A Day in the Life of a Meniere's Sufferer

Saturday started out a normal day. Get up, eat breakfast, take a shower, go to Jenny Craig to weigh and get food for the week. Felt great. I've lost a total of 31 lbs. so far. One more pound and I'll be half-way to my goal.

I came home and put the frozen food up and ate lunch. Called a new friend that I met on Facebook who's in town and invited her to church. Sent her the directions to the church, then decided to go out and do some photography. I was headed to St. Andrews where I planned to do a few drive-bys and then get out and walk around and take pictures. I got to the airport and started thinking maybe I shouldn't be out in the heat, so I turned and headed towards TJ Maxx where I was going to look for some clothes - shorts and tops. I pulled into the parking lot and decided I didn't want to go in. So, I started driving again and thought I'd go visit my mom, but felt an urgency to get home. I stopped by McDonald's and got a side salad, came home and ate. I settled down to watch a movie "Saving Emily" and about 15 minutes into the movie, the room started spinning out of control. I managed to make it to the bathroom and started vomiting.

When an attack hits, you can't open your eyes or you will start vomiting uncontrollably. It is the most violent of attacks. In between times of vomiting, I try to lay down on the floor. Sometimes, I can take a quick nap before the spinning wakes me up and I start vomiting again. My husband came home and I asked him to wet a washrag for me. He feels so helpless when I have these attacks, because there is nothing he can to do make it better. While I am vomiting, I start sweating and burning up, then I get so cold that I shake uncontrollably. If I were to stick my tongue out, I would bite it off. That's how bad I shake. I asked Vance to bring me two pillows and a blanket.

My dogs get so upset. Vinnie came in while I was laying on the floor and laid down beside me and started pawing at my arm. He wanted me to put my hand on him. I guess to make sure I was alive. I would pet him and lay my hand back down. He would paw at me and then lay his head down on my hand. So sweet. The whole time he was laying beside me, Shadow was laying at the door watching over us. They never left me. One or the other or them would be at my feet when I was laying down.

Kim and Tabitha called while I was in the middle of the attacks. They wanted to know what they could do to help. I just told them to pray. There is nothing anybody can do.

I would lay down on the floor between attacks of vomiting. Even though I was laying on a plush rug, that tile floor was so hard. I think I've got bruises all over my body. Losing weight off my hips has taken away a lot of padding and my bones and tile floors just don't get along very well.

Around 11:00, the spinning stopped, so I thought I could go get in my chair in the living room and sleep the rest of the night. Vance was asleep in his recliner. Bless his heart, he just doesn't know what to do to help me. I had barely gotten sat down before I felt the urge to vomit again. I took off running to the bathroom with my pillows and blanket. This time, it was only acid that came up. That's the worst part - when you have nothing in you for the acid to eat, so it comes up. I had to sit up the rest of the night, because if I laid down the acid would come up.

At 2:00 and 5:00 I had more violent attacks of vomiting up the acid. Finally, it all stopped. I managed to move to my chair around 7:00 and I called Donna to let her know I wouldn't be at church tonight and to look for Shaneen and let her know why I wasn't there. Tabitha called to check on me and I told her to also look for Shaneen. I hate that I missed church. It was Homecoming and I really wanted to meet Shaneen.

I spent the rest of the day in my chair dozing off and on. I ate a muffin around 2:00 to see if I could hold it down. I ate some of Vance's pot roast around 5:00 and I'm feeling better.

Kim called to see how I was doing and asked if I knew what brought on this attack after so many months. I believe I know. Years ago, the specialists tried to put me on a diuretic, but every time I took it, I had an attack. Thursday, when I went to the doctor about having vertigo for three weeks because of fluid in my ears (which she confirmed - classic case of vertigo, not Meniere's), she gave me samples of a diuretic to take to dry of the fluid. I took one that day and drank about 12 glasses of water because it was drying up my saliva. I was going to the bathroom about every 15 minutes. That night, I noticed that my eyes were dialated and would not change when I closed my eyes and then opened them. Kim even noticed them the next day. They looked weird. Friday, I was still drinking water, but noticed that I was not going to the bathroom much. I decided not to take anymore of the medicine. But, I think I had enough in me to cause the attack.

