Yesterday they had the undergrad awards ceremony at the high school. They did so well and I'm very proud of them!!! Tori walked away with an award for geography (oops! I meant geometry - my bad) and art! Logan took home awards for pre-calculus and chemistry! This was the first year that a test was given like this on chemistry and there were 3 top scorers. They had one each in the 70 percentile (bronze), 80 percentile (silver) and 90 percentile (gold). Logan took the GOLD!

Tori and Logan are both so bright and I'm am so thankful that they apply themselves and do the best they can do in school. I'm also glad that these awards are given to recognize those who excel in academics. After all, what are they in school for but to learn. Sports are an amazing part of school too but I hate to see this overshadow academics.

More stuff to come later. I have a boat load of awards that have been accumulating since my surgery and I need to acknowledge those too! :)

Be blessed today!

Attention all garage salers...

2009-05-26T19:18:00.005-04:00

There is a new mission starting up in Haiti called Ebenezer. This mission is geared to train Haitian pastors in discipleship. There is also a literacy program that will be starting very soon. During the time these men are taking these classes they will be staying in housing that is provided for them. Since I am part of a mission team that is going in a couple of months, we've been asked to look on garage sales for items needed to stock the house. I've gotten quite a few items already but many more are needed. If any of you would be willing to keep your eyes open for & purchase these items it would be much appreciated! Basically all the necessities you can think of that someone would need to run a house is needed. They're looking at housing possibly 40 or more men at a time so items would be needed accordingly. I've been keeping dishes limited to plastic & stackables. I have some silverware but more is needed although I didn't count place settings for those. I'm not sure on the sizes of the beds as they vary and I don't have a count of each size but I'm sure whatever we can get will be used! I have listed below the items I've purchased to this point.

11 sheets

22 pillowcases

20 plates

1 pitcher

80 pcs. silverware

1 bag plasticware

1 sm. bag misc. utensils

22 sm. bowls

4 bowls w/ lids

44 glasses

8 cups

1 wooden fork

1 plastic fork

6 plastic spoons

3 pancake turners

1 lazy susan

4 pans & 2 lids

6 towels (various sizes)

I am keeping track of how much I spend just in case I'd want to use it for tax purposes so you could do this too if you choose. If you have any questions for me, please contact me and I'll be happy to help! :)

Be a blessing!

quick update in bullet form...

2009-05-22T08:44:00.003-04:00

My apologies for not blogging more often but I'm having a really hard time finding the desire to get on here lately. I'm not quite sure why that is but I just know ... it is. I thought I'd update with bullets to make it easier bringing all of you up to date with the goings on as of late...

I'm getting around with a cane quite well and even faster than before surgery!
Kids are wrapping up another year of school... renaissance day for them today and then only 7 whole days and 2 exam days left!
Logan will be a senior next year!
...this means senior pictures for him this summer.
He received a 35 on his ACT (out of 36)!!!!!!!!!
He also received a letter from MSU inviting us to Green Carpet Days this summer and invited him to apply for Honors College!
Tori just finished her soccer season last night and they won!
She is jut finishing her freshman year in HS and is currently ranked #1 in her class...
She might be tied with a couple but she's still #1! :)
Mike is at work today helping to celebrate Amway's 50th Anniversary!!
I was blessed last night at the first Praise and Coffee Night in Allendale! :)
I've been doing a lot of garage saleing the last few weeks and finding a lot of items for the new mission that will be starting up in Haiti this year called Ebenezer.
If any of you would like to donate and/or look for items needed, let me know and I'll get you a list.
Tori and I are going shopping today...
Target... here we come!!! :)
I have a lot of awards to update but haven't taken the time to post them... maybe one day! :/
I am so thankful for all my friends! YOU ROCK!!!!
I'm keeping busy with planning the Haiti VBS for this summer.
I'll also be co-leading a rotation for LCC VBS in July.
I'm sure there's probably a lot I'm forgetting but my mind can only handle so much at a time! ;)

Be a blessed today!

Diane

Mother's Day Poem

2009-05-12T12:30:00.005-04:00

I know Mother's Day is past already but I had to post this to show you what Tori made for me. This photo was taken of her and me obviously when she was just a month or so old. She found it in one of our photo albums and you will see what she did with it as you continue through this post.

She is a very talented artist and also loves to write poetry.

Are you ready????

You may have to click on the picture to get a better look at it but I think it's beautiful!

I cried...

wouldn't you???

Be a blessing!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-10T07:11:00.004-04:00

Wishing all of you MOMS out there a very wonderful, relaxing, enjoying, nothing-to-do-but-watch-the-family-cook-and-do-the-dishes kind of day! ;)

Love ya!
Diane

A New Haiti Trip Fundraiser...

