Hospital Musings

An important lesson I learned from my dad was that you only have one chance to make a good first impression.  Whenever I helped out in his office during the summer months, he reminded me to smile before answering the phone because the first impression of his business, from a first-time caller, was how I spoke to them.  He even had me practice by looking in a mirror, smiling, and then answering the phone.  The results of that lesson were a sweet reminder when I went to the hospital on Friday.  So many of the nurses and medical personnel had helped take care of me when I had procedures and surgeries in October, November, and earlier in May.  They remembered why I had been there, which rooms I had been in, and they definitely remembered Larry.  If Larry was not in the room, they would ask about when he was coming.  Fred’s first shift was Sunday morning.  When he came in, he asked, “Was that your husband walking down the hall in a suit?”  Larry had stopped by before going to church.  I’m grateful that our first impressions caused people to be glad to see us again and help out.

 

Other observations:

 

* I’m grateful that God keeps His promise to always be with me!

 

* I was admitted to the hospital to begin clearing up the blood clots in my left leg.  Because of time spent sitting, waiting, and being still, I was also afforded opportunities to visit, encourage, listen, and spend time with others.

 

* Sometimes when others share a need, you may not be the one to provide answers and services, but you can connect them with someone who can help.

 

* Although my left leg is the one affected by MS, I depended on it to be the strong one when I was in need of knee replacement.  Since the blood clot occurred, it has made it a little harder to use the left leg.  I am once again relying on my right leg to be dominant which is helping in the strengthening process.

 

* Last week I needed to schedule a urology appointment.  I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the appointment was made for Monday.  After being discharged, we were able to go from the hospital straight to the doctor’s appointment, in the building next to the hospital.

 

* I need to be willing to do the hard things, if I want to improve.

 

* God continues to bless us through your friendships, prayers, and encouraging words.  They continue to motivate, inspire, and challenge me to work harder.

 

 

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28:20b

 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

 

Once again, the old farmer won the top award for the best grown corn.  In the course of being interviewed, the newspaper reporter found out that each year the farmer shared the prize-winning seed corn with his fellow farmers.  The reporter questioned why the farmer would do that, knowing that they could compete for the prize as well.  The farmer replied, “Why sir, didn’t you know?  The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field.  If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn.  If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”  Because helping his neighbor was the goal, all profited from the award-winning seed.

Each morning, before school, five high school guys gather to read their Bibles together.  They meet in the school parking lot, lean over the trunk of one of their cars, and share in Bible study before beginning their school day.

 

Christa Graves took her 4-year-old son with her to buy a few groceries.  On her way to check out, she picked up a bouquet of carnations for Caden to give to other customers as they exited the store.  This is something Christa does, periodically, to teach her boys the importance of giving.  The store manager, Jamie Stephens, saw the pleasure of the recipients, he asked Christa if he could bring out another bouquet for Caden to give away.  Once in the car, Caden told his mother that his “heart was happy”.  When we take time to care for others, that tends to happen.

 

At the Walmart in Antioch, a man came into the auto service department with two young men that he had picked up alongside the interstate.  They were stranded due to a flat tire and no spare.  The man waited with the teenagers, purchased the tire, took them back to their car, and changed the tire for them.  Even though he had never met the two guys, help was offered when it was most needed.

 

Candice Bell frequently takes her two young children to the grocery store.  At times, just like other kids, they tend to continually ask for something that they want.  Recently, as she was entered the store, she showed her children the bin for the Food Bank and explained that the food was for people who had no food or who needed help getting food.  That day, she told each child they could choose one item to buy and place in the bin on the way back to the car.  After carefully making their choice, they held on to the product until it was time to check out.  They carefully handed the cashier their pick for the day and could hardly wait for their mother to pay so they could place their gift in the food bin.  The past five times at the store the children have done the same process and have yet to ask for something for themselves.  What a wonderful lesson, in giving, to learn at such an early age.

 

This week, may we each take the time to seize the opportunity to love and serve our neighbors well.

 

 

“To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Mark 12:33

 

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:31

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

 

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

James 2:8

To Embrace or Not Embrace

 

Lord, empty me of me,

so I can be filled with you.

 

 

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.

 

 LOVE GENEROUSLY

BE HAPPY

HELP EACH OTHER

BE GRATEFUL

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

 

“We have to pray with our eyes on God not on the difficulties.”

~ Oswald Chambers

 

Three things you control every day:

1        your ATTITUDE

2      your EFFORT

3      your ACTIONS

 

 

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.  What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

~ Jane Goodall

 

 

 

RE-SET.

RE-ADJUST.

RE-START.

RE-FOCUS.

AS MANY TIMES

AS YOU NEED TO.

JUST DON’T QUIT.

 

 

 

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”

~ Billy Graham

 

 

 

Remembering God’s past

faithfulness encourages us

to trust in

God’s future

provision.

 

 

Wondering whether the glass is

HALF EMPTY or HALF FULL

is missing the - POINT -

The glass is REFILLABLE!

 

 

 

“Faith is found by taking the first steps.  That’s why it’s called FAITH, and not belief.  Belief is the prerequisite; FAITH is the verb of walking out that belief with full trust that God’s got you!”

~ Rachel Morris

 

 

 

CTRL         +       ALT      +    DEL

Control yourself       Alter your thinking        Delete negativity

 

 

 

three life rules:

*  If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it.

*  If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.

*  If you do not step forward, you will always remain in the same place.

 

 

 

Whatever you must do today…

do it with the confidence of a

4-year old in a Batman cape.

 

 

Every day we decide what we will embrace and take to heart and what we will let go.  This week may our choices be worthy of making a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

 

 

Show me your ways, LORD,

     teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

     for you are God my Savior,

     and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

     And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

     and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8