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You've found a great place to come and vent, share or ask for prayer support. This is a great group who will be very encouraging, caring and loving....anyone is welcome to join!

A Servent's Prayer

Jesus, My Jesus....How marveleous your ways....
Far more splendid than my mind can envision.
What an honor to be chosen by you.
A lowly child I am, but empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the great hope to which you have called me.
I give myself totally to you, Lord.
Take my imperfect heart and make it perfect.
Peel away the hardness.
Close the doors I have opened to the temptations of this world.
Gently remove the roots of painful memories, sins, doubts and fears.
Discard anything that separates me from you.
Lord, fill the emptiness with the light of your love that I might be a beacon calling the lost back to you.

To love as you love.....
To serve as you serve.....
To forgive as you forgive.....
Always mindful of my nothingness while doing great and marvelous things in your name and for your glory.
This I pray, Jesus, in YOUR name.
Amen

Good Morning

Good Morning, haven't heard from you for awhile, Gary.I continue to request prayer as I continue cancer treatment . I have finished a course of radiation and had surgery Wednesday. I continue to put my trust in God.

HI GALS

I don't think I was able to post last week-end when I got home! I had good intentions....put it off so I could post to each of you....but...I took my BBQ's and tables to the VIKING FESTIVAL as soon as I got home, went again on Sat. morning to help my ex-wife set up, then Angie and I worked the afternoon and evening shift....went to church on Sunday then off to San Diego to see the Drowsy Chaperone play, then back to the Viking Festival to finish the day and clean-up....exhausting but fun.

Well I did get back for the week-end but have been really busy! Friday I got home in time to take the dogs out for 3 miles and un-pack my truck, catch up on mail and rest! Saturday morning Angie and I did our 3.5 mile coffee walk with the dogs then I did chores while she spent the day at yoga teacher training. I vacuumed and shampooed the carpet, did laundry, paid bills, got the yard fall ready (had to pick up all the summer toys and games) and watched my USC TROJANS and DODGERS win

This morning we went to church, grocery shopping and I took some paperwork to the office while Angie went for another teacher training session.

I so look forward to being able to go to church and receive what God has in store for me! Hard for me to understand how people look at going as a chore to do on Sunday....this doesn't mean I don't like to sleep in....although I can't!! But, well, I just look at going to church as a gift.

I will be gone all next week too as I head out tomorrow morning at 3am again. I hope to be back for the week-end.

LAURIE I am sorry to hear your step-father is not doing well May our Lord's peace be with you.

ROSEBUD I am so happy you found a home that is better for your legs and close to shopping too!

BARGOO As prayers continue I congratulate you on the diploma! Good luck on your next treatment...my family knows that dreaded cancer all too well

RONNI What a great day at the game for DS2 Hope the house sells and weather stays kind to you.

LORI so great to see you

AUNT SUE I hope all is well

SHY Well they had the movie "Wedding Planner"..."Funeral Planner"?... Sorry for your loss though

WILMA isn't it funny...not ha-ha....how fast 2 weeks goes on vacation! Good luck with the deck. Glad your BP is normal

MaMaDuck congrats to your son! We have a marine base near me...Pendelton...My nephew, I am his guardian, just went off to Navy Recruit training last week

Hello to everyone...HAVE A GREAT WEEK! My prayers are with you all ~ Gary

Hey all! I've been around 3fc for a bit, but never on this thread.

I came to a realization very recently that my main focus right now really needs to be being a better person and learning to love myself again - NOT strictly losing weight.

I'm back in school - currently a grad student and working 20hrs a week, also trying to stay involved and meet people as I just started school again this fall and moved across the country to do so!

I guess that's a brief about me - anything you want to know, feel free to ask! I look forward to meeting everyone.

Hello, Everyone!
to iriswhispers! You'll find some great support here!

Glad to hear from Gary! Sounds like a couple busy weekends. Will keep praying for safety in travel and work over the week.

We're going to have a busy day here too. Football tonight. DS2 had early practice today (had to leave home at 6:00am to get to the school on time). It's such a long day when it starts that early, then the game won't be over until 8pm or so! In the in-between time, of course, the schooling has to be done. Tomorrow back to Mayo for more tests and doctors for DS3. Just hoping this isn't all a waste of time and money and that they come up with a diagnosis on his pain and a way to deal with the spina bifida occulta that doesn't require surgery.

Was a bad weekend for eating on plan, so I'm scared to step on the scale this a.m. Hoping the damage isn't too bad, but will just get back OP and remember that God will help me overcome any fallout from the weekend.

Hope you all are having a great day, great weather, and that you can see God's hand in your lives. Prayers for you all!

HI EVERYONE ~ be back in tomorrow to catch up; read and post. Been very busy and some things have changed since I last posted. Sadly, that house deal fell through for us. We were talking to some people that lived there before and they warned us not to go there as the expenses are double what we were being told.

So we are on the search again, and would appreciate your prayers. Maybe we should include the place needs to be suitable and affordable for us. I know there is something good out there; we just have to find it. GOD will lead us to it; we just have to trust him.

Gotta go for now; very tired right now; will be back to post more tomorrow.

^^PRAYERS^^ continue for each of you, esp those who are sick and have special needs for yourselves and your family or friends!!!! Take care ROSEBUD

Rosebud: What a roller coaster you are on with your housing situation! I'm praying that the perfect house will be available for you.

Ronni: We all have bad weekends. What matters is getting back on program again and I know you will do that. Your talking about football makes me miss my kids at that age. I spent a lot of hours watching them play and I miss it!

Iriswhispers: You are absolutely right. It's about loving ourselves no matter what size we are. Who you are inside is what matters. Glad to see you here!

Gary: You're busy as usual. Maybe you should move to Canada - at least you wouldn't have to work outdoors in the winter. Our garage and deck look amazing and I am looking forward to having my lattees out on the deck come spring.

