What now?

Ok. So here's the deal. You find out that something big is planned. Maybe you find out months ahead, leaving you counting weeks and days until it happens. You wait patiently, or may be not so much for that day to come. And then the big event happens....and then what?

That is how my time has gone waiting for this surgery to happen. Because I am hoping that it will solve some if not all of my long lasting medical problems. The inability to sleep well, the fatigue during the day (duh), the weight gain, the migraines, etc, etc, etc. I have been so wound up waiting on the doctor's office, the insurance and the hospital to schedule me that it had me preoccupied and not thinking much about other things going on in my life. And to be honest that was a big blessing at the time. It was an appreciated distraction.

But now my surgery has come and gone. By the way, I am recovering nicely and eating here and there. No hamburgers or pizza yet, but I am not wasting away either. I am pretty much off the medicine except at night to help sleep, and during the day I feel human again. Thanks much for all of the prayers and well wishes. It is nice to know that people care.

I ask myself "what next?". There are so many things up in the air right now. I am in a temporary living situation. So there is the question of where I should be living, or should I be in a hurry to get there. How much money should I save before I even think about living elsewhere. I have been blessed abundantly with work lately, for which I am extremely thankful. I want to believe that I will continue to be blessed, but also don't want to take on the responsibility of a single income home with no promises that next month will be the same as the last month.

There are other factors involved with my living situation. For example, Jared just graduated fifth grade and will be going to big ole middle school next year. So not only have I pulled him out of his existing school district, I am doing it at a milestone in his life that could be a hard adjustment. I want to make sure that whatever school he is attending in the fall will be the best one for such transition.

I have so many questions. I won't say fears. Maybe I will call them "concerns". I have so many concerns about what will happen in the next few months. I know God is with me here, in this time of uncertainty, but I sure wish I could see down the road just a little ways to help know the decisions that need to be made today. I know he doesn't work that way, but it would be nice. I don't want to know EVERY little detail, but a little glimpse would be ok. At least to know that I am on the right track.

And there is another area of my life that is rocky. I won't go into that now, except to mention that I am really, totally at a loss at what to do. And this is not the first time that I felt that God's voice could just as easily be Satan's voice telling me what to do. It is one of those situations where God's will could go either way, and there definitely needs to be some clear instructions or directions given. And I'm not hearing anything. Nothing. Nada. I want so much to do what the Lord wants of me, even against my own desires and wants. I want to be in his will. I just don't hear anything right now. I desperately want answers.

Please pray for me. I don't lay my life out here to be entertainment. I do it to hopefully encourage and inspire. But I also feel that as Christians we sometimes keep things to ourselves because of pride or shame or guilt or embarassment, and that is the biggest tool of Satan. If we never share our burdens with another, then we can never receive prayer or encouragement or positive feedback. So that is another reason I put my life in the view of everyone. I ask earnestly for prayers. I need wisdom, and discernment and guidance, and protection from the enemy. And honestly I need to develop an even deeper yearning to find his purpose for my life. A growing desire to know God better. A rooted love for Him. I want to be wooed by Jesus. I want to fall in love with Him, to have an intimate relationship. Please pray with me and for me. Thank you in advance for any prayers you lift on my behalf.

With much sincerity,
Renee

Prayer Please

Hello everyone.
One week ago tomorrow I had surgery. I have not posted an update because there wasn't much to say and I have been a lil loopy. I try to rest, be still, sleep, and do as little as possible.

I would ask that you continue to pray for my recovery. When I said everyone had given me an "realistic" outlook, I was wrong. They were actually being pretty optimistic. The pain has been unbearable at times. Swallowing glass sounds more appealing than just swallowing my medicine. The medicine is liquid vicodin, and is helpful but I'm cautious with it. I don't want to take too much or become dependent on it. However, I do like the fact that it makes me feel better even for just a minute or fifteen. When my mom went to go get the refill, it was written on the paper work that it is "being taken too much". Oooooh. That got me. I told mom to take me to the pharmacy with her next time. I'll shine a flashlight at the back of my throat and then see what lil mr/ms. pill pants has to say about it then. I dare them to say it to my face.

