Flash Posting from the queen of Perfection

Most likely, even  my regular readers don't know that I've never made a single post just 'off the cuff." I write and think on a post for hours in my Word program.  I edit, format, and copy. then i go to Blogspot and paste into a post.

Today, I'm waiting to see my doctor WITH my new iPad and decided to step into the brave new adventure of posting "on the go."

Unless you know me well, you can't imagine the terror clutching my heart.....and fingers. Editing and formatting is the way I write AND the way I live my life... All very carefully planned out, organized, rearranged, considered, EDITED and FORMATTED with a plan.

There are actually several hundred things floating in my old brain that I would love to chat about with you. But, I'll leave them for another time. I made a promise to myself to write more on my blog. "Flash" writing has never been my favorite form of setting words onto paper, but it is a great way to learn to trust the writer hiding in my soul.

I have finally faced the truth that since my severe medical ordeal last winter, my life IS not the same. Things: -health - emotions - endurance - thinking will never be as good or as strong as before.

HOWEVER, things are okay and life goes on. With Adjustments. And with the willingness to learn new ways. Of course, learning to live with the demon Restless Leg-Syndrome is a whole different ball game and i've never been good at sports.. But, again, life is livable and there is hope. 

So. Least you think I live  a  totally negative existence, HOPE is a very good thing. So are friends, prayer, lunch visits, desserts, watching billowing clouds through the window in my doctor's office, getting frequent phone calls from my best prayer partner { my daughter-IN -LAW. :-). }, and red petunias.

How sweet it is.

And that's enough said.

Blessings,

Liz

A Good Friday Good Thing

I’ve never particularly liked “Good Friday” and have often wondered how a horrible, terrible, and appalling event got a “good” name.

 Last Wednesday, for about the millionth time, I remembered.

 It had been yet another difficult week and driving home from a four month follow up appointment with the surgeon who put a new knee in my left leg LAST November, I sighed… A LOT.

 Today he had said, “Everything looks great. It is coming along on schedule.”

I said, “But, it still HURTS.”

With a huge grin, my human physician said, “Ah, you’re fine. It takes at least a year for a new implant to settle in. You’re doing great. Come back in a year. Unless you have problems.”

 *sigh*

 The knee replacement followed by the unexpected pneumonia and staph infection in my lungs and long weeks of IV antibiotics drained me. They told me recovery would be slow. Well…. It has been S. L. O. W.

Still, I keep on keeping on and work hard to snap back to my old, happy care-giver self. Lately, I had lagged a lot.

 And, to put black icing on my springtime cake, there were no blue bonnets this year to bring smiles to us Texas hill country folks. So, after my visit to the doctor and trudging through the grocery store, I drove home in a down-trodden attitude. As I rounded the curve to head up the last hill to our gate, the music on my car radio sank into my consciousness……

They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name
All alone He suffered everything.

(Wait. I know that one. Listen. . . . .)

 He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.

 

They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, "Crucify Him; He’s to blame.”

 

I raised my tired old hand in praises.

 

He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.

For ME. Liz. Me, the child who God—the author and finisher and creator of EVERYTHING—had created  and made and brought into being. This old, tired, hurting, limping seventy-six year old granny. Jesus did NOT have to endure anything. He CHOSE to. Yes, perhaps for you, too, but I know it was for ME he died.

Oh the smiles that filled my soul.

I forgot some of the pain, some of the exhaustion, a lot of the worry.
Somehow, I will do another day.
Somehow, I CAN keep on.
He gave me a job to do.
I must trust that He will help me do it.

He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.

 

Thank you, Ray Overholt, for penning these fabulous words so many years ago. Thank you, KHCB radio for playing redeeming music just when I needed it most. Thank You, Holy Father, for loving me enough to die for me so that I will live forever with You. Thank you, human physician, for giving me a nice, new knee so I can continue to take care of my loved ones.

 Just imagaine: ME !!! He did it for me.

 I hope you, dear reader, know the joy of this truth and that you rejoice with me on Easter morning when the grave is EMPTY.

Easter Blessings,

            Liz

 P.S. There has been a long, dry spell between my postings, but because I still have a few other Good Friday blessings to share, I’m trying to be faithful, for a change, in posting. I do hope you’ll return.

