How It Works....

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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I'm not sure HOW this works, but I believe it DOES. That's enough to keep me going....

Time

"GOD proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from GOD." --Lamentations 3:25-26 (The Message)

"Passionate patience"--what a concept!

Time is short, but eternity is long.

The Shepherd Goes on Ahead....

I heard this idea in a sermon recently, and it's so cool I just had to share it:

Before David could defeat Goliath, he had to go through the valley.

Why did he have to go through the valley?

Because in the valley there was a stream, and in the stream were the five smooth stones he would carry with him to use in his sling.

Here's the key point--

**FROM THE DAY THE WORLD WAS CREATED, GOD HAD BEEN PREPARING THOSE FIVE STONES TO BE THERE, READY FOR DAVID TO USE ON THAT DAY!**

God knew what David would face, and when, and had gone ahead of David to set up everything he would need to be victorious! He led David through the valley to equip him for victory.

'He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, HE GOES ON AHEAD OF THEM, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.' John 10:3b-4 NIV (emphasis mine)

The Saga Continues

Yesterday was an OK morning physically, but GREAT emotionally and spiritually! I made it to church...so many expressions of love and concern and offers to help. The sermon was great, too - about how we're called to follow Jesus' example when we suffer, and how that plays out in real life.

A couple funny things happened at church.

1. While I was standing and talking in the foyer, someone (who apparently doesn't know about my balance issues) walked by and patted me on the back. I swayed gently and righted myself. They kept going and weren't even aware that they almost knocked me over! Call me odd, but I found that funny!

2. After church, a friend and I were talking and she gave me a hug. It pulled me off-balance and as I was tilting toward her, I had to ask her to stand me back up. Again, call me odd....

Yesterday evening was GOOD. I took a nap in the afternoon, and in the evening I felt almost normal! Lloyd accused me of showing off because I stood in the middle of the kitchen and did 360 degree pivot. (Something I normally have trouble with.)

Last night made the "denial" phase of dealing with my diagnosis very easy to choose. You know - "If I just get more...(sleep, exercise, vitamins, etc)...I'll be fine" Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to ignore this and hope it goes away! (It won't let me!)

Anyway, I guess that's about it for now. Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops.

The Journey Ends...and Begins

Good morning! I'm back home! We got back in around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. My Dad is such a trooper--he's already headed out on the five hour trip to HIS home this morning! (Of course, if I'd been away from MY sweetie for two weeks straight, I'd be in a hurry to get home, too!)

The work has already begun on managing my symptoms. Believe it or not, I'm taking (drumroll, please)...Benadryl! It's what they call an "anticholinergic". I'm still working on understanding what that means!

Anyway, if the day comes when I feel I need more help than I can get from Benadryl, the Dr. has already told me what he has next on the list of med options. That's one of the "good news/bad news" things about PD (Parkinson's Disease). Bad news: there's no cure, only treatment of symptoms. Good news: since we're treating symptoms, I'M the one who gets to decide when to do things like change meds. (It's nice to feel like I still have SOME control of what's happening!)

One interesting thing now that I know what's going on (to me anyway) is when I look at a list of PD symptoms, I see little ones that I began experiencing years ago, but that by themselves were so small I forgot about them! For me, that just confirms the doctors' diagnosis.

Anyway, that's what's up today! Next week I begin the process transferring my care to a Movement Disorder Neurologist closer to home--as opposed to 8-10 hours away. Please pray for that process, as we find the doctor who God has planned for me. Pray for all of us, too, as we attempt to adjust our image of the future to this new scenario.

Thanks for your continuing prayers!