Conversations with God...

In my previous blog entry, I said that I talk to God as my Father and my friend because He is! I am so glad that us Gentiles have been "grafted in" through Jesus and this is something that I do not take lightly, or take for granted. I am by NO means perfect! There are days when I am sure God looks down at me and shakes His head in disgust and disappointment at something that I have said and/or done. Like talking about someone or not being in His Word or skipping church. But, I know that He loves me just the same in those moments, as when I am doing the things that are pleasing to Him.

I often ponder about how God sees me and how I should act according to His Word and His instruction for my life that He has plainly laid before me. I used to talk with God in my journals and have written several devotions as I talk with Him. I really don't like to put things on the internet that can be "taken", but I am supposed to share with you one of the devotions that I have written because "someone" needs to read it...so I just ask that you do not take my "conversation with God" and market it as your own. My prayer for you today is that you read it... let it absorb into the very being and fibers of your heart and soul, and start your very own conversations with God. Let this be your springboard to do what God has created you to do...be in relationship with Him...through conversation, prayer, writing, art...let your life speak to and for Him my lovelies! :)


Master Gardener,

Today I come to You, and ask You to weed out the depths of my heart and soul.

Uproot any anger, bitterness, jealousy and pride that may be there. Pull out any resentment, greed, idolatry and things that are not pleasing to You. Dig out deep-rooted grudges, and plow up stubbornness with Your holy trowel.

Where You have prepared the soil, dear Father, I ask that You plant seeds of life, love, joy, happiness, gentleness, self-control, patience, peace, grace and kindness. Sprinkle in some wisdom and fertilize with lessons that can only come from Your hand.

Water my soul with Your Word, and grant life to the places in me that seem to have faded and withered...but still wait for the gentle pruning of Your hand. Knowing that the lessons may be uncomfortable at times, but that without that pruning, I would be wild, dirty and of no good use.

Bring forth sprouts of newness and let colorful flowers blossom, so that people who may not know You, will notice only Your splendor when they look...and come to know how wonderful the mighty works of Your hand truly are.

Pick up the rocks and debris that fall on the soil, trying to prevent roots from standing firm...and discard them in the weed pile. Never to be completely crushed or consumed, but always turning upward to face the Son and growing stronger in You.

May I live my life in total devotion to You God, so that I may be counted among the favored roses that bring forth a sweet smelling fragrance in Your garden of life.

Love Your Daughter,
Shannon

Do you ever find yourself asking this question??

Okay...so I didn't go to work today because I didn't sleep a wink last night because I couldn't breathe!! (Yes, Christina and Karyn...LOVE those Vicks Puffs and hope you feel better soon!!! :)

So, FINALLY at 7:00 this morning I was tired and sat back in the recliner to catch a few winks. I woke up at noon only to discover that my vision in my right eye is now blurred! So I call the doc and I have to go in tomorrow morning at 10:15 because he said that is not typical with a sinus infection!

Do you ever find yourself asking God this question...What else could go wrong!???...I generally tend NOT to ask that question...because in His infinate wisdom and humor, He will show me!...I am just so sick at this point of my family being NOT WELL!!!!!!!...and I figure my blog, rather than my friends or family face to face, is the perfect place to VENT!!!!... this way, I can yell all I want without it being confrontational in anyway...and yes, I talk to God just like He is my Father and yell to Him as well ...

I do truly appreciate all of my blogging sisters and friends that I have made along the way...and truly covet your prayers for the wellness of my family above all else. I whole heartedly believe that God still works miracles in our generation and I am holding out for the one that is coming for my family's wellness.

For those of you who have been praying for my DH, Donnie, his kidney wound is closing up now and is no longer leaking any fluids YEA!!!!! :)...he did say that his right side was killing him so bad two nights ago that he could barely move (???)... his kidney stone and wound area is on his left side. He will follow up with his doc about that one, and has to go back on Nov 5th to follow up with his surgeon at Ohio State.