I'm praying that this will all go away and never return. Please join me in this prayer. If you want to know more about Meniere's Disease, please Google it and pray for all those people who suffer with it.

Miracle After Miracle - I'm So Excited!!!

Alan went home today. What a miracle he is. I hear he's hoping to be at the Rescue Mission Friday night. Revival may break out in that place after he gives his testimony of breaking his back and God healing him - doing a very quick work, too. I hope he's at church Sunday. It's homecoming for our church, so there will be a lot of unsaved loved ones there. I can just see people flocking to the altar after his testimony. Who knows, revival may break out in our church. That would be wonderful.

Then, we find out about Mary Spence. Mary works with me and she had a brain aneurysm around Thanksgiving. She was in a coma for months, then begin to slowly come out of it. Now, she's having physical and speech therapy. She is now able to answer questions with "yes" or "no" and is saying 50 words. She recognizes people and puckers up for a kiss whenever her husband walks into the room. She is definitely a miracle. She was not expected to ever come out of the coma, but look what God has done!! He is working miracles in her life and it is so exciting. I have been pumped all day about the news of Mary and Alan. Just can't contain my joy. God is so amazing!

Well, guess I better cut this short. I've got a CD of pictures to copy and some other things to do before I go to bed. And, I'm getting really tired. Don't want to stay up too late tonight. Goodnight and God bless.........Be on the lookout for miracles all around you.

Accident Behind Our Office Today

Had some excitement at work this morning. It was around 10:00; the temperature already in the high 90's with the heat index over 100 degrees. I was walking down the ramp where the line trucks park going from my office to Kim's office when I heard a loud crash. I turned around thinking someone had dropped something on the concrete. Didn't see anyone or anything, so I proceeded to open the door. Saw the lights blink, so I walked into Kim's office and asked her and Jeff (my boss) if the lights had just blinked. Jeff said "No, you must have blinked and just thought it was the lights." I threw back a comment "Well, I guess I just got too hot walking down the ramp and I'm seeing things." I walked into another office and when I came out, several people were standing on the steps looking outside. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked what was going on? Kim said "You were right. Beth said the lights did blink and there's the reason why." On the street behind us, there was a lady in a blue Grand Am sitting in front of the pole that she had hit. The police were already there telling her to stay in the car because the downed power lines were still energized.

Well, you know me - photo op! I went to my office and grabbed my camera. Walked out near the fence which was also energized. I kept the ditch between me and the fence. I got pictures of the lady still in the car, the pole laying in the road - all the way through to the paramedics removing her from the car. We don't know why she ran off the road and hit the pole. It is a straight road and we didn't see any other cars. She could have been on her cell phone, adjusting the radio, picking up something off the floor, eating, or even passed out. I guess we won't know until the police report comes back. Her air bag deployed, so that saved her some injuries. The pole she hit was an old pole so it snapped off easily. Had it been a green pole, I'm afraid she would have gotten hurt a whole lot worse. I never saw any blood and she seemed very calm.

She had to sit in the car in the heat before a crew could get there to drop out the line jacks to de-energize the line. If it had happened before they left this morning, it would have taken them no time to get it done. But, all our crews were several miles away at the time of the accident and had to fight the heavy traffic to get back to the shop. She didn't seem to be in any pain and was just sitting patiently in her car.

After they took her away in the ambulance - without lights or sirens (good sign), several more crews showed up. All-in-all, it took four crews four hours in this extreme hot weather to get the new pole set, wire restrung and new directional lights hung. In the meantime, our Substation Department was out of power the entire time. I'm glad it didn't affect our office. The substation crews were all out in the field, so it didn't affect them either. Those of us who have to work in the office would have been miserable with no windows to open.

I just pray that the lady was not injured in any way. One thing I am thankful for is that there was no child riding in the car seat that was in her backseat. I would have found it very hard to watch and wait in 100 degree heat while a child screamed from the backseat scared and possibly injured. How do policemen, firemen and paramedics feel in a situation like that? Pretty helpless, I would imagine.

