Praise the Lord for Good Days!!!

The last few weeks I have been struggling with headaches, unsure of what the next day may hold. I have been trying to daily place my trust in the Lord. Last night, while doing my devotions I was yet again reminded of the importance of drawing near to God and placing my trust in Him as it says in

Psa 73:28  "But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

So this morning, NO headache...praise the Lord. I was actually able to help my mom with her kitchen. I also got an amazing phone call. The appointment for the Headache Clinic in Pittsburgh which was scheduled for February was able to be moved up to October 14 (due to a cancellation). I am thrilled. The Lord really is good. I am hopeful that they will be able to give me some advice or some help in some way. Of course this makes 3 appointments in Pittsburgh in October, but at least maybe then I can get some answers concerning my health. It will be a busy month.

Over all, having a pretty good health day and praising the Lord for it. Hope and pray that I will be in church tonight for once on a Wednesday night. Looking forward to being in the Lord's House among the Lord's people.

Roller Coaster Ride :)

The last several months have been like a roller coaster ride for me. I have many ups and downs. I will have several good days and than go through a bad stretch. Last week, I went through almost a whole week with no headaches and I spent a great deal of time praising God for the good days. Then, it came to an end and the headaches came back. For the last several days, I have been dealing with migraines again. My doctor basically told me to deal with it until I go to my neurologist in October (that is easy for her to say). Today, I actually did not feal too bad. Today, I managed to help my mom make applesauce and elderberry jelly, helped my dad pick some corn and helped my mom prepare it to freeze. A big day. I am tired, but I hope that there are more days like today. One day the Lord will allow me many good days in a row, at least that is what I am praying for. Please continue to pray for me that I can indeed hold out until the end of October when I go see the Neurologist and Cardiologist in Pittsburgh. Hopefully they will be able to give me some answers. Afterall, I like rollercoasters, but I prefer to ride them instead of live them everyday of my life :)

A GREAT Nights Sleep...A Great day to PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Psalm 48:1-2 "Great is  the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."

The last couple of nights the Lord has allowed me to get the rest that I have needed. Last night, I slept through the night until 5:30 am and then I stayed up talking with my dad before work and then went back to sleep and slept almost until 9:00 am. I feel well rested for the first time in months. Praise the Lord for feeling good.

My hands and feet are on the mends, my head feels good, it is a Sunny day...it is a good day to praise the LORD.

What ELSE!!!

I am beginning to feel a little plagued...so Saturday was my first headache free day, but I exchanged it for a rash on the hands and feet which itched and burned and hurt like crazy. I thought it was what the kids had. Then it got worse on Sunday...good news, still no headache. I thought maybe it could be an allergy to my Penicillin since it started right after taking it. I called the ER and they told me to stop taking it and started me on a new prescription. So, today I went to the doctor and found out that I have Scabies (yuck) of all things....not real sure where I got that from, guess I could have gotten them anywhere as yucky as people are these days. My life is full of surprises. A couple of weeks ago I made the mistake of saying that everything hurt except for my feet, now my feet hurt...hey at least I am headache free for the last 3 days. Praise the LORD.

On Top of Everything Else....

So this week has been an ok week, as long as I stay on top of the pain medication for the migraines, up until yesterday. Yesterday, I woke up with a major sore throat. It did not really surprise me too much because 7 out of the 8 nieces and nephews are sick. (1 has strep throat and the rest with the runny nose and fever). So, later in the afternoon I started to run a fever and my heart was racing off and on even while sitting down, which is a little unusual for me. So, I decided to go to Express Care to get checked. When they checked my heart rate while sitting it was in the 140s and they did a strep test. When the doctor came in he said, "Well the good news is you have strep throat, the bad news is we are going to send you the ER for your SVT (supraventricular tachycardia). Believe me I was not excited. By the time I got to ER my heart rate was in the 120s and I got to see my favorite doctor (not really), and she told me that I had sinus tachycardia caused from the strep throat and that I needed to rest and take penicillin for the strep. OK....so I came home and went to bed.

Psalm 38:21--"Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me."

This is the Day that the Lord hath Made Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad in It!

This morning I had the great opportunity to attend church once again this Sunday morning. I always enjoy spending Sundays in church. I am always blessed not only in the preaching, but also in the song service. This morning was no different. We sang two of my favorite hymns and they both brought tears to my eyes because of the promises from God's Words that they hold.

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION----(What a great reminder that GOD is our Foundation and will get us through the difficult trials and will never leave us nor forsake us.)

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

---

STANDING ON THE PROMISES

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

---

The Lord really is a great and awesome God. I need to remember that I need to stand daily on His promises. Today He allowed me to have a fairly good day, PRAISE THE LORD. I went to church and out to dinner with my Pastor and his wife. I did have a headache when I got home, so I took my pain medication and it actually brought it down to a low roar, which is a huge blessing because before this did not work. I am thankful for a pretty good day. Praying I will have more of these.

My Suffering is No Comparison

Yesterday morning, I went for my Lumbar Puncture at 7:30am. I got to the Short Procedure Unit a little early. Much to my dismay they stated that I would need an saline lock IV in order to have the procedure, just in place so that if I passed out they could give me fluids or medication if needed. I have veins but they are teeny, tiny and it takes forever to get an IV started on me. The nurse was going to look, but something happened and she needed to go and attend to it. So needless to say 2 anesthesiologists were trying to get my IV started. I lost count of how many times they stuck me, but it was somewhere around 20 times, around 12 of them were in my neck. They finally had to do it under ultrasound. I was very disrought...it took almost 2 hours of constant sticking. Then I had to go through the lumbar puncture which was another couple of very painful needle sticks in my spine. So needless to say I was FULL OF HOLES.

However, no matter how many times that I was poked, nothing comes close to the suffering that Jesus faced for me on the cross.
He was falsely accused (Matthew 26:59--^"Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;")

Held captive instead of a murderer (Mark 15:7,11 "And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.")

Spit on, made fun of and hit (Matthew 26:67--"Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,")

Betrayed and denied by His closest followers/friends--Judas and Peter (Matthew 26-27)

He was scourged or brutally whipped (Matthew 27:26)

He was stripped naked and the soldiers made a mockery of Him by placing a crown of thorns on His head and placing a scarlet robe on His back bowing before Him and saying, "Hail, King of the Jews" (Matthew 27:28-29--^"And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!")

When He thirsted He was given vinegar to drink (Matthew 27:34--"They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.")

Soldiers mocked Him while he died (Mark 15:24--"And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.")

He was placed between 2 thieves like a criminal (Mark 15:27--"And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.")

Continuously mocked while on the cross (Mark 15:29-32--"And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.")

His Father turned His back on Him (Mark 15:34--"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?")

THANK YOU JESUS FOR SUFFERING FOR THE PENALTY OF MY SIN AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME TO KNOW ME AS YOUR CHILD. PLEASE HELP ME TO CONTINUALLY REMEMBER THAT NO MATTER WHAT SUFFERING I FACE YOU HAVE FACED FAR GREATER. YOUR OWN FATHER FORSOOK YOU AND YOU HAVE STATED THAT YOU WILL NEVER DO THAT TO ME.

HEBREWS 13:5--"LET YOUR CONVERSATION BE WITHOUT COVETOUSNESSL AND BE CONTENT WITH SUCH THINGS AS YE HAVE: FOR HE HATH SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE."