[sami]

If you are looking of Encouragement This is the Place to be. We are a group of Christians who are here for each other to Pray for each other in good times and hard times. Everyone is Welcome to join!

[Mitchypoo]

Thanks Sami for making a new post! I forgot until I saw you did it! I'm tired and i'm going to hit the hay.....I need my beauty sleep too i guess so I don't look TIRED for my date this weekend !

[sami]

Hello I am starting to feel the crunch to get things done for the wedding! I have gotten so much done in the last few weeks. I gotten the brides flowers done and they are so pretty I had never done that before but they came out soooooooo beautiful! The bridemaids are done and the boutineer's are done. I just have to do the Moms and Grandmothers flowers and that will go fast. I almost have the party favors done they I did the rose buds (kisses wrapped in colored foil with stem and leaf) and a note tied to them saying thank you for joining us on our speical day) This weekend I am adding pink to the flower girls dresses. and I am taking thier white shoes (they won't wear anymore but they still fit) and adding glitter to them so they sparkle! And I saw and ad for these wine gobblets (wide glasses on a stem) they were only about .66 each so Were going to go there and buy them and use them as center pieces (I have sm candle rings I bought when I found them on sale two for .50 over a year ago and I have pink floating rose candles I bought after Valentines day for 75% off!). The Lord is Blessing me on some good deals!

Angel lover-I am glad to see you back! I suffer from bad fatigue and I just got my MRI back on my knees and they have Arthritis pretty bad in both Knees (I also have it in my hips and back and both arms)The weather really bothers me Like when it rains and cold and damp I can't stand it. I take bextra twice a day and I am having so much pain around my stomach somedays I feel like I can't take a deep breath (do you feel like that?) What do they give you for the pain? I have had to change my whole life ( I had to change my job, can't stand to travel much ) because it causes so much pain and stiffness and I also have IBS and I have taken every drug for it with nothing works and my stomach is getting so bad (feels like something stabbing me and I get sick often) Have you had any of this happen to you?

Amyyy-It is hard to work and take care of a family. And it takes time to adjust. I will keep you in Prayers during your time of adjustment.

Michele-Prayers for your date He sounds promising!

SunnyD57-Your cat Domino looks like my cat Oreo. we really just call him CAT! I loved your Picture. It is fun seeing who your talking to. I am going to put up one after the Wedding.

Sherry-You have been on my mind are you OK?

Gutchie-How are you?

Wima-The house will be quite now that the boys are gone. I am praying that your arm is better.

Ez-I knew in my heart you would take your DN back. You are a Godly man. I know I ask this before are you Wels Luthern? And if you are what is your Pastors Name? Our church a few years ago was doing what was called a come and see service and The Wels didn't like because it was very contemporary and when our Pastor left they sent in a very strict Pastor from CA. To make a long story short we lost a lot of people. It took a long time to heal and that Pastor went back to CA and another one from CA came to our Church. I do miss some of the more up beat music but I love my Church and Church family. My kids go to school there Pre-8th grade also. It is quite costly but the blessing are worth it. How is Your DD feeling?

Got to run. Lots to do. I have missed all of you Pray for me to not stress out before I get everything done LOL!

[Angel-lover]

oops! I posted again on the other thread....anyway...here's a little more.

Sami....I'm sorry about all your pain. Sounds like you're having a pretty rough time of it. Although, some of it sounds like mine, it doesn't sound quite the same. Yours sounds more like Osteoarthritis...which I have in my back & legs & arms, etc, & yes, they flare up pretty badly. The Rheumatoid Arthritis is different...hard to explain. It's a disease. Can spread almost like cancer. In fact, the Methotrexate I take on Monday night is low-dose chemo. Then Remicade treatments are intraveneously done at clinic taking 2-2 1/2 hrs. I go, now, each 6 weeks for that. Very costly ( over $2400 per treatment) I have medicare to take care of it, because I'm on disability. It will cripple & deform the bones. Thank the Lord, it hasn't done that to me yet. It makes me hurt all over, & my feet hurt when walking, etc. The fatigue is what really gets to me, though. The Remicade really helps.