It's Been Another Blessed Day

On my way to work this morning, I stopped in Sonic to get a Route 44 unsweet tea - Stevia now, no sugar. As I was pulling out, my sister was pulling in. She waved and smiled that beautiful smile of hers, then called me on my cell phone. We had a nice conversation until we both got to work. I sure do love my sister. She was asking about Uncle Rudolph's funeral because she couldn't get off work to go. I told her how nice it was and the stupid mistake I made in thinking the burial was at Evergreen when it was all the way across town at Greenwood. She thought that was funny - me racing all over town just to be able to see the family one more time.

Mama beeped in, so we hung up. Mama had gotten her power bill and wanted me to pay it. That's one thing I do for her - pay her bills. Penny buys her groceries and Aunt Margurete takes her to the doctor, Chip cuts her grass. With Daddy, I do it all.

After talking to Mama and paying her bill, I got a call from Melissa at Hollywood Thrift Shop. I stopped in there two or three Saturday's ago to check it out and bought a couple of tops and a pair of capris. She was having a drawing for a Father's Day basket to help out a family whose father has cancer. He's only 28 years old. I bought six tickets and as I was walking out the door, I prayed "Lord, please let me win this basket so I can give it to that young man. His family doesn't have money to buy extra things and this man deserves something nice on Father's Day." I prayed for his healing and then just forgot all about the raffle. Well, guess what? I won the basket! Melissa called to tell me that I could come by and pick it up. Without even hesitating, I said "Melissa, would you please give it to the young man that you were trying to bless with the raffle proceeds? I really want him to have it." She started crying and said that her husband was going by to visit with him today and he would take it to him. See, God does hear our prayers. And He blessed me so much by allowing me to win that basket so that I could bless someone else. I am just in awe of His grace and mercy and goodness. I do pray for his complete healing so that he can be around to see his children grow up and get married and give him grandchildren. I don't even know his name, but God knows him. If you are reading this, please just say a prayer for him. I just can't stop praising My Father. I am so blessed!

Trent called and asked if I'd pick him and Hope up for church. Of course! I love to take them to church. We had a good service again tonight. Pastor Sammy has been sick and out a lot, but he did a great job tonight. Praise and Worship was so sweet. God is really moving in our song services. We don't perform; we worship with all our hearts. It's great to see the young people get out of their seats and line up across the front of the church and worship with us. No inhabitions. They are free to worship in our church. And even to see the little children leave the security of their parents to come forward and clap and sing along. What a moving experience. You know it comes from the heart because they don't act up; they truly worship.

It's getting close to midnight and I need my beauty sleep (all I can get!!). Goodnight and God bless...........

Homegoing

Today was my uncle's funeral. Uncle Rudolph was the District Commander for the Royal Rangers for many years and there were many nice things said about him and his love for the young men who were in the Royal Rangers. My sons were RR's for a couple of years during his reign. I think they really enjoyed their time there. My cousin Beverly's daughter, Ashley, sang a song in honor of her Grandfather and it was so beautiful. She has an amazing voice. I never knew that about her.

The preacher actually preached a sermon of my uncle's on the 23rd Psalm. It was so good and such a blessing to hear. Yes, my uncle was also a pastor. How he found time to do all that he did, I just don't know.

I took Daddy to the funeral, but he wasn't feeling up to going to the cemetery so I rushed him home and headed to the cemetery. I flew up Hwy 231 to Evergreen and no one was there. I knew they couldn't have all left that quick, so I looked at the little funeral announcement I got at the church and realized I was at the wrong cemetery. He was being laid to rest in Greenwood - clear across town. So, I'm talking to myself and debating "do I go or do I just go back to work?" I decided to go and see if anyone was still there. Well, I got there right after the service was over, but I did get to speak to everybody and hand out my cards so they would all have my email and phone number.

My cousin, Bucky, promised to email me and he did through Facebook tonight. At least I know I'll stay in contact with Bucky and Melissa, my 2nd cousin. We have got to get a reunion together sometime soon. Cousin Ronnie promised to email me when he got back home. I think he and his daughter are coming back in a few weeks. Maybe we can all get together then.

