Only in Indiana. Or maybe in any other State with farming. Well that would include all 50 States. I guess it’s just new to me . . .
The Facebook page for selling stuff in my town had a posting for a pig for sale: $300 for the live beast. I actually thought about it for a moment! The biggest issue would be finding a place to store all of that meat. Our lil’ freezer just ain’t big enough for my hubby’s ice cream and my bone broth in addition to a virtual bevvy of pork! Darn. I’ve been missing BBQ ribs for some time now!
I suppose that someone else with a chest or upright freezer will jump on the offer. Maybe our neighbor who bought our used freezer will find it in her budget to feast on Porky Pig for the rest of the year? Or maybe not. But if she invites us over for some Famous Dave-style ribs I am sure that we would oblige! We will even bring my Grandma’s famous potato salad. Yeah I won’t forget the horseradish, pickle relish, and bacon grease (aka “secret ingredients”)!
Porky Pig here.
We live in a time where you can buy and sell just about anything. With the diversity of our world and our accessibility to most of it via the internet, we can get much of what we want for a price. Do you want someone to paint your business logo on his hairy belly and sing a song for you? Just check out the gigs on http://www.fiverr.com and it will be yours for the price of a latte’. My preference for that one would be “NOPE.” That is, in the physical realm. There are other realms for which I would need a song you know. And tonight my heart realm can’t buy me even a lullaby for peace of mind. My heart is breaking and there simply is not much I can do about it but pray.
My brother, Mike, whom everyone else calls Michael, continues to live in a wretched inner city nursing home after a serious stroke. He is four months post-CVA and three months enduring the “3 hots and a cot” provided by a one-star facility. I flipped when I found out that he had an infectious rash on his hemiplegic hand! I asked his fiancé and Mike to check for signs of bed bugs and call the State Ombudsman immediately if they found any signs of them. Mike’s roommate itches too. Hopefully it will be a case of an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent. But why would the bumps become infected? Good golly. Water (no juice, milk, or coffee) for breakfast, a delayed response for significantly elevated blood pressure, and no follow-up whatsoever on a 6 cm kidney tumor ARE ONLY THE FIRST THREE items in the long list of substandard care complaints. So sad.
Lisa, Mike’s precious fiancé, is at her wit’s end trying to get Veteran’s Administration or Medicaid benefits processed correctly to change his situation. She faithfully visits him when she can, brings him home-cooked food, and follows up the paperwork nightmare as Mike’s legal guardian. Just when I wonder if things moving forward fast enough or why she hasn’t returned my phone calls I find out that she has started a new job to try an better their overall situation. She is such a trooper. Thank the Lord for Lisa’s love and care for her Michael. And our cousin, Lisa, helps out where she can as well. Cousin Lisa is an optometrist for the nursing home and has more than once been able to positively influence his care by her presence, her visiting, her dipomacy, her support of fiancé Lisa. They are doing the best they can and that is both a gift and all I can ask from 200 miles away.
This is such a curious situation, you know. I am an occupational therapist with over 30 years of professional experience including patients with the very same medical condition as my brother. Yet due to a severe illness I am enduring, I cannot even visit him! The dirty conditions of his living environment would surely trigger seizure-like attacks for me. Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, or whatever you want to call this nightmare is keeping me from seeing my brother. And this is the Lord’s plan for both of us right now. I don’t understand it. My heart is hurting. I would be honored to work more closely with Mike, even provide supplemental therapy or visits. I cannot do it right now. Oh sure, I send him something in the mail occasionally or make a phone call to his facility and get placed on hold for a very, very long time before actually getting through to anyone less than 50% of the time. We are all doing what we can and waiting on the Lord. It’s just so very frustrating for each of us!
So if you’ve got an extra 300 bucks to donate to our cause, kindly send it to St. F—— Nursing Center in D—–, room 207. Leave the pig and get my brother out of there please! They might not notice Mike missing for awhile since a piece of meat is a piece of meat when you don’t care much for the sweet sense of humor that used to characterize my tall lanky sibling. Oh geez, I’m getting a little upset here aren’t I? Well at least the pig will stomach the food a little better without complaining. Like the Cheerio’s commercial said many decades ago, “he’ll eat anything! Hey Mikey!” Yeah but it won’t be Mikey. One day Mikey will be gone from the place he and his fiancé are calling, “the dump.” May the Lord pour out His grace on those left behind when he does go.