My eating has gone well this week. I'm still not exercising as much as I should but at least I'm eating properly again.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hi everyone! Thanks for the welcomes!

Things have been a bit frustrating for me recently, I'm really trying to put myself in God's hands and relax - I think being a control freak is definitely an issue for me. Whenever I feel out of control I start to panic, but I have to remember and trust that ultimately God is in control.

I've been going to a Grad student bible study which I really like, but unfortunately can't make it this week - I have a midterm and studying has to take precedence here! I feel like my faith is really in its infancy and it's great to be around people my age who I feel I can learn so much from.

I hope you all have a great week. =)

Hi all! I'm back. I've missed you!!!!
Update: SF passed away on the 27th, so I have been in TN dealing with all of that.

Thanks all for your prayers! Knowing that you were there meant a lot to me and my family.

I will be back to catch up later - off to our annual church conference.

Bargoo - prayers continuing for you!

Iris - WELCOME!!!! So glad you joined us! I look forward to getting to know you. And - we ALL are growing in our faith - daily.

Gary - glad to see you back again! We missed you!

Wilma - glad your eating is back on track. Hang in there with the exercise. With winter approaching it gets even harder (at least for me).

Rosebud - prayers continuing for your housing situation. Your patience is admirable!

Ronni - hope the weigh-in wasn't too painful! In any case - just get back on track, and that scale will cooperate soon!
Blessings to all - and prayers ascending!

Hello and Good morning to all!

Rosebud-so sorry to hear that the house didn't work out. Prayers have already been said for you to find another that fits with your lives and wallets

Thank you all for prayers for DS3 and yesterday's trip to Mayo. Some good, some bad(?). They don't really think that the spina bifida occulta and spondylolysis are going to be issues, thank the Lord. But, they found a vertebra that's been partly crushed in a different location that may be what's causing the back and leg pain. Must consult with their orthopedic specialist next week. Still, no clue about the abdominal/side pain, but meet with a GI specialist next week to discuss all tests and findings. We also are meeting with a PT specialist for exercises to strengthen his back and abdominal muscles which could eliminate the pain from the crushed vertebra. They also found that he has one kneecap that significantly higher than the other-anyone heard of that before? It shows on the CT that it must be about 4"or more higher! That's part of the visit to the ortho doc, as well.

We had a nice surprise while there. I keep in contact with my aunts and uncles, but haven't seen most of them in about 20 years, as we all live sooo very far from each other, but one of my favorite aunts and uncles ended up coming to Mayo (from Nevada) this week as well, so we got to visit and also see a cousin(who is there helping them)! It was such a nice surprise. I forget how much I miss being around my family. E-mail's just not the same as getting the hugs But, now, I must ask for prayers for them. My uncle will be having surgery next week to correct an aortic defect, but they are trying to find where he's losing blood first,as he's had to have a transfusion due to extremely low hemoglobin levels. He's almost 80 and very weak, due to these issues. I know that God can guide the docs so they find the problems and fix them quickly.

Today, back to the grind-oh, I mean, back to normal lessons and stuff! But, must take DS2 to doc, as the football team's physical therapist thinks he may have fractured his wrist at the game Monday evening. It was a great game, though,and he was having such fun, tackling and blocking, but he got blind-sided and sent flying while charging the other team's passer and landed on his arm. We were thinking it was just a sprain, but the PT-ist thinks otherwise. Oh, well.....

Prayers for all of you. Hope you have a really nice day!

"We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy." Colossians 1:9-11

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS and encouragement about our housing situation; boy, are we being tested or what? LOL! We put our name in for a small apartment today, and we will be going to look at a small house this weekend.

Would you believe that we have had ***SNOW*** twice in the last week with -5C temps; then two glorious days of sunshine and rain today. We had a good day of shopping and got lots of walking in today as well ...

COUNTING ~ so sorry about your SF's passing: had you all in constant prayers for peace and comfort; and we are glad that you are back too!

RONNI ~ there's some good news there; and isn't it a relief know what is going on? Sounds like these are all things that the doctors can help him with, and will pray for wisdom for them to find out what is causing the side pains too.

THANKS MOM ~ for the prayers; so appreciated.

HI WILMA ~ a roller coaster is right; we had forgotten how difficult this was, but usually you are not on such a slim time line ... sure cutting it close. LOL!

HELLO IRIS ~ when I was in college, I joined a Christian group too and I just loved having their support and friendship while I was there. That made the experience so much more enjoyable for me.

HELLO TO ALL OUR OTHER FRIENDS ~ hope you are all healthy and things are going well for you!

Take good care, your fellow encourager ROSEBUD ^^PRAYERS^^ continue for you and yours ...

Lori - prayers continuing for your family! Glad WW is working for you, too!

Ronni - prayers continuing for your boys, and I added your uncle to my list as well Prayers for you too, as you deal with everything. You certainly have a lot going on right now! Thank heaven's that God is bigger than all of our problems. And that we are never given more than we can bear. Still, prayers for healing, and strength are ascending!

Hello to everyone else! Hope you had a GREAT day. You are in my prayers!

Blessings!

Laurie

Hello, there!

Counting-So sorry for the loss of your SF. Hugs and prayers for you and your family.

Rosebud-SNOW, I mean real snow! Please, please, please DON'T send it down here!!!! I've still got a lot of yard work to do before we get any of that stuff!

Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers. They think DS2 just has a sprained wrist. Doc said it should be ok in a week or so, but to come back if it gets worse. I guess fractures in wrists don't always show up on the 1st x-ray, so they check again in 10 days if the pain does not go away. So, he has a soft brace and can still play football. He's very happy about that!

Hope you all have a great day! As always, you are all in my prayers