Blessings – Page 18 – Obtaining Mercy

Learning to Read

February 1, 2010 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, How Great is Our God, Just My Thoughts

Do you ever feel inadequate?

I'm not talking about the

"Oh, my! I didn't get the laundry finished today!"

deficiency ;

but the

"I don't even know what thoughts to think today!"

kind of inadequacy.

Some days I just feel overwhelmed with the lack of ability that I exhibit. Inevitably, though, I connect these feelings to my lack of time spent with my Heavenly Father.

When I am in the Word, I get instruction for my daily life; but I also find more than that. I am taught how to deal with emotions; I learn the thought processes of God; I find wisdom in His dealing with others; I see how He leads in ways that aren't always clear to His children; and I find peace knowing that He is in control.

All of these things give me comfort and guidance. The Holy Scriptures sift through my own selfish thoughts, and the Water of the Word washes away the grime of the world that has lodged in my mind.

Oh, how I need the Word! I cannot even think the right thoughts without the wisdom of God.

Do you feel inadequate today?

Run to the Word. Read it. Then read it some more. You will find the thoughts that you need to think. You will find His guidance there.

God bless you as you read!

Alesha

One Busy Week Followed By Another

January 26, 2010 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Hallelujah Diet, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, What's Happening

We had an insanely busy week last week, as did most folks in our church. We had a wonderful Bible conference that went from Sunday through Wednesday, morning and evening sessions. Although I wasn't able to attend the morning sessions, I was able to watch them via our church's website; so I set aside time each morning for that. What a blessing that was to me each day!

I was also able to sing a few times last week; and of course, performances mean practices as well. So any extra time I might have had was swallowed up with practice sessions and then singing.

I have talked before about how much I enjoy singing and how it really feeds my soul, so I enjoyed my time spent preparing for the services. I found out that I have a cousin who can play almost anything I ask her to try. If you are a singer you KNOW how much of a blessing that is!!! I told her she was my new best friend!

Isaac was not able to attend all the services, but enjoyed watching them online with his dad when they had to stay home. We had some bowel issues with him last week, and it took the entire week to resolve them. Somehow, I let it slip passed me that the antibiotic he was taking for his sinus infection could cause constipation. Ack! So, we dealt with that. It was not pretty and it was not enjoyable for any of us; but he feels so much better now that everything is moving along nicely for him. (pun totally intended!)

Both mine and Isaac's sinus infections seem to be healing. I am almost through the antibiotic, and am feeling so much better. Isaac still has a nasty cough, especially in the mornings, but it is not keeping him (and us) awake at night now. Praise the Lord for that!

On the diet front, we did not do very well over the holidays, and Doug and I have both gained a few pounds. My doctor did not seem at all concerned, and said that everybody was having weight issues after the holidays. I did feel a little better when he said that!

We are faithfully continuing with our supplements, and have started back on our regimen of carrot juice every day. Even Isaac is getting carrot juice this week! We are hoping to avoid last week's issues, and thought that carrot juice would certainly be an all-natural alternative for him.

Next Sunday is a big day at our church. We will be celebrating the Pastor's 39th anniversary! That is quite a record for pastors these days, and we are so grateful for the faithful man of God who serves as our pastor.

We try to invite as many folks as possible, and aim to break the previous year's attendance record. The idea is not to brag about the numbers, but to have as many folks as possible under the preaching of the Gospel.

Last year we had over 4,000, with over 1,000 of those riding in on our Sunday school buses. After the preaching services, we have a huge carnival set up on our high school football field with food, games, rides, etc. The young people (and adults, too!!!) have such a great time that afternoon!

As a teenager and young adult, it was always one of the highlights of my year. It's really wonderful fun…well, for almost everybody. The guys that volunteer for the dunk tank sometimes have a rather chilly time of it, depending on the weather!!! :) We are praying for a beautiful, warm day for all the fun activities.

Last year, there were 300 children, teens and adults who made professions of faith in Jesus Christ during our anniversary Sunday service. Those were, of course, followed up by our bus workers and visitation teams. What a joy to think that they came to church to celebrate an anniversary, but they left celebrating their own spiritual birth day! 🙂

Well, I guess that's enough of an update for now. God has been so good to us, and our cups are really filled to overflowing after the great preaching we heard this past week. We look forward to letting some of that spill over now on those who visit on our special Sunday service this week.

It has been said that a sponge that merely soaks up water will eventually sour; it must be squeezed out in order to fulfill its purpose. God blesses us so that we can then bless others. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to "squeeze" us, so that we can minister to those around us.

May God bless you as you pass on your blessings this week,

Alesha

Christmas Eve Outing

December 30, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Holiday, Isaac Update, What's Happening

On Christmas Eve, Isaac had a doctor's appointment in Orlando. We thought we'd take you along on our trip.

