O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

I first heard of this hymn when I was in college. I had a close friend who worked at a hospital that had this hymn on one of its walls. She wrote the words down and then found the music for it. When I first read the words, I was taken in. Then I heard the music for it. I wrote the words to this hymn on the back pages of my Bible so that I wouldn't forget. Still read it. Still sing it.

O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

O Love that wilt not let me go

I rest my weary soul in Thee

I give Thee back the life I owe

That in Thine ocean depths its flow 

May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followst all my way

I yield my flickering torch to Thee

My heart restores its borrowed ray

That in Thine sunshines glow its day

May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seeks me through pain

I cannot close my heart to Thee

I trace the rainbow thro' the rain

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head

I dare not ask to hide from Thee

I lay in dust life's glory dead

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be.

by WestminsterChorus

Sung in a cathedral in Germany.

Read Up

Here is another article that makes you think about the food that you consume and were told you needed to consume. We really need to be more aware. The food that we eat today is not the same food our parents ate. I used to think everything was nutritious and healthy until I got sick... and started reading. Read up. Understand. Bring about change in your eating habits. For yourself. For your children.

Reading Isaiah

The Old Testament book of Isaiah will always have a very special place in my heart. I believe that God led me to that book when I was in a very dire situation in 1991. Yes, 1991. Don't make me feel old.

I was on a two month mission trip in Kenya. I was trying to adjust to the different culture. I was awkwardly shy, yet not. And during the time that I was with a missionary family, I found out that I had malaria. Yes, I was taking malaria pills. Yes, I still got malaria. Still remember the mosquito bite I got on my ankle. I will spare you the details of my illness, but it was pretty bad. I hit bottom: physically and emotionally. There is nothing worse than being sick in a foreign country. All you want is familiar things and your mommy.

I was desperate for encouragement and I cried out to God to speak to me through His Word. He showed me Isaiah 41:10.

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

His words gave me strength. His words gave me hope. His words were what I needed. That precious time with Him really spoke to my heart.

After I got better, I decided to read through the whole book of Isaiah. So many reminders. So much encouragement.

For those of you who started the Bible reading plan with me: keep pushing forward! We are more than half way through! Yes, we are on the book of Isaiah. We need to keep placing His word in our hearts so that we won't sin against Him.

For those of you who didn't start the Bible reading plan with me, each day is a new day to start reading through God's Word...

For the Love of Lemons

I just learned that lemon essential oil + sunlight don't mix. Apparently, any citrus essential oil can be photo toxic. So, if you make a lotion with a citrus essential oil, don't go in the sun. It can cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight and might cause a sunburn.

I made this mistake for my recipe for super simple homemade lotion. I really love all things lemon and I added lemon essential oil to the lotion to make it smell nice. Please forgive my mistake. It is okay in winter, but not in the warmer months.

My Favorite Pen

Fifteen or so years ago, I was introduced to this little baby. My HI-TEC-C. This ain't no ordinary pen. This a very special pen. Once I started using it, I couldn't use anything else. In fact, back in my more *ahem* anal days, only my HI-TEC-C could touch the pages of my journal. No HI-TEC-C, no writing. I would search the house to find my pen. Even if I only had one sentence to write.

When I was single, I would write letters and cards using these pens. Then I had children. No time. Needed sleep. Used whatever pen was around. My children were not/are not allowed to use my HI-TEC-C pens. Children can cause damage to these precious pens. Sorry. No, and's, if's, or but's.

In the picture above, I drew lines with my HI-TEC-C and a regular ball point pen. As you can see, there is a difference. The HI-TEC-C draws a very fine line. Someone commented that she thought that it was like a mechanical pencil. Another amazing thing is that the ink does not produce clots as you write. The lines are smooth and clear. Oh yeah, gotta get the 0.3. Tried the 0.4 but the 0.3 suits me better.

A few years back, my husband and I needed to get this guy's email for church business. When he started to write his email, I noticed that he was using a HI-TEC-C. I freaked him out when I said, "Oh, you like HI-TEC-C pens too." We got into a long discussion on the wonderfulness of HI-TEC-C pens. I also told him that I hoarded mine because I had never seen them in the U.S. That's when he told me that they sold these pens in the United States also (here). I guess I could have looked them up on the internet? This is Moni.

My brother-in-law bought a box for me last year. He was a bit shocked at the price - around $3 each. The next time they sent a package to us from Korea, he sent some other brand: Finetech? Pinetech? Not the same. Cannot compare. Gave those to my kids to use.

