Counting Our Blessings - LinkUp!

It's a beautiful sun-shiny day here! Although things continue to be stressful and we ride the roller-coaster of life, there are so many blessings to meditate on. So many blessings to be thankful for! I'm loving the warmer weather for one thing and for my beautiful family and sweet blogging friends. I hope you have an abundance of blessings!

18.  First, I am so thankful for the friendship and encouragement of Cheryl. She shared such a beautiful post on my linkup last week. It was exactly what I needed to read and hold to my heart. If you haven't had a chance to read it, please do. You'll find that post HERE and, if you are going through changes and/or hard times, this will bless you so much!

19.  One of my biggest blessings this week if from Cheryl! She has a section on her blog of free stuff and I saw some really adorable things and Cheryl sent them to me! Such a sweet and generous thing for her to do! I got the package last night and here's what she taped to the outside. So beautiful and encouraging!! I'm saving this and putting it in my faith journal.

 

My son is a huge baseball fan and when I saw this picture, I knew he would love it.

 

then she sent me all these lovely items for my home! Plus, a book by Corrie Ten Boom that I have been wanting for so long!

Such a huge blessing!! Thank you SO much, Cheryl, for the blessing of these things that I will treasure. Every time I see them, I will think of you and say a prayer for you and your family. Such kindness to share and bless. Each item will have a special place in my home and I thank you so much!

20. It was my oldest sons birthday last week and we had such a nice celebration day! We went to Olive Garden and had a lovely meal and spent some time together. Here's some pictures from that day... My oldest son and me

Then my oldest son and my youngest son with me

Finally, our precious family all together

This is the picture that just means so much to me and brings tears to my eyes every time I look at it. I was telling my son how much he means to me and how proud of him I am. He grabbed me and gave me this sweet hug. So thankful it was captured on the camera. I will always treasure this picture.

I am so blessed by this godly man who I am so proud to call my son. He lives a life for God and works hard to always do the right thing.

Here he is after getting home from work as an EMT. He cares so much for all those that call on him and he is caring and loving to all his patients. He has shown me that kind of care time after time. I am so excited to see how God is using him and how He will continue to use him to bless others. He has certainly blessed me beyond measure!!

By the way, the crow bar is not part of his tools at work! lol He was doing something for his dad and was using the crowbar when I snapped this photo. :)

Now it's your turn! What are your blessings? Share on the linky below!



Blessings - Julie

Where Are Our Friends?

Sometimes people with chronic illness or pain are mighty lonely people. I'm sure there are those of you out there that live a life of solitude. Like me, you have your families, which I'm thankful for, but women need women friends. That's just all there is to it. This doesn't always happen, though and if we don't learn to accept this, it can bring us down quite low.

I haven't figured out how to cultivate friendships while going through all this so I've had to learn to accept what is. I also know that Jesus is there for me - and you - and He is closer than a brother! He understands what it's like to have His friends turn against him. Peter denied him three times, for goodness sake! We don't know what happened to any of the apostles during the time of His unjust trial and floggings, we only know they fled. At the crucifixion, we are told that John was there but no other apostles were. How disappointing for Jesus to look around and see only one of His apostles.

He understands, then, our loneliness and how hard it is when we look around and see no friends. If we have one friend, we are so blessed, but for those with chronic illness/pain, many times we look around and there isn't even one friend. Except for Jesus.

Jesus is the greatest friend we can have. He loves us more than anyone else. He loves us just as we are. When we don't feel lovable, Jesus loves us. When we feel alone, we're not. Jesus is with us, holding us close and reminding us that He is with us.

I'm blessed because I see Jesus in my husband. That man is a saint, I'm telling you! He has stood by my side through this whole, horrible ordeal. He is always there to listen to me, help me with whatever I need help with, and understands my heart. So many men would have turned and walked away from a situation like this, but not my husband. He has been the hands and feet of Jesus to me over and over, every day.

Even if you don't have a husband like mine, you're still not alone. Jesus is our bridegroom and we are His bride. He understands our heart and collects our tears in a bottle. My bottle must be filled to over-flowing, dear ones! Perhaps yours is, too.