Here we are at the doctor's office. Doug is getting Isaac's chair all set up.

Isaac was waiting patiently.

Grammy's latest invention for keeping Isaac's toys on his lap and off the floor.

Getting all strapped in and ready to go.

See? Isaac was in a great mood, and so excited to have a "Fun Day" out.

We had to stop for the photo op!

When taking Isaac's picture, you either get eyes open, or a smile: never both at the same time!

Here we are in the waiting room. We were seeing his gastroenterologist. (tummy doctor)

Since July, Isaac has gained 3.5 pounds, and grown 3 inches! He is getting so tall!!!

We decided to try out the new Super Target after our appointment.

They aren't kidding about the "super" part. This is how you get to the parking lot:

Now, if you are wondering, like I was, how in the world you got your groceries to your car on the third level of the parking garage, wonder no longer!!!

An escalator for the buggies!!!

Afterward, we had lunch at Red Lobster. I know it looks like my camera is out of focus. It isn't…notice the inanimate objects are in focus. It's only the wiggly Ike who is a big blur!

After lunch, as we headed to the mall (on Christmas Eve!!! what were we thinking???) we noticed that Isaac needed to be changed. Have you ever wondered how we managed to change a 4'5" boy when we are not at home?

First we find a remote area of a parking lot that has shrubbery like this?

Then we unload the wheelchair and clear out the back part of the truck. (We do NOT use the rope to tie up Isaac!!! I don't really know why Doug has that back there! LOL!!!)

Then Daddy brings Isaac around, lays him on the pad, and we take care of business.

Putting Isaac back in his seat: Feeling ALL better now!

Here are the state troopers on security detail at the mall: Notice they are double parked!!!

Some of the beautiful decorations in the mall.

It was insanely busy in the mall. I had to keep hold of Doug's shirt so that we didn't get separated. People wouldn't even budge for Isaac's chair sometimes. (My husband, however, does not let people get away with that. He just stands still until they move. It's amazing how people lack basic manners these days.)

We walked one half of the mall, then had to stop for liquid fortification:

After that I was able to walk the second half of the mall, and get myself out to the truck where I took the above picture in honor of the substance that had sustained me! LOL!

Even Isaac looked a little bit tuckered out after our full day.

We had such a wonderful day out, even though the crowds were so big. It was fun to be a part of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. There have been many years that we didn't even see a mall decorated for Christmas because we never had the opportunity to go, or Isaac didn't feel well enough to go. So we were grateful we were all having a good day all around.

Our Christmas was wonderful, too. We all were blessed with lovely gifts from people who love us. I'll share some of those pics later.

Did you all have a good Christmas too? I'd love to hear about it!

Blessings,

Alesha

A Week in Review

December 21, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Florida Weather, Household, Isaac Update, What's Happening

Isaac spent much of last week doing this…sleeping off fever for about 4 days. You'll notice that nebulizer perched on his bed. It worked overtime this week, as we tried to keep the soggy cough out of his chest.

We did try to keep his room pleasant for his awake hours. His little tree is on his chest of drawers right in his line of sight, and his colored lights are on the opposite wall ( you can just see a few of them in the mirror.)

We did end up keeping our appointment for Friday morning with the
doctor. His throat, ears and lungs were all clear – praise the Lord! –
and she felt the worst of it had passed.

He has steadily improved since, and we were able to attend a family Christmas gathering on Saturday and the evening service at church last night.

While Isaac's health improved, mine has disintegrated into the

"Sinus-Infection-From-The-Bad-Place"

and I have sounded like a frog since Friday night. The mornings are rough, but by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, I am feeling more human.

My "get better" routine includes the following:

oil of oregano (3 drops under the tongue twice a day)
carrot juice
all of my usual supplements (multi-vitamin, Vit C, E, B, calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, omega 3, and half of dozen more I can't remember right now
using my neti pot daily
lots of orange juice
Aleve

and – THE most important thing if you need to sing at church on Sunday night!!! –

1 c. hot water with 1 T. apple cider vinegar and 1 T. honey. It will clear congestion and will coat and soothe a sore throat. (And it does not taste bad at all…make that tablespoon of honey quite generous, if need be!)

We are enjoying some beautifully Christmas-like weather today: in the 30s this morning, and barely to 60* as the day goes by. It was so fun to see everyone in their winter Christmas finery last night at church. Usually I buy Christmas clothes with short sleeves!!! It's so nice to get dressed in Christmas-y colors and warm clothes all on the same day. 🙂

We were so blessed with unexpected gift cards over the weekend. Doug was able to use some to buy groceries (always a blessing) and we also made a special purchase for Isaac:

Isaac has had the same memory foam mattress topper on his hospital bed mattress for over two years. It was originally purchased at Wally World and has served us well. We have been able to spot clean whenever needed, and occasionally we put it out in the sun, which does wonders!