2009-05-07T10:23:00.007-04:00

I've been thinking about what I can do to raise more money for my upcoming Haiti trip in July besides the support letters. I have decided to put up for sale the rest of my poetry books. There are 9 limited edition books left and I am asking $25.00 minimum for each one. They are all different as far as the covers go... different colors, different designs. These books hold all my poems from the last decade or so and really share what I went through over those years. My heart and soul is poured into each poem and I pray that you would be blessed by each one.

Let me know if anyone is interested in purchasing one. If I need to be ship it to you, I will add on shipping charges to the total.

Thanks for your being a special part in my life... each one of you reading this most likely knows me and plays an important role in my life! :)

Be blessed!

Joy from Caring...

2009-04-30T09:04:00.005-04:00

I was reading some devotionals this morning and one of them kinda stood out to me. It talked about the joy we receive from showing concern for others. I think it all comes down to that little reminder I learned at a very young age in Sunday School... God first, others second, and yourself last. I think if we would all keep this in mind as we go through the day, we would all be much happier people! It's what we were created for - to love God and in turn serve Him and others.

The devotional talked about a book called "How to be Miserable". Here is an excerpt from that book...

"Think about you. Talk about yourself. Use "I" as often as possible. Listen eagerly to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious. Be senstitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others."

Then it goes on to compare it to Ernie Harwell, the former radio announcer for the Detroit Tigers. He was asked in an interview, "Is it difficult to broadcast a game? What's your approach?"

Harwell, being a joyful Christian, answered by saying, "The game is the main thing! Tell what's happening, and try to stay out of the way."

What a great way to look at life as well! God is the main thing and what He does in our lives is the main thing! The devotional goes on to ask the question, "What will be the "main thing" for you today? Yourself? Or Christ and others?"

PRAYER: "Lord of joy, help me get outside of myself and show concern for others today."

I challenge you (and myself) to constantly look for what God has for you to do today and do not look at what you can gain from it! What can you do for someone today? Put your concern for yourself aside and be concerned for someone else today and let someone else put their concern in you. God will take better care of you than you ever could! :)

Be a blessing to someone today ... and EVERY DAY!!!

GVSU Fall Classes Ready To Go!

2009-04-27T18:25:00.008-04:00

As many of you know, my son Logan has been taking Dual Enrollment at Grand Valley State University this past year. He is currently a junior in high school and has just finished up his second semester at GVSU. He has taken 2 classes each semester. Fall '08 classes included German and Philosophy. Winter '09 classes included German and Logic.

He is now enrolled in Computer Science and Criminal Justice. The computer science he wants to pursue is in the programming area. He's changed his focus a little... from computers to medicine and now back to computers! It makes sense for him to go into computers since he is so good with them. He was also ready to be done with German! He'd like to take a break from languages for a bit and maybe take Japanese sometime down the road.

A few weeks ago we received his ACT test results... out of a possible 36, Logan received 35!! Because of this, the dean at the university ok'd him to skip some of the math requirements usually needed to take before the computer science class. This is very exciting and he will do well in these classes, I'm sure!

I can't believe he'll be a senior in the fall and that a year from now we'll be looking at having an open house for him and then shortly after that he'll be going off to college! Time goes by so fast! We need to remind ourselves that time goes by so fast and we need to enjoy every day that passes... even the bad days since that is what makes us stronger! :)

Be a blessing as you are blessed!

And now... as promised...

2009-04-21T11:08:00.007-04:00

Here is an x-ray of my hip before surgery. My left hip (right side of picture) obviously had a lot of arthritis in it when you compare it to the right hip. I had bone on bone and relatively no cartilage left. My leg was also about 1/2 inch shorter on my left side.

Here is my new hip as of yesterday! I am now only about 1 millimeter off instead of 1/2 inch! However, because of this, I will need to learn to walk differently again and my back will need to realign a little.

I have been walking solely with a cane today and it seems to be going really well. I'm a little sore from being gone this morning - went to coffee with a couple friends and got my allergy shots. I'm ready to rest for a while again.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! Clearly they are being answered and God is truly the Great Physician!!! PTL!!!

Be a blessing as you are blessed!

Doctor's report...

2009-04-20T19:04:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't been posting much lately but there's really not much different going on in my life at the moment other than recovery! Just waiting patiently for it to heal... and waiting... and waiting...

Anyway, I went to the doctor's today for my 6 week follow up appointment. The 50% weight restriction has been lifted and I can now GRADUALLY begin to put more weight on it. I'm ditching the walker and probably the crutches and just using the cane. We'll see how I do with it and if I need to use crutches again or not a little longer. I tried using just one crutch and that throws my back way out of alignment so I don't think I'll be doing that a whole lot. I will still need to use the crutches going up and down stairs so I'm still limited on that.