I realize we are all busy and have jobs and families of our own, but I miss seeing my cousins, aunts and uncles. I've reached out. Let's see how many reach back. :)

I went back to work and had an appointment after work to get my hair colored. It sure did need it. I had about a two inch gray streak running down the middle of my head. I'm just not ready to go gray yet. Maybe when I'm in my 70's.......

I missed Praise and Worship practice, but I made it for intercessory prayer. God is so awesome and all He wants is our love and praise and thanks for what He has done for us. Sarah reminded us "Give Him praise no matter what the circumstance." I plan on doing more of that.

Sarah pulled me aside after prayer and said she had to tell me something about last Wednesday night. She said she had been praying the scripture "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen" over a situation in her life. I had taken my granddaughter, Hope, to church. She hasn't been in awhile and as we were walking to the car after church, she said "Nonna, aren't we going inside?" I said "If you want to." She said "Yes, I need to see some people and hug them." So we went inside. She ran up to Mrs. Sandi and gave her a hug and Pastor Sammy, then she went looking for Sarah. She ran up behind her and hugged her. Sarah turned around thinking it was Little Sarah and was surprised to see that it was Hope. Hope squeezed her and told her "I love you", then she was ready to go home. Well, as Sarah was leaving church, the Lord brought back to her remembrance the scripture she had been praying and in her spirit, she heard "Tonight I brought you Hope to let you know that I love you." He used my little Hope to minister to Sarah. Isn't He an awesome God?

It's been a very tiring day and I'm going to bed early tonight. Goodnight and God bless............

Reconnecting With Family

Today was a pretty normal day at work - busy. But, I like busy. I don't like just sitting around looking for something to do.

After work, I went and picked up Daddy to go to the funeral home for my uncle's viewing. It is a crying shame that a death has to occur to bring families together. The last time I saw all my cousins was at my Grandmother's funeral. You just about feel like you need to introduce yourself. Know what I mean? I did have to introduce my sister, Penny, to a few of them. My cousin, Ronnie, has lived overseas just about all her life and they've only seen each other a few times. So, I walked up and said "Ronnie, this is your cousin, Penny." We had a good laugh over that. As a matter of fact, we did a lot of laughing tonight. You see, when you know that the deceased is in heaven having a reunion with Jesus and other members of your family and he's lived for 80 years, you can laugh and not feel like you are dishonoring his memory. He loved to laugh, so I'm sure he would have been laughing right along with us had he been here.

I talked to all my cousins and told them we needed to start getting together again and not let years go by without seeing one another. They all agreed, so I came home and made my own personal business cards with my name, address, phone number and email address on it. I'm going to pass them out tomorrow and see just how many of them respond. We've all got old pictures that we don't know who the people are, so I think we should all bring the pictures to the remaining three siblings - Daddy, Rosa Lee and Betty - and let them tell us who these people are and the stories that are going to be lost if they don't tell them. I will volunteer to scan the pictures and put a book together for everybody that wants one.

I guess I better get in bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Pray for the family and especially pray that those who are not saved will hear something tomorrow that will bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Blessings and love to all.............

Miracle Updates

Had an awesome day at church today. Praise and Worship was so good. Then, before Mrs. Sandi preached, Donna gave an update on Alan. Alan had surgery and the doctor told them that all he had to do was clean up the area and install rods to strengthen his back because Somebody had already done the surgery. We all know Who that Somebody was, don't we? Alan is up walking and the Dr. told him that he would not even have to have rehab! He will have to wear a back brace for a little while, but that's all. What a miracle he is!!! Alan expects to be in church Wednesday night to give his testimony. I can't wait to hear it. I wouldn't miss it for anything. They even had the pictures of the MRI's from when he went in to the ER and what was taken the day of the surgery. I didn't get to see them, but they say they look like two different people's MRI's, but we know for sure they belong to Alan. I am so excited about this!!! God is doing some mighty works in these last days.


Just wanted to give that update. It's now after midnight and I need to get to bed. Goodnight and God bless........