Then I heard that Martha Stewart likes these pens. I think I know why...

Dry Cleaner's Kid

Last Thursday, I had an almost altercation with my garbage man. To make a long story short: got a notice to place our garbage at a different location, called my town home association, they told me to ignore the garbage man, ignored the notice from the garbage man, garbage man did not pick up our garbage on Thursday, called the association (again) and they told me to call the garbage disposal company, didn't want to deal with it, my husband went to the association office to take care of the matter because they had told me not to listen to the garbage man (other people there complaining about the same issue), angry garbage man came to pick up the garbage (very angry with arms waving), I went outside to talk to him, situation taken care of. Why you ask? Because I am a dry cleaner's kid!

My parents owned a dry cleaners when I was growing up. I will be honest. It was like H-E-double hockey sticks sometimes! People can be really crazy. No one can get a 5 year old pen stain the size of Alaska out of cream colored silk pants! If it is the same brand, same size, and has your name on it, it is yours! I cannot begin to tell you the crazy things that I had to deal with when I was only in high school/college. My parents couldn't speak English that well, so I had to do a lot of translating and talking when conflicts arose. I learned that I needed to stay calm and explain things logically and rationally. No tricking, just the facts of dry cleaning science.

Through the difficulties, God helped me to learn. No, not cheat people tricks (we returned a diamond ring once - always check your pockets before going to the dry cleaners!). I learned to talk calmly and use reason. Thus, the diffusion of the garbage man issue. He came out with his arms waving ready to pounce on this petite, Asian woman. He probably thought that he could scare me with his yelling. He did, a little, but I went directly to him and explained the situation. I wasn't about to get fined by my town house association. I was following what they had told me to do. The association had failed to take care of this situation in a timely manner. Once we talked it out, things were resolved and he asked me to explain things to my neighbor (whose garbage had also not been picked up). I gladly agreed and did pass on the information to my neighbor. Resolution. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been a dry cleaner's kid.

Some of you might have been dry cleaner's kids, beauty supply kids, or some other business kids. Even though you might not have wanted to help at your parent's business, there are still things that you might have learned along the way. Things to be thankful for. Who would have thought?

A3 the Stapled

On Tuesday, A3 and I went to see his pediatrician. Dr. U checked the wound and said that it was healing well. She also said that it was good that there was a cut versus a knot on his head. Dr. U told me that when there is a head injury, the body tries to heal itself by rushing blood to that area. I saw that first hand on Sunday. The wound on his head kept bleeding and bleeding. I kept waiting for the blood to clot but it wouldn't. At one point, the nurses aide that was cleaning A3's wound thought the wound was further up on A3's head because of all the streams of blood on his head. Freaked me out but was glad to hear him say that there was only one laceration.

Dr. U said that when their isn't a cut, the blood builds up and you get a knot on your head. This can be more dangerous because of all the blood/pressure build up inside of the head. It sounds weird, but her words reassured / comforted me. Even though A3 will have a scar, the outlet for the blood helped to heal him.

We will be going back next Wednesday to take the three staples out. Dr. U kept reassuring A3 that it wouldn't hurt (like a pinch). She also told him that they could put the staples in a container so that he could show his friends. That made him excited.

He is healing well and enjoying the extra attention. I am trying to keep him from busting his head open again.

ERs and A3

We made another trip to the ER on Sunday. So thankful that there is one really close by. Once again, it was with A3. He reminded me that we had been there on Easter Sunday. We had gone to the ER on Easter because he had eaten chocolate that had peanut butter in it. We have been to the ER with A3 so many times that I lost count.

This time was for a large cut on his head. He was running with some cups to his classroom when he slipped. He fell forward and hit a bookshelf, thus cracking his head open. And open it was.

At the end of the children's worship service, a group of students brought A3 to me. He was smiling and a stream of blood was running down his forehead. Everyone was trying to tell me what had happened. It was a bit chaotic. After shooing the kids outside, another teacher and I were trying to see where the cut was.

A3's teacher and my husband had put ointment on his wound 15 or so minutes earlier so it was hard to see where the cut was. It didn't help that A3's hair was long and matted down. He hasn't had a haircut in a very long time because he wants to be able to shake his bangs to the side. At least it saves money?

