So this is the first post I’ve tried to write or rather dictate sense shoulder surgery. It will be quite a while before I can type again. I have to wear the sling for at least five more weeks. Surgery went well, thank you for your prayers. Bob and I could still use prayers as we navigate the ups and downs of having him do everything to run the house and me being not so helpful with just one hand. The weather here has been winter brutal and walking the dog four times a day has zapped his patience and taken a lot of his joy away. So pray for us as we continue to navigate this path to recovery
The doctor found not one partial tear but two partial tears in the rotator cuff one was vertical and one was horizontal. He repaired both of those. One side of the biceps muscle was disconnected from the bone and it will stay that way. He said that’s why it’s called the biceps; my arm will use the other part, the one that’s still attached. I have been able to reduce the pain medication by half. Physical therapy has begun and I do the stretches twice a day at home. As long as my shoulder does not freeze up I can attend physical therapy just once a week. If it freezes I’ll have to begin twice a week. All in all things are looking up.
Sadly, my recliner only has controls on the outside of the right armrest. That means to adjust the chair I have to reach all the way over and under my right arm and down on the outside of the chair to try to find the right button. I think electric recliners need to be required to have adjustments buttons on both sides. Just an observation. Trust me if I ever replace this chair, I’ll be sure to shop for one with buttons on both sides preferably inside the armrest.
Friends and neighbors have brought us gallons of soups. Some of the soup is now in the freezer as we could not possibly eat all of that before it would spoil. Delicious stuff! There have been 3 flower bouquets and a get well soon balloon. We are grateful for each of them. I pray that winter has not been too brutal where you are. Regardless of the caterpillars or the Groundhog predictions winter it is. I will say the moon was very bright on the snow at midnight.
Thank you for reading the blog even in my absence. This post is likely full of typos. I receive an e-mail notification every time someone reads it and it cheers me. Blessings, Molly D
In reviewing the Scripture, Philippians 4:4-9 I realized I was missing a step. I was basically reviewing, reciting the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, anything of excellence or praiseworthy. I was not actually taking the time to Slow Down and think of one thing for each attribute.
From my past experience with chronic illness and recovery from surgery I know that this relinquishing of independence and self-reliance also requires facing all of life with a slower pace. That is not always a bad thing. I was startled to realize before surgery that I was glossing over the importance of the admonishment of Philippians 4:8 by not actually pausing to think of something that is true, something that is noble, something that is right, etc. We are told to THINK on these things. Reciting the Scripture is checking off a to-do box. Actually thinking about such things takes us to a different place.
I have learned a couple of things this week. If you are going to the internist for a pre-op physical do not take the forms with you to fill out asking a drug company for financial assistance to afford their product. That can send your blood pressure really high! Leave the forms at home for later. My internist said to think happy, pleasant thoughts before that blood pressure cuff is pumped up! They took it again and I brought the top reading down about 25 points.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding,” even applies when you need financial help and your blood pressure is too high. Stop. Pause. Breath. Trust.
Several years ago I asked Bob for some tiny diamond earrings to wear all of the time. He delighted to purchase them for me. Not extremely expensive, but they did not have screw on backs. Sure enough I eventually caught one in my hair or in a winter scarf and flipped it off unnoticed. By the time I discovered it was missing, it was long gone. We took the remaining single tiny diamond and asked a jeweler to put in our engagement ring that Bob had made from a high grade stainless steel pipe. Eventually we bought another pair of earrings. Well, you guessed it, I lost one again. I was so disgusted with myself I just said, “Okay. No more.” I ordered cubic zirconia tiny earrings and paid for them myself. Done.
Wikipedia says: “Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important competitor for diamonds since commercial production began in 1976.” Most people cannot tell the difference and the synthetic has taken pressure off the diamond market.
Lost. Fine. Replaced with something else. Not quite! I opened the dryer a few weeks later and lying on the inside edge, near but not in the lint filter, was a tiny diamond earring. WHAT?!?! Surprised and stupefied with joy I went to check my ear lobes in the mirror. Sure enough the Zirconia ones were still there. The single diamond was still in the dish. The lost was found! Assuming the LORD did that, I was dumbfounded. The Holy One did not have to return that to me. Astonished with joy. Brain rattled trying to grip the reality. Even Bob was amazed.
Did you become a Christian thinking that your life would now become easier? Had you heard promises from the Bible and thought pledging allegiance to the Lord would bring all those promises to you immediately? Down the road a few years were you disillusioned and weakened in your faith when the things you hoped for did not come true?
I try to remind myself that we are never promised anything, and that what control we can exert is not over the events that befall us but how we address ourselves to them.
Jeanne Duprau
Welcome to Humanity 101. We are told to give our lives to Jesus and He will exchange them for something greater. The something greater rarely means material things.
