Encouraging

Sometimes, when it seems like I'm ready for the rapture, God reminds me that I'm still here on this Earth for a reason. I received a telephone call from a former coworker, just to check up on me. I was on speakerphone with Tim and his wife. I haven't talked to Tim in several months. It was just a reminder that even though I don't see a lot of different people, I have not been forgotten.

I made a new friend last week. While Cheri was mowing the lawn I was cruising around the driveway and the front yard, 2 gradeschool girls stopped in to visit me. I recognized one neighborhood girl right away, knowing her mother and father. The other girl also lived down the street, but was fairly new to the neighborhood. We talked about their schoolteachers, their principal, and one of their favorite teachers, Mrs. Redinger. Mrs. Redinger also happens to be married to our preacher Rich. Since it's hard for me to be a wallflower, one of them remembered seeing me at church on a Wednesday evening. I've seen them riding up and down the street most every evening, and when they see me they wave. Just a few minutes ago our doorbell rang and one of the girls brought me a flower. I'm normally not an overly emotional guy, but that was very touching.

It's awesome the way that God knows how to encourage me when I need it. The Word (Romans 8: 26-39) says that it is God who causes all things to work together for good, to those of us who love him and who are called according to his purpose.

Much love, Dennis

Prime parking spot

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to watch people park in large parking lots. First of all, many times Cheri and I do not use the handicapped parking spaces. On occasion we will, because I have to have enough room for the ramp to extend out the side door. On a smooth parking lot, I can switch to fourth gear and run about 6 mph. So we leave some of the prime handicapped parking spots to someone who really needs them.

 

 

For the most part it's very easy to tell who needs these spots and who doesn't. On one occasion I thought that I was going to intervene between my daughter and two young men. They whipped into a handicapped spot right in front of the main doors and jogged up to the entrance and disappeared in a few seconds. Whitney grabbed her cell phone and was going to take a picture of their car (without a handicapped tag or sticker) and wait outside to video them on the way out. I know that Whitney was upset on my behalf, but she was persuaded to let it go. After all, I know that her attitude was probably something that she had learned from me, back in the day. Hopefully she learned a new lesson about representing her heavenly father. We both were 99% sure those boys did not qualify for parking in a handicapped spot, but there may come a time when they learn that lesson the hard way.
Much Love Dennis


PS



　

Last night, my husband and I were sitting in the living room and I said

to him, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine

and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

He got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

3-D glasses

Thanks to my eye doctor for the new 3-D glasses. Almost everything I look at-except the television-appears in 3-D. When I went outside it was just like I could reach out and touch the bark on the trees.
Much love, Dennis :-)

The favor of God

I've been spending time reading and listening to teaching concerning "the favor of God". Basically Romans 4. Abraham believed what God told him concerning his children, even though he and Sarah were both past the normal age of childbirth. God told him that his offspring would also receive favor, not only those who were of the law (legally of the same bloodline) but also those of us who believe as Abraham believes. You'll probably have to read Romans 4 to follow my train of thought.

The reason for this is because of the many times that I have prayed for others and myself to receive favor here on earth. I can't testify for others specifically, but I can tell you about a particular set of circumstances that I'm going through.

I am seeing Dr. Charles Shields concerning the pain in my abdomen. I have seen him before, but it's been several years and that was for my neck. About three months ago one of my doctors referred me to him and at that time there was no clear diagnosis for the source of my pain. I met with him and after 20 min. of discussion he said he really could not do anything until a couple of the things were ruled out. He told me that it was good to see me again and that there would be no charge because he considered this to be just a reunion of a couple of friends. What a guy!

After  other organs were ruled out I was once again referred to Dr. Shields. His schedule was full for over a month, but he overheard his receptionist mention my name and came to the phone to talk with my dad. After a short discussion, my dad said that sounds great, we will see you then. He had agreed to meet me later that week after hours. Cheri and I went to the appointment, we discussed some procedures and medications. Dr. Shields also asked for my e-mail and wanted to know if I would be interested in using Skype to make it easier for me to connect with him. We have been e-mailing, but we haven't done a Skype session yet.

Here is my point, Dr. Shields is a great guy, a great Doctor and God is using him to show me favor. I HAVE NO DOUBT.

Thank you Lord for using Dr. Shields

Much Love, Dennis

PS

An old dollar bill and an even older $20 arrive at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired.
"I've had a pretty good life," the $20 says. "I've been to Vegas, the finest restaurants in New York, and even on a Caribbean cruise."
"You did have an exciting life!" the dollar says.
"Where have you been?" the $20 asks.
"Oh, I've been to the Methodist church, the Baptist church, spent some time with the Lutherans..."
"Wait," the $20 interrupts. "What's a church?"

