Today = Our Nation's National Day of Prayer...

I appeal to all of my believer readers to please pray for the United States of America today!

Why? Because our nation needs it badly at this time. I won't get into the politics of it, but suffice it to say I am not happy! Yet, we are living in the days of Ezekial.

The Word requires as believers to pray for our leaders and those in authority. Top to bottom it's important for us to get on the stick. Me, I do... but not nearly as often as I should. Added a reminder to my left handed whiteboard prayer list, so I shall not forget!

Devoting much concentrated prayer for our nation today. My prayer is that others will join me. Thank you!

National Day of Prayer

their mission

About National Day of Prayer

Keeping my focus on The Cross today.........

One in a series of photos I'm taking of power line poles I'm calling
~ Tattered Crosses ~

Today...

writing many many names left handed on my white board in black

so many it looks like graffiti now since I'm writing over top of everything else I had already on it

in pastel colors of green, lavender, sky blue, and with a few touches of red

so much I could post about, poetry, photography, phoetry, and my amazingly sensitive puppy

so many wonderful things are happening today in my real life and by faith

yet, my focus is on The Cross today and will remain so as I think of all of my loved ones

near and far away...

past and present......

those on earth and those in heaven.........

thank God for the assurance that I'll see many...

so concerned about the ones I may not see there......

yet, thanking God for the ones I know for sure will be there.........

(still making changes around here -- new laptop finally on it's way to me! And, setting up a Twitter account so my husband and loved ones won't have to worry so much about me. When I knock the phone off the hook and don't know it.)

Hallelujah!!!

To MS... with one note to V... in pink

We have a friend in common who talked to me in church yesterday... the words I shared in essence.........

.........with much elaboration for you, or for any of my readers challenged by Epilepsy, Seizure Disorders, Parkinson's, Movement Disorders, or any illness whatsoever... and/or life in general.

To me much comes down to perception.........

When your back is up against the wall, for me personally, as someone dealing with something similar to you... I *deliberately* use walls to lean up against to steady myself. In fact, when I spoke to your friend and others at church yesterday morning, I was literally leaning up against a wall.

Honestly, I stand up frequently with my back against walls where ever I can find one. Not leaning if I can help it, but straight up!!! And, if there is no wall... I sway to keep my balance. God is in the sways, too... they make me more dependant upon Him... sways build faith. They help me know where I'm at. The less I sway, the closer I am to healing.

I sit far back in chairs, in restaurant booths, even in cars at times, on sofas and love seats, and in my bed with lots of pillows to push myself up against. Doing so gives me support... it's not the walls holding me up. I see it as God holding me up. He's bearing the weight.

He's taught me such things to help me deal with the various movements inside me which also helps me to keep my head still. In keeping my head more still, I'm actually able to be stay more alert and focused... more in the moment, because I drift at times. Space for a few. Particularly so, when my eyes are a little fluttery or jerky. Although I do rest my head on my palm or fist with my elbow bent when sitting. Often.

In public... walls and seats or benches with backs are "God sends" to me, so much so that when most people look at me on a pew at church for instance, or, in a restaurant, even at home... they don't notice any movement. True, the movements I experience are subtle for the most part, yet they are there all of the time. Much of everything is filtered through them. It's been that way since, January, 2006. And, even though I believe I am healed, my body hasn't quite caught up yet... neuro misfiring has escalated of late. By faith though, I see it all gone -- poofed away. So, walls I welcome. They just help me remember I'm human and my need to be closer to God.

Must share a little more in hopes that this will make sense to you, M.S., so here goes.........

When I first heard Roger Thrower's song in our church one Sunday many months ago, I felt a stirring to begin to worship. Actually, I'd been expecting the right praise and worship song to come along which would allow me to feel more free to. My balance tends to be off on my right side, so when I stand up in church during our praise and worship part of our service, I always hold on to the back of the seat in front of me, and if I feel compelled to raise my hands, I raise one, so I can still hold on with the other. Well, when I first heard "He Will Raise Me Up"... it truly was the first time in ages I felt remotely comfortable lifting both hands. Admittedly, I don't do it often, but when we "do" that song in church, I do my best to.

Now, the story behind that is that Roger's brother spoke to me many months ago telling me that my healing would come through my worship. Well, worship comes in many fashions, but the most natural is with music to me and music is playing a key role in my healing. When Roger's brother speaks words == I tend to listen. He's someone I consider as a spiritual father, although, I believe I'm older than he is come to think of it. Ha!

So... if you don't already do so... start listening to praise music. It may just be me, but I believe this particular song of Roger's will have special meaning to you, as it does me. Be sure to read the words a few times while you watch the youtube... let them get into your spirit!

