Hi everyone! Before I even begin, please let me say a huge hello to everyone on the recipe group. It's been a while since you've gotten an update from me, but here we go.
It's seems the last couple of months were a whirlwind. I've have had two summer grad classes that were buried in busywork. Thankfully the class I took in July was only one month, but you can't believe the work.
We spent a wonderful week in the Pocono's this August. We had so much fun and were able to just really relax and connect as a family. I loved it. The house we rented was amazing. The lake and beach beautiful!
In the last couple of weeks, I've been struggling with my health and decided to take a more proactive role in figuring out what was wrong. I've always had a bad back due to an injury when I was about 8. It's just something I've always dealt with.
Beginning in the spring, my back just seem to worsen and worsen. It got to a point where I would slap a smile on my face, but was really in a lot of pain. Life goes on, and you have to keep moving. I'm really great at not letting most know how I really feel. Except to my hubby, who listens to me complain about everything!
Finally, in about May all of my joints were aching. Not just my back, but it felt like everywhere hurt. First I thought I was nutz, then I thought what the heck could be wrong. I have a couple of other personal issues I had been seeing the doctor for as well.
This August, after a couple adjustments in medication for my back, I just couldn't take it anymore. I was waking up in the middle of the night with sharps pains in my back, legs and shoulders. I made yet another appointment with the doctor to talk about it. When I told him I was being awakened in the middle of the night by these sharp pains, he suggested that my nerve endings were misfiring and misdirected. When I should have been at rest, my body was not reacting a body at rest should.
My doctor put me on some medication for fibromyalgia, which is what he believes all the joint pain is caused from and sent me for a CAT scan of my hip and shoulder.
The medication has really made me feel better. I saw the doctor today and for my CAT scan results. He said I have some degeneration in both my hip and my back. My back has some compression in the lower discs and he wants a MRI to get a better look at it. He increased my fibromyalgia medicine to help regulate some pain I'm still having in my knees and ankles.
So that's where that's at. Do I want to be taking meds? No. Am I happy it's helping, absolutely. And of course, losing weight will also be a key, that and lots of prayer and believing for healing.
I'm back in grad school two nights a week taking Creative teaching of Language Arts
I'm thankful the kids are going back to school. They are getting on each other's nerves. They just need to get back on track of a regular schedule. I'm still praying for a full time special education position and I just know, deep in my heart that God is going to provide it at just the right time.
The church is going beautifully. We had a marvelous kids worship service last week. I have lots of video to post, but just haven't gotten it uploaded yet. You can't believe how awesome those kids were. It's so nice be with a body of believers who are just free to worship the Lord and move out in His annointing and peace. Awesome.
So that's about it for now!
Hugggz,
Kristy~!
End of the Summer Ramblings... Friday, September 3, 2010
Posted by Kristy~! 9/03/2010 02:57:00 PM 0 comments
Sunday Musings Sunday, June 13, 2010
Hello!
Woke up early today. My mom needed a fresh baked loaf of bread for church today, so I set the alarm for 6:15 to have it done in time. Of course the worst part wasn't that I had to get up early...the worst part was I wide awake when I got up, but decided to lay back down for an hour -- big mistake! You know how after you fall back to sleep to feel like you are in slow motion all day. Well, that was me.
Anyway, after I put the bread on to bake, I started praying and just asking the Lord what He would have me pray about. The scripture Psalm 122:6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those who love her prosper." I just feel like in the last week or so the media is doing an incredibly awful job at supporting Israel and putting out correct information. All we can do is pray for her. She is the apple of the Father's eye and we need to stand firm in supporting Israel.
After making it to church with about 5 minutes to spare, I got the sound and music organized and we began. A wonderful Christian woman from our church had the scripture for today. Before she even began to read the scripture she said the Lord had layed it on her heart for the past week that we need to be praying and supporting Israel! Isn't God amazing? Isn't He true? If we just open our hearts to hearing from Him, He speaks -- loud and clear. What an awesome God! Confirmation!
Our congregation may be small, but numbers don't matter. It's about God meeting us there. Service was awesome. There is such a peace and a heavy presence of the Lord. I love the freedom we have to express ourselves. Sometimes being on the worship team, singing and playing week after week up front, becomes wearying and more of a you should, you shall and you have to do it this way.
But for the last two weeks, I've been able to sit or stand in the back, with a cordless mic just worshiping and singing. No hullabaloo cause I'm not standing in the front, because that's where worship teams stand. Just letting go and singing in my own quiet place. Such freedom. I bet the Father's heart grieves for those in China and other places where they have to hide and be persecuted for public displays of worship. We should always keep in the forefront of our minds what a blessing and treasure it is to be able to worship freely.
So tomorrow the girls have their piano auditions at Marywood. They are bummed caused they aren't getting out of school. It's a half day LOL. National piano playing auditions are standards and goals that should be attained by pianists. They've done a great job and I know they'll do well tomorrow. The week after that Kelsey begins lessons. Last year she said she wasn't interested and would rather take trumpet. Fine. Now she's switched. If she's happy, I'm happy. I'd just really like the kids to have an understanding of how to play music, not really the particular instrument. Speaking of which, Katie is also taking flute and doing amazing. She's thrilled the school district offered to give summer lessons.