As I get older and my husband and I will be together 20 years in 2009, I also find myself asking this question- How would I go through life if I had all of his medical issues? The man only has a foot of small bowel,has been through 8 major bowel surgeries, several Hickman and Groshon catheters on his chest... has to hook up to an IV every night for 8 hrs to take nutrition and suppliments and he continues to go to work everyday and run a small business. Sometimes I get frustrated when he doesn't feel like doing anything around the house or with Paige and I, but he truly is one of my heroes and I love him with all my heart! :)...sometimes I just forget that he can't function and have the stamina that we have. And God love him, he has cspoken to several people, kids and their parents who have been diagnosed with Short Bowel Syndrome or Crohn's Disease, even though Crohn's is different, when someone in the area has to go on TPN, sometimes Donnie will get a call from someone wanting to know how he copes and what he does to take care of himself. It's hard sometimes, but the end result is definately worth it. To be able to have him here, hooking up every night, rather than in a hospital or nursing home makes all the difference in the world. By all rights and means, he should have died in 1984...but God chose to bless him with the greatest miracle He could give Donnie...the gift of life and a second chance at it! Had that not occured, we would have never met...and it sure gives me a reality check when I start to whine about having an underactive Thyroid and having to take Synthroid everyday. Whoopeee!!!! I have to take a pill every morning...then I think of what Donnie has to do every night and I really and truly see the blessings that God has given to me.

I pray for strength...for wellness...and for the ability to "keep on keepin' on"!...and with God by my side, I think of one my favorite quotes from a favorite author, Maya Angelou..."Still I Rise!"

p.s. Maya has a new book out called Letter To My Daughter...she has a son, no daughters, and said on the Today Show that she wrote the book for you and me...check it out, I am and I am sure I will love it as much as her other stuff.

Ed's Place: A New Award - Premio Dardos

Thanks Ed for this FAB award!- you are soooo generous!!!!- go to Ed's blog and check it out for yourself- Ed is one of my Sisters from my Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers Group#24 and her work is just as fantastic as the rest of my sisters-we are a talented bunch of gals!!! :)

Ed's Place: A New Award - Premio Dardos

Who knew!???

So...I had to stop at Wally World on the way home to pick up, what else, some more kleenex!! I really have to get up and down the aisles in the grocery store just to look at stuff once in a while...who knew that there are now Puffs with Vicks!- what a brainiac idea :)....I LOVE Vicks when I am sick. It is one of the few things that actually make me able to breathe when I get like this. Thank God I don't get sick very often, but I seem to get a lot of sinus infections in the winter- and it snowed on Monday afternoon like it was starting to breathe that wintery breath on us here in Newark!...much love and hugs to my sister Christina, who is also sick right now with a cold...have your hubby get you some of those Puffs with Vicks and make sure that you take your vitamins and drink plenty of fluids. If the sinus pills I just took don't knock me out, I am going to work on my "You Be The Artist" ACT's that are due to the hostess on November 7th and my "Touch of Honey" 6X6 recipe cards for another swap. I am hooked to swapping on Split Coast Stampers!!! I am Little Miss Sparkle there too, so you will know me if you come across any swaps that I joined. I have mailed out 4 swaps so far that will be trading/swapping back out on November 3rd. I can't wait to get 10, 6, 11 other cards that are different than mine... again, Who Knew???!!!...I swear, I have to get out more!!! :)

I won't forget to take some pix and post them here soon...I want to make sure that I get them all done and mailed in plenty of time to meet the due dates and then I promise that I will upload some pix...I can't wait to show you what I have been working on. Since I get to be the artist and there are no color or vendor requirements on my ACT's, I want to take my time to create something cool...since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this is my first time creating and swapping ACT's, I am using a stamp that has the word "beauty" on it. I hope the girls who get them love them as much as I know that I will love the ones that I get back in return. I will post pix of the swap returns that I get back as well so that you can see what I am talking about.

Well my lovelies...I am going to go and steam in the shower and then watch America's Next Top Model before I head to "Shannon's Creative Corner"...I am telling you, with this red nose, I should just go as a Christmas Elf or Rudolph for Halloween. We are dressing up as Rednecks for our theme this year at work, so I will be sure to take plenty of pix as well... My brainiac idea is to go as roadkill or dinner, however you wan to look at it- but I am a cross-bred animal, so I will look like a racoon mixed with another animal, I kinda make stuff up as I go along. My friend Judy is going to go as a Granny and chase me around the room trying to hit me on the head with a ladle to cook me up for dinner. Should be FUN TIMES at the Big Basket!...who knew???!!!???

It Was Inevitable!

It was a dark and stormy night...well really, it was the bursts of snow and the berimetric change in the atmosphere...coupled with the fact that kids are always at our house, that I now have sinus pressure and a stuffed up nose!!!!!!! I don't want to be sick!!!!!! I have to be well to take care of everyone else!!!!! Okay, I am done whining now.

