about family traits...

As he gets older, my husband, Paul, gets curlier and curlier. True, he has less hair on top, but the hair on the bottom gets curlier, even when it doesn't need to be cut. I was thinking of that the other day, and took a couple photos of his curls. That, of course, made me think of our baby grandson, Joshua. When he was very young, his hair had not been cut, and many folks called him "Rastaman". Of course, he was very blonde, but, oh well. Now that he's much older, and a teenager, his hair is mostly straight and very dark. But I have a photo of him with his blonde, curly hair that is one of my favorite photos of him. Of course, I have to share it and compare the two heads of hair. Paul's was a little darker when he was younger, but now it's grayer. It's still a family trait. There are many other family traits that are passed down. There is a saying, "The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree." I see that quite often in myself as I find myself doing things my father or mother did. I see it in my husband's behaviors that are like his father's. I hope some of our good behaviors have passed down to our sons. Some of their traits cause me to believe the hospital sent the wrong babies home with us. I see some of their traits in my grandchildren. I also see some of our traits in our grandchildren. Genetic traits are passed down, too. So how many of the personality traits are passed down through genetics or are they passed down through observation? There are certain traits in our family that I hope are NEVER repeated by ANYONE. Lord, help us to only pass along our good traits.

time....

I had thought i would try to write on my blogs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However, this doesn't seem to be possible. It is a great way for me to practice my writing, but is proving to get in the way of things that need to be done; of things that have been on the "back burner" for too long. So, I will endeavour to write on Wednesdays until I complete some previously begun projects. I will miss writing on Monday and Friday, but this cannot be helped. Time management is very important.

Things my father taught me

In many ways, I am my father's daughter. I say that because I find myself naturally exhibiting many of his traits; much more than my mother's. I usually think of 2 things my father taught me that have served me well throughout my life: 1. learn to type: you can always get a job, and 2. never write anything you don't want printed on the front page of the newspaper. Those are two very good rules. I have made a living with my ability to type; of course, converting it to wordprocessing skills and other software skills on a computer. I could always feed my children, if need be, with that skill. And by being very judicious in my writing, I have stayed out of a lot of trouble. Many people should take a lesson from that and also apply it to their mouths. However, today, I also think of a third thing, most important, that my father said to me. He only said it once. At the time, it seemed silly and off the subject, but it really was the essence of our conversation. I was a teenager at the time, and my father and I were talking about "finding myself", as teenagers do. I was very well grounded already, mind you, in who I was, but I was looking at all the things I was interested in and what direction to take in life. There were so many choices. My father said simply, " That's an easy one. You are a child of the King." Of course, he was right. But I already knew that. I wasn't talking about the deepest part of me. I was talking about the easier questions. But being a child of the King is the best answer. It says everything. It says who our Father is, and where we are going. So many today do not have this knowledge. They are wandering, looking here and there, trying this and that. How foolish. I used to sometimes wish I had some terrible thing that I had overcome to write about in my testimony. But I didn't. I was saved when I was 10 years old. I was blessed with learning who I was at such an early age, I didn't have to wander and search, look all over the place. His hand was on me all along. And it didn't really matter which path I chose. He was guiding me. So today, still, I taste many things. I am interested in lots of different things. And you know what? He is still guiding me. I am still His child. And my earthly father taught me three VERY important things.

my favorite movies....

