Louder Than the Voices

Saturday morning, I shared this post on facebook:   I don't think I have ever received the amount of text messages, and PM's as I did about this post.   So, with the whole theme of this blog being about those voices of "I can't" and "I'm not good enough", I decided to start sharing my journey here, and of course, the diet I am on.   As I said, I went to the doctor on May 9th. I have several good friends who have had the gastric sleeve and are doing very well. I found several articles regarding gastric sleeve and UC, and had decided I wanted to talk to him about it. In the past, he has always mentioned my lack of a good immune system as the number one reason not to have any invasive treatments done. I had even been advised not to have a tattoo. However, I also know I am the only one who wasn't sick at all this last winter. I take lots of Vitamin C, and am religious about washing my hands, not touching strangers any more than I have ...

Hanging out the "gone fishin" sign one more time. My week has not went as planned but I am heading to Chicago today to spend time with my two BFF's. I will get back on the blogging track next week. I hope everyone has a blessed Happy Easter!

Happy Saturday! My attempts to clear my plate didn't really go as planned, but God knew there was some reasons I needed a couple of weeks off, even if I didn't at the time. God is good, all the time. So, I promised a special guest today, I am super excited about this! A little over a week ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed I had a message from Sami. Sami is the daughter of my cousin Anissa. You know that meme that goes around about cousins being your first friends? This is us. We have been friends since we were old enough to remember. Sami has always held a very special place in my heart too. I don't get to see her (or her mom) as often as I like, but when we are together, we always have a wonderful time. Aaannyywwaayy.... Sami had sent me a message with a you tube video attached. She had done her first lesson for the kids at her church and offered to let me see it. So, the next morning, this was my quiet time. and I was so blessed. I so love ...

I have so many friends who are going through things right now, big things, and I think it is just time for a little encouragement, and a little "let me remind you who you are" talk. I have friends who are so close to finishing school, friends who are dealing with aging, ailing parents, and friends who are just going through some soul-searching, facing giant trials. We are having major changes effecting our own house as Robert's boss sold the business Robert has worked for since he got out of school. Monday, Robert starts working for a corporation instead of the only boss he has ever known, so scary stuff here too. So, as I said, let me remind you who you are. Let's start at the beginning, Psalm 139:14 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Before you ever took a breath on this earth, God had plans for you. Because of free will, you may have had times in your life, or even right now, that you aren't looking f...

I first posted this back in January but forgot to link it to Facebook. So, I am reposting today. To the whole 4 people who read it the first time, sorry, you have a repeat today. ALSO, I am extremely humbled by the response to my post last week. over 1300 people read it. I hope it helped someone, or changed a situation. My normal weekly readership is less than 200 so I am in utter shock, but again, just praying it might have changed things for someone. To those of you who shared it, thank you.  My blog doesn't make me any money or anything like that. I just do it is a service to my Lord and Savior. (orig post 1-20-18)   Good morning everyone! Happy Saturday! My full intentions this morning was to post a little poem I learned about last week at our conference. God said, no. So, I am what I feel like is pressed for time, but have to expound on this a little. So, I am sitting in Houston last week, at the close of one of the best conferences I have been ...

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a little boy who had a mommy and daddy who loved him very much. He lived in a house with both his mommy and his daddy. When he started kindergarten, he went home and asked why mommy and daddy lived in the same house. This was one of the first things that he was made fun of for.  When he was about in third grade, and his mommy and daddy would take him places, he would go home and ask why kids would make fun of him for doing things with his parents- THIRD GRADE. He was not a big kid, and not very tall. by 5th grade, he became a punching bag for another boy on the bus ride home. His mom's first advice was to pray for the little boy that was hitting him. After being bruised up too many times, and the bus driver not seeing it happen-- (and consequently saying it didn't happen when the mom called the school) the mom says, "just once, hit him back". That may not have been the best advice to give, but she did. That ended u...

Two weeks ago today, I was off on an adventure with three of my best friends. We call ourselves the LIHEAP sisters ( thanks to Christine Westerlund for naming us). I say all the time, that I truly do feel things happen for certain reasons. Kathy and I were driving to Geneva, to meet the other two. It was time for a break, so we were in search of someplace to stop. Our choices were McDonalds or the truckstop. I have been doing a morning green juice since the day after Christmas and this day, I had ran out of time. I asked if we could stop at the truck stop because there was more of a chance of finding at least a bottled green juice. You never know what you will find at a truck stop. We walked in the door and there was a spinner of books, Christian books. We both stopped immediately. One particular book caught my eye (though I ended up buying several). But this book, What if God Wrote Your Bucket List was seriously screaming, "you NEED me!". The full title has "52 thin...

Once again, I really had every intention of not doing a blog this morning, I have a long overdue date with the LIHEAP sisters and am leaving my house at 5:15, yet here I sit. For me, this has been an eventful week. I can say I have gotten a lot done, but there is still much to do. One of my best friends, Dani, called me Tuesday morning, I love it when she calls. She lives 11 miles from work but it takes her almost (and sometimes over) an hour to get there, yes, Chicago. Once in a while, she calls me while she is on that trek, and it just makes my whole day better. I had to laugh when I told her I may have bit off more than I could chew for right now, and she laughs in mocking disbelieve, "You??? You have NEVER done that before!!!", So those who have only known me close to 20 years, this isn't a new thing. Dani is one of those that knows things may not have always been on the timeline I intended, but that I always accomplish what I set out to do. Wednesday evening, I g...

Good morning everyone! Happy Saturday! My full intentions this morning was to post a little poem I learned about last week at our conference. God said, no. So, I am what I feel like is pressed for time, but have to expound on this a little. So, I am sitting in Houston last week, at the close of one of the best conferences I have been to in a long time, sitting with 4 of the best people I know, and thinking to myself, "Life is Good". The last speaker of the conference was very motivational, and he shared this with us. It was spring, but it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors. It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air. It was autumn, but it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season. I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted, the freedom, and the respect. I was twenty, but it was thirty I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated. I was middle-aged, but i...

Once again, getting a bit of a late start to the blog, but so worth it. The cold moved my kid home for the week, so this morning started with having coffee and visiting with him. I know he is so ready to go back "home", but I am so thankful that I got a week of him being "home" with me. This has been one crazy, emotional week. It is one of those that felt like it took forever to get through and at the same time, there was not enough time in the day to get everything done. A lot of our management team is leaving for a conference in Houston on Monday morning, so I basically wanted to have all of this week's work done, plus next week's before I leave. Yes, I am going to work today. It would be there when I get back, but I am one that feels better knowing it is done. And, of course, there is always my mom's thing of "if the plane goes down", at least I have given the next person a little head start instead of all the things left undone. Som...