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
How do you control your thoughts, your behaviors, your emotions?
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Proverbs 25:28 RSV
Self-control is mentioned many times in the Bible. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives. We are taught in the New Testament to walk in the Spirit and put to death the things of the flesh. We are to long for the fruit of the Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 RSV
The most difficult thing to control is myself and my response to events in life. The only thing I can possibly hope to control is myself and my reactions. We have mistakenly thought that we need to control others, but not so, my friend, not so!
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV
Yes, God has given us promises, but we need to read those promises carefully and ask for wisdom regarding them lest we misunderstand and go bumbling about accusing God of being untrue or unfaithful to His word.
Self-control is the best answer to most of my troubles. How about yours?
At times I come across colloquial sayings I am totally unfamiliar with. I read the saying “Hell in spectacles” from No Country for Old Men by Cormack. I started the book when they announced he had died. I was unfamiliar with him as an author, so I got the book from the library. Shortly after starting it, I closed the book as it was too violent for me.
Were there sayings popular in your family?
Grandgirl Ellie said “Dojo” so much as a baby that her Dad began calling her DoJo.
“Falingos”, said Grandgirl Lizzie. She wanted to see flamingos.
Grandson Rowan asked if I wanted to play “Paarates.” Pirates.
I often say, “Earth to Molly, come in please. Ooh! No body home.” I can be such a space cadet.
“Little Molly make a mess!” No blame no shame, just clean it up.
My mother-in-law often said, “Fudge.” And at other times she reiterated, “Pussywillow.”
My best friend’s family would exclaim, “Crime in Itly!”
A New York City waiter told me, “Whaddaryagonnado?”
Another day same waiter said I should just “Fergedaboudit.”
How about at your house or among your friends?
To one friend I would exclaim, “Lord, have mercy!” His reply was “He already has.” His amused voice still rings in my ears 🙂
As a child Jeff asked me to buy “Woobea.” Finally figured out he meant Root Beer.
Emily liked to hear the “amblience” and watch the “ephelants.”
Beat around the bush, close but no cigar, shoot from the hip, a dime a dozen, that and a dime will get you a cup of coffee, in a nutshell, cain’t complain, yep, they go on and on!
One friend says, “Might oughta.” I always have to think about that as it was not a saying in my ‘neck of the woods.”
Enjoy the language and try not to fracture it too badly!/i
For several days this has come on the local radio station and then just rolled about in my soul. Undoubtedly “His word is unfailing, His promise secure!” Such GREAT harmony from these three men! So wish I could memorize the Spanish, “Todo es va estar bien.” I know some of those words from high school Spanish.
This song was popular about 3 years ago. It is still fitting today. Especially as I face shoulder surgery this week. Aunt Norma (now deceased and my mother also deceased) used to sing “He’s got the whole world in His hands” to us when we were very young. I do not know if Aunt Norma ever went to church, but my mother, the child of a Methodist preacher, and Norma instilled this faith in us through their faith. Did someone sing it to you or with you when you were a child?
Regardless of the outcome of surgery the following will remain the song of my soul.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit can give us direction and comfort especially in uncertain circumstances. He is with us and in us.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Said Jesus recorded in John 14:20 NIV
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me….”
Jesus prayed recorded in John 17:20-21 NIV
Everything will be all right. The whole world’s in His hands. He is my all in all.
Paul said, “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we are indeed His offspring.”
Acts 17:28 RSV
It bears repeating Everything will be all right. The whole world’s in His hands. He is my all in all.
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Surgery on my right shoulder is planned for next Thursday, January 11! Partial tear of rotator cuff, remove bone spurs, check biceps attachment. When I woke up at 4AM in pain this morning I was more than ready to take the surgery. Procedure will be arthroscopically, i.e., tiny incisions where tools and camera go in and surgeon makes repairs through them.
Ever since I got the news I have been working like crazy to get ready. Got my hair cut 5 inches so Bob does not have as much to wash or brush. See, I will be a sling for quite a while and not much use as to my typical duties. I am so grateful he is here to help me!
Pre-op physical is next Monday. I have had to change all my prescriptions to a new pharmacy due to insurance changes. Have them all filled and in the building. Boxes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime are filled for 3 weeks worth! Imagine trying to open a pill bottle with one hand, especially your non-dominant hand.
My neighbor was very generous to loan me her ice machine. Nifty machine that holds iced water which it pumps through tubes into a pad that cools the surgery area.
I had this surgery 20 years ago and for the life of me cannot remember how I got dressed! The surgery will be outpatient at Ortho Cincy surgical center. I will go home with an abduction sling. Have not tried it on yet. They will put it on me after surgery. Bob will be my driver and care giver.