The other teacher and I had to take A3 to the bathroom and wash away the ointment to see how large the cut was. Correction: she washed the wound because I couldn't. When the ointment was washed away, we saw that I had to take him to the ER.

A3 was a real trooper. They washed his wound and put numbing gel on his head. Thirty minutes later, they stapled his head 3 times. He didn't scream or shout or cry. I might have. At the end of his third staple, he looked at me and his eyes started to tear up a bit. That was it. He said that it hurt, but he was so good.

It looks like he has a pin in his hair.

He tried to make some funny faces, but he had to stop because he was stretching the skin on his forehead, which is connected to the top of his head, which made him realize that it wasn't such a good idea.

He kept asking if we could go back to church so that he could play some more.

It amused him to know that he was like Frankenstein.

He couldn't wait for A2 to come home so that he could show her the staples. They decided to sleep together on A3's bed tonight.

We realized that A3 is very much like my husband. My husband broke both his arms by 2nd grade, broke his pinky but never got it treated (has a bent pinky), has a million scars on his body from doing things and not realizing that he was hurt. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh....

Please pray:

• That A3's wound will heal well with a minimal scar.
• That it won't hurt too much when he gets his staples pulled out in 10 days. He already calculated the date: 7-25-12.
• That the wound won't get busted open again.

PCPs, Arms, and Ultrasounds

I went to see my new primary care physician on Wednesday. We met, he answered my questions, examined me, and ordered some routine blood tests. It was so simple and stress free. I had blood drawn and I didn't even feel the nurse stab me with a needle! I made a point of telling her how good she was! So thankful to my oncologist for helping me with my PCP situation!

It has been 7 weeks since I received a cortisone shot in my right shoulder. During that time, I was able to move my arms in ways that I had not been able to after my surgeries. But now that time has passed, my arms are beginning to stiffen up. I can feel it the most when I lay down. My arms don't feel comfortable. I have to lay them perfectly straight. I can't even put them on top of the blanket. I can see why this is called frozen shoulder. My shoulders seem to be freezing into place. I can feel it happening. One resolution remains: no more cortisone shots! Don't want the extra strength medicine in my body nor the painful pain.

Friday, I have my monthly oncology visit and monthly Xgeva shot. I will also be getting an ultrasound of my neck. My endocrinologist ordered this test at the end of April, I forgot about the order, finally made an appointment, went to get the ultrasound, realized that I had forgotten the written order, could not get the ultrasound because it was past 5 o'clock and the endocrinologist's office was closed, forgot about calling again, and finally got an appointment. So Friday is the day!

Please pray that everything will turn out fine and that nothing will be stuck to anything that it shouldn't be stuck to in my neck. Please remember my shoulders. Pray that God will touch them.

Simple Breakfast

Sometimes, it is a hassle to eat breakfast. Too many things to do in the morning. Too many things to remember to grab before I run out of the house. Too little time. That is when I grab a simple yet nutritious breakfast: a handful of raw almonds and dried cherries.

I used to force myself to eat the raw almonds but it became a bit tedious. They were so plain and non-toasted-almondy. I tried them with some dried cranberries. Not bad. But when I tried the almonds with  dried cherries, I knew I had found a winning combination.

This breakfast is rich in protein, amino acids, dietary fiber, B vitamins, essential minerals, and flavonoids. It gives me the energy I need until lunch without giving me the "shakes." This breakfast or snack can also be easily transported in your purse or man-purse.

Broken Heart

A1 will be going on his first mission trip this summer. I am so excited for him. My constant prayer for A1 and the team has been the same. It is a sentence that really spoke to me at a missions conference when I was in college. It was said by the founder of World Vision. It is a sentence that I have repeatedly used as a prayer in my own life. It is a sentence that I need to pray more. It is a sentence that I want my son to experience.

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

by Dzacki3

A Reminder

There are some situations that make you want to cry. Then, when a string of those type of situations come one right after the other, they make you want to laugh. It has been one terribly, crazy week. A week of encouragement and a week of discouragement. Things that seem unbelievable. Things that can't be talked about. Things that only another person in ministry could understand.

On one of those difficult days, I woke up to this song. I sang this when I was in high school. I don't know the title. I only know part of the song. But, it was a reminder.

You have everything

In Your hands

You have everything

Under control

Whenever

I praise You

I see who You really are

Whenever

I praise you

I see who You really are

Jesus,

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

Jesus,

I love you.

Jesus,

My Lord.