Streams of Consciousness & Thoughts~~~

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lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
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Yeah, he had a really rough night. His pain kept pulling him out of sleep so I don't think he rested much. He had a lot of complications overnight :( The nurses were absolutely amazing and took excellent care of him, which was really reassuring. I stayed until my dad showed up at 8am and I just got home but he's still there. He still struggles to swallow so we're not sure when he can come home
Dang! I hope and pray he gets rest. Rest is sooo important for healing.
 

AsifinPassing

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2010
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Tired, finally have a little net access... SA has been great! Thank you for any prayers, and please continue to pray for my Grandfather! I'll give a better update tomorrow, and Happy Christmas (as they say)!
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
The Mary of your Christmas Cards

I am the Mary of your Christmas cards. I listen calmly while the angel brings me
news that will shake my life beyond all measure. I accept what has been
ordained for me. I am young and dressed in blue.

I am the Mary of your Christmas cards. Despite travelling almost 100 miles on

a donkey across a desert and giving birth in a stable, I am still immaculately clean
and tidy, cradling my infant son, unperturbed by my surroundings. I am still young
and dressed in blue.

I am the Mary of your Christmas cards, welcoming shepherds from the nearby

fields and strangers from afar; a person who treats such events as if they
happened every day, calmly pondering on them in my heart. I am still young and
dressed in blue. But is this really me? Do you have any picture of me beyond that of Christmas
cards?

Where is your picture of me in the temple, as Simeon tells me how a sword
would pierce my soul? The angel brought greetings and told me not to be afraid,
so I am calm on your Christmas cards; but do you never see the terror in my eyes
as I hear Simeon’s haunting words and I do fear what is to come?

May be you do have a picture of me 12 years later – but have I aged in your

eyes? Am I calm and serene, frantically searching for my son, lost on return from
the temple? He was calm – but not I. I was frantic.

Do you have a picture of me 30 years after your first picture of me? Am I still

dressed in blue? Are there lines on my face? Is my hair now grey?
Do you see me at the wedding feast, recognising deep within that his time was
coming and he would soon be no longer mine?

Do you see me hurt by his rejection when he declared that all the world was

his mother and his brother and his sister. I knew that he had a greater purpose –
but do not imagine that there was no pain for me in this.

How I aged in those three years. But am I still young in your picture? Was I

not grey-haired as I stood at the foot of the cross? Do you know what it takes to
watch your son being crucified? Some parents still do. As they pierced his side,
my soul, too, was pierced. Do you have a picture of me – in tears, distraught at
the anguish of my son? Or am I still the Mary of your Christmas cards?
They laid him in a tomb – it seemed so final – it seemed I had lost him for ever.
Where was the angel now to tell me not to be afraid? My fellow countrywomen
kept vigil; I was not along in mourning. But you who know what happened next,
do you let me grieve for the end I thought he’d reached?

You know the end – you know the triumph of his resurrection, the Kingdom

without end – and knowing this affects your picture of me. I remain always young
and dressed in blue, calm and serene, humble and willing – never allowed to
show fear, hurt, anger, pain and grief.

For many I remain the Mary of Christmas cards.

If I am to be called blessed, please remember all I stand for. As you receive
your cards this Christmas, please look at me and remember that this is just the
beginning.
 

Rachel20

Senior Member
May 7, 2013
1,639
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I am learning to cook and how to bake even more amazing food, so that I can make really yummy stuff for my husband and children.


:)
 
Sep 6, 2013
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OK, figured I'd share about my weekend since I asked another CC member to pray about some health issues (which she did due to PM responses) but it's best to get info from the horse's mouth.

Yes, I turned into a horse this weekend...no. But I did experience some sort of attack. Could have been a panic/anxiety attack, stress related something-or-other. Could have been anything. Had a minor argument with my middle kid, who was to go to Napa with me that day along with her sister, spending the day there before my last Nutcracker performance (no, I do not appear in a tutu - I play french horn in the orchestra).

The family trip is off since one kid is not with us and the youngest has a mild head cold. She wants the companionship of the car ride and is content to hang out backstage with her books and video games if we can't get a comp ticket for her. I car pool with a friend instead of driving the 90 min trip myself. Though we leave earlier than necessary, the unpredictable holiday traffic still makes us nearly late and we are rushing. At the theater, the mismanagement of the musician's parking lot adds about 15 minutes since they allowed the theater goers to park there and there was no place for us to park in that lot. I direct my kid one way, hoping she can figure things out. From the orchestra pit, I can't see her in the house, which is filling in. Maybe she is there, maybe not.

As the show is starting, my friend gets a text from her (I had left my phone in her car) that she is not allowed in. Apparently she had gone outside the theater instead of the green room or the house. I play in the overture. My friend does not, so I ask her to text my daughter. Eventually, I find out that she is in the lobby. OK, at least she's not out in the cold. During intermission, I find her and get her to the green room.

After the show, I find my phone and see a text from the ex. My daughter had texted her sister out of boredom, and she intercepted the message, I guess. The text blasted me for not leaving her home with her instead if I was going to leave her out in the cold, calling me selfish, etc. Since she was not there when I went to pick up the kids and the other kid had thrown me a curveball, I felt I did not deserve this, so I texted back that what happened was not the plan at all, that we had run into a snafu, that as soon as I as able, I got her to a more supervised location. Then I thanked her for judging me.

So maybe the stress of the day didn't hit until on the way home.