Bible Verses

I believe the that the words in the Bible are true and when we read them, meditate on them, and/or speak them, in belief, they release spiritual power. On Earth, just as they do in Heaven.

I can remember at times after my accident meditating on Bible verses, especially when I could not sleep. At that point in my life I only had a few Scriptures memorized along with some songs based on Bible verses. When I finally made it back to Fairview, my friend Ed Scott persuaded me to memorize more verses. Thank you Ed. I now have more ammunition at my disposal when my enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. I also know that I could never have enough ammo (Scripture). I can tell you from experience that you should not procrastinate when it comes to learning Scripture. Bad things do happen to good people, I've heard this said too many times "I never thought it would happen to me".

It's kind of like having a flashlight with dead batteries. You know that you can use fresh batteries but you keep putting it off. Then when you least expect it the electricity goes out and you have a flashlight handy, but no power to eliminate the darkness.

This was inspired by a joke from my friend Gina Patee :-)

　

A woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services, when she was startled by an intruder.

She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled: 'Stop! Acts 2:38!' (Repent and be Baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven.)

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.

As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar: 'Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture to you.'

'Scripture?' replied the burglar. 'She said she had an Ax and Two 38s!'

Send this to someone who needs a laugh today and remember. Knowing scripture can save your life - in more ways than one!

In God we trust

Much Love, Dennis

I have avoided talking about this, but Cheri said that my blog should be like my journal and that I should let you know what is going on in my life. For quite some time I've been dealing with some pain. At first, it was annoying and intermittent, but it has been escalating lately and a few times has been very, very, hard to handle. I've been to several different doctors looking for the cause and no one has been able to pinpoint anything. I also understand that SCI patients can have phantom pain.  Phantom pain is is usually associated with amputees, but nevertheless it is still being interpreted as pain.
I'm unable to spend more than a few minutes at a time sitting at the computer. I did find out Tuesday that what I'm feeling may be muscular pain in my abdomen, and not due to my stomach or diaphragm.
I do have several scriptures committed to memory that I try to concentrate on when the pain shows up.
1st Peter 5: vs. 8-10 is my first one to go to. I have several others, but I would like some advice from you about others because I know that everyone has gone through  trying times at some point.

I've already spent too much time whining, it's time for "A Merry Heart"

A man was walking along a California beach and stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up and rubbed it and out popped a genie.
The genie said "OK, OK. You released me from the lamp, blah blah blah. This is the fourth time this month and I'm getting a little sick of these wishes so you can forget about three. You only get one wish!"
The man sat and thought about it for a while and said, "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii but I'm scared to fly and I get very seasick. Could you build me a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over there to visit?"
The genie laughed and said, "That's impossible. Think of the logistics of that! How would the supports ever reach the bottom of the Pacific? Think of how much concrete...how much steel!! No-think of another wish."
The man said OK and tried to think of a really good wish. Finally,he said, "I've been married and divorced four times. My wives always said that I don't care and that I'm insensitive. So, I wish that I could understand women.... know how they feel inside and what they're thinking when they give me the silent treatment.... know why they're crying, know what they really want when they say 'nothing'.... know how to make them truly happy...."
The genie said, "You want that bridge two lanes or four?"
Much Love, Dennis

I been able to take advantage of the cooler weather to spend some time outside in the mornings. I can sit on the deck, dwell on some Scriptures that I have memorized and just enjoy God's creation. In the evenings Cheri and I have been able to spend some time on the deck visiting and going over devotions. I've really been enjoying these times.

School is back in session and I don't see as many of kids running up and down the street as usual. Last week while I was out with my dad one afternoon I bumped into my high school English teacher, Geraldine Burns. She remembered me after one small hint. She is an outstanding teacher and I really appreciate what I learned in her class even though if I had put out a little effort, I would've learned much more.
I thought this might be a good time for a joke about school.

A mom and dad were worried about their son not wanting to learn math at the school he was in, so they decided to send him to a Catholic school. After the first day of school, their son comes racing into the house, goes straight into his room and slams the door shut. Mom and dad are a little worried about this and go to his room to see if he is okay. They find him sitting at his desk doing his homework. The boy keeps doing that for the rest of the year. At the end of the year the son brings home his report card and gives it to his mom and dad. Looking at it they see under math an A+.
Mom and dad are very happy and ask the son, "What changed your mind about learning math?"
The son looked at mom and dad and said, "Well, on the first day when I walked into the classroom, I saw a guy nailed to the plus sign at the back of the room behind the teacher's desk and I knew they meant business."

Much Love, Dennis