God’s Will

My mind is racing today as I think of all that 2010 has in store for me. 

I found out in December that the company that I am with lost their contract.  So, the company that won the contract interviewed everyone on the old contract.  I had my interview on Monday, Jan. 11th at 1 pm.  They said that they would let everyone know which company they would be with and have an offer letter sent by Friday, Jan. 15th.  Well, that day came and went and I heard nothing.  However, I was clinging to the fact that the guy that I interviewed with said “oh you’ll have a job but, we just don’t know with what company yet.”  (There is a “Prime” contractor and about four or five subcontractors underneath them.)    I also knew that no matter what happened that God was in control and he would make everything work out for His good.

Well, I finally received a call this morning and they emailed me my offer letter!  Praise the Lord!  I have been praying that I would go with the “Prime” contractor and that is exactly where I’ll be going!  I love that!  There is only one minor detail that needs fixing and that is my “Labor Category”.  I was hired in at this job as a Data Technician.  When we were bought out by another company my title became Associate Engineer.  And now, the Prime contractor is hiring me as a “General Clerk III”?!!  I think not!  To me this seems like a demotion.  I do do clerical work, however, I do more than that.  Our Administrative Assistant is hiring in as a “System’s Analyst” and I’m a General Clerk?!   I am not happy with that and I do intend to voice my opinion when my Manager gets back.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful that I have a job.  But, wouldn’t you not want to go backwards with a new job?

Anyway, God will work it out for His good, right?! 

On a brighter note, I found out today that I’ll be going to San Marcos, Guatemala from March 12th to March 20th!  I’m so excited! 

Guatemala

I will be traveling with around nine other people with T.I.M.E. Ministries in Huntsville, AL .  We will be training the people there in missions evangelism.  Here are some things that I found out about San Marcos:

San Marcos is a village of 2200 inhabitants divided into three neighborhoods or barrios. Most of the indigenous population lives on the two hills on either side of the valley. Their native language is Kakchikel (a Mayan dialect), but many of them speak Spanish as well.

I also found a great article on this blog:  http://www.joycemaynard.com/columns-articles/around-the-world-bliss-by-a-blue-lake.shtml  Of course, we will be ministering to the people of San Marcos and won’t have much time for the normal “vacation” things.  But, that is ok because we want them to know that Jesus loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives! 

I also plan on going back to Michigan in June to minister to the people there thru puppets and drama and possibly Vacation Bible School.

So, please pray for me and for those who God brings across my path that His will be done and that they would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Snow Day Has Many Benefits!

Just thought I’d update my blog since it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on here. 

A snowy day!

Today it snowed in northern Alabama!  And when it snows in the south, everything comes to a standstill!  But, the snow was beautiful!  It started snowing early this morning and hasn’t stopped yet!  Here in the south, we get really excited when it snows because it doesn’t snow here very often.  I took this opportunity to take the day off of work.

While at home, the bath aide came by, along with Pam, the Occupational Therapist.  So, I got to see exactly what exercises Momma does with her.  She has came a long way since Momma first broke her shoulder! 

There is one exercise that she does where she has to take cups from one side and put them with more cups on the other side, as you will see in this picture.  This is supposed to help with her rotator cuff on her shoulder. 

Moving cups around

She also makes her do other exercises such as making her crawl her fingers up the wall as high as she can.  Another one is when she lies flat on the couch and Pam moves her arm out to the side of her body, as much as she can handle it.  It was really good for me to see the therapy that they are giving her.  Amedisys Home Health Care will be continuing therapy with Momma until around the first of March.  At that time, they will access her again and decide whether or not she needs continued therapy.  Pam said that it was a slow process for a broken shoulder to heal.  If  she  is doing as Iwell as she is now, they will probably release her then.

I still have trouble getting her to eat all of her food at one time,  but,  that   is another story!

On a brighter note, we had a wonderful Christmas!  The Lord blessed us by JLeigh’s Mom letting us see her!  We haven’t seen her since October!   Adam and Stacey and her kids came to see us the week before Christmas!  We had a blast!  For more pictures, please see my Flickr photos on the side of this post.

I’ve also set a goal for myself for reading the Bible thru in a year!  I’m using the One Year Bible Blog to help me reach that goal.  Please pray that I’ll continue to keep this up, as the devil likes to see what he can mess up!  Have you made any New Year’s “goals” for yourself?  I hope so!  I also hope that 2010 will be the best year ever for you!  God Bless!!

One more thing….I will be traveling with T.I.M.E. Ministries to Guatemala on March 12th to 20th, 2010.  Please pray for me that God’s will will be done and that many people will be saved.