Just for the record, check out this Scripture:

Matthew 26:50-56

⁵⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

⁵¹ And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ⁵³ Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.”

****** Oh. But wait. That is not all of chapter 26…. Does this sound familiar????

 Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

 

More on 76 and Counting……

     I don’t “do” resolutions. At all. But a HUGE list grows longer and more desperate by the minute as I wander around in this unknown, winding, sometimes treacherous, and always exciting journey through this the most unusual quarter of my life.

Last fall, as we prepared for Grandson’s wedding and for my pop-in-and-out routine knee replacement surgery, things got slightly out of control. Storage wise. I did not worry much because the plan was for me to be home and healthy and able to take care of storage and other important stuff well before Christmas.

Believe me, I learned (the hard way) that the old saying is oh-so-very-true:

 

‘SO MUCH TO CLEAN OUT………….. SO LITTLE TIME’

1. Hard Manual Household Labor SCREAMS

This house MUST be cleaned OUT:

Our office.
My office Closet
Books / Book Cases
My desk
Dear Heart's Desk
Our Filing Cabinets
     Stuff !!!!!!
Our Bathroom Closet—linens, extras, meds, first aid, and

STUFF

The inside hall store room—seasonal holidays, wrapping, out of season clothes, and

STUFF

The outside storage room. You don’t even want to know.

An added problem is that, one by one, the young men who helped me with back-breaking and knee-suffering jobs like these through the years have: grown up and/or moved away: or, gone into other more lucrative and stable employment.

*sigh*

Must find new helpers because the REALITY of this quarter of my life is that it is impossible for me to do these things by myself ANY LONGER.

Must be done.
Gotta do it.
And I mean, savagely. With reckless abandon. Wildly.
Throw away. Give away. Rearrange. Throw away more. Organize. Add more to the give-away stack.

It WILL GET DONE

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. Now. Quiet Time. For Morning Prayer

 

“In the morning give us your mercy in full measure; so that we may have joy and delight all our days.”

                                                                                         (Psalm 90:14, BBE) 

Isn't it sweet to serve a God who loves us and invited us to receive his joy and delight... in ALL our days?

 

May God's sweetest blessings fill each of your mornings.

     Liz

Who Are They Calling ELDERLY???

Don’t you just NOT LIKE IT AT ALL when you read …..

 “Use this medicine (or treatment or whatever) with caution in the ELDERLY…..”

Huh?????

 Who chose to identify ME as ELDERLY ???

I ask you: when does one fall into the description / category….

The ELDERLY. ?????????

How do you know if you are ELDERLY?

 

Is there a magic time? Is there an invisible mark on the wall?

Okay, so . . .

                    What about AGED?

Good wine, good bourbon, and really good cheeses are FABULOUS when AGED.

I believe the description is: aged to perfection.

Ahhhhhh I can somehow maybe deal with AGED.

           What about being MATURE?

Honey, let me tell you: I’ve earned every single strand of my WHITE HAIR. It yells volumes. As do EACH of my wrinkles. MATURE is actually a great compliment. Believe me, I've learned a LOT in all these years and can tell anybody how to do anything (if they would just ASK ME !!) !!!

 But - - ELDERLY ????  

• I don’t mind being a senior citizen.
• I don’t mind being mature.
• I don’t mind being a wise older lady.
• Aged and Mature – well…. okay.

BUT……let me just say while I can still speak for myself….  my whole system breaks down and BALKS at

ELDERLY

Yes, I am WELL aware that one week from today my birthday cake will glow (loudly) with SEVENTY-SIX candles and will most likely set off the smoke alarm.

But, I will NOT accept

ELDERLY

      So, is it my attitude? My dress? My voice?

My ….. What is it that makes ME elderly  ????????????

I admit it……

          I am tired.

          I move slowly.

          I have a LOT of aches and pains.

          LOTS and LOTS of health challenges.

          I sometimes search for words.

          I slip easily into memory lane trips.

HOWEVER,  I remind you: I’ve earned a little rest and a lot of respect.

And I want it NOW.

                So, please: Don’t call me

ELDERLY

 Now that I've spoken my piece, please go forth to enjoy your day. I hope your February day is as nice as it is in Texas..... cool, sunny, and breezy.