I'm not saying yours isn't serious....just different. I can tell when my Osteoarthritis is bothering me. Yes, I have a lot of pain & stiffness from that. I was in a car accident when I was 34..by the time I was 36, I was on disability. Yes, my life changed, also. I've had all kinds of things tried on me...ended up just taking Lodine 500ER...makes it tolerable. There's just a difference. The stomach problems....I don't have. That is probably your IBS. My twin daughters have that. Sounds like how they do.

Sometimes life can be rough, we just have to be tough, & count on the Lord. He keeps me going. He's kept me here for a purpose...maybe someday I'll know why.

Hello Mitchypoo..hope all is well with you.

Hope all have a good evening.

[Amanda Panda]

Hey everyone, I'm back. I can't sleep! It's 4.50am here in the UK - I've been in bed for 2 hours and I've given up now. I'm unemployed at the moment so I'm not too worried, although I'm not sure if I'll make my appointment at the gym later!

Sami and Angel lover - I am sorry to hear about your health problems. I admire your strength in coping - especially with pain. I will pray for you both if that is okay with you.

Anyway, because I am bored I'll tell you all a bit more about myself. Like I've said I am 30 years old, I have a partner Nigel who is also a Christian. We are planning to get married, but this won't be for a couple of years as 1) I won't get married until I lose weight - I know I won't feel comfortable being the centre of attention if I am fat! 2) we can't afford it.

We are going through a bit of a bad time at the moment - I lost my job in January due to ill health and Nigel has also been off work sick for 9 months with work related stress. It has now got so bad that he is going to resign, so money is really tight.

We are planning to move to the Republic of Ireland as we love it there and as soon as I get a job we will move. I have a couple of applications in but the Irish are notoriously 'laid back' (one reason why I want to live there!) so the whole process is very slow. We are trying to be patient but it is getting difficult what with the financial strains. I am a qualified social worker by the way.

God has been very good to us since I lost my job and I do trust him that things will work out - it's just that we both really want to move and have a fresh start and feel there is nothing left in Sheffield for us except bad memories. We have both emotionally detached from Sheffield and are just waiting for the opportunity to go to Ireland and start again, but it's not happening as quickly as we thought it would.

Sorry to go on

Amanda xx

[Angel-lover]

Amanda........I also, got up early...4am. Got a lot on my mind.

Thanks for your kindness...yes, please pray. Also, would like for you to pray that our house will be livable before winter. We had a housefire in Nov. Well, I won't go on & on...but, it's being built back very slowly. We're living in 2 rooms...no inside walls....pretty rough set up. It's ok, though, but want to stay warm this winter! Someday, I'll have a house....& maybe, a life, back!

Glad you're telling about yourself. I wish you luck with your future. I know what you mean about the weight issue...but wish you didn't feel that way. Your wedding day is for YOU & NIGEL. Obviously, he's attracted to you the way you are!! That is all that really matters! I went to my husbands' neices' wedding 2 wks ago, & she is quite overweight. I promise....when she came down the aisle...she looked like a fairy princess!! As far as not affording it....My husband & I wouldn't be married 35 yrs, if we had waited to afford it. We still wouldn't be able to get married! That's your business, though. I'm sure you know what's best for you. Wish you & Nigel a future full of happiness!

Well...getting close to breakfast time for hubby....have a good day!

[EZMONEY]

HI GALS

Boy have I been busy the last couple of days with work and the nephew! School shopping, meeting his teacher, getting his supplies--WOW- thought I was finished with that years ago - I thought all I had to do now was move the kids into their new dorms/condos and hand over the wallet!
It looks hopeful though, he is very excited about going to our church school-- when I asked him if he would like to go there he said yes, I asked why and he said because everyone that goes there does good like all my cousins-- I explained that they also had to DO SOMETHING! He gets it-- he is very smart - just a little goofy at times - OK "HYPER" -- he is a good boy though and that helps a lot-- no smart mouth back to me, he is a wise guy but he is just trying to be funny.

