I’m about halfway through Becky’s trip to Cali. The girls are still alive, actually they are doing well all things considered. Since my illness makes me lethargic and my medications make me downright sleepy, I’m not much fun. We have been trying to make it fun for all of us, sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

Anna loves to ride bikes, I used to love to ride bikes. Anna wants me to ride with her, I want to cry after going two blocks. I have to plan our rides so that I have opportunities to rest and it has to keep her entertained while I recuperate. Thank God for the retention pond full of fish and geese.

Desiree is happy to just sit around and read all day, as long as the book has something to do with vampires. Twilight has really ruined vampires for me. I used to think they were cool when they started to smoke and then explode in sunlight, now they just sparkle, STUPID!

We have all had input on meals. Yes our meals have not been the healthiest fare at times, but we are trying and hey, it’s only for a week. Desi picked and cooked the meal Wednesday night, her choice was chicken sausage and fried cucumbers. Quite a surprise for me. I had tried fried pickles before and loved them, fried cukes was a first. Surprisingly we all liked them, even Anna, once she doctored them with ketchup.

Anna wants stir fry Thursday night. She wants to help cook it too. I have a feeling this is going to be a learning experience for both of us. Stay tuned to find out!

As I write this I am wondering if I am going to fall asleep before it is time to get up, I’m not feeling very confident about that. Last week was rough, emotionally draining. This week is shaping up to be more of the same, just of a different variety.

My health insurance expired at the beginning of this month, now all I have is the Medicaid with a huge spend down that makes it practically useless. I have tried to get other health insurance but that isn’t working out. No one wants to cover me. No real surprise there. I wonder if this means I will be fined under Obamacare?

Anyway, without the insurance I can’t afford my medications, even with the disability payments. Between meds and constant doctor visits I go through a lot of money each month, money that I can not afford. I am still unsure of what to do about this, it has been weighing on my mind since Saturday. I imagine something will come up, God seems to provide just in time, usually when I realize I need to stop worrying about it.

Also, it bares repeating, Pop Tarts are highly flammable. Don’t ask how I know, I just do and we will leave it at that.

I meant to put this up yesterday but I was a bit stressed out. Anyway, I would appreciate it if you would keep my dad in your prayers. He is in the hospital with pneumonia. He said he was feeling a little better yesterday but still quite weak. Thank you all and God bless.

So I said I planned on getting out and doing some photography, didn’t happen. Not really a big surprise there! Of course there was a reason behind this. Aside from the fact that I have been slightly ill. I have been dealing with the social security stuff.

Did I mention that I am getting my disability? Did I mention that God really does answer prayer. Too many really awesome and slightly out of left field things have happened over the last three days. I found out Monday that my disability had been approved, Tuesday I found out there was more to that than expected, Wednesday I got a check in the mail that I never expected to come.

Like I said, the last three days have been amazing and slightly overwhelming. I was glad to go to my prayer meeting Wednesday night, it is always enjoyable to share with my church the prayers that do get answered.

So while I am sure there were multiple people involved with getting me my disability, I am giving all the credit and praise to God, He is truly amazing. Alright, that’s all for the moment. I really need to get some rest.

Well thank God that week is finally over. The Roadeo Saturday went fairly well. I was a little uncomfortable with all the standing but was able to muddle through. Now I have to sift through over three hundred photos and get them on a disc and sent out. It was nice and warm so I was able to wear shorts for the first time this year. They will now become a significant part of my wardrobe till late fall.

I still haven’t heard anything about my disability. I am starting to worry that I have a long wait on my hands. It has already been a painfully long process and I am hoping it will be over soon.

My Crohn’s has been acting up lately. Lots of pain and a few of the other more delightful symptoms have been in full force. I am still on the fence about using the immunosuppressant, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to suppress my immune system, considering how often I get ill, it could be a big problem.

As usual, my depression isn’t getting any better either. I am afraid they will just keep throwing more medications at it till I am taking my body weight in pills each morning. I had several panic attacks last week, way more than usual, not sure why or what that might mean but at this point all I can say is oh well.

I think this blog has just become a place that I can go to and complain about my life. Maybe someday soon I will get back to posting photos. Anna and I have been trying to take bike rides as much as possible. I am severely out of shape so we are having to take it slow at first. It makes her happy and it gets me out of the house with my camera along for the ride. There are a few interesting things around the neighborhood to photograph. It takes me a few minutes to catch my breath before I can release the shutter though, otherwise the shot is just a blurry mess.

Alright, done, see ya!

Yes, I did enjoy my birthday, thanks for asking. It was a simple day, which was exactly what I wanted. Woke up late with Anna making me breakfast in bed, toaster waffles in case you are wondering what a 9 year old would be safe making.

That was followed by quite a bit more lounging and drifting in and out of consciousness. Had a light lunch with Anna followed by some vigorous TV watching. After that we went to pick up Desi from school came back home and waited for Becky to get off work.

Out for dinner at Pizza King, yes that is what I picked for my birthday meal this year. From there we went to our church prayer meeting then back home and sent everyone off to bed. That leads us to this point, my whole day in a nutshell!

Now I am going to lie here and toss and turn for a bit.

May your Christmas be filled with joy and love. God bless you all.

I just wanted to remind you all how incredible God is. He has blessed me in so many ways I cannot begin to recount them all here for you. So lets just say that he has made sure that we will have a comfortable Christmas and things are going way better than anticipated.

I have not ceased in thanking Him since Thursday and I will  never stop.

Thank you God for making what is usually one of the most stressful times of the year and making it the most comfortable I have had in many years!

So to all my friends I hope your Christmas will be merry and bright and that you will reflect on the things that God has blessed you with. And for any atheists who may read this, enjoy the snow.

Jim Overby
1950-2009

Today we laid to rest a Godly man and a great friend.

Jim was always working to further the kingdom of Christ, he had no off button when it came to that. He loved the Lord and he loved helping others. It was Jim who brought me back to Christ some years ago. He got me in church by inviting me to their Easter egg hunt and breakfast. I have been in that church ever since.

Last year, when he first became ill, we went to visit him in the hospital. We brought him some fruit and had a nice chat. As we got up to go, he asked us over so he could pray FOR US. The man is in the hospital, no one at the time knew for sure what was wrong, and he wanted to pray for us! Ask anyone who knew him and they would repeat this as well. It was in his nature to pray for people, even in his own weakness.

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

Thank you Jim for what you have done for me and countless others. Thank you for reintroducing me to the glory of Christ. Thank you for the fun times we shared.

See you at the gates!

Relevance, is it a sin? It has been a hot topic among Christians lately and it has been on my mind a lot today. There are a lot of new churches out there proclaiming to be relevant or emergent. Many have been under attack from some who claim that by delivering the message in a new way they have distorted or destroyed the message.

This may be true in some cases, but not all. Sometimes you have to deliver the message in such a way as to get the current generations attention. For those who feel that this is wrong let me remind you that God made a donkey speak:

(26) Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. (27) When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. (28) Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

(29) Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

(30) The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
Numbers 22:26-30(NIV)

Not enough for you? Jesus spoke in parables all throughout His ministry. Sometimes you have to talk to people on their own level in order for them to understand.

Is it a sin to change the message? Yes and a deadly one at that:

(15)Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. (16)He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
2 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV) emphasis added

Relevance though is not a sin, even Paul did it:

(19)Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. (20)To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. (21)To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. (22)To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (23)I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV) Emphasis added.

No, delivering the message in a new and exciting way is not a sin. Not delivering the good news at all, THAT is a sin!