Also, if you don't know it, this is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and that's why I chose a lavender border for Roger's youtube -- it's the awareness color for Epilepsy. Consider clicking into CURE to join up. For people like you and I who don't experience common warning signals or auras... more innovative research needs to be done.

Now, below I'll share a youtube for you of He Will Raise You Up. Amazingly, I just noticed it was posted by Roger on my birthday!!! June 26th!!! I just saw the date... thank you Roger... thank you Roger's brother... thank you God!!! What a remarkable treat to find!!

As an aside... the Throwers have played a HUGE role in my family. My parents were close to their parents. I was baptised by immersion in a pond on their parent's property the summer of 1988!!!(I may be off a year)  Although I was first baptised by sprinkling at a wonderful Lutheran church in Columbus, Ohio many years ago on a Palm Sunday. Wow! Much more to the story or stories... so better quit now or I'll be here for days!!!

One last thing to you M.S. you helped me, today, too. When our mutual friend told me your story. Hearing about you, gave me confirmation(s). Very grateful for it and I'll be writing your name with my left hand on my whiteboard as soon as a post this. Click into the label below entitled "left handed writing on white board" for the scoop on that.

God Bless... please feel free to contact me via ppcjeanne@aol.com. Or, our mutual friend can pass on my phone number to you. 

And to V ~ your words touched me tremendously. Thank you for sharing about your father with me. Growing up the way you did, helping to take care him as he struggled with Epilepsy... made you sensitive and understanding. It made you observant. I've seen it time and time over the years. You were created to be a helper. You're one who sees needs in people, yet aren't afraid to reach out. I believe both of your fathers are well pleased with you. Your earthly dad in heaven and your Heavenly Father. Just from me to you.




Link to Roger's websites below -- he can be found at New Hope Foursquare Church, in Fairmont, West Virginia. Every so often he comes home for a visit... our church couldn't be more pleased to see he, his wife Heather, and their family when they do.

Roger Thrower dot com

To Glory dot com

Going back to Autumn for a few... remembering...

A hike!!! But, I'm going to go all over the place to get there first. LOL

I've several blog entries I've wanted to post, yet the last couple of days have been "interesting"... that's a nice way to say I've had a bit more neuro activity than usual. Good stress and both bad stress can bring such activity on. Such a bummer when it comes to the excellent stress! However, I've learned when those times come, it's better just to be still, rather than do my normal routine of pushing past it. Pushing past can cause more damage when one is like me and seizures aren't under control. There's a fine line between knowing what's best and what's not best. How far to push. And, when not to. Not thrilled about it, but that's the way it is.

I'm trying to use wisdom, yet I know I need more. (Something I need to write on my whiteboard left handed... "God, please bless me with more wisdom and sensitivity"... and I will as soon as I finish posting this...) I've discovered on days when I have lots of energy I can do tons of stuff to take advantage of it. But, then there is usually a payback and I may find myself in slo-mo for a couple of days afterwards. Add the pesky side effects of Anti Epilepsy Drugs, it can be oy-veying! But!! As long as progress is being made, though... who cares?

I do my best to follow through on my commitments. With those that take me out of the house, I do a MUCH better job of it. Historically, I always come through. But, when it comes to the stuff around the house... not so. This happens when there are items I need to send my sister or niece, or both. Package sits around. Fortunately, they understand. I believe a good part of that has to do with living quasi home bound. I don't have the freedom at the moment to run my own errands because I don't experience typical warning signals... auras. I'd pray to ask God for auras, but it just feels counterproductive to Project Rewire. Once totally independent, now dependent is a pain in the rear.

Not whining... just sharing this so others living with atypical Epilepsy will know there's another person that *gets* it. (And, for those who don't have it, but may know someone that does have it, it may help with the understanding part. For other readers who aren't touched by the disease... it'll give you a glimpse of why attention needs to be called to the disease. You just don't know how much I don't like talking about myself or the condition, but determined it's a must. At least from my perspective, it is.)

My mother is home bound and has been for years and years. She tells me not to let it bother me... that her home has become a place of peace for her. I keep reminding her, that she's 89 and I'm just 55 (yes, true, that is old to some of my readers, but I still feel young so it kinda complicates things for me). There's much I want to do... I've a list a mile long. I'd like to be a "hands on" volunteer with ESRA, not that I'm not happy being a mom to two rescue Springers and two rescue kitties, I'd simply like to do more. I've felt it so much with the recent River Valley Puppy Mill English Springer Rescue America rescue efforts. I've even felt an urge when missionaries have come to our church last year, two in particular. One from Guatemala. He and his family are literally seeing miracles there. The other builds churches or restores old buildings to churches in Russia! Felt the nudge, but I'm caught up in the how to's. Yet, I know that's a calling not everyone gets... if it's meant to be... God will heal me and put me on the path... if not, supporting smaller mission efforts is the way to go for the time being.

