Healing Stones

thanks google for image :o)

What do you think when you hear healing stones??

Until recently I would think about hot stone massages.  If you have never had one, I strongly encourage you to ... oh the pure bliss.  anyways, before I get sidetracked any more let me move on.

I was browsing Paperback Swap last weekend when I stumbled upon a book.  It peaked my interested for several reason & quickly used up one of my credits requesting it.  It arrived in my mailbox Thursday or Friday night & once I started reading it I couldn't put it down.  The deepth of this book just BLEW me away.

HEALING STONES

A SULLIVAN CRISP NOVEL

In my opinion, this is one of the best Christian fiction books I have read - heck I would said it is in the top 10 books EVER & I have read a lot in my 32 years.

Amazon's blurb ...

With one flash of a camera, Demi's private life becomes public news. She doesn't know it yet, but her healing has just begun.

Christian college professor Demitria Costanas had vowed to end her affair with a colleague. But she gives into temptation one last time...and a lurking photographer captures her weakness for all to see. Quite literally, she's the woman caught in adultery. And almost everyone--herself included--has a stone to throw.

Enter Sullivan Crisp, a decidedly unorthodox psychologist with his own baggage. He's well-known for his quirky sense of humor and incorporation of "game show" theology into his counseling sessions. And yet there's something more he offers...hope for a fresh start.

Reluctantly the two of them begin an uplifting, uneven journey filled with healing and grace. By turns funny and touching, this story explores the ways humans hurt each other and deceive themselves. And it shows the endlessly creative means God uses to turn stones of accusation and shame into works of beauty that lead us onto the path of healing.

An auspicious debut for a candid yet tender series about pain, healing, and God's invitation for second chances.

This blurb does not do this book justice & neither do I.  Let me just say this: I learned so much in the last two days, that my last year and half makes more sense to me than it ever has.

rambles

Some of you may be wondering why I have had such a shift in thoughts & lack of posts.

Simply put, I am enjoying life to it's fullest & if I have time to blog I do, if I don't well it's the least of my worries.

It was a year ago that I fell into a major depression. It was a first for me, not the depression part, I have been battling that for YEARS.  I know that I will always take a pill to help regulate my brian's chemical balance.  I am okay with that.  BUT this major depression thing threw me for a loop.  I lost 20+ pounds in 2 weeks because nothing tasted good & what I did force myself to eat didn't stay in my system for long.  I would want to sleep all day & then at night I couldn't sleep a lick.  It was HORRIBLE.

People were looking at me like I had grown a second head & avoiding me because they didn't know how to handle what was going on.  It was one of the loneliest times of my life - I know now that I wasn't completely alone even tho it felt like it.  God was always there - I just lost that connection, but you know what is wonderful - He never left me.  He stood by me & made sure I made it through this trial - I may of been a little rough around the edges, but I made it.

In the next month or so, as I have time, I probably will be posting a little more about depression & medicine & why education is sooo very imortant for everyone that is involved in the person's life.

Do you wonder why you have to,

feel the things that hurt you,

if there's a God who loves you,

where is He now?

Maybe, there are things you can't see

and all those things are happening

to bring a better ending

some day, some how, you'll see, you'll see

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the dark before the morning

My friend, you know how this all ends

and you know where you're going,

you just don't know how you get there

so just say a prayer.

and hold on, cause there's good who love God,

life is not a snapshot, it might take a little time,

but you'll see the bigger picture

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the dark before the morning

yeah, yeah,

before the morning,

yeah, yeah

Once you feel the way of glory,

all your pain will fade to memory

once you feel the way of glory,

all your pain will fade to memory

memory, memory, yeah

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,

that you still have a reason to sing,

'cause the pain you've been feeling,

can't compare to the joy that's coming

com'n, you got to wait for the light

press on, just fight the good fight

because the pain you've been feeling,

it's just the hurt before the healing

the pain you've been feeling,

just the dark before the morning

before the morning, yeah, yeah

before the morning

a flea

I have an attention span of a flea.

I pick up hobbies/ideas then discard them quicker than one can say or spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Scrapbooking - my MIL & co-workers introduced me to it when I was pregnant with Goose 7 yrs ago.  I purchased the basics from Creative Memories & a whole lot of paper & stickers from here and there.  Know how many books I've completed - ZERO

Exercise - hahahaha I could run a gym with all the videos & equipment I have purchased over the years.  I joined a couple different places (I really did *heart* Curves when I was a member & should have gotten back into it after having Goose) but have failed to follow thru with said memberships

Yeah that is just two examples, but I think you get the point.

at this point in my life it feels as tho blogging is joining the ranks ...
I have things I think would make interesting, thought provoking posts, but I can't get them from my brain to the screen.

Life is also taking over - work x3 jobs, the girls, the dog . . .

I don't think I am going to shut this place down, because there are alot of memories & parts of my soul here.  I think I'm going to go back to my original reason for blogging - updating friends & family of our going ons and sharing my occasional struggles.  Posts will be sporadic for sure & don't think if you unfollow me I will be hurt.

xo MJ

Two is a Magical Number

yeah, yeah Schoolhouse Rock has us all fooled ... the number three isn't all that magical in my eyes & here is why . . . . .

TWO years ago today I started the day out like this:

and ended it like this:

TWO years ago today I learned how a mother's love could grow

to include TWO beautiful daughters.

this was actually the next day, I had a spinal headache & it was difficult to sit up

TWO YEARS LATER

and my heart still swells at the blessings I have been granted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUCKY!

momma loves you very much

Plan B

When I opened my email this morning, one of my daily reads was waiting for me.  Lindsey of I'm Just Saying, posted about her pastor and author Pete Wilson’s debut book Plan B.  It intrigued me so I went to Amazon to check it out a little more and found this excerpt:

"We spend a lot of time worried about what is happening to us. We focus a lot of attention on when things might happen. We ask a lot of questions about where we will end up. Often in life, the what, when and where are not going to turn out the way you want them to turn out. You don't always get to choose those things, but you do get to choose the why. You may not get to choose what your future is going to be, but at any given time you do get to choose why you're living the way you do."