Children and Grandchildren are a blessing!

Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not  forget it.  Proverbs 22:6

I don’t know how many times I have repeated that verse over & over to myself throughout the years of raising my two children (who are now in their late twenties).  There have been many trials over the years, however, one thing that stands steadfast is Jesus.  I am thankful that I had Christian parents who taught me the difference between right and wrong and took me to church and modeled for me the Christian life!  Praise God!

This Thanksgiving was a special blessing because my Mom and I went with my son and daughter to her mother-in-law’s house in Enterprise, AL (which is right outside of Dothan).  Three years ago this would not have happened.  Three years ago my son-in-law turned his life around and became a sold-out born-again Christian!  This had a ripple effect and caused his sister to also turn her life around.  They found out that a life of drugs and alcohol was no way to live and that Jesus is the only way!   My son and daughter also turned their life around!

Loading up for the hayride!

So, this year during the delicious Thanksgiving dinner, Jesus was included in the conversation.  I had such a good time!  After dinner, Mike’s step-father loaded us all up on a flatbed truck and we had an old fashioned hayride!  We even sang Christmas carols!  It was so much fun!!  The guys even pitched in and sang!  We just rode down the street but, what memories will be etched in my mind forever! 

Afterwards, the men–my son, son-in-law, and oldest grandson–fired off a rifle at a target several hundred yards away.  They loved it!  And it was really cool to see my son-in-law teach his son to fire a rifle.  I’m not advocating guns here, however, it was neat to see him with his son.  My son also enjoyed it.  He was formerly in the National Guard and was trained to shoot and I’m sure that this brought back memories for him. 

Mike firing the rifle

In this picture you can see Mike shooting his rifle, and Adam and Micah looking on, with the background of a cotton field.  It was really pretty that day. 

Stacey’s sister-in-law, Lynna, and her husband also rode their four wheeler around the area.  And Malachi, Stacey’s youngest child, rode a kids four wheeler.  So much fun in the country!

Oh!  And did I tell you that that night, right before sunset, we actually saw some black pigs!  At first we thought they were wild because they came up from the cotton field next to their house.  However, Lynna’s husband got real close to them and said that they must have been some loose pigs from someone’s farm nearby.  One pig actually let him pet him!   

Well, by sunset, it was getting kinda cold, so some of us went in and watched a movie on the big screen TV.  The food had been set out all day so everyone just got some when they were hungry.  That is everyone except me and Adam!  I guess I was too busy with everything else to get dinner!  And maybe Adam was too.  So, I helped with drying the dishes, while Pam’s Mom washed them and Pam’s sister-in-law helped to dry them.  Afterwards, we made the 30 min. drive back to Dothan.

We had to get back and plan our strategy for shopping the next day!!  Yes, I hate to admit it but, we are one of those families, at least the ladies are, that shop on Black Friday.  This year, Stacey, Malachi (her youngest son), and I got up and were at Wal-Mart at 5 am that day!  Everyone else slept in!  Even though Malachi saw a few things that he was getting for Christmas, we still got some really good deals and got most of our Christmas shopping done.  Praise God! 

Michaela turns & takes off her silver hat!

On Saturday, Stacey and I took Michaela (her oldest daughter) and my Mom shopping some more!  (We just can’t get enough, can we?!)  It was so fun watching Michaela try on different outfits! 

Saturday night I spent the night with my son in his new apartment.  Then on Sunday morning we drove literally 500 yards to his church (Harvest Church) and worshipped there!  It was sooo close to where he lives!  He helped design their website, by the way. 

Afterwards we ate Turkey sandwiches that were left over from the turkey that Stacey baked the night before.  It was yummy!  Then we packed up and headed back to Madison.  By the way, the traffic was soooo bad in and around Birmingham, AL.  Anyway….

I forgot to mention that on Friday night, my Mom and I went with Stacey’s family to their Celebrate Recovery program.  Mike and Stacey lead it and Adam also helps with it.  I was soooo proud of them!!  They have come such a long way!  God is good!  He DOES restore all the years that the locust have taken (Joel 2:25).

Thankful

We just got a new roof and I’m so excited!!  It looks so good! 

Our new roof!

They took off the old roof, along with the two old “turbines” that were on the roof, and replaced it with a new roof and what they call a “Ridgevent” along with top of the roof.  The vent allows air to come into the roof all the way down the center, instead of just two places.  I think they also painted the pipes that were sticking out also.  If you’d like to see a better picture of it, just click on my Flickr photos on the left of this article.  Unique Construction and Roofing were the ones that did our roof.  They were very easy to work with and went out of their way to make sure that we got what we wanted.  They still have to put the roof on our shed out back.  Which, I’ll put pictures up when they complete that.  So, today I am thankful for our new roof!

