Not Me Monday.........

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I DID NOT have to follow-up with the Endocrinologist on Wednesday.

I WAS NOT about to pee my pants after being taken to the exam room.

I DID NOT run to quickly use the bathroom while waiting for the Doctor to come in.

The handle of the toilet DID NOT hang up during the flushing of said toilet.

The toilet DID NOT overflow.

There WAS NOT toilet water and pee all over the bathroom floor.

I DID NOT feverishly grab handfuls of paper towels to clean it up.

I DID NOT spend an extended amount of time, and I mean an extended amount of time, in the bathroom performing this cleaning job.

I DID NOT break out into a full sweat from both panic and cleaning.

I DID NOT sneak out of this bathroom and into the one next door and pretend THAT was the one I had used.

I DID NOT have wet pants from flooding incident.

I DID NOT attempt to hide wet pants during exam from Doctor.

I DID NOT about DIE when he reached to feel my ankles and I realized that my pants were slightly wet there too.

It WAS NOT extremely funny once it was over and I was telling my Mom and my friends at work.

I DID NOT immediately think THIS will be my Not Me Monday.



That is MORE than enough for me this week. What did you NOT do?
I look forward to finding out!


=],

Gracie

Humility..........

This morning, my Pastor's sermon came from John 13:1-10. These verses describe Jesus, as He washed His disciples feet. Now, think about it, this was a nasty job, one reserved only for a servant and certainly not one anybody else was jumping at the opportunity to do. However, Jesus humbled himself and performed this lowly act.

Humility is defined as: to be or act humble.

Humble is defined as: 1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive.

Why did He do it? Plain and simple. He loved them. Enough to humble Himself and wash their nasty, stinking feet. Even though, He knew one of them was going to deny Him, and one of them was going to betray Him, He loved them anyway. Exactly the same way He does me! He knows all my faults and failures and believe me, they are numerous, yet He humbled Himself to die the worst death possible, on a cross, all because He loves me.

He knows all the times I have been disobedient to His voice, as He told me what to do. He knows all the times I have been self-reliant, instead of depending on Him. He knows all the times I have allowed pride, arrogance, and fear stand in the way of His plan. He knows when I have been ungrateful for what I have and wanted more. He has witnessed my selfishness, my laziness, and my complacency, first hand. He saw the bitterness in my heart after it was broken by someone I trusted. He listened to all of my excuses, as I tried to justify my behavior.

You see, this list could go on and on, yet, in spite of it all, He loves me, anyway. In fact, He is hopelessly in love with me. I must confess, I really like the sound of that! The Creator of the Universe, The Healer, The Deliverer, The Master of the Wind, The Comforter, The Good Shepherd, The Humble Servant, The Messiah, The King of Kings is hopelessly in love with me!

Know what? He is hopelessly in love with you, too.

My prayer is to become more like Him.


He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. Psalms 25:9

=],

Gracie

20 Things About Me.......

1. I love writing with blue ink. It makes me happy. =)

2. I love to make lists.

3. I always take my make-up off before I go to bed, usually as soon as I get home.

4. My paper money is always turned the same way -face forward, and in order of smallest to largest.

5. Mashed Potatoes = my ultimate comfort food.

6. I love to balance my checkbook.

7. I am sun-phobic and wear 50 SPF sunscreen.

8. Even if I'm not wearing make-up, I always have on lip gloss.
*(I have an addiction-see previous blog post)

9. I shave my legs everyday.

10. I cannot read music, but I love to sing.

11. I only like the regular chicken wings, not the drumettes.

12.I define exercise as TORTURE.

13. I've been hurt badly by someone I thought was my friend. Because of that, I don't trust easily.

14. Home is my favorite place to be.

15. The TV show My Name Is Earl makes me laugh.

16. I eat peanut butter with my pancakes and syrup....Yummy.

17. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is like Christmas without the emphasis on gifts.

18. I wear contacts but as soon as I get home I have to take them out and put my glasses on because I can't stand them anymore.

19. I love riding on the back of the Harley with the wind blowing in my face. It seems like the "real world" is a million miles away.

20. I love orange jello.


=],

Gracie

Lip Gloss..........

This afternoon while digging in my purse for a pen, I kept coming up with lip gloss. Now, let me be honest and tell you, I LOVE lip gloss/chapstick. I always have it with me and I am constantly putting it on. I can't stand for my lips to be dry. Even if you see me with no other makeup on, you will never find me without lipgloss/chapstick. Today though, I decided to find out just how many were in my purse. Count them.......1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,..

10!!! Yes, there were 10 of them. That is just in one purse!!!!! That doesn't count those in the car, my make-up bag, the vanity, my softball bag, or the ones I have at work. Why do I feel the need to hoard lipgloss/chapstick? or to have 10 things of lip gloss/chapstick in my possession at one time? Do I think there will be a sudden shortage of lipgloss/chapstick in Gadsden? or Alabama? or even the United States of America? Honestly, I can't answer why. All I know is they make me extremely happy. I realize I may have a slight problem, but not one that I am interested in fixing. In case you were wondering or would lose sleep over it if you didn't know, my favorites are Clinique's Bamboo Pink and ChapStick's True Shimmer Botanical Berry. Speaking of which, my lips are starting to feel dry so I need to go put some on now. =)

Hope the rest of your week is fabulous!

=],

Gracie

Not Me Monday........

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I DID NOT spend the week consumed with thoughts of my thyroid gland and vocal cords.

I DID NOT spend MUCH time in prayer.

I DID NOT feel many friends and family lifting me up in prayer.

I DID NOT tell my Surgeon that I wanted him to treat my vocal cords like they were Whitney Houston's vocal cords.

