Anyway

I am really enjoying this Fall spectacle we've got going on out there. I can't even begin to put into words what seeing all these bursting colors of red, orange, yellow and green do to my soul. I am so thankful for the opportunity to witness the masterpieces God places before us each and every moment of the day. This morning as I went out into the crisp, sunlit morning, I was amazed seeing the leaves of some of the trees cascading to the ground, what a sight! Even on Nicholasville Road yesterday, backed up in traffic, I marveled at the colors of the trees as we inched along. If I had a camera with me, I'd be taking pictures nonstop.

I've also been enjoying these critters of the country. We have the cutest little chipmunks, and they're storing up food for the winter. It's really fun watching them stuff their little furry fat cheeks, disappear, then come right back for more. Predictably, we're calling them Chip and Dale. The other critters that we're seeing a lot of out here in the country are the deer and the turkey. What a sight seeing them out in the fields, sometimes mingled among the cows and horses.

This morning, in addition to Chip and Dale, there's a lot of birds checking out the feeders and those leaves are a falling. I don't want to think of the season that's waiting in the wings, even though, like the chipmunks, we are getting ready for it.

I'm like everone else, I get discouraged when I'm overwhelmed with life's constant struggles. I'm able to overcome the shadow of discouragement because I not only ask God for help, but I hold tight to a special Bible verse that He actually handed me one morning while taking a walk. I tried to clear my mind and let God place a verse in my thoughts. It was Ecclesiastes 4:12. I held it in my memory and looked it up when I got home, not having a clue what it would say. I wasn't the least bit surprised by what I read....Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. I knew the simple truth in these words from very personal experience.

I continue to seek out fellowship with strong Christians on a regular basis. And when I do experience those times of uncertainty and feel like my efforts to share encouragement with others goes unnoticed, I just continue to do it..... anyway.

Have a great day, luv, Susan

Thorns

Well, October has practically come and gone. The last two UK football games have been at either end of the celebration spectrum. And we've learned that it's hard to have faith in politicians or the financial systems. I want to be encouraging, but sometimes it's hard to do that with so much uncertainty in this world. But, I am certain of one thing......God's unchanging love.

In the summer of 2006, we were boating on the Green River. Mark brought us up to a sandy bank and as he jumped off the boat to tie us off he stepped right down onto a branch submerged under the water. This branch had nice long thorns on it and one of them was piercing the center of his instep. He pulled the branch off, and we proceeded with our day of socializing on the river with our friends. Once we got home, he asked me to examine it because he felt like he hadn't got all of the thorn out, it apparently had broken off in his foot. I looked and poked around on his foot as I often do for his splinters, but could find nothing. I suggested he go to a doctor, but he declined.

The weeks and months passed by and even though the surface wound healed over, he continued to complain about his foot hurting, even though he continued his life, working and doing all he normally would do. Apparently, this was not going to just go away on it's own. Eventually, it would get red, swollen and even reopen and ooze(gross, I know). I finally convinced him to go to a walk in clinic which he did. That doctor examined it, cleaned out the wound and said he couldn't see anything in the area.

When we moved to Georgetown, I convinced him, as the complaints progressively increased, to go see a doctor about it. He was then directed to a surgeon who ordered an MRI. Even though nothing specific showed up on the MRI, he thought surgery would be the best option, so he cut into Mark's foot looking for and attempting to erradicate the problem. We really hoped and prayed that this had taken care of it. During this same time, I was taking a Bible study by Stormie OMartian called The Power of the Praying Wife and continued to pray for Mark's foot, especially when we covered the chapter on "my husband's health".

Approximately three weeks after the surgery, the previously healed over area was now festering and oozing(I know) above and below the original wound. The doctor scheduled another surgery. I was praying throughout this ordeal as it was coming at a time of real uncertainty in our nation. Would this affect Mark's job? Would we be able to afford all these medical expenses? This was not a good time to have these kinds of concerns in an already shaky economy. I tried to keep my worries transformed into prayers because I had faith that God would bring us through this......just concerned about how much of a test it would be.

The second surgery was completed and Mark was back off to work and we were hoping and praying this would do it. Because the doctor had to do a second surgery, he sent off some specimens from the affected tissue. It was a bacteria in the staph family, but not the one you hear about. This became a scary issue as well. I heard awful stories of doctors removing half a man's foot due to a staph infection.