Speaking of thankful, my Mom is doing much better, too!  Praise the Lord!  Here is a picture of her waving with her right hand!  (the one that she broke!) 

Momma is waving with her rt. arm!

She is able to raise her arm above her head now.  The Occupational Therapist was visiting with her when I came by for lunch today.  She said that she is doing better, however, she’s going to add another four weeks of therapy.  They want her to start using her arm more to bathe and to eat.  She has been using her arm more to eat and lately hasn’t complained much about it hurting.  So, that is a blessing!  Her dementia is about the same as before she fell.  I still have to remind her to eat, take her meds, etc.  However, I am thankful that she is getting better!

We are planning on visiting my daughter and her family, along with my son, in Dothan, AL for the Thanksgiving holidays.  We will actually have dinner with Stacey’s mother-in-law at her house.  We haven’t seen them in a long time, so it will be good to catch up on all that is going on with them. 

Also, while the roofers were banging away on the roof, I decided to take my dog, Spike, to the vet to get her groomed!  She needed a good bath and haircut, as it’s been awhile since she’s had one.  And she looks so pretty and CLEAN!!  Here is a picture of her. 

Spike just got groomed!

I hope this Thanksgiving that the Lord would bless you and keep you and cause His light to shine upon you.  And remember all that He has done for you!  Have a great Thanksgiving!!

 

Puppets, Pantyhose and the Phone

Just wanted to give you an update on my Mom, along with other stuff.  My Mom is doing much better.  She is eating better.  Although, I still have to tell her to eat, otherwise she’d just say “I’m not hungry!”  Her arm is healing, slowly, but, surely too.  I have to tell you a funny story….

My Mom and I were going shopping this past Saturday and I had to help her put on her brace that goes around her right knee.  So, before we put the brace on I had to help her get her pantyhose on.  So, as I was helping her pull them up she kept saying “Ouch, that hurts!”  I said “Momma that doesn’t hurt!  I’m only helping you put on your pantyhose!  Hurting is poking a knife in you.”  (at the time I couldn’t think of another analogy)  She said “That’s not hurting me, that’s killing me!”  I just laughed.      We eventually got the pantyhose on and the brace and her clothes.

On another note, we have had phone problems ever since we setup the ADT Companion Service!   Apparently it will not work with a Vonage phone.  I tried my best to keep Vonage because I really liked it, but, I had to choose between security for my Mom or no Vonage.  And the security won out.  I called several phone companies only to find out that none of them worked where I live!  So, now we have AT&T phone service with their DSL.  So, if you want my new phone number, just email me. 

Also, I wanted to tell you about a Puppet Training that Debbie Bradford and I went to back in September.  I haven’t said anything about it until now because of my Mom’s illness.  Anyway, the training was held at Flint River Baptist Church in Hazel Green, AL, and was sponsored by One Way Street Resources for Creative Ministry.  It was on a Friday night  and all day Saturday.  If you look at my Flickr photos on the side of the page, you’ll see pictures of the event.

Debbie and I wanted to make the best of this event, so we decided to split up and take different courses.  Then we would come back and tell each other what happened.  One class that I took talked about how you could use skits to fill in the time between each puppet number.   Another class that I took talked about how to develop your Puppet Ministry.  Although, I don’t consider what I do a “Puppet Ministry”, it did give me some insightful tips!  (I consider what I do a “Block Party Ministry” with Southside Baptist Church.)  The puppets and drama are only a means to draw people in to tell them the Good News of how Jesus Christ loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives!

One Way Street showed us how to use Black Light Puppets and Full Body Puppets, along with your regular run of the mill puppets.  They used rods to control the puppets hands, which we currently don’t use.  But, it was all very useful information.  Now that Debbie and I know all about Puppet’s, I have made her my official puppet assistant! 

God is good!

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us^[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. “

My son just called me a few minutes ago to tell me his good news! 

Black Hawk Helicopter

He found a job!!  Praise the Lord!!  He has been without a job since March 2009.  We have been praying for him for a while now.  He will be working for a government contractor in Fort Rucker, AL.  He will be working on the cables for Black Hawk helicopters!  This is right down his alley too!  When they interviewed him they told him right off “I just want you to know that you are overqualified for this job!”  He said “well, that is a first!”  He’s used to people telling him that he is not qualified!  He starts at 8 am on Monday.  God is good!