I was able to get a couple printouts of my x-rays - before and after shots. I'll probably be posting those tomorrow after I scan them and crop and whatever. It's really pretty cool so I thought I'd like to post those for you.

In 6 weeks I go back again to the surgeon. First they weren't even going to have me come back at the 3 month time but since I'll be going to Haiti this summer they wanted to check it again one more time. I'll be picking up a script for some antibiotics to take along to Haiti and also he wanted me to take the pain killers I have left here just in case I need any of this while there. He didn't think I'd need to do the Lovenox injections though before the plane ride so I'm extremely happy about that!!!! :)

I guess I can pretty much start doing things that I feel comfortable with as long as I don't push it too much too soon. I still have a long way to go with strengthening the muscles again but this will come in time. He also said I can do the recumbant bike and walk for excercise so this is very good news for me! YAY ME!!! ;)

Pictures coming tomorrow!
See you then!
Be blessed!!!
Diane

5 weeks with the new part!

2009-04-09T10:02:00.005-04:00

Today marks the 5 week "anniversary" since my hip replacement surgery! I'm glad I'm this far with the recovery process and am very thankful for less pain! I would probably say it's at least 90% less than it was before surgery!!! I had such a hard time even imagining life without the pain I had been experiencing for over a decade... progressively of course but still a long time to be in pain. I am very thankful for all that God has done for me and for His Healing Hand! I have truly been blessed by all my friends who have continued to show their love for me and for my family! You know who you are! ;) Thank you for all that you've done!

During these last few weeks, I have found that life has all sorts of lessons to be learned. I had to let my family do the things that I normally would do... even though it's not done exactly the way I would do it, it's ok. I had to let my friends supply meals for my family. I had to sit and wait for my body to heal itself. I had to deal with emotions that were stretched... but God never brings you to anything that He won't bring you through. I've be working on my patience and praying for God's help on this. I've also been working on my pride and allowing people to help me. I've always been very independent so these things are not easy for me to change. Truth is, I can't change these things... only by God working through me can these things be changed and in turn can I be molded more into His likeness.

I read Kim's blog this morning which really touched me. She is in another spiritual struggle and felt open enough to share it on her blog. A point came to my mind while reading it - the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" maybe should be "if I'm not broken, He can't fix me". God works in many ways to break us so that we can be further molded into His image. What a great thing to think about during Holy Week. If He cared enough for us to send His only Son to die for us then He certainly cares enough for us to take the time to make us more like Him! We are His sons and daughters and He loves us more than we could ever know!

Remember the wonderful gift Jesus has given for us... His Life!

Be blessed and be a blessing!
Love, Diane

Slightly aged dog for sale... CHEAP!

2009-04-07T03:35:00.003-04:00

Just kidding... maybe!

It is currently a little after 3:30 AM and I am wide awake because of our 12 year old dog that couldn't hold it until morning! I thought she'd give it up after a while but kept barking constantly for 15 minutes to go out! I obviously can't sleep through that so I get up, use my crutches to go down the stairs, which by the way wasn't fast enough for her I learn from her continual barking, let the dogs out, wait for them to "be done", let them back inside, talk to Tori for a minute (who is now also awake because of the dog barking), hobble back up the stairs, tell Smokey to leave me alone for the next 48 hours, and crawl back into "bed"... aka: the couch!

While writing this post, I am also listening to both dogs snore which only amplifies my anger toward them both at this point!

Well, I am going to try and get a little more sleep before the night is over! I hope all of you have had a restful night's sleep and are enjoying a wonderful morning! :)

Good Night! Hopefully!!!
Diane

Another Update...

2009-04-01T18:31:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to let all of you know how I'm doing with my recovery...

- Today is my last day I have to wear the stockings (these are used to help prevent blood clots after surgery).

- This past Sunday I took my last Vicodin so I am currently on no pain meds except that I started taking my anti-inflammatory medication again this week which I was told to do after my Lovenox injections were done.

- I have had somewhat bad sinus headaches on Monday and Tuesday but none today so I think I'm getting that figured out - I was trying to sleep back in bed but was still moving back to the couch after a few hours. Last night I stayed on the couch all night and got a full 7 hours of uninterupted sleep.

- I'm still doing physical therapy at home 3 times a day and that seems to be going well and I'm gaining muscle strength.

- I am not as tired this week since going off the Vicodin - this can lower blood pressure which was making me tired all the time.

- I have been struggling with my frustration and lack of patience. I continue to work on that and pray that God continues to help me with this.

I can't think of any more to update about right now except that Spring Break starts on Friday so I'll have the kids home with me during the day which will make it a little easier... maybe! ;)

Love you all and thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Diane

Tribulation...

2009-03-27T08:50:00.004-04:00

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