More Miracles

Today didn't start off very well. Daddy called around 8:30 to tell me that his brother, my Uncle Rudolph, passed away in his sleep last night. That was a shock. Daddy asked me to call Penny and Chip and let them know. I told Daddy I'd take him to see the family anytime he wanted to go. I called Penny and Chip and then Aunt Rose. She said Uncle Rudolph had been having some problems with his legs and was in a wheelchair. He told his wife that he didn't want to live that way and had been praying for God to carry him home. I guess he got his prayers answered.

I went and weighed in this morning. I've lost 28.6 lbs. While I was there, they asked me if I could take a picture of some kind of pink junk food so they could post the names of people who lose weight around it. I had made one of some candy with the inscription "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" and they had been using it, but wanted to change it out. So, I went next door to the Dollar Store to look for pink candy, but couldn't find anything but pink iced animal crackers. Bought a bag and came home and took pictures. Nah, that's not what I want.

I just sat around watching movies until Vance got home. Kim called after she dropped Hope off at home and asked if I just wanted to ride around. I told her about the assignment and she came and picked me up. Vance wanted to take a nap anyway. We went to the candy store in the mall and they let me take pictures, then we decided to drive out to Pier Park and take pictures at the Candymaker Store. Also took pictures of the original carousel that used to be at Miracle Strip. Kim had never eaten a burger from Five Guys Burgers and Fries, so I told her I'd buy supper. She didn't want to do it because she didn't want to compromise my diet. I told her it was okay. I ordered a small hamburger, ate just a few of the fries and had water. While we were waiting for our order to come up, I had been watching the lady put the burgers together. She seemed a little familiar, but I couldn't place her. She looked at me and motioned me over. She said "What's your name?" I said "Pat." She said "Patsy?" and I knew right away that she was Jennifer's mother. I walked over and she came to the counter. I asked how Jennifer was and she said she had just talked to her today. They now live in Mobile. I wrote down my phone number and asked her to give it to Jennifer. (Jennifer was my brother, Earl's, wife.)I have been praying that I could reconnect with Jennifer and Anthony, my nephew. Jennifer's mom said Anthony was tall and had hair just like Earl (very curly) and had Earl's personality. I just burst into tears. She said she would call me and get my address and send me pictures of Anthony. He was only three when Earl died and that's been 11 years ago. I haven't seen him since he was about four. I hugged her and walked back over to Kim. Kim asked if I needed to go outside. I told her "No, these are happy tears. That was Jennifer's mom and I'm just praising God for answering my prayers. I don't care if people see me cry." What a blessing and miracle from God. I am so excited.

When I got home, I called Penny to tell her. She was excited and amazed, too. She said "Isn't it great that God sent you there?" We both want to go see him if she will let us. Thank You, Lord, for answered prayer.

Now, I've got to go to bed. It's almost 1:00am and I've got to get up and go to church in a few hours. Can't wait to see what God is going to do next.

Miracles Are All Around Us

What an awesome day I've had. Just have to share another little tidbit about Alan. Kim has been praying for him all week, like we all have. But, she said when she prayed, she saw him walking with Jesus and the song that Patsy Cline sang "After Midnight" kept going through her mind. The words were changed a little, but the tune was the same. It was "After midnight, we'll be talking. After midnight, we'll be walking." She shared this with our internet prayer group this morning and Donna wrote her back this amazing testimony. Donna said that every day when she visited Alan, she would pull up the covers to look at the color of his legs and feet to make sure the blood was circulating. And every day, Alan's feet looked dirty. They didn't look that way in the beginning and she knew he hadn't been able to get up and walk, so she asked him why his feet were dirty. This is where it gets good! Alan said that after everybody had gone and most people were asleep, he would see himself and Jesus walking and talking. Is that not the most awesome testimony you have ever heard? In the Spirit, Alan and Jesus have been walking after midnight and the evidence is on Alan's feet! How great is our God!!!

I had a great lunch at Sweet Magnolia's with several of the women from SUMC. Lynn was there again. Lynn and I were blessed to have Donna and her granddaughter, Wanda, Olga and Jasmine join us. Jasmine is one of the youth and she still looks as beautiful as she did when she was in the youth group. She now has two children. (Yes, Pat, you are getting old.) Hopefully, we can get another group together next week. This is getting to be a lot of fun.......