Then Mark called on Monday and Tuesday night, while working out of town, to tell me his foot hurt terribly, more than it had before, felt just like a needle in the original wound. I happened to be reading and doing my Bible study homework when he called the second night. I had been reading about unconfessed and unrepented sin in our lives. I was writing down prayers for us concerning our own sins, so when he called I delved right into it. He listened and even asked for explanations which I tried to give, best I could. I then rushed off to my daughters for supper that night and made it to my Bible study the following morning. I continued rushing around that day as I needed to walk the dogs and tend to the house and get to my Bible discussion group at church that evening. I was starting to get overly concerned about everything....Mark's foot, our finances, his job, the economy, the upcoming election and finally just prayed my way through the night about everything.

The following morning when the Mark called, I didn't want to admit that I was down, when he asked how my day was going, so, I asked how his morning was and he said he was great, jubilant, in fact!! The thorn had come out of his foot!! He had been rubbing on the scabbed over area and when the scab peeled back, it revealed a long black thorn sticking to the inner side of the scab. He picked it off and just rejoiced. It had happened on Wednesday, the day after I prayed for our unconfessed, unrepented sins. Following the phone conversation, I hit my knees and thanked God for removing the thorn.

I pray that you will ask God to remove any thorns from your life. Jubilation doesn't come around every day. I had never heard my husband say he was jubilant before, but after over two years, two doctors, two surgeries and an MRI God's simple act brought just that. Praise God!!

Have a great day, I need to take these doggies for their walks. luv, Susan
Sorry this is so long.

Fall Fun

I hope you found something to do outdoors over the weekend. I know we need rain, but can't complain about this weather. The game on Saturday held such excitement for a possible upset. It was hard to see the defense do such an outstanding job the majority of the game only to have some mostly offensive miscues lead to the ultimate outcome. It didn't seem that the Alabama faithful that were in attendance to see the Tide roll all over the Cats got what they came for. Instead, they saw a gritty performance by an experienced, proven Kentucky defense. I listened carefully when Rich Brooks met Nick Saben at the end of the game. I think I heard the Alabama coach say to the Kentucky coach, "Congratulations, ya'll played a helluva game." That's what I heard anyway. If you take away the touchdown that we handed them, then the score would have been very different.

We learned over the weekend that Georgetown has a celebration called Festival of the Horse. It's the typical Fall weekend festival, with a twist. They throw in a couple parades with horses and another featuring pets. My mom and dad went down with me Sunday. I hope next year to make some of the parades and the actual horse events. It sounded like a good time.

My walk this morning was great. We actually got to see a cute little red fox cross the road in front of us. During our evening walks we're seeing lots and lots of deer out in the fields. I'd enjoy seeing them more if my little dogs would stay quiet. I hope you're getting out and enjoying the amazing time of year. Have a great day, luv, Susan

Aah, October...

Yep, it's already October. Many people I talk to tell me Fall is their favorite time of year, well, it's here, I hope you're all happy about that. I still vote for Summer, and it's gone...... Anyway, my last weeks were dictated by events in my life that consumed my time and energy. Now, I'm back to a clean slate and ready to get accustomed to this new Fall routine.

I went to Nashville with my family for my Dad's navy ship reunion. It's always a great time seeing all those guys and their families. We miss those that don't make it for this reason or that. We'll do it again next year, same time, same place, which is great for me. I love Nashville for lots and lots of reasons. Mark and I spent our ten year anniversary at the Opryland Hotel, so I just could spend days and days there exploring that amazing place. It's fun being downtown Nashville, it's such an electric city. One of our favorite things to do is take a cruise on the General Jackson that takes us down the Cumberland River to downtown Nashville. It's especially fun because there's a band that plays up top that we really enjoy. I highly recommend a trip to Nashville, anytime.

Okay, back to October, time to take a deep breath and enjoy this month because we know what's coming. I'm gonna try to forget about that for now and enjoy the beautiful fall colors, if we get any after the lack of rain. I'm also going to enjoy the cool, crisp weather and the warming sunshine that we've been blessed to have. My hummingbirds are gone, but there's still plenty of wildlife around to enjoy.

If you're not attending church on a regular basis, now is a great time to get started, so the upcoming months will be so much more meaningful. And as usual, I've got a lot of catching up to do because I fell behind with my Bible Study while I was in Nashville. So, have a great day and if you can work it in, take a walk! luv, Susan