I don't have the answers to the friend situation. I don't know why people move on when you're hurting, but they do. It's just human nature, I suppose. However, we must not lose sight of Who is truly there for us, through thick and thin. Jesus...our Brother, our King, our Savior!

A man with many friends may be harmed,

but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24 (HCSB)

God bless you - Julie

Look Up!

 As I have walked this road this year of health struggles and pain, I have come to realize that without God, there is no going forward. God gives hope where there is none. When I have no one on this earth to put my faith in, God is the One who is faithful. He holds my entire life in His hands and I can trust him and have faith in Him that He knows what He's doing when no one else does.

It's been a hard journey, not only for me, but for my family. In the blink of an eye, something can happen than can change the course of your life and you are helpless to do anything but go forward and pray each day that you will make it through.

Thankfully, I have had no new infections for which I am so very grateful. Unfortunately, the wounds are not healing properly and they are a concern to my doctor. He at first talked about another surgery at which time my heart dropped to my toes. I have had four surgeries this year and another one seems so daunting. I personally think the reason I'm not healing well is because my body is worn out but I digress. He brought another doctor in as well as his PA and they thought stem cells might work. So, now I wait to see if my insurance will approve this and, if they do, they will place stem cells in the wounds to give them a boost. Oh, how I pray that I'm allowed to get this procedure and that it works! If it doesn't then I will have to have another surgery.

I try to live as normally as I can. I plan out my days and, more times than not, I don't accomplish but a 10th or less of those plans. I'm still house bound so these are things I want to accomplish at home. I celebrate even the little accomplishments because they are huge for me. Putting a meal in the crock pot, dusting, or decorating are reasons to feel good. I was looking at it before as all the things I couldn't do, but that will bring me down lower than I can handle, so I focus on what I can do.

There are people that sustain me. My husband, who is my rock when I can't do anything but cry. He waits on me - not because I ask - but he does it out of love. Ice water, a grilled cheese sandwich, carrying my books from room to room, making sure the pillows are perfect under my legs when I get into bed; these are the things that remind me of how Jesus washed the Disciples feet. My youngest son who drives me two hours away to my doctor appointment despite being tired and in pain himself. My oldest son who comes over and takes on some of the household duties on his days off because I'm unable to. My sweet friend who writes me a Scripture and devotion every morning in a text so that I wake up to God's Word and a reminder that I am loved by her. My sister who emails me with encouragement and prayers, calls me to check on me, and prays continually for my healing; she has known me all my life and loves me in a way no one else can and she sustains me. These are the people who reach out to me, love me even on the hard days, and keep me moving forward. God has blessed me with a loving core group to get me through the hardness of this journey.

I do not forget you, my dear friends. So many of you email me to check on me, leave comments of encouragement and to tell me that you're praying for me. These are lifelines and I am so grateful. You are also the hands and feet of Jesus to me even though I have never met most of you in person.

The key is not to look down at what I can't do, what is left undone, but to focus on the accomplishments and to look up to the One who holds the whole situation - and me - in His mighty and loving hands.

God bless you - Julie

People Who Have Long-term Illness or Pain and How You Can Support Them

It's really hard having a long term illness. I think the hardest part for me is how forgotten I feel. People move on with their lives even when you can't. They get sick of dealing with the constant reminder that we have this new intruder into our lives. They want normalcy, and I can't blame them...I do, too! No one really wants to hear the latest detail of what you're going through but they don't realize that this is really all I have to talk about. It consumes my mind and my time. 

I'm home-bound so what I talk about is what I do at home, which isn't a lot, let me tell you! Some days, I feel so bad I sit and read or just watch old television shows and my British shows. This does not make for exciting conversation. Even on the days I crochet or work on my Bible study, there's only so much one can say about these things. 

There are a lot of people, like me, out there. There are many ways that will help us and many things that will destroy us emotionally. Our emotional feelings are really important because it affects our healing. When I'm hurt, I really see a difference in my pain levels and my healing. Fortunately, I only will have one or two bad days where I'm down, but there are others that get so sad, their depression will last longer.

I wanted to share some things that will help those of us who are ill, in pain, or recovering from a health issue.

• Pray for your friend and let her know you're praying for her. This is such a comfort to know that I'm being prayed for. I have friends who pray diligently for me, as well as family, and this blesses me so much!

