Cheeseburger Picnic

Shall Renew Their Strength

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.-- Isaiah 40:31

Miss Cool and Her Monkey

before someone asks, no we did not drive like that

Shine on the One I Love

I see the moon and the moon sees me.
God bless the moon, and God bless me.
Please let the light that shines on me,
Shine on the one I love.
-- Nursery Rhyme*

 

* I found several versions online, all attributed to different authors, or to none at all. This is the way we sing it at our FireHouse. And FireGirl's rendition? Heart-blessing.

Mini-Vacation Part 3: Gatlinburg

Wonderworks

Jason doing ropes course inside WonderWorks

Smoke coming off the Smoky Mountains

Troll

Me kissing the troll

duck in the hotel pool

Open Up Your Eyes

Days they force you back under those covers,
lazy mornings, they multiply.
Glory's waiting outside your windows.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

Tongues are violent, personal and focused,

tough to be with your steady mind.
Hearts are stronger after broken.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

All these victims stand in line for
crumbs that fall from the table, just enough to get by.
All the while your invitation:

Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

Take from vandals all you want now.
Please don't trade it in for life.
Replaced your feeble with the fable.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

All these victims stand in line for

crumbs that fall from the table, just enough to get by.
All the while your invitation:

Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

Sing like we used to.
Dance when you want to.
Taste for the breakthrough open wide.

All these victims stand in line for

crumbs that fall from the table, just enough to get by.
All the while your invitation:
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, Baby open up your eyes.

Come on, sing like we used to,

and dance like you want to.
Come on darlin', open your eyes.
I wanna sing like we used to.
I wanna dance like we want to.
Come on darlin', open up your eyes.

-- "Slumber" by Needtobreathe

Mini-Vacation Part 2: Douglas Dam

Can't Tell Me It's Not Worth Tryin' For

Look into my eyes - you will see

what you mean to me.

Search your heart, search your soul

and when you find me there you'll search no more.

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.

You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.

You know it's true,

everything I do - I do it for you.

Look into your heart - you will find

there's nothing there to hide.

Take me as I am - take my life.

I would give it all, I would sacrifice.

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for.

I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.

You know it's true, everything I do -

I do it for you.

There's no love - like your love

and no other - could give more love.

There's nowhere - unless you're there.

All the time - all the way.

Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for

I can't help it, there's nothing I want more.

I would fight for you. I'd lie for you,

walk the wire for you, yeah I'd die for you.

You know it's true,

everything I do

I do it for you.

-- "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" [Bryan Adams]

Mini-vacation Part 1: Drag Races

 FireMan & I went with some guys from the FD and their wives

best outfit of the day: swim trunk & cowboy boots

Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with Your God

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?    -- Micah 6:8

Five Lined Skink... I think

Found when Tucker was playing with it in our bedroom. Tail already lost (survival mechanism). I released outdoors. It came back in. Not the smartest thing. Did not survive. Approximately four inches long (without tail).

If Grace Is An Ocean, We Are All Sinking

He is jealous for me,

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware

of these afflictions eclipsed by glory

And I realize just how beautiful You are

and how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so.
Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us so.

And we are His portion and He is our prize

Drawing to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If grace is an ocean, we are all sinking.

And Heaven meets Earth like an unforeseen kiss

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

He loves us
Oh, how He loves us

Oh, how He loves us

Oh, how He loves.

Yeah, He loves us

Oh, how He loves us

Oh, how He loves us

Oh, how He loves

-- David Crowder Band "How He Loves" (songwriter John Mark McMillan)

Buddy Sleeps...

... outside Jena's bedroom window.

taken thru the screen

I love the dog that protects my child.

It's Overwhelming

The more I seek You,
The more I find You.
The more I find You,

The more I love You.

I want to sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hand,
Lay back against You and breathe,
Feel Your heart beat.

This love is so deep,
It's more than I can stand.
I melt in Your peace,

It's overwhelming.

-- Kari Jobe: "The More I Seek You"

343

My Loves

Quick update on back problems

With everything else going on, I don't remember if I told you I had epidural injections last month. Well, I did. Same week as my colonoscopy / EGD. It was a busy hard week on my body.

Today I had my follow up with the Pain Management Specialist / Anesthesiologist who performed the procedure.

What I'm pretty sure I didn't tell you is that although I was scheduled for one basic epidural injection, when I got there I was informed that the doctor felt that two injections, directly onto the affected nerve, would be more effective.

Whatever.

For me, this meant that the procedure was more invasive, I now had to be put under anesthesia, and my after-care instructions went from a mere eight hours of modified bedrest to 8 hours of modified bedrest, plus an additional 16 hours of strict limitations on my activity (24 hours total before resuming normal activity).

Whatever. We got thru it.

At my follow up today, he seemed pleasantly surprised that all of my pain was gone, but not so surprised that I'm still having numbness & tingling in my legs. He told me that if those symptoms didn't go away with the injection, they're not going away unless I have surgery. But... that unless I'm having symptoms of weakness or paralysis, or develop other disturbing symptoms, it's not worrisome. Just annoying.

So overall good news. But I do have to live with the annoyance of numbness & tingling in my legs. For... well, I suppose maybe forever.

He said the pain could come back tomorrow, or may never come back. Which is what my neurosurgeon had told me of these injections.

He quietly reviewed my chart for a few minutes, asked me a few questions about my original symptoms, and asked why my neurosurgeon didn't think surgery was necessary.

I explained that the surgeon was hoping the injection would negate the need for surgery, or at least postpone it, since the surgery itself was so invasive.

He then laughed.

"No wonder the surgeon sent you here", he said. "You were a challenge for me to inject, you'd be a nightmare to operate on. I mean, your disc exploded!"

I didn't tell him that. He read that in my chart. I'm sure it probably doesn't actually say "exploded", but has the medically-Latin name for it, but still.

He then told me that he hoped to never see me again. And Lord willing I'll never see my surgeon again either.

Nice guy. There are certain settings in which hoping to never see someone again is the polite way to say good-bye. Leaving your Pain Management Specialist is one of them.

Thanks for checking in.