THE MONTH OF MAY

Life can be crazy and busy.  Life can be confusing.  My life in general tends to be all of the above, at the same time.  Barb, my friend from out of town, came and spent a month with me.  She came to help me organize my house and life.  She also came to give me support, which I desperately needed at the time.  She went to Mayo with me and will continue to support me as she has gone home.  She gives me "Reality Checks" which we I need from time to time.  Only a true friend can do that.

Returning to Mayo on Tues, I will have additional testing and determine levels of medication and Physical Therapy.  I will go by myself this time.  (I'm a big girl; I can do it.)

During this past two weeks, I have also had a cousin visit, nephew and his wife and 4 children, my sister-in-law and her daughter, plus some friends with their young daughter.  Busy times, and I am tired.  I have literally slept off and on for the last two days.  Weiner has been right beside me.  I don't know if that is good for her or not, but she is there all the same.  Even though it has been hectic, these are people I have not seen for some time and have enjoyed every minute I have been physically able to spend with them.

My family and friends mean so much to me.  They continue to support me with prayers and wonderful thoughts.  To my husband, too many people can be overwhelming.  To me, they are comfort and warmth.  They are support and "warm fuzzies" when I need them, and they lift my spirits when they don't even know they are doing it.  Without them, I'd be lost.  I am blessed!

CULT OR CHURCH

Where does becoming a "follower" begin?  Is it at the time of acceptance of Jesus, or could it be later, or earlier?  I'm not quite sure, but I do know that God requires us to FOLLOW HIM.  How we do that is different for each person as He has multifaceted  paths for each of us-no two people are the same.

I do know He does NOT:
require us to "shun" our family
listen ONLY to the "leader" of our church
read ONLY books written by a "certain" group of people
argue with people about religious beliefs

We are not convicted by someone else's beliefs, nor are we to follow a "person" who says he is Jesus Incarnate.  We must have a PERSONAL, MENTAL, and SPIRITUAL relationship with God.  Prayer,  Bible Study, The Holy Spirit, and having an "Open Heart" to God's leadings, are all things we must nuture in order to get stronger in our beliefs and have a closer, more personal relationship to God.

God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are on call 24/7.

Mustard or MAYO

If you have never seen an Ant Farm, and would like to see one, go to the MAYO Clinic, Jax, FL.  Trails, levels, places to eat, and oh yes, ants.  Switch ants to people and you have the place.

One week there of testing and exhaustion is enough for me.  Efficient, logical, timely, and any other positive adjective you can imagine for the clinic.  "Testing" days, ending with 3 flights of stairs up to our condo just about kicked it for me.  Barb and I decided to come home early.  (We really missed Wiener)  The condo was not all it was cracked up to be.

On a more upbeat note, I received good news and even better news.  Diagnosis is multi-faceted:

1.  Bone spur in one of the nerves of my spine
2.  Fibromyalgia
3.  Border-line diabetes
4.  Extremely high-
     Triclycerides; thyroid- should not be higher than .4 and mine was
     77.6; blood pressure; white cell count (usually indicates infection);
5.  Vitamin D deficiency - practically non existent
6.  Sleep Apnea - timing out once every minute I was asleep - Going back
     June 1/2 for "full blown" testing for this

I THINK that is it, but all treatable.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!

It is hopeful that the bone spur can be dissolved and not have surgery.  I'm doing PT and go back for "shots" and consultation duing June 1/2 visit.  Already started on medications to help deal with other issues.

Reprieve is the only word that comes to mind.  The condo is a whole different issue.