This sounded like something that I could really relate to - even though I have done SOOO much better at just going with the flow, I have been known to be very HURT when things do not go the way I think they should.  I promptly purchased a copy & can not wait for it to show up in my mailbox.  Then I thought, "Hey MJ maybe someone else could benefit from this also, so why not make a post about it" and here we are!

I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday.

PS Tina - I would love to respond to your comments thru email, but when I hit reply it goes to noreply@blogger.  Go to your Dashboard on Blogger.com. Hit your edit profile, right next to your picture, avatar or whatever else you have showing. Scroll down to the line that says : Show my email address and CHECK THE BOX. Hit save. Thanks :o)

Weekly Wisdom

This is from an email I received this morning.  I felt it was worthy of a weekly wisdom post . . .

“That is why I am suffering as I am, yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV).

Paul was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote these words to Timothy. Paul speaks with clarity and conviction, knowing that God will look after those things that are of most importance to him, even as he writes alone in his cell.

I wonder what was important to Paul? For sure he valued the gospel message that Paul had been so faithful in sharing. But I believe that people were his biggest investment—loved ones like Timothy that were now beyond his reach.

I have a book mark in my Bible –a picture of a little girl. Written on the back are the precious names and dates when I entrusted my three daughters to His care. That was many years ago when they were close beside me each day. Now they are scattered far and wide.

Have you entrusted a loved one to His care? Sometimes it’s hard to let go without giving way to fears that arise, especially when we see them making poor choices. Maybe it’s the mothering instinct that we have but many of us long to “fix” our children, our family, and those we love so deeply. I once heard a mother asked which of her children she loved the most. Her response was, the child that hurts the deepest.

Jesus prayed for his disciples as he was preparing to leave them. (John 17:11-15) He asked the father to protect them. While he was with them, He protected them, but now the time had come to send them out into the word. In verse 15 he asks the father not to take them from the world, but to protect them from the evil one.

This is my prayer for my daughters. I can’t shelter them from the evil in this world, but there is one who can. If ever I am tempted to worry about them, I look at my bookmark, and I’m reminded that I have entrusted them to His care. My heavenly Father is a faithful God who has proved himself many times. He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to him. As much as I love them, He loves them more.

Who do you need to let go of today, end entrust to His care?

Thank you Father that you watch over those that we love and that as we pray for them, you will continue to work in their lives through the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us Lord, to not be tempted to worry over them, but entrust them to your care. Amen

Questions: Do you need to let go of something and give to God?

author Beverley Rayner

Thoughts & Prayers

are going out to all Tennessean's right now. 

They are under a "National Emergency" due to flooding.   CNN coverage


One of my friends was on her way home from work & is now stranded along side the highway.  She's been sitting there for over 6 hours!

The Plague

It seems as though we have been stricken with a plague of sorts.  Well not really, but every one looks at you like you do when you say MRSA (MerSA).

On Tuesday I had to take Ducky to ambulatory care because of the pimple-like abscess on her right thigh/buttock crease.  In a matter of 9 hours it grew 3x larger & was red, hot & tight - the poor girl could barely hobble & it hurt her to sit.  It had to be lanced in order to relieve that pressure & altho it hurt, she was sooo much happier when it was all said and done.  BUT here is the part that gets me, upon first look at the abscess the staff sort of looked at us like "OMG it's MRSA & how in the heck did the baby get it" 

Well what they don't realize is that by now I am a pro at dealing with this crap & that it's not because we are dirty or I don't care that she got this.  Almost 4 years ago is when, as a family, we began to deal with this.  B had an abscess on his leg that he tried to self treat, and ended up in the hospital for a week and a gapping hole from where they had to cut it out.  Since then, he as had several other, smaller, abscesses and I have had two.  I know that I am a colonized with MRSA and wouldn't be surprised if I am a carrier - and I'm pretty sure B is also.

Then to top it off, much of the public is very under educated about what MRSA is.  Their knowledge is limited to the outbreak scares, word of mouth, & internet searches.  People, we all have staph that grows on our skin & unfortunately thru antibiotic abuse (over use, not taking as directed) there are now strains that are very resistent to some types of antibiotics - that is MRSA.

So in effort I am sharing some facts about MRSA.  I am trying to locate the one site that we use at work that has a WONDERFUL booklet about living with MRSA and other fact sheets.  But for now here is this:

MRSA is caused by a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria or usually called “staph“. S. aureus is a common type of bacteria that normally lives on the skin and sometimes in the nose. MRSA is difficult to treat than most staph Because it’s resistant to some commonly used and powerful antibiotics such as penicillin (Bacteria may develop resistance to antibiotics when they are used but are not needed or not taken as directed.) Staph aureus is common and generally about 30 percent of all people are colonized with staph at any given time.
 
Many ordinary people already have MRSA bacteria living on their skin or in their noses. These people are known as carriers, they do not showed any symptoms, but they do carry the disease to other people ( non-carriers ). While 25 percent to 30 percent of the population carries staph, it is estimated that 1 percent carries MRSA, according to CDC.


Normally the bacteria they carry do not cause major health problems unless the bacteria manage to enter the body through wounds or open skin. Even then, it usually only result in minor skin conditions, such as acne pimples. However, when the susceptible populations identified above come into direct contact with carriers, there is a large potential for them to develop severe staph infections and serious disease.