After a pleasant conversation in which my friend was telling a funny story about her family, I felt disoriented, as if I had just woken up. In my mind, it was the next day, and I was confused as to why I was still in my friend's car. I actually felt as if I was experiencing being in two different times, which was actually kind of fun and trippy. I had trouble breathing, so I opened the window a few times. While chatting, I was trying to wiggle fingers and toes, checking my extremities. Aside from the temporal confusion, I felt very coherent.

My breathing is more labored. I feel as if all the blood is being drained from my body. My friend, now realizing that something is amiss, pulls over, telling me I am very pale. Since this isn't just a dizzy spell, or anything that passes quickly, but gets worse, I agree with her that she should call 911. Things are still going downhill once the EMTs get there. So I get an ambulance ride to the hospital, where I am experiencing a lot of pressure in my chest. I confirm that my friend is taking my daughter to my place for her mother to pick her up as they are putting me in. They give me aspirin and nitro. When I confirm that the nitroglycerin was supposed to be administered sublengually, I realize that I am still rather coherent, since that's a big word. Good. If I am to recover from somthing, I would rather recover from a heart attack than a stroke.

At the ER, they take all sorts of test for blood oxygen (very low), BP and pulse (both very high, duh), sugar levels (normal), etc. and do chest X-rays (normal). After three hours, they test again. During this time, the pressure in my chest had subsided and disappeared. All the vitals were back to normal. No heart attack. They told me to get a heart stress test though, so I have to schedule that. My friend who is back now tells me. "You know, instead of going through all of this, you could have just said 'I need attention.'" :p

Probably against commons sense. I play two cantatas in the morning on 90 minutes of sleep. Then I am home and in an out of napping. I try chatting on CC at one time, but leave abruptly due to a nap attack (sorry Misty77, you weren't boring. It's not you, it's me!).

And now, here I am!

Wow Catherder, I'm so glad you're okay. Really sorry about the thing with the ex, and this terrifying ordeal that ended with a hospital. What an evening! :(
 

Fenner

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2013
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I'm glad you're OK Cathearder. What a long scary evening for you.
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
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I think it's extremely sad when I read articles about archaeological proof that the Bible is accurate or about some miracle happening off of a Christian news site, I have to question whether it's a hoax or not.

We all know that the Bible is true, and we know God exists. So why are some people trying so hard to the point they'll fabricate evidence of Him?
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
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I think I will record one more Christmas song to put on SoundCloud.
Give us a link or it didn't happen!

I mean um... er... that is, could you provide a link to your soundcloud page? :D
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
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Give us a link or it didn't happen!

I mean um... er... that is, could you provide a link to your soundcloud page? :D
I already have one up. I've shown it to a few people now. A fellow musician told me overall it was really good. The ending was a little rough (I blame the adrenaline rush I get while playing because I'm such a darn perfectionist. I literally was practicing for 5 hours on this song. But I'd also arranged it, learned it, and recorded it in one day. So, I guess you could say I wasn't too bad.)

Woooooops. Almost forgot to put the link in here. lol

https://soundcloud.com/evieisanerdforjesus

And for those who may be wondering, the person in the picture with me is a Christian music artist named Jason Gray. His music is amazing and I highly recommend you listen to him!
 

jogoldie

Senior Member
Mar 20, 2014
1,616
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What a blessed and happy day........I took six children to the beach today.......it was great....
Sadie baby was in rare form......making friends all along the beach.......but I have a question......
I have been taking children to the beach for many years.......and I never met a child that would
purposely eat sand......I mean balled up in the hand and eating it .....what is that all about....
I suppose we will find out in a couple of days of its effects.......he he he.......ewwwww..
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,163
9,250
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lil_christian: You just up and decided to learn the song, practiced it and laid down the recording all today? Not bad, not bad at all. And you played the chords AND the melody accentuated. Do you play at church?
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
73
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lil_christian: You just up and decided to learn the song, practiced it and laid down the recording all today? Not bad, not bad at all. And you played the chords AND the melody accentuated. Do you play at church?
Well, two days ago. But yes. :) And yes, I do! I am involved in everything music at my church since I'm the only musician >.< I mean, we have singers, but no one who can play an instrument to save their lives.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,163
9,250
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What other instruments do you play?
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
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What other instruments do you play?
Does decently playing an egg shaker and tambourine count? Lol! Well, I know the basics of piano. I haven't pursued it as much, but have thought about reteaching myself.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,163
9,250
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To put it in a frame of reference, and explain why I was impressed - that soundtrack that I said I can't find anything to nit-pick, it took me more than a week. Mostly because at each stage I wasn't quite sure exactly how I wanted to do things until I had gone off and thought about it for a while. Usually things would occur to me while at work, then I'd go home and test them.

But yeah, if you relearn piano you can do all kinds of things with a keyboard connected to your computer. Most keyboards even have a USB port these days, you don't need an adapter or anything... you don't even need drivers, most of them are class-compliant which means Windows automatically recognizes how to talk to them. And through a keyboard and computer you can play a bass guitar... a flute... all kinds of guitars... horns, trumpets, etc... very realistic drums... a killer grand piano... all of this stuff for free.

Then there's Synth1. It's a free soft-synth that is very versatile. You can do almost anything with Synth1.
 

Mo0448

Senior Member
Jun 10, 2013
1,209
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I want eggnog to wash down this chocolate cream pie!