No, in all seriousness this is not what I had expected. It has really wore me thin. I expected to be sore, like maybe a really bad sore throat, chillin back and eatin some ice cream or some smoothies. I have not eaten more than 6 or 7 bites of ANYTHING since last week. By the time I hit bite 5 I think, my throat starts to rebel against whatever it is I'm trying to shove down it. And I take medicine and try to repeat the process in a couple hours. I am hungry. HUNGRY. And I tend to get cranky when I'm hungry. And I knew I could spare a few pounds, but losing 7 in not quite as many days seems to be a little drastic. Not that I will get to appreciate it, because when I can eat, I'm sure whatever is lost will quickly refind itself. LOL.

And bless my family. They are doing everything they can to make things better on me. Nursing me. Taking care of Jared. Even doing business stuff for me. Nice. All very nice.

So, that is my update. Nothing eloquent. Nothing even inspiring. Just please continue to pray for me and my family. Please pray that this recovery will speed up a bit. I'm okay with taking it easy until I'm fully recovered, just as long as I can get a little pain relief.

And, just so you know....as soon as I can eat something again, you all better stay outta my way. Cause I'm hittin up some restaurants and Walmart. I'm gonna eat something good and fattening, and sticky and something that will stick to my ribs. Forget broth. Yogurt. Pudding. Mushed macaroni. Ice Cream. Jello. I want something tasty.

Murphy's Law

Just to let you know this will not be profound.....far from it actually.

As some of you know through my postings on other sites, I am going in for surgery next Wednesday June 3. I am having a nasal septoplasty, turbinate reduction, tonsillectomy and a uvulopalatorpharyngoplasty, otherwise knows as UP3. Interesting huh? All this is being done in hopes of clearing up my sleep apnea, so that I can sleep better, which will help me feel better overall. That is the theory anyway. It has been underway for months now. First I had to get the insurance company to approve all three procudures. At first this didn't happen. They only approved two, not the UP3. I finally got surgery scheduled a couple weeks ago, with the understanding that I would not be having the UP3, and in the last week or so, the insurance finally approved it. So....big praise for that.

The recovery, from what I've been told, is going to be hard. I guess people want to prepare you for the worst instead of telling you it's going to be all roses. So, although I remain optimistic, I am preparing for worst case scenario, and having a full two weeks of recovery. I am not even supposed to drive...still not sure why. There are plenty of activities that I need to refrain from that make sense, driving isn't one of them, unless it is ony due to being on pain meds.

And in preparing for this two week long recovery, I am trying to get all my business stuff taken care of before hand, all my loose ends tied up. It's a blessing, a HUGE blessing that for the last two weeks I have been slammed with work. I mean very BUSY. But, as it keeps piling up, I am getting nervous that some of it will still be sitting here as I'm laying on a gurney somewhere. I try not to make promises to people that I cannot keep, I do believe that is what makes any business successful. However, I am having technical problems beyond my control and it is making me nervous that those promises I may have to eat. Which is why I bring up Murphy's Law. I'm not sure what the law says exactly, I just know it is usually referred to when "everything that could go wrong does". And that has been my week.

It has been one thing after another, after another. So.......Please pray for me to get done what needs to be done. And that if it doesn't and is because it's out of my control, that I can be at peace with that. I'm really not a perfectionist, but in some areas of my life, I try to be. My work tends to be one of them. We won't go into the others, because they are insignificant.

Anyway. Also pray for a productive surgery, no complications, and quick recovery. I would like to surprise the doctor with a miraculous recovery. LOL. His name is Dr. Shoemaker, and maybe I should request that you pray for him too, since he is the one that will be holding the scalpel. I will stay in the hospital overnight, so pray that I will not be completely bored out of my mind, and that one night will be all it will take.

Like I said, nothing profound, just what is on my mind. Oh yeah, I already have a smoothie lined up because I won't be able to eat anything. So feel free to send smoothies, milk shakes and ice cream my way. hahahahaha.

Thanks for all the prayers that I know you will pray. :)