Southern Porch Extension

[Laurie]

Thanks, Verna. It's been so much for so long. Losing my dad on top of being unemployed for over a year now - and it goes back further than that. The last four years have just been a series of difficult circumstances that have been hard on all levels, one after the other.

Please pray that I will find the help I need.

[ready2go]

Troops! Up and at 'em...out of the sack...NOW!

Are we in the Lord's army, or what? Let's get movin' so the devil will say, "Oh...oh, they're up!"


reveille trumpet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlVQHOcaIiM

I'm on the battle field for my Lord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LYFVJDz9co


Don

[Edy]

Wow, Don! You must have jumped out of bed and had your Wheaties, this morning. Isn't this great weather for charging our batteries? I've been a busy bee today, but not such a lark as to rise at 5:30 a.m.

Thanks for the links, too. I'm reminded of something I once read and hope somebody will include in my own memorial service. What I heard is that Winston Churchill had taps played at the end of his memorial service. But then, as if an echo from a corner balcony, came the sound of reville. I love it!

How about followed by a choir number:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKA-hu2n ... re=related

[ready2go]

Wow, Don! You must have jumped out of bed and had your Wheaties, this morning. Isn't this great weather for charging our batteries? I've been a busy bee today, but not such a lark as to rise at 5:30 a.m.

Thanks for the links, too. I'm reminded of something I once read and hope somebody will include in my own memorial service. What I heard is that Winston Churchill had taps played at the end of his memorial service. But then, as if an echo from a corner balcony, came the sound of reville. I love it!

How about followed by a choir number:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKA-hu2n ... re=related

No Wheaties this morning. Started the day with a bowl of Cheerios and some wheat toast with strawberry jam.

5:30 a.m.? If I slept in that late my whole day would be shot. I get up waaayyy before the birds.

Don

[Laurie]

I'm in such misery with these mouth sores. I have about 10 of them and a couple of them just won't let up. Even with the special mouth wash to numb the sores, it's still agonizing to eat. And I'm just exhausted. Never had them affect me in other ways before, but she told me at the clinic the other day, it's a virus so it can cause the other pain and the fatigue. May they heal up soon. I have so much to do in October and getting behind now isn't going to help matters any.

[BeachGrandma]

Laurie, I can sympathize with those mouth sores. Every 3-4 months after I've received my cortisone shots in my lower spine, my mouth breaks out with those dreadful things. Happily, they go away in a few short days but I can verify they are more than just a nuisance! I'll be praying for you as well as for Carole. My oldest sister, who was a brittle diabetic, went into diabetic comas all the time but I think her readings were closer to te 600-700 range. However, you are right to get immediate medical attention since everyone's body is different.

I hope I can safely report that my computer problems are over! Praise the Lord! John instructed the computer repairman to go back to square one and undo every change he had made in the past year since I first bought this new Dell. He had been using the Band-Aid approach, whereas John wanted major invasive surgery. So far, so good.

I miss my sister and her family but we are anxious for Andy to have a lot of testing at Mass General Hospital to see what caused the seizure. It will be so hard for him to be a pastor and not be able to drive for at least 6 months. Their daughter drove them home on Wednesday.

Have a lovely day and an even better weekend.

[Edy]

Sweet dreams, everyone! Praying for major relief for your mouth pain, Laurie -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwqzCAgo ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC8dqnTm ... re=related
(something for sailing all us night owls - and larks - off to dreamland)

[Carole L]

God really does work in mysterious ways.

I related that my sugar had shot way up and I was suffering from intense back pain. Now I will tell you how God worked thru my pain.

Last weekend I had symptoms of a UTI, but probably would have ignored it, and just really upped my intake of cranberries, as I've done before. However, on Sunday afternoon I woke from my nap with back pain, at first it was just uncomfortable, but by Monday morning had escalated to very intense, leaving me barely able to move.