I'd also like to be more hands on in my church activities. My husband and I worked with our teens this past fall. Those teens inspired me so, I felt such a connect with them. One gal in particular. She has really become an inspiration to me. Literally has a prayer closet in her home. Amazing!! She is only 14! I realized in observing her, God didn't ask us to lead the group for them, it was for me. To minister to me. Thank you, God... for doing that for me. It helped me not to be so intimidated by speaking out loud in front of a group again. Never knowing if my words will come out right has been a struggle for me, but it began turning around in speaking to these teens. He was preparing me for something else I recently did and didn't believe I was capable of. Still don't... yet I opened my mouth and there it went.

Physically, of late, neuro activity has escalated quite a bit, and there are other things going on... like we all have, so we felt it best to give it up. As much as I try, I'm not the most reliable person on the planet these days... Epilepsy dictates my daily life at times. Such an annoyance to someone who was extremely independent... yet, I know... being pretty much home bound has led me to seek shelter with the Lord... it's given me alone time so the Holy Spirit, the one who indwells inside of me... can work on me. It's given me time for ground work to be done... so the healing that I know is mine... will be manifested. I use the time to turn my face to the wall and listen two my two favorite albums... All That Is Within Me and Spoken For both by Mercy Me. Their music really ministers to me, and since for some unknown reason reading words on paper doesn't quite work now like it used to, it's the method I use to get the Word into me. Listening to music get's the left side of the brain working... and I feel it happening to mine. I receive encouragement from their music, too. Inspiration and even borrow some of their lyrics to use in my prayer life. I even try to go to sleep listening to their music. For those of us who are faith filled believers... thank God we believe in a God who heals... and thank God for faith filled believers who love and care for us... the ones who pray for us. It gives us hope... which puts feet to our faith. For anyone reading who may not be a believer. God loves you, too. He just wants to hear from you... He's always listening... just like someone who really cares about you does.

Sometimes people are healed immediately when they ask God for healing... with others it's a journey... I believe with my whole heart, I'm on that journey... on the path right now. Through God's grace... it will manifest one day and until then, He's also giving me the grace to be thankful for condition that's helped me get closer to him. It's not a condition I'm enduring... I'm living life in spite of it! Just with very interesting twists and turns... but undeniably research is needed big time for all of us. Again of the 3 million living in the United States with Epilepsy, 2 million experience life with uncontrolled seizures. I'm merely 1 of them.

So... about that trestle hike last Autumn... the day was incredible!!! It was in the 70s. Gorgeous!! The colors were amazing this past Fall not just here but everywhere on the planet, I betcha!

I've gotten back to some of my family roots of late... my railroad family roots. There's a story my mother has told me all of my life about a railroad trestle in West Virginia, an event that occurred that scared her so badly, she's never forgotten. Each time she shares it, one can't help but be right there with her. Well, there's an old railroad trestle in our county that goes across the Pee Dee River. It's an ancient trestle. And, both my husband and I wanted to see it close up. It's hard to imagine how such vulnerable structures can carry the weight of a huge train. Not just one... but many cross this particular trestle every single day in both directions! There will be more coming about this trestle... it's become one of my fave places here and one I want to photograph as the seasons change. (But, not during the summer because it's snakey!) Don't do snakes! Milkshakes, yes!

We weren't sure how far off the road we'd have to hike the rails to get there, so we Google Earthed it. If any of my readers have never used Google Earth, you simply must. You can literally fly to anywhere in the world on that thing! My cousin in VIrginia calls it a tar baby... his advice to me before we ever used it was not to download it unless one has hours to spare, 'cause one will find oneself flying everywhere. Ha! He was right, too.

Well, we checked it out and it appeared to be only about a mile and a half hike to the trestle. In -- not round trip. Quite doable in one afternoon. We had a marvelous time. I'd been kind of stuck in the house for a few days and wow, to get outside on such a lovely day, was downright thrilling. The colors as I mentioned above were like an artist's canvas. The sounds of nature... the birds, crickets, wind in the trees, Hitchcock Creek in the background, as well as the Pee Dee River up ahead of us just made for the best "natural" music.