I really am a sight for sore eyes with a nose as red as Rudolph's - LOL! :)

Thank God for Puffs Plus and Mucinex and water...is all I have to say!!

Getting through the Gauze...

I officially am a gauze and dressing "guru"! I can change a dressing like nobody's business---and with clean efficiency too, I might add. Yes, yes...I am tooting my own horn and am thankful that God has patience to know that I could do what a few days a go I was dreading and knew that only He could get me through. (A little sleep hasn't hurt the process either...although, I am not sure how many more nights on the couch I can take- hee hee!)

Seriously, though...Donnie is healing (Thank you thank you thank you for all of your prayers...they are still needed, as he is not completely healed yet...and I really and truly am sleeping on the couch)...it is quite comical, as my legs do not stretch all the way out because I am longer than the couch. Seeing as how I am only 5 foot one and 1/2 inches, this amuses me greatly when I find myself with my legs bent up or flopped on the big built in cushions on the end of the couch...if I could take my own picture, you would be laughing out loud too!!

Paige's staph infection is dried up and is going away and now she is getting a cold ...lesson learned on her part about going to the football game in the torrential downpour!!...she is currently sleeping after a hearty dose of Robitussin Nighttime and some hot orange tea. Sweet dreams of better days my baby :)

Believe it or not, I managed to get two recipe swaps finished and mailed to Cheree on Split Coast Stampers. I joined several 6x6 recipe swaps and a few 4x6 ones and will post some pix as soon as I get a chance to upload them on here to show you what they look like. I am Little Miss Sparkle on Split Coast too, but I can't figure out how to link my blog to the bottom of my signature when I sign up for swaps???...maybe one of you smarties can lend a hand and let me know how, so I can seem smart too ...LOL!..oh the joys and perils of pc learning curves...that and the time of my posts always show 4 hours earlier than what it truly is...it's 8:11 pm here in Ohio currently- not 4:22 ????

Well my lovelies, I am heading off to take a nice steaming hot shower with some Coconut Shower Cream from The Body Shop...if I close my eyes long enough, it will smell like I am at the beach in a tropical paradise...catch ya later!

Donnie is home- YEA!

Well... they said that Donnie's kidney stone operation was an outpatient procedure...but I know that when you deal with Short Bowel Syndrome that nothing is ever "cut and dry"... they wound up keeping him overnight at Ohio State Hosp and he came home yesterday late afternoon. I had to learn quit how to change his dressing and become a "nurse of sorts". I deal with his medical issues on a daily basis, but open wound care has never been something I had to do until now. I am quite surprised that when they pulled the Nephrostomy tube out of his kidney, they sent him home with the area open. Not to gross you out, but it looks like when you stick a knife in a piece of meat. It just looks like a deep cut with bruising around the area. Please continue to pray for healing and for the wound to close over...I am truly empathizing will all those moms out there whose children wet the bed, because the wound drains urine, so I have had to wash laundry like no tomorrow as well. The docs say that the major drainage will stop in a couple of days as the exit site starts to heal over. My other concern is that he does not develop skin breakdown from the tape and having to lay down for the most part. He does get up to go to the bathroom and walk around a little, but he is on percocet for the pain because he hurts so bad. I just feel so bad for my DH...he has dealt with his short bowel syndrome and has had to hook up to an IV every night since 1984 to get the nutrition that you and I can get just by simply eating...he doesn't have enough bowel to be able to digest properly...so when he gets hit with other issues, such as this kidney surgery, blood clots, etc...I just get so sad for him... really and truly a sadness comes over me for him when I pray. At the same time, I thank God that I am healthy. We really don't realize how truly blessed we are to be able to eat and breathe and see and do all of those things that come and seem so natural to us. These latest issues with Donnie since last Dec (two Groshon catheter surgeries, blood clots, ecoli,kidney) have really, really made me think and pray a ton and ponder about how I should be treating my body as if it were a temple, like God tells us it is. I thank Him that he has so fearfully and wonderfully made us into His likeness and that our bodies heal themselves so fabulously...He truly IS an AWESOME GOD! :)

I love you all and still thank you for your continued love, support, prayer and kind words of encouragement...I know that God has brought us all together for reasons that we can't fully comprehend...but I am seeing now how truly compassionate my little SBS#24 sisters are...and I thank Him for crossing my life path with each and every one of you! :)

Feeling Thankful and Melancholy...

