Passions of the Soul

More prayer requests

Before I mention specifics, I need to say something about prayers for healing.  First, I believe God heals in a variety of ways--fully and immediately, or over time and with medical treatment.  I was once healed, fully and as a result of one friend's specific prayer for healing of a recurring and stubborn infection.  I also know that God does not always choose to answer our prayers for healing--our own, or someone else's--in the way that we want.

This is a common dilemma for Christians.  God can heal anything, but He doesn't, always.  Why?  I can't answer that for the simple reason that God never sees fit to answer my Why? questions.  So how are we to pray?  I recently struggled with that question concerning someone very dear to me.  Then, while singing praises to God in church (specifically, How Great Is Our God!), I prayed for this person and was reminded as I prayed of a pastor in the Dominican Republic who is a living, walking, talking miracle; it seemed as though God used that memory to say to me, "I did that, and I can handle this problem you are praying about.  Pray for a miracle." So I think I now understand that we are to pray for what we want--the full healing of those we love and care about--but always with an openness to whatever He chooses to do, or not to do.  That requires faith--the faith to trust Him to know and to do what is best.

So with that, I offer these needs.  I don't have many updates to offer regarding people previously named in similar posts, but I'll do what I can, as I have at least one new request.

Ken, the husband of my virtually life-long friend Jeannine, was diagnosed a few months ago with cancer of the prostate.  He has been through two surgeries, as he had some internal bleeding following the first surgery.  He was off work for six or seven weeks, and is not yet up to full strength.  However, he also has to decide what course of treatment he will undergo, as the cancer was not fully contained in the prostate.  Please pray for Ken and Jeannine, for healing, for strength to endure, and for God's peace.

Over at Beverly's blog, you can see pictures of her granddaughter, Ella.  Ella looks like one healthy little girl, but Ella has cystic fibrosis.  She has done very well, but she's now on medication for a "bad bug" in her throat, and will have to be on medication for a full month.  I'm pretty ignorant about CF, but I know a bad bug is bad enough in an otherwise healthy child.  Please remember Ella, her mommy and daddy and her grandma in your prayers.

Last I heard, Martha's godmother, Ann, was still showing good results from her chemotherapy and was finally free of the colostomy.

My friend Miriam escaped surgery on her shoulder, thanks to the workings of her physical therapist.  Now she has pain due to a bulging L5 disc that is compressing the S1 (S for sacrum, or maybe sacral?) nerve root.  Yeah, that's gotta hurt.  I remember too well the excruciating pain my precious husband endured for too long caused by a bone fragment digging into the sciatic nerve.  Those things don't get better by themselves, and I'm thankful for Miriam that her doctors didn't tell her to live with it for a month to six weeks, before they would do an MRI.  She has an appointment with appropriate doctors on Oct. 16, unless they can get her in sooner.  She would appreciate prayers, probably for strength to endure, until then, and for wisdom and skill in the doctors who will treat her.

I don't have any updated information about Karen, who had a hysterectomy during the summer due to endometrial cancer.  Contrary to what the surgeon thought immediately following surgery in June, the lab reports showed that the cancer had spread into other organs, so chemo' began on August 1.  During this same period of time, Tom's mother was ill and cancer was likely.  Again, I don't have a recent update, but certainly, Tom and Karen and their family can use our prayers!

And my dear friend Linda, for whose husband we prayed a few months ago (Rob is doing well, thanks!), and her extended family, are dealing with the aftermath of her dad's death and her mom's advancing age and decreasing abilities.  It's one of those kaleidoscopic situations that defies any simple or clear request for prayer, but Linda, brother J.D. and sister Janet could all use a prayer net beneath them.

And, finally, little Ali, for whom we have prayed, continues to show little but important signs of progress, even while she continues to face so many major challenges.  Bryon and Susan (Grandma and Grandpa who are now caring for Ali) continue to deal with the loneliness of having been abruptly uprooted and transplanted on the other side of the continent.  Please remember them all, as their lives really have been forever changed.   One specific prayer request, too, is that the adoption proceedings will go smoothly, that the Court will decide in their favor and that Ali will be released to them by the State of California.

Bailey

We think we've won!  On each of two, maybe three nights, we gave her a whole Acepromazine tablet and were able to sleep longer and better between her whining spells.  Those turned very brief, thank heaven!  Two nights ago, we gave her half a tablet and had a good night.  Last night, we cut that in half and slept all night.  My goodness, what a difference that makes!

We really don't like drugging her, and with a half or--worse--whole tablet, she's druggy all day, as well as all night.  But as long as her "daddy" tucks her in at the end of the sofa, lying on her red towel (blanky) and covered with her blue towel (complete with holes she's chewed in it), she's okay.

Tonight, no pill.  We think she's learned, now, that she can survive the night somewhere other than on our bed and in our room.  In fact, I found her outside, this morning, on the glider, which she really appreciates our having provided for her (we've had it for several years).