Looks something like this
The recliner will be my sleeping location as lying down and getting up out of the bed will be something I have to progress towards. I will not be able to clean up my sleeping area (think sheet and blankets with assorted pillows). The guilt is already building. I am married to “Mr. Tidy” and I try to do my part to keep the common areas of the house tidy. My desk? That is another matter.
How does one prepare to be helpless and passive with a smile? Hard to be jolly about that kind of surrender. Yet I am going to try! “What ever is good, pure, lovely, worthy of praise, etc”
So yes, I would appreciate your prayers. All this weird positioning is never good for the arthritis and fibromyalgia. Imagine me with ice machine on my shoulder and heating pad behind my back! Woohoo, such a sight. No photos will follow…I might try dictating a post when I get off pain meds. Likely too hard to type for a while. I will have so much time to think up ideas for this blog!!
Today we listed all the frozen foods in our deep freeze. Made 2 large chicken pot pies with Pillsbury crusts. We have many frozen soups, meat sealed with gravy or broth, etc. Green chicken chili, black beans,etc, Mom’s vegetable soup recipe. Not to mention frozen pizza for Bob and the foods friends will drop off.
Minimum weeks in a sling, months in physical therapy. I will need gallons of patience and I find that ice cream cannot provide that. Drats! I will have Bob post for me after surgery. I am certain it will go well. Trusting the Father and rejoicing that I will have this repair.
This was a musical in 1971. Wiki[edia reports, “The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end.”
These lyrics have been rolling in my head for a couple weeks. Naturally that leads to a blog post!
Where are you going? Where are you going? Can you take me with you? For my hand is cold And needs warmth Where are you going?
Far beyond where the horizon lies Where the horizon lies And the land sinks into mellow blueness Oh please, take me with you
Let me skip the road with you I can dare myself I can dare myself I'll put a pebble in my shoe And watch me walk (watch me walk) I can walk and walk! (I can walk!)
I shall call the pebble Dare I shall call the pebble Dare We will talk, we will talk together We will talk (chorus) about walking Dare shall be carried And when we both have had enough I will take him from my shoe, singing: "Meet your new road!" Then I'll take your hand Finally glad Finally glad That you are here By my side
By my side By my side By my side
So what of it? Well, they remind me to remember the LORD regardless of life circumstances. At times I am the pebble Dare, and at other times I need the challenge to remember We walk together.
Hard to ignore a pebble in your shoe. I am more likely to have a pebble in my pocket. Or a large wooden bead. Or something to bring my attention back to Him. I challenge you to carry something as a reminder throughout your day to turn again to Christ and walk together.
My Grandgirl had an iPhone into the sky moment over the Christmas holidays. She and her boyfriend were on the roller coaster at the Kings Island amusement park. Her parents had just purchased a new iPhone for her through their cellular plan. She had it in the pocket of her sweatpants. As the ride hit a turn, her iPhone became the iPhone in the sky and not having airborne abilities it went flying away in the dark. You probably guessed it. Her parents had not bought insurance for the phone as ‘she never loses anything.’ Ouch. An eighteen year old with a huge problem.
They tried to find the phone, to no avail. They used a tracking program and it was reported to be at a certain location near some trees. The staff could not find it. Meanwhile some of the family was praying for a miracle. In some way, my daughter was able to lock it. Still not found. “First world problem” indeed!
After a couple days of anguish my Grandgirl received a phone call. The park had found it. They had her state some identifying factors. She drove up to get it. It was not broken or cracked or anything. It had just taken a night flight and then was returned. (Sort of like that kid who was trying to travel from Tampa to Cleveland and wound up in Puerto Rico? Only the iPhone could not read.)
As Anita sang in the West Side Story song America, “Smoke on your pipe and put that in!” Just listen to the first minute!
In “Cry of the Deer” chapter on the Communion of Saints, he wrote
We all have minds that are hard to control! But ways have been discovered of helping to keep us reasonably on the right track. If the mind records everything we experience, we should be careful what we record on it. We can to some extent choose. There will always be a mixture of good and evil, of life and destruction, but we can influence the mixture by deliberate choice. Quite often, our attitude to what we do will influence our attitude in the future. It is with this insight that the writer to the Philippians says
4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!
5 Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7 And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. 9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.
Good News Bible Philippians 4:4-9
One of the great illnesses of modern society is our efforts to control others. This often develops unconsciously in homes where alcoholism is rampant. I spent several years in Adult Children of Alcoholics doing workbooks and learning about this insidious coping mechanism. It can grow into a monster that can become as destructive as the alcoholism itself. Between ACoA and my study of Christian historical writers I learned that the only one I can hope to control is myself. Even that, is a lifelong arduous task!