My Mom is also doing better.  Although, last night she didn’t eat much dinner, she made up for it this morning by eating two bowls of Raisin Bran cereal!!  The physical therapist came this morning and had her walking up and down the front stairs.  She was tired afterwards and went back to bed.  The occupational therapist continues to work on exercising her shoulder.  And she is slowly starting to use it more in her everyday tasks. 

She is also having a speech therapist come out once a week to help her with things concerning her memory.   The speech therapist did another Mini-Mental test on her and she got 23 out of 30 questions correct!  This puts her back at “mild dementia”!  Praise the Lord!  When she was at Millennium Nursing and Rehab they did the very same test on her and she scored a 16 out of 28 questions correct.  That put her in the “moderate dementia” category.  Also, she had the same test done before she broke her shoulder and scored a 26 out of 30 questions correct.   So, she is almost back to where she was before she broke her shoulder.  God is good! 

Michaela

My daughter’s little girl, Michaela has also been having seizures again.  For those that don’t know, she is nine years old and has had epilepsy since she was about two years old.  I talked with Stacey (her Mom–my daughter) and she said that she was doing much better today!  Praise God!  She hasn’t had any seizures today and she was able to go back to school.  The Dr.’s have her on Lamictal and they added a new medication called Vimpat to her list of medication’s.  She seems to be tolerating this well.  When they add medicines it’s always bad to start out with because her body has to adjust to the medication.  But, we are just glad that she is getting better!  God is good!

“God is good all the time!  And all the time, God is good!”

 

Busy Week

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the… best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity”. Gilda Radner, 1946-1989

In my previous blog,  I mentioned that my Mom wasn’t eating well.  I was getting concerned.  After much prayer, the Lord led me to The Alzheimer’s Association website.  I did a search on “eating” and found exactly what I needed to help me to help her eat better!  Here are some tips that they suggested:

• Limit distractions. Serve meals in a quiet place so that the person can focus on eating. Turn off the television, radio or telephone ringer.
• Serve only one or two foods at a time. For example, serve mashed potatoes followed by chicken tenders.
• Be flexible to food preferences. The person may suddenly develop new food preferences or reject foods he or she may have liked in the past.
• Give the person plenty of time to eat. Remind him or her to chew and swallow carefully.
• Avoid nuts, popcorn and raw carrots. These foods can get caught in the throat. Learn how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, just in case the person chokes.
• Eat together. Make meals an enjoyable social event so that your loved one looks forward to the experience.

By turning off the television, I got her to eat dinner!  Praise the Lord!!  The Alzheimer’s Association website is very useful!  I would suggest it to anyone in the same situation.  She did complain some because she was so used to us watching the news while we ate dinner.  But, other than that, it went fine.

This past week was a busy week!  The Occupational and Physical  Therapist and the bath aide visited Momma at home, along with her seeing her orthopedic surgeon and her general practitioner.  The Occupational therapist (who works on her upper body) will probably come out 3 days per week for 4 weeks then re-evaluate her after that.  The Physical therapist (who works on her lower body) will come out 2 days per week. 

If you’ve ever seen Momma walk, you’ll know that her right knee goes into the other one.  She had hip replacement surgery years ago and I thought she must have given into the pain and that is why it was that way.  She never complained about it, so we didn’t think much about it either.  However, when she was in Millennium Nursing and Rehab Center, the physical therapist there said that she might eventually have to have surgery on her knee to fix that.  When we took her to the orthopedic Dr. (Dr. LeBerte) he said that the cartlidge in her knee had worn down and to wear the brace around her knee when she walked.  I don’t make her wear the brace much because she doesn’t walk around that much at home.  However, if she goes out, I will make her wear it.

Aretta, from Caring Senior Services is still coming out for five hours in the morning, Monday thru Friday.  That is working out pretty well.  She makes sure that Momma eats breakfast and lunch, plus she does small chores around the house!  I’m lovin’ that!    Next week, we will probably just have her come out 3 days a week because Momma is doing much better!

I think after Momma got back into her routine that that helped a lot with her dementia!  Plus, her arm/shoulder is getting better!  She is able to dress herself now without any help!  Dr. LeBerte wants her to start using her arm for things that she does around the house.  For instance, she attempts to eat with her right hand now.  That is a challenge for her because she also has essential tremor.  But, I try to encourage her to at least try it and she does.

Thank you so much for your prayers for her and for me during this time!  “The prayers of a righteous man availeth much!”

 

It’s a Monday

Well, the lady from Caring Senior Services started yesterday.  Her name is Aretta and she will stay with Momma from 7:30 am until 12:30 pm, Monday thru Friday.  That way I can talk with her before I leave for work and she can be there for Momma to help her eat lunch.