I went to the Walmart Clinic, expecting to get an antibiotic, and that would be it. I already shared some of how they found my sugar was very high, and I was directed on Tuesday morning to get myself to the clinic at the hospital because of how high my sugar was.

Tuesday found me at the hospital clinic, with more tests being run, and I was put on meds to bring down my sugar. It was thought that the back pain was from the high sugar content damaging my kidneys. Pain pills were not touching it. The pain was going completely across my back, which led us to rule out a back injury, plus, I hadn't done anything, that I knew of, to injure my back.

Wednesday the back pain began to change. It seemed to be localizing in my spine, and was now only hurting when I moved, not constantly. The pain was occurring mostly when I was in transition, attempting to go from standing to sitting, sitting to standing, reaching, and really, really bad if I twisted even slightly.

Thursday AM I took my last pain pill and called to see about getting something else. The doc decided to order several very expensive scans and x-rays to determine what was causing the pain. While trying to work out where to get the tests done (I have no ins) I received a call saying that my blood work was back, and all of my tests were normal, including kidney function!

I decided that maybe my back pain was just that, back pain.

I then decided to give my acupuncturist a call. Martin has worked miracles before on my sciatica and neck pain. Martin squeezed me in, and I spent an hour with his needles. When I left an hour later, I had less pain than the meds had granted me. I was actually able to stand up straight. This morning I have very little pain at all. I will be doing a follow up visit, but can't believe how much better I am feeling.

God knew I would again ignore the UTI, but because of the back pain, I went to a Dr., thereby getting my sugar checked and being put on meds for that. He got my attention with the pain, so I would get the treatment I needed. Thank you, Lord. Sometimes pain is the only way to make somebody listen.

[Verna]

Thankful with you, Carole.
Still praying for Laurie for relief from mouth-sore pain.
Wish I were as perky today as Don!
Edy, are you sure you wouldn't sit up to hear such fine music?
So glad, Mariane, you computer is working!
Blessings to you all.

[Edy]

Thankful with you, Carole.
Still praying for Laurie for relief from mouth-sore pain.
Wish I were as perky today as Don!
Edy, are you sure you wouldn't sit up to hear such fine music?
So glad, Mariane, you computer is working!
Blessings to you all.

I love you, Verna!

[Laurie]

Carole, so glad God protected you and led you regarding your health. Let us know how your blood sugar does on these meds.

Mariane, may this be the end of computer problems. Goodness. Enough is enough. And in this day and age, having a computer down is nearly like having the electricity go out.

I'm tired today, but not exhausted. It was a little less agonizing to eat today. So I'm starting to turn a corner.

I dreamed about my dad again last night. I don't know how many times I've dreamed about him since he died. Most of my dreams are sad or kind of disturbing in some way. But a couple of my dreams have been like getting to spend just a few more seconds with him. I know you guys understand how very much I miss him since you've been through this, too.

[ready2go]

My thoughts for today...

My bride, Carol, shared with me early this morning how she overcomes those moments during the night when sleep is illusive. Often times her mind will be racing, and filled with anxiety and thoughts of uncertainty...making sleep difficult, if not impossible.

She told me that she will pray for God's peace to descend upon her that sleep might
come...giving her the victory of rest she so desperately needs. Then, when God answers that prayer for her, His peace is overwhelming...and wonderful!

I shared with her the chorus of a song that is so descriptive that the author must have experienced that peace...enabling him to pen the words.

Wonderful Peace

Peace! peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;

Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.


2 Thessalonians 3:16a
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.

Praise God...and Amen!

Don

[BeachGrandma]

That's beautiful, Don. I can't imagine how she deals with all that she does....except for God. I pray for her often and I'll do more of it during the night when she needs sleep so desperately. I love that hymn "Wonderful Peace" and we grew up as kids singing it often in church or hearing my mother or dad singing it at home while they were struggling or just praising God in worship.