You remember from yesterday's post that Trent asked me to go to VBS with him for Family night. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get off in time, but I actually finished the timesheets an hour before time to get off. I figured lunch would have put me behind, but God had plans for me to hear another awesome testimony. I got to the church at 5:30 and the doors were not open yet. I followed a couple of ladies into another door and we decided to sit together. Never met either one of them and they had never met each other. We were all there for our grandchildren. We sat down and one of the ladies started telling us her story. 15 years ago, she was in a horrible car crash in Baton Rouge. She broke every bone in her body, including three breaks in her back and her neck was broken. Her left arm was crushed and 1/3 of her brain was damaged. She had internal injuries. When she got to the hospital, two doctors were arguing about whether to even treat her. They only gave her 1% chance to live. One percent! When her daughter got to the hospital, she told them they better do everything they could possibly do for her mother. Well, they said they would probably need to amputate the left arm because it was in such bad shape. Her daughter said no, so they put titanium rods in her arm. She was in a coma and on a ventilator for over a year. When she came out of the coma, she had to relearn how to talk, eat, walk. It was just like she was a newborn baby. For 12 years, her family had to do everything for her and she even learned her ABC's with her granddaughter. This woman is a walking/talking miracle. She does not even walk with a limp, her arm is perfect. You can only see a few small scars. She started driving a little over a year ago. What a testimony she had of a miracle-working God. I felt so blessed to be allowed to hear her testimony. I never got her name because the program started and we didn't speak again the rest of the night. And the kids did a great job. The whole VBS theme was on worship.

Speaking of miracles, I have to share a miracle happening to my dog, Vinnie. Back in November, he got a spot on the top of his head that just kept getting bigger. I was sure it was a tumor, probably cancer. At the time, we didn't have money to take him to the vet. He's 17 and had just about lost all of his hearing. But, I'm just not ready to let him go yet, so I started laying hands on him every day and praying for him. One night, I had a dream that the thing was going to dry up and fall off. I've been holding on to that as a promise from God. Well, the tumor kept getting bigger until it was about two inches long and an inch wide. It actually looked like a brain on top of his head. It never seemed to bother him. He never seemed to be in pain at all. Sometimes he would bump it on the wall and it would bleed a little, but he never whimpered when I would touch it. I kept praying. Well, guess what? God even cares for our pets. The thing is now smaller than a quarter and he's even getting his hearing back! You used to have to be right on top of him for him to hear you. I started using sign language to get him to come and stay. Now, he hears my car drive up again and runs to the door. He hasn't done that in over a year. My husband is amazed. I had told him that I was praying for Vinnie to be healed and he's the one who told me that "not only is the thing on his head getting smaller, but he's able to hear again." Who knows, it may be through the healing of Vinnie that draws my husband back to God and gets him in church. I will take it any way I can get it. I should have photographed that thing on his head, but it was so gross that I didn't want a reminder of it. I've prayed for God to extend his life longer than a normal lifespan for dogs (and for Shadow, too). Our dogs are like children to us and they bring us so much joy. And Vinnie always knows when I'm sick or hurting emotionally and he will not leave my side. He's another miracle in the making.

I just can't wait to see what God is going to do tomorrow. Goodnight and God bless...

Summer is Definitely Here

Wow! It sure was hot today. I praise God everyday that I work inside where I don't have to sweat. In fact, I'm always having to turn the A/C up because the guys come in and out of the hot weather, so they have it turned to 68 degrees. I get so cold, I reach up and flip it to 75. I leave the office and back down it goes. We play this game all day during the summer. Now, when I was going through menopause, I didn't change it, except in the winter. I'd turn on the A/C when they wanted the heat. Maybe they are getting back at me???