Well everybody...tomorrow is "the big day"- my DH has his surgery to remove the "big one" from his kidney. We are praying that this has been the cause of his severe back pain over the last few months. He is scared, even though he would kill me if he knew I shared, because he is afraid that he will get an infection since OSU is a teaching hospital. At least they have a high success rate! :)

Paige's staph infection area is starting to dry up and heal (thank you for your prayers) and THANK GOD for the way that HE still works miracles in this generation...although we really don't deserve them based on our actions :)

I have to drive my SIL to her doctor's appt in Dublin tomorrow after my DH gets out of surgery to get a shot in her eye (YIKES!!)...so please take your medication if you are diabetic because this is what happens if you are stubborn and try to do "your own thing"...and she should know better because she is a an RN to boot!

I am truly thanking God right now that I am not sick because I have to be the "strong one" who is there for support, driving, etc...and I truly, truly, truly thank Him that I can do that.

Donnie's mom is getting sick from the radiation and only has two more treatments and then a week of chemo and she is saying that if the cancer has spread through her lymphatic system or have not gotten smaller that she is not going to go through any more treatments. We are trying to deal and work through our feelings and emotions and come to grips with how we feel about that. She is 74 years young and we need to respect her decision, whatever that may be....but it is hard nonetheless.

I read and watched a program on television by some doctors from the Cleveland Clinic who claim that a vegan lifestyle can reverse heart disease and even cures some cancers. Not sure about that one, but I just might start eating better and trying to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, while I am in this current mental space...won't hurt, since I deal with an underactive thyroid and can't seem to lost weight any other way!

Sorry that my blog has not been very upbeat and positive lately...we have just been hit pretty hard with what seems like one thing after another..and I look forward to sharing with all of you, the good that God will bring forth from this chaos... thanks for the prayers and the kind words of encouragement, they, along with your friendship as my "sisters" and fellow bloggers, is truly coveted and appreciated.

Will be in touch after tomorrow,

Shannon

Prayers Needed Ladies!

My 13 year old has a staph infection (where from ???)and we need prayers that the RX she just started last night will heal it. Also, my DH...who has had a rough year, is scheduled for surgery on the 23rd of this month to have a kidney stone removed that he can't pass...LONG story short (time for airing of some dirty laundry!)...he has had short bowel syndrome since 1984 and deals with having to hook up to an IV pump every night to get the nutrients that you and I can digest, because he only has a foot of small bowel. This past Dec he had to get his Groshon catheter in his chest replaced due to ecoli (no sure how that got in his central line!)and he then dealt with blood clots, more surgery,and his back had been hurting for several months and now we have discovered that he has a kidney stone too big to pass!- needless to say, it has been a hard enough road for him and he tries to take meticulous care to cleanse and sterilize so that he doesn't get infections and get sick. He is scared to death (although he would never admit it!)that he will either contract an infection in the hospital again or develop blood clots again (because you have to stop the Coumadin to have the surgery).

And in between all this, Donnie's mom, Ginny was diagnosed with lung cancer (which they removed all of the tumor- Thank you, Jesus!!)...but since it was in two of her lymph nodes, she has to undergo radiation and chemo and she is starting to get nauseated from all of it...

I normally would never think of going on a blog to discuss our family issues (you know, the intimate details)...but I am a strong Christian and a firm believer in the power of prayer...so please, please, please ladies...place Donnie, Ginny and Paige Wilson on any and all prayer lists that you have through your church, online, etc... and I will definately keep you all posted on how everything is going so that you can update the prayer warriors... I am just getting a bit "overwhelmed" to say the least...as it seems like one thing after another has been pounding our family...I sure hope that God will make something BIG shine forth from this mess!!!

On a lighter note, our oldest daughter, Tiffany, is the new OUZ Nursing Class President!!! YEA!!! :)

If I could reach through this pc and hug you all in advance, I would!

Love ya,
Shannon

I'm Baaaaack!

I have been gone for a while with month end at work, Volleyball games, and a recent scrapbook retreat to keep me busy...plus, I have joined quite a few recipe swaps on Split Coast Stampers. I will tell you guys all about it soon, but I wanted you to know that I am still alive and kicking! :)

I took today off to "rest"...but had to take Paige to the doctor this morning and the dentist this afternoon, so I think I will just go to bed early!

Chat with ya later!