God IS good ...

God IS good, all the time. 

If we would but remember that, and keep our focus on Him and let Him take over, then we wouldn't get dismayed every time things got tough. But. we don't remember, we don't keep our focus on Him, we don't allow Him to take control all the time and we certainly do get dismayed.

Yet He hears the prayers of His children. And He answers .... it is in His own good time and sometimes the answer is Yes, sometimes No, sometimes Maybe or Perhaps or Later. Whenever and whatever He answers, it always will be for His purpose, always for us to learn to trust Him more, and always to His glory. 

This week has been a long one. Eight nights, 7 days, 4 visits to the doctor, 2 different antibiotics. Concern, anxiety,  with a leg very inflamed and lots of swelling and pain, and a diagnosis of cellulitis, gave way to more calmness as by Wednesday night, Jan. 11, it appeared the swelling was decreasing...the redness was lessening. There was still tenderness, but with Jim resting his leg by keeping it elevated as much as possible, God's healing power was evident. 

Friday morning, Jan. 13, we visited Dr. Butler, and to say the least, he was very encouraged to see how well the leg was faring.  During the day, Jim felt well enough to resume de-decorating the house of Christmas decorations and even sent the big Christmas tree packing down the basement stairs (also known as letting it slide).

The Scripture verse (Hebrews 12:1-2) we relied on during our journey with Jim's cancer during most of 2015 is a reminder the verse is for every day. 

"Let us lay aside every weight, (every hindrance, every difficulty,) and the sin (unkind words, for instance) which so easily ensnares us, (captures us, locks us in,) and Let us run with endurance the race, (the journey, our life,) that is set before us, looking unto, (keeping our focus on,) Jesus, (only,) the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him - (the joy of our salvation) - endured, (dealt with patiently,) the cross,  despising the shame, (the abuse done by others,) and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (has returned to His rightful place of honor)."

Recovery At Home - Day 20

We left the house at 8:30 this morning ... to fill the gas tank, to have blood drawn at MedLabs, to get our hair cuts in Solon and then to UIHC in take care of the J-tube discomfort. And we got home shortly before noon. Answers to prayers. Praise the Lord!

This morning's devotion took me to Isaiah 41:13 --

"For I AM The Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and say to you, 'Do Not Fear. I will help you.' " 

and I wrote --

The pain grips
You want it to go away
Who do you reach out to
Who do you call out to
Is it The Lord,
your God,
who is with you
always with you
He takes hold of your hand
You haven't released your hold
have you
He says to you,
"Do not fear.
I will help you."
He will remove the pain
or
He will lessen the pain
or
He will make a way
for you to cope with the pain
Whatever it is
that He will do
you can be assured
He will help you
For He is The Lord,
your God, my God.

(c) CMOL


Focus on ME
more on ME
than on the trials
surrounding you
Trouble is a constant
a given
But I have overcome
and I can help you too
overcome
the unraveling
that this day
will bring
Focus on ME
Stay conscious of ME
Remember I AM
right here
right beside you
I will guide your steps
I can and I will
equip you
to get through
all
you must endure.
Trust ME.

(c) CMOL

We saw nurse Joan at 10:45 a.m. - she decided to snip one of the four stitches holding the J-tube and that one stitch seemed to be the culprit. It was holding tight, which, it was surmised was causing most of the discomfort Jim was having every time he moved. She removed the Duoderm tape too, washed the area a bit and then put gauze underneath the tube, followed by paper tape to hold in place. When Jim got up, he said it already felt much better. Joan suggested for the next few days to a week to daily wash the area around the J-tube with soap and water, then put the dressing on. When Jim notices no pain, we can stop.

Jim slept most of the afternoon and he feels better.

Dr. Butler's office called and said Jim's INR readings are 2.2 now, so he should take 3 mg coumadin nightly and have his levels checked again on Thursday. 

Trust Me

The still small voice
of the Lord
came to me
"Trust Me"
He said.

Have faith
in
Who I AM
What I CAN DO
When I COME
Where I GO
Why I SAY
How I DELIVER

Trust Me
Do not fret
Do good
Commit yourself to Me
Wait patiently for Me
I will uphold you
Keep My way
I AM your strength
I will help you
I will deliver, rescue you from the enemy
Trust Me.
(taken from Psalm 37)

His voice
in the stillness
of early morning
I heard
"Trust Me," He said.
I will take care of Jim
I will take care of you

Turn to Me
everytime
whenever the enemy digs
Do not give in to his maneuvers
He is up to no good

Turn to Me
Talk to Me
Share your every fear with Me
and I will be with you through it all
Hold on to Me
I will guide you
I will keep you safe
I will bring calmness and peace
to your soul.

Trust Me child,
Trust Me.

Good Intentions

"Rejoice always
pray without ceasing
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus." ~ I Thessalonians 5:16-18

"In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul." ~ Psalm 138:3

The good intentions were there, but between starting the day and ending the day yesterday, messes exploded and we fell prey to Satan's tactics.

A partially good day.

Partially means not all, because there were some parts that were not so good, downright bad.

What good is partially good?

God is good all the time. Why can't we?

TRUST

Run, walk
the race
Live
life
before you
upon you
now
with
stamina
strength
endurance

without stumbling
or falling
into the pit
of self-pity
self-preoccupation
of giving up

Barely out of
the starting gate
and already
we have had
enough?
We must depend
on God
for everything
We cannot depend
on ourselves
or others

God is who we look to
God is who we confide in
We must stay rooted
in Him
We must abide in
His Love
We must not dwell...
We must not
let incidents
crop up and grab hold
of us
and take us
down paths
we know
we should not go.

We must keep our focus
on the Lord Jesus

With our trust
in Him,
we will
ALWAYS
see
the clear road ahead
He will
protect us
from
needless
worry and obsession.