7 Quick Takes - #3

Linking up again because... well... it's just what I do on Fridays, apparently. 

Oscar hoping we're going fishing instead of just looking at carpet. 

1. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

I was trolling for interesting quotes on Pinterest this afternoon and I came across this verse. All of us have our favorite literary works for whatever reason in which we find our truth. The Bible holds my truth. Even when I'm not deeply, actively studying the Bible (you know, because I have so little free time lately :cough:LIE:cough:) even when I'm not seeking His truth, it has a way of finding me.

And my truth is this... what I write here in this little old 100 views a day blog (which trust me, is peanuts in the blogosphere)... what I have to say is transparent and relate able enough that people get me... maybe even sometimes I give a voice to someone who isn't sure how to articulate what they're feeling. Maybe seeing what others go through on a daily basis validates what you're going through. All I know is all I know. I can give you my opinions on things but I can't speak with authority on many things. My blog comes from the overflow of my heart.

2. This week... it's been a little sadder than I like. First my friend Amy's Nanny dies (and I wasn't well enough to go to the funeral) and then a girl from my youth group at church lost a sibling... and a friend from high school lost a sibling... and Fast Eddie passes away... and there's just a lot of loss going on in the lives that touch my life this week. There are a lot of reason to be sad. There's a lot of reasons to be well aware of our own mortality.

Trouble is OVER all this political stuff!

3. Our nation is as sharply divided as it's ever been in my lifetime. There's no sense of compromise on either party. People are out of work - people with decent, steady, government jobs are missing a paycheck. Kids are missing out on preschool. Parents are having to scramble to make new arrangements. We're a dysfunctional nation and lots of people are collateral damage of the egos in Washington on both sides of the aisle. All I know for certain is that we are broken and nothing ever got fixed by yelling and posturing and holding press conferences pointing fingers at others. Communicate. Govern. Do what you're elected to do. Compromise. That's all. Kum-bay-ya.

4. And honestly, I think I probably talk about it every day but I can only tell you what's in my heart... I'm in a lot of pain. The pain is getting worse. At first it was just positional and now, even in the best position with the minimal amount of abuses to my spine (abuse = sitting on a hard surface, carrying something heavy, repetitive motions) it hurts all the time no matter what I do or don't do.  Every two or three days I allow myself to take one of strong painkillers and in the 3 or 4 hours that it's at it's peak efficiency, I get some relief. In those few hours I try to accomplish anything I need to do that day. Then it wears off and the pain comes back and I try to distract myself until time for bed. And then I just pray that the combo of knockout meds will sustain me through the night.

5. There is a community of suffering that exists right where you live... I will bet you know somebody (besides me) that lives with chronic pain. They're that weird cousin who never comes to family gatherings. They're the weird girl who used to come to church every Sunday that you haven't seen in two years. They're that girl behind you in line at the grocery store who looks like she might cry when there's a problem ringing up your items. We're everywhere, us pain sufferers. And what's worse, most of the time we're nowhere. You don't see us because it hurts too much to walk among the able bodied. We don't talk about it because you're tired of hearing it. We don't moan and groan because we don't want to run off the people who live with us. We don't help each other because what we have to live with is already too heavy of a burden to take on concern about someone else's pain. We work hard to look normal and not let you see the pain in our face. We're here with our blogs and our online gaming and our cats and our favorite tv shows and websites that offer us a distraction from the pain. But I can promise you... we're here.

6. Tonight we started looking at the new carpet for the basement, deciding which way to lay it. Do we want the pattern running horizontally or vertically? I'm pushing toward vertical as it seems to make the room feel longer. I'll (of course) take lots of fun pictures so you can see our progress. I would be so very happy to have this done this weekend and be able to start feathering my new nest again.

7. I'm going to embark on a Greeting card project starting very soon. I need something to do that will help me connect with the world outside of my nest. I've got a big stockpile of greeting cards and I'm going to just start sending them out randomly... in hopes that my mailbox will get something in it besides the local pizza coupons. If you're willing to play pen pal with me, please send your name and address to my email - heathernancine@gmail.com . I'm the world's worst at getting stuff done but I'm going to do my best to make sure I get something in the mail to everyone who gives me their address... it may be a Halloween Card... it might be a Christmas Card... it might be a homemade card, you just never know. I just know how exciting it is when those things start coming back to me. I love knowing how far and wide we're spread.

And that's my Friday. I'm getting sleepy. Love and hugs, y'all.