As you can imagine, I lost my entire address book again when the computer man completely over-hauled my computer last week. I'm sure I have all of your Email addresses somewhere in my files and will begin putting them on my computer again. If you've sent me Emails in the past months and haven't received a reply, please know that my computer is 100 percent to blame and has accepted full responsibility for it. I found that it had been putting all my mail into my junk mail. I'm about ready to give the computer to the boys and spend my time elsewhere. What a pain it has been.

Laurie, you remind me so much of me immediately after my father died. The dreams were nearly every night and were filled with anxiety some nights and very peaceful at other times. It will get better but it will take time.

Verna, did I tell you now much I enjoy the grape-flavored water? John nearly ruined it for me when after taking his first drink is announced, "It tastes like Jim Jones' weakened Grape Kool-Aid."
Grrrrrr. But I'm past that now and find that I like it diluted some, which of course, makes it last longer. Thanks for the tip.

Talk to you all later. Hugs.

[Laurie]

Thanks, Mariane. I appreciate hearing about the experiences of others as they grieved the loss of their parents. I keep reminding myself that if the first year is the hardest I'm over halfway through it now.

As I've probably mentioned before, I get such bad sinus pressure headaches because of my allergies, primarily to dust mites and molds. I've always been too big of a chicken to try a sinus rinse, but my mom is coming over later this afternoon to help me try it. May it alleviate the pressure in my head. It seems my headaches are more intense and longer lasting these days. And it's a concern for me to take a lot of ibuprofen and decongestants (the herbs I take are helpful, but they aren't enough) because of side effects. I need SOMETHING to alleviate this pressure.

Battling acid reflux from all the ibuprofen I've taken for my headaches and mouth sores in the past week. I already take Tagamet so now I've added a liquid antacid.

The good news, though, is that my mouth sores are healing. They aren't gone yet, but not as bothersome today.

[Carole L]

Thanks, Mariane. I appreciate hearing about the experiences of others as they grieved the loss of their parents. I keep reminding myself that if the first year is the hardest I'm over halfway through it now.

As I've probably mentioned before, I get such bad sinus pressure headaches because of my allergies, primarily to dust mites and molds. I've always been too big of a chicken to try a sinus rinse, but my mom is coming over later this afternoon to help me try it. May it alleviate the pressure in my head. It seems my headaches are more intense and longer lasting these days. And it's a concern for me to take a lot of ibuprofen and decongestants (the herbs I take are helpful, but they aren't enough) because of side effects. I need SOMETHING to alleviate this pressure.

Battling acid reflux from all the ibuprofen I've taken for my headaches and mouth sores in the past week. I already take Tagamet so now I've added a liquid antacid.

The good news, though, is that my mouth sores are healing. They aren't gone yet, but not as bothersome today.

Laurie, I've started taking the herb Butterbur with Feverfew, brand name NOW. Feverfew is wonderful for migraines, and Butterbur is a natural herb for allergies. I used Feverfew years ago and loved the relief it gave me, but then forgot about it. Then Dr. Oz had a program using herbs for natural relief for different problems, and he recommended the Butterbur. I had never heard of it. So I did a little research and decided to try it out. I did the Butterbur by itself for the first two weeks, and could see a difference. I was able to stop taking the Allegra, which didn't even really do that great a job for me. When I ran out I discovered the NOW brand, with added Feverfew.

I LOVE IT!!!!

I take one 75 mg capsule am and pm. If I am having a really bad day I can take another one. I haven't had any migraines in the last month, and I was having them every couple of days. I still get really congested and my nose runs like crazy in the mornings, for about a half hour, but I've ALWAYS done that, no matter what I was taking. But then I'm good to go. The herb store I bought it at sells it for $22 for 60 capsules. I know that's a bit steep, but worth every penny.

I've tried the Nettypot, washing out my sinus. I panicked, and couldn't do it. But I've had plenty of people tell me it works wonderfully, and, after buying the pot, it's free. Some people do it daily!