Also, during our journey there and back, six trains came by! Oh man!!! Talk about a rush!!! It was marvelous!!! Of course, I had my camera with me (still only had my little zoomy one then) and it just so happens it has a sweet little video feature on it. In all, I videoed six trains that afternoon! It was so exciting and uplifting to me. I realized trains... the experience of and videoing them close up was much for me, like flying in our powered parachute ultralight contraption is for my husband. Such a rush to take shots 10 feet away, sitting on the ground. Every part of me could feel the trains. I made sure to tell my husband... now this is a biggie for those of you who may not know anything about trains... don't listen to the engine... listen to the rails. As each car passes, each has a different sound, depending upon its load, if there is a load, if it's an open car or closed. Also, the sound changes as it passes... the middle of a train as it passes sounds different than the beginning... and the end, is my favorite. It jingles. It's squeaky. It kinda hurts the ears, but it's music to my ears, because I made many trips back and forth on passenger trains as a kid from Virginia where I grew up to Hamlet, NC where my grandparents and uncle lived. We were always in the last car... it was called the Tidewater car. Both my grandfather and uncle were railroad men and dedicated their lives to it. During most trips I was with my mother, but a few super special ones, it was just myself and my wonderful grandfather. The end of a train sounds always brings me back to my times with him. To all of our family reunions here special times with my family...

On to the slide shows... there will be two. And one day, maybe with some encouragement, I'll share a couple videos. When you view my photos, they'll change after the first few. I found the hi-def 16:9 setting on my camera! Yay! That's one of those, once you find that setting, it's hard to go back to normal. There is also a third trestle slide show when we started to hike to the trestle from the other side of the Pee Dee River... it began to rain, so we didn't make it, but caught some pretty photos and will share soon. When you view the slide shows check out the curves of the rails and the sunlight reflecting through the trees and off the rails. Try to listen for nature... birds... crickets... a creek in the background and all of a sudden there's a train less than 100 feet away. A few toots of the whistle and they're on top of you... without the horn you'd never hear them... often times due to the wind and surrounding sounds they're stealth... anyone who is used to being around trains can tell you... you feel them first! So, don't go photographing trains or videoing them unless you use caution! My husband found himself in the middle of the trestle when one was approaching... almost one of those I told you so things. LOL

Thanks for reading to all of you I know personally. Mind you, there are more than a few of you! And thank you to those of you who've just begun to follow my blog or are new FaceBook friends... God Bless... :)

85 to 100 Springers Need Help Now!!!

http://www.springerrescue.org/sponsor/specialneeds/KS.html

Written left handed on my white board -- prayer list -- project board. For any of you who may be reading my blog for the first time -- I'm right handed. Labels links will tell you my reason for writing left handed on my white board... this is NOT about me... it's about the Springers in need...

The story in the link above will be updated soon to show that 85 to 100 Springers are being confiscated and given into the care of the English Springer Rescue America group at this very moment. They'll be vetted, altered, and immunized prior to going into foster care next week. It'll be the beginning of a whole new life for them... well, actually a life... because in a puppy mill there is NO real life for these precious dogs.

Oh no! Not lefthanded writing on my white board...

I've felt compelled to begin writing on my white board... the one I keep in my bedroom... next to my new workspace... with my left hand!!! Oh have mercy! I'm right handed and in all of my neuro testing... I'm so right, I lean!! But, I'm not daunted. When I was in elementary school I was always somewhat of a teacher's pet. The good girl. And, I got to sit in front of Mrs. Hughes (my fave teacher ever!) third grade class and take names whenever it was "rest" time. If I saw someone passing notes, or whispering, when they should have had their heads down... onto the blackboard I'd write their names.

Well, it was kinda boring up there. Didn't like everyone's eyes on me, plus it put me in a tough position with my peers. Not fun atol! Yet a hugely important learning lesson... one that would get me far when it came to managing and working with my peers and other people in the workplace. Sorry for the side trip... happens these days. Too much... anyway, I was also a bit chubby... so you get the picture. I needed to distract myself and make it fun, all the while having a job to do. So you know what I did? I began writing names with the chalk in my lefthand. Amazingly, I did a good job of it. Now, on paper, it was a whole 'nuther story. It didn't look quite as pretty. Yet, I practiced that, too. My goal at 8 years old in that class was to become ambedextrous. Well, nowadays... that's my goal for my brain, too. I do believe it's God's desire for me, because I feel inspired to write my prayer list... the one I keep on my white board... in my room... beside my new workspace... left handed.

I'm also thinking I need to learn a foreign language, such as French. Not sure where I'll plug in the time to do it. Maybe while I sleep. Or in the background when I'm working with photos, like I do with my praise music. Going to think on it a bit. What's funny is I took several years of Spanish. Remember a few words... but in that same third grade class we had French lessons... to this day, I remember every single word. So, I'm seriously going to consider re-introducing myself to it. Not to speak publicly such as in a French restaurant, but more to exercise my brain. I've some French ancestry... so there may be something to it. Might just be a natural language for me. Scottish and Gaelic is, too... as well as Native American and English, that would be Old English from my father's side... so not quite sure about that. Ha!

It's all kinda funny when I think about it. But you know what? I believe soon my brain will function in the perfection to which God created it to function... maybe even better than it ever has before!! That's faith talking!