I'm so thrilled to be done with school this week. Since I have my teacher's certificate now, it will be my last year as an instructional aide, so I better enjoy the break while I have it. I've applied to 11 districts, some twice LOL. My prayer is to get a full time position in special ed by the fall. But, if it's meant to be that I have to sub, I'll sub. I need to let go more and let God handle the fine details.
Anyway, time to get some more laundry done and get organized for tomorrow. I'm almost ready to do a cheer -- "No more uniforms, no more lunches, I have 3 half days left, if you can't hear it I'll shout a little louder. NO MORE UNIFORMS, NO MORE LUNCHES, I HAVE 3 HALF DAYS LEFT, IF YOU CAN'T HEAR IT, I'LL SHOUT A LITTLE LOUDER" Can you tell I'm excited?
Hugggz,
Kristy~!
Psalm 122 (The Message)
A Pilgrim Song of David
1-2 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.
And now we're here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem's walls!
3-5 Jerusalem, well-built city,
built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend,
all God's tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of God—
this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment
are set there, famous David-thrones.
6-9 Pray for Jerusalem's peace!
Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along!
Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends,
I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God, God,
I'll do my very best for you.
Posted by Kristy~! 6/13/2010 07:26:00 PM 0 comments
Has it really been almost 6 months? Thursday, May 27, 2010
Really? Really? It's been 6 months since I've blogged! As the old adage says, time certainly does fly. I don't really feel like it's been that long since I constantly feel like I'm updating my individual groups and face book. But today, I've got a lot on my mind and decided to ramble.
Sooooooooo another May has come and gone. Again, where did it go? I say this every year why oh why do all these events have to be in May? Why do I have to go to them all? I get it, I'm a mom, it's my job -- it's still too much. I admit it, I'm overwhelmed.
Every year I hit the wall come May. Should it be this way? Probably not. Should I open my mouth more and say no more often? Probably yes. Should I let things build up until I explode? Probably not. Should I realize my opinion and decisions matter? Probably yes.
I've just had it with everything. Enough is enough. I run and run and run some more. I clean and clean and clean some more. I say the same things over and over and over. I pick up the same mess over and over and over. Are you seeing a pattern?
Life doesn't stop. Shocking revelation right? But somewhere in the grand scheme of things I'd like to know that I matter in this universe. I'd like to know that I'm not as invisible as an amoeba. I'd like to know that my life will reverberate throughout time. I'd like to know more than my shouting reverberated. Why? Because that's the way it should be. People should be made to feel like they matter. End of story.
I'm tired of everything. Emotionally, physically -- boom! crash! -- hit the wall. Ya know, people say oh your a teacher, you get summers off. Ya know why we get summers off? So we don't go INSANE!
Imagine being a working mom, add in having kids, add in running them to all their events, add in managing your housework and laundry, add in the pets, add in feeding everyone, add in going to graduate classes two nights a week, add in projects and homework due, finally add in dealing with 22 other kids 6.5 hours a day. What does that equal? It equals INSANITY. An algebraic equation? Yup. It's a scientific fact. Trust me. It equals insanity. So what do we say then to summers off? We say it's clinically necessary so we don't go completely BONKERS!
Spiritually I'm at peace though. Which is what I'm hanging on to right now. Our church is going wonderfully. It's just so peacefully being able to go and relax in our own building. There's no fear of man's opinion -- there's just peace.
The building is coming along, there's some work to do and a LOT of painting, but it's clean, it's our and came with everything we need. Sound, lighting, chairs, tables -- everything. Could God have prepared a better place for us? Nope, it was just right! A miraculous and perfect fit. We are walking in God's timing and in His footsteps, that is why there is peace. The "wisdom from above is first PURE, then peaceful."
How do you know what your doing is following in the Lord's will? Ask yourself, where is the peace? If there's no peace, it's a wrong decision. How do you fix it when you've lost your peace? You travel back to when you had it and then ask the Lord to direct your way from there so you can continue in HIS will. James 3: 17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. (The Message)>
When I Think about the Lord,
How He saved me, how He raised me,
how He filled me, with the Holy Ghost.
How He healed me, to the uttermost.
When I Think about the Lord,
how He picked me up and turned me around,
how He placed my feet on solid ground
Chorus*
It makes me wanna shout,
Hallelujah,
Thank you JESUS,
LORD, your worthy, of all the glory, and all the honor,
and all the praise... (Repeat*)
Really puts all my complaining into perspective huh? No matter what. Count it all joy. I think I'm done -- perspective readjusted.
Hugggz,
Kristy~!
James 1
I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello! Faith Under Pressure
2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
5-8If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
9-11When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don't ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that's a picture of the "prosperous life." At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.
12Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
Posted by Kristy~! 5/27/2010 09:04:00 AM 0 comments