I also just happened to purchase some fabric spray (similar to Febreeze) from Bath and Body Works last summer that – to my great surprise – worked better than anything else we had tried to keep it smelling lemony fresh.

However, the time has come to replace it:

Last week, when we were using the nebulizer to keep Isaac's lungs clear, we also had to deal with a little boy whose system was full of steroids (that's what asthma meds contain). While on steroids, Isaac is a happy, giggly, HYPER little toad! He is ornery and loud and demanding and beside himself with energy to burn. Most of that energy is channeled into kicking.

Imagine my surprise, when I stripped the bed on Friday, to discover he had LITERALLY kicked holes in the memory foam!!! There were great gaping holes at the foot of it, and little pieces of foam e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e!!!

So, I started shopping, and ended up at Overstock.com. They are having a sale right now. I was able to get a king size topper for the same price as a twin. I will be able to cut it in half, and have two!!! This way I can rotate them, allowing them time to dry properly between use.

Here is a link if you are interested in shopping for your own memory foam mattress topper. (Although I will tell you that I did NOT pay this price! This is, however, the link that I get a tiny commission for, should you decide to click through and make a purchase.) :o)

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=akconklisxang-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B000EISIGG

Oh, and the best part about this whole, rambling story, is that the price of our mattress topper was one penny less than our gift card, and we got free shipping! How awesome is that?!!

Well, I feel like there was something else that I wanted to share with you, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it is! (laughing out loud at myself) If it comes to me later, I'll just post again. :o)

I pray you have a great Monday. I'm sure most of you are taking a break from school, whether your children attend a traditional classroom or are homeschooled. So, I hope you have lots of time this week for family bonding and memory making.

Don't allow yourself to become sidetracked with your To-Do List, and miss out on celebrating the birth of our Saviour.

Just in case I don't "talk" to you again before Friday, I wish you the Merriest Christmas ever!

Blessings to you,

Alesha

From Japan…With Love

December 15, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Friendship, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, What's Happening

I had such a lovely visit with Laura and her children yesterday! I felt like we had known each other forever, and were just getting together for an afternoon out. It was really odd to be with someone who you had never seen in person before, but feel like you had just chatted together the day before.

Here's the photographic proof of our lovely visit!

Aren't we pretty together in our red and green Christmas tops?

The beautiful, vivacious Bekah

A smiley Josh (so delighted that I caught that cute little smile!)

And here's will-o'-the-wisp Kei with Mom. I'm telling you, it was like trying to "catch a cloud and pin it down" to get a picture of this little sweetie pie. She was a busy, busy girl.

Here's the whole gang, with a new little friend that we met in the PlayPlace at McDs.

Just beautiful!

Kei and her new little friend, enjoying the huge slide!

Sisters in constant motion (but can you blame them, after a 12-hour flight from Japan, then a 2+ hour from Indiana to Florida – all in a 3-day span???)

Josh signed "please" to let us know that he wanted up off the floor.

Kei sitting still for just a minute, saying "goodbye" to her new friend. (this little girl's dad, mom and teenage sister sat and patiently waited for her to play for over an hour…very sweet!)

We had a wonderful time together. I just wanted time to stand still for a while, so we could visit just a little longer.

Laura brought me a beautiful gift from Japan A sweet tea set and chopsticks for Doug and I! She said the chopsticks would help with our diet! LOL!!!

I left the Japanese newspaper in the pic, because I thought it was cool!

I didn't get too close to this page…it is a family-friendly blog, after all! LOL!!! But I had to include it because it's just SO Japanese!

Really, Laura, Doug has a thing about reading the papers that people wrap stuff in. He loves to read the papers in his mom's packages, especially. He did say, however, that some things are just SCARY in ANY language!!!

LOLOLOLOL!!! :o)

Thanks, Laura, Bekah, Kei and Josh for a wonderful visit! I enjoyed it so much! And yes, we will need to do it again…maybe next time we can meet you in Indiana! :o)

And thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe and peaceful trip for them. Laura said everything went really well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess you probably noticed that Doug and Isaac weren't in any of our pictures. That's because our little man started running fever yesterday. He still has fever today, as well as a nasty croupy cough and a runny nose. I'd appreciate your prayers for him, that this will clear up on its own, so that we don't have to visit the germ-ridden doctor's office with him.

Thanks!

Alesha

Counting Blessings

November 18, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Food and Drink, Friendship, Household, What's Happening

I am so happy to tell you that my freezer is a frigid -2* and my refrigerator was at 32* when I checked it this morning!

I turned the thermostat up to a warmer setting, and it's now at 42*. I am as pleased as I can be that it is working so well. My dad replaced two tiny little parts for less than $35! Imagine how many refrigerators are thrown out when there is no one who knows how to repair them. Thank the Lord for the knowledge my dad has gained through the years!!!

