Thursday without words, because I posted something else on Wednesday...

His grace is sufficient...

This morning I am fighting not one, but two migraines.  They came on me after I went for blood work, as I arrived at Curves to get a little exercise. I took my medication, and am functioning fairly well.  And as I have aged, the headaches have decreased in severity, making them fairly manageable most of the time.

I began getting migraines at about the age of 5 or 6, and starting at that time and throughout my high school and early college years, they were fairly severe. They usually included pain, nausea and vomiting, numbness in my hands and feet, and severe noise and light sensitivity. I spent a good deal of time in a dark bed, with a good deal of time to think and pray.  I have redeemed a lot of  my migraine time by praying for others.  It is always healthy to get ones mind off of oneself, after all, and praying for those whose needs are greater than your own is a good way to get perspective.

Sometime in high school, I first studied the passage about Paul's suffering in 2 Corinthians 12:

⁷So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me,  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now, I haven't had the surpassing greatness of revelation that Paul had, but God has blessed me beyond measure, and these dratted headaches have surely kept me more humble than I would otherwise have been. I have always wondered if Paul had migraines.   Like him, I have pleaded for these things to stop.  But also like him, God's answer has been that His grace must be sufficient for me in and through them instead.

So today I am fuzzy around the edges, and have the vaguest hint of a headache, and may need to take a nap.  But I choose to look at this as an opportunity to see how God will make Himself sufficient for me today.  May you find Him sufficient for all your needs today also, Gentle Reader!

Geocaching in a beautiful place...

Geocaching takes you to some lovely places, even ones close to home! If you don't know what geocaching is, you can get more details here,  but think of it as a geeky way to get outside and combine a walk with a treasure hunt.  Dave and I have been enjoying this little game for about a year now, and have managed to find almost 80 caches so far.  And we have sent a travel bug all the way to Belgrade, Serbia.  Our next project is to plan and place out own cache for others to find.  We are almost ready to unveil it! If you are looking for a fun way to get exercise, Gentle Reader, grab a GPS and a friend, and give it a try! Still need convincing?  Look at these lovely sights from a stormy Saturday last weekend. Although I guess it helps to live in such a beautiful place...

Sabbath Songs

Not What My Hands Have Done by Horatius Bonar (1861)

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;
Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.
No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;
No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

Quite a day...

Well, Gentle Reader, I survived my scopes, and other than a few uncomfortable hours on Thursday evening, it was just fine. That is how I know many people were praying for me: your prayers were answered, and God carried me through it all!  Thank you!  The good news is that the doctor gave me a clean bill of health.  The not-so-good news is that he could not find any sign of bleeding, and hence no hint of a reason why I lost so much iron..  We are not sure what that means at this point, but my vote is that we just stop looking for a while.  Next week I will have blood work done and see the oncologist, and discuss all of this with her. 

Also yesterday, my eldest ds, Ben, was the first to come upon a serious car accident, and found himself pulling a young woman from an upside-down, smoking car.  I am very proud of his bravery. You can read more about it here. Please pray for th young woman, for Ben who has memories he would rather not have, and for the others who stood and watched and wouldn't help him.

Also pray for Ben's wife, Elsa, and her family, who lost Elsa's last grandfather last night. She told me on the phone that her parents are both orphans now. What a poignant reminder that we are sojourners and pilgrims here, and earth is not our home. Our earthly loss is heaven's gain, as Grandpa. Nickels is in the presence of his Lord, and reunited with loved ones there.

It was quite a day altogether. And I rejoice in the fact that the One who planned each step of that day invites me to call Him father forever.  Blessed be His name!

Most recently completed quilting project...

This is my most recently completed quilt, which has already been sent off to the Great Aunt who inspired it.  It was my first time working with combining photo-on-fabric and sewn text.  And I learned a lot about what NOT to do...Sometimes you have a picture in your mind of how something will work, but you realize at some point that the project has a life of its own, and will not look how you envisioned it. At that point, as the "Great Aunt" says, one has to remember that others do not have that same mental picture to compare it to that you do.  That is a comforting thought.  But I still told her not to hang this where anyone would see it...

A cheerful heart...

Today I am prepping for some tests scheduled for tomorrow.  I will have an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy in the hopes of finding something that is slowly bleeding somewhere in my GI tract, and causing my iron deficiency problems.  I have been dreading this day.  But I know many must be praying because, so far, the day has gone well.  But I haven't yet started drinking the "Movi-Prep", as Dave Barry calls it. (And if you have never read Dave Barry's piece on colonoscopies, Gentle Reader, you must!)

I know I must have sounded bad on the phone yesterday when I spoke to my mother, because today I received this lovely, cheerful bunch of flowers from her.  You know moms.  She hears the fear in your voice, and has to do something.  So she sends lovely, cheerful  flowers.  Thanks, Mom! A cheerful heart is, truly, good medicine!

And thanks to all who are praying for me.  I would appreciate prayers for a good night's sleep tonight, and for the doc to find what he's looking for tomorrow, and fix it right then.  I'll let you all know how it turns out. And in the meantime, I am working to keep that cheerful heart.