Losing Excess Baggage

Decided it was about time to do a little blogging. So here I am. Now what???

Let me see. What accomplishments have I made lately? Well, none without the help of my Lord! I would say my weight loss is one of my biggest hurdles. Still have a little way to go, but so far so good although it has been slow going. I will post a before picture here. This was taken in April, 2011 at 163 pounds.

During my husband's illness I lost 5 pounds. After his death, I knew I needed some accountability so I returned to Weight Watchers in September, 2012 at a weight of 158.8 pounds. It had worked for me in the  past  and knew  it  would work again if I stayed with it. It has been an up & down battle at times. My next picture was taken on October 21, 2012 at about 151 pounds.

Vegetable, vegetables, vegetables! Eat those power foods!! The next picture was taken around mid-late March, 2013 at a weight of approximately 139 lbs.

I have learned some new recipes. I have also learned to make a great fresh fruit mix that gets better each day in the fridge. I have never been a big fruit eater, but I absolutely love it. I am also trying to use my elliptical glider at least 3-4 times a week, hopefully working up to daily. The glider is low impact on the knees when used walking. Using it in the ski position does take more effort and toll on these old hips. But I know this will be worth it. As I only have a little bit left to reach the goal my doctor set for me, I will neither take nor post another picture until I have met my goal. Hopefully that will be soon.



I love all the traffic on my blog, especially all those from other countries. Would love for you to click on follow so I can get to know some of you.

Better Left Unsaid

Have you ever tried to right a wrong only to compound it? I feel pretty certain we all have. I seem to have a real knack for it.

As Christians we still goof. We are human - bet that comes as a surprise to a lot of people. We have always tried to explain to the world that Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven. We say things that hurt others, sometimes not meaning to or even realizing it until the damage has been done. Then we try to fix it! When will we (I) learn that we (I) can't fix anything? We (I) have to let God fix us (me)!

Some people are gifted in verbal communication. Unfortunately I am not one of those. The written word has always been my way of expressing my feelings. The only problem with that is it may not be read in the same tone you wrote it. A perfect example of this happened to a young coworker many many years ago (1969 to be exact). She wrote a very sarcastic letter to her supervisor and fully expected to be fired for it. However, it was read as complimentary and she was even commended for it. My young friend told me she was so embarrassed.

So before you say it, weigh it. Before you send it, read it - from every possible interpretation. Most often you will find it is better left unsaid. If it absolutely has to be said, use only 2 words - forgive me.

Rejections

I find it baffling why we let the smallest rejections ruin our whole day. Count me guilty!

If you have any political opinions, you will encounter people who not only disagree with you but want to argue their point. As a Christian you will always encounter people who disagree with your beliefs and sometimes belittle you because of them. This has happened to me in the past and more recently on both points. Most times I can let these things go. Today has been more difficult. I've been asking myself why is today different? I have no answer. I don't know why. It's not like the offenders were friends, just acquaintances. I think it was such an obvious shun that I was really surprised. Shame on them! I have to admit that it hurt and it did affect my day. Shame on me!

So what do I do? Avoid them? Go back and give them a piece of my mind? Go back and carry on as if nothing happened? At first I decided on the avoid approach, but that would be at the expense of something much more important to me than their approval. Giving them a piece of my mind is not an option (maybe my fleshly preference but definitely not an option). So that leaves only the carry on as if nothing happened.

I have thought a lot about all the rejections Christ faced when He was here on this earth. He had human emotions and it must have hurt Him deeply when time and time again people showed their hatred. How it must grieve Him when even now people reject the gift  He died to give them - salvation. Risen and waiting at the right hand of the Father, He loves and forgives. I have no right to be down about the rudeness of a few so-called intellectuals.

So I will see how next week goes.

The View

This has nothing to do with the TV show The View. This is all about the view from an airplane. Recently I took a trip to San Diego, CA to see my oldest grandson graduate from Marine Corps basic training. This was my second trip by airplane and both were to the west coast. My first trip was 14 years ago to Seattle, WA, followed by a car ride to Oak Harbor to visit the same grandson, his brother, mom & dad. I really enjoy flying. It is always the connections that make me nervous.

This trip we boarded in Raleigh, NC on time & with no problem. However, as everyone settled in the pilot announced that we would have an hour delay because of low visibility in Chicago, where our connecting flight to San Diego was to be. Some people chose to disembark and try other connecting flights. It actually left an empty seat next to me. My daughter & youngest grandson had an empty seat between them. My way to fly! Of course, this meant we would miss our connecting flight. NOOO! Fifty-five minutes later we were off. It was a little bumpy but nothing frightening. The clouds were gorgeous. Of course I am a cloud freak.

I had to remind myself that I wasn't looking at the Antarctic & I couldn't get out & walk no matter how much it looked like ocean, snow, & ice peaks.

As we neared Chicago visibility became pretty low & the landing was a little rough. The pilot announced that we would make our connection & again apologized for the bumpy flight. Make our connection? Just! We literally walked out the gate, crossed the isle, & boarded our next flight. Thank you, Lord! No elbow room now. With the exception of the sites out the window, it was a most uncomfortable flight. As I was in the center seat I did not get to see as much as I would have liked. One of the young men next to me insisted on having the window cover low so he could play on his computer. So I obliged. With my head lowered to see out the small area, I did see some pretty sites and thought about how awesome our God is to have created such beauty. Just couldn't take pictures of them. The young man in the window seat slept from take off till shortly before we reached San Diego. When he did wake up the first thing he did was look out the window & raise the cover. YES!!!! So I was able to get a few not-so-great photos, which for some reason I can't upload here. But I did get a great view of San Diego. It felt like we were just hovering over the city.

It was great to see my grandson and spend some time just enjoying the family together. And of course, graduation day was very moving & I am so proud of him. Even though we didn't see a lot of San Diego itself, what we did see was beautiful. 

The morning we left was sad. We have no idea when we will get to see him again. Because he had moved to Colorado to live his senior high school year with his dad, that is his state of residence as far as the USMC is concerned. He will be stationed on the east coast for a year as he receives more training so hopefully we will see him during that time. As we waited to board the shuttle to take us to the airport where we would board a flight to Dallas-Fort Worth and then back to Raleigh, I took the last picture of our trip. In fact, several people were taking the same photo & still talking about it as we left. A beautiful sunrise. The shuttle driver said they don't see many like that in San Diego. He didn't say why. It was really a reverent attitude. I think you will see why.

So even with the little irritants, it was a great trip. One I will never regret taking. My prayer as we started off on each new flight was that God would surround the pilots & planes with a protective hedge and He did. I hope to make a trip across the pond to England & Scotland in the not too distance future. Can't even imagine the beauty I might see. So I'm enjoying the beauty here, till He calls me to the beauty of heaven.

Window To Heaven

The Sunday morning service began like every other. Jeanette came down from the choir loft & took her seat between two friends. She sat back to enjoy the special music and the preaching of the Word. However, something caught her eye on the upper right wall. Something like a big, white cloud with a clear center. Afterwards she would think how much it reminded her of the bubble where words went in the comics.

She softly gasped at what she was seeing and almost audibly said, "There's Roy." Before her, within the cloud, was her husband. He did not look like the man who had died months earlier. He was the young man she married so many years ago. He was smiling broadly and said, "Here she comes". He turned and looked back at someone standing behind him. The figure was visible only from the waist down and he wore a robe the color of homespun. Then it was gone, replaced by the wall that had been there all along.

Jeanette had no idea what the special music had been and it was impossible to concentrate on the pastor's sermon. She knew she had been given an incredible gift and she was consumed by the joy of it all. Months passed and the vision stayed in her mind and heart. She thought about what Roy had said, "Here she comes". She was neither afraid nor did she feel this was a sign of imminent death. She knew, for some unknown reason, God had slightly opened heaven and allowed her to see the man she would always love.