I just hope that moving day will be soon. O.k. I’m done venting. Gotta get back to praying. JJ
Jonah was an Old Testament prophet called by God to warn the people of Nineveh to repent. God’s judgment was eminent unless they changed their evil ways. Jonah burned with anger because he did not like the people of Nineveh and thought they should not be the concern of the almighty God. So instead of going to Nineveh, he headed off on a ship to Tarshish instead. A mighty storm rose up, threatening the ship and crew. In time they found out that it was because of Jonah that their lives were at stake. At Jonah’s suggestion, they tossed him into the sea and the storm ended. Jonah was taken up by a mighty fish and spent about 3 days inside before repentance of his own disobedience towards God. Eventually Jonah went to Nineveh, he warned the people, they repented, and their lives were spared. Jonah still wasn’t happy . . .
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I was making some new necklace designs the other day, very late at night. Things were not coming together well as I had to re-do a simple slider knot at least five times before I got it right. Then I made the same mistake again on another piece! Do you have a “little tiny voice” that sometimes nudges you in the direction you should go? Yeah, it was yapping at me to save a particular scrap of hemp cord in case I would need it for another part of the new collection. Fooey, I thought. I have other colors and I really wanted to make some gift ties with the white cord not save it for something else that was not in front of me. So I didn’t save the cord. It was the last piece of that color and it got used as part of a gift box packaging that was sent out the next day. I did not think about it anymore. Or rather I did not think about it any more until I had to repair a mistake in one of the new necklaces six days later.
I lost an hour of my life trying to correct my mistake with anything but the white cord remaining in another gift tie. I could not believe how many goofy mistakes I was making trying to avoid getting out the bag of gift ties, untying a braided strand, and using a proper length of cord to make the repair. Finally I laid down my will. It wasn’t working. Repairing the wrap knot and saving the jewelry piece required me to dig out the supply that had been within arm’s reach all along. Sigh. Alright then. Hunker down and take care of it already! Moments later I was done. But what had happened to me? It’s just a piece of jewelry for crying out loud! Yes, and I might as well have been a stubborn 2 year old for how I was acting. I’ll never get that hour of my life back again. The only person to blame is me, not some illness brain fog thang.
Has this ever happened to you, Gentle Reader? Hopefully the stakes were not as high as a nation threatening to be destroyed because of the selfishness of a wayward prophet. There probably were consequences of some kind though: consequences that were unpleasant or harmful, wasteful. Sure, we need to be gentle with ourselves when we make mistakes, live for a time in denial, procrastinate, and the like. And yet when we are outright defiant to that which we know we should do we are hurting ourselves and maybe others too. It’s a sign of immaturity, a lack of self discipline. While we sometimes may need to delay making the right choice in a situation for a variety of reasons, let’s hope we get to task when there is a leading is from the Holy Spirit: my tiny voice inside of me. He has my best interests at heart even for the small events of life. He cares for all of the details of my life just as He cares for the nations of the world. That’s just how mighty our God is: the great I AM.
Dear Heavenly Father, I am weak this night. I am still capable of heeding the counsel of the Holy Spirit that ministers to my every need. Thank you for the incredible gift of your indwelling Spirit. I lay down my will this night in awe of Your love for me and majesty. Strengthen me for both the mundane and more important tasks in the days ahead. Grow my trust in you. And if it is Your will, heal me of my infirmity so that I may be used for greater things. Thank you for Your Word to teach us, guide us each day. I love you Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Adjustable Friendship Necklaces from Threads of Hope and Trinity Jewelry by Design
My holiday weekend will be measured by small things, small joys. And these are no less than the big trips, celebrations, fireworks, and gorgeous mountain views from my friends on Facebook. Here are the things that matter most to me:
A view out a bedroom window that captures the emergence of the giant hibiscus flora.
The sweet look of concern from our furry friend when she knows what’s up and how to love with her eyes.
My beloved who can live in the moment with me no matter what life brings.
I made it through the time that needed to pass while awaiting a medical appointment on Tuesday.
The creative block with Trinity Jewelry by Design broke through with a new bracelet design and a bunch of cute variations with more to follow soon.
Tending to the William Battin roses that exceeded my expectations early this Summer.
Witnessing the promise of a bumper crop of cucumbers to redeem the poor showing with the cool Spring last year.
Time to relax with Steve at home, to review, to plan, to talk, to enjoy meals together.
A couple of phone calls with my brother who is making the most of a frustrating recovery from a stroke.
Long moments dwelling with my Lord in His Word yielding encouragement and refreshment for my soul.
A firework display from the comfort of our kitchen table, compliments of the neighbors next door.
Yes, the small things matter too whether you are recovering from a serious illness or not. I’ll bet you can think of a few special things too? I’d love to hear about them Gentle Reader. Your words encourage my heart and I’d like to get to know you! Take care, Just Julie
Jesus is for the Wounded 
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