SUNNY Thanks for asking about my family, I have been re-married for 7+ years after being divorced for 7 after an 11 year marraige plus 4 years of living together before that-- it was a divorce I fought against for years- through counseling etc (too much history to share today) anyway she just didn't want to be married-- we get along fine, we continue to share in our children's lives together-- she is at my home several times a month for various reasons, we talk once or twice a week usually too-- it is not uncommon for us to sit together at church if my wife is at a soccer tournament or something with my step-d and my kids are off at work/school-- don't get me wrong, it is not uncommon but also not a practice we try to keep either My wife and her will do things from time to time together, usually something involving the kids somehow. I fought against it for years but if I would have known how good my life was going to be after the divorce I would have helped her pack her bags
My son is Ryan 22, daughter Amanda 20, step-d Lara almost 16 and now my nephew Ron 12-- my wife is Angie and she is 6 years younger than me, I am not allowed to give her age but you do know that I will be 50 in Feb -- she is a 6th grade school teacher-- she has almost 200 students this year-- she has been teaching core- social studies, language arts and history-- this year they re-did the programs and she just teaches social studies to 5 classes instead of core to 2. She drinks alot Kidding.
How was the fair-- I went to ours for the first time in 8 years a few months back- enjoyed it-- ours is pretty large, several million attend it over a 3 week period.
Are you a regular blood donor? They hit me up every 2 months because I am 0 negative and also c.i.v. negative (blood that can be given to premies from what they tell me).
I used to lose posts all the time because they were too long-- I haven't in a while though-- gonna post this now though 'cause you got me scared

[EZMONEY]

MICHELE Beauty sleep? I finally figured out the problem-- you are getting tooooooooo beautiful!! Us guys get intimidated real quick sometimes-- gals like you are out of our league Have a great time!!

SAMI Congratulations on the party favors and flowers! They sound pretty. I hope the weather stays warm for the arthiritis in your knees. My daughter got a new drug for her IBS- not sure what it is, she hasn't taken it yet that I know of- she is supposed to take it when she starts hurting-- will let you know more info when I find out.
We are not WELS- we are Missouri Synod- our Pastor has been with us for about 32 years-- a great guy! He just has a problem with contemporary services- he feels that people put too much emphasis on the FEEL GOOD stuff that they fail to hear the message- he has met us half way on many things-- all we are trying to do is add a little of the UP-BEAT to our service from time to time- not change our traditions-- I think he is worried about that-- he is not a fanatic by any means-- I don't believe I have ever met a man with more common sense and he is a lawyer to boot!



ANGEL-LOVER Glad to see you up and about- sorry for you RA problems. I am still praying for a mild winter and a warm home for you and your husband! How is the station doing?

AMANDAPANDA Sorry you can't sleep- thanks for sharing Nigel, your jobs and Ireland plans with us-- we are here to encourage! And speaking of that GET MOVING!! the gym awaits!

LOOKING FORWARD TO doitforme (how was the vacation?) SHERRY, AMY,DAISE,ZOE and JOANNE to return!!!

Well off to bid a job- IN CHRIST- GaryWILMA- did you find a computer?

[SunnyD57]

Well Hello SAMI ~ It is so wonderful to hear from you! Thank you so much for taking the time out of a very busy time to open a new thread for us

It sounds like you have everything under control with your daughter's Wedding... you got some great deals there and sound like you are so very talented! It's getting closer! Soon you will not only have your daughter, but a new son to dote on & enjoy in your family.

I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed my pics as well. I think it is so neat that you have a cat similar to Domino. I look forward to seeing your pic after your daughter's wedding.

I sure do know what you mean about the IBS! I have a heating pad on my tummy as I write to you (it slows up the spasms)... I made the biggest mistake last night and ate a corn-dog at the fair and now the "dog is biting!" so to speak! Ouch!!! Today I rest, I feel so drained during these bouts... my heart goes out to you. Soon I will feel better ~ I knew better then to eat anything FRIED!!! What you need to do is find time to get a little bit of quiet-time & rest in there somewhere... the stress makes IBS so much worse. I am tugging on the Lord's robe in prayers for you, Sami!!! I know you will be so busy and still having to cope with the pain and exhaustion all at the same time.