We had a super nice weekend here. My family was able to get together for a steak supper on Saturday, complete with red velvet birthday cake for ME! :) It was all verrrrry yummy!

I received so many pretty and kind birthday cards this year. They are all proudly displayed on my piano!

I also came home with this:

which I know does not look like much! BUT it opens out to THIS:

It's a light box for photographing my jewelry!!! Isn't it fabulous?!!

Here it is with the spotlights on:

I will have to do much experimenting, and probably a little research, in order to use it to it's fullest potential. I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy! 🙂

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day out with my friend, Mrs. C. She and I went to Orlando, and lunched at the Cheesecake Factory. It was just wonderful, except for an unfortunate "hair in the food" incident! The manager was extremely apologetic and of course, we did not pay for the entree!

We did a little shopping in the Mall at Millenia, then headed back for dessert. Mrs. C had the original cheesecake with strawberries which looked really yummy. I wanted to try something different: the Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake.

It is caramel cheesecake topped with caramel mousse on a vanilla crust. Yeah…it was just as fabulous as it sounds and looks. (I snitched this pic from their website. Neither Mrs. C nor I remembered to take ANY pics of our day out that was a whole year in the making!!! We were just too busy enjoying it, I guess!) 🙂

Doug has gone back to the day shift. It leaves me with Isaac for many hours a day. We are doing our best to get him up out of the bed as much as we can. Doug comes home several times a day to do feeds, changes, repositioning, etc., so that I don't have to move Isaac very much. He's just getting to be such a BIG boy for me. :) He seems to be adjusting to the new schedule better than I am!

Well, I can't think of anything else exciting to tell you, so I guess I'll finish up this post. I hope you are having a good week so far. It's been a nice one for us, and for that, I am grateful. We never know what a day is going to bring about, so it's good to count our blessings as we go. 🙂

What blessing are you counting today?

Blessings to you,

Alesha

Refreshing…

October 19, 2009 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Florida Weather, Household, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Just My Thoughts, What's Happening

We have FALL in Florida! Yay!!! It has been wonderful to feel the crisp cool air, and to be able to open the windows and have the fresh air circulate inside as well as outside. It will be in the mid-80s again tomorrow, but that is so much better than the 90s we were having. You will not hear anyone in our house complaining about the weather at this time of year. We enjoy it so much! 🙂

I am doing better. I have been able to care for myself, and even do a few things in the house. I helped with the dishes a little, and also with the laundry. I was able to whip up a batch of hummus. Of course the food processor does all the work for that! I just stand there and drop stuff in!

I was able to go to the services yesterday. I attended the morning service for just the preaching hour, then last night, I went to choir practice and stayed for the service, too. I took "Chairy" with me, and sat in the back in cushioned comfort. :)

I am still having considerable pain at times, like today. (I guess yesterday was just more sitting than I was ready for.) I have found that walking does help the pain. Doug, Isaac and I have been walking each evening for about 30 minutes. I've been pushing my wheelchair while I walk, and then if I am in too much pain, I just sit down and wheel myself. I know that's good for my upper body which is needing to be toned up any way, due to my recent weight loss.

I am not helping to care for Isaac yet. (Well, I do comb his hair! Some things Daddy just needs Mommy's help to do!) I did change one diaper one night while Doug was at work. It was only a wet diaper, and I did not need to adjust Isaac at all. He helped me to roll from side to side, and I did not need to lift any part of him. I was very careful and have only done it the one time. It saved Doug a trip home from work, which is helpful to him.

You know, I know that not everyone understands what's going on with me; and sometimes they pass judgment on me. They don't understand why I would do one activity, and not another. They can't understand why Doug is continuing to work nights, or why I am so "helpless" at home.

The bottom line is that I am just trying to do things that will not hurt me. Once you have been in the place that every movement caused severe pain, you find that you are loathe to be in that position again. So, as I gain confidence, I have moved forward. (I could write an entire blog about "fear"! What a powerful emotion, and one that I have not had to deal with on such a level before.)

So, if there are some that don't understand our choices at this point, I sincerely pray that they do not ever have to experience my situation in order to understand it. I would not wish any of this on my worst enemy! 🙂

The folks at Doug's work, and in my church, have been so kind and merciful to us. I am grateful for people who live out Christ's attitude of compassion. Their sweet spirits have been refreshing to our own spirits while we have been sojourning in the valley.

Isaac is doing well. He had a spate of seizures last week. We always hate to see him struggle with them. We had to administer emergency seizure meds one day last week, and he has not been sleeping very well. However, his sense of humor has remained intact! We just love to hear him giggle at a song or because of something Doug does. His joy is so contagious!

I guess this is enough of an update for now. I got a little long-winded, didn't I? :) I pray you have a good day!

Alesha

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