I seem to really enjoy some of the strangest movies. Of course, my favorite of all time will probably always be Gone With the Wind. And after that will be Sound of Music. But, other than those two, I really have some strange tastes in movies. For instance, tonight I am watching Twister. I've seen it many times, yet I can watch it every time it is on TV. I also like Tremors very much. I watch if often, too. Why do you suppose that is? Of couse, Kevin Bacon is very sexy, and his co-star, Fred Ward, is VERY sexy. Fred also plays in Sweet Home Alabama, which I like tremendously, too. Strange taste, right? And there's Hugh Jackman, who plays the Wolverine. And as for TV, I really liked House, which has finished its run. Who could possibly be more talented than Hugh Laurie? I really like The Closer, which is on its last season. Those were my favorite shows. Grey's Anatomy is more of a night-time soap opera, but I really like it, too. Who knows what will happen this next season, with so many of the doctors being killed in the plane crash? How wonderful that Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick (star of The Closer) have been married more than 23 years! And besides both of them being actors, they have collaborated on some of their productions, too. However, I also like things that are filmed here in South Florida, such as Burn Notice. Jeffrey Donovan, who plays Michael Westen, is so well-built, particularly for a man of his age, and the locations they have found for shooting are wonderful. And then there are the snake hunters. I love their shows, as well as the Seminole Indians out at Billy Swamp Safari. And I also love some of the shows on public television. There was an excellent one the other night about Queen Elizabeth II's reign. And there was another one, hosted by Prince Edward, about the British Walls of Wood, regarding the British wooden war ships. And the medical shows! Kevin Costner's production of The Hatfields and McCoys was excellent! So, yes, I really have a variety of taste in the things I enjoy. I was thinking about that. Hmmmm....

God's thoughts....

Isaiah tells us that our thoughts are not like God's thoughts and that God's ways are not like our ways. I don't understand that. I try so hard to understand what He is doing, but I cannot. I don't know why I must suffer so many afflictions and be in so much pain all the time. Dr. Charles Stanley says that when we are suffering afflictions that God is bringing us closer to Him, causing us to have spiritual growth. I don't feel closer, and I don't feel that I have grown. I'm just more confused than ever. I know that God does not have to explain all this to me. I also know that He sees the BIG picture, the eternal picture, and that I am only a small part of it, but I feel that I am me, and I am the one who is suffering. If He is my Loving Father, then He should not allow this. My earthly Daddy would not, and my husband would not treat his bride this way. We are also told that we should have faith, that God is in control. If we look at Job, we can see a huge amount of suffering that ended in a huge blessing in the end. But, I am not a man. I am a woman. I see things and feel things much differently than a man. And I do not want all this pain and suffering. I would just like to feel good for a while. Most of my illnesses prevent me from traveling, visiting friends I would like to see, and even from cleaning my own house. Sometimes, I don't even feel up to reading or writing. I know that one of our famous preachers, maybe Sturgeon, suffered from severe depression. There again, a man. But I am a woman. I have responsibilities. I have a ministry that no man could ever manage. So why does this go on? What am I to learn? Some say I am being protected from things that could happen if I went on my own way. What could that be? Well, it's a very difficult thing to learn to trust, even after all these years, when all this just continues. After all, I have much to do. I know. There are a lot of "I"s in there. But those "I"s are the things I believe God called me to do. So what is the deal? Thank you for listening.

My Personal Ideas

I haven't posted here to this blog for quite a while, and now I'm posting twice in the same day. Wow! I have a new plan. I am going to write to this blog every Monday, Wednesday and Friday about something that concerns me personally. You may certainly comment and I hope you will follow along. I also am thinking about starting another blog which will lead to a book. The thing is that things I am interested in may not interest anyone else enough to be worthwhile in producing a book. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll keep on writing.

Hope for the End of Pain

Today Paul had what is called a Thoracic Epidural Injection. Dr. Seth Wachsman believes what is causing his pain is a form of sciatica; that the problem is between T-8 and T-9 in his thoracic spine. Dr. Wachsman says he had the same thing when he was a Resident Physician, and also had been misdiagnosed more than once. So, today was the day. Paul did very well. Although we were told that he might experience pain at the sight of his injection, he had no pain there or any pain in his side which he had been experiencing for several years now. He has suffered so much. He slept well when we returned home, a side-effect of the anesthesia. Unfortunately, the air-conditioner decided to give us a problem, so he had to look at that, although he was supposed to only relax. But, other than that, he took it very easy. The folks at Health South, where Dr. Wachsman did the procedure, are to call him tomorrow to follow-up with him to see how he is doing. Our treatment there was very good, I believe. Our hope is that, after all these years, and it's been several, this is finally the correct diagnosis and that Paul's pain has been correctly treated. We've been through everything from possible kidney stones, to treating with physical therapy, treating the lumbar spine, and removing his gallbladder (which was needed anyway). We'll wait and see how this progresses.