When Paul wrote to the Philippians he knew the work of taking charge over our thoughts and what we allow to dwell there. So as David Adam wrote, what is your attitude toward what you do, the attitude that will influence your attitude in the future? Weighty topic but so worth exploring.
25 three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. 26 In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. 27 There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. 28 And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
2 Corinthians 11:25-29 GNT
Most of us are unlikely to experience being stoned, shipwrecked and many of the other things he lists. Many of us work and toil, have had dangers from false friends. Without food, shelter, or clothing not to mention thirsty? not so much for most Americans. But can we with Paul focus our busy, busy minds on those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable? David Adam agrees with Paul that ways have been discovered to help us do that. Have you even tried them? Are you willing to challenge yourself to do these things from the Philippians list and then return quarterly to check up on how you are doing at the new ways of thinking?
There is a book about the challenge of a “Grumble-free year.”
USA Today bestselling author Tricia Goyer and her family of eleven embark on a yearlong quest to eliminate grumbling from their home and discover a healthier, more thankful approach to life together. The Goyer home–with two parents, eight kids, and one eighty-eight-year-old grandmother with dementia–is never without noise, mess, activity, and, often, complaining. And it’s not just the kids grumbling. After adding seven children in less than six years through adoption, the Goyer family decided to move out of survival-mode and into unity- and growth-mode. They decided to tackle the a grumble-free year. With grade-schoolers, teenagers, and a grandmother who believes children should be seen and not heard, plenty of room exists for flunking the challenge. Add to that seven children being homeschooled together in close quarters, and what could possibly go awry? In The Grumble-Free Year , the Goyers invite readers into their journey as they go complaint-free and discover what it looks like to develop hearts of gratitude. They share their plans, successes, failures, and all the lessons they learn along the way, offering real-life action steps based in scripture so that readers get not just a front-row seat to the action but also an opportunity to take the challenge themselves and uncover hearts that are truly thankful.
Whew! Makes me tired just reading the review. And I read the book! My life is nowhere as complicated as theirs. Is yours? Might you be able to tackle just 3 months of Paul’s admonition to think on whatever is true, noble, right, lovely, pure, honorable, praiseworthy – those kinds of things. Thought control, because your attitude today will influence your attitude in the future.
Get a 3 x 5 card or 4 x 6 card, even a post-it note. Write out the Philippians verse for your own use. Put it on the bathroom mirror, in your wallet, on your phone screen, in your car, coat pocket IN OTHER WORDS before your eyes, heart and mind. Practice it. Challenge yourself to be more gentle, more peaceful, less worried, more trusting and joyful in your union with Christ. What a grand and glorious 2024 that will make! It is going to take practice but will result in a holy skill. They say it takes at least 21 days to learn a new habit. I plan to review this once a quarter and if I need to get a “do over” or “Mulligan” I will give myself the grace to try again and again. I pray you too will try this! Good luck!!
For older folks, if their prescription drug coverage insurance company changed it means calling the new pharmacy to transfer your prescriptions from the other pharmacy to the new one. This morning the new pharmacy said my insurance card numbers did not work. What? the insurance company issued it. They said to just bring it in when refill is ready and they will work with me on it. Not a good beginning!
Are your Christmas decorations put away yet? Not all of mine. So far, we have undecorated the artificial tree. It is prelit but the weather has been so Ohio Gloomy that we have just left it up to brighten the room. Grandgirl will come help me put away nativity set on Wednesday. She is also tall enough that it is easy for her to clean the tops of the kitchen cabinets that do not go all the way to the ceiling. Our lights on the back deck will stay put until Valentine’s day. Another effort to push back the darkness.
Ha! Just realized that by then two of my neighbors who are both expecting baby boys will likely have given birth! Oh I do love babies. My husband calls me the baby whisperer.
But my passion might be mitigated by shoulder surgery. Still waiting to hear if that has been scheduled. My surgeon is having surgery for pinched nerve in his neck something like January 18? If he can’t get me in before then, I might have to wait until he recovers. Thanksgiving 2022 I pulled something in my shoulder. Later x-rays and MRI showed partially torn rotator cuff. Had 2 bouts of PT. The steroid injection last spring/summer did not provide lasting pain relief 6 months. I hurt it again last week when I reached across the counter for a piece of waxed paper. Not even lifting! Now reaching for the salt shaker hurts. Let’s just suffice it to say I am eager to have this fixed, but do so want to hold newborn babies.
Another year and always more health challenges for those of us blessed to be growing older. Thank You LORD for giving us life and love for another year. You have brought us safely this far. We trust You to walk with us into the future. We know You are the only thing going on for eternity. So we clasp Your hand in faith and with joy, knowing that we are never alone. You are always with us.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 