ANGEL ~ Fire???!? What happened? I bet it does feel yucky to live that way... hopefully all will be fixed enough for you both to live comfortably through the winter. My prayers are with you both! How are you feeling today?? I see you are busy with your graphics again... so nice!

AMANDA ~ It was so nice to hear a bit more about you... I love it when people share about themselves. But I must agree with Angel... you don't need $ to get married. Joe & I had a very, very small wedding and it has been 28 years for us. I know that if you and Nigel are committed to one another that God will Bless you in your marriage no matter the $ or your size. You could always have another ceremony for a First or Fifth Anniversary after you have lost some weight if you really wanted to... it would give you a wonderful goal!

I wish you both well, Amanda, and will hold you in prayer for jobs and stability in both your lives. Always... God is with you!

GARY ~ Miss you! Hope that everything is going well for you and yours & you are just busy with the holiday plans. OHHHH... I see you just posted! I will write in answer later, okay, Gonna read what you wrote right now.

MICHELE ~ Have FUN on your date!!!! I will be thinking of you!

AMY, JANEY, CHRISTIAN, HOMEBOUND, DAISE, GEMONSTER, SUE...Sure would love to get to know you all as well. Hope to see you back soon!

As for Joe & I... we had a wonderful time at the Great Geauga County Fair last night! We met some friends there and laughed allot and ate too much (note the IBS attack today---oh the price we pay...). Today will be a quiet day for us ~ you know... like mowing the lawn, maybe playing a game of scrabble after lunch kinda day. Joe has a Wedding to sing for at 4:00 this afternoon, so we really cannot go far.

Do you all have any holiday plans???

[mrshummer]

Hello EVERYONE!!!!!

How has everyone been doing? I have been missing you so much. I have been very ill, very busy and got one of those worm things and couldn't post until I got the 'puter fixed yesterday. I think about ya'll on a regular basics. God blessed me with each and everyone one of you. I hope to be able to post some but I probably won't be able to post everyday like before. But I would love to stay in touch with the thread. I will be lurking some and posting as I can. I got an uplift just reading some of the posts just now. It's so good to see new faces and of course, the "old" folks too.

Sami, you have been on my mind a lot too. I miss hearing from you and look forward to hearing all about the wedding and everything. Hope everything falls into place for you.

I have to leave to go get the kiddos and take them to the pep rally so I will talk with you all later. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

[SunnyD57]

Welcome back!

It's me... SunnyD... I began posting on August 22 in CHRISTIAN ENCOURAGERS #171(10)... hope you had a chance to read some back posts & see my pictures to get to know me a little. I know that you have been mentioned quite a few times --- everyone was looking for you and missing you!!

It will be great getting to know you!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!
God Bless!

[EZMONEY]

HI LOOOSER'S

Had a great big easy day today-- just me and the nephew cruising around checking on jobs and shopping. We went to Costco (twice-first one was broke) for a TV for the gym-- just a small tv only, for 80 bones. This, I promised my wife, will help me to get down there and exercise.
Just finished making lasagna, the simple one that I do with just sauce, hamburger and mozzerella. I make a super spinach one- nephew wanted this unhealthy one this time. He will be going with his mom on Sat. and Sunday-- he gets to spend the night, against the lawyer's wishes-- the case worker and I feel that it will be OK-- he would go bonkers if he couldn't. I have told him though that the overnighter's will be rare now, I think he understands-- we shall see. Before it was a situation where we were working towards re-uniting him, his sister and mom- now it is to separate with some visiting allowed.

SHERRY- IS THAT YOU?? YIPEEE!! I hope all is well as it can be-- do what you can to keep us afloat-- Sunny has done an outstanding job taking over- just as you did for Zoe, to keep us going. There is room for all of us.