Yesterday did not go well.  Momma didn’t want anyone to do anything for her!  So, Aretta ended up running the dishwasher, vacumming, and folding clothes.  This is a good thing for me, however, it would have been nice if she would have cooperated and let Aretta help her get dressed, etc. 

A lady from Momma’s church came to visit Momma and she brought her lunch.  At the time, I ended up driving back home to make sure everything was ok.  So, I spoke with her briefly on the phone and asked her if she would please make sure that Momma ate all of her food.  Well…..I got home around 5 pm and the food was still sitting on the table!  I was so upset!  And of course, when I asked Momma about it she said “I’m not hungry!”  She had only eaten about 3 bites of a chicken finger.  I told her, “It’s dinner time now and you need to eat all of your food.”  She kept saying “I’m not hungry”.  You know, it’ll be the day when I’m not hungry!  Anyway….I had to pratically force feed her!  Afterwards, she got up and watched TV on the couch for awhile. 

While Momma was watching TV, I managed to put together a shower chair.  However, I couldn’t get one screw inserted.  I think it must have been stripped out.  Also, I had to get one of my neighbors to help me unscrew the shower nozzle in the bathroom.  I just didn’t have enough muscle to unscrew it myself.  He was kind enough to install the new palm shower nozzle.  I had to get this done last night because a lady was coming over to give Momma a bath.  The new shower nozzle is so that Momma (and the bath aid) can better give her a bath.

Today has went much smoother than Monday.  Thank you, Jesus!!  Aretta, the in-home companion sitter, told me that she wanted Momma to get used to her so that she would start to trust her more.  And I can see her point.  I called the house several times to check on them and Momma had eaten her usual breakfast of Raisin Bran with milk.  Plus, the bath aid came over and gave her a bath.  However, Momma would not let her wash her hair.  So, I’ll probably need to take her to the beauty shop and let them give her a “set” as they call it.  Plus, Aretta made a banana sandwich for Momma and she got up and ate it!  Praise the Lord!  His wonders never cease! 

Momma is glad to be home!

Please continue to pray that my Mom would let people help her.  I caught her this morning with a tear in her eye.  I think it’s hard for her knowing that she is limited in what she can do. 

Here is a picture of her that was taken this past Saturday night.  Her arm that you can’t see is the one that she broke.  Even though it’s hard for her right now, I know that she is glad to be home.

She’s Home!

Well, I picked Momma up from Millennium Nursing and Rehab Center today!  She was glad to be home.  The first thing she did, after we went to Wal-Mart, was to go to bed!  I think I wore her out at Wal-Mart, but, we needed some groceries first! 

The social worker said that Amedisys Home Health Care will probably call on Sunday to come out and set-up her therapy appointments.  She’ll be getting that done at home.  Also, yesterday we met with Caring Senior Services to sign the paperwork for a lady to come and sit with Momma during the day, while I am at work.  She seemed really nice.

I also ordered a Companion Necklace from ADT Security Services.  We already have a home security system with them, so it didn’t cost much more per month to get the Companion Service with them.  We are still waiting to receive the necklace.  Hopefully, it’ll come on Monday.

So, right now she is taking a nap.  She said that she didn’t sleep good last night.  But, they sent me home with all of her left over medicine!  So, if she needs anything I’ll have it here at home.

Today is also my birthday!  It’s been a good one!  I had dinner and a movie with a friend last night.  We saw “Couples Retreat“.  It was really good.  It showed the different problems that couples face throughout their marriages and it had a happy ending!  I love happy endings!  It was also filmed in Bora Bora island.  It was beautiful!

Hot Chocolate

Good Hot Chocolate!

I have been visiting Momma at Millennium Nursing and Rehab Center every night since she’s been there.  These last couple of nights have been much cooler.  So, I brought with me two coffee mugs, a spoon, and hot chocolate!  I went to the employee break room and heated up some water in their microwave.  It was sooooo good!  And Momma enjoyed it too!  It was perfect right before going to sleep! 

She’s doing much better now, although, she still says that she is having pain in her arm.  If she holds it still and propped up with a pillow, it doesn’t hurt as much.

When she comes home, this coming Saturday, Amedisys Home Health Care, will be coming out to give her therapy.  We will also have someone from another agency (haven’t decided which one yet) sit with her for at least four hours.  We may get one of the necklaces or bracelets that she can wear in case she needs to call someone for help again.

I’m off of work today.  So, I’m gonna get more cleanning done and possibly trim some of the bushes around the house.