Hugs, Blessings, and

 

            

And You Thought My Words Were Gone....

You have probably noticed—if you remembered to drop by at all—that this blog has been silent for a VERY long time.

 Yes.

 And No, I am NOT going to itemize all the things that have happened since I whined about these restless legs back in my September post…… even though I assure you it is a most legitimate whine. Generally, I just live with it. Mostly.

But, I do have a word or two of my own for you and I found a quote I am excited to share with you. I hope it blesses your day.

First, my own SHORT words. I don’t know if any of you stumbled across my NEW blog I spent months creating. I started it when I turned SEVENTY-FIVE years OLD last year. I was DETERMINED to keep a stiff upper lip, a smile on those lips, and a happy glint in my eyes as I grew older and older. I named my new blog: Finishing Life Gracefully. Yes. I WOULD be a GRACEFUL and LOVELY and ADORABLE old woman.

You can access the blog here. Probably.  http://finishinglifegracefully.blogspot.com/

 Okay. Did you go read my positive and exciting words about giving thanks and being grateful and living out my last days GRACEFULLY?

Well. I have THREE little words for you :

 Old Age STINKS.

And, old age can catch you by surprise. And GRACEFUL went out the window about 12 weeks ago. Most days, I am NOT a very nice woman.

Enough negative????????????????

 Good. Now to words that will perhaps inspire you and make all things better.

 Yesterday, I found a quote on Hope Clark’s blog. She is a writer and she blogs about writers and writing. Like many of us, she did many things in her life before she began writing “out in the open.” She has always written but, like many of us in our early years, she wrote secretly. You can read her complete blog for January 31, 2013 here http://hopeclark.blogspot.com if you like. She is a fun read!

But first, come into the scene with me:

I’m tired. I’m in pain. I’ve had a hard day. I’ll be SEVENTY-SIX years old in about three weeks. I open her e-mail that contains her blog and commence reading.

Hope Clark, the expert on writers and writing, happily gives me several points to ponder and then tells me to stop pondering and get to writing.

THEN she stops preaching and goes to meddling when she quotes George Eliot. ----You do know who George is--- right? George was actually Mary Anne Evans (November 11, 1819 – December 22, 1880), an English novelist and a leading writer of the Victorian era. She chose a pen name to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Of course, today’s sources from Google debate whether Ms/Mr.Eliot actually said this or not. I suggest we just accept it as a quote worth considering and go from there?????

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

 Hummmmm. Well . . . . . Maybe so. Maybe not.

 However, I promise you that Hope Clark’s personal comment is EXCELLENT:

“Don't worry about what might have been or what you neglected to take advantage of. As long as you are breathing, you are still on your journey.”

 And we just can’t stop there. As long as I am doing my best to find the BEST in life, especially in these time of sickness, hospitals, having to depend on another person to meet every one of my needs, and medications that make one crazy beyond belief..

it was great fun to discover Marcus Tullius Cicero. WHO  ????, you ask.

Marcus was a Roman politician, lawyer, and orator who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC… according to one source on Google. Among other achievements, Marcus was a philosopher which means my grandson John is probably one of his friends. Anyway. He is supposed to have said:

“Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.”

Sort of like today. Huh???????????????

But wait!! He ALSO said--- now pay attention. This is worthy:

 “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

I can hang my hat on that one!! Because I know Jesus Christ and because I have very recently knocked loudly at death’s door and then I was given the opportunity to come home to hug my human loved ones, there IS HOPE.

Of course, I saved a goodie for last. If you don’t find substance and joy and delight in this quote, just go back to your computer game and leave the living to the rest of us who cut herbs and underline important things in books.

“If you have a garden and a library,

you have everything you need.”

Thank you Mr. Cicero. I WILL keep my hope alive to plant my spring garden this year.

 Thank YOU, Hope Clark for pushing me to put words on the pages of my computer screen, even when I think I have no words.

 

THANK YOU…. to all of you who have kept in touch, checked on me and my family, sent cards, written e-mails, telephoned, and prayed through all this long three months. You have provided much joy and I have real hope that my health will return with vim, vigor, and vitality very SOON.

          Blessings,
               Liz