Missed opportunities

Being away from home cuts into my blogging and blog-reading.  As a result, I missed--until now--reading Dr. Bob's post on 9/11.  He writes eloquently, as always, and offers a photo essay of the 9/11 massacre of six years ago.

I still miss the national unity that we experienced, for such a short time, as well as the wide-spread awareness of our spiritual needs awakened by the attacks.  That awareness, too, lasted all too briefly.

Falling behind, again

I don't think I've posted in a couple of weeks.  What does that tell you?  Okay, this is a little peek into our week.

Last Sunday morning, we left home for another trip to visit my mom and family.  We had delayed our trip by several days and enjoyed far more favorable weather, as a result.  Tuesday was still hot, but roughly 10 degrees cooler than it had been the previous week.  It was a good visit, and you can read more at Bruce's blog, where he also has a couple of pictures.

My sister introduced us to Spaghetti Eddie's, a great little Italian restaurant she's known about for years, but had never thought to mention to us.  We loved it so much, we went twice.  Tucson could really use a Spaghetti Eddie's, in case anyone over there is listening!

Now, then, about the 24 hours since we returned:  Determined to retake mastery over our own bed, Bruce blocked Bailey's access to even the hallway to the bedroom, so that we can start getting some sleep.  Of course, she did not go down without a fight.  Such pitiful, truly pathetic whining and carrying on she treated us to!  No, this did not come as a surprise.  But at one point, when she had been quiet for a little while--maybe 20 or 30 minutes--she started up, again.  Then she burst through a door that hadn't been closed fully, ran into our room and was on our bed before we knew she had broken through. 

Bruce got up, very nicely picked her up and carried her back to the living room, talking in a soothing voice all the way.  Until, that is, he felt a sharp pain in his foot.  Expecting to find a sharp piece of glass (tho' nothing had broken), he found a little scorpion under his foot.  Bruce got even, and that critter will never sting anyone else.  But adding insult to injury, he stubbed his other foot on something.  He was up for a few minutes, putting ice on the scorpion sting; when Bailey saw him just sitting there, holding ice against his foot, she jumped up on the sofa, curled up and went to sleep.  We never heard another sound from her, so we got maybe a little more than four hours' sleep before Kat woke us up before 6 a.m.

You're thinking I've gotten off scot free of trouble (unless you count sleep deprivation as trouble), and you're wrong.  I reached for something under a cabinet, this morning, and felt my low back go into a major spasm.  It's still tied up.  I've had heat on it, twice, but this evening, I'm going to switch to a cold pack.  Sometimes that works, when heat doesn't.

I'm taking bets as to whether tonight will be any better.

Something new

As in, I learned something new--to me--today.  Yesterday, I received a new, computer-based training kit from Compassion; I was expecting CD's and opened the package to discover they are DVD's.  This presented a small problem, given that this is an interactive kit:  How could I possibly do any interacting, when our DVD player is two rooms away from my computer?  What? you ask, your computer doesn't have a DVD player??  Well, no, it didn't.  Not until this morning.  I guess three years ago, when I got it, DVD players were not in quite the demand that they are, now.  Now it has both the CD-RW that came with it and a DVD-RW that will play and burn anything--text, audio, video.  So, now I'm set.

Will somebody please apply the brakes, a little bit, to the technology explosion? 

Credit

With the bad news about mortgage lenders, we're now seeing and hearing all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the problem of debts unpaid, bad loans...the woez-iz-meez, big time.  The following is a letter I wrote to the editor of one of our local papers, earlier this week, in response to such an article.

Our culture faces more than one challenge in this problem.  We have the "I want it, and I want it now" mind-set of consumers, and the "Get your EZ-credit here" invitation of credit card companies.

We've been debt-free [totally debt-free] for well over a year, pay off our two credit cards (one for business) every month, and are considered bad consumers by the credit-card companies.  I think they call us freeloaders because we don't pay interest.  And still we receive several offers for new credit cards a couple of times a year.

If creditors stopped making it so easy to get credit, the problem would gradually lessen.  Perhaps a second step would be for those companies to require revamped payment plans for debtors who owe thousands of dollars on one account and pay the minimum.  That's insane, and a serious trap.  I know.  I used to be there.

I would have thought "freeloaders" would apply more to those who borrow money and don't pay it back, but what do I know?

When I began attending our local university, almost 20 years ago(!), I was appalled and then disgusted by all the tables I saw set up, where students--you know, 18-year-olds and up--could apply for credit cards on their way into the bookstore.  Or in the student union.  The signs should have read, "Sell your life!  Get credit!"

I have no sympathy for the lenders who do business as they all do:  sub-prime loans to people who shouldn't get any more credit; easy credit to people who haven't already learned how to manage their money; low, low monthly payments on high and higher debts.  The bottom line is that the lenders get obscene amounts of money, in the long run, from those cards.  That, friends and neighbors, is called greed.  And if they make bad loans, shame on them.  They're in the business; why don't they know better?