He DID NOT look at me really strange when he realized I was not joking.

I DID NOT want to go to my Doctor's appointment alone.

I DID NOT think that if I received bad news, the hour drive home would give me time to deal with it before having to face my family.

I DID NOT hear my dear friend use the words "stubborn", "hardheaded" and "strong-willed" to describe me.

I DID NOT realize that description was 100% accurate.

I DID NOT receive unbelievably great news from the Surgeon.

I DID NOT experience, first hand, how God works.

I WAS NOT overwhelmed at God's presence and faithfulness.

I DID NOT discover new meaning to the words "simple" and "perfect".

I DID NOT have a vase of my favorite flowers waiting on my desk for me at work Friday morning.

I WAS NOT told by a friend at work God told her to pick them out of her yard and bring them to me, even though she had no clue they were my favorite.

I DID NOT have tears in my eyes as God, once again, made Himself known to me.

I DID NOT spend most of my weekend at the softball field watching eldest daughter play in a tournament.

I DID NOT enjoy every minute of it.

I DID NOT love, love, love the beautiful weather this weekend.

I DID NOT enjoy a Harley ride yesterday.

I DID NOT wear my new leather chaps.

I DID NOT think of all the times I have said, "I will never own, much less wear, leather chaps".

I DO NOT realize this post is way too long.

I DO NOT hope you all have a wonderful week and that God will make Himself known to each of you in ways you've never imagined.

I DO NOT anticipate, with excitement, how He will work in my life this week.

=],

Gracie

"Simple" and "Perfect".......

I wanted to thank you all for praying for me and give you a quick update. The Doctor said I have only a "simple" cyst and there is no need for any further treatment other than an occasional ultrasound to keep a check on it. He also did a scope on my vocal cords to check them because of the hoarseness and said they are in "perfect" condition. How awesome is that? I am so thankful that God works in ways that can be described with words like "simple" and "perfect". He does think I may have an esophageal problem so for that I will have to see a GI Dr. That, however, is a drop in the bucket compared to what it was thought to be. Again, thank you all for your prayers. I am so humbled to see God work in such a way for ME!!! My Doctor here was so sure of the worst but I'm thankful God had other plans. God meant it for good.

=],

Gracie

My Prayer Request.......

Several months ago, I began to have trouble swallowing and I noticed that when I swallowed I could "feel" it on one side. It didn't hurt to swallow, it was just hard to do so. Jokingly, I said I needed a Speech Therapy consult. I dismissed this rather quickly as me eating too much, too quick. Most recently, my voice became hoarse. Everyone has been hoarse at one time or another and again I thought nothing of it. You see, I sing, so I blamed it on the weather combined with my singing. Well, almost 2 weeks ago, for whatever reason, I rubbed my hand over my neck. I felt every drop of blood drain from my head as I felt a lump in my neck. I went to my office and asked my coworkers if they could feel it. Not only could they feel it, they could see it. My Doctor was due to make rounds, so I decided I would wait for him to come and I would let him look at it. Remember, he is my personal friend, the one who loves me in spite of my craziness. In all actuality, I figured he would quickly dismiss it and say, "Gracie, you are being Gracie, it's nothing, you are fine", but would agree to order some tests just to shut me up. He finally came to make rounds and I told him I needed to talk to him. I took him in the med room and told him I had a lump in my neck and I wanted him to check it out. Now remember, I am just waiting on him to brush me off and reassure me that it is nothing. After a lengthy physical exam, he tells me not only can he see a lump but that whole side of my neck is much thicker than the other side. He tells me to keep talking and I say, "I know, I'm hoarse, but I'm not sick. I don't have sinuses or a cough or anything. I'm just hoarse." I tell him about being able to feel myself swallow. Again, I am waiting on him to tell me it's nothing, to quit worrying. He doesn't. He tells me we need to immediately do some testing. He tells me he thinks I have a mass on my thyroid gland and if it is not on the thyroid gland, he thinks it is on my vocal cord its self. He tells me the good news is that no one dies of thyroid cancer these days. Huh, that's my good news????? This past Tuesday, I went for thyroid scans. They confirm I do indeed have a mass on my right thyroid lobe. I am scheduled to see a surgeon Thursday, March 5th, who will decide whether to biopsy it first or just proceed with removing it and biopsy it after removal. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that God is in control. I know that He has a plan and purpose for this time and this trial. He already knows what is in my throat. He already knows the outcome of any test that will be done. I will trust and praise Him throughout this and beyond. I have heard Him as He has whispered reminders to me of who He is. He has wrapped His arms around me and loved me more and more during these last 2 weeks. He has blessed me with amazing friends who have helped me with this difficult time. Again, I covet your prayers, more specifically this week for 1.) My Doctor- To have wisdom to identify the problem and know the optimal course of treatment 2.) Me- To have wisdom in deciding the optimal course of treatment and to have a peace that passes all understanding 3.) My Family- We are a family of faith and we have no doubt where our help comes from. This has been a hard 2 weeks for my Husband, my Daughters, and my Mom specifically. Pray they would experience the very same peace. One of my daughters asked me, "Mom, what if you can't yell for me", as we were driving back from her softball game. Now even though I know this is not likely, the fact that she is worried about it broke my heart. I was a big girl in front of her but as soon as she was in the other room, I had a crying moment! There is a very thin line between being honest with your children and trying to keep them from unnecessary worrying. Pray also, that I will have the right words to say to all of them. Pray they will see Him in me. 3.) My Vocal Cords- Please pray there is NO damage to my vocal cords if surgery is necessary. I have been singing for Him since I was 13. My voice is His and I want to use it for Him. I know that God is able to do immeasurably more than we think or even imagine. For that I am thankful!

=],

Gracie