• Try and stay in touch with someone who is going through a long term illness. When the illness first happens, we get a lot of attention, but as time goes on, there are less and less people who keep in touch. An email, a text message, a card, or a phone call can do a lot to lift our spirits and help us to remember we're not forgotten. I have a friend who diligently sends me text messages and, right now, she has been sending me a Scripture a day with my name inserted to make it personal. I wake up to these messages and they set my day on the right course.

• If you ask the sick person if you can come visit, please follow through and show up on the day designated! It takes a lot of effort on our part to get ready for company. Our families go to a lot of work to prepare for company, too, and when they don't show up, there's the guilt for the sick one of how much the family did for nothing. If you can't make the visit, please let the person know! I have had this happen several times and it's devastating to think that I didn't even warrant a phone call or a text from the person to let me know they weren't coming. This is very hurtful and, quite frankly, rude!

•  When our illness first happens, people offer to do things for us. Food arrives, help around the house, etc., is done. Now, I'm not saying this should be a consistent thing because we do get better and can do a lot of these things, but there are other days when a casserole or soup arriving would be a huge blessing! Having something the person can put in the freezer and just stick in the oven is a relief on those days when cooking seems overwhelming. Even a freezer meal from the big box stores would totally bless the sick person. 

• If there are specific sermons at church that you know would bless the person, get the CD for them or tell them where to check it out on line. If there's something special going on at church and you know that the sick person would love to have the handouts or the CD's, try and get these to them. It lets the person know you were thinking of them and it will encourage them and make them feel a part of the church when they aren't there.

• Don't get angry or upset if the sick person doesn't always answer the phone. I know I fall asleep at the drop of a hat and I have gotten in the habit of turning my phone off when I lie down so I can get some sleep. It's not that I don't want to talk, I'm just not going to sacrifice my rest to have my phone on. I do call back and, if I'm not feeling good enough to talk, I send a text or an email letting them know I'll call them back soon. 

•  When you talk to the sick person, don't go over all your illnesses and the gory details! Talk about things you would talk about with anyone. Keep things meaningful, yet light. Don't make fun of their illness or make what you think are funny remarks about their situation. This only hurts and make the person feel less valued. 

• Don't feel upset or hurt if the person isn't up for an in-person visit. It takes so much effort to prepare for a visit and some days we just don't have the energy to do it. Or, I'm feeling sicker on some days and can't have company. Also, if you do visit the sick person, don't stay for hours on end. Believe it or not, this can wear a person out quickly. Keep your visit to about 1/2 hour to an hour. This is a perfect time for visiting but not wearing the sick person out.

I hope this helps. I think so many times we don't understand how very isolated the sick person or the person who is house-bound feels. It really is like the parade is passing us by and we would join in if we could. It's hard to see others going on with their lives and we can't. Being isolated from our friends and church is very difficult but these are a few things you can do to make it easier to bear.

Blessings - Julie

A Special Surprise!

I won a cross-stitch pattern from my dear friend, Vickie, a couple of weeks back and I received it in the mail last week. Here's a picture of the pattern

Isn't it lovely? As soon as I'm done with my current project, I will work on this one. I will also be having a giveaway for this pattern (it's a traveling pattern, of sorts) when I am finished with it. 

Vickie being so sweet, tucked in some extra special goodies in the package. Not only that, the envelope itself was extra special! Remember this?

Isn't that just adorable? Vickie drew this on the outside of the envelope! Isn't she talented? She and I have a great love for poodles so I was so excited when I saw that envelope - knowing it was from her! I will be keeping this special drawing - yes, I will!

Here's what else was in the package

Isn't that so sweet? I love the pink! Here's some close-ups of what she sent...

Look at that adorable pink package with the pink poodle! The little bag is filled with gorgeous sequins!

I had to take a picture of that cute, little, pink poodle!

 
 Here's what was inside the little package...

Aren't these gorgeous? They are counting pins for my stitching. Vickie makes these and I love them! I will treasure them forever! She is so talented! 