Check in later, Gary

[sami]

WoW what a day at work! The timeclock went down on tuesday and dropped out the times to make matters worse we went to bi-weekly pay. So even though it was posted if you are missing time fill out a punch correction of course some of the people didn't so it has been a nightmare today not only did they have to wait two weeks to get paid but the amount was wrong. I am the only person who know how to do a on line pay so they could get paid for there missing time so guess what I did all day? My boss can do it but it takes her a lot longer to do because she has to get out my cheat sheet and read and follow along. So she will be doing it tonight I bet. Most people were very nice about it and thankful I was willing to fix it right away unstead of making them wait two more weeks but this one guy came up and threw his check in my face and started carring on (you can't really understand him because he doesn't speak clear english) I was so mad! Lets just say he won't make that mistake again. I bend over backward all day long to help all the team I go above and beyond what my job is. And I just didn't deserve that!

Angel lover-I think you are right. Mine isn't RA. My Great Grandmother had RA and I remember her hands being all twisted. I am praying that you get alot of your house done before winter. We did a remodel on out last house and we found a lot of damage done so it ended up being a lot bigger job that what we expected. At one point we had 4 kids in one room and we slept in the livingroom than when we got the upstairs floor down we slep on a mattress on the floor for months (we added an up stairs to our two bedroom house we out grew) I remember spending every minute working on that. In the end it turned out beautiful! Then I had another baby and we decided it was time to move (but no fixer uper!)

EZ-I hope your DD does well on her new med. I tryed the new one that is out and it made me worse! So I pray she has better luck. Your Pastor sounds more Wels that Missouri! I have hear some of the Pastors here say the same thing and about the feel good services. My Son at one time wanted to be a Pastor I really think he would make a great Pastor. He has one semester to decide what to! ( at least one class)

SunnyD57-I do the heating pad thing a lot with both IBS and my back don't fall asleep with the heating pad on though because I us to all the time and one night I woke up and it smelled like something burning and it was overheating and burning me and my pillow.

Oops I got to go got a call about wedding stuff.

So great to see you back SHERRY. Will post more later!

[SunnyD57]

Good Morning Everyone!

SAMI ~ WoW! What would that place ever do without you!! I think you do so much more then you need to and they should be very appreciative of that. I do hope it all gets straightened out for you and everyone else real soon! As far as the IBS... I had such a bad day yesterday... even had some fever. I haven't been ill like this in quite a long time, but this time made up for the lull. Yes, I know about heating pads, but I thank-you for the tip. I have this wonderful electric mattress pad that we bought at Costco last winter and whenever I get this sick I just kick the temp up and go lay down on it and in no time my chills begin to leave me and the spasms begin to subside. It is the best thing we ever bought! Instead of an electric blanket we got this... love it. My fever broke last night and this morning, other then feeling wiped out from yesterday, I am feeling much better

GARY ~ Joe and I just love going to the Costco Wholesale club... just got a store here last October. I think it is wonderful that you have taken in your nephew, Ryan, and are being the father image "he really needs" especially at his age. You will be a strong influence on him in so many ways. So neat to hear that you two had a good time shopping together!

Also... I just loved hearing about some of your background and getting to know your family. Thank-you so much for taking the time to fill me/us in!

And you are the cook in the family I take it... it is the second or third time (that I can recall) you mentioned that you made dinner. Cool! My Joe loves to bake breads when I need him too, from scratch... no machines! We put out about 25 loaves of homestyle bread every Christmas & Easter for our friends and neighbors. Joe puts the dough together, does all the kneading and then I do the finish with rolling out & shaping the loaves. So it's something we do together and so much fun... and the smell is awwwwwwesome.

Thanx so much for the encouragement! I think you ALL are great people and have so enjoyed getting to know you!

May everyone have a day FILLED with the Lord's Blessings... time for me to go make us some breakfast.

[SunnyD57]

OH GARY... one more thing in answer to your question about Blood Donation... Joe gives much more often then I do. I can only give when I feel strong enough, because it seems to take allot out of me. Joe has given 5 Gal.+ in donations (over his life-time) and I have given about a 1/4 of that in donations, but I try to when I can. We missed the one on Thursday as we planned (Joe didn't want to stop the job he had started), but we will be going on Monday instead... I should be just fine by then Ta!