Alive and Well Nigh Going Crazy! In a Down-Right Southern Way....

I have come to accept my personal blog-cycle. I post for a few weeks and then take like a 4 or 5 or how-ever-long break.

 

*Sorry guys and girls* ....more girls than guys actually :)

 

I have a lot of news and a lot of explaining to do. Where should I start?

 

There's something special come up that has completely taken my attention for the past 4 months. Maybe I'll let ya know by tomorrow exactly what it is. Or next week. Or after July 27th--which by the way is your first clue ;)

 

Hey don't judge! It's one o'clock in the morning and I just finished putting together our invitations!! Just now finished!

 

*That's right.....our invitations*

 

And I'm just a littleee tired.

 

I'll let you think on it. Maybe for a few days. Again, sorry!!!!

 

♥...............here's one more clue...............♥

 

Free to Struggle

You might have to think about this one. I know I had to.

James 1:2-3 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

And Romans 7:24-25, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

When we become children of God, some of us tend to hold onto the chains Christ has broken. The chains of old habits, addictions and favorite sins. The sins that He allowed to nail Him to the cross...instead of us. We are free!!! Why do we run back to our prison? God will never disown us, but why do we want to grab our old life back and cling to it like it's our first love or something? There's a song that my brother listens to, and it just hit me today how true this is:

Hallelujah, we are free to struggle

We're not struggling to be free

Your blood bought, and makes us children

Children, drop your chains and sing

 

Be joyful when you are tried. The struggle to be godly works patience in you. Instead of struggling to be free from all the nothingness I felt before I was saved, I am now free to choose to do the right thing (and it is a struggle - check out Romans 7). I I was lugging around such a heavy weight before I met Christ. My sins were awful. And on top of all the guilt and pressure, I knew I would spend an eternity away from God, in hell. Now I will be going to heaven and I am completely, amazingly, miraculously free! My heart feels light and I am hopeful. There is power in His blood. Yes, we struggle. But thank God for your struggles!!! It is all for you, to help you grow, to exercise your faith, to make you patient. The struggle to be free was hopeless on our part. But now our old man is crucified with Christ, and we have resurrected to a new life with Him! He has overcome where we could not and He will continue to do so through us. The struggle against our flesh is of Him and through Him. It is our choice to take hold on victory, as it is ours forever.

 



Life at the Hospital

My grandpa had his second knee replacement surgery today. He's a tough, self-employed man who does amazing carpentry as a side job, and also just for fun :) He's trying to rest in the bed next to me, and more family is huddled in the room with us. His right knee was replaced last year in December and it wasn't nearly as painful as the left knee is giving him right now. He and my grandma will probably be staying at the hospital for the next three days. Last time he had a knee replacement, we came and stayed every day with them -- all day. The only time we spent at home was to eat dinner and sleep.
Going through something like this is made so much more bearable when family is near. Having a knee replaced and then being an invalid for about a month really wears on one's patience.
Staying in a hospital room or waiting room for days at a time can exhaust you!! It's so nice to have people visit and provide a change in atmosphere. Not only does it let them know the patient is cared for, but it also gives them an opportunity to focus on something else. Being in a hospital all day long kind of has a way of causing burn out, even if you're not in an anxious state. It just happens that way.  You either sit quietly next to your relative while they snooze or you sit (and sleep) in a waiting room chair among others who quietly wait for their loved ones in surgery/intensive care/etc.

Don't decide to not visit someone in the hospital because you don't want to "over crowd" them. They will go home exhausted either way. Encouragement is your best bet, and visiting is even better encouragement than a card or a text!!! It is also proven that people heal faster if they are in contact with and are supported by those who love them!

His woman of over 40 years just have him a kiss. I think he hurts a little less now :)

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22