At her lowest moments, this comforted her. She knew when the time did come for her to cross the veil, Roy would be waiting.

Do You Think It Coincidence?

Three days ago was the first anniversary of my retirement. It was also the first anniversary of my husband's diagnosis of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma. As you know if you follow my blog, he went home to be with the Lord 5 months later.

I have looked back over events that occurred before October 28, 2011, in some cases years before.  I now see how God was working to prepare me for what I would face. I would like to share some of these with you.

In early summer 2011 I began thinking about a childhood friend. I couldn't seem to get her off my mind. I had not seen or heard from her since the 1980s. I finally went on the alumni sight of the orphanage where she lived for 9 years after her mother died. Unbelievably, there was an article from a local newspaper posted there with her picture. I was able to get her e-mail address & contact her. We corresponded by e-mail through out the next few months. In September, 2011 she asked me to meet her & her sister while they were vacationing at a nearby resort. I was thrilled. During our visit my friend told me she'd had lymphoma and almost died of organ failure. She told me about her oncologist, who at the time of her illness was practicing at NC Cancer Hospital at Chapel Hill. She then said he had relocated to the town I live in. She told me she hoped I never needed an oncologist, but if I did to ask for him. When our doctor called me at work to tell me he was sending Al for a CT & was sure he had cancer, he also told me he was going to refer him to an oncologist. Like so many who have experienced it, when I heard "cancer" everything that followed went right over my head. After coming to my senses, I called back to tell the nurse I had a preference between two oncologists. The second was the oncologist my friend told me about. When the nurse called me with the appointment, it was scheduled with my friend's oncologist. We all loved him. Just as she said, he was so caring but always honest with us. Do you think it coincidence that I couldn't stop thinking about my friend, or that there was a newspaper picture of her on the orphanage's web site, or that she asked me to visit, or that she had been treated by an oncologist who now practiced in our town, or that my husband's appointment would be with him & not my first choice?

As I have posted previously, I gave a month's notice when I decided to retire on October 28, 2011. We didn't find out that my husband had cancer or even that he was ill until 2 weeks before my retirement date. But this wasn't my first choice of when to retire. I had originally planned for January, 2012. By the end of summer 2011, I was just tired and one day looked at the calendar & said, "I'm leaving here the end of October". Do you think it coincidence that I changed the date of my retirement from January 2012 to October 2011, the very day we received my husband's definitive diagnosis?

Several years ago our pastor's wife decided to begin a Sunday School class for ladies. This would be for adult singles, widows, or women whose husbands did not come to church with them. The pastor's wife asked me and a few other women to join the class to help her out. I felt led to do this even though my husband & I were already in a Sunday School class. He had no objection, so I joined the new class and loved it. Do you think it coincidence that my pastor's wife asked me to join a class for only ladies?

In 1991 I stood by the bedside of my mother as she left this world to join her Lord in the next. Mama was heavily medicated and slipped peacefully from us. She died of inoperable lung cancer at the age of 64. In 1993 I stood by the bedside of my father as he had a heart attack and left us to join my mother & his Lord. They barely got Daddy into a room before he was struck with the second heart attack within a few hours, so he was not medicated as my mother had been. Do you think it coincidence that God allowed me to be present for both their deaths?

Let me assure you that none of these events were coincidence. As God knows the day appointed for each of us to die, he began preparing me for my husband's death 20 years prior. I once was quite undecided about Hospice for myself or my husband, but when the need arose for him I had no hesitation. I had already been prepared for what was to come. When my pastor's wife started the Ladies' Sunday School Class, we had no way of knowing that in a few years I would truly become a member by becoming a widow. I tell you with no doubt what so ever that the decision to change my retirement date was impressed upon me by the Holy Spirit. As for the things that occurred with my childhood friend, I don't think they require explanation. They are beyond any explanation other than GOD.