I've been having some issues the past couple of weeks with vertigo. Last week, I missed church and two days of work. No, it's not Meniere's raising it's ugly head. God healed me of that and I'm not taking it back. This is a classic case of vertigo. I know because if I lay on my right side, the whole room spins. I can turn over to the left side and it stops. I also can't tilt my head back to look up. I'll fall down if I don't have anything to hang on to. This morning, I woke up dizzy again. After spending the day yesterday sneezing, my sinuses were messed up. I called my boss, took some Musinex, laid back in the chair (been sleeping sitting up for most of the past two weeks) and went back to sleep. Woke up around 9:30 and was fine. Fixed something to eat and then took a shower and went to work. Felt great the rest of the day. I worked till 5:30, then went to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things for Daddy. Spent about an hour visiting with him.

There have been some awesome things happening the past few weeks that I'd like to share with you. Because of Vance and Michelle, I got hooked on Facebook. I have had a blast reconnecting with girls that I went to elementary and middle school with. Some of these girls (now grandmothers), I haven't seen in 40 years. Most of them have moved away from here and we got to talking about places from our past. So, with camera in hand, I headed out to photograph those places. I go most of the time at lunch with my little Canon Power Shot A1000IS. This is what I call my "drive-by shootings". You have to be safe when you do these shootings. You certainly don't want to hurt anybody, or yourself for that matter. I always make sure there are no vehicles behind me so I can slow down as I go by the site that I am shooting. I wrap the strap around my left hand, put my finger on the button, eyes on the road, right hand on the steering wheel and shoot. It's been so amazing how great the pictures have turned out. Most are perfectly centered and straight. Some are a little crooked, but that adds to the charm. I post them on Facebook and the girls love to see the old places and how they have changed. It makes them feel like they have visited home again. A few shots are taken with the car fully stopped, but the best ones are the drive-bys.

Through FB, I have also reconnected with several people that I used to go to church with at Springfield Methodist. Some are the youth that I worked with. Now, they are all grown up and have children of their own. Boy, do I feel old! Not really!! Anyway, last Thursday, five of us got together for lunch at Olive Garden. Our matriarch, Mrs. Lena (Pastor Fred's wife), her daughter Connie (our P&W leader), Lynn (keyboard), Connie and I (expressive worship & choir). We had a great time and some of us are planning on meeting again tomorrow. There will be new faces and I'm so excited about that. I think a couple of the younger girls are coming. We're even planning on having a reunion in the future. Inviting the whole family to that. I'm so excited about that.

Now, for the icing on the cake. Last Thursday, one of the young men (Alan) in our church was doing his job, which is cutting trees. He was up 40 feet in the air in a pine tree when the limb that he was tethered off to broke and threw him to the ground on top of limbs that he had already cut. He landed on his back across one of those limbs. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't move. So, he started praying over his legs to move. The paramedics came and his cousin had to cut trees and shrubs from around him so that they could get him out. He was taken to the hospital and was told that he had broken his back. But, when he got there, he was able to feel his legs again and move his toes. Still, the prognosis was not good. Well, we all know that God can perform miracles, so we all started praying for a miracle. Alan would not allow anybody to speak any negative words over him. He would preach to anybody who came into the ICU to see him. They would go in to minister to him and he would end up ministering to them. This morning, Alan had surgery on his back. The doctor said when he opened him up, it looked like Somebody had already started doing surgery on his back. He said it didn't look like the MRI's, CT's or x'rays that had been taken the day he was brought into the hospital. Three hours after back surgery, Alan was sitting on the side of his bed with his feet on the floor swinging his legs and praying for strength to allow him to get up and walk. This is a man who has been flat on his back for a whole week unable to move his legs, other than just wiggling his toes. I believe Alan will be in church testifying of the greatness of God either Sunday or Wednesday by the latest. Just another miracle that we have seen in our church. And there are many more to come. THE SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY IS THE BREEDING GROUND FOR MIRACLES. And, we are definitely expecting miracles, salvations, signs and wonders. Those things did not stop when Jesus died. He said that we would perform even greater miracles than He did. But, only through Him can these things happen. I'm excited about the days to come.

I had a lot more to say, but I'm exhausted and it's going to be a long day tomorrow. It's timesheet day, I'm meeting the girls for lunch and hoping to be able to get off on time so I can go with Trent to the church where he has been attending VBS this week. Tomorrow night is Family Night and Tabitha has to work and Chad won't go. So, I'm praying that I can go and be with Trent. Goodnight and God bless........