My card she sent was so precious and I was so touched by her sweet words inside. Isn't it wonderful how we can make friends across the country or across the world that we wouldn't know if not for our blogs? I found Vickie because she cross stitches and then when I read her blog, she had poodles everywhere! I knew this was my kind of friend! Not only that, but she loves the Lord and, unfortunately, she lives with daily pain - just like me. It has been a privilege to pray for her and a comfort for me knowing she is also praying for me. God is so good to bring us together!

Thank you, so much, Vickie! I'm am so incredibly blessed by your sweet gift and your precious friendship! 

God bless you - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Link Up!

Tuesday is our time to stop for the week and count our blessings. I love this day as it really does help me to keep focused on my blessings and the holiness and goodness of God! Life can be difficult, but it's made so much better and easier when we stop and thank Him!

116. I'm so thankful for the blessing of spending time with my friend, Carol. She was in my Bible study this year and we just instantly clicked! We have made the effort to stay in touch and I'm so glad! We chatted and prayed together and it was just a blessed time.

117. It was a week filled with exhaustion and not a lot done. However, I did get my cross stitch scissor holder stitched. Here's a picture of it ...

The row of large cross stitches in the middle will actually be at the bottom and the row of flowers is the back of the scissor holder. The basket of flowers the front. I hope I'm making sense. In any case, it was a blessing to finish the stitching and now I just need to do the finish and I'll be done. I love the colors and I know I'll love the project when it's done.

118. I also did a wee bit of crocheting. I have decided to make a granny square afghan. I haven't made granny squares since they were popular in the early 70's and I'm enjoying these a lot. I'm going to make a blanket for my bed, actually. Here's some pictures of my done squares...

Such fun and bright colors! I got this yarn at a yard sale and it's just so soft and easy to work with. I have enough to make a really nice sized blanket. What a blessing to be able to sit and do this work and make something for my home. 

119.  I was blessed with being able to get into the doctor that will be doing my sleep study. I called on Friday and they made an appointment for Monday! I will be having a sleep study as he thinks I have severe sleep apnea. The soonest they could get me in, though, was August 20th! It was still a blessing to finally be, hopefully, getting to the bottom of this horrible exhaustion and other symptoms I'm having. It was eye opening and I'm so blessed to have a primary care doctor that really cares about me and got me going in the right direction.

120. Monday afternoon, I was blessed by getting to have coffee with my dear friend, Jodi. I haven't seen her in person for months and I just can't tell you how wonderful it was to sit and chat with her! We were there for 4 hours and could have talked more if it wasn't getting late and we both needed to get home and fix dinner. lol Good friends are such a blessing and I was doubly blessed this week by getting to meet with two of my dear friends!

Now it's your turn! Have you counted your blessing? Link up and share what's been happening in your world this week! Please grab my button on the sidebar and share on your blog, too. Thanks so much!

Blessings - Julie

Friendship

When I was first on the internet, I used to go to Aleene's website (remember her - the glue lady?) and chat with other crafters. I really enjoyed this and got to know several people, but one person in particular. Her chat name was "Susie" but I found out later her real name was "Diane". We kept in touch for years and we had a lot in common. She crocheted and so did I. We enjoyed so many of the same things. We even sent gifts to one another and I still have the crocheted coasters she made me. Then, we lost touch. I got really busy with my boys and our homeschooling, I had a battle with cancer, my hubby had several health issues and I found myself not keeping in touch with her like I should or how I wanted. I still miss her and wish I knew how to get in touch with her.

It's horrible when we lose touch with our friends. This has happened several times in my lifetime and I'm sure it's happened to you, too. As I've gotten older and have less responsibilities within my family, it's been easier to keep in touch with my friends. It's easier to have the time for them and I'm also conscientious about making sure I don't lose touch with them. Somehow when we're so busy raising our children it's a lot harder than it is for me now, at this time of my life. 

I've made several friends through the internet. Women I would have probably never met in real life have become confidants and sweet friends. It's easier to find friends that enjoy the same things you do and I've met some great prayer partners through my blog. I'm able to spend the time getting to know them and it's been a huge blessing to me to know these women. Yes, we have to be prudent and careful on the internet, but I feel that we have to be this same way in real life, too. 

I just wanted to thank those of you who have gotten to know me through my blog, pray for me